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Article THE MASTER'S APRON.—A TALE.† ← Page 3 of 8 →
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The Master's Apron.—A Tale.†
the ' young Frenchmen of his age , spoiled by the education of the empire ancl by a few revolutionary ideas , of which they hacl conserved the germ . The Count and Countess Cernay looked at Edward in a different light . The young man appeared to them to be charmed with the love of liberty , which was both hazardous ancl pernicious . AVhen they proposed presenting him at the castle , he did not show all the enthusiasm they expected ; he also made use of some expressions which were at the same
time disrespectful towards the august family of the Bourbons , and displeasing to the Countess of Cernay . On the other hand , he did not conceal his admiration for the captive of St . Helena ; for the man whom they still upheld in the saloons of the suburbs of Saint Germain , as the invincible of Corsica . Edward used all the poetical expressions of Byron , in speaking of Cfesar vanquished ; but he merely commended the king in prose . He was , however , according to the family of Cernay ,
a perfect gentleman ; his political opinions , which would have been insupportable in a Frenchman , were nothing but a little English eccentricity ; ancl ivithout doubt Sir John Melville , his father , hacl no other intention in uniting his son with a family so truly monarchial , than of Opposing , hy a good marriage , a bulwark to the ridiculous inclinations of his son . Miss Aldegonde de Cernay would ( they thought ) be the guardian angel who would reclaim Edwardand make of him a true
, loyalist . " Those young folks seem to agree very well , " said the Count to his lady ; adding , at the same time , that he thought the dreams of Sir John were about to be accomplished . Mr . de Cernay understood all the reserve of Englishmen ; but , as he thought he was aware of the projects of his friend , he inquired of
Edward if his father would come to Paris to assist at a marriage , which , according to all appearances , would be consummated without difficulty . " Oh yes , oh yes , " answered the young man ; " my father will be here in fifteen days . " There was at this time at Paris , in the suburbs of St . Antoine , ancl nearer to the gate which conducted to the throne than to the bastile , a small haberdasher ' s shop . The name of the indigent proprietor was a Mrs .
Mathiew . She was a widow , hardly forty years of age , ancl passed for a handsome woman . She had been the wife of a soldier . Seated beside her in the workshop , was a young girl of sixteen , glittering with all the eclat of youth , and of astonishing beauty . The neighbours were aware that Mrs . Mathiew hacl refused to accept a number of advantageous proposals of marriage which had been made to her , and she watched over her daughter with so much assiduity , that Miss Julia ( which was
the name of the young girl ) ivas unable to perform a single action , or utter a word , without her knowledge . The young gentlemen who were in the habit of resorting there , seeing that there was no hope of gaining the affections of the mother and the daughter , abandoned the shop , and the young ladies , influenced by that sort of petty jealousy , which beauty is very apt to cause , followed the example of the young men ; so that the mother ancl daughter were at last left bthemselvesFalse reports
y . were circulated in every direction , ancl the virtue of the mother and daughter was frequently brought into question . Some went so far as to say , that the mother had been the mistress of a rich and influential married gentleman , who resided at the castle , ancl that Miss Julia was the result of an adulterous union which had been broken by the religious susceptibilities of the Uuchesse of Angouleme . Others thought that -Mrs . Mathiew had been placed there by tlic police to inform them of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Master's Apron.—A Tale.†
the ' young Frenchmen of his age , spoiled by the education of the empire ancl by a few revolutionary ideas , of which they hacl conserved the germ . The Count and Countess Cernay looked at Edward in a different light . The young man appeared to them to be charmed with the love of liberty , which was both hazardous ancl pernicious . AVhen they proposed presenting him at the castle , he did not show all the enthusiasm they expected ; he also made use of some expressions which were at the same
time disrespectful towards the august family of the Bourbons , and displeasing to the Countess of Cernay . On the other hand , he did not conceal his admiration for the captive of St . Helena ; for the man whom they still upheld in the saloons of the suburbs of Saint Germain , as the invincible of Corsica . Edward used all the poetical expressions of Byron , in speaking of Cfesar vanquished ; but he merely commended the king in prose . He was , however , according to the family of Cernay ,
a perfect gentleman ; his political opinions , which would have been insupportable in a Frenchman , were nothing but a little English eccentricity ; ancl ivithout doubt Sir John Melville , his father , hacl no other intention in uniting his son with a family so truly monarchial , than of Opposing , hy a good marriage , a bulwark to the ridiculous inclinations of his son . Miss Aldegonde de Cernay would ( they thought ) be the guardian angel who would reclaim Edwardand make of him a true
, loyalist . " Those young folks seem to agree very well , " said the Count to his lady ; adding , at the same time , that he thought the dreams of Sir John were about to be accomplished . Mr . de Cernay understood all the reserve of Englishmen ; but , as he thought he was aware of the projects of his friend , he inquired of
Edward if his father would come to Paris to assist at a marriage , which , according to all appearances , would be consummated without difficulty . " Oh yes , oh yes , " answered the young man ; " my father will be here in fifteen days . " There was at this time at Paris , in the suburbs of St . Antoine , ancl nearer to the gate which conducted to the throne than to the bastile , a small haberdasher ' s shop . The name of the indigent proprietor was a Mrs .
Mathiew . She was a widow , hardly forty years of age , ancl passed for a handsome woman . She had been the wife of a soldier . Seated beside her in the workshop , was a young girl of sixteen , glittering with all the eclat of youth , and of astonishing beauty . The neighbours were aware that Mrs . Mathiew hacl refused to accept a number of advantageous proposals of marriage which had been made to her , and she watched over her daughter with so much assiduity , that Miss Julia ( which was
the name of the young girl ) ivas unable to perform a single action , or utter a word , without her knowledge . The young gentlemen who were in the habit of resorting there , seeing that there was no hope of gaining the affections of the mother and the daughter , abandoned the shop , and the young ladies , influenced by that sort of petty jealousy , which beauty is very apt to cause , followed the example of the young men ; so that the mother ancl daughter were at last left bthemselvesFalse reports
y . were circulated in every direction , ancl the virtue of the mother and daughter was frequently brought into question . Some went so far as to say , that the mother had been the mistress of a rich and influential married gentleman , who resided at the castle , ancl that Miss Julia was the result of an adulterous union which had been broken by the religious susceptibilities of the Uuchesse of Angouleme . Others thought that -Mrs . Mathiew had been placed there by tlic police to inform them of