THE DAUPHIN'S DEATH.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 32

THE DAUPHIN'S DEATH.

(Translated from the French of Alphonse Daudet.) The little Dauphin' js sick, the littje Dauphin is dying, , , , In all the churches of jthe kingdom the holy saorament remains exposed night and day, and tall wax candles burn for the recovery of the royal child. The streets of the old residency are sad and silent, the bells no longer ring, the carriages go at a pace. ... At the entrance to the palace the citizens gaze curiously through the iron gates at the Swiss in their gilded vests, 1 who are talking in the courtyard with an important air. All the palace is moved. Chamberlains, major-domos, go up and down the marble stairs running. . .. . The galleries are full of pages and courtiers in silk dresses, who go from one group to another inquiring the news in a whisper. . , . On the large steps in front of the palace the ladies' of honour in tears make each other low bows, whjls, ■ wiping their eye§ with pretty em : broidered handkerchiefs, In the orangery there is a numerous assembly of doctors in their robes. They are seen through the glass, moving their long black sleeves, and inolining medically their heavy periwigs. . . . The little Dauphin's tutor and his equerry promenade before the door, awaiting the deoision of the Faculty, Some scullions pass by them without saluting. The 'equerry swears like a pagan, and the tutor recites some verses from Horace. 1 ... And all this time down below from the stables is heard a prolonged neighing. It is the' little Dauphin's chestnut' horse, which the grooms" forget, and which callssadly bef ore-its empty manger. ! 'And the, King? uW, here is the King ? .■•>-. The King has shut himself tip quite alone in a room -at the further end, of the palace. . . ; Kings do Hot like to be seen-weep-ing. . ; . For the Queen it is different. , , , Seated a$ the bedside of the' little

Dauphin, she has her beautiful fan bathed in , tears,. and sobs all aloud before everyone;, as, a draper's- wife would do.' In his -lace^ trimmed bed, the little Dauphin, whiter than the pillows ,on , which he is stretched, reposes, his eyes shut. They think he is'asleep; 1 but no. The little Dauphin is not sleeping. He turns towards his mother, and, seeing that she weeps, he says to her : " Madame, why do you weep 1 Do you really believe that I am going to die ?" The Queen wishes to answer. Sobs prevent her from speaking. ,'' i "Do not weep then, madame ; you forget that I am the Dauphin, and that Dauphins cannot die, so " , . The Queen sobs still more, and the little j Dauphin begins to get frightened. „ J " Hilloa!" says he, " I do not want Death I to come and take me, and I shall be well able to prevent him from coming here. . . . Let them send immediately 40 very strong lansqv&nes (German foot-soldiers) to mount guard round our bed, . . , Let 10Q large, cannons watch night and day, with lighted match, under our windows. And woe to Death if he, dares approach us I" To please the, royal child, the Queen made a sign. Forthwith is' heard the rolling oi heavy artillery in the oourtyard, and 40 lainquemts, halberd in hand, come, and range themselves round the room. They are old soldiers, with grizzled moustaches. The little Dauphin ,claps his hands on seeing them. He recognises one of them and calh him. , " Lorrain 1 Lorrain 1 " . The old . soldier makes a step towards the bed.. ' , '• I love you much, my old Lorrain. . . . Show your great broadsword a little. . . . If Death wants to take me he must be killed, must he not 1" Lorrain answers : ," Yes, my lord." ,And two great tears roll down his tanned cheeks. , At this moment the chaplain approaches the little Dauphin, and speaks to him a long lime in a low voice, showing him a crucifix. The little Dauphin listens to him with a much-amazed air ; then suddenly interrupting him : , , . " I understand well what you say to me, Monsieur l'Abbe ; but, after all, would not my little friend Beppo die in my place if he got a large sum of money ?" The chaplain continues speaking to him in a low voice, and the little Dauphin appears more and more surprised. • ' When the chaplain has finished, the little Dauphin replies with a heavy sigh : , " All that you tell me is very sad, JWfonsieqr l'Abbe ; but one thing consoles me—it is that up there in the paradise of the stars' l shall still be the Dauphin. , I know that the good God is my cousin, and cannot fail to treat me according to my rank." , ; , Then he adds, turning towards his mother: " Let them bring rue my beautiful clothes, my whjte ermine doublet, ..and my velvet shoes. I wish to make myself smarii for t^e angels, and enter into Paradise in Dauphin's dress." ■ • ,1 A third time the chaplain bends towards the little Dauphin, and speaks to him long !in a low voice. In the* middle of his speech ; the royal child interrupts him angrily.; , "So then," he exclaims, " to be D,au.phin,, that 13 nothing at all, I " ! > j And, without desiring to, hear, anything more the little ißaiiphin turns towards the wall a.ud w,eeps' bitterly, - j WEDDED LIFE IN HOLLAND. A marriage by proxy; pr, as it is called, "marriage by the glove," is prevalent in Holland, and is-, brought about by the fact that many of i the' eligible young men, after, having finished their education, : depart for Dutch India to engage in some' lucrative, commercial enterprise or to accept a ,position in this colonial ' service. The scarcity of marriageable white ladies in that clime induces the would-be husband to write to a friend in Holland, disclosing his wish for a wife. * ' The friend selects a willing young lady, generally one with a substantial dcjwry and otherwise conforming closely to the specifications of the letter. A photograph of the favoured one is enclosed in the return epistle. After the lapse of a few months a soiled left-handed glove, with a power of attorney, is received ■ from the far-away bachelor. The friend in Holland marries the selected bride in preoisely the same manner as if he were the actual groom, and the young wife departs in the next Indian mail steamer, to bring happiness to the lonely one in the far East. A marriage of this description is as binding as' if the bridegroom were present, and is never repudiated. If eithsr party to the glove marriage should die before meeting in India the survivor would share the property of deceased in accordance with the law.

The laws in Holland in regard to the legal position of the wife