Chapter IV: Last Days

It might have seemed now that Marie Thérèse of France had endured enough of sorrow, and that her days might be allowed to flow on evenly—not, indeed, joyfully, but in a calm content. For a year or two it seemed as if this would be the case, but there were still other storms to be encountered before the life history was to be complete.

Five years after the second Restoration the Duc de Berri was assassinated at the Opéra. The Duchess of Angoulême was one of those immediately summoned to the ante-room of the Opera House, where her brother-in-law lay dying. Her husband, fearing some danger, would have restrained her from accompanying him, but she felt her place was there. “What,” exclaims Châteaubriand, “were dangers to her, who was accustomed to look revolution in the face!” Herself overcome with grief, she paid a noble tribute to the fortitude of the Duchesse de Berri. “She is sublime,” she said more than once; and, bending over the dying man, she said, “Courage, brother; and if God calls you hence, ask my father there to pray for France and for us.”

When, six months after his father’s death, the only son of the Duc and Duchesse de Berri was born, it was the Duchess of Angoulême, to whom the blessing of children had been denied, who showed the infant to the people assembled before the palace windows with every sign of joy and delight.

The death of Louis XVIII. in 1824 made the Duchess of Angoulême Dauphine of France. But her life continued as retired as ever, and she spent much of her time in watching over the early years of her little nephew, the Duc de Bordeaux. After six comparatively uneventful years the storm broke which doomed her to a final exile. The duchess was at Dijon when a hostile reception at the theatre announced to her that there was once more a revolution. Travelling all night with one or two attendants to Versailles, she made her way in the disguise of a peasant to St. Cloud, only to find that the King was at Rambouillet. “Can you forgive me?” cried Charles X. as he met his niece. Her answer was an embrace. “I trust,” she said, “we are now united for ever.” The King abdicated, and the Duc d’Angoulême surrendered his claims in favour of the little Duc de Bordeaux, while Louis Philippe of Orleans was to be Lieutenant-General during the prince’s minority. But the Chamber of Deputies declared for Louis Philippe. After some little hesitation, he consented to become “King of the French,” and there was nothing left for Charles X. but to depart. Escorted by the commissioners sent by the new king for the purpose, the royal family passed with slow stateliness on their way to the sea coast, taking a fortnight in reaching Cherbourg. The last pageant of the departing dynasty was witnessed for the most part with silent respect. The little Duc de Bordeaux and his sister, ignorant of the meaning of it all, stood at the carriage windows, bowing and kissing their hands in their childish way to the people, and the sight of the children made the tears start to many eyes. The Duchess of Angoulême sat in one of the carriages, silent and alone, save for a lady-in-waiting. It seemed a hard fate that condemned her once more to exile. It was the 16th of August, 1830, when they embarked for England, and it was characteristic of the duchess that she lingered longest on the deck, watching the shores of France as they receded for the last time from her sight.

The exiles landed at Weymouth, and spent two months under the hospitable roof of Cardinal Weld at Lulworth Castle. Thence they repaired to Edinburgh, where they occupied the palace of Holyrood. Thence, in the end of the year 1832, they returned to the Continent, and took up their residence in the old Hradschin palace at Prague. From Prague they removed to Goritz, and here, in the winter of 1836, Charles X. died. Eight years later the Duchess of Angoulême was left a widow.

The last years of her life were spent at Frohsdorf, a plain, somewhat uninteresting house near Neustadt, commanding a prospect over the plain which extends to the borders of Styria, which had been purchased for her from Caroline Murat, the ex-Queen of Naples, and to which she retired after her husband’s death. The Duc de Bordeaux (better known to modern readers as the Comte de Chambord) and his sister, afterwards Duchess of Parma, resided with her, and old and faithful courtiers and servants—all of whom were French—formed her household. Distinguished Frenchmen often visited Frohsdorf, and were always received graciously and kindly. In 1848 the news was brought to the duchess of the fall of Louis Philippe. “It is enough,” she said, as the story brought vividly before her the memory of another fall eighteen years before, “I dare not listen any more; we are too completely avenged.”

It was a sorrow to her that her nephew seemed content to let opportunities slip past him, and she had at last to acknowledge that he was unlikely to regain the throne of his ancestors. His training had been of a narrowing character, and he lacked the energy and the decision which, if exercised at the right time, might have led to great results.

