The San Francisco call., 1903-01-25

leCemDeT VIII 20 on NNNFLA4lS 4NAdS ui ~
the end of the chapter: each old fellow
being such a fine man for his age you
understands -fondly believing himself an
exception Age in fool is damnable.
Mary was killing Louis certainly and
deliberately as if she were feeding him
slow poison He was very weak and de-
crepit at best being compelled frequently
upon public occasions. such, for example,
as the coronation tourna ament OF which L
have spoken. to lie upon a couch
Marv's conduct was really cruel; but
then. remember her provocation and that
she was acting i'm self-defense. All this
was easier for her than you might sup
pose. for the Kings grasp of power, never
very strong. was beginning to relax even
what little grip ii had All faces were
turned toward the rising sun. young
Francis Duke Of Angouleme. the Kings
distant cousin, who would soon be king
in Louis place. AS this young rising
sun. himself vastly smltten with Mary.
openly encouraged her in what she
did. the courtiers of course followed suit,
and the old King found himself surround
ed by court only too ready to be amused
by his lively young Queen at his expense.
This condition of affairs Mary welcom-
ed with her whole soul, and to accent it
and nail assurance, ] fear, played ever
so lightly and coyly upon the heart
strings of the young Duke, which re-
sponded all too loudly TO her velvet
touch, and almost frightened her to death
with their yolume Of sound later on. This
Francis d'Angouleme, the Dauphin, had
fallen desperately in love with Mary at
first sight. an effect against which the
fact that he was married to Claude,
daughter of Louis. in no way initiated
He was a very distant relative of Louis.
going away back to St. Louis
for his heirship to the French
crown. The King had daughters
I'm plenty. but as you know. the gal
liant Frenchmen say, according to, their
Law Salic: The realm of France is so
great and glorious heritage that it may
not be taken by a woman" Too great
and glorious TO be taken by a woman,
forsoothl France would nave been vastly
better off had she been governed by
woman now and then, for a country al
WAYS prospers under a queen.
Francis had for many years lived at
court as the recognized heir, and as the
custom was. called his distant cousin
Louis Uncle" Uncle" Louis in turn
called Francis "Ce Gros Garcon," and
Queen Mary called him Monsieur, mon
beau fls." in a mock-motherly manner
that was very laughable. A mother Of
eighteen to a good boy" OF twenty-five!
Dangerous relationship! And dangerous.
indeed. 1t would have been for Mary. had
she not been as pure apd true as she was
willful and impetuous. Mon beau fills"
allowed neither his. wife nor the respect
he owed the King 10 stand in the way Of
his very marked attention to the Queen.
His position as heir, and his long resi-
dence at court, almost as son to Louis,
gave him ample opportunities for press
ing his unseemly suit. He was the first
70 To- ct OInPa this Sfda
of Abbeville, and was the Kings repre-
sentative on all occasions.
Beau fills" was quite a handsome fell
low, but thought himself vastly hand
somer than he was: and had some tall
ents which he was likewise careful to es-
innate at their full value, to say the
least He was quite we'll liked by women,
and In turn considered himself irressti-
BILE. He was very impressionable to fem
mime charms, was at heart a libertine.
and, as he grew older, became debauche
whose memory will taint France for CEN
turies to come
Mary his weakness more clearly
than his wickedness, being blipded to the
latter by the veil Of her own innocence.
She laughed at and with him, and per-
mitted herself a great deal of his COM
pany; so much in fact, that ! grew lit
tie Jealous for Brandons sake and, II
the truth must be told. for the first time
began to have doubts of her. seriously
feared that when Louis should die, Bran
don might find much more dangerous
rival in the new King. who. though mar
ried, would probably try to keep Mary at
his court, even should he be driven to the
extreme of divorcing Claude, as Claude's
father had divorced Joan.
1 believed. in case Mary should volun-
tarily prove false and remain in France,
either as the wife or mistress of Francis,
that Brandon would quietly but surely
contrive some means to take her life, and
I hoped he would. 1 spoke to my wife,
Jane about the Queens conduct, and she
finally admitted that she did not like 1t, SO
I, unable to remain silent any longer,
determined to put Mary on her guard,
and for that purpose spoke very freely
to her the subject.
"Ohi you goosei" she said laughingly
He is almost as great fool as Henry"
Then the tears came to her eyes, and half
angrily. half Historically shaking, me by
the arm she continued: do you not
see that I would give this hand, or my
eyes, almost my life, just to fall upon my
face in front of Charles Brandon at this
moment2 Do you not know that a wo-
man with love in her heart such as I
have for him is safe from every one and
everything? That II is her sheet anchor.
sure and fast? Have you not wit enough
to know that?"
"Yes, 1 have" responded, for the time
completely silenced. With her favorite
tactics, she had. usual. put me in the
wrong, though L soon came again to the
attack.
"But he is so base that grieve to see
you with him.
Il suppose he is not very good" she
sponded, but it seems to be the way Of
these people among whom l have fallen,
and he cannot harm me-"
"Ohi but he can. One does not go near
smallpox, and there is a moral contagion
quite as dangerous. II not so perceptible,
and equally to be avoided. 1t must be a
wonderfully healthy moral nature, pure
and chaste TO the core, that will be en-
tirely contagion proof and safe from It,"
She hung her head in thought, and then
lifted her eyes appealingly to me. Am
I not that, Edwin? Tell mel Tell me
frankly; am / not? 1t is the one thing
of good I have always striven for. am
so full of other faults that If have not
that there is good in me-" Her eyes
and voice were full of tears, and I knew