Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-12-07

The Countess du Barry was the rec
ognized mistress of King Louis XIV of
France from about 1853. when his wife
died, until 1174. when he persisted miser-
ably of the smallpox. She was legiti-
mately neither countess nor 'du' Ia
, proposition which in France denotes noble
lineage) nor even Barry. AS a matter OF
fact. she was a child of the people, whose
real name was Jeanne Becu. In France
they attach more Importance to names
! than We do. The little prefix de" car
rfes with it a certain sign of aristocracy.
no reason why it should not be quite as
general as it is.
Pretty Jeanne Becu became a milliner's
girl what romantic Americans on their
first visits to Paris look for eagerly AS
"grisettes." Perhaps she was little bit
ambitious and ready to make sacrifices
to clumb higher. Anyhow. she met what
Broadway calls "a man about town.
who rejoiced i'm the title of Count Jean
du Barry. The title carried with it no
income, but the count saw in the pretty
young girl a possibility Of profit. 1t was
a time when profit of this sort was re-
garded as quite proper among the nobility
and gentry Of France. The count seems
to have gained his money by gambling,
and over the parties at his house the girl
VI uuhNOWu pdEeutdse pTcSiueu-WitH d
new name. She was then Mile. range.
| AS an angel she seems to have aided the
counts fortunes nightly.
Granted Interview With Louis.
One after another great generals like
Dumouriez and great mobiles like the
Duke de Lauzun met her and became
| her slaves. But her greatest triumph
did not come until Lebel, the kings valet,
| gave her the honor of an interview. Now
adays we would not look upon the favor
| of a valet with pride. But Lebel was
more than a valet. His duties were
the Pare aux CerfS and he made the
mistake of inviting Mile. rAnge there.
i That she would remain more than a day
and night never occurred to him. but SO
| successfully did she charm the WORKOUT
| roue Louis XIV that she became the
prime favorite and only left the court
when the king died.
Such is a blunt summary of the rise
to power of a girl who, born in OBJ
security, became the real ruler Sof France
| tine like the most high-born danes OF
France. But betwixt the joyous begin
ming and the bloody end there was much
| that is worth the telling.
After Lebel the misguided valet, had
introduced Mile. Jeanne into the secret
chateau Of the Pare aux Cerfs the rest
was in the hands of Louis. For some
| reason the young woman charmed him.
The Pompadour, who had been the JOY
of his royal existence, passed away and
this new affinity seemed to be what was
needed to cheer his declining years. He
saw that she needed title to be present
ed at court. Count Jean du Barry, who
had discovered her. could not supply this.
for he was already married. But he had
a brother, also count-which, by the
way. might indicate to our American
heiresses how plentiful counts are-who
was willing to marry the young demoi-
selle for a consideration. The marriage
was duly solemnized. Count du Barry
returned to Toulouse much richer than
he was before. and his wife took up her
gorgeous quarters at Versailles.
Feminine Element Was Strong.
1t was the time when the feminine
element was very strong in France. By
this I do not merely mean the women
who f1uttered about the king and his
counselors at Versailles. but in all the
| best circles of Paris women were the
| dominant forces. The salon of Nine
| Geoffrin, who, by the way, had never