Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1903-10-19
her room all the morning. And he apol-


in accordance with the English Gus
tom. and had a heavy supper at night,
when she would make the king gorge
himself with unhealthful food and coax
him Ito drink as much as Brother
Henry" which invariably resulted in
Louis de yalois finding Judgment under
the table. This amused the whole
court except a few old cronies and
physicians. who, of course, were scan
dalized beyond measure. She took the
king on long rides with her on cold
days. and would jolt him almost to
death and freeze him until the cold
tears streamed down his poor pinched
nose, making him feel like a half ami
mated icicle and wish that he were
one. in fact.
At night she would have her balls
and keep him up till morning, drinking
and dancing. or trying to dance, with
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 in her room.
December, say 1, let May alone; she
certainly will kill you. Despite which
sound advice, l doubt not December
will go on coveting May up to the end
of the chapter. each old fellow-being
such fine man for his age, you under
stand-fondly believing himself an ex-
ception. Age in a fool is damnable
Mary was killing Louis as certainly
and deliberately as If she were 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 l have spoken, to lie
upon a 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 it
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
court only too ready to be amused by
his lively young queen at his expense.
This condition of affairs Mary well
coined with her whole soul, and to accent
1t and nail assurance, / 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
1auphin, 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. 1.-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 off 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 zee eros Garcon,"
and Queen Mary called him Monsieur,
mon beau fils," in a mock motherly
manner that was very laughable. A
mother Of eighteen to good boy" of
twenty-five! Dangerous relationship!
And dangerous indeed it would have
been for Mary had she not been as
pure and true as she was willful and
impetuous. Mon beau fills" allowed
neither his wife nor the respect he
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 place
this side of Abbeville, and was the
kings representative on all occasions.
Beau fills" was rather a handsome
fellow, but thought himself vastly
handsomer than he was, and had some
talents, which he was likewise careful
to estimate at their full value. to say
the least. He was very well liked by
women, and in turn considered himself
irresistible. He was very impression.
able to feminine charms, was at heart
a libertine. and, as he grew older, be-
came debauchee whose memory will
faint France for centuries to come.
Mary saw his weakness more clearly
than his wickedness, being blinded to
the latter by the veil of her own limo.
cence. She laughed at and with him,
and permitted herself great deal of
his company-so much, in fact, that /
orow littla lone for