Southern Argus. [volume] (Columbus, Miss.) 1834-1842, 1839-11-12

purpose of their escapade. The fem
me-de-chambre was nearly dead wit
fright, but she was pretty, and the cor
poraPs heart melted towards her. Th,
Contcsee was all but dead, and betweer
fainting and fright could by no mean.
rival Der attendant; the disguise, too
was of the humblest kind, and the par
ty ofconnoisseurs voted that the "olc
woman" was no very striking evidenc,
Of the taste of their comrade. .Jacune.
acknowledged the fact, but demanded
loftily whether it became a son of the
republic to desert his wife ?" The circle
gathered round, and Jacques by de.
grees made them comprehend s'tha
Madam bis aU,fe, having heard of hi.
being ordered on service, and not alto
gether approving of his spirit Of adven-
ture, had come from Paris with a fe-
male friend to ascertain the nature O
the campaign. All this was under
stood scion; his comrades laughed,
jokes were cut by the unmarried at the
shackled condition of the Benedicks
the married, if they did not hang down
their heads, at least acknowledged that
too vigilant wives were by no means
uncommon affairs and as the finish,
1t being reported that the rebel COMES
Sc had swallowed opium, taken acid, or
drowned herself, or, at all events, not
being discoverable, the party, with the
corporal at their head, and followed
by jacques, his wife, and her female
friend, mounted the cart, and made
their way back TO Paris.
The embarrassment Of two Of the
three was now considerable. But JAG
ques offered to set the matter light with
the happiest facility. He had but one
room, It's true, and the debate ended
by his giving up the apartment to the
lady and her attendant, and fin.ling a
retreat somewhere else. But these
were not times when men might sleep
where they pleased; and Itobespierre' 5
vigilance was the last thing which one
of the "(ree" would be safe in craving.
A hint from friend in the police in
formed jacques that his sleeping out
OF bis Own chamber the night before
was known. and that a repetition Of the
offence would be regarded as suspi-
caous; for, why should men sleep from
home except for the purpose Of con-
spiracy? A concil Of war was held ac-
cordlngly in the attic. That Jacques
must resume his chamber was clear,
but where the Coatessc was to look for
another was the very reverse of clear.
TO stir out Of Paris was impossible
TO remain in the attic was impossible
and to go any where else was impossi-
bic. Tossed on the horns of these
impossibilities at once, the genius OF
Napoleon hi.aself might be perplexed.
But when was woman ever puzzled on
domestic questions? The fcmme-do-
cltambre cut the Gordian knot as if it
were a silken thread; placing two very
slight fingers on the curl that PRETTY
dropped down her forehead,
'Voici,' said she, 'mi Ladi is a
widow; disengaged therefore; not so
rich as she was, but still rich and If
she is denounced to the government,
she will be hurried to the Conciergerie,
and from that, ma foi! to the horrid
guilletine without mercy. Horrcurr'
The word was echoed by the Con-
Jesse and Jacques. Mais, quoi?' was
the question of both at once. The
f fae-de-chambze, with the air of a
IL Qunsellor, gave her opinion,
.'-,. me is high born, young and
charming. But that will not save heads
in these horrible times. Monsieur
Jacques is young, tolerably well look
lng;' Jacques gave anapproving glance
at the cracked mirror on the wall and
the temme-de-chambre pursued, 8 if not
high born, at least lives high in the
world, on siriemc, Madame The par
ty smiled, the counsellor concluded by
recommending that Madame should
becomein reality, what she was already
in name, and be the wife of Citizen
Jacques Tossot, portrait and scene
painter to the Theatre de la Nation
All this would be extravagant in any
other country under the moon, but all
extraordinary things are common in
France. The Coatesse finally thought
it was better TO marry a snowy young
fellow than 10 deposit her title and
handsome head at the foot of the ma
reimbursement for looping aristocrats.
Marriages in these days were simple
affairs; there was no time for courtship,
where, between the lesies for the army,
imprisonings, and executions, a man
could not call himself his own for fouI
and twenty hours together. The mar
rage took place within the next TWEEN
ty-tour hours. The corporal found
ont the femnc-de-chambre, and Made
line became the gay spouse Of mattyc
charboanier.
When the Reign Of Terror ceased,
jacques left Psris aud the brush, &c
examine the state of his wife's dover
1t was in Auvergne, and not altogether
ruined by liberty. On the restoration