New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-12-17
MARIE ANTo1NETTE.
TIE BIOGRAPHY BY NJ. DE LA ROCHE
TERIE TRANSLATED.

THE LIFE OF MARIE ANToINETTE ny Ma az
ime de la Rochcterlc. Translated from the
French BY Cora Ham boGd BEE Mead to cc
Count dc Ferscn) BY Paul (iauot. Translated
by Mrs. Cashel iIoey. PIP Kill Si' u. Apple
ton e. Co.
"Ccnen,bcr" said Marie Antoinettc on one oc-
casion when plot to poison her mad oech us
covered no one will employ grain OF poison
against me. The Brinvilliers are not OF TINS age
there Is calumny, which is better weapon ior
killing people and 1t is by it that shall be
DESTROYED" This remark. preserved by a'he.
Campau. first wa,ing-woman to the Queen ana
= n,,otcd by NJ dc la Roche,erie, Is really the Key
Z, the nurpose OF this new biography OF Marie
Antoincttc Whatever the causes were when led
TO the destruction of other persc naGcs IN 'e era
Of the Revolution, the death OF the queen WAS
brought about h. sheer malice which taxing
root In the hearts OF those near her, even those
who were benefited b. her, spread al ichs'h u
the whole nation. People taken IN multiludes
are. indeed always fckle; but just Tor mat Fea-
son Il would have been impossible to perpetuatc
q hatred without continuous effort IN ofder 10
realize the change which came over France one
must take in at one view the salient features Oh
the vast picture which NJ. de la Rocheterie has
Allied with innumerable details. The daughter OF
Maria Theresa came to France. loving ana be-
loved Every step that she took was followed
with pleasure by loyal people Madame you
delight every one was the remark OF inc iadies
who attended her. and she replied. Ihcy we"
me with too great partially; my heart IS con-
. tracing debts which it can never repay. trust
every one will credit me with the wish nave OF
doing So" The whole nation looked at her with
the evcs of that chroncler who wrote: The
xr-,li do
portioned in all her limbs" They saw figure
which was slender and tall but had at the same
time ali the supplcness of the young girl and
.he dignity OF the woman. Her features. perhaps,
were not n,athcmatically regular; they were
pretty rather than beautiful; the oval OF her race
was somewhat too long. and her lips. particularly
the under one had the thickness characteristic OF
the Austrian lip. But her mouth was small ana
vel; srched: her arms superb; her hands per-
fectly formed; her feet charming; her nose
souine delicate and pretty Her heH' Oh
pale blond color Of O peculiar SHADE crowned d
forehead OF marvellous purity. Her eyes, which
were blue without being pale sweet. bu' not
Ianguishing sparkled with vivacity ana inteil-
gence and lighted Up with bewitchng smile.
She mingled French grace with Austrian dehi.y
and so 1t was said OF her that she was not
beautiful, she was better than beautiful 10 hei
mother that wonderful woman, Mara lhereSa
who looked after her family as we'll as AFTER her
empire she owed many of those traits "hch
made her SO queenly. The people feil 100 'na'
the dignity ard the grace and kindness were moi
assumed They attributed even the good dceos
Of the Dauphin to he:, and they did not REIN
nuisn this feeling toward her for long uiNe
after her husband came to the throne for 'hey
tnev well that Louis XVI was If heavy Wit.
Irnless strongly and persistenty influenced
from the side of evil suspicion. the people must
surely hare remained in sympathy Win d
woman whom they loved at the outset VINO
grew in graciousness and kindness, II not III
beauty as the years went by. what happeneo
at Cna,ons on the unhappy return 10 Parls ai'ei
the memorable attempt to escape from 'he
Rcvolutionists might we'll have happened any
where in France under fair conditions Ihcre
the municipal bodies deemed 1t their duty 10
nrescrve the respect due to royal majesty AT
the gate Of the city the King was received py
the municipality and conducted between two
u,as NJ National Guards to the Intcndants resi-
do,ce This was the Same hotel at which the
beautiful Dauphness, then radiant with happi-
ness had stopped, amid clamorous cheers ana
popular fttes. when. twenty-one years berore'
she had come to France to encircle her brow
with the royal crown" And, as II to mark with
the utmost care the permanence OF popular love.
Il happened just as In ITO that young girls
came :imidly to present flowers to Marie An
toinctte and eagerly FASTENED to serve her NJ
dc la Rochetere. in this admirable translation
. OF his work shows how from the smallest be-
ginning there gradually rose that gigantic
hatred hardly less fatal to France than to the
hapess Queen For we must remind ourselves
of what has happened since. We must observe
that the policy impersonated In Marie Anto-
nctte never would have shown any indulgence
toward Prussia. France learned In the middle
OF the nineteenth century the lesson which
Maria Theresa and her daughter would gladly
have inculcated at the close Of the eighteenth.
In a chance epithet uttered by a bitter and dis
appointed woman the germ is TO be found Of a
national humiliation.
One Of the mistakes OF Marie Antoinettes
youth at the Court of France was an excessive
intimacy with the daughters Of Louis XIV.
Her mother the Empress, often warned her
upon this point. While acknowledging diplo-
matically the admirable traits of these prn-
. cesses she pointed out that the narrow lives
which they led had prevented them from having |
any public influence. They were unpopular. and
could never be otherwise. But Marie An |
toinette felt a trouble which her mother could
not appreciate at It's worst. She was ncces- |
sarily thrown much into the society Of the
princesses The etiquette Of the Court of !
Louis XIV required 1t. But just as Maria |
Theresa foresaw. the influence Of these elderly !
unmarried women was TO increase the natural !
timidity Of the young foreigner. The latter
was from the outset beloved By the old King |
Every meeting with him gave her convincing |
prcos that she had only to be frank In his |
presence to keep on the best Of terms with him. |
But that not the notion Of the reverence !
due the King cherished by his daughters. They |
cultivated in themselves and in their youthful |
protsgee timdty which became speeches. in |
the Kings presence Tortured himself by a life
long shyness and silence. Louis XIV resented
this behavior. The estrangcment grew to such |
extent that the Dauphiness began to- make
requests In writing which she had been used