Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1890-04-10

The queen cast Il penetrating glance
mt Maurepas. who now fully under
stood what he had only half heard
With quick movement he took the
glass from the kings hand and drained
1t at draught.
Red with anger the king demanded
an explanation of this insolcnce, but
Marie Antoinettc offered the minister
her hand and was about to explain to the
king when suddenly the broad leave,
Of the great door flew open and the
palace guard led in man quite up tc
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
lcaden buckles. contrasted strangely
with the gay silkcn attire, the gildcd
hangings, the laccs and diamonds OF
the surroundings.
What does this mcanp" asked the
king astonishcd.
Permit me- your majesty, to bring
this man before you, who understands
how TO make sugar out of vegetables.
Dumonct is trying to ruin our colonies
and make them useless to us. This is
the discovcrcr of beet sugar"
"Discovcrcr? No, that honor does
not belong to me-" exclaimed the
Chemist Dumonet. 1T was learned
Maj. Serrc, who, during the regency,
deceived by the beautiful red color the
beet gives out in cooking, fancied he
could make rcd wine out of it. Instead
of the desired wine he found the bot
tom of his rctort covered with fine sugar.
At that time France was rich in colonies
on the Mississippi, therefore no one
paid any heed to the discovery. MOI
was it fully developed. l learned
abroad in Prussia, new Improvements,
expended my small possessions to test
it, and | hope have succeeded"
ut is not poison, thcn~ cried
Marie Antoincttc, mcaningly. 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 DumOnct.
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"
Dumonct dropped on one knee.
your majesty is in measure correct.
Experimenting in small way, at the
same expense rs Il great trade, natural.
~ makes this sample excessively dear;
but if your majesty will advance me
two millions for the development of
larger facilities for manufacture | shall
be able to furnish pound of sugar fol-
10 sous instead of francs
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. Dumonct, | honor enterprises;
accept this snufl-boX as recognition
or III. but TWO mllllOnS the state can
not possibly lend you. That is too
much money for the exhausted exche-
quer."
Dumonet received the gift respectful
lv. Sire, sooner or later my enter.
prise will find the money"
The whole shallow, subscrvient swarm
of courtieriings cried out an excited
echo to the royal words:
Two millions for sugar! Two MILL.
ons! The man should be in Il mad
house! The man should be 50 shame
less? just rs if it were not all the
same whether one pays 10 sous or 4
francs for pound of sugar: And if any
can't pay it let him take his food un-
Swectcncd. What has the government
to do with that?n
And so Dumonct was dismissed He
had only needed 1000, 600; the second
was the price demanded by the minister
for the introduction. This evening
Maurcpas composed the only good
verse of his life, which, translated, runs
somewhat thus:
Attic his life TO sweetcn