Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-06-16
THE QUEENS LITTLE SHOES.

Ol lllt IDlDUdll, liltIt OtCulItA VII bOulu
the French frigate Heron, as she lay at
the pier previous to her departure from
France, scene piquant enough to merit
recital.
All the officers whose services were not
in actual demand were promenading the
quarterback smoking, chatting and 9TH
erwise Willing away the time, when sud.
denly young Midshipman mounted the
gang plank from the pier, crying, "Hats
off, gentlemen hats oil'l-the Queen ap-
proaches.n Yet strange to say, Marie
Antoinette had not quilted Versailles, for
at that moment she might have been
found in a corner of the chateau under the
shelter of etiquette, playing high comedy
en- famille, taking the cue from Count
d'ArtOis, and having for prompter the
Count de Province, her brothers in law.
She filled the principal role in T" La Dey-
rim du Village, THE Village Soothsayer
and sang with feeling
Jai perdu mon serviteur
J'ai perdu tout mon bonheur-
words which she had occasion aftcrward
to repeat often enough-poor, unfortunate
Queenl
Who, then, was the usurper? Who,
twelve hundred leagues from Versailles
had taken up the scepter which the legiti.
mate Queen had for an instant abandoned
for shepherds crook? Let us hasten to
assure the reader that there was no impo-
sition, no crime, nor high treason there
the royalty that honored the Heron with
It's presence was only the fugitive royal
ty of the beau" which, by chance, had
fallen to pretty Creole of Martinique, a
relative of the Captain, who, under the
charge of an aged aunt, was iourneying to
the metropolis in vague search for for
tune and Inheritance.
In truth, it was to be regretted that the
young Queen was only playing Queen,
for she carried her high and novel honors
with grace which Catharine II or Marie
Theresa might have envied
"On your knees, beautiful page" said
she, addressing the youth who had an
nounced her; f" do you not see that have
dropped my glover Approach, my Min
listers, and do not smile, for the question
TO be discussed is grave one. / love
my subjects, and-do you hear ?--I de-
sire above all things that my subjects
love me in return we must, then, decide
as to whether | shall wear blue or a
white rosette to gain their hopage. How
is thisy 1t seems that my PTime- Minis
ter permits himself to puff the smoke of
bObdGCO lutO llt uOSJIllS Oh HIS sovereign
in lieu of incense" And thus, with q
thousand innocent sallies, with thousand
little coquetries, did she cause the old
sailors TO laugh so heartily and long that
the fire of their pipes died Out, and they
forgot to light them.
But one who seemed TO enjoy the sport
more than the rest was Pierre Hello, ma.
tive OF Breton, an old sea-dog with more
scars than wrinkles, who upon that very
morning had received q medal of honor
Il tardy acknowledgment of his long serv-
Iceland who, for that reason, had been
admitted as guest to the Captains table
for the day.
Marie Rose, as the little lady was called,
listened breathlessly to the wonderful
stories related by the old -of-war's.
man, and had complimented and caressed
him until the heart of the old sailor pal
plated with as much emotion at the
praises of this young beauty as at the
moment when he received his medal.
lie alone waited upon her, and, indeed,
upon him devolved the entire care of the
Cnild owing to the fact of her aunt's
being sufferer from gout and unable
to leave her comfortable chair, where she
spent most of her time reading the life
of her tavorite saint, Augustine, only look
ing up, from time to time, to cry, "This
way, Minette! this way, Marie Rose I" as
she saw her cat or her Liece chasing sun.
beam.
But Marie Rose, with that daring and
perfect freedom possessed by most young
girls of her age, one moment would climb
up the cordage, balancing herself on the
ropes, while brave Pierre watched from
below, ready to catch her in his arms
sh@uld be blown down to the deck or to
jump overheard should she fall into the
sea. Then, firing of that, she would
amuse the unemployed officers or men
with song or dance, until attentive
Pierre seemed suddenly to have found in
telligence enough to comprehend the
verses and appreciate the grace of the lit
Tie ELF. The day following that of her
mock coronation, Marie Rose seemed sad
and dispirited, and her old friend Pierre
was at loss to know what trouble affect
ed his favorite. She, observing his ques-
tioning looks, took him into her conf.
dence, and told him her sadness was
caused by prediction made to her by an
old negress, said to be witch, who lived
in the forest near her home, and to whom
Marie Rose had been in the habit of Sc.
cretly bringing food. The words of the
being so strange, the child fully
remembered them. They were as fol
lows; GOOD little missy me saw in the
night great bird mount up-up-very
high in the air, with rose in its beak.
You are that rose; you will be very un-
happy-you will be Queen-then comes
great tempest, and you perish" And
said she, " / was Queen, and
now | am expecting the tempest which is
10 carry me away -
Never fear, mademoiselle," replied
Pierre; if anything happens TO the
Heron, you have only TO seize hold of my
belt-like this, see!-and, with the help of
God and my patron saint, you will be
towed ashore as gently as sloop by
three -masterp'
Marie Rose, somewhat reassured nv the
words of honest Pierre, rewarded him by
singing song the words of which em-
bodied the prophecy of the old negress.
But hers was an age when melancholy
thoughts impress the mind but lightly,
and the following day she was dancing as
gayly as ever, utterly unmindiul of the ne
gress and her weird prophecy. Days and
weeks passed without wearing away the
high spirits of the child, but, alasl not
without wearing her little shoes
The last skip Of a farandole carried
away the fragment of thread which held
them together; and, the wardrobe of the
ladies being very scant (they having de-
layed purchasing until their arrival in
Paris), poor Marie Rose was soon forced |
to spend her time seated by the side other |
aunt, hiding her little bare feet in the |
folds Of her dress, able only to move her |
head-the loss of her shoes holding her |
captive, like the Princess in the story,
awaiting the coming OF cavalier to de,
liver her.
The cavalier came in the person oe
Pierre Hello.
"Allow such pretty feet to go barel 7" |
said he, Indignantly. Zone must be
without heart. Z"
But if as the poet says, indignation
makes poetry, it does not follow that il |
can make shoes.
Pierre reflected and scratched his head, |
turning his quid from cheek TO check.
The quid is to the mind of the sailor as
the hands are TO clock when the mind |
Is working, the quid is turning.
And Pierre had undertaken to think out
a problem difficult even 10 a mathemati- |