Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-01
History Of a Marquetry Sideboard in
a Portland Home.
BELONGED 10 MARIE ANfOINETFE
A Pretty Story With the Parts All
Nicely Fitted.
SALLY'S MEMORABLE VOYAGE
Written for The Evening Star.

endowed with the power or speech, that Its
story might be heard at first hand. Al
though the unexpected sometimes happens,
| however. the impossible is quite another
| thing, and in regard to the subject of this
| article a plain statement Of facts is all that
can be given.
| An interesting piece of furniture whose
| history. could we hear It from itself, would
be well worth the hearing is a sideboard
which may be seen in the dining room Of
James p. Baxter. ex-mayor Of Portland.
Me. It was IN 1881 when. as its present
| owner was in Thomaston, Me-. he saw on
| exhibition a somewhat imposing sideboard.
and with his welLknown love OF the antique
admired and at length purchased the piece.
which was sent to his Portland residence.
The sideboard Is Of French marquetry.
semi-circuiar in form. the apparent drawers
Of which open like small doors by silver
handles, each handlepiece being engraved
with an acorn and oak leaf. Some time
after its removal to Portland a woman
called to see Mr.. Baxter. and. speaking OF
the piece Of furniture asked If he knew its
history. No. he did not know it, and upon
this assertion the woman made known the
surprising fact that Ii had once been the
property Of no less parsonage than the
French queen, Marie Antoinette, and came
from the Louvre. Incredulous as this at
first sounded. subsequent Investigation
brought to light facts which proved beyond
ment.
How 1t came about that the personal
property OF the unfortunate queen was
found for sale in a little New England
the plot Of which, had It succeeded, would
have added a page OF romance to the his
| tories of two nations.
CIoush Of Jeremy squam.
During the years 1893 and 1874 there hail
ed from Wiseasset Maine. or an island in
the Wiscasset harbor-called by the In
dams Jeremy Squam' and later known as
Edgecomb Island-a man by the name of
Stephen Clough, gentleman and shipmas-
ter. Aside from his fine old mansion Capt
Clough had inherited by marriage the
stanch ship Sally with which. during
1913, he was engaged in carrying lumber
under contract, from Wiscasset to France
mat capt Clough's interests were some
what divided about this time is shown by
a portion of his family record. which reads
as follows: Stephen Clough was at Paris
during the reign of revolutionary terror
under Robespierre, and actively engaged In
the aid of the victims of revolutionary VEN
geance." The Sally being noted for her
speed in all weathers was as NAV readily
be seen, an efficient ally in his work Of
rescue.
That the captain was we'll acquainted
with the condition of affairs in France was
due not alone to the fact of his frequent
presence there, but to the additional fart
that a neighbor and friend down ON the
Maine coast was at the same time a trust
ed and wide-awake French officer in the
military service of his country. This man,
Bennote Claude st. Pry had in 1879 en-
tablished salt factory on the shore of
the Sheepscot, and while nominaily en-
gagged in trade in America, was neverthe-
less in intimate touch with the affairs Of
state in France.
st. Pry's Scheme.
So it came about that in the wear 17a3
Low in
awaiting cargo for her return to the
Sheepscot. st. Pry suggested to a few
loyal friends of the monarchy a most
remarkable and unexpected freight from
the little American ship As every stu
dent OF history will remember. the Door
deposed queen, Marie Antoinette, was at
TINS time in prison, suffering from the in
dlgnities of her brutal jailers, and st. Pry's
suggestion was nothing less than that the
Sally's return cargo should consist of the
queen and a few of her closest friends,
with clothing and other provisions Of COM
fort of residence in a strange land.
Disguised as 'longshoremen St Pry and
MS confederates called upon Captain Clough
one day and made known to him their plan
1t was a bold and dangerous one but this
did not discourage the sturdy captain. Hs
was as eager to begin its carrying out as
were the fnstlgatOrs themselves. 1t was
not long before the ships cargo began to
come aboard. There were many purchases
for the captain" so called. but could these
packages and cases have been opened and
examined these purchases would have
seemed to indicate wild extravaganza. to
say the least. There was furniture of royal
make and most elaborate design with other
household decorations, and splendid court
gowns much too handsome to be suited to
the simple social requirements of the Wis
casset DANES. even though they did belong
to the family of Stephen Clough gentle
man and shipmaster.
At length everything was in readiness
and the Sally waited only for the signal
which should tell her master that the plot
had succeeded and the queen ready to
embark. The waiting was in vain. Marie
Antoinette had been removed to deeper
dungeon, and when she once more came out
from this it was not to journey by means of
the broad Atlantic. but to set out upon an
other sea which we call eternity. For after
several days of waiting Captain Clough
formed one of that crowd which on the
memorable 10th of October, 1893 saw the
unfortunate queen led to the scaffold, where
tragedy was ended.
Brought Talleyrand Instead.
1t was not until early In the following
year that Capt. Clough reached again his
native shore. and then it is said that the
Sally, though deprived Of one. royal pas
senger, yet brought no less a parsonage
than the prince and statesman, Talleyrand
Certain 1t Is that he. with companion. ar
rived in Wiscasset about this time and no
then In the French commerce, and all other
vessels were subject to the French inhi-
bition.
When the Sally once more dropped an
Choir In the WiscaSset harbor fabulous
stories were soon floating about as to the
cargo she brought. many of which have
come down to the present day. A Boston
man, Capt. James Swan, was owner of
the lumber trade in which the Sally and her |
master were engaged, and If he had no
other hand IN the plot for the rescue of the
unhappy queen, he at least, as contract |
owner, was entitled to share OF the ships |
unclaimed cargo. A little later we find |
him building a fine mansion In Dorchester, |
which, when completed. was furnished in |
so elegant and costly manner as to be- |
come the wonder and admiration as well |
as envy of all his ne,ghbors. This unprece- |
dented display of magnficence naturally |
caused no little comment and surmises: so |
great sensation in fact was created that |
a certain historian observes that between |
the guillotine which took off their heads |
and Swan who took of their trunks, little |
was left of the French.
A son of Can't. Swan was an officer on |
board the Sally on her memorable return |
from France. being in fact. super-carRo
and q portion Of his share of the royaI be- |
longings was the sldeboard which furnishes |
the subject of the present sketch: this |
young man. James Swan. jr., not long at |
fQ ref,Iru ma rrfed Misc Cyo,rr,,.. -