Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1894-06-07
THE SOUS-PREFET.


Comhc-auN Et<s,
For this memorable occasion monsieur
the sous .rNtrt haS put On his omhn>idcrrd
eoat, his opera hat, his tight pantaloons
with silver hands and his gala sword with
mother Of pearl hilt, On his kneos rests u
laraSr gau,tcnl Persian morocco portfolio,
which he Looks nj Sorn>wtuly,
Monsieur the sous. prctct looks at his
gauttcNl Persian morocco portfolio sor-
nwtul(y. He is thinking ot tho famous
sptTch that he is expected to make presently
hctoW tho inhabitants OF la Comho.auN.
FNS
"GCntlemOa and dear citizens no tor
mcntS the blond silk ot his whiskorS and
repeats 20 times IN suCCCSsiou---"G Gentle
men and dear citizens" II is all IN vain,
the n'St Nt thu srcrch will not como.
Tho rSt ot the spCrCh will not come IL
Is So warm in this carrian'l As Tar as tho
eye can N1ch nothing is to ho sven ON tho
road to la Connie aux FCcs but tho rising
of dust under the hot sun of the south
The air Is burning, and upon the dusty
clmS that border the N>aa thousands ot To-
Gusts call to Nlch other from trNNN To tive,
suddenly monsieur the sous pnNtct start
m Wonder NJ the foot vi the hillside he
has Just SrCn n little grove Of grNNcn oaks
which seems u hoCkon to him
Tho Errvcot gnncu oaks seems to hcckon
to him; Como this way, monsieur the
sous prrlt, You would ho mon, comiorta.
hlc IL compose your speech under my
trrcs," Monsieur tho sous pnetot Is tasci
nated Ivy IT, Tie alightS from his carriage
and tells the eoachman to wait for him,
lilo Is going To compose his speech in tho
grove Of grNen oaks,
In tho grove of SN,cn oaks thcm arr
birds, Niolcts and springs under tho tender
grass When they saw monsieur tho SOUS
pnfct, with his beautiful hrcchos, his
goilrrd portfolio, tho birds WIN fright.
cncd and stopped their singing, the spring
did not daN to mako any moro noise and
tho violcts hid in tho turf
All these little people had never seen
any SOUS prfet, They ask each other In
Whispering tones who this handsome lord
with silver brcechcs walking In the grove
could hc.
In II whisper under tho shady trccs they
ask each other who this handsome lord
with silver brccches could NO Meanwhile
monsieur tho sous pCtct, delighted with
tho silence and tho freshness Of tho wood,
lays his hit on the grass, and holding tho
lapels uf his coat sits down On tho moss
Mt the foot of u young oak tree. Then he
opened his large goilcrcd Persian morocco
portfolio upon his knees and drew N large
sheet of official paper from II.
lit Is an artist, says tho warbler
mo, says the hullinch, "it is not an art
list, since he wears silver brooches. think
II is u prince
II think it is prince" says tho bull
finch.
Neither an artist nor u prince" broke
in an old nightingale which sang tho whole
season In tho garden belonging 10 tho sous.
prefecture II know what Il is. II Is u
ous-prcfctl"
And the whole grove goes Whispering,
1T is n sous .pnfot; II IL u sous, prcfctl"
"llow bald he isl' cxclaims lark with
n large crest.
lis 1t wicked, sous-profetf" Inquire
tho yiolcts.
rs IL wickedr inquire tho violots. Tho
old nightingale answers, Not Mt all. F"
And on this assurance tho birds resumed
their singing, tho springs their running
and the violcts cxhaling their perfume ~
II the gentleman were not there.
lmpnssivo In tho midst Of this petty dis.
turbnncc, monsieur the sous prcfct In.
vokcs In his heart the muse Of agriculture,
and, his pencil raised, begins 10 dcclaim
with his voice Of ceremony "Gcntlomcn
and dear citizens"
'Gcntlcmcn and dear citizens, says tho
sous-prcfct In his voice Of ceremony. A
burst Of laughter interrupts him, Ho
turns around and secs nothing but u wood.
peckcr pcrchcd on his opera hat and laugh
ing ut him.
Tho sous.prcfet shrugged his shoulders
and tried to continue his speech, but the
woodpcckcr interrupted him again and
cried What is the uscf"
How, what liz the uset" said tho sous
prcfct flushing, and sending away this i'm.
pertinent creature with gesture no NJ
sumcd louder than ever 'Gentlcmon and
dear citizcns''----
'Gcntlcmen and dear citizens, " he said
louder than over Just then all the violcts
lifted up their heads, and bending toward
him said softly, monsieur the sous-prc.
fet, do you smell how fragrant we nrct'
And the springs under the moss played
some divine music for him, while In the
branches above his head lot Of warblcrs
camo and sang their sweetest songs.
Tho whole grove conspircd to hinder
him from composing his speech. Monsieur
the sous prcfet, intoxicated with perfume,
carried away by tho music, tried In vain to
resist the new charm which WINS taking
hold Of him. He rested his elbow on the
grass, opened his beautiful coat, stnmmcr.
ed once, twice. THREE times, "Gcntlcmcn
and dear citizens--Rcntlcmcn and dear cit
gentlemen ~ and - dear Then no
throw citizens and all 10 tho wind, and
alasl the muse Of agriculture must veil
her face.
Veil thy face o muse Of agricultural An
hour later, when the men Of the sous pre-
fet, anxious about their master, entered
the grove, they witnessed sight which
made them start back with horror. Mon.
sicur the sous-prefct was lying fiat on the
grass, his coat beside him, hia chest all I'M
covered like gypsy--m0nslcnr the sous
prefct was writing verses while chewing
violcts!-TranslAtcd From tho French Of
Alphonsc Dautiet For Romance.