The end came to the Duchess of Angoulême at Frohsdorf, in the autumn of 1851. Her illness lasted only two days, and she died on the 16th of October, the fifty-eighth anniversary of her mother’s execution. We may not doubt that the happiest day of her long, eventful life was that which marked its close, and re-united her at last to all those she loved. “I do not fear death,” she wrote, in her last will, “and, lacking merit of my own, I place all my trust in the mercy of God.... After the example of my parents, I pardon with my entire soul, and without exception, all those who have injured or offended me; sincerely praying God to extend to them His mercy, and to me also for the pardon of my sins. I pray God to shower down His blessings upon France—France, that I have never ceased to love under my bitterest affliction.”

She was buried, in accordance with her expressed wish, in the vault of the Franciscan Convent at Goritz, between her husband and the King, her father-in-law. In the same vault there now rest the two children over whose early years she had watched with tender care—Henri Duc de Bordeaux and Comte de Chambord, and Louise Marie Thérèse Duchess of Parma.

A few words which form the close of an article on the Duchess of Angoulême, which appeared in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ at the time of her death, sum up her life history so concisely, that I append them here by way of conclusion:—

“Of the seventy-three years of her life, she passed eight (the best of her youth) in restraint or in a dungeon, and thirty-eight in exile, and yet she died acknowledging the mercies and the glory of God. Let us who have not known affliction, or who have been but lightly visited, derive wisdom from the instruction offered us by the pious daughter of Louis Seize and Marie Antoinette.”

R. W. R.

[THE END.]

A GERMAN NUPTIAL EVE.

BY ONE WHO WAS PRESENT.

It is an old custom in Germany, and one which we may hope will never die out, to have a gathering of friends on the nuptial eve, either at the house of the bride elect, or, when this is too small, in a hotel. Most of the guests are expected to appear in some character, and give a recitation or song, if possible, composed for the occasion, and referring in some way to the bride and bridegroom. It is a cheerful, pleasant custom, and helps to make the last evening in the old home a happy and joyous one, by surrounding the bride with the friends of her youth who come to wish her God speed in the new life about to open up. It seems in many ways much better than having a party after the wedding, when the bride and bridegroom are no longer among the guests, and it is pleasanter to remember that the last festivities in the old home were brightened by their company.

Let me give a sketch of a nuptial eve, or, as our German cousins call it, a “Polter Abend” gathering, at which I was present, held at the house of the bride, and for that reason more homelike than if it had been held in a hotel. In former times it was common among all classes, but now chiefly among the poorer, for the guests to bring old crockery and smash it before the door of the house, so that next morning, if it had been a large party, the unfortunate father had to employ a man and cart to carry away the fragments. I was unable to discover the origin of this, but it seems like our throwing an old shoe after the bride as she leaves home. Has it anything to do with the German custom of giving the baby a shilling when he breaks his first plate? Most people appear to be not altogether sorry that this marriage custom is dying out.

Without any crockery, but with a little inward fear and trembling, owing to my slender knowledge of the language, I stood, one evening last September, at the house of my friend, waiting for the door to open to introduce me into the midst of the excitement. Glad I was to find several who could speak English, and I was tempted to talk more English than German.

The programme of the evening commenced by Fräulein and a young medical student singing a very humorous duet together, containing some warnings to the bride and bridegroom, who, however, seemed to enjoy it as much as anyone. In accordance with a time-honoured custom, which is also observed when moving into a new house, a little girl went up to the bride, and, after reciting a poem, gave her a stand containing salt and a bread-basket, in order that the newly married couple, on commencing housekeeping, might have something with which to begin and keep them from starvation. Perhaps the salt may also be meant for a warning against ever letting any bitter words pass between the two who are now so loving to each other, and the bread may also signify contentment with the simpler things of life, coupled with the rich delicacy of love.

After the bride had received this present, a dwarf with a long white beard, described by Scheffer, the German poet, as Perkeo, dwarf of Heidelberg Castle, came forth, and sang a song of his own composition. It narrated several events in the lives of the bride and bridegroom in a very amusing manner. The dwarf was personated by the medical student, a younger brother of the bridegroom, and he told how, in the earlier days of courtship, they used to send him away to play with other boys, in order to be alone together, and how, having wisely learnt English, they would tease him by speaking in that language, which he, poor fellow! did not understand. But now that is all forgotten, and he is quite ready to forgive them for all their misdeeds in the past, ending by wishing them a very happy and joyous future.

