The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-17
SWORE LIKE TROOPERS.
PRETTY SCHOOL GIRLS WHO N
DULGED N OATHs.
Invading Soldiers Heard Tbem NJ,
Hastily Beat n Retreat From the
Sacred Precincts.
From the French.

Sacred Precincts.
From the French.
The Marquise Therese de Iionpe ~.
most adorable old lady in the world
grandmother with duttering little c,,-,-
and the laughing eyes Of a child. has b,-
one fault, and that so grave a one ~
you viii hardly believe il. Dainty ar5
pretty as she is, and grande dame 10 ~
ups OF her taper fingers, she punctates
her most ordinary conversation with m.
strangest Of Oaths. At the slightest pro,o
cation, or on no provocation at all. she viii
come out with 1.-THE deucer' or the devirrs
or even a damn that shocks every ora
who hears her. Its an old babit os
mine, she explains, land I cling to il he
cause it is an old one. And then" She
adds with gay smile, cit saved me ono.
from the greatest peril a woman can run
ana mere Is the story as the Marquiss
"Oid though I an, I am not a very 81,
rlous person, but, as a little girl-ah. how
long ago that was, how long ago!-I W
the greatest madcap that ever got ont of
breath chasing butterflies or tore her so-rS
and left her hair ribbons on the hawthorn
trees, though that did not prevent me
egad! would you believe il at 14l-from no
ing very much interested even then ia tba
handsome hussar. gold-laced, embroiderei
and bedizened VINO adorned the front
pages OF the romances of that day
Naturally, my friends were hardly less
feather-brained than l. You would be,
TO search long to ind a dove cote r1oro
full Of turbulent chatter and laughter and
flights of song than the Convent of m
Sacred Heart, where l took my VOWS
never to be a nun.
1T was in the evening that we used
TO play our greatest pranks. We had dis
covered a way to slip out of the dormi-
tory without waking up the sister who
was supposed TO guard over us AS SON
as she was asleep, we would creep down
stairs, into the great dark garden, car
rying with US tablets of chocolate, cof-
fee pot, and an alcohol lamp, and, climb
ing up to faVOrite perch high in an
ola oak tree, we would make chocolate
and drink 1t triumphantly in the dark
ness.
I'm the town where this convent was
there was also garrison. The walls Of
so much as set eyes on a uniform: bur
walls that prevent seeing do not prevent
nearing. The officers and common sol
dlers-naturally attracted by the presence
of so many girls. I suppose-used to stroll
along on the other side Of our wall la
the evenings, chattering together, and We
so well! They would describe what they
had done in battle. or what they would
DO in case there should be a war, and
when they got excited they used to talk
in the most bloOdthirsty way. 1t was
terrifying to hear them, but so fascinat-
ing! And what formidable oaths they
used! We could remember few of them.
one day, as we We're walking together
IN one OF the paths, EVeline De Sabran
exclaimed; by thunder girls, this is
at was revelation From that time
1Orth the entire convent, inspired by her
example began to pepper their conversa-
ton with Oaths that would have done
credit TO NapOleonic veterans. AMI We
did not content ourselves with the garri-
son explosives overheard across the wall,
We recalled peasant profanity we had
heard years before, and hunted through
romances to find the oaths of fine gentle
men, roystererS and serving maids. It
was not long before we had acquired
special and remarkable erudition in that
LAS you may imagine It was not in tho
classes, before the pious ears Of tho sis
ters, that we aired our new accomplish
ment. In the daytime we swore only be-
Iore the abbess, who was deaf as post.
But as soon as night came-Oh we did not
think of chocolate any more, YOU may DO
sure-we met on the lawn under the big
oak and had grand time. "Duce take IL!
Jane de Seaux would begin. / would follow
with BY thunder, blast your eyesr and
the others would chorus Devil fly way
with met 'Demme, sirr by r LAZY" Ten
hundred thousand devils! Grape and ear
lister! Thunder and lightning 'ConfOuni
It! To see us strutting about with our
hands on our hips or twirling imaginary
mustaches, with our little voices coming
from the bottom of our boots, you would
think we were more terrible than a reg-
ment of Dragons"
As she said this, the marquise burst into
a peal of merry laughter, and initiating
the childish uproar of the precocious BIAS
Rheemers, the gentle, old lady swore de-
ut must have been an amusing scene
We said, laughing, but we don't see the
danger 1t saved you from"
Devil take you, my dears," she replied,
chow impatient you arer' and checking
her laughter, she continued her story;
After the convent comes marriage--af-
ter the Mother Superior superior of an
other kind. NJ. de Lionne was presented 10
me-a fine looking army man. I thought
Immediately of the hussar of romance.
He could talk the part well, too. And,
POUNDS why shouldn't l marry him? Thir-
ty-tive years of age, but much younger in
spirit, of proved courage and unquestioned
honor-in fact, how shall l say it?-he
pleased me very much. Only one thing
kept me from saying yes at once Novels
We're already being written at that time;
| had read some-far too maryland they
had put a lot of absurd ideas in my head.
II were to give myself to a man forever
must know his intimate thoughts, his
past, above all.
"One fine evening, then, between two
cups of tea, I said bravely to NJ. de Lionne;
We'll yes, l love you. But come, tell
me frankly, looking me straight in the eyes
1t is not very disagreeable to do so, is it;
have you nothing, absolutely nothing, 10
reproach yourself with-if not as regards
men, as regards women
Nothing, he replied, with an ingen-
uous earnestness that made me wish to
throw myself into his arms.
Then he suddenly blushed. I had for
gotten one incident he said. confess
that L have committed, or almost commit
ted, a bad, a very bad action
"Blushing at first, he had now turned
pdle. i almost regretted having aSkeu
him: But it was too late to curb my Gu
rosity.
Tell me everything
81 obey. Twelve Years ago I was in
garrison at t. There was talk of war
III the air at the time, and this, added
to our youth, gave us an audacous, al
most a ferocious, gayety. One evening,
when we were all tipsy-for we got tipsy
in those days-whch 1 hope you Will
pardon-a sub-lieutenant, more tipsy than
the others, proposed that we scale the
A nniRhDOrlO0u
and brighten the nuns and neighborhood
in their sleep. 1t was a stupid an infa-
nous idea! Wine is bad counselor; not
a man there, brave and honorable though
they were, slapped the face of the man,
who had made the wretched PROPOSE
ton. We rushed out of the tavern, found
ladders I don't know where, scaled the
wall and ran across the garden like loot
ers IN a captured city,
'Ohr I cried.
You despise me, do you not? You
will never by my wife?"
I" 1 have not said that yet. I sincerely
hope you did not carry out your horrl-
BILE project