The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1876-06-14
THE QUEENS LITTLE SHOES.

~ - M t-l
On tthe Glib of January, 1716, at tie
feast OF the iHpiphahy, there ocearred On
b6ard Che French .frigate Heron, as she
lay at the pier previous to her denart.
ure from France, ascene piquantenoteh1
| to merit recital.
All the officers whose services were
not in actual demand were promenading
| the qHafter-deck, smoking, chatting, and
Otherwise Willing away the time, when
lshddenly'a young Midshipman mounted
the gang-piank from the pier, crying
"Hals off, gentlemeni hats offl-the-
Queen approaches" Yet, strange to
say, Marie Antomette mad not Quilted
| Versailles, for at that moment she might
have been found in a corner of the cha!
teau, under the shelter of etiquette,
playing high comedy en famille, taking
the cue from Count a'Afteis, and having
Tor prompter the Count de Provence. her
bruthers-ih-iaw. She filled the principal
role in "Le Devrin du Viliage"LThe
| Village Seothsayer-and sang with feel!
ing "s #"5 p.'a % eif,.s
J'af perdu mon serviteur p"
" J'ai perdu tout mon bonherr-
words winch she had occasion afterward
to repeat often enougn-poor, unfor-
tunate Queeul {Jig
Who, then, was the usurper? Who,
twelve hundred leagues from Versailles,
had taken up the seeptre which The le-
gitimate Queen had for an instant aban-
doned Tor a ,shepherd's crook? Let us
hasten to assure the reader that there
was no imposition, no crime, nor high
treason there; the royalty that honored
the Heron with its presence was only
the III gitiye s'royalty or the beau," which
uy chance had fallen to a pretty Creole
OF Martinique, q relative OF the Captain,
. who, under the charge OF an aged aunt,
J was iourneying to the metropolis In a
vague search for fortune and inhe eritanoe.
In truth. it was to be regretted that
: the young Queen was only playing Queen,
tor she carried her hlgn and novel hon.
, ofs with grace which Catharine Ii Iof
Marie Theresa might have envied. glIu.
son your knees, beautiful pageY said
: she, addressing the youth who had an
| nounced hers "do you not see that |
r have dropped my glove? Approach, my
Ministers, and do not smile, for the
question to be discussed is a grave one.
J love my subjects, and, do you hear?-l
desire above all things that my subjects
loye'me in return; we must, then, ueclde
as to whether shall wear blue or a
, white rosette to gain their homage.
, How is this? 1t seems that my Prime
Minister permits himself to puff the
smoke of tobacco into the nostrlls of his
= sovereign in lieu of incense" And thus,
with a thousand innocent sallies, with q
thousand little coquetries, dad sue cause
l the old saio ors to laugh so heartily aud
4 long that the fire OF their pipes died out,
t and they forgot to light them. ~
, But one who seemed to enjoy the sport
> more than the rest was Pierre Hello, a
! native of Breton, an old sea dog with
/ more scars than wrinkles, VINO upon
a thatvery morning had received melal
of honor-a tardy acknowledgment OF
I his long service-and who, for that
8 reason, had been admitted as guest 10
; tue Captains table for the day.
!, Marie Rose, as the little lady was
! ca led, listened breatnlessly to the won.
deriui stories related by the old man-of
war's-man, and had complimenLed and
caressed him until the heart of the old
r sailor palpitated with as much emotion
: at the praises OF this young beauty as al
q the moment when he received his medal
He alone waited upon her, and, indeed,
: upon him deyolved the entire care of The
i child, owing 10 the fact of her aunt's
g being sufferer from ,gout aud unable tc
:, leave her comfortable chair, where she
y spent most OF her time reading the life
= OF her favorite saint, Augustine, only
# looking up from time to time to Cry
9 "rhis way, MIpette! this way, Marie
Rosep as she saw her cat or her niece
u CHASING sunbeam.
s But Marie Rose, with that daring ant
e perfect freedom possessed by most young
= girls OF her age, ne moment would cllmi
y UP the cordage, balancing herself on tn,
g ropes, while brave Pierre watched from
below, ready to calch her in his arm
should she be blown down to III
70 deck, OF to jump overheard shoul(
l. she fall into the sea. Then
e tiring OF that she would amuse thu
), unemployed officers or men with a sont
O' or dance, until attentive Pierre SCENE,
g suddenly to have found inJellIgeuc
IL n ugh to comprehend the verses and ar
a. preciate the grace of the little eli. The da
following that of her mock coronation
III Marie Rose SCENE dsad and dispirited
ii ana her old friend Pierre was at los
ia to Know what trouble affected his favor
ite. She, observing his questlOnin,
:, looks, took him into her confluence, AM
II told him her sadness was caused by a pre-
y dicJlon made to her by an old negress
n. said to be witch, who lived in tn
:. forest near her nome, and TO whom
u Marie Rose had been in the habit Q
t. secretly bringing food. The words 9
y the prophecy being SO strange, tn
The child fully remembered them. The
were as follows: 'sGood little miss,
IL me saw in the night great bird noun
e up-up-very high in the air, with ros
If in its Deak. You are that rose; YOU viii
, be very unnappy-you wall be a Queen
i' then comes great tempest, and YOU pei
70 ish." "And yesterday" said she. q
# was Queen, and now l am expecting tn
tempest which is TO carry me away"
"Never fear, mademoiselle," reptile
't Pierre; 'it anything happens to th
e Heron, you have only to seize hold {
q my belt--like this, see!-and, with tn
help of God and my patron saint, yo
: will be towed ashore as gently as sloo
o1 by a threezmasterV
ri Marie Rose, somewhat reassured b.
- the words of honest Pierre, rewarde
= him by singinga o song the words OF whIc
r, embodied tpe prophecy of the old negress
Lrl But hers was an age when melanchol
h i thoughts impress the mind but lightly
= and the following day she was dancln
as gayly as ever, utterly unmindlul Q
l. the negress and her weird prophecy
v Days and waeks passed without wear
ing away the high spirits OF the child
. but. alasl not without wearing her litti
% shoes.
n The last skip OF farandole carries
# away the fragment of thread which helt
them together; and, the wardrobe or th
- ladiao hpfu o. vary enant thnvf huviIlr do