While we were having some refreshments, a peasant girl from Southern Germany appeared, dressed in the pretty costume peculiar to the district, and with a basket upon her back such as is seen in all pictures of German market-women. It contained crockery. Addressing the bride, and after praising up her wares, and saying how impossible they were to break, she carelessly let fall an already broken cup, but in such a manner as to make it appear as if it broke in falling. She quickly atoned for her stupidity by presenting the bride with a beautiful china tea and coffee set painted by her mother, and which she was very careful _not_ to break. Very heartily she was received, and continued to receive the congratulations of her friends until no less a person than the self-appointed ambassador of her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria and of the President of the United States is announced. He came as a joint ambassador of the two nations, partly because he had himself lived some years in England, and partly because the bride had lived in America, so that it was fitting that someone should represent these nations. The manner in which he was received showed the cordial relationship existing between Germany and these countries. He finished, after mentioning the recent marriage of the President, by conveying united congratulations to the bride, who was delighted with the voice from the old country, and who, by the way, had placed a small American flag above a large German one.

The young Englishman having finished, a lady decorated the bride with the bridal wreath, reciting a poem composed by herself. A pretty custom usually takes place at this moment. All the young people present form a circle round the bride, who stands blindfolded in the centre and places the wreath upon someone’s head, showing who will be the next to be married. Unfortunately, it was omitted on this evening, so we did not know on whom the lot would fall, much as we should have liked to, and the question remains unanswered.

When the bride had received the wreath, the bridegroom’s father recited a poem, and gave the bride a box containing the rare meerschaum powder, brought from Ruhla, a great seat of the meerschaum pipe trade in the Thuringer Wald. The German wives are noted for being good _hausfraus_ (housekeepers), and frequently a girl will go into a _pension_ to learn housekeeping before she is married. This powder is for cleaning purposes, and serves as a reminder of what is expected from the bride.

The evening finished by one more very clever speech from the student, who made some capital jokes about the partnership of the two names, which were, both in German and in English, names of very common businesses, without which we could not live, and certainly, if they did not go hand in hand with each other, a general failure would be the result. And with everyone in good humour, we bid adieu at half-past eleven, we English almost thinking that we might take a lesson from the Germans, and very much increase the pleasures of a wedding by instituting a “Polter Abend” in England.

W. A. H. LEGG.

Arnstadt, Nov., 1886.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

EDUCATIONAL.

BEATTIE.—You do not say where you reside. You should write for all such information to the special college under whose training you will find it the most convenient to place yourself. Address the secretary.

G. M. H. should read all our answers to correspondents under the above heading, as her questions have been answered over and over again in our volumes. In one of the early volumes there was an article entitled “How to Earn One’s Living.”

A. MC.—You should write to the secretary of the Holloway College for Women direct, and obtain their prospectus, stating your wishes and all the particulars of the case.

E. T. G.—The Latin motto, _Virtus semper viridis_, is that of three families—_i.e._, Corry, Green, and Lowry, and means, “Virtue is always flourishing.”

C. M. should write direct to the secretary of the College of Preceptors, 42, Queen-square, Bloomsbury, W.C. 2. We give you the same advice; you had better read and judge for yourself.

POLLIE.—Write to the secretary of the Civil Service Commissioners, Cannon-row, S.W., and obtain the printed prospectus of rules respecting the clerkships of the telegraph department. If you look through our answers under the above heading, you will see scores of replies to this question.

C. KERSHAW.—There is a training home for domestic servants, The Guild of Aid, at Zeals, near Bath, Somerset, and one at 19, Romney-place, Maidstone; matron, Miss Kemp. Also St. John’s Training School for Girls, Westbourne-park, W.; matron, Miss McEwen.

ART.

ZILLAH.—If the medium known as Florentine is used when painting upon silk, it is not necessary to prepare the foundation.

MARS.—In mirror painting it is necessary to use one of the many mediums advertised, or the oil paints are easily removable with turpentine or a penknife.

THE LADY OF AROOSTOCK.—It is extremely difficult to sell original drawings, and much more so to sell mere copies. So we fear that we could not help you. Shew’s mounting medium for photographs is the best to employ.

IVY.—The safest manner of cleaning photographs is to immerse them in pure clean tepid water, and then wipe them dry with a soft silk rag.

WORK.

A MOTHER is thanked for the recipe she kindly gives for a description of embroidery, especially her own:—For the foundation, prepare as proposed for crazy work in our part for November, 1886. Get artificial flowers of velvet, old or new, the brighter the better, and of all varieties. Tack them on the sprays, large or small, or grouped; then use buttonhole-stitch to fasten down every flower in coarse crewel silk, of the respective colours required by the flowers, finishing round the larger flowers and leaves with gold tinsel cord, and using small yellow beads for flower seeds. The stems should be made in shaded greens with crewel-stitch, and the whole effect is very brilliant.

