Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1902-11-20
LEGION OF
HONOR CANDIDATE.
Iiy Montjoyeux.
(Translated for the New York Co,omer-
cial Advertiser
\ the little village Of Nancay in
SOiOSEe there lived q worthy man

&
IN the little village of Nancay in
SoioSEe there lived worthy man
by name Of Oliver Folichon. He
lived on a pension Of 900 francs paid
him by the government. The fact of
his being a pensioner without anv
other visible means of support had at
once won him general respect In tue
country, however modest your income
may be, provided you get it as pen
sioned-oT functionary of some sort
and not from tilling the soil, you at
tract attention and command esteem.
At first Folichon kept aloof from
people and had nothing to do with any
one. He stayed in the misera BILE little
room that be had rented from Mime.
Cretu, who Kept the village in1ras well
as the grocery and dry goods store,
and made no attempt to insinuatei hin-
self into the village society. 1t was
extremely exclusive to outsiders. Any
stranger and, above all, any Partisan
was looked upon as a dangerous, in
truder. Try to tell man OF Soiogne
that a Partisan is his fellow-coun
tryman, and if he does not callsy a
liar it is only because he does not dare
to. but you may be sure he thinks it.
The only means OF escaping The tra-
ditional ostracisnl is to have your name
on the pension list. When he arrived,
therefore the newcomer was the topic
-of@conyGI saTio:l fo. those who patron
lied the inn f''.'' go
..NEo CT earth is that man. asked
onc.
II don't know" replied another.
Ties one Of those people that no
body kDoUs anything aDout. They
come lcre without telling anything OF
their past history. and then YOU frd
out thaa things have haDpened,-'
!. But CD Mother Cretu bawed out:
'.What are you talking about, Sos
themes? DO you or don't you know
this man.
as fer saying I don't know him,
why. / do know him since I've seen
. him. huS IS far as anything else is
tconccrncd why I'm not acquainted
with him personality
Then you're just slardering. He's
Inot good -for-nothing fellow like you,
to be sure, that has never amounted to
lanytliing. He's an educated man. His
tname is Iolichon, and he was an Of
ifcial at Paris. It's SO and l can prove
lit. for the clerk at the town hall, who
eseeps the register, told ME SO, and he
xaitl that Monsieur Folichon had a
3ension from the Government. There S
$40 use in trying to make out that ev-
Ffry ole is bad
{. .And she added as final argument:
"He's an honorable man, for he pays
lie my rent without trying to beat
he down. and besides he wears the
ti-colored ribbon in his button hole"
.sThai's So" said a customer u
Aw him this morning and said Coco
day. and he even took off his hat"
There. You can see he's an homes
Aan,' cried Mother Cretu.
Eosthenes defended himself. II Mon
shur Folichon wore ribbon, why, h
niIst be somebody, Of course. But yo'
hive to know people. Now. that n
Knew who Monsieur Folichon was, n
WIS satisfied, and he had no reason Il
h i've anything against him.
f'And he's not proud, either" con
tihued he wEo had seen the trl-colofe'
ribbon. ':He bows back whenever any
one bows to him."
But" asked Sosthenes, what
that decoration Of his?'
After moments hesitation the shfl
Voice of Mother Cretu replied: INA
is given to those who have saved tn
flag"
At the back Of the room an OLD ma
arose and took off his cap. Ihen
took off their hats one after the otne
From that time Oliver Folichon IA
the freedom of the village. WhereVt
ne went he received homage and mars
OF friendship. Whenever he Went IL
Sne inn to take glass with his pr
prletress, busy tongues were que
glasses remained untasted, count
nances assumed a thoughtful air as
.ney We're in church, and no one dral
Ha before the erescuer of the flag had CIV
M efal by saying, ITO yolir heal1
consideration with which ne &