Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-06-02
THE TROUT.
" scholastique!"
~ Monsieur Sot,rdat.o

the trout-short boil, parsley, thyme,
laurel. oil and onions In full strength.
Are you not afraid to use ell the
herbs Of st. John, Monsieur"
"No-and above all no vinegar
Just . sprinkling Of lemon juice. Let
The cover be laid ut 1890, and let the
dinner be ready at II precisely-not
q Ave minutes past II. Do you
hsars'
After having uttered these last in.
functions to his cook Judge Sourdat
crossed the chief street Of Marville
with alert steps and gained the Palais
de Justice, which was situated back
Of the Sous Prefecture. Judge Sour
dat was about As years OF age; very
active, Notwithstanding a tendency
TO stoutness; square Of shoulders;
short In stature, with a squeaking
voice and round, close shaven head
eyes gray, clear and hard under
bushy Eyebrows; a mouth closely shut,
with thin and irritable lips; Drowned
cheeks, surrounded with whiskers
badly trimmed; in fact, one Of these
mastifY faces Of which one says: He
can't be good every day." And sure.
~ he was not very kind, and he
boosted Of 1t. A despot, he used all
Of his little realm in the Palais. Hard
% stone toward the guilty, rough
with the witnesses, aggressive with
the advocates, he was q veritable
furnace who famed himself constan.
~ into glow. He was feared like
the fire. and he was loved very little.
However, this man Of iron had two
vulnerable sides. Firstly, he respond.
Cd to the pastoral name Of Nemorin,
which exposed him to ridicule, and
secondly he was gourmand. His
gastronomy, which was profound,
had become u mania.
Living in this little. narrow, sleepy
city on the frontier OF the Belgian
Ardennes. where the pleasures OF the
table constituted the only diversion
Of the easy-goiny burgomasters, the
culinary accomplishments OF the
Judge were cited for ten leagues
around. II was said that he ate only
fish caught ut break Of day, because
the repose Of the night and the ab-
sence Of emotion rendered the flesh
more delicate ut that time.
It was he who imagined that ia
plunge shell fish into boiling milk be-
fore cooking them In their ordinary
dressing. gave them a richness and .
velvety flavor particularly exquisite
On the day that he taught that lates
refinement to the priest OF st. Victor
the latter could not help blushing
and raising his hands to Heaven h
cried: TOO much! This Is too much
Judge Sourdat! Surely 1t Is permit
ted to taste with discretion the goo
things which divine wisdom has pro
vided, but such gluttony as this bord
ers upon mortal sin, and you viii
have t, render account for 1t to thu
good God"
To the scruples OF the excellen
priest the Judge responded with
misanthropic laugh. 1t was one o
his malign Joys to expose his neigh
bors to temptation, and this yer!
morning the priest was to breakfas
with him, the recorder being the OIL
other guest. Judge Sourdat had re
ceived, the evening before, o two
pound salmon trout, taken from tn
beautiful clear water OF the rock
eemeis. Il was his favorite fish, an,
had fully occupied the first hours Q
his morning. He had demonstrate
to the cook the superiority Of q quic
boil to the slow cooking in Geneva o
Holland sauce OF the books. TIL
trout must be served cold, and In til
seasoning in whichit was cooked.
This was with him principle Q
we'll as a dogma, as indispensable q
an article OF the penal code. He col
tinued to repeat 1t to himself eve
after having clothed himself in hi
robe and taken his seat, though !
was turning over the leaves OF do'
umenf bearing upon an importaI
case now pending
This was criminal affair, the dr.
matte details OF which contraste
-singularly with the epicurcan spect
lati0ns which persisted in hauntir
the Uranium OF Judge Sourdat.
The case was thus During Il
previous week, at sunrise, there Ina
been founo in thicket Of the fore'
the body OF a game-keeper, who hi
evidently been assassinated, and the
concealed among the brambles OF
ditch. II was supposed that Il
crime had been committed by son
strolling poacher, but up to Il
present time there had been Gillette
no precise evidence, and the wi
nesses examined had only made Il
mystery deeper.
The murder had taken place mel
the frontier, where charcoal burne
were at work. The suspicious OF Il
Judge had therefore been directed +
ward them. The dispositions TIN
far had revealed that on the night
the murder these people had been a
sent from their shanty, and the fu
mace had remained in the care OF
young daughter OF the charcoal bur
Or.
Nevertheless, Judge Sourdat hi
given the order to re-examine one
the men, a stolid boy OF twenty, WI
had once had falling out with &
murdered guard; and the Judge hi
also cited the charcoal burner
daughter to appear before him. Ju
here the affair commenced to be T
culiar. The girl had not respond
10 the summons. She had evident
hidden, no one knew where.
Judge had been obliged to send co
stable to look her up, and he was M
awaiting the result OF the search: