The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-04-06

rules, the ladies' faces seem to say, BE
hold the Tartarr" The king looked
down musingly. "I'm free to confess,
said Marie Antoinette, with her habitual
frankness, shat perhaps the main reason
why / dislike the French court is because
it is my enemy. Yet | do think that
where people have sufficient ideality in
their natures to avoid acts of grossness,
that easy and unconstrained manners are
preferable to such grotesque starchiness."
Doubtless they are," answered Louis
"but all people have not ideality. Many,
too, have very cruel dispositions, and it is
necessary for the benefit of society that
the animals conceal their sharp claws
under long cloaks."
81 presume that you are right. I'm no
more of philosopher than scholar"
sighed Marie Antoinette.
"But you're a wise teacher" answered
the husband, with tender smile.
pardon, don't understand"
"You have taught man, not too sus-
ceptihle of affection, all that is meant by
love-"
II first learned the lesson from my
pupil, replied the queen, archly.
''I'm as tlattered as happy" responded
Louis, "fOr although | never knew the
kind OF trouble Spencer talks about when
he begins with
"'Full little knowest thou, that hast not tried,
What hell it is in suing long to bde.'
Yet a gentle melancholy always fingered
with me, until l loved you, and knew that
in return was by you beloved. Now l
feel that even if sorrow should come to
me, so long as l had your love, l could
never be entirely wretched."
81 am so we'll contented with the pres.
ent, that have never any gloomy fore
holdings of the future" was the cheerful
answer of the happy wife.
'Nor l either, my beautiful queen" re-
joined the fond husband.
This was true. Louis XVI. and Marie
Antoinette were so happy in each others
society that they needed not the low,
angry mutterings of the frightful storm,
that was soon to break in desolating fury
over their doomed heads.
The French Revolution of 1889 began,
or rather that most dreadful of terrOrs,
the reign of cowardly mobs. For mobs
are always cowardly; started in the first
place by one or two towards, then aug
mented by ignorant, brutal, human ami
mails, ragged, idle, filthy and drunken,
that arm themselves with whatever they
can main or kill, and creep from low,
dirty dens, like loathsomc serpents bent
on destruction.
The queen urged the king to take de-
cided steps to at once quell the rebellion.
But he was of opinion that gentle means
were best. She was advised to fly from
the scene of danger with her children, but
che refused to desert her husband.
The mob, emboldened by scarcely any
opposition, hating the queen for imagi-
nary crimes, and because she was an
Austrian, crowded around the palace at
Versailles, butchered her soldiers, and
called upon her to show herself in the
balcony A friend threw himself before
her, entreated her not thus to risk her
life, and offered to 60 in her place. She
refused his generous protection, took her
two children, Marie Theresa, who WAS
eleven, and Louis Charles, who was eight
years old, and obeyed the call of the
rabble. She thought to move their COM
passion at the sight of these teuder in
nocents. She had yet to learn that pity
does not exist in mob. Hoarse, rough,
brutal voices shouted, "Away with the
children" Without any hesitation or a
change of countenance, she sent them
away, and stood alone, sublime in her
fearlessness. Her heart swelled with
heroic impulse of which the rude, ruff
fianly concourse before her never
dreamed. That noble woman shrank
not nor quailed from what was in all
probability certain and sudden death.
Her hands we're clasped, aud her eyes
lifted upwards, and an expression of
lofty and serene elevation was in her
face. There was moment of intense
Has God, in looking down on
this mixed world, ever witnessed
Drawer act than that Of the queen, who
st ,od there prepared to give herself
ransom for her family9 Would not even
angels feel mute admirationl and would
it be strange if, for one instant, the mu-
sic of the spheres were stilleda Immova-
BILE as marble stood the fail, heroic queen.
The misguided crowd were abashed.
They admired courage that would have
been impossible in any of their number;
and suddenly, hardly realizing what
they did, they screamed, Live the
queen! live the queen!"
The effect of Marie Antoinette's hero
ism was of short duration on. these bru-
tai creatures. They demanded that Louis
XVI. should return with them to the
city. The faithful wife would not for a
moment forsake her husband in his peril.
She accompanied him with her children.
Thirty thousand creatures surrounded their
animals, incomparably