Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-10-26

many pretexts nearly two months. but
when did at last rest mine eyes for the
first time upon this King Louis face /
well knew that / could rule him. and
when ] did arrive and had adjusted my
self in this Paris I found II so easy that
my heart leaped for very Joy. Beauty
goeth so far with this iniammable people
that easily do / rule them all. and truly
doth a servile subject make a sharp capri
cious tyrant. Thereby the misfortune which
hath come upon US is of so much less evil
and Is so Ike TO be Of such short duration
that / am almost happy. but for lack Of
thee. and sometimes think that after all
Il may verify be a blessing unseen.
This new. unexpected face upon our
trouble hath so driven the old gnawing
ache out OF my heart that ] love to be
alone and dream. open eyed. of the time.
OF a surety not far of, when / shall be
with thee. ''' 1t is ofttimes sore hard
for me. who have never waited. to have to
wait. like a patient Griselda. which of a
truth / am not. for this which / do so
want, but / try to make myself content
with the thought that full sure II will not
be for long. and that when this tedious
time hath spent itself we shall look back
upon IL as a very soul school. and shall
rather Joy that we did not purchase our
heaven too cheaply.
/ said / find IL easy to live here as
wish. and did begin to tell thee how Ii was
for thee so / will try again. This Louis,
to begin with. Is but the veriest shadow
OF a man. OF whom thou needst have not
one Jealous thought. He is on a bed Of
sickness most Of the time, of his own ac-
cord, and IL. perchance. he be but fairly
we'll a day or so / do straightway make
him I'll again in one way or another. and
please God, hope to wear him out entirely
ere long time OF a deed. Brother Henry
was right. Better had II been for Louis to
have married a human devil than me, for
II maketh a very one out of me X mine
eyes but rest upon him, and thou know
est full well what kind of a devil make.
Brother Henry knoweth, at any rate. For
all this do / grieve, but have no remedy
nor want one. / sometimes do almost
compassionate the old king. but / cannot
forbear. for he turneth my very blood to
biting gall, and must cen take the conse-
quences Of his own folly. Truly Is he
wild for love of me. this poor old man.
and the more hold him at a distance the
more he fondly dotes. l do verify believe
he would try to stand upon his foolish
old head did / but insist. / sometimes
have a thought to make him try II. He
doeth enough that is senseless and alb
surd. in all conscience, as 1t is At all Of
this do the courtiers smile and laugh and
put me forward to other pranks-that is.
all but a few of the elders who shake
their heads, but dare do nothing else for
fear of the dauphin, who will soon be
king and who stands first in urging and
abetting me. So 1t is easy for me to do
what / wish, and above all to leave I'M
done that which / wish not, for do easily
rule them all. as good Sir Edwin and dear
Jane will testify. l have ball every
night wherein do make deal Of amuse-
ment for every one by dancing La Volta
with his majesty until his heels. and his
poor old head, too. are like to fall off.
Others importune me for those dances.
especially the dauphin, but / laugh and
shake my head and say that 1 will dance
with no one but the king. because he
dances so well. This pleases his majesty
nightly and maketh an opening for me
to avoid the touch of other men, for am
jealous of myself for thy sake. and save
and garner every little touch for thee
''' Sir Edwin will tell you l dance with
/ no one else and surely never will
You remember WELL / doubt not, when
| thou first didst teach me this new dance.
/ All. how delightful 1t was, and yet how
at first IL did brighten and anger me.
| Thou canst not know how my heart beat
| during all the time of that first dance. I
! thought of q surety, 1t would burst, and
| then the wild thrill of frightened ecstasy
that made my blood run like fire! I knew
1t must be wrong. for 1t was, In truth, too
sweet a thing to be right. And then l
grew angry at thee as the cause of my
wrongdoing and scolded thee, and repented
! 1t, usual. Truly didst thou conquer.
not win, me. Then afterward, withal II
so frightened me, how l longed to dance
again. and could in no way stay myself
| from asking. At times could l hardly
wait till evening FELL and when upon oc-
casion thou didst not come 1 was so angry
said hated thee. What must thou have
thought of me- so forward and bold! And
I that afternoon All, / think of 1t every
hour. and see and hear it all and live II
DER and Ger. as 1t sweeter grows with
memory's ripening touch. Some moments
/ there are that send their glad ripple down
through LIES stream to the verge of the
grave. and truly blest Is one who can
smile upon and kiss these memory waves
and draw from thence a bliss that never
fails; but thou knowest full we'll my heart,
and need not tease thee with it's out
pourings.
There Is yet another matter of which ]
wish to write in very earnestness. Sir
Edwin spoke to me thereof and what he
said hath given me serious thought.
thank him for his words, of which he
will tell thee In full II thou but importune
him thereto. 1t Is this: The dauphfn.
Francis d'Angouleme, hath fallen des-
perately fond Of me and Is quite as inn
Fortunate and almost as foolish as the
elder lover. This people in this strange
land of France have. in sooth, some curl
GUS nOtlOnS. or an example thereto, nc
one thinks to find anything unseeming In
the dauphin's conduct by reason of his
having already a wife, and more, that
wife the Princess Claude, daughter to the
king. / laugh at him and let him say
what he will. for in truth l am powerless
to prevent II. Words cannot scar even q
rose leaf and will not harm me- Then. by
his help and example am justified In the
eyes OF the court In that / so treat the
king. which otherwise IL were impossible
for me to do and live here. So. however
much / may loathe them yet am driven
to tolerate his words, which 1 turn of
with laugh. making sure. thou mayest
know. that II come to nothing more thar
words And thus II Is. however much
wish IL not. that do use him to help me
treat the king as like. and do then use
the poor old king my buckler against
this dukes too great familiarity. But, my
friend. when the king comes to die, ther
shall / have my fears of this youns
Francis d'Angouleme. He Is desperate
for me, and / know not to what length hi
might go. The king cannot live long az
, the thread of his life is like rotten fax
and when he dies thou must come with.