The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-07-07
CHAPTER II.
SURVIVING EVILS OF THE REIGN
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our country who, knowing that the room
IN the wooden cupalo over Mr.. Carewes
library commonly alluded to by Rouen
AZ the "Tower Chamber" will prove HIM
self so sectionally prejudlced as to deny
that the town was a veritable hotbed Of
literary interest, or that Sir Walter Scott
was III appreciated there? Some. OF the
men looked SLY, and others grinned, ct
mention Of this apartment; but the ro-
mantle were not lacking who spoke OF 1t
in whispers. how the lights sometimes
shone there all night long, and the gen
tlemen drove away, white-faced. In the
dawn. Tho cupola, rising above the IL
brary, overlooked the garden. and the
house, save for that, was of single
story. with a low veranda running the
length of Its front. The windows of the
| library and of row of bedrooms-one
OF which was Miss. Betty's--lined the
| veranda, Steamboat fashion" the IN
| ner doors Of these rooms all opening upon
a long hall which bisected the house
The stairway leading to the room In the
| cupola rose in the library Itself, while
| the bisecting hall afforded the only ac-
cess to tho library; hence the gossips.
| well acquainted with the geography OF
the place. conferred seriously together
ing would have in this connection. for
any one going to tho stairway must
| reeds pass her door: and what was more
| to the point, n party of gentlemen de.
scending lnte from the mysterious turret
might be not SO quiet as they Intended.
and the young lady sufficiently disturbed
| to INQUIRE OF her father what entertain
n,ent he provided that should keep his
guests until four in the morning
But ut present 1t was with tho opposite
| end of the house that tho town was oc-
| cupied. for there. workmen were man,
mering and saving and painting all
day long, finishing the addition Mr.. Ca
rewe was building for his daughters
| debut. This hammering disturbed Miss
| Betty who had become almost as pusy
with the French Revolution as with her
| antua-maker. For she had found IN her
fathers library many books not for con-
vent shelves, and she had become
Grondin.
She found memoirs. histories and tales
iof that delectable period then not so
dim with time but that the figures OF II
were more than tragic shadows; ana 1or
to which she sat down earlier than nall
mn hour late. She had n rlghtful prop
erty interest In the Revolution, her own
grcat-uncle having been one OF those VINO
Hsuffered" not, however, under the gull
lotine. for to Georges Meilhac appertained
the are distinction Of death by accident
on the day when the business-like young
Bonaparte played upon the mob with his
There we're some yellow letters of this
great-uncles in n box which had De-
longed to her grandmother rich DIS
covery for Miss Betty, who read and re-
read them with eager and excited eyes
living moro in Paris with Georges and
his friends, than in Rouen with her
father. Indeed, she had little else to do.
Mr.. Carewe was no comrade for her by
far the reverse. She seldom saw him. ex-
cept al the table. when he sat with
averted eyes and talked to her very lit.
tic: and while making elaborate prepa-
! ration for her Introduction to his friends
UGH was his phrase) he treated her WIN
perfunctory cvillty which made her
wonder II her advent was altogether vel
come to him: but when she noticed that
his hair looked darker than usual about
every fourth day. she began to under
stand why he appeared ungrateful to her
for growing UP. He went out a great deal
though no visitors came to the house; for
1t was known that Mr.. Carewe desired
to present his daughter to no one until
he presented her to all. F'anchon Bareaud
indeed, made one hurried and embarrass-
ed cali, evading Miss Betty's refcrnce to
tho chevaller of the kitten with n dexteri-
ty too nimble to be thought uninten-
tional Miss Carewe was forbidden to re-
turn her friends visit until after her
debut and Mr.. Carewe explained that
there was always some worthless young
men hanging about the Bareaud's. where
Che did not add. they interfered with
worthy old one desired to honor Fanchon's
older sister, Virginia, with his atten-
tons.
This was no great hardship for Miss
Betty, as since plungng into the Revolu-
ton with her great-uncle. she had lost
some curiosity concerning the men of to-
day, doubling that they would show forth
as heroic, as debonnair, gray and tragic
as he He was the legendary hero of her
childhood; she remembered her mothers
stories of him perhaps moro clearly than
she remembered her mother; and one of
the older sisters had known him in Paris
and had talked to him at length, giving
the flavor of his dandylsm and his beauty
at first hand to his young relative. He
had been ono of those hardy young men
wearing unbelievable garments. who be-
gan to appear in the garden Of the
Tuileries with knives In their sleeves
and cudgels in their. hands, about April,
1894, and whose dash and recklessness in
many matters were the first limitations
that the Citizen Talien was about to
cause the Citizen Robesplerre to shoot
himself through the jaw.
In the library hung small full-length
drawing OF Georges, done in color by Miss
Betty's grandmother; and this she carried
to her own room and studied long and
dIutlllly, uUlll soIllSliliicS VIC man INN
self seemed to stand before her. In spite
of the fact that Mile. Mellhac had not
distinguished talent and M. Meilhac's
features might have been anybodys 1t
was to be seen. however, that he was
smiling.
Miss Betty had an impression that
her grandmother's art of portraiture
would have been more successful with
the profile than the "full-face," Never
theless nothing could be more clearly
indicated than that the hair OF M. Neil
hac was very yellow, and his short.
huge -apeled waistcoat white. striped
with scarlet. An enormous crayat
covered his chin: the heavy collar of
his yellow coat rose behind his ears,
while It's tails fell to his ankles; and
the tight trousers of white and yellow
stripes were tied with white ribbons
about the middle of the calf he wore
white stockings and gold-buckled yell
low shoes, and on the back of his head
a iauntily cooked black hat; Miss
Betty innocently wondered why his
letters did not speak Of Potion, of Verg-
MAUD of Dumoriez. since In the historical