Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-02-23

we puSned on, coming In S1gnt or the
Chateau LIE Ray at shutdown. A splen-
did place II was, the castle Of gray
stone fronting fair stretch of wooded
lawn, cut by brook that went splash
ing over rocks near by, and sent its
velvet voice through the wood and
field. A road Of fine gravel led through
groves of beech and oak and pine
to a grassy terrace under the castle
walls. Presently tail. handsome
man, with black eyes and iron-grav
hair and nustache, came down path,
clapping his hands.
welcome, gentlmen! 1t is the
Capt. Bell?" said he, with a marked
accent, as he came to me, his hand OK.
tended. you come foom Monsieur the
Gen. Brown, do you not?'
4 d." said !, handing him my mes
sage.
He broke the seal and read It care
fully.
y am glad to see y0u--ver' glad to
see you!" said he, LAYING his hano.
upon my shoulders and giving ME o
little shake.
The two servants went away with
D'ri and Seth and the horses.
Come, captain" said my host. as he
led the way. you are in good time
for dinner"
We entered great triangular hall,
lighted by side windows above the
door. and candelabra of shining brass
that hung from it's high ceiling There
were sliding doors of polished wood
on each side of it, A great stairway
filled the point of the triangle.
was shown to my room, which was
as big as ballroom, it seemed to
me, and grandly furnished: no cas-
tie of my dreams had been quite so
fine. Tho valet of the count looked
after me. with the offers Of new linen
and more things than I could see use
for. He could not speak English. l
remember. and I addressed him in the
good French my mother had taught
me.
The kind of life saw in this grand
both my mother and my father had
known good living In their youth,
and / had heard much Of it. I should
have been glad of my new uniform:
but after | had had my bath and put
on the new shirt and collar the valev
had brought ME. | stood before the
long pier-glsss and saw no poor figure
of a man.
The great dinng-hall of the count
was lighted with many candles when
we came in 10 dinner. 1t had a big
fireplace, where logs were blazing, for
the night had turned cool, and a long
table with a big epergne of wrought
silver. filled with roses. in its
center. A great silken rug lay I'M
der the table. on polished floor, and
the walls were hung with tapestry.
sat beside the count, and opposite me
was the daughter OF the Sieur Louis
Francois de Saint-Michel. kings for
ester under Louis XVI. Therese, the
handsome daughter Of the count, sat
facing him at the farther end of +he
table, and beside her was the young
Marquis de Gonvello. NJ. Pidgeon, the
celebrated French astronomer. Moss
Kent, brother OF the since famous
chancellor. the Sieur Michel. and the
Baroness de Ferre. with her two wards.
the Misses Louise and Louison de
Lambert were also at dinner. These
young ladies We're the most remark
able of the company, their beauty was
SO brilliant, so fascinating, it kindled
a great fire in me the moment / saw
it, They said little. but seemed to
the table. looked at them more than
was polite, I am sure, but they looked
at me quite as often. They had big.
beautiful brown eyes. and dark hair
fastened high with jewel!ed pins, and
profiles like those of the fair ladies
OF Sir Peter Lely. so finely were they
cut. One had form bit fuller and
stronger than the others, but they
were both as tall and trim as young
beech. with lips cherry-red and cheeks
where one could see family the glow of
their young blood. Their gowns were
cut low. showing the graceful lines of
neck and shoulder and full bosom.
had seen pretty girls. many Of them,
but few high-bred, beautiful young
women The moment l saw these two
some new and mighty force came into
me- There were wine and wit plenty
at the counts table, and other things
that were also new to me. and for
which I retained perhaps too great a
fondness.
The count asked me 10 tell of our
journey, and told the story with all
the spirit | could put into my words
I am happy to say it did seem to hit
the mark. for | was no sooner done
with our adventure than the ladies
began to clap their hands. and the
Misses de Lambert had much delight
in their faces when the baroness re-
told my story in French.
Dinner over, the count invited me
10 the smoking-room, where, In a cor
ner by ourselves. had some talk with
him. He told me of his father-that
he had been friend of Franklin.
that he had given ship and a cargo of
gunpowder to our navy in '76. Like
others l had met under his roof. the
count had seen the coming of the Reign
of Terror in France, and had fled with
his great fortune. He had invested
much Of it there in the wild country
He loved America, and had given free
ly to equip the army for war. He
was. therefore. man Of much infiu-
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