, 1874-01-11

LIE
the distinctions Of caste waa her ratural in
| pulse. The task was one Of little difficulty. fo
| the Court, wearied Of tedious ceremony a1d au
tocratic sec1usion. plunged into the opposite ex
trorne. and rioting III its new-found liberty
mingled with bourgeois and artisan: in one com
| mon debauchery. It was the beginning of
| "LmEnTF, EQUALITY, AND FRATERNITY:
| but thereafter the people improved upon th
lesson, aud applied it in way OF which it
frss promoters never dreamed. The glamo
| OF rink that had hitherto dazzled tho eyer
| Of the conuonality WAS dispelled. and til.
eyes saw. instead OF deni-gods and demi-god
eases, men aEd women al commonplace ant
| 81 vicious aa those to whom they belonged. The
effects OF this disilusion were quickly apparent
| the sacred1esa Of monarchy vera openly ques.
toned; the privileges Of rank bitterly inveislcd
| against; the !" Esprit des Loix and the Con.
tlat Social struck Ut the very roots Of tho anceu
regime. But, us though the very mobiles them.
selves were beginning to slcken Of the tainted
atmosphere Of decay in which they lived, or Re
though possessed by q strange infatuatlon that
led them to court their own destruction, Non
tesquteu, Rousseau, the very mon vino we're
preaching crusade against their order, we're
those whom they most delighted to receive and
honor. To crown this atrangest anomaly OF
history came the Encyclopedias, whose daring
pens attackcd every subject, sacred and profane,
It was during the bitter wars between the
Jesuits. in the midst OF tho discussions upon the
bull Unigenitus, s that the first numbers Of
appeared They were quickly suppressed by al
order in Council but they still continued to cir
culate secretly. It was from that time that they
began to grow really dangerous; for it was only
after this public suppression that the moro eS-
treme articles we're written. A secret society, OF
which D'Alembert. Diderot, and Voltai1o were
tho heads, WAS founded for the propagation of
Jacobiuisu,. society whose ramiicatlons ex-
tended through France and Germany. whose
members recognized each other By a1a-
sonic signs, and the object Of which
WAS the destruction OF monarchy nnd rcl:5-
ion. Each Of thcse writer's had been pupil Of
the Jesuits, and mad learned f;om those masters
OF the art Of topnistry that subtle mode of lea
soniuS which they now employed for the de-
struction OF thcir teachers.
In 174 WAS published tho edict for the e1pul-
sion Of the Je3uits and with then was swept
away the last barrier to The propagation Of the
new doctrine and intidelty, no longer lurking
shamefaced in holes and corncTs, haunted itself
boldly and publicly, even III the Church itself.
The Princes OF tho Church left the lalty far be-
hind in their
VICES AND utDEoUy DEDACcuEn1Es;
the Abecs were mere haoGers~on at tho houses
of noble ecourtes.ns-panderezHt to tho rich, boon
companions in every dissolute EXCISE, ministers
OF religion in form, skeptics and even atheists
in heur1, scofiug in eociety ct the very doctrines
o jest. subject for puns aud epigtams, aud
the Eis appIauded 1oudest Was that which con-
tained the largest amount Of blasphemy.
The Whole fabric Of society, from the cottage
to the Court, from the alley to the altar, WAS
rottiug, crunblng. There was no cohesion any,
where love, faith, houor, religion, all were
swallowed up in u gulf OF seething corruption.
King, priest noble, lady, author and artist. bour
geois, tufian-all mingled tosc either in the demon
reyel Of this he1lish carnival with the Thunder
meath their feet, aud Satan master Of the
reyels.
There is little more OF interest to bo told OF
the life of La Fomrndour. Tho fight" went
on ferccly as ever, now with the Jesu4ts.-a Sc
we're one, involving as it did communicating
now with the Ministers, now with the people.
The treaty Of Ai1-la-C Chapelc, go unfayo1abie in
many respects to the interests Of France, and
tho hasty conclusion Of which was ascribed to
her infucuce, rendered her n-.ne
oDIDUS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.
Int with the attempt upon tho Kings life
~ Damiens, the contriying Of which was as
crioed by turns to every party in the State. not
excluding tho Dauphin hilnsolf-came her seycr-
est trial OF strength. She vas oruered to quit
the palace; had even commenced preparations
for doing so, bat her empire waa To be rciE1Quis
ed ouly with life she cluug to her position, and
Hcathered the storm.
Tho family compact, tho Austrian alliance,
and the expulsion Of the Jesuits, all Of which
events she largely influenced, raised her for
time into popularity. But With the news of Tho
terrible defeat Of Rosbacl this transient CLEAN of
national favor died out forever. It mattered hut
little now; "the fight was nearly over-tho
grisly victor Of eli hesh had his dart ready
poised, and the brilliant La Pompadour, sue [
ing ler away for years. lay upon her death-bed-
But little Of that bEiIIsnco and beauty which |
Ind ens1aTed all hearts vas lett in those blood
less lips, those worn. cadacerous features. |
Rouge and rose-colorcd silk garments but made |
them look the more SI,astly. Sinco sorno time |
~ yaG int G1f1
she was sister Of religious body, and regularly !
performed MI tho rites OF good Catholic. i. |!
lcr confessor, after administering extreme unc- |
lion, was leaving the chamber, she cried to him. /
y Stay moInent. and will 80 with you.' Those |
rere her last words.
SIZE EXPIRED WITH HER HAND n THE K1Sa's.
Her death took placa in 17d4. Sle was u
sears old. She WAS carried to the gsaye by the |
capucain brothers; her funeral little better |
han 4 paupor's. It was wet tiny. and as Louis |
'av the melancholy cortege pass along, he Gym
cally remarked, Is Madame IL narqnse will have
,ad weather for her journey to-day!" Not one
ear did he shed for tie woman who had bcon
lis constant companion during go many years Of |
Ter life.
It has been said that Ponlpadour possessed but |
itt1e talent; no genuine love Of art and li.era-
u1e and left but little or no trace upon hci
&c. Bat so harah G judgment is unten-
lle. after dispassionate review of her life. To
stlmato the lnoral character, md to estimate the
heir age and nation, should be separate tasks.
But t4ey too frequently coaIesce i'll an authors
mind to the destruction Of impaItiality. That
he was immoral, that she WAS unacrupulonsly
aud that by her extravaganza and bad
ouuses she worked incalculatle evils upon
france is indispu:ablc. But in our Judgment Of
his wom2a aud Of her acts We must cast asido
ur njneteenta-ceutury code Of morality, and try
Ter by that Of her owh age-that is to Eay, in
rue British fashion, BY her peers. What that
80 WAS / have endcavorcd to show
I'D, did dare to illustrate its corruption by
torres out Of the 1i:cs Of lis men aud women,
ol1lne Antoinette d'Et.oles would H;loy quite
dyantageously beside hundreds OF her conieul-
oraries. Moral corruption she lnlblbcd at Ler
ootLer's breast.
=" C'EsT uE AOncEAU poEn US roll"
'as the exclamation constantly in Madame Pois-
on's mouth when speaking Of her dau shter.
he nus elucaled, she was accomplished, she
;as trained iu every elegance Of Life and MAIL
er to tit her for the reig'ling Sutansll1p Of the
o.al ha-em- Had the girl been born saint
he could not hnye resisted the infection
+ such q training. Neither was the
osition Of Kings mistress regarded by far bet
ct mothers than Madame Poisson as a dagrada- I
ion, bul Iather al an honor Tor which the high |
St ladies' III the land contested. And there il
eason to believe Madame d'EtoileR wna faithful