Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-08-06
A PARTISAN BEAUTY,
NINE. FALLEN, WHO, 1T IS ASSERTED,
SNuBsEO NAPOLEON.

A Woman Whose Enhancing Lowell
ness DazzIed Even the Women OF
the French CapitaI-The Mild and
InOhensive Young BOnaparte.
During the directoire Marie de- AIedi-
els palace became the center of gov
| eminent and Barras reigned there un-
der the inspiration Of Nine. Tallien. 1t
was she who organized all the fetes
and ceremonies which enlivened Paris
after the Terror. In 1896 the beautiful
| Spaniard was twenty-three and had al
ready had an eventful past The daugh-
ter of a financier named Cabarrus, she
| had married at the age of sixteen the
Marquis de Fontenay, been divorced
from him in 1893 and had remarked, q
few months after, Tallien, the conven-
| tionnel.
Arrested May %, 1874, she was i'm
| priSOned in Les Carnes, and it was
from here that she wrote the stinging
| 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 he could muster, Tallien on
the famous 9th Thermidor attacked
Robespierre in 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 Thermidor.
The world was at her feet, and she daz-
Zled II by her beauty and her charm,
her lovers and her luxury. Even wom-
en- forgot to be jealous and acknowledge
ell what all men proclaimed. The fol-
lowing description is from the pen of
one of her own sex, Nine. de Chaste-
nay:
mime. Tallicn came every day &c
visit Barras. ! do not think it possible
TO he lovelier than this woman was
then. l shall always see her like
fairy queen among the rest, her beau
tiful black hair coiIed simply on her
head without any ornament, round her
neck single string of large pearls.
She wore Il white underdress and
tunic of ink crepe, and, sitting on the
ground playing with Il 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 naivete, IT.
his memoirs. that the Little COrsican"
only turned his attention to Josephine
Bcauharnais after a fruitleSs attempt
to obtain favor with Mime. Tallien and
that this lady had treated him with
great disdain, telling him she could do
better for herself" This account of
the affair coming from any other quar- |
ter would be more credible.
\ 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 10, 119O the court
yard OF the palace was transformed |
into a sort of temple. and an altar to
In Patrie erected in the grand entrance |
hall. The five directors, with Barras |
at their head, attircd themselves as |
Romans, while Talleyrand. the min
lister of foreign affairs. was prepared |
with an elaborate haranGue.
The scene was made additionally |
brilliant by the presence of many la |
dies, whose splendid jewels and rich |
dresses did honor to the occasion, |
while their eager faces and murmured |
betrayed their interest in
the young hero. Among these groups
not the least noticeable We're Nine. de
Stael and Nine. Reconnaissance and
Beauty" as Napoleon himself named
them.
Alone of all the assembly the future
emperor had assumed no imposing COS
tune. His uniform, that of general of
the Revolution, suggested a character
Of republican simplicity. while his pal
Tor, his gravity and quiet dcmeanor
seemed to deprecate the ceremony Of
which he was 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
n the paths of peace.
Surely no government could suspect
I rival in so well disposed q young
man. Two years later the coup detat
If Brumaire drove BaTras from the
and the first assembly,
which in France has borne the title of
senate, began its sittings in the palace.
Hon. Mrs. Z. Stuart Wortley in Ma
-fppoI