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| A&A FRENCH COUNTESS ON A FARM.
It is well known that during the French Revolu-
} tion many Frenchmen of the first rank, like Talley-
: rand and Louis Philippe, sought refuge in the United
States, and some of them were reduced to great
straits to earn a livelihood. Many amusing stories
* are. still current embodying their experiences of
! American life, some of which are doubtless true in
\ their main incidents, and some are wholly apocry-
nee
eda
|
A
‘til
in Philadelphia, where the women have always been
accustomed to go to market. We find it in the Chris-
tian Register, which scems to believe it a true story :
In 1793, M. de .Talleyrand was in Boston..
One day, while crossing the market-place, he
was compelled to stop by a long row of wagons,
all loaded with vegetables. The wily courtier, |
generally so dead to emotion, could not but look
wv with a kind of pleasure at these wagons and the
. little wagoners, who, by the by, were young and
} pretty country women. Suddenly the vehicles
i came to a stand, and the eyes of M. de Talley-
ot rand chanced to rest upon one of the young wo-
men,,who appeared more lovely and graceful
than the others. An exclamation escaped from
his lips. It attracted the attention of the fair
‘ one, whose country dress and large hat bespoke
daily visits to the market. As she beheld the
» astonished Talleyrand, whom she recognized
1 immediately, she burst out laughing.
i “What! is it you ?” exclaimed she.
. ( “Yes, indeed, it is L But you, what are you
doing here ?”
a “1” said the young woman, “I am waiting
~ “for my turn to pass on. Iam going to sell my
3 greens and vegetables at the market.”
At that moment the wagons began to move
_ along; she of the straw hat applied the whip to
her horse, told M. de Talleyrand the name of
the village where she was living, requesting him
earnestly to come and see her, disappeared, and
left him as if riveted to the spot by this strange
apparition. :
: Who was this young market-woman? Mad-
} ame la Comtesse de la Tour-du-Pin, (Mademoi-
| selle de Dillon,) the most elegant among the
i ladies of the court of Louis XVI., King of Leavrne
France, and whose moral and intellectual worth
had shone with so dazzling a lustre in the so-
ciety of her numerous friends and admirers. At
the time when the French nobility emigrated, she to render their condition less miserable than that
was young, lovely, endowed with the most remark- of many emigrants, who were starving, as the
able talents, and, like all the ladies who held @ little money they had brought over with them had
rank at the court, had only had time to attend to been exhausted. Not a word of English did he
such duties as belonged to her highly fashionable | know ; but his wife spoke it fluently, andl admira-
and courtly life. bly well. ,
Let any one fancy the sufferings and agony of| They boarded at Mrs. Muller's, a good-natured,
that woman, born in the lap of wealth, and who notable woman, who, on every occasion, evinced
had breathed nothing but perfumes under . the | the greatest respect and admiration for her fair
gilded ceilings of the royal palace at Versailles, | boarder ; yet M. de la Tour-du-Pin was in constant
when all at once she found herself surrounded with i dread lest the conversation of that good, plain, and
blood and massacres, and saw every kind of danger | well-meaning woman might be the cause of great
besetting her young and beloved husband and her | ennui to his lady. What a contrast to the society
infant child. of such gentlemen as M. de Norbonne, M. de Tal-
-They succeeded in flying from France. It was 'Jeyrand, and the high-minded and polished nobility
their good fortune to escape from the bloody land { of France! Whenever he was thinking of this
where Robespierre and his associates were busy at transition, (particularly when absent from his wife,
death. Alas! in those times of terror | and tilling the garden of the cottage which they
the poor children themselves abandoned with Joy | were going to inhabit,) be felt such pangs and
the parental roof, for no hiding-place was secure heart-thfobbings as to make him apprehensive on
against the vigilant eye of those monsters who | his return to Mrs, Muller's to meet the looks of his
_thirsted for innocent blood. . beloved wife, whom he expected to see bathed in
The fugitives landed in America, and first went tears Meanwhile, the good hostess would give
to Boston, where they found a retreat, But what him a hearty shake of the hand, and repeat to him,
a change for the young, pretty and fashionable “Happy husband! Happy husband ! a 4
lady, spoiled from infancy by loud and continual! At last came the day when the fugitive family
raises of her beauty and talents! left the boarding-house of Mrs. Muller to go an
, M. de la Tour-du-Pin was extravagantly fond inhabit their little cottage, where they were to be
of his wife. At the court of France he had seen | at last exempt from want, with an only pales a
her, with the proud eye of a husband, the object of | negro, a kind of Tack-of-all-trades—viz., gan ener
‘oral admiration, Indeed, her conduct had al-|footman and cook, The last function M. de la
eave been yirtuous and exemplary. But now in a Tour-du-Pin dreaded most of all to see him under-
i isticated republi-| take. .
foreign lan‘s av 8 ee ‘courtly vefine. Tt was almost dinner-time. The poor emigrant
cans, (1793,) wha . went into his little garden to gather some fruit,
vas in seeing her escape from alljand tarried as long as possible, On his return
the pens he a dreaded on her own account, still | his wife was absent; looking for ber, he entered
~ the work of
ments?
HOME.