TEETEE.—With reference to your helping to support your mother and yourselves by dressmaking, no friends worth keeping would cast you off on that account. No disgrace is attached to honest work, but you would show consideration for the feelings of others by working under Christian names, a common practice amongst dressmakers and milliners; and this little act of delicacy for your relatives’ sake will be appreciated by them, supposing the family name be one of any distinction—a common one would not matter. We advise you to get some lessons in fitting from a good tailor, as women dressmakers fail signally on this point, as a general and almost universal rule.

“MARCH WINDS,
APRIL SHOWERS,
BRING FORTH
MAY FLOWERS.”]

LOVER OF THE G.O.P.—On no account take any notice of such a note. It was a most intrusive and impertinent act on the part of a strange man to drop it into your lap in the railway carriage. It showed that he mistook you for a girl lacking grievously in self-respect and in any knowledge of propriety.

FIDELIS.—We have advised our correspondents very many times against such advertisements, which are almost all catchpennies, and intended to delude and swindle the foolish and unwary. We have no knowledge of each separate advertisement, and we speak only as a general rule, of course.

E. H. E. K.—The best cotton to use for knitting a quilt is No. 6, with No. 12 needles. In asking how much cotton you would require, you never mention the size of the quilt which you mean to make, but after knitting one of the diamonds you will know how much you have used, and also the number of diamonds you will require, and you can calculate from that. If you keep to one maker you can always match the cotton exactly.

AN IRISH DOCTOR’S WIFE.—To make a stitch, put the thread before the needle. A slipped stitch means one that is passed from one needle to the other without knitting it. We think you would find it easier to induce some experienced knitter to give you a few instructions.

KASCHEU.—1. The cracker nightdress case may be made in plush. This case resembles a cracker in shape, the two ends being secured with drawstrings about four inches from the edge, and this frilled part is lined with satin. The nightdress is placed in the centre, where the bonbon of a real cracker is secured. 2. For plush embroidery, coarse silks are used, and the patterns are worked in outlines. The material presents such difficulties that the embroidery is never very elaborate. The watch pockets to match the cracker nightdress case are shaped like half a cracker, and are placed upon the foundation upright. The watch pockets are hung up by a ribbon, and are gathered at the top.

MISCELLANEOUS.

VIDA.—It is only in convents that women take vows of celebacy. Remember also that there is a Divine rule for guidance in reference to sacred vows, which must include every description outside the simple and imperative obligation to serve God humbly and faithfully in your ordinary daily life and conversation, and in the inner sanctuary of your own heart, for which Divine rule see Numbers xxx. 3, 4, 5.

SRIXO.—In no case should a hostess go in first to her own dining-room; every guest should precede her, excepting the guest that escorts herself, or _vice versa_. If a cake be presented to a girl on her birthday (which is by no means _de rigueur_, and like the ever-provided wedding cake) it may be placed either at the top, bottom, or side of the table, as the mistress of the house may please.

CONSTANT READER.—We are very glad that you see your past errors, and are endeavouring to act as shall be pleasing to your Heavenly Master in your daily life, and as ever in His sight. Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit so to do. The Odd Minutes Society might meet your wishes in trying to do some little extra work for Him in His poor. Write to Miss J. Powel, Luctons, Buckhurst-hill, Essex, for her prospectus. You might get some fingering wool, and crochet or knit for them in odd minutes.

LICHEN.—You should pay a visit to a florist’s, and ask for the species you name and examine for yourself. If anything be worth knowing it is worth taking a little trouble to obtain information. Our girls are too lazy and continually ask us to hunt through the indexes supplied for their own use. When you have made a full inspection of the flowers for yourself, you can get direct special information from the florist.

DUCHESS.—The verse you quote is not taken from any of the canonical books. It is apocryphal.

INQUIRER does not appear to be at all acquainted with the Holy Gospel according to St. John, or she would know where to find the text quoted. She ought to feel ashamed of such ignorance, and we recommend her to read that Gospel through, and commit some of our Lord’s discourses to memory. We also advise her and all our girls to obtain a concordance of the Holy Bible at our office, as soon as they can afford to buy one.

NIL DESPERANDUM should obtain medical advice. We can only make general statements, which may or may not be correctly applied to individual cases.

BATTY.—If the glaze be produced by the wearing-away of the nap of the cloth, there is no cure for it. Perhaps you could turn it with advantage.

