The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1903-07-10

her until his poor old heels. and his
head, too, for that matter. were like
to fall Off: then she would slip away
from him and lock herself i'm her room.
December. say I. let May alone: she
certainly will kill you. Despite which
sound advice. doubt not December
will go on covetlng May up to the end
of the chapter. each old fellow-being
such a fine man for his age. you under
stand-fondly believing himself an ex-
ception. Age I'm fool Is damnable.
Mary was killing Louis as certainly
and deliberately as IL she We're feeding
him slow poison. He was very weak
and decrepit at best, being compelled
frequently upon public occasions. such.
for example, as the coronation tourna-
ment of which I have spoken, to lie
upon n couch.
Mary's conduct was really cruel. but
then, remember the provocation. and
that she was acting in self defense.
All this was easier for her than you
might suppose. for the kings grasp of
power. never very strong, was begin
ming 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 vast
ly smitten with Mary. openly encour-
aged her In what she did. the courtiers
of course followed suit. and the old
| king found himself surrounded by a
court only too ready to be amused by
Il 4 t.. o&
| This condition Of affairs Mary well
coined with herwhole soul, and to accent
1t and nail assurance, I fear. played
ever so lightly and coyly upon the
heartstrings Of the young duke, which
responded all too loudly to her velvet
| touch and almost frightened her to
death with their volume of sound later
on. This Francis dAngouleme, the
dauphin, had fallen desperately In love
with Mary at first sight, something
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 In plenty. but. as you know,
the gallant Frenchmen say. according
to their law salic, "The realm of
France is SO great and glorious a heri-
tage that it may not be taken by a
woman" Too great and glorious to be
taken by a woman, forsooth! France
would have been vastly better or had
she been governed by a woman now
and then. for a country always pros
pers under a queen.
Francis had for many years lived at
court as the recognized heir. and, as
the custom was. called his distant cous-
in Louis "Uncle" uncle" Louis in
turn called Francis "Ce Gros Garcon,"
land Queen Mary called him Monsieur,
mon beau fils," In a mock motheriy
manner that was very laughable. A
mother of eighteen to a good boy" OF
twenty-twol Dangerous relationship
And dangerous indeed 1t would have
been for Mary had she not been as
lpure and true as she was willful and
impetuous. "Mon beau flls" allowed
neither his wife nor the respect be
owed the king to 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 to see Mary at the meeting plact
this side OF Abbeville, and was tht
kings representative on all occasions.
Beau fils" was rather a handsome
fellow, but thought himself vastly
handsomer than he was. and had some
Il ~, hn no raj
TO estimate at their full value. to say
the least. He was very well liked by
women. and In turn considered himsel
irresistible. He was very impression
able to feminine charms. was at hear
n libertine, and. as he grew older, be
came a debauchee whose memory vii
taint France for centuries to come.
Mary saw his weakness more clearl!
than his wickedness, being blinded t
the latter by the veil of her own limo
cence She laughed at and with him
and permitted herself a great deal o
| his company-so much, In fact, that
grew a little Jealous for Brandon'
sake. and. IL the truth must be told. 70
, the first time began to have doubts o
, her. seriously feared that whel
Louis should die Brandon might fn'
. a much more dangerous rival In tn
, | new king. who. although married
, | would probably try to keep Mary a
, his court even should he be driven t
, the extreme of divorcing Claude a
+, Claude's father had divorced Joan.
, l believed, In case Mary should vol
UNFAIRLY prove false and remain II
France either as the wife or the mis-
/, tress OF Francis. that Brandon woul'
quietly but surely contrive some mean
10 take her life. and hoped he would
, I spoke to my wife, Jane. about tn
/ | queens conduct, and she finally admit
ted that she did not like II, so l, unabi
to remain silent any longer. determine
= TO put Mary on her guard, and for tina
purpose spoke very freely to her on tn
, subject.
: "Oh. you gooser she said laughingly
/ "He is almost as great fool as Hen
ry." Then the tears came to her eyes
and half angrily. half Historically
l shaking me by the arm, she continued
: do you not know? Can you not Sc
!, that | would give this hand or my eyes
e almost my life. just to fall upon IN
( face in front Of Charles Brandon a
r this moment? Do you not know tina
q a woman with n love In her heart sue
r as have for him Is safe from ever
e one and everything; that it is her shee
! anchor, sure and fast? Have you nc
: wit enough to know thaty'
e Yes. l have" 1 responded, for tn
I time completely silenced. With her "a
o vorite tactics she had. as usual, put NJ
1 I'm the wrong though 4 soon cam