“My 8oN, KEEP THY FATHBR’S COMMANDMENT, AND FORSAKE NOT THE LAW OF THY MoTHER.”—Prov, 6: 20.
woman turned round. It was his beloved wife,
who had exchanged her muslins and silk for a
country dress, not as for a fancy ball, but to play
the part of areal farmer's wife. At the sight of
her husband, her cheeks crimsoned, and she joined
her hands, ina supplicating manner. ‘O my love,”
said she, “do not laugh at me. I am as expert as
Mrs. Maller.” :
Too full of emotion to speak, he clasps her to his
bosom, and kisses her fervently.. From his in-
quiries, he learns that when he thought her given
up to despair, she had employed her time more
usefully for their future happiness, She had taken
lessons from Mrs, Muller and her servants, and
after six months had become skilful in the culinary
art, a thorough housekeeper, discovering her an-
gelic nature and admirable fortitude. :
“Dearest,” continued she, “if you knew how
easy it is! We in a moment understand what it
would cost a countrywoman sometimes one or two
years to learn. Now we shall be-happy—you will
no longer be afraid of ennui for me, nor will I have
doubts of my abilities, of which I will give you
many proofs,” said she, looking with a bewitching
smile at him. “Come, come, you promised-us a
salad, and I am going to bake for to-morrow; the
oven is hot, To-day the bread of the town will do
—but O henceforward leave it to me.”
22 SCHOOL STREET, BOSTON.
the New World. M. de Talleyrand said so to
er,
“Indeed!” replied she, with nairete, “indeed,
do you think so? Iam delighted to hear it. A
woman is always and everywhere proud of her
personal attractions,”
At that moment the black servant bolted into
the drawing-room, holding in his hand his
jacket, with a long rent in the back. “Missis,
him jacket torn; please mend him.” She im-
mediately took a needle, repaired Gullah’s jack-
et, and continued the conversation with a
charming simplicity.
This little adventure left a deep impression
on the mind of M. de Talleyrand, who used to
relate it with that tone of voice peculiar to his
narrations.
9
THE CROWNING.
It was a warm, sunny, spring morning when
Robert Campbell went, for the first time, to a
pleasant, white school-house, which stood on a
slight elevation from which could be seen the
church steeples of the three cities of Boston,
Chelsea and Charlestown. There was also
Bunker Hill Monument, standing out in its sim-
ple dignity, calling to every one to keep in mind
the glorious deeds of our fathers. There were
the tall masts of the ships resting in the harbor,
the smoke of the busy little ferry boats, and
many other things which would interest the eye
of anybody who had not become accustomed to
them. It was very new to Robert, who had
lately removed from Nova Scotia with his pa-
rents and sister, In fact, he thought he should
never get tired of looking at the little panarama, ¢
which was so new and delightful to him. So he-
stood enjoying’ the prospect from the steps of the
school-house till the bell should summon the
scholars to their different rooms. Suddenly
there stepped up to him a tall boy, who laid his
hand on the nice straw hat that Robert wore,
and said, with mock solemnity: “I crown you.”
No sooner was this ceremony performed than
several more boys, of the same appearance, did
the same thing, until Robert, in his amazement,
had been “crowned” rather more than was
agreeable. Just then, the bell striking, Robert
said, as he ran up the stairs: Since you have
crowned me, boys, I’ll try and be king.” |”
In the course of the morning Robert found him-
self placed in the same class with the tall boys
whom he had encountered in the morning. Ie
could, as yet, form no idea of their scholarship; but
thought if their manners were any indication of
their intelligence, he should see rather a stupid set
of boys in his class, During the morning it was
announced by the master that at the close of the
year there would be awarded a prize to the person
who should stand at the head of his class.. He al-
80 remarked that the prize could only be gained by
the most patient and persevering efforts, “Ah!”
thought Robby to himself; “here is a chance to
see what Ican do. If hard work and good be-
havior amount to anything, I'll be king of my
class.” Betty
As Robert was on his way home, at noon, he felt
a hand, from some one behind him, on his shoulder.
Another crowning, thought Robert; but, looking
around, he saw that it was his Uncle James Camp-
bell, who had long lived in the place, in a large
house which stood near the school-house.
“Well, Robert,” said he; “did you get crowned
this morning ?” .
“Yes, Uncle James; but what does it mean ?”
“It means that you had on a new hat, and that
they followed the usual course when*it was dis-
covered.” : . .
From that moment, Madame de Ja Tour-du-Pin
kept her word; she insisted on going herself to
Boston to sell her vegetables and cream cheeses,
“But why don’t the teachers put a stop to such
ceremonies?” said Robert.
“For nearly the same reason that police officers
It was on such an errand to town that M. de Tal-' cannot always prevent mischief, or always find it
leyrand met her. The day after, he went to pay |out when it is done. I suppose that as long as
her a visit, and found her in the poultry yard, sur-|there are boys in the world there will always be
rounded by a host of hungry chicks and pigeons. {some who are rude and impolite, I suppose I
She was all that she had promised to be. , Be,| hardly need say, Robby, that the best course with
sides, her health had been so much benefitted that] such people is to notice them as little as possible.”
she seemed less fatigued by the housework ‘than if} “Well, Uncle James, I have about made up my
i kil d saw a young countrywoman, who,
lore the future lot of the wife | the kitchen, an " 0
be oul ot oat ee et with the prudent fore-| with her back to the door, was kneading doughs
“ : 8 b son. 1 father and a kind husband, he|her arms of snowy whiteness ree on ve
nerved hitoself against despair, and exerted himself] elbows. M. de la Tour-du-Pin started 5 the y
she had attended the balls of the winter., Her|mind that as long as they have given me a crown-
beauty, which had been remarkable in the gorgeous | ing, I will try and deserve it by just keeping a
ps Yen was dazzling in her cottage in | good distance ahead of them in my studies,”
teen
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