The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1909-09-01
FAMOUS WAX ARTIST.
Nine. Tussaud Had an Exciting
and Dramatic Career.
IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.

During That Era Of 5loodshed She
Modelled Some Of the Heads That Fell
by the GuilIotins and Was For .
Time In Prison Herself a. q Suspect.
This is the story Of Nine. Tussaud,
who was born in Berne in 176O and
died in London in 1850, and who, dur
ing the stormy time Of the French rev.
olution, modelled in wax some Of the
heads that fell by the %guillotine.
Marie Gresholtz was the daughter Of
an aidde-camp Of General Wurmser
In the. Seven Years war. She was
born after the death of her father.
Her mother was the sister Of DR..
John Christopher Curtius Of Berne.
This DR.. Curtius had made many
anatomical and other models in wax
and had attracted the attention Of the
Prince de Cont. This nobleman urged
Curtius to come to Paris and establish
himself as q modeler in wax.
The Curtifs studio became the rem
devious of the fashionable world, and
in connection with this he had a muse.
UNI Of curiosities. Among his patrons
were Voltaire, Jean Jacques, Rous-
seau, Mesmer, Mirabeau, Diderot, Ben
tamin Franklin, Paul Jones and many
other notable persons.
In his visits to his sister at Berne
DR.. Curtius had taught his niece, Marie,
many of the secrets Of modelling in
a She showed such ability in this
that her uncle urged her mother to
make a home with him in Paris and to
allow him to adopt Marie as his daugh-
ter.
Marie began earnest study with DR..
Curtius, and she was so skillful in
the modelling of wax flowers that this
art became a craze. Even the royal
~personages in the palace took it up.
and Marie spent some time giving les
sons to Nine. Elizabeth. the young Sis
ter Of Louis XVI.
When the revolution broke out DR..
Curtiis took the side of the people and
sent for Marie to come from the pal
ace. 1t was rather singular that two
Of his wax models should have played
a foremost part in the opening Genes
Of that awful period. In his collec-
lister, Necker, father of Nine. de Stael,
and one Of Philippe, duke Of Or
leans. Two days before the storming
Of the Bastille a mob took these two
busts from his museum in the Palais
Royal, draped them in black Grape to
show their sympathy and started to
parade the streets with these.
AS the procession filed across the
Place Vendome a troop of dragons
and n of the regiments charged. A
sword stroke cut the bust of Necker
in halves, and the man who was carry
ing it was hit by a musket ball in the
leg and received the thrust Of a sword
in his breast.
The bust of the Duke of Orleans
escaped injury, but in the fight to de-
fend it several persons were killed.
The soldiers made desperate efforts to
demolish it.
At the taking of the Bastille DR.. Cur
thus was active and for his services to
France was rewarded by the national
assembly. A badge of honor was pre-
sented to him, and this was inscribed
with the famous date and q memorial
Of his bravery and patriotism. His
house was a favorite place of meeting
with the leaders Of the revolution, so
Marie had an opportunity to see them
all.
There was only one time when Marie
was in any danger during this des-
perate period. She was suspected"
and sent to prison. Here at the same
time was Nine. de Beauharnais, who
had barely escaped the guillotine and
who was later the Josephine Of Napo-
leon B%onaparte. Her uncle was able
to get Marie's release from prison, and
she came out in time to see the down.
fall of R~Obespierre. Danton and Des-
mOulins.
In the days Of their power she had
been called to model the heads of
many who fell by the g~uillotine. She
was obliged to take them just after the
fall Of the fatal knife. She did this
awful work with the heads of poor
Marie Antoinette and Of the Princess
Lamballe, the queens friend. When
the leaders suffered by the ~guillotine
in their turn she modelled their heads.
After the revolution her uncle died,
and in 1905 she married M. Tussaud.
She could not overcome the shock of
her experiences during the revolution,
and she persuaded her husband to
take her and the, valuable collections
OF wax models left her by DR.. Curtius
over to England.
They established this collection in
the Strand. The collection was taken
all about the country, and in 1888 It
was brought back to London and made
4 permanent exhibition. Her IONS con-
Quoted the business, and she took an
active share In this till she was eighty
years of age.-Boston Globe.
Naming Their Children.
1t. was a musical man who gave his