Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1902-10-18
LEGION OF
HONOR CANDIDATE.
by Montjoyeux.
Translated for the New York CONNER
cial Advertiser)
Observation-Disclosures

lived on apension OF 900 francs paid
him by the Government. The fact of
his being pensiOner without any
other visible means Of support had at
once won him general respect. In the
country, however modest your income
may be, provided you get it as pen
sioned-off functionary Of some sort
and not from filling 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 miserable little
room that he had rented from Nine
Cretu, who kept the village inn as well
as the grocery and dry goods store,
and made no attempt to insinuate him
self into the village society. 1t was
extremely exclusive to outsiders. Any
stranger and, above all, any Partisan
was looked upon as dangerous in
truder. Try to tell man Of Sologne
that Partisan is a his fellOw-coun-
tryman, and If he does not call you 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 ira
ditlOnal Ostracism is to have your name
Oh the pension list. When he arrived,
therefore, the newcomer was the topic
of conversation for those who patron
lied the inn.
"Who on earth is that man." asked
one.
II don't know" replied another.
"He's one Of those people that no.
body knows anything about. They
come Lere without telling anything of
their past history, and then you find
out that things have happened"
But old Mother Cretu bawled out:
what are you talking about, Sos
themes? Do you or don't you know
this man?"
GAS for saying don't know him.
why, I do know him since I've seen
him, but as far as anything else is
concerned why Pm not acquainted
with him personally"
"Then you're just slandering. He's
not good-for-nothing fellow like you
to be sure, that has never amounted to
anything. He's an educated man. His
name is FolichOn, and he was an Of
fetal at Paris. It's so and l can prove
it, for the clerk at the town hall, who
keeps the register, told me so, and he
said that Monsieur Folichon had a
pension from the Government. There's
no use in trying to make out that ev-
cry one is bad"
And she added as final argument:
Hes an honorable man, for he pays
me my rent without trying to beat
me down. and besides he wears the
tri-colored ribbon in his button hole"
"That's So" said customer. II
saw him this morning and said Good
day. and he even took off his hat"
"There! You can see he's an honest
man." cried Mother Cretu.
SOsthenes defended himself. If Mon.
sieur Folichon wore ribbon, why, he
must be somebody, of course. But you
have to know people. Now, that he
knew who Monsieur Folichon was, he
was satisfied, and he had no reason to
have anything against him.
"And he's not proud, either" con.
tinued he who had seen the tri-colored
ribbon. "He bows back whenever any.
one bows to him."
But" asked sosthenes, "what is
that decoration of his?"
After moments hesitation the shrill
voice of Mother Cretu replied: "That
Is given to those who have saved the
flag"
At the back of the room an old man
arose and took off his cap. Then all
took Off their hats one after the other.
From that time Oliver Folichon had
the freedom of the village. Wherever
he went he received homage and marks
of friendship. Whenever he went into
the inn to take glass with his pro-
prietress, busy tongues were quiet
glasses remained untasted. counte-
nances assumed thoughtful air as If
they were in church, and no one drank
before the rescuer Of the flag had given
the signal by saying, "To your health
| gentlemen
The consideration with which he felt
himself surrounded at last inspired
him with esteem for himself. He no
longer walked as he did before; his
steps were measured, majestic; he car
ried his head thrown back with a lofty
air, and his former modesty would
have been astonished at the admira-
tion that lie now considered merely
just He became the curiosity of
Nancay. They spoke of him as we
speak of historic monument, and the
village was proud of owning him.
When tourists or bicyclists asked
Mother Cretu If there We're any ruins
In the locality to visit or old walls to
Investigate, NO." she would reply,
but We have here M. Folichon, who
has saved two flags"
The sort Of mystery that lowered
over the former deed of arms only
added to the glorious souvenir evoked
and consecrated by the tr-color rib
bon. Each time that some curious
person had tried to find out:
Never mind that" interrupted Fo-
lichon. ut isn't worth speaking Of.
l only did my duty, no more and no
less" And the good people of Sologne,
although they were disappointed, only
admired their hero the more for it,
His reputation, passing the limits of
the village, had reached the Chateau
of Eberniers, where Count Oscar of
Nehe lived during the hunting season.
He was a free-and-easy, hospitable
gentleman, although he boosted that
he belonged to one of the best families
in France. The noble ears of the
Count had heard rumors with regard
to the pensioner of the State, and he
! made inquiry of his gamekeeper for