DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67419#0411
NEEDLEWORK OF ROYAL LADIES. 389
so; and was carried to such an excess, that fre-
quently the moment a gentleman appeared in a
new coat the ladies crowded round him and soon
divested it of all its gold ornaments.
The following is an instance :—‘‘ The Duke de
Coigny one night appeared in a new and most expen-
sive coat: suddenly a lady in the company remarked
that its gold bindings would be excellent for un-
twisting. In an instant he was surrounded—all the
scissors in the room were at work ; in short, in a few
moments the coat was stripped of its laces, its ga-
loons, its tassels, its fringes; and the poor duke,
notwithstanding his vexation, was forced by polite-
ness to laugh and praise the dexterity of the fair
hands that robbed him.”
But what a solace did that passion for needle-
work, which the queen indulged in herself and
encouraged in others, become to her during her
fearful captivity. This unhappy princess was born
on the day of the Lisbon earthquake, which seemed
to stamp a fatal mark on the era of her birth; and
many circumstances occurred during her life which
have since been considered as portentous.
“ ’Tis certain that the soul hath oft foretaste
Of matters which beyond its ken are placed.”
One circumstance, simple in itself and easily ex-
plained, is recorded by Madame Campan as having
impressed Marie with shuddering anticipations of
evil:—
“ One evening, about the latter end of May, she
was sitting in the middle of her room, relating se-
veral remarkable occurrences of the day. Four wax
so; and was carried to such an excess, that fre-
quently the moment a gentleman appeared in a
new coat the ladies crowded round him and soon
divested it of all its gold ornaments.
The following is an instance :—‘‘ The Duke de
Coigny one night appeared in a new and most expen-
sive coat: suddenly a lady in the company remarked
that its gold bindings would be excellent for un-
twisting. In an instant he was surrounded—all the
scissors in the room were at work ; in short, in a few
moments the coat was stripped of its laces, its ga-
loons, its tassels, its fringes; and the poor duke,
notwithstanding his vexation, was forced by polite-
ness to laugh and praise the dexterity of the fair
hands that robbed him.”
But what a solace did that passion for needle-
work, which the queen indulged in herself and
encouraged in others, become to her during her
fearful captivity. This unhappy princess was born
on the day of the Lisbon earthquake, which seemed
to stamp a fatal mark on the era of her birth; and
many circumstances occurred during her life which
have since been considered as portentous.
“ ’Tis certain that the soul hath oft foretaste
Of matters which beyond its ken are placed.”
One circumstance, simple in itself and easily ex-
plained, is recorded by Madame Campan as having
impressed Marie with shuddering anticipations of
evil:—
“ One evening, about the latter end of May, she
was sitting in the middle of her room, relating se-
veral remarkable occurrences of the day. Four wax