The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-05
LA P'TITE MARQUISE

la P'TITE MARQUIsE
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 Beaumarchas 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
,swas to be asold;erslhe was to- stand
guard at Trianon. AHt after that each
smorning used to passon the high road
. Mind. sit down; at dfstanEe and Watch
1E4n Aas he stood there So proud and so
9beautifui, my 1utifui son, NY OIL y child !!
hind twas proud of my hissadS3me boy,
8 Hhom-the king trusted lAuci that
i he had appointed him to witch over bis
garden. And after awhile, even the
Rgh-born ladies Of the court would stop
Rhd speak to the handsome guard, add
de would answer them as well as any
khevalier of the court could do and now
Wnd then he would come home and tel
me of. the. grand deings OF the court,
sfhile4 M. Robespierre would sometimes
come in and isten,- and the two
kounahnen would talk about the queen
4 and talways my son would praise her
I and NJ .Robespierre would blame her,
and who knew of the wrongs of the
People did not know who was right and
k,lho was wrong. One time NJ. Robes
lsierre talked about the ladies in wait
rng, and said there was but one good
sHmanamopg them.
GIAnd who is shel' asked I g;
@And Robespierre answered: ''1ne only
good woman in the queens train CT the
court, for that matter, is Louise de Lam
JDidIe, and she will soon have to 60"
Rand what, pray, about Mademoiselle
j aeFcoutrays" asked Jacques. 5. = -.
/ RobesITerre shrugged his shoulders.
.sIfP'tite Narouise2', he said, scornfuf--
lr:i & ''She is as wicked as she is beauti-
! ful,,s. - = ~ IS =.
THEN Jacques started out of his chair,
! and strobe toward NJ. Robesrlerre. "1ou
are an, Internal liar" he said hoarsely.
"heavethe room"
NJ Robespierre smiled quietly. 'You
are turning your landlord out, he said.
Very well, Jacques, but you will say
thtt Twas right some day. And another
thing: When she has played with you
long enough, and has thrown you aside,
ccme to me, Jacques, come to me-" And
M Robespierre made a low bow to me
end left the room, and we never saw
him again for !ong time.
turned to my boy amazed: "Why
: 10 YOU take such an interest in this noble
lady, Jacques? What is she to you, that
6zSycu should quarrel with NJ. Robespierre?'
$&s De- And he told me, then, how, in the
evening, the marguise would steal down
to the gate, and while the rest were at
their court froics, 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
i peasant than marry one OF the painted,
foppish courtiers. AS he told
me this l was glad, but not sur
pr.sed How could she help loving my
boy, who was so handsome and so clever
and so good? l 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
dArtelles, and although he himself could
have no title for l married bourgeois),
still he could claim, if he pleased, to be
long to the nobility. So after this would
not let him come to see me so often,
that no one of the court might know that
he was not rich, or that his mother was a
plain citoyenne But I still heard from
Jacques that he had been appointed a
captain of the guards CHS l thought,
through the MAJ luise, but learned
afterward that it was through NJ. Caron
Beaumaycnias), and was permitted to
! attend the court receptions, and there he
saw her often. He himself became, ]
thought, more of courtier than liked.
He dressed as we'll as any of
the mobiles, and wore diamonds,
and when he came to see me.
which he did very seldom, l noticed that
he talked of citoyennes as if they were
the filth of the street, and I began to see
the hand of 'La P'tite Marquise," as NJ.
Robespierre called her, in all this. But
why should l complain, thought I, if he
wishes to raise himself to hel
station rather than ask her to de
scend to his! So l tried to stit1e
the foolish Iongings of my soft old
mother heart, but do what | could,
could not help feeling angry against
the woman who was robbing me of my
son.
Sometimes M. Robespierre would
come and tell me about the world out
side and the court.
Jacques is promoted again, hear, u
ne SAID one day. 81 am glad to hear it,
for we shall need these men with military
training some day. Jacques is of the
people and always will be. Don't fret
about him, Mere Peraubier, he will come
out all right sooner or later. The day
will come when Jacques will throw off
ms gold lace and become again plain
citizen like his friend Robespierre. He
mas eyes and ears and cannot help find
ing out the truth about that spider
woman"
f'But she would not be so cruel as to
play with an honest heart like that Of