Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1906-01-11

uieICitS Vi my Ialf ueuten8QlesS, VINO
will show you the b~ewildering novelty
of the marriage market this morning.
Take good care of him, madame, and
do not let the bright eyes of one of
his appropriations capture him and
deprive us of his estimable assistance.
II you will accompany me back to the
Chateau, Sieur de la Sale, I have some>
what to discuss with you;" and with q
lift of the hat and a wave of his hand,
he left Tonti and his new acquaint-
ance together.
AS the young man turned with a
smile to speak to his companion he be-
held a graceful figure whose every
adornment bespoke a care and taste
that could have been learnt only in
Paris; a pretty face, small and we'll
rounded, Whole cheeks glowed with
the brisk air of the morning; a pair OF
gray-blue eyes that dropped coquettisN
ly beneath their long lashes as his
glance met hers.
Lieut.. BLIZZARD had been of that cele-
brated regiment of Carignan-S alieres
that was ordered home in 1868 by the
king, but a portion of which had been
sent back to New France two years
later. He had had time, however, dur
ing this stay in France to WOO the
comely daughter of a Partisan shop
Keeper who, woman-like, captivatei
By the lace and buttons of the soldier,
her feminine pride tickled by the evi-
dent envy of her associates as she
walked about with him, had deter
mined to cast in her lot across the sea
with her stalwart lover. dreaming of
conquests and advancements for him
until she beheld in his bluff face the
features of a future colonial turenne.
A year of the social life at Quebec
amidst her primitive surroundings had
dissolved these dreams and left her a
disappointed, unhappy woman, an ar
rant f1irt, whose food and air were ad-
m1ration and attention, loving excite
ment and a touch of danger in every
thing. She had thus easily became a
ready aid to Duchesneau in his intri-
CUES. At an early interview that morn.
ing she had received her instructions
from him and had set out upon her
task with a light heart, as the playing
OF a game with a young, handsome
cavalier, fresh from Paris and the
court, was far from repugnant to her.
IF M. lie Capitaine Tonti will per-
NIT she said demurely, IT believe I
can find him entertainment for the
morning that will show that we are
not all savages here"
Par Dieu! madame" exclaimed
Tonti gallantly, 81 can we'll believe
that. The sight of your person has
already proved to me that beauty, wit,
and youth are to be found the whole
world over"
"Ffe! M. Deceiver," was the blush
ing response, seek not to try the flat
teries of Versailles on us poor artless
exiled creatures. Have mercy on our
helplessness, lest we succumb." Then
with a tender, %half-audible sigh she
turned away. Come" said she, ito
the Place d'Armes and | will show you
how marriages are arranged in a new
country"
Together they approached the
square, his fair guide pointing out the
various buildings to Tonti, together
with the distant spires of the Jesuit
church and the Hotel Dieu. A din as
of many voices greeted their ears as
they entered the enclosure. They
found the place filled with a crowd of
interested and curious spectators. Sol
diers off duty, citizens, with their
sleeves rolled up, stopping in their
work to witness the annual sight; good
danes with their knitting in their
hands, and their children, toddling
along beside them, holding fast to the
folds Of their skirts; here and there
an officers wife with her escort-all
mingling in a good-natured confusion.
ut is early yet" explained Madame
BLIZZARD to Tonti, as they wended their
way slowly through the crowd. THE
market does not begin for a half-hour
yet. Meanwhile let us work our way
toward the opposite side of the square
where the crowd is thickest; there we
will find the anxious SWANS signing
for the appearance of their future
wives"
They finally reached a position
where they could see and hear all that
went on. Before them were congre-
gated some hundred or more men,
most of them of the peasant class from
the neighboring farms and selgniories,
clad in their holiday garb, while the
clothes, made of skins and caps of fur,
betrayed a few Of the hardy pioneers
who ventured to the further limits of
the settlement to rear their, cabins and
set their traps. They exchanged greet
ings with one another, laughing and
Joking noisily, while pipesful of to-
bacco and drains Of brandy changed
ownership in friendly barter or social
comfy. Through it all, however, each
kept an anxious eye out towards the
side of the square from which the
procession Of "King's girls" would ap-
proach.
"They all seem eager for the fearful
fate before them" laughed Tonti.
True" was the reply, that had a
touch of bitterness in it, "bu& if you
pity the men, I pity the unfortunate
girls more, doomed as they are to a life
of servitude and labor with a man they
have see before, and whom
they will probably wish within a
month that they had never met. Still,
as you know, they are all bo%urgeoisie
who are accustomed to nothing better
than hard service and abuse. 1t is
their kings command that they shall
marry, and they obey. We soldier
folk, however, although tho king