The Forrest City times., 1892-02-05

no opposition; he must be obeyed In those days the kings dictated oil tho marriages of the royal family and court ofIicerA Francis L arose in great indignation She could see that he was in towering passion, Never theless she had the courage to say: Sire you need not betroth me to the Duke of Clevea l know of him he is ignoble and ] will not marry him.
 The king left the castle in terrible rage. and poor Jeanne was greatly alarmed and very unhappy. Madame de Silly was In great trouble lest she should be blamed in the matter and tried to convince the child that the king had the authority to force her to marry the Duke of Clevea and it would be best not to offend either the king or the duke. But Jeanne re- mained steadfast to her purpose I shall never consent to marry the Duke of Cleves
 Preparations for the wedding were being made and the most costly gar ments were being prepared for her. but she took no interest in any of the arrangements but kept repeating:
 No matter how they plan to bedeck me in cloth of gold and jewels will never consent to marry the Duke of CleveA"
 For years she had desired to escape from the gloomy castle of Plessis, but now when the order came for her to appear at court and the great iron doors of the castle were thrown open for her to pass out she shrank back in terror When she reached the royal palace the Duke of Gloves hast ened to pay his respects to his bride
 She received him ooldly. but with great respect and dignity. She had never seen him before, but her swift keen glances penetrated all his de- signs and she read his real character. and when he retired this was her verdict:
 "A great. bomb bastic nobody-a craven. His conduct in after years fully justified her estimate of the duke
 Jeanne's mother was ordered to at- tend the wedding and the king and queen of Navarro received threaten ing letters that if they did not consent to this marriage and compel their daughter Jeanne to consent the ban ners of France would float over their kingdom; that he would send great army to compel submission.
 When Jeanne met her mother she threw her arms about her. and begged her to save her from the terrible fate that threatened her. But her mother commanded her to consent to the marriage.
 She answered her mother as she had answered the others: Il never will consent to marry the Duke of Gloves.
 Her mother in her terror. not know ing what the consequences might be. first entreated then threatened to whip her to death if she did not consent but she would not consent
 The mother then went to the king and entreated him to consider that she was only a child and was not respon- sible for her conduct
 Jeanne got up a protest and had it duly witnessed. This protest which is an able paper. set forth all the factA and protested against her being mar ried to the Duke of Clevea
 The wedding day came at last There never was such brilliant wed- ding in France before nor since that time Everything was magnificent All the nobility of the kingdom. the dignitaries of state and the foreign ministers and diplomats of Europe gathered in the royal chapel to wit ness the ceremony. The chapel was ablaze with costly jewels and brilliant with scarlet and gold hangingA Princess Jeanne had been arrayed by her attendants in her robes of cloth of gold and . ducal coronet blazing with costly gems encircled her sad brow. Everything was ready. the distinguished guests were waiting in the royal chapel when the king came to conduct her to the altar. She arose as was the habit of the ladies of the court when the king entered the room. but she would not move one step
 If you will not go willingly will have you carried to tho chapel the king said in great anger And he sent for Montgomery. the constable of France, aud ordered him to take her in his arms and carry her in. and put her in her proper place at the altar. The ceremony was proceeded with at once. although the unwilling bride made no responsea Everybody knew that she had boon forced into the mar riage and everybody felt sorry for the poor child. but no one dared to inter- fere
 After the ceremony she kept herself SO secluded that the duke of Gloves had no opportunity even to see her. During the eight days of festivities in the palace she only appeared once and then only at the stern command of the king. It was finally agreed that they were not to live together for three years and that she should in the meantime stay with her mother in Navarro and finish her education. But she never lived with her hus- band. When the three years had passed she secured verdict on her protest and the marriage was pro- nounced illegal She became great woman. She was crowned queen of Navarro. and was the strongest best ruler Navarro ever had. She com manded great armies, and made the | i.tr =. ~e Erav ~o ood gpaiu fravv, hla at