Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-11-11

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/ his ~ kfast in days gone by. The
/ me .emperate and respectable Of the
Revolutionary party loved 10 assemble
hero. The fare was frugal, but there
was debauch of oratory; and, in
the midst If all the talk, the geStcula
ters. the prophecies, the threatenings
and danunGatiOns, SuzOn was as the
Goddess Of Liberty, the Muse Of Reyo-
luton the Egeria Of the gutter, She
had read Of Theroiue de MeTicourt
of Madame Roland, and she fancied
herself something between the two
She talked as boldly. as loudly is the
lolde>t Of her customers She felt that
she could mount the scaffold. and lay
her neck under the fatal knife without
hinchmg
+ Never had she looked haniSomer than
7 i'm these days Of fever and cOmmotion
/ Sometimes she twisted q scarlet band
. kcrchiei round her raven hai,'. and
those black eyes OF hers flashed and
danced and sparlded under the Phrg-
gian cap Of Liberty. Her neat black
gown fitted he'd swelte figure to per-
lection. Her energy, her vivacity, her
industry were iucXhaustible. Her
hands were as the hands of Briareus
for serving the patriots with their
coffee. their rolls and butter Her gay
voice sounded above the other voices
I'm the melee oil wit and patriotism
She sang as She went To and fro among
the little tables, waiting upon her pa
Oh
newest ballad with which the ballad
mongers were undermining the govern
meut, the "Idllbullcro" of the hour
'Jes sais ~ plan de TrOchu
Plan, plan, plan, plan, plan"
Sometimes, IN a moment Of eNalta-
zion, her customers would call Tor a
stave of the 'Marscillaise" or the Ca
ia," and then the clin5 Of cups and
saucers and knives ana forks upon the
tables was like the clash Of swords
But. tempting as these morning as
semblies of the patriotic aud the idle
might be 10 a man OF Gaston's tenn
perlmcut, he never crossed the thresh-
old OF Suzpu Mchels shop. He passed
her door twice % day, or oftencr on
his way 10 ana from The newspaper
office. he heard the chorus of voices
inside, but he never entered the shop
He had a feeling that loyalty TO bath-
lyeu fUrblie him To- hold commune
with Suzou And what need had ne
10 take his cup of coffee from shop
keepers hand when the faithful wife
was waiting for him in her bower on
the third story, watching the little
brass coffee pot simmering upon a hand
ful of charcOulg one could not be too
spdring of fire I'm these days, though
one were ever SO sue that the PrIs-
slams must retire from the enemy's soil
before winter began in real earnest
The clements would fight upon the side
of the bcsieged That vast army, shiy-
ering yOudcr under canvas, must beat
"a retreat ut dOuble-quirk time before
+ Jack Frost
. 1t was on one of the clear gray after
moons of October that Castor stood
resting upon his gun, at his post on
/ the rampant of the fort gazing with
dreamy eyes upon "a landscape of po-
+ rtlc beauty, the deep rich coloring Of
autumn Subducd into perfect harmony
/ by the tender mists which shadowed
without couccalmg wood and river
vineyard ANA field, While far of in the
dmucs~ of the horizon his fancy con
jucd mp the dark swarm of Prussian
/ helmets. blatkcuing the edge of the
landscape The atmosphere WAS full
of peace aud tine silence of this lonely
outpost was broken only by the qui
yiye Of the ScuuieS and the chime
of distant churchclocktiis 4 good place
for q poet to brood upon the creations
lot his fancy, or for a journalist to hatch
la leading article
While Castor stood at ease with his
eyes wandering far aheld towards the
distant foe and his fances straymg
Sru further in q day-dream of uni
ycrSal peace, liberty, art for arts sake,
ANA all the imposSibilities of the so
olllist's Utopia, a sound of strident
laughter. of deep bass voices and nasal
trcblcs, broke like q yolley of mus
kerry through the Stiffness of the soft
gay atmosphere, and presently half a
dozen kepis. or National Guard, conSid-
erably the worse for lc petit bleu came
staggering along the rampant, escort.
iu- a young woman, whose scarlet head,
gear shone in the distance like a spot
Of flame
1t was Madame Michel with the
little red kerchlef twisted coquettishly
round her sleek black hair. She wore
Il tight cloth jacket frogsed a Ia Mill.
rafre. over her black gown, the skirt
uf which was short enough to show
am archcd inStcp and a neat ankle
She had put on a halfyirile, half
soldierly alr, in honor Of the times
ana her walk. her look. her manner
were already prophetic Of the coming
perroleuse
She came along the rampant with
her PATRIOTS. who were pointing out
the merits and faults Of the fortified
lions. explaining. showing her this and
1.at swaZgerang Dragging abusing
Bismarck ana his Pandours singing
suatrhes of patriotic verse SHE was
close 10 CASTOR before she recognized