The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-06-13
A Romance
of Progress
BY ALBERT PAYSoN TERHUNE
BERNARD PALIssY-Ths Man Who
Didn't Know When He wss Beaten
BY ALBERT PAYsoN TERHUNE

/ CuIlOus CIOWu kdtneTeu Oulblue
a little house in the French town OF
Saintes one day In the middle Of the
sixteenth century. In the throng Q
woman was weeping and wringing her
hands stopping now and again 10
stare through the open doorway OF the
| dwelling
"lIe is madl Quite mad" she
walled. "To feed that miserable fur.
mace. what do you think he has done7
| He has spent every penny Of our saw.
| ings and has sold the clothes of his
back to buy fuel. We are starving
yet he pays no heed to my protests
lie has ripped the palings from our
fence. our door from It's hinges, the
boards from our floors He has broken
up every stick of our furniture. And
all for what use7 To feed his furnace,
that II may attain n greater heat and
that his wretched bits OF pottery may
be slazed!"
And as the potter's wife resumed
her wailing march the neighbors muir.
INJURED their sympathy and amazement
Meantime. within the house, a hollow.
eyed, emaciatcd man was crouched
before roaring furnace. into which
he had Just hurled the last combus-
tible fragment Of his household
goods
This man whom his wife and neigh.
bors declared mad was Bernard Pals.
sy. son Of a French glass painter lie
had followed his fathers trade com.
fortably enough in Saintes, where he
had settled down and married. But
one day he CHANGED upon an old earth.
enware cup OF Moorish make
lie noted that II was covered with
n glazed or enameled substance that
gave IL rare beauty. lie made in.
quiries, but could
Ondsunted oy not learn the Sc.
Three Hundred cret process where
fs'ures' by the Moors had
produced this enamel. Then he began
experimenting II was quickly proven
to the satisfaction OF his fellow-work.
ers that he was on the wrong track
and that the art OF enamelling could
not be rediscovered by any OF the
methods he employed But Palissy
alone could not realize that he was
beaten. He figured out that soon or
late he must come upon the correct
chemical mixture to produce the
white enamel he sought. He was ut
terly ignorant OF the materials which
20 to make up such enamel, yet for
years he labored on the problem, ma.
king no fewer than 800 mixtures. all
Of which turned out to be wrong.
At last he concocted one final
formula. resolving that II II failed he
would abandon the quest which had
already impoverished him and return
to his old trade OF glass painting
with despair in his heart Palissy
placed in the furnace the pieces of
pottery he had prepared After four
hours he drew them out, They were
coated with the beautiful white en-
amel he had so long and vainly striv.
en- to find His discovery was made
Now all that remained was to per.
feet It,
Four more years were thus con.
sumed. Every stick OF furniture,
every wooden house-fixture went to
the experimenting OF his furnace. He
sold his clothes. starved his family,
grew thin as a skeleton. But in the
end success came!
Designing colored plates and
placques and coating them with his
wonderful enamel. Palsy opened a
shop In Paris. Sixteen years he had
iabored to complete his invention.
and now tardy triumph crowned II.
His work became the rage at court.
Catherine de Medici, the queen-moth.
or. and Henri Ill. the king. declared
themselves his patrons.
His wealth and fame waxed as
great as had been his poverty and
reputation for insanity. The world OF
victory was in his grasp-and he let
II gol
The Protestant religion. despite all
efforts of Catholic king was sweep
ing France. Palsy, though he well
knew that such an
imprisonment the act would wreck
Reward on serH- his court favor, be-
'ee' came an open con-
vert 10 inc new CIttu Ilt nut Ouiy
declared himself Protestant. but
also, to the surprise of every one,
studied philosophy and natural his
tory, excelling even the most learned
men of France on both subjects, and,
incidentally, winning in this way new
enemies.
All this combined to undermine his
standing at court. Henri III. was re-
luctantly coerced into signing a war
rant committing him to the state pris-
on OF Paris, the Bastile. There. in his
cell. the king secretly visited Palsy,
begging him TO recant Professionalism
and promising him freedom.
II pity you" added the king, but as
long as you are a hereto l am COM
PEELED to consent to your imprison-
ment."
1T is your majesty who deserves
pity. not l." retorted Palissy. you
say you are compelled You are less
a king then, than |; for no man can
compel ME! All the power of France
cannot compel this one potter to
bow down to clay images!"
The king, too weak to save his old
friend, permitted him to be condemned
to death; bur. in 1884, before the SEN
tence could be executed, Palsy died