The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-12-19
MARIE ANTOINErTE.

From the Fortnightly Review.
! Marie Antoniette's high mein in ad
versity, and tho contrast between the
Dazzling splendor of her FIRST years and
the scenes OF outrage and bloody death
That made the climax of her fate, could
not but strike the imaginatious of men
Such contracts arc the stuff of Tragedy
the gorgeous mnse with "sceptered pall''
| loves to weave her most imposing raj
ment. But history must be just; and
the character of the Queen had far
more concers in the disaster OF the first
i've years OF the Revolution than had
the character of Robespierre Every
new document that comes to light heaps
up proof that if blind and obstinate
choice of personal qualification before
the common veal be enough te consti
tute State criminal then the Queen of
France was one OF the worst State Grim
inals that ever afflicted nation. Tho
popular hatred of Marie Antoinette
sprans from sound instinct We shall
never know how mach or how little
truth there was in those frightful charges
against her, that may still be read in
thousand pamphlets. Those imputed
depravities far surpass anything that
John Knox over said against Mary
Stuart, or tnat Juvenal mas recorded
against Messalma; and perhaps for the
only parallel we must look to the hid
eous stories of the Byzantine Secretary
against Theodore, the too famous EN-
press of Justinian and the prosecutor OF
10 har hat
the revolutionary por traits are dlstort-
ed by furies passion, and that Marie
Antoinette may no more deserve to be
compared to Mary Stuart than Robos-
pierre deserves to be compared to Exile
mo or TO Alvs. The aristocrats were
the libelers if libels they were. 1t is at
least certain that from the unlucky hour
when the Austrian Archduchess crossed
the French frontier, childish bride of
fourteen, down to the hour when the
Queen of France made the attempt ~
recross it In resentful flight, one and
twenty years afterward Marie Antoinet-
to was ignorant unteacbable, blind to
events and deaf to good counsels, a bitter
grief to her heroic mother, the evil gent
us of her husband, the despair of her
truest advisers, and an exceedingly bad
friend to the people OF France. When
Burke had that immortal vision of her
at Versailles-"jnst above the horizon,
decorating and cheering the elevated
sphere she just began to moye in, gilt
tering like the morning star, full of life
and splendor and ioy'-wo know from
the correspondence between Marie
Theresa and her Minister at Versailles,
that what Burke really saw was no di-
vinity, but a Eighty and troublesome
SHOOT girl, an accomplish IN all the igno-
bic lntrigues and sharer of all the
small, busy passions that convulse the
insects OF court. The levity that came
with her Lorraine blood broke out in in
credible designations, in indiscreet visits
to the masked balls ut the opera, in mid
night parades and INVESTIGATIONS on the
terrace at Versailles, In insensate gamb-
ling. "The court of France is turned
into gambling hell," said the Emperor
Joseph, the Queens own brother If
they do not amend, the revolution will
be cruel" These vices or tollies were
less mischievous than her invention in
affairs of State, Here her levity was as
a. marked as in the paltry affairs OF the
boudior and the ante-chamber, and here
to levty she a idcd both assimilation
an vindiCtIvencss. II was the Queens
influence that procured the dismissal of
the two virtuous Minister by whose aid
the King was striving to arrest the de-
cav of tho Government Of his kingdom.
Malesherbes was distastetul to her for
no better reason than that she wanted
his post for some tavoIite's favorite.
Against Turgot she conspred with
tenacious luminosity, because he had
suppressed a sinecure which she design
ed for court parsite. and because he
would not support her caprice on behalf
of q worthless creature OF her faction.
These two admirable men were disgrace
ed on the same day. The Queen wrote
10 her mother that she had not ,,meddled
in the affair. This WAS falsehooi, Tor
sue had even sought to have Turget
thrown in the bastile. IL am rs one
dashed to the ground" cried the great
Volt are, now nearing his end. "Never
can ". console ourselves for having seen
the golden age dawn and vanish My
ewes sec only death in front OF me now
that Turgot is gone. The rest of my
DAYS must be al bitterness" What
hope could there be that parsonage who
had thus put out the light OF hope for
France in l77G, would welcome that
greater flame which was kindlcd in the
land in 1892 When people write
hymns of pity for the Queen, we always
recall the poor woman whom Arthur
Young met, rs he was walking up hill
to ease his horse near Mars-le-TOur.
Though the unfortunate creature WAS
only twenty. eight, she might have been
taken for sixty or seventy, her figure
WAS so bent. her face so turrOwed and
hardened by toll Her husband. she
said. had a morsel of land, one cow, and
one poor horse. yet he had to pay iorty-
two pounds of wheat and three chickens
to one Seigneur, and one hundred and
sixty pounds of oats, one chicken. and
one france to another besides very heavy
tables and other taxes; and they hau
seven children. She had heard that
something was to be done by some
great folks for such poor ones, but she
did not know who nor how, but God
send US better, for the tailles and the
duel grind US to earth 1t was such
hapless drudges as this who repienlshed
the Queens gaming tables at Versailles.
Thousands OF them dragged on the bur
den OF their harrassed and desperate
DAYS. ,ess like men and women than
besstS of the field. wrung and tortured
and mercilessly overladdcn, in order
that the Queen might crafty her child.
ism passion for diamonds, or Lavish
money and estates on worthless female
=, d. ,-.,,J o,,hallas pr kill time at