The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1896-06-05
ROUTED BY GIRLS.

The Marquise Therese de Lionne, the
most adorable old lady in the world, a
grandmother. with fiuttering little curls
and the laughing eyes of a child. has
but one fault. and that SO grave "a one
that you would hardly believe it.
Dainty and pretty as she is, and grande
dame to the tips of her taper fingers,
she punctuates her most ordinary con-
versation with the strangest of oaths
AT the slightest provocation. or ON no
provocation at all, she Will come out
with 1.-The deucer' or 1.-The devilr' or
even a "Damnr' that shocks every one
who hears her. Its an old habit of
mine, " she explains. land / cling to it
because it is an old one. And then" she
adds, with gay smile, lit saved me
once from the greatest peril woman
can run -
And here is the story as the marquise
tells it:
''Old though 1 am, am not a very
serious person; but. as little girl-ah
how long ago that was, how long ago!
Il was the greatest madcap that ever
got out of breath chasing butterflies, or
tore her gown and left her hair ribbons
on the hawthorn trees, though that did
not prevent me-egadi would you be-
lieve it, at 14!-from being very much
interested even then in the handsome
hussar, gold laced, embroidered and be-
dizened, who adorned the front pages of
the romances of that day.
Naturally my friends We're hardly
less feather Drained than L You would
have to search long TO find dovecot
more full of turbulent chatter and
laughter and flights of song than the
Convent of the Sacred Heart, where
took my vows-never to be nun
1T was in the evening that we used
to play our greatest pranks. We had
discovered a way to slip out of the dor
mitory without waking up the sister
who was supposed to guard over us As
soon as she was asleep, we would creep
down stairs into the great dark garden,
carrying with US tablets of chocolate, a
coffee pot, and an alcohol lamp, and,
climbing up to a favorite perch high in
an old oak tree, we would make choco-
late and drink it triumphantly in the
darkness.
I'm the town where this convent was
there was also a garrison. The walls Of
our garden We're very high, and we never
so much as set eyes on a uniform; but
walls that prevent seeing, do not pre-
vent hearing. The officers and common
soldiers-naturally attracted by the
presence of SO many girls, L suppose
used to stroll along on the other side of
our wall in the evenings, chattering to-
gether, apd we girls used to listen. We
could hear them so we'll! 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 ex-
cited, they used to talk in the most blood
thirsty way. 1t was terrifying to hear
them, but so fascinatingi And what
formidable oaths they usedi We could
remember few of them.
lone day. as we were walking to-
gether in one of the paths, Eveline de
Sabran exclaimed, BY thunder, girls.
this is devilish fine eveningl'
1T was a revelationl From that time
forth, the entire convent. inspired by
her example. began to pepper their con-
versation with oaths that would have
done credit to Napoleonic veterans. And
we did not content ourselves with the
garrison expletives overheard across the
wall We recalled peasant profanity we
had heard years before, and hunted
fine gentlemen. roisterers, and serving
maids. 1t was not long before we had
acquired special and remarkable erudi-
tion in that line.
''As you may imagine, it was not in
the classes, before the pious ears of
the sisters, that we aired our new ac-
complishment In the daytime we
swore only before the abbess, who was
Pr1f ,,syhf
came-oh, we did not think of chocolate
any more, you may be sure-we met ON
the lawn under the big oak and had q
grand time. Deuce take itl' Jane de
Seaux would begin. would follow
with BY thunder, blast your eyesp and
the others would chorus Devil fly way
with mel 'Damme, sirP BY r ladyP
Ten hundred thousand deyilsl' Grape
and canisteri' Thunder and ightningp
'Confound itp To see us strutting about
with our hands on our hips or twirling
imaginary mustaches, with our little
voices coming from the bottoms of our
boots, you would think we were more
terrible than a regiment of dragons -
As she said this the marquise burst
into a peal of merry laughter, and imi-
| tating the childish uproar of the pre-
! cocious blasphemers the gentle old lady
swore delightedly.
| 1T must have been an amusing
scene" we said laughing, but we
don't see the danger it saved you from. :"
Devil take you, my dears," she re-
piled, ''how impatient you areP' and
checking her laughter, she continued
her story:
After the convent comes marriage
after the mother superior, a superior of
another kind. M. de Lionne was pre-
sented TO Ine-a fine looking army man.
thought Immediately of the hussar Of
romance He could talk the part well
too. And, POUNDS. why shouldn't !
marry him? Thirty-five years of age,
but much younger in spirit. of proved
courage and unquestioned honor-in
fact, how shall say it-he pleased me
very much. Only one thing kept me
from saying Yes at once. Novels were
already being written at that time. ]
had read some-far too many-and they
had put a lot of absurd ideas into my