APE and DONKEY (New South Wales).—Lads of nineteen are certainly too young to choose partners for life, and no girl would be wise in binding herself to marry a young fellow who could not know his own mind. A man should be at least twenty-five before he asks any girl to risk her happiness in giving him a promise of marriage. If an escort from church on a Sunday evening be desirable, you should make due arrangement for it before venturing to go. Impromptu accidental offers of escort are very inexpedient. In such cases you should have another girl with you likewise.

SPHINX.—Accept our thanks for your kind letter. We cannot decipher it all, but see no question to be answered.

BUSINESS WOMAN.—We have given a long series of articles on the subject of Good Breeding, and also of Etiquette, of an exhaustive character. Some are entitled “Duties,” etc. Look for them in the indexes, and you will learn all you require to know under any circumstance in which you may be placed.

BROWNY.—To become talkative would be most objectionable. Read our two articles on “The Art of Conversing Agreeably.” We thank you for your prescription against sea sickness, viz.—2 grains of bromide of sodium taken three times a day, two days before going on board, and night and morning while on board. But we have not tried it, and so must advise anyone wishing to experiment on the dose, to consult her own doctor before so doing.

A DUBLIN LASSIE.—The 18th December, 1871, was a Monday. In reply to your second question, see our answer to “Browny.”

SUSIE M.—Our blessed Lord was tempted in all points, like as we all are. Read the other passages in connection with this distinct and positive statement.

A PARLOUR-MAID writes, “What will remove black spots from silver?” and she goes on in the next sentence to say, “when the plate is cleaned they go away.” What more does she wish to know? Clean, the plate, and do so frequently and regularly.

POPSEY.—September 5th, 1856, fell on a Friday. Conversion to God may be sudden, but is more generally a gradual and growing conviction of sin and apprehension of the way of salvation, a gentle process of drawing to Christ by feelings of gratitude for mercies received, and through hearing and reading of His love. This appears to be a more reliable and satisfactory process than sudden convictions with an assurance of faith. Still, such conversions as the latter do occur. There are many godly people, also, who have never known any change since their early childhood, but who always feared God and trusted in His atonement.

A. PAYNE.—You are doing a very rash thing in trying to thin yourself by taking carbonate of soda in daily doses. You will thus thin your blood, and thinness of blood often results in dropsy, spots, and boils, etc. Your being stout is a great advantage, if not excessive. You have some substance to waste safely in case of illness. Do you wish to look like the poor scarecrows with pipe-stopper waists? Your hand is scarcely formed, and you should use a softer pen.

HELIOTROPE (New Zealand).—1. We read your letter with interest, although the answer to it be so late. You are very right in the views you express about marriage. Young girls are too apt to take its responsibilities upon themselves without counting the cost, or their own suitability. 2. Changing the key of a song seldom improves it. But, at all events, if the key were unsuitable for your voice, your singing would be more agreeable than it would have been in the original key. Accept our thanks and best wishes.

M. WRIGHT (New South Wales).—We thank you for so kind a letter, and assure you, as we did “Heliotrope,” that such as you have both written, have encouraged us in our work. We may also add that, if you have not had the benefit of a good education, you have profited by what you had far better than many girls who had that advantage. We wish you God-speed.

THE VICAR’S DAUGHTER (Victoria).—We cannot answer your question exactly in the form you wish, but may, at least, say that you might procure what you want through the Messrs Trübner, Ludgate-hill, London, E.C. Accept our best thanks and good wishes.

MINNEHAHA.—Dr. Samuel Johnson died on the 13th of December, 1784. The name Helena ought to be pronounced with the accent on the first syllable, _i.e._, Hel-e-na, although the island of that name is pronounced otherwise, the accent being placed on the second syllable, and divided thus, St. He-le-na.

PERPLEXITY.—We recommend any unbeliever to read the Rev. Joseph Cook’s “Monday Lectures,” first and second series, “God and the Conscience,” and “Life and the Soul,” sold by Messrs. Ward and Lock, Dorset Buildings, Salisbury-square, London, E.C.

WELL-WISHER ELSIE.—Your hand is rather a poor one, but it is legible, and is at any rate preferable to the coarse Stonehenge type affected by so many girls. We suppose the phrenologist meant to say that you could if you tried so to do, pass a good examination in the science and art of music.

EVELYN B.—The papers written by Miss Caulfeild on etiquette, good manners, and duties have extended through most of our volumes, beginning with vol. i. and ii., and one and all are valuable authority on all such points.

EVER HOPEFUL.—The best way to get the information would be to write to the vicar, enclosing a stamped envelope, and ask whether he can supply it from the registers of his church, and if so, what the fees will be. Then, on his answer, you can remit the fees asked.