The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-11-08
mi A TIL UJ rim .
a TALE OF BONTlAC.
BY GILBERT PARKER.
copyright, 1896, by Gilbert park,,)

had men who make the laws for the King
in Quebec. Wen, one day, all over the
country everybody take him gun, and the
leetla bullets. aud say, | will fight the
soldier of the King of Englan like dat!
Yer well, there were twenty men in
pontiae. YER nice nyou will find their
names cut in n stone ON the church; and
then. three times as big, you will find
Mathurins name! All, dat is the ting!
You see, dat rebellion you English call It,,
we call the War of the Patriotwell,
you call it what YOU like, quello differ
enccl The King OF Englan' smash him
Patriot War all to pieces. Then there
are ten men of the twenty come back to
Pontiac YER sorry They are not happy
nobody is happy! All their wives cry,
all their children they are afraid! Some
people say, what fools you are; others
say you are no good, but everybody in
his heart is YER sorry all the time.
Yer well. 10y and bye there come to
Pontiac what you call Colonel with a
dozen men-what for, you tink? To try
the patriots. They will stan them against
the wall and shoot them to death-kIll
them dead When they come, the Cure
he is not in Potiac, non, that day; he rs
gone to another village. The English
soldier he has the ten men drew up be-
fore the chruch. All the children and all
the wives they cry, and they feel 50 bad
oh! it is n pity.
But the English soldier he say he will
march them to Quebec, and everybody
know that he is the end of the patriots.
"Au at once the Coloners horse it grow
YER wild, it raise up high and dance on
its hind feet and yoilal he topple him over
backwards. and the horse fall on the
Colonel and smash him. it smash him so
he go to die : Yer we'll; the Colonel what
does he do? They lay him on the steps
of the church. Then he say, Bring me
priest quick, for ! go to die Nobody
answer. The Colonel he say. i have
hundred sins all on my mind; they are on
my heart like Il big hill Bring to me the
priest he groan like that Nobody speak
| nj first. then somebody say the priest is
not here Find me q priest say the
| Colonel, find me priestn For he tink
| the priest will not come because he go 70
| kill the patriots. Bring me a priest he
say again, and all the men shall go free.
| He say it over and over. He is all smash
to pieces, but his head it is all right. All
at once the door of the church open be-
| hind him-what you think? Everybody $
| heart it stan still, for there is Mathurin
4 dressed as the priest, with a leetle boy. to
swing the censor. Everybody say to HIM
| self, what is this? Mathurin is dressed as
| the priest-ah! that is n sin! 1t is n
-saprie! it is what you call blasphemei
! 1.-THE English soldier he look up at
Mathurin and say, All priest! all,
| NJ sieu lie Curen
| "Mathurin look down on him and say,
1 NJ 'sieu, it is for you to confess your sins,
/ and to have the office of the church. But
| first, as you have promised just now,
| you must give up these poor men who
4 have fight for what they tink is right,
/ You win let them go free this moment.
/ Yes, YES, say the English Colonel, they
shall go free. Only give me the help of
the church at my lastp Mathurin turn
/ to the other soldiers and say, 'Unlose the
men, The Colonel nod his head and say
'Unloose the men, Then the men are
4 unloose, and they all go away, for Ma
thurin tell them to go.
Everybody is YER afriad becos Of what
Mathurin do Mathurin he say to the
soldiers, Lift him up and bring him III
the church. They bring him up to the
steps of the altar Mathurin look at the
man for Il while, and it seem as if he
cannot speak to him, but the Colonel say
Il have give you my word. Give me
comfort of the church before l die He
is in YER great pain, so Mathurin he
turn roun' to everybody dat stan by, and
tell them to say the prayers for the sick.
| Everybody get down ON his knees and say
the prayer; everybody say:
Lord have mercy. Spare him, oh
| Lord deliver him oh Lord from Thy
wrath And Mathurin he pray all the
same as the priest, YER soft and gentle.
He pray on and on, and the face of the
English soldier it get YER quiet and still
and the tear drop down his cheek. And
just as Mathurin say at the last dat his
sins they are forgive, he die. Then Ma
thurin, as he go away to take off his
robes, he say to himself, 'Misere mel
Deus, miseTere mel Deusr
so dat is the ting that Mathurin do
to save the patriots from the bullets.
| YER Wen, then men they go free, and
when the Governor at Quebec, he hear
the truth, he say it is all right. Also the
English soldier die in peace and happy,
becos he tink his sins are forgive. But
then there is Mathurin and his sins to
pretend he is a priesti The Cure he come
back and there is n great trouble
"Mathurin he is YER quiet and still.
Nobody come near him in his house; no
body 90 near to the school: But he sit
alone al day in him school and he work
on The blackboard and he write on the
slate, but there is no child come becos
the Cure has forbid anyone to speak ia
Mathurin. Not till the next Sunday
then the sJure send word for Mathurin
to come to the church. Mathurin come to
the steps of the altar, then the Cure say
to him:
'Mathurin, you have sin great sin.
IL it was two hundred years ago you
would be put to death for dat Mathu-
rim he say YER soft, Dat is no matter, I
am ready to die now. did it to save
the fathers of the children and the hus-
bands of the wives. | did it to make a
poor sinner happy as he go from the
world. The sin is miner
! /.