New-York tribune., 1908-06-28

ber acquainted with the manage msnt Of affairs
| "FIayfng for this purpose, caused the Queen 20
attend the council, she manifested such sur
prfsjne incapacity and appalling Indifference
that he was obliged 10 abandon the attempt"
Long afterward. on the assassination Of her
husband. she disclosed prodigious zeal "I;e-
snonsibility' says NJ Batifol. made Of her
new woman She who before was careless. rose
late and interested herself In nothing but the
toilette and her pleasures. now applied herself
to affairs with unexpected steadfastness Of
purpose; held her Council every morning for
hours together, and ever ready 70 give
dience where questions Of the public interest
were TO be discussed Nevertheless. the policy
of the Regency. even at its best. gives Us no
warrant for assuming that Marie de Medici had
at any time in the course OF her career the IN
stincts Of the true statesman What. then. did
she possess? The social gifts OF a woman and
a magnificent capacity for spending money
| Here is where NJ BatiffoI finds his account.
piling up the instances OF the Queens love os
luxury and positively splendid extrayasanca
Both she and the King were controlled TO an
amazing extent by the high officers OF the state
in matters OF income. When Henri " as
signed 70 his cOnsort some four hundred thou
sand Iivres year. the expenditure OF this fne
allowance not by any means left TO her
caprice But she had genius for the creation
q
about the manner in which her debts kept pace
with her income and outstripped IL The hun
dreds OF functionaries in her household were
consoIed for their small wages by a constant
stream of gratuities. On dress. jewels. gambling
land the divers other foliies Of court life. she
spent money like water. Just once in ten years
she contrived, by some kindness Of the fates.
live within her income Generally. she In
an impecunious state Despite her thirty-sir
thousand livres pocket money Marie de Medcis
never had a crown with her when she went
out: when a beggar asked for an aims she
would borrow coin from of her attend
ants" To economize. however. never entered
her head Her tastes splendid and she
INDUCED them to the full One OF her collars OF
Venetian point was alone worth the eyes out
Of a mans head and she had a fine store OF
them. Describing her as she arrayed herself
on a typical occasion, in costume OF carnation
satin. NJ BatiffoI continues as follows:
This arranged to her satisfaction. her jewels Of
cabinets. must not be forgotten nor yet her ring
Her gold bracelets. studded with seventy-two small
Prestre ieweIer of Paris for thousand and fifty
nv lesser @ bra5fs were made by the jeweer
Jean Subtil- Her gold watch. valued at two thou,
ornanented with several diamonds and she must
n0t fe 2osry 20 Of Pes eHsmes mn god beh Wfs
diamonds" trihe worth nine thousand six hun
yet perfume herself
She desired not only gorgeous apparel but
Iexpensive amusement Cards cost her incred-
ibIe sums. On music and the ballet she also
Iavished quantities Of money. Authors and
artists were encouraged by her, not because
she appreciated their intrinsic qualities but
because they ministered to her passion for
luxury and display Her large charitable gifts
were mostly made with the same absence OF
personal sympathy II is one Of the strange
contradictions of this Queens character that as
time went on. without abating her expend-
lures. she nevertheless took TO saving money
and managed to invest heavy sums outside the
country. She had not. in money matters, a
sharp sense of the point of honor. Yet through
out her career Queen and then as Regent
her wicked wastefuness remained somehow free
from the taint Of vulgarity- Like Henri she
had royal attributes which triumphed over
ignObe foibes. Even in her pursuit OF IN
tenseIy mundane pleasures she had a large way
with her and that it is that saves VI. BatifolS
narrative so full of monetary detail from h4aV-
ing a sordid SAVIOR. On the contrary. this book
makes when all is said. uncomm0nly romantic
reading