The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1904-08-13

4 Woman Whose E~ntrnne;nE ovc!I-
ness Dazzled Even tic Women OF
the Frenc Cnpit,l-Tke Mild and
I~n0fensive Young B~onapnrtc.
During the directoire Marie de- Me,li-
els palace became the center Of gov
eminent and BarraS reigned there un-
der the inspiration Of Mime. Iallien. 1t
was she who organized all the fetcs
and ceremonies which enliSeneu Paris
after the Terror. In 1896 the beautiful
Spaniard was twenty-three and had al
ready had an eventful past. The daush-
ter Of a %1inancier named CaDar-us, she
had married at the age of sixteen the
Marquis de Fontenay, been divorced
from him in 1893 and had remarked, Il
few months after, Tallien, the convcn-
tiOnnel.
Arrested May %, 1894, she was i'm
prisoned in Les Carmes, and it was
from here that she wrote the singing
epistles to her husband which induced
that wavering spirit to dare all In the
attempt to set her free. Armed with
a dagger in case Of failure and all the
! COURAGE uC SOulN A4u6lCx, A0dAACA OA
the famous 9th Thermidor attacked
Robespierre in a debate which brought
| about the fall of the "sea green mon
ster."
The reign OF terror came to an end,
the prisons disgorged their victims. and
Nine. Tallien received from the people
the title Of Notre Dame de Thermfdor.
The world was at her feet, and she daz-
zled it by her beauty and her charm,
her lovers and her luxury. Even wom-
en- forgot to be jealous and acknowledg-
ed what all men proclaimed. The fol-
lowing description is from the pen Of
one OF her own sex, Mime. de Chaste-
nay:
Mime. Tallien came every day to
visit Barras. 1 do not think it possible
to he loNclier than this woma was
then I shall always see her Like a
fairy queen among the rest. her beau
tiful black hair coiled simply on her
head without ang ornament, round her
neck a single string OF large pearls.
She wore a white underdress and
tunic Of ink crepe, and, sitting on the
ground playing with a child OF three.
the son Of one of Barras' friends, they
made a group which no classic sculp-
ture could surpaSs.'
Barras tells us With great Eoivete, in
his memoirs, that the Little Corsican"
only turned his attention to Josephine
Beauharnais after Il fruitless attempt
to obtain favor with Nine. Tallien and
41~-% kI;, 1r,r7- 1o1 %rnnfoI him with
great disdain, telling him "she could do
better for herself" This account Of
the affair coming from any other quar-
ten' would be more credible.
A considerable event was now to
take place at the Luxembourg-namely,
the reception given to General Bona
;parte after the campaign of Italy. For
this ceremony (Dec. ~. 17v7yahe court
yard of the palace WAS transformed
into a sort of temple, and an altar to
Ia Patrie erected III the grand entrance
hail. The five directors. with Barras
at their head, attired Themselves US
Remains, while Talleyrand- af,e min
lister Of foreign affairs. was prepared
with an elaborate harangue.
The scene was made additionally
brilliant by the presence Of many Ia
dies. whose splendid jewels and rich
dresses did honor to the occasion,
while their eager faces and murmured
admiration betrayed their interest in
the young hero. Among these groups
not the least noticeable were Mime. de
Stael and Nine. Recamier-"Wit and
Beauty" as Napoleon himself named
them.
Alone of all the assembly the future
emperor had assumed no imposing COS
tune. His unifc~n, that Of a general of
the Revolution. suggested a character
of republican simplicity, while his pal
lor, his gravity and quiet demeanor
to deprecate the ceremony of
he vas the object. The tone of
his speech was equally modest, his
theme the pride he felt in his country's
scientific conquests and her progress
the paths of peace.
Surely no government could suspect
4 rival in so well disposed a young
nan. Two years later the comp d'etat
Brumaire drove Barras from the
and the first assembly,
which in France has borne the title of
began it's sittings in the palace.
Mrs. E. Stuart Wortley in Ma
iOnal Review.
H H- 0--l r. . ---l-hH..-