It was not Paulette, explained Leclerc, he would be distressed to leave her, but she would be safe and surrounded by her family. It was his young sister, now at school at Mme. Campans, whom he could not leave unprotected, perhaps for ever. I ask you, General, how can I?Well, Cazotte, said the other, here, if ever, is a case for you to call your spirit up and ask him if [326] that poor dying creature will have strength to mount the horrible machine to-morrow.An amusing anecdote is related by Mme. de Bassanville [76] concerning the marriage of a certain Mlle. de Mirepoix, who belonged to that family, but apparently to a younger and poorer branch of it.
FORE:Her mother was extremely beautiful, of rather an austere character, and very religious. With her the children attended High Mass and the other offices of the Church, especially during Lent; and upon the sensitive, impressionable girl the solemn beauty of the music, and especially the deep notes of the organ, produced an almost overpowering effect. Often as she sat or knelt by her mother the rich, [17] melodious tones echoing through choir and nave in the dim, religious gloom would throw her into a kind of rapture, and end in a passion of tears which she could not always conceal. This intense feeling for music, especially religious music, lasted all her life.[445]
FORE:ANNE PAULE DOMINIQUE DE NOAILLES was by birth, character, education, and surroundings a complete contrast to our last heroine. She belonged to the great house of Noailles, being the fourth of the five daughters of the Duc dAyen, eldest son of the Marchal Duc de Noailles, a brilliant courtier high in the favour of Louis XV.Her farm near the Baltic did not altogether satisfy Mme. de Tess, and before long they again moved, to be in the neighbourhood of a residence she had heard of, and hoped to get after a time.
THREE:She had another daughter a year or two later that only lived a short time.
FORE:I have to go there as a judge to hear all the rubbish and gossip you can imagine for forty-eight hours.
The young men gladly went in, and after giving them an excellent djeuner, their host lighted a candle, took a spade, and told them to follow him. He led them into the garden, cleared away some earth with his spade, and uncovered a stone. This he lifted up, disclosing an underground passage through which he led the way. It ended in a cavern in which lay the whole of their family plate and valuables which this excellent man had saved and concealed during all these years.Louis XVI., who liked talking to her about her pictures, said one day