Tallien was the acknowledged son of the maitre-dh?tel of the Marquis de Bercy, but strongly suspected of being the son of the Marquis himself, who was his godfather and paid his expenses at a college from which he ran away when he was [288] fifteen. Already an atheist and a revolutionist, besides being a lazy scoundrel who would not work, he was, after a violent scene with the Marquis, abandoned by him, after which he quarrelled with his reputed father, a worthy man with several other children, who declined to support him in idleness, and threatened him with his curse. Taisez-vous, mon pre, cela ne se fait plus dans le monde, was the answer of the future septembriseur. His mother, however, interposed, and it was arranged that he should continue to live at home and should study in the office of a procureur. Step by step he rose into notoriety, until he was elected a member of the commune of Paris, where he was soon recognised as one of the most violent of the revolutionists.
ONE:Capital letter TM. L began to hesitate and stammer, while his hostess continued to question him; and Mme. Le Brun, coming out from behind the curtain, said
ONE:I have endeavoured to be accurate in all the dates and incidents, and have derived my information from many sources, including the Mmoires de Louis XVIII., recueillis par le Duc de D, Mmoires de la Comtesse dAdhmar, de Mme. Campan, MM. de Besenval, de Sgur, &c., also the works of the Duchesse dAbrants, Comtesse de Bassanville, Mme. de Crquy, Mme. de Genlis, Mme. Le Brun, MM. Arsne Houssaye, de Lamartine, Turquan, Dauban, Bouquet, and various others, besides two stories never yet published, one of which was given me by a member of the family to which it happened; the other was told me in the presence of the old man who was the hero of it.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.
THREE:IllnessLeaves Switzerland with Mme. de TessThey settle near AltonaHears of Rosalies safetyLife on the farmRelease of AdrienneHer visitFarm of PloenPeaceful life thereRosalie and AdrienneBirth of Paulines sonHe and her other children liveRelease of La FayetteTheir visit to PloenMeeting of Adrienne, Pauline, and Rosalie at the Hague.The man laughed.
[262]I suppose he who writes so eloquently in LAmi des Citoyens is also the friend of the citoyennes? If you are my friend, for the sake of the citoyenne, Lameth, [98] do not make me appear before that odious tribunal, on which you do not sit.But the pictures and churches filled Lisette with delight, especially the masterpieces of Correggio, the glory of Parma.About this time she arranged for her brother an excellent marriage which turned out very happily. She had the young people to live with her at first, and M. de Genlis was extremely kind to them; but at the end of some months Mme. de Montesson, in whom she had contrived to arouse an interest in them, took them to live permanently with her.
