LOUIS RIEL - HIS FIRST LOVE STORY
THE FOLLOWING STORY OF LOUIS MAY NOT BE TRUE, BUT EVERYONE LIKES TO READ ABOUT LOVE, IT'S A SWEET ROMANCE, ENJOY.
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After a period of rest at the Oblate Fathers, when he had left to seek work. As he travelled, he suffered from poverty, hunger and loneliness. Fortunately he met a friend in Keeseville, New York, in the person of Father Fabien Barnabé. This priest welcomed him with great friendliness. Father Barnabé was living with his mother and his sister Evelina. Both these ladies greeted him with great kindness, took good care of him. This handsome young man from the West with his charming personality, his polite and pleasant manners soon won the sympathy of Mrs. Barnaby and especially that of Evelina. Before leaving to find employment, Riel admitted to himself that he was in love with Evelina, and her love was reciprocal. Mrs. Barnabé, with her clairvoyance, noticed this and objected -- she feared for her daughter's health. Evelina's health was frail, being menaced with tuberculosis. Mrs. Barnabé realized that Louis was too poor to procure all the required necessities and medicine demanded for Eveline's state of health. She strongly objected so the young couple became engaged secretly. Louis left leaving Evelina in tears. They kept up a faithful and loving correspondence. When at Keeseville, the engaged couple often sat on a rustic bench under the lilacs. Evelina sent Riel a spray of lilac as a remembrance of their days together. The legend goes on to say that Louis pressed it and always kept it for this souvenir was found in one of his pockets after his death in Regina.
NOTE: History tell us that Louis married Marguerite Monet Bellehumeur. Also the Document 12465 of the "Annals of the History of Montréal" mentions the marriage of Evelina Barnabé and Jean-Baptiste Goyette of New York. This marriage took place on January 25, 1892 -- seven years after Louis' death.
ref: taken from History of Saint-Louis and surrounding areas - page 10
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