The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1881-03-08
a Foma1e Iron mask.

a Female Iron mask.
On the banks Of the Marine, close by the
village Of r., and about three. quarters of
al hour distant from Paris, stands the cha.
teau of the Marquis of r. 1t is q very
grand old chateau, built at time when
every country residence was fortress, and
tourists travel thither from afar to admire
It's turrcts and its donjon, and It's portcul-
lis and, above all, Its armory, which is said
to contain the finest private collection of
offensive and defensive weapons in France.
There hangs, the authentic suit of armor
worn by Francis !, at Marignan, and no
less authentic buckler brought back by one
OF the noble owners ancestors from Pales.
tine, where once 1t had been carried by
Saladin. There, too, is 20 be seen the
"glaiyc Of justice" before which fell the
head of the count of Montmorcncy- Bouttc-
vile, with illustrious cuisSaTtls and cele-
brated 6rassards and daggers and rapicrs
and cmctars, each with its especial history.
But the gems Of the gallery are the mel
NETS, of which there are specimens of every
shape and epoch, from the humble morton
of tho retire to the plumcd and gided
casque of the knight. In fact, helmets are
the particular hobby of the MARQUES who
is, or rather was, prouder of his collection
than OF anything else in the world, until
he took unto himself wife, when so long
as the novelty of the situation, lasted, she
assumed the first place in his affections
But the Marchioncss, who vas a restless lit
tie Parisicnnc, did not like the village of
H., nor The chateau of II. She found the
nclghbors dull, and saw no more charms in
the Sunday evenings game Of whist with
the notary, the cure, and her husband.
Time hung heavily on her hands; she had
nothing to dc, and 80 looked about her for
some distraction, as she was as much out
OF place in that gloomy old castle as would
be canary bird inside Of q cannon. She
found it naturally; most people do find
What they want if they seek diligently and
are aided Ey the devil, rs she was, for the
dlstractor appeared in the form of Dir. II.
r., the son Of an eminent Partisan doctor,
who has villa IN tie cnvirons All
through the summer their tlirtations went
on nicely, il wickcdly, but, rs usual the
pitcher went to the well once too often.
One OF the servants considerably informed
his master of Dladamc's ''carryings.on, :"
and when Monsieur came in unexpectedly
upon the turtle doves last Wednesday even
ing he was not.left in any doubt; Mr. Il.
L. jumped out of the window and was not
shot after; the lady dropped upon her knees
and asked for mercy. ''hladamc, said
NJ. dc H., with calmncss more terrible
than would have been al explosion of
WRATH ''be good enough to get up and ac-
company me-" ''But this costume" she
venturcd to protest. els perfectly appropri-
ate" was the reply and, like another statue
of the commander, he led the way to the
armory. ''It Is all over with me, Thought
the Marchioness, che means to cut my
head of, " but they passed by the 'sglaive
OF .tai! Justice, and never stopped until they
prologue. On Thursday morning as the
milk carts came in at the Grenelle gate OF
the Notifications, their drivers were aston
ished to sec a female sitting On the pave
mcnt clad only in a chemise, but with her
head surmounted by all iron casque from
which floatcd an immense plume of ostricl.
feathers. Who was she, whence came she
what was the meaning of this strange nc
coutreMcnt2 ALI those questions were ask
ed, first by the milkmen and then by the
police agents who conveyed her to the
nearest guard-house. The answers came
but were inaudible; from behind that low
cred visor her voice sounded like the bark
of little dog at the bottom OF a copper-
hOtelS WIFI AsS SoFSi ou. ~ inoG SOlllCDUuJ
thought that perhaps she might be able to
write her story, which, as my readers may
have supposed, is continuation of the
promenade i'll the r. armory. Then lock-
smith was sent for, bur he could do nothing
toward Kidding her of her cumberson head
gear, the secret spring of whose fastenlngs
is only known to the marquis himself. A
dispatch was posted off to r., but the mar
quis had lefL-for two years, srld the stew
ard, and without giving any address. ex-
cept that of his banker in Paris, who has
not been told yet whittier he is to direct
his correspondence. SO stands the affair
now, and there Is no roa son to anticipate
its speedy termination. The victim is fed
on liquids through a tube passed between
the bars of the helmet, ard gets just
enough air to avoid suffocation; but can
she endure the torture until Lcr lord relents2
The steel is SO marvclously tempered that
it turns the edge of every tool so far tried
upon it, and the unlucky heroine of this
extraordinary but positively veracious his
tory is not likely to derive much consola-
ton from the inscription found upon The
piece Of armor, from which 1t appears that
it is one Of the chefs d'CcuUrc OF the celc-
brated Florentinc armorer Galottl, made
by him expressly for Alphonso dEstc, the
fourth husband OF the notorious Lucreza
Borgia.