Archie Wonder Piece Of My Heart Mp3 Download
Maggie Schnair
Mrs. Mening & I took a walk over to Edwards. how change all is there since lastfall house papered & furnished. everything cosy & comfortatle & trees plantedout how much they love to be praised Edwards s day makes them different
After all worying about K. the orders came Sab. for all to be turned over to the newAgent. Who is he is the question. All spirit is gone. the McConvilles at theFort - do not want to stay. Mr D. preached sab. evening do not trouble about theprosperity of the wicked. wonder if he knew the telegram was here. the K police have gonehome & Oh but there will be Joy to know they will not have the troubles much longer.My S. small, but better than it used to be in K in spring. & poor Miny With her familygone to Kansas well I know. it was as Miny says like tearing the heart strings away.
Mrs M. Another spell. & Dr sent for in the night poor little thing I fear she is to becalled to give up world she has loved so well.
When we were studying routes in Genevayesterday it seemed quite possible to go toTours by Bourges and Saincaize, and thussecure a day in Bourges for the cathedral ofSaint Etienne, which is said to be one of themost glorious in France, and not less interestingto see the house of the famous merchant-princewho supplied the depleted coffers ofCharles VII, Jacques Cœur, the valiant heartto whom nothing was impossible, as his mottosets forth. At the tourist office we were toldthat such a crosscut to Tours was quite out ofthe question, impossible, and that the only route[69]to the château country was via Paris. It seemedto us a quite useless waste of time and strengthto go northward to Paris and then down againto Tours, which is south and a little west, buthaving no knowledge on the subject and noBradshaw with us to prove our point, weaccepted the ultimatum, although Miss Cassandrarelieved her feelings by saying that shedid not believe a word of it, and that tourist'sagents were a stiff-necked and untoward generation,and that she for her part felt sure thatwe could cut across the country to Saincaizeand Bourges. However, when we hear thequestions that are asked these long-sufferingagents at the tourist offices by people who donot seem to understand explanations in any language,even their own, we wonder that theyhave any good nature left, whatever their birthrightof amiability may have been. Here, inDijon, we find that we could have carried outour charming little plan, and Walter, realizingmy disappointment, suggests that we take anautomobile from here to Saincaize and then goby a train to Bourges and Tours. This soundsquite delightful, but our Quaker lady, havingturned her face toward the gay capital, demurs,[70]saying that "We have started to Paris, and toParis we had better go, especially as our trunkshave been sent on in advance, and it really isnot safe to have one's luggage long out of one'ssight in a strange country." This last argumentproved conclusive, and we yielded, as weusually do, to Miss Cassandra's arguments,although we generally make a pretence of discussingthe pros and cons.
Standing in the long gallery, which literallybridges the Cher, we wondered whether themasques and revels held here in honor of theScotch Queen were able to dispel sad thoughtsof that day at Amboise, of whose miseries weheard so much yesterday. Mary Stuart, more[158]than half French, was gay, light-hearted andperhaps in those early days with a short memoryfor the sorrows of life; but it seems as ifthe recollection of that day of slaughter andmisery could never have been quite effaced fromher mind. To Catherine, who revelled in bloodand murder, the day was one of triumph, but itshorrors evidently left their impress upon thedelicate physique as well as upon the sensitivemind of the frail, gentle Francis.
M. La Tour laughed heartily, as he does ateverything our Quaker lady says, and answered,with French literalness, that it would be hard tofind any land in the known world that theRomans had not occupied, "Except your ownAmerica, Madame." Then, as if to humor herfancy, he conducted us by way of little streetswith charming names of flowers, angels, and thelike, to the Place du Grand Marché, where heshowed Miss Cassandra something quiteFrench, the beautiful Renaissance fountain presentedto Tours by the unfortunate Jacques de[177]Beaune, Baron de Semblançay. This fountainwas made from the designs of Michel Colombeby his nephew, Bastian François. It was brokenin pieces and thrown aside when the Rue Royalewas created, but was later put together by oneof the good mayors of Tours and now standson the Place du Grand Marché, a lasting monumentto the Baron de Semblançay, treasurerunder Francis I, who was accused of malversation,hanged at Montfaucon and his estates,Azay-le-Rideau with the rest, confiscated bythe crown. M. La Tour considers the treatmentof the Baron de Semblançay quite unjust,and says that he was only found to have beenguilty of corruption when he failed to supplythe enormous sums of money required byFrancis I and his mother, who, like the proverbialhorseleach's daughters, cried ever"Give! give!" It seems one of the reprisalsof time that the name of the donor should stillbe preserved upon this beautiful Fountain deBeaune of Tours, as well as upon the old treasurer'shouse in the Rue St. François, a fineRenaissance building.
