New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-17

which had been cultivated under soch uhto"aro
circumstances?
The instance Just given OF M'''e |N'0
disposition to correct mistakes OF her you'h WAS
illustrated in many WAYS. Sne nau i've" 'o'"
Childhood averse TO the labor CT study. Lam
guages were taught her by an oral me'hod
which. while II was enlcacious. served rather
than otherwise TO strengthen her habits Of In
dolence. But Maria Theresa knew her daugh-
ter's failinps Endlessy she dwelt upon the
necessity Of reading. The Queen CT France must
not be ignorant nor frivolouz. Marie Antonette's
conscience smo;e her. And yet when she consid-
cred the empty yet wcarsome and ume-absorD-
Ing, round of duties which she must perform She
resented her mothers persistence ! return
then to your reading" wrote the Empress ana
YOU must charge the able to send me every
month an account Of what yon have Arishcd,
and Of what you intend 10 begin The author
adds:
This time tho Lesson was too severe; y over
passed the mark. Sec Monsieur. rAbbe. she
said 10 Vcrmond. '1f any one saw that, II would
rebound realty to my honor. indeed ana
having read the passage Just Quoted sns aa1 f
an ANIMAL Then calming herself little she
continued: "Ah. we'll shall answer that II
will be impossible for me to undertake any 5eau-
ing during the Carnival. but that shall do 80
in Lent VIII that do?' Yes. Madame pro-
vided that you are in earnest
She was in earnest. but the Empress was not
satisfied. In writing to her, douD''ess' ner
daughter took pains. but nevertheless the EN-
press saw signs Of deterioration. Il was greatly
Inundated" she wrote. "on seeing soinc,hii you
had written to some ladies pass through several
hands; YOU must practise with the ADbe or
with some one else to form better hand. ana 10
write more evenly" Marie Antoinettes answer
at least the practical answer. was to send her
lix,a 10 ch
she was really accomplishing 1.-THE choice OF
books was OF such a kind az to form her under
neutrality-suspicious. letters. sermons histori-
cal treatiscs and memoirs. sometimes plays but
never novels or other frivolous books for which
she exhibited no curiosity. AS she proceeded
I'm this course she became interested She FOUND
that II was possible to shorten frivolous rou-
tine which she formerly carried out because
II was impressed upon her rs necessary FIRST
she gave an hour then two hours day to study
so that in the end the Austrian Ambassador
wrote: "In this way the days are sufficiently
well filed and think that Your Majesty has
every reason to be satisfied with her. But
there was a matter, that Of her amuselnents as
she grew older in which the influence OF 'he
Empress was not so quickly seen. As Davphin-
ess ard as a young Queen she was surrounded
by gay men and women. most Of whom were
more anxious about their own affairs than they
were about the good name Of :heir royal mis-
tress In the search for amusement she went
far The passion for gaming was encouraged
by her as the most complete distraction from
the anxieties and cares Of life. AS Queen she
began TO show love Of expenditure when
had not characterized her az Dauphiness
In January. 1876. she bought some "girandoleF
worth 5000 francs. and II was necessary 70
ask the merchant for a delay OF four years 10
y,a, he fll months
bracelets at 100000 livres. This purchase,
said Mercy. was determined upon because Ger,
tain persons about the Queen tempted her ana
because Of her protection granted TO certain
Jewellers" But this time her purse already
drained by the acquisition Of the girando'es,
was wholly insufficient. 1t Mas necessary to
meet the deficit: some Jewels were sold; then
the Queen, with extreme repugnance. DECIDED
to demand 1000 louis from her husband. ihe
King made some remarks, but gave her the
sum- Maria Theresa was less patient; she al
dressed some lively reproaches to her daughter
Such were the beginnings Of things that rose
in the imagination Of the people subsequently 10
vast magnitude. In the end common iunor
charged every expenditure the occasion % which
was not well known to the Qiesn. Yet she was
averse to great expense. The simple pleasures
of Little Trianon were most delightful to her
These too were costly. but they were natural
and rational. THE Queen took her role OF FARMER
seriously; she had her COWS, Brunette ana
BlanChette ana mllkeu tneH III P''NS
lain Jars She had beautiful white goat with |
four horns and white lambs which had been
brought from Freburg; she had her pigeons and
her hens. which she fed; she had her parterres |
which she watered" In the little fairy realm
which she had created. she put off the dignity
of a Queen Of France and became simply herself
And when children came to her. then Little
Trianon became dearer to her than ever. NJ de
la Rocheerie points out that II was In the pain
full years during which the coldness OF the King
threatened TO leave her childless that she turned
to dissipation:
Finding neither in the life at court. no<. above
ALL I'm her private life. the satisfaction which |
she had dreamed OF. she expended upon the |
friends Of her choice the ardent and expansive
affection which she missed In her husband. and
which she could not spend on the fair heads |
OF children whom she 80 dearly loved. such IL
the true explanation Of the dissipation appar- |
entity inexplicable OF Marie Antoinette during |
the first years Of her reign. and her enthusiasm
for her favorites If some Of this still remained |
after the birth Of her first child II was because |
one cannot break In day the habits and friend |
ships of many years; but In proportion as the |
wave Of maternal love rose In her heart. her |
wasted hours gave place TO serious ones; the |
OF the education OF her children |
succeeded to her desire for amusement and the |
Queen little by little withdrew from the salons |
OF her friends to remain by the cradle OF her |
children and prepared herself by the joys of |
maternity for the struggle and the bitterness Of |
her later ordeal.
What must strike us then in the character OF
Marie Antonette is her conscious self-improve-
ment in every respect. AT no time in her life |
did she less deserve calamity than when 1t fell
upon her But with such n woman, one whose |
sense Of duty never slept, whose conscience. not
less than her busy mother, kept her alert to her |
social and religious occupations. It is impossible |
to think of any wrong-doing worse than mere
frivolity the exuberance Of youthful spirits Her
worst mistake was that the companions OF her
often turned out to be unworthy OF
her and finally malicious sanderers like the
Due de I.auZun.
One OF the youths in the group that gathered
about her proved to be of better moral fibre than
the rest 1t is only recently that the material for