The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1890-03-26

Sld9S VI NttcI- poured some OF the
newly discovered SUGAR in it, and hand
ed her the glass
Drink. 1t is too warm in the saloon
and the company is too exciting. This
| sugar water will refresh YOU.
The queen cast penetrating glance
at Maurcpas, who now fully under
stood what he had only half heard.
! With Il quick movement he took the
/ glass from the kings hand and drained
it at a draught
Red with anger the king demanded
an explanation of this insOeure. but
Marie AntOinette offered the minister
Eer hand and was about to explain to the
king when suddenly the broad leaves
! of the great door flew open and the
| palace guard led in man quite up to
| the feet of the king. The terrified ap-
| pearance of the prisoner, his coarse
! coat, the brown waist-coat and panta-
! looms, the broad, clumsy shoes with
leaden buckles, contrasted strangely
with the gay silken attire, the gilded
hangings, the laces and diamonds of
! the surroundings.
What does this mean?' asked the
| king astonished
Permit me, your majesty, to bring
! this man before you, who understands
| how to make sugar out of vegetables.
Dumonet is trying to ruin our colonies
and make them useless to us. This is
the dlscoyerer of beet sugar"
''Discoverer? No, that honor does
| not belong to me-" exclaimed the
Chemist Dumonet. 1T was learned
Maj. Serre, who, during the regency,
deceived by the beautiful red color the
beet gives out in cooking, fancied he
could make red wine out of it. Instead
of the desired wine he found the bot
tom of his retort covered with fine sugar.
At that time France was rich in colonies
on the Mississippi, therefore no one
paid any heed to the discovery. Nor
was it fully developed. 1 learned
abroad, in Prussia. new improvements,
expended my small possessions to test
It, and hope l have succeeded"
1t is not a poison, then?n cried
| Marie AntOinette, meaningly. The
king for the first time understood what
had preceded, and discovered also that
the chemist was bound. At sign the
bond was cut and the guard left the
room without DumODet.
Meanwhile the queen bravely took a
piece of sugar in her lovely mouth.
That was the signal for the young cour-
tiers to rush upon the before distrusted
sugar, vieing with each other to exhibit
their courage. their devotion through
this harmless poison.
Gently, my ladies, my lords, cried
Maurepas, every little piece of that
sugar cost a golden louis
But the sugar is not one bit better
than our ordinary sugar, demonstrated
the queen, ''and it is only a curiosity
leading to ruin
Dumonet dropped on one knee.
Your majesty is in a measure correct.
Experimenting in a small way, at the
same expense as a great trade, natural
ly makes this sample excessively dear;
but if your majesty will advance me
two millions for the development of
larger facilities for manufacture l shall
be able to furnish a pound of sugar for
10 sous instead of francs.n
The king recOiled involuntarily, and
Marie Antoinette grasped her famous
necklace, which had cost two millions,
as if the plain man before her had been
robber. Her disappearing glance
gave direction to the kings answer.
''Dr. Dumonet | honor enterprise;
accept this snuf-boX as IL recognition
of it. But two millions the state can
not possibly lend YOU That is too
much money for the exhausted exche-
quer.n
Dumonet received the gift respectful
lv. Sire, sooner or later my. enter
prise will find the money!
The whole shallow, subservient swarm
OF courtierlings cried out an excited
echo to the royal words:
Two millions for sugar. Two milli-
OnS! The man should be in Il mad
house! The man should be so shame
less? just as if it were not all the
same whether one pays 10 sous or
francs for a pound of sugar: And if any
can't pay it let him take his food un-
sweetened. What has the government
to do with that?n
And so Dumonet was dismissed. He
had only needed 1000, 900; the second
was the price demanded by the minister
for the Introduction. This evening
Maurepas composed the only good
verse of his life, which, translated, runs
somewhat thus:
Attic his life to swcetcn
Is all his royal care,
Two million francs for sugar
The king finds rather dear"
The furOr which his wit created at
the court consoled him somewhat for
the lost l. 100000, and was it not all the
same whether at his death there should
be deficit of one paltry million more
or less? He left, in fact, round TO-
900, 900 in debts. 1t was noble sum;
nine would not have sounded so i'm
pressive.
Dumonet migrated to Belgium, where
he found more appreciation, and lived.
safe and respected, while the revolution
storm swept over his unhappy father
land: "Who laughs last" etc.
And my queen would have died
with me?" asked Louis, as he accom-
panied her to their chamber that night.
She was so beautiful, so dainty; in her
wonderful eyes beamed the reflection
of loving tears. The next morning the
king granted 8, 800 900 out of the state
Golfers to the unfortunate" duchess of
Polignac. From the French, for the
american An0IYSt