Whether or not Louise ever thus openlyexpressed her admiration for the King, one mayreadily believe that even a slight impressionmade upon the girl's imagination would beinevitably deepened and strengthened in thesedays when the court life at Fontainebleau is[246]described as a delirium of ambition, pleasureand love. The merry-making and feasting continued,the fêtes still being given in Madame'shonor, and "the modest violet" might haveremained hidden beneath its leaves had notMadame Henriette's schemes involved Louise.It appears that the Queen Mother, having incommon with others observed the King's growingadmiration for his beautiful sister-in-law,expostulated with him, entreating him, in thename of dignity and decorum, to discontinue hisattentions to her. The King, angry and disconcertedthat his actions should be criticised,formed with the aid of the quick-wittedMadame, who cared little for Louis but greatlyenjoyed her position as queen of the hour, aplot which involved several of the maids ofhonor. So infamous was this plot of Madame'sthat one wonders that a woman, to whom kindnessof heart has been attributed, could havecountenanced a scheme so cruel. "In order tohide their own game," said Saint-Beuve, "theKing was to pay make-believe attention to severalof Madame's maids of honor." The threeselected were Mademoiselle de Pons, Mademoisellede Chimerault, and Mademoiselle de La[247]Vallière. It soon appeared that the latter wasthe one whom the King preferred to seem tobe in love with. The plot soon thickened quitebeyond Madame's anticipations, the make-believeattentions became real, the other maidsof honor were quite neglected, Madame herselfwas forgotten, and while trying to dazzle theeyes of the public Louis himself was bewildered,and soon found himself seriously in love withLa Vallière, at least as seriously in love as itwas in his nature to be. And Louise was thenand ever after deeply, hopelessly in love withthe King.
It is not strange that Charles VII shouldhave doubted his own paternity with a motheras unnatural and depraved as Isabel of Bavaria,and that with a kingdom chiefly in thehands of the English he should have seriouslyquestioned his right and title to the throne,being himself of a weak and doubting nature.It is said, that in an hour of great despondency,Charles prayed to God from the depths of hisheart that if he were the true heir of thehouse of France, and the kingdom justly his,God would be pleased to help him and defendit for him. This prayer, which he thoughtknown to God alone, the Maid recalled to themind of the King, thus giving the sign and sealof her mission, and by this revelation she notonly caused the King to believe in her, butstrengthened his confidence in himself and inhis right and title. True to herself and "thevoices," for she never spoke as of her ownmotion, it was always a superior power speakingthrough her, as the mouthpiece. She said:"I tell thee on behalf of my Lord that thou artthe true heir of France and son of the King."
The town of Angers, which is a place of[320]some consequence, being the capital of the Départementde Maine et Loire, is situated upona height crowned by the slim spires of theCathedral of St. Maurice. On a first view, wemust admit that Angers is disappointinglymodern, with its straight, wide boulevards andregular rows of trees; but to-day we have spentmost of our time in the old town which hasnot been despoiled of its ancient charm. Andhere in this inn, the Cheval Blanc, which hasopened its hospitable doors since 1514, we livein an atmosphere of antiquity surrounded bymodern comforts. The Rue St. Aubin, uponwhich our hostel is situated, is so narrow thatLydia says she is tempted to shake hands withthe little dressmaker who is sewing away busilyat a window across the street, and she doubtlesshears everything that we say, and looks politelyinterested in our remarks although she probablycannot understand a word of English. Aswe see her there, looking up from her sewing,from time to time, neat and dainty, her blackhair dressed to perfection, a pathetic expressionin the dark eyes with which she regardsus from time to time, we think of Marie Claire,and wonder if this little seamstress has not[321]a story of her own to tell, and one which like thestory of that other sewing girl, would touchthe heart because of its perfect simplicity.
Here in Orleans, the scene of Joan's firstand most remarkable success, we live morecompletely in the life and spirit of that wonderfulperiod than at Chinon. The marvel of itall impressed us more forcibly than ever before.That this peasant girl, young and ignorantof the art of war, by the power of her[359]sublime faith in her heaven-sent mission and inherself as the divinely appointed one, shouldhave wrested this city from the English, seemsnothing short of the miracle that she and hersoldiers believed it to be. Even that hard-headedand cold-hearted sovereign, Louis XI,was so overawed by the story of Joan's victoriesthat he marked with tablets the littleroom at Domremy where she was born, andalso the convent of Sainte Catherine de Fierbois,where she was received and where shefound her sword with the five crosses.
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