登陆注册
30977200000001

第1章 A HAPPY QUEEN.(1)

It was the 13th of August, 1785. The queen, Marie Antoinette, had at last yielded to the requests and protestations of her dear subjects.

She had left her fair Versailles and loved Trianon for one day, and had gone to Paris, in order to exhibit herself and the young prince whom she had borne to the king and the country on the 25th of March, and to receive in the cathedral of Notre Dame the blessing of the clergy and the good wishes of the Parisians.

She had had an enthusiastic reception, this beautiful and much loved queen, Marie Antoinette. She had driven into Paris in an open carriage, in company with her three children, and every one who recognized her had greeted her with a cheerful huzzah, and followed her on the long road to Notre Dame, at whose door the prominent clergy awaited her, the cardinal, Prince Louis de Rohan, at their head, to introduce her to the house of the King of all kings.

Marie Antoinette was alone; only the governess of the children, the Duchess de Polignac, sat opposite her, upon the back seat of the carriage, and by her side the Norman nurse, in her charming variegated district costume, cradling in her arms Louis Charles, the young Duke of Normandy. By her side, in the front part of the carriage, sat her other two children--Therese, the princess royal, the first-born daughter, and the dauphin Louis, the presumptive heir of the much loved King Louis the Sixteenth. The good king had not accompanied his spouse on this journey to Paris, which she undertook in order to show to her dear, yet curious Parisians that she was completely recovered, and that her children, the children of France, were blossoming for the future like fair buds of hope and peace.

"Go, my dear Antoinette," the king had said to his queen, in his pleasant way and with his good natured smile--" go to Paris in order to prepare a pleasure for my good people. Show them our children, and receive from them their thanks for the happiness which you have given to me and to them. I will not go with you, for I wish that you should be the sole recipient of the enthusiasm of the people and their joyful acclamations. I will not share your triumph, but I shall experience it in double measure if you enjoy it alone. Go, therefore, my beloved Antoinette, and rejoice in this happy hour."

Marie Antoinette did go, and she did rejoice in the happiness of the hour. "While riding through Paris, hundreds recognized her, hundreds hailed her with loud acclamations. As she left the cathedral of Notre Dame, in order to ascend into the carriage again with her children and their governess, one would be tempted to think that the whole square in front of the church had been changed into a dark, tumultuous sea, which dashed its raging black waves into all the streets debouching on the square, and was filling all Paris with its roar, its swell, its thunder roll. Yes, all Paris was there, in order to look upon Marie Antoinette, who, at this hour, was not the queen, but the fair woman; the happy mother who, with the pride of the mother of the Gracchi, desired no other protection and no other companionship than that of her two sons; who, her hand resting upon the shoulder of her daughter, needed no other maid of honor to appear before the people in all the splendor and all the dignity of the Queen of France and the true mother.

Yes, all Paris was there in order to greet the queen, the woman, and the mother, and out of thousands upon thousands of throats there sounded forth the loud ringing shout, "Long live the queen! Long live Marie Antoinette! Long live the fair mother and the fair children of France!"

Marie Antoinette felt herself deeply moved by these shouts. The sight of the faces animated with joy, of the flashing eyes, and the intoxicated peals of laughter, kindled her heart, drove the blood to her cheeks, and made her countenance beam with joy, and her eyes glisten with delight. She rose from her seat, and with a gesture of inimitable grace took the youngest son from the arms of the nurse, and lifted him high in the air, in order to display this last token of her happiness and her motherly pride to the Parisians, who had not yet seen the child. The little hat, which had been placed sideways upon the high toupet of her powdered head, had dropped upon her neck; the broad lace cuffs had fallen back from the arms which lifted the child into the air, and allowed the whole arm to be seen without any covering above the elbow.

The eyes of the Parisians drank in this spectacle with perfect rapture, and their shouting arose every moment like a burst of fanaticism.

"How beautiful she is!" resounded everywhere from the mass. "What a wonderful arm! What a beautiful neck!"

A deep flush mantled the face of Marie Antoinette. These words of praise, which were a tribute to the beauty of the woman, awoke the queen from the ecstasy into which the enthusiasm of her subjects had transported her. She surrendered the child again to the arms of his nurse, and sank down quickly like a frightened dove into the cushions of the carriage, hastily drawing up at the same time the lace mantle which had fallen from her shoulders and replacing her hat upon her head.

"Tell the coachman to drive on quickly," she said to the nurse; and while the latter was communicating this order, Marie Antoinette turned to her daughter. "Now, Therese," asked she, laughing, "is it not a beautiful spectacle our people taking so much pleasure in seeing us?"

The little princess of seven years shook her proud little head with a doubting, dark look.

"Mamma," said she, "these people look very dirty and ugly. I do not like them!"

"Be still, my child, be still," whispered the queen, hastily, for she feared lest the men who pressed the carriage so closely as almost to touch its doors, might hear the unthinking words of the little girl.

