The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-08-09
|, MARRIAGE AT
|, THE SCAfF0LD

the English, there once lived Dacne-
lor, jesse Dullart, who had come there
TO carry ON business. He was n native Of
Bailleul-en-Flandre, well qualified to Sc
cure for the London merchants the wool
of which the Flemish weavers make
their various materials and to derive
an honest profit from each. Naturally,
because of his commercial subtlety and
because of the pleasant and comforta-
BILE life which came to him in conse-
quence, our man became exposed to the
jealousieS and i'll viii of the other
| tradeSmen, English for the most part.
He did not know it, since the hypo-
critics allowed nothing TO become evil
dent, but, on the contrary, made every
endeaVOr TO present an agreeable eX-
terror TO him, so as not to compromise
in the least the slight advantages which
accrued to them through his kindness.
Nevertheless they decided TO ruin him
and to that end contrived a device so
black and SO wicked that Sir Satan
himself i'm his demoniacal mind could
not have imagined a better. In pursu-
ance of the scheme one Of them secret
ly concealed in the house of jesse Dull
Tart a leather bag containing a sum Of
100 livreS sterling in gold crowns. Hav-
ing done this, he went to the criminal
magistrate with two comrades as wit
nesses TO accuse his colleague Of hav-
ing robbed him.
At that remote period there had not
yet appeared under the canopy of heav-
en- any Of the impudent sharpers, slug
CARDS and swindlerS who i'm the course
of time have shamelessly said and writ
ten that ownership means theft, and
the money earned by some is so much
lost by others, with the sole intent that
they may put everything into confu-
sion and be able easily to slip into their
purses that which is another's.
The world has indeed heard Of much
folly and seen many iniquities, but not
that and human justice, which had new
er known of any testing upon the mat
ter, would have hung their like high
and in short order, dealing with them
precisely as she would with veritable
robbers.
Who was amazed at seeing the po-
liceman of the provostship invade his
home, ranSack his Golfers and chests,
produce from them n sack of gold Of
which he knew nothing and a legal
clerk take down disquieting notes of
the affair in his illegble scrawl? 1t
was the i'll fated Dullart.
The poor fellow strove with them in
vain, vowing to God his innocence, but
words could not prevail against deeds /
Now, he could not explain how the
sack, the evidence Of his crime, had
come into his possession, whence il fol /
lowed that the innocent man was con
demned to the halter as if he had been
guilty.
The affair, however let loose in an
uproar all the devils of Calais Think
Of it-a great merchant, with house
of his own, convicted of common lar
ceny, like a vulgar rascal
In the end the populace, while il
was not privy to the plot laid by half
dozen arrant rogues, was nevertheless
not mistrustful. 1t rather inclined in
favor Of the pitiable citizen of Bailleu-
lois. This without taking into consid-
Grafton the peasants on the outskirts
of the town. who were French, not hav- /
ing been expelled from their fireside
by the conquerors, as had been the
poor commOners of the city, and who
hated all the English within their Dor
ders.
SO it may be said that the throng
which swarmed about the streets and
crossways on the day when Dullart /
was to be taken to the gibbet entertain
ed more compassion for him than deri |
sion, above all, if you take into ac-
count the fact that he was young, good |
in every respect and of a prepossessing
appearance.
From the Jail to the gallows jesse
walked with bowed head by the side
Of a priest, who enjoined him to re-
joice that he was about TO pass into a
better world. He did not glance at a
single person. so great was the shame
he felt on account of the filthy mischief |
of which he was accused. 1t was only
when he had assembled the first rounds
of the fatal ladder, having the cord
about his neck, that below the soldiers
grouped around the base Of the gibbet, !
he perceived the crowd and recognized
among them fair young woman for
whom in happier days he had conceiv-
ed n tender and violent passion.
At the sight OF her he experienced a
yet more poignant sorrow at leaving so
soon and so painfully an existence
from which he had expected TO derive
such delicate felicities. And then, i'm
PEELED by n sudden "reminiscences and
by natural instinct for preservation,
he began to cry out with all his might:
"Loyse, Loyse, by God the Father,