Evening star., 1912-12-25
FAMOUS WOMEN OF HISTORY.
MARIE IEANTOINETTE ,1755-t793-PARTL
THE DIAMOND NECKLACE.
Copyright. 1912. By Willis J. Abbot

parasites. who feared lest she laugh their
perQuisites away.
The hostility OF the people OF Paris was
equally marked and equally unfair. Upon
the marriage of the royal pair the king
ordered magnificent popular fetes at Yer
sailles and Paris. Among the attractions
was display of fireworks. i'm the course
of which panic ensued and many of the
spectators were killed or wounded. The
people grumbled: 20.6oOOo livres and
thirty-two good French lives was a high
price, they said. to pay for La Petite
IrAutrichienne' tthe little Austrian The
prime trouble was that France and AUS
tria were hereditary enemies. continually
at war. and the people resented the kings
bringing a princess OF the latter land TO
be their future queen. One OF the per-
sonal perduisites OF French queen was
a tax levied every three years on bread
and wine. This tax was peculiarly hard
on the French people. who called IL Ia
ceinture de la refine. or the queen
girdle." When in May, 1114. Louis Nv
died and Marie Antoinette became queen
| she remitted this tax. declaring she would
never accept one sou OF IL. For a time the
populace applauded her action, but speed
| lily forgot IL.
| Then came the scandal of the diamond
necklace. an affair OF which the queen
| was both innocent and ignorant. Cardinal
Rohan was the grand almoner OF France.
| noble OF the highest standing at court.
and wthal q true gentleman OF the time.
preying upon the earnings of the people
for profit and upon the virtue OF women
| OF every estate for pleasure. To him
came the pretended Countess de la Motto
with a story OF a necklace of fabulous
value for which the queen yearned. but
dared not purchase. But more. The envoy
told the cardinal that Marie was I'm love
with him. and were he to purchase the
necklace for her, would refuse him moth
| ing The heart of the voluptuary was
| stirred, the ambition of the practiced
rttA 10 fn a
| necklace. and. as it's value exceeded even
| his command OF ready cash, would pay
| for il in installments.
| But he wanted some evidence OF the
queens participation in the affair. Where
upon la Motto presently produced an in
| voice indorsed Approve; Marie Antoin-
cite de France" The signature was
forged. but neither the amorous cardinal
nor the jeweler eager for his sale. seemed
| to doubt 1t. But de Rohan demanded
even more assurance He must have an
interview with the queen herself. Nothing
easier. La Motto knew n woman having
a singular resemblance to the queen This
| girl. called dOliva. impersonated Marie
| in a midnight interview with de Rohan
| in the shrubbery OF the Trianon. The
necklace was bought and turned over TO
| La Motto. The cardinal began Ia press
his supposed advantage with Marie An
| toinette, who. knowing nothing of the
affair. was first puzzled and then brusqAe.
Notes which the swindlers had give0
purporting to bear Marie's' signature vera
unpaid. and the jeweler. facing bankrupt
| cy. went I'm despair to the court for adj
vice. 1t happened that the man he con-
J suited was a bitter enemy of de Rohan.
and gathering slowly all the evidence In
the matter. he finally gave II the widest
publicity in the way to do the most hurt.
! Only the Dreyfuss case I'm later days
has stirred France did this seeming
revelation 6f the participation OF a queen
| in a vulgar swindle. The mills Of justice
were set to work, and ground swiftly.
| but though the evidence showed the
queen wholly ignorant Of the whole affair.
the populace refused to believe her lnno-
cence and the cabal in the court OPP
posed to her kept the smoldering en-
| bers Of scandal alive with whispered sug-
gestions about her relations with Rohan--
who by the way was deprived Of all hon
ors and posts and exiled to a monastery.
Under the strain Marie Antonette broke
down Historians say that she became
solitary, weeping by the hour in her
chamber It was in this broken and pa
thetic state that she was called upon To
meet the early stages Of the revolution.
| to take the first steps along the path that
ended with the guillotine.