Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1854-11-02
NisfflAnnrnlls.
THE FALSE coUM T.

= -
Pierre Coignard was the son of a vine
dresser of I.apgeais, in the department of the
Indre-et-Loire, and served as a grenadiel
under the Convention Though brave
soldier, he was an audacious thief, and was al
length apprehended, tried, and condemned Il
fourteen years of the galleys. But he did
not like the seclusion of the bagne; and
chained as he was, ike wild beast, he con
trived, in the fourth year of his imprison-
nient to make his escape. His success, how
ever, was attended by circumstance which
he had afterwards occasion to refer to as one
of the great landmarks of his history. His
comrade in the adventure had been likewise
condemned, on the same day with himself, to
fourteen years fetters; and the two despera-
does were drawn together, not only by this
coincidence in their fortunes. but by dis
similarity IN character and requirements which
seemed TO point them out as fit associates in
crime What the one wanted. the other pos
sessed Coignard was tolerably well educated;
the other had known no other school than that
OF the world. CoigHara was an easy, plant
man Of society: the other character of iron,
molten by nature in a mould which might be
broken. but never bent Coignard. In fine,
obtained his ends by address, fortified by re-
solution; and the other by implacable stub
borness of purpose, which was dead to all
considerations but the one idea before it, which
it grapplcd and chung to for life or death =
The unien of two such men would have en-
riched the annals of guilt but it was not to
take place.-They were detected in the act OF
attempting to escape, and only one could fly
Had that one been the comrade, lie would at
once have rejected the temptation And
why? Because the object of th ir plan had
failed. which was the fight of both. But
Coignard, who never grew sulky with fate,
so far from abandoning his enterprise. made
use Of his unlueky young friend as stepping
stone in his escape; and, putting his foot
upon his shoulder, spurned him away as he
caught at the wall above. behind which be
speedily disappeared, with the vengeful yell
Of his associate ringing in his ears. He
changed his name from Coienard to Points,
fed into Spain, joined anew the French army,
became sergeant under the regime of Marshal
Soult, and distinguished himselfby his bravery
and good conduct
at Saragossa, in the year 1913, Points
made the acquaintance of spanish girl called
Rosa Marcen, whom he afterwards married
and the two congenial spirits set themselves
to work to discover way to fortune less
extraordinary coincidence in names gave them
the first hint; and, indeed. so strange an in
fuence do seeming trifles exercise over the
destinies of men, that it was perhaps to this
coincidence was owing the intimacy of two
beings so well calculated to play into each
others hands IN the game of life. Why
Pierre Coignard, among all the names in the
world, should have chosen the name of Pom
~ 7 1 IL L
was even as a household world in the ears of
Rosa Marcen. she having served in some ca
pacity or other in an emigrant family bearing
that patronyInic. Whether her service was
that of governess or a waiting woman, and
whether she retired or was driven from it,
are matters beyond the ken of typography :
but it is certain that she beheld with great
interest, an individual bearing name SO in
timately associated with her own history
And this interest was not lessened by the fact
that Points was a young and handsome sol
dier, at once polite and daring, and endowed
with that cool and gentle elf-possession, be-
fore which all weaker spirits gail like lunatics
beneath the yoiceless eye of their keeper
Bat Points p that was the name of a
titled family Was this young grenadier a
cadet of the noble house whose Representatives
had fed before the horrors of the Revolution!
he might be SO, by his person and bearing
and the idea retained hold of the Imagination
of Rosa, even after she had learned that he
had as little to do with the nobility, either Of
mind or birth. as herself An epoch by-and
by came, when such an idea was likely tc
present itself in more enticing form than
now, when counts were at discount. The
French were compelled to evacuate the Pen
insula. Louis le Desire returned to the throne
of his ancestors; and our Points and his wife
found themselves once more in a country
where the husband had worked in chains as 4
forcat.
They proceeded to Scissors, to look afte,
the wrecks which the Revolution might have
spared of their ancestral fortune. They founf
themselves alone in the field No other Pom
tbs appeared upon the scene all had perishet
in exile and owing to the registers of th'
town having been burned in the confusion o
the Revolution, the heir of the illustriou
house was unable even to prove his birth
Thus unluckily situated, Points called upor
an Old Lady of his own name, who was wait
ing IN an agony of impatience to see hel
family re-cstabhshes in their ancient honor