Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1885-02-26
la P'T1TE MARQU1sE.


TALE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
1t was at the time when the woman,
the Austrian Queen, , was amusing her
self with the play of Figaro" and the
bakers raised the price of bread two sous.
Caron Beaumarchias had not forgotten
me, his foster mother, and just when
had thought we were to beg in the street,
Jacques came home and told me that he
was to be a soldier-he was to stand
guard at Trianon And after that each
morning I used to pass On the high road
and sit down at distance and watch
him as he stood there so proud and SO
beautiful, my dutiful son, my only child
And I was proud of my handsome boy,
whom the king trusted SO much that
he had appointed him to watch over his
garden. And after awhile, even the
high-born ladies of the court would stop
and speak to the handsome guard, and
he would answer them as well as any
chevalier of the court could do, and now
and then he would come home and tell
me of the grand doings of the court,
while M. Robespierre would sometimes
come in and listen, and the two
young men would talk about the queen
and always my son would praise her
and M. Robespierre would blame her,
and I who knew of the wrongs of the
people did not know who was right and
who was wrong. One time NJ. Robes
pierre talked about the ladies in wait
ing, and said there was but one good
woman among them.
sAnd who is she?'' asked
And Robespierre answered: .'The only
good woman in the queens train or the
court, for that matter, is Louise de Lam
bale, and she will soon have to gon
"And what, pray, about MademoiseIle
de Coutray2" asked Jacques.
Robespierre shrugged his shoulders.
'sLa P'tite Marquise2" he said, scornful-
ly. "She is as wicked as she is beauti-
full
Then Jacques started out of his chair,
and strobe toward NJ Robespierre. .'You
are an internal liarl" he said hoarsely.
leave the room"
NJ Robespierre smiled quietly. 'sYou
are turning your landlord out, " he said.
every well, Jacques, but you will say
that was right some day. And another
thing: When she has played with you
long enough, and has thrown you aside,
come to me, Jacques, come to me-" And
M. Robespierre made low bow to me
and left the room, and we never saw
him again for long time.
turned to my boy amazed ssWhy
do you take such an interestin this noble
lady, Jaceues2 What is she to you, that
you should quarrel with Nj. Robespierre?'
And he told me, then, how, in the
evening, the marquise would steal down
to the gate, and while the rest were at
their court frolies, she would sit and
talk to him. And how she had said kind
things to him and told him how she
loathed the court and all its bicker-
ings and had rather be the wife Of a
peasant than marry one of the painted,
foppish courtiers. As he told
me this 1 was glad, but not sur
prised. How could she help loving my
boy, who was so handsome and SO clever
and 50 gooda can see him now, as he
sat before me, blushing a little as he
spoke of her youth and her innocent and
graceful ways and the pure, honest love
he bore for her. Jacques was not a
peasant His grandfather was lie Compt
d'Artelles, and although he himself could
have no title for ] married bourgeois),
still he could claim, if he pleased, to be-.
long to the nobility. Scatter this I would
not let him come to see me so often,
that no one of the court might know that
he was not rich, OF that his mother was a
plain cheyenne But I still heard from
Jacques that he had been appointed d
captain Of the guards (this thought,
through the Marquise, but learned
afterward that il was through M. Caron
Beaumarchias), and was permitted to
attend the court receptions, and there he
saw her often. He himself became, 7
thought, more Of a courtier than liked.
He dressed as well as any Of
the mobiles, and wore diamonds,
and when he came to see me,
which he did very seldom, 1 noticed that
he talked of citoyennes as if they were
the filth of the street, and began to see
the hand Of La P'tite Marquise, = as VI.
Robespierre called her, in all this. But
why should I complain, thought 7, if be
wishes to raise himself to her
station rather than ask her to de-
scend to hisl So I tried to stiHe
the foolish Iongings Of my soft old
mother heart, but do what could,
could not help feeling angry against
the woman who was robbing mo ef my
SON.
Sometimes N. Robsspierre ~ould