同类推荐
  • 佛说自誓三昧经

    佛说自誓三昧经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 证治准绳·伤寒

    证治准绳·伤寒

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 曲藻

    曲藻

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • Captain Brassbound's Conversion

    Captain Brassbound's Conversion

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 河岳英灵集

    河岳英灵集

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 静候汝归

    静候汝归

    当相遇的那一刻开始命运的齿轮已经转动爱情、权利、欲望的争夺,适者生存他,晨天铭只为她而强,走上黑白两道她,叶槿蜕变成长,只为等他静候汝归
  • 最后一瓶脉动

    最后一瓶脉动

    宋琳琳是学校新招女教师,开学新生报到时,一个叫乔亦搏的学生送给她一瓶脉动,在相处一年多之后,乔亦搏不幸下肢瘫痪,一向成绩优异的她成绩一落千丈,脾气也逐渐暴躁忧郁,甚至差点没能控制住情绪要寻短见,后来在宋琳琳一步步开导下,重新找到自己。
  • 箭欲封魔

    箭欲封魔

    冒险是图哈族人最不为接受的事情之一,但每隔一段时间总有人要去打破它!有侵占必然会有反抗,但是反抗有时候也会达到侵占的地步,于此反抗者与侵占者的角色也在不断地发生转换。
  • 大佬求祸祸

    大佬求祸祸

    离殃在神界众大神的期待之下,终于~“滚”出了神界。“终于不用再被离殃这个祸害祸害了!”“真是大快神心啊!”然而,这厢被众神避之不及的离殃看着面前这些搔首弄姿的…恩…人:“大佬,求祸祸!”大佬不想理!大佬就要有大佬的亚子,要坐怀不乱!总的来说,就是一个大佬无形闪瞎人双眼的故事!身世悲惨什么的?不care好嘛!
  • 勿荒途

    勿荒途

    人活一辈子,总会有很多经历,而各种各样的经历,就是你活过的证明。一连串无可超越的绝境,一场场无与伦比的壮美,一系列无法超越的前人,处处包围着你,征服着你,有粉碎你,好不容易,你找回了自己,但却又发现这是另一个世界的你,完全不一样的你
  • 佛系全能大艺术家

    佛系全能大艺术家

    穿越平行世界,还获得了一款“大艺术家”系统,叶蔡以为自己终于可以踏上巅峰,迎娶白富美。却没想到他已经站在了巅峰之上。因为他拥有了无限技能点,可以随意学技能……
  • 总裁没你我也可以

    总裁没你我也可以

    “易绍铭,你居然为了这个女人而打我!?”叶静苓呆呆的看着眼前自己深爱的男人为了其他女人而打她,嘶吼的说到。“静,静苓。你没事吧!”易绍铭震惊的看着自己的手,不可思议的看着叶静苓被打肿的脸颊,伸手想要摸叶静苓的脸,可叶静苓躲开了“易绍铭,我给你两个选择,一、你跟我家回家,我可以事。二、你继续这个女人身边,我走。你选择吧!”叶静苓明知她不可能会选一的一点点希望,希望自己。“静苓,对不起”易绍铭垂下眼眸。叶静苓哈哈。的笑起来“易绍铭,我叶静苓不是没你也不能活的,全天下又不止你一个男人,我会把离婚协议书给律师的”叶静苓说完,转身离开了……!!
  • 芳菲尽时情未了

    芳菲尽时情未了

    (含芳儿小说,言情系列;宠文;治愈系爱情) 穿越后的风华,第一次遇见方谨年,让他帮忙放洗澡水,事后对他说:“今天的事,你不许说出去,不然我真的会杀了你。”第二次遇见,她说她不识字,方谨年拨出去一个电话:“帮我买个学习机来,要幼儿到高中的全部课程下载。”第三次遇见,方谨年问她号码,见她不懂,似乎已习惯,加问是“手机号码”。感觉自己闯入了一个怪圈,她,一代女侠好想哭啊!风华怎么也没有想到,她震臂一挥就能呼风唤雨,大杀四方的妖女风华,如今要沦为这弱智的人群。一口气没上来的她,低吼一声:“不知道。”直接把手中的手机扔到了方谨年的怀中。看着那支落入腿间的新手机,再看向风华那张有些不耐烦的脸。方谨年似乎明白了点什么,毕竟都已经这么多次了,他也猜到了几分。伸手拿起腿间的手机,一边打开一边说:“其实不会你也可以问我,没有必要气着自己。”
  • 斗破苍穹之莫沉

    斗破苍穹之莫沉

    这里是属于斗气的世界,没有花俏艳丽的魔法,有的,仅仅是繁衍到巅峰的斗气!等级制度:斗者,斗师,大斗师,斗灵,斗王,斗皇,斗宗,斗尊,斗圣,斗帝,帝师,帝灵,帝王,帝皇,至尊,天帝。穿越斗破王朝,莫沉世界称霸,位面唯我独尊......这个小说的交流群是283688987
  • 鬼怪名单

    鬼怪名单

    鬼与人,一本鬼物名单,一段段感情,鬼与人之间究竟该