The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1914-04-24
A Couple of
Wine Casks
They Contained Something
Better Than Wine :,
By F. A. mitchell


pressors of the poor. True, the power
they possessed rendered many of them
tyrannical. especially those about the
court. but through the country there
much beloved by their interiors in
rank.
| Among these was the young Count
de Lisle, who on his twenty-first birth
day came into a fine property in the
province of Maine, not far from Paris
He had tender heart, and the cOndi-
ton of the peasantry panied him ex-
ceedingly. When he fell heir to his
estate there were 100000 francs for
him in currency in a Paris bank. Half
Of this he distributed among the poor
on or about his domain.
He furthermore resolved that he
would devote his life to the cause OF
the betterment of the condition of the
oppressed lower classes. Had he been
older he would have realized that the
many years of wars and extravaganza
on the part of royalty and the mobiles
had so impoverished France that those
who had wasted the wealth of the ma
| ton must be put out of the way be-
fore France could begin Il necessary
retrenchment.
| When the revolution came on the
count threw himself heart and soul
into the cause of reform. He went to
| Paris. where he attended meeting in
the Palais Royal composed largely of
the best men of the middle class in
France, and there raised his voice in
behalf of the overtaxed people.
But in the rising cloud of revolution
was n thunderbOlt, unseen by the in
| teligent middle classes. who were I'M
consciously fostering it, Nine. Roland.
| the leader of the GirondiSts. feared
| that the excitement would die away
| before the constitutional rights requir-
ed by the people from the sovereign
| had been granted. 1t was not long be-
| fore. the storm broke. sweeping away
her and her associates in the work.
They all persisted on the guillotine.
singing the "Marseillaise." the volume
of sound lessening as each head fell,
till the last died singing alone.
One day news came to the tenants
of the Count de Lisle's estate that cast
a gloom upon them. The count had
| been arrested in Paris. A few there
were who. having become rabid by the
flow of blood. rejoiced that another
| noble head would soon fall and there
would be one less of that class who
had impoverished France. The young
Countess Julie de Lisle had sent mes
senger after messenger to her husband.
| begging him to come home and leave
| the revolutionists to work out their
own salvation. But he had entered
upon the work OF ameliorating the con-
dition of the oppressed people and
would not turn back
He had been warming a serpent in
| his bosom. At the height of the tenn
pest. when the leadership fell into the
hands of representatives of the lowest
| classes and the cry was raised to ex-
| terminate all royal blood and all no
bles, De Lisle was denounced as an
enemy of France and thrown into pris-
on. A few days later he was taken
before one of those tribunals. consist
ing only of a SO called judge-a man
without any knowledge of law and
| usually even without educatiOn-whose
| business it was to condemn those
whom the people wished to get rid of
| in order that they might be executed
| with the semblance of justice. What
was thee counts establishment to see
sitting in the judicial chair behind
pine table Henri Denier, one Of
| his own tenants, who had received
portion of the 10000 francs that the
count had distributed on his coming of
age.
The two mems eyes met for an in
slant Then those Of the Judge fell
before the steady gaze of the one who
had befriended him and whom he was
| now called upon to order to execution.
Nor was it in Denier's power to re-
| frain from this course Behind him
were the people. who had put him
there. not to judge of guilt or inno-
cence. but to pronounce sentence. He
was compelled either to send his bene-
factor to the guillotine or go there him
self. And by refusing to pronounce
sentence Of death he would not save
the count. who would be condemned
by Denier's successor.
1--WE have met before" said the
count.
"Yes." replied the judge mechanical
ly. 1--WE have met before"
(which one OF us has contributed
more to the cause Of the French people.
you or %
The room was filed with revolution
lists. Denier was aware that every
eye was upon him. Should he finch
in his duty to the cause Of extermina-
tion he would ut lonce be reported as
an enemY OF France.
THAT is not the question before us.
citizen" ne said. you have been de-
nounced. and IT is my duty to pro.
nounce sentence upon YOU" Then to
the guards. Take him to the concier.
gerie."
Until this moment Henri Denier had
been a revolutionist Of the extreme
type. He had inherited little patch
of ground and some money from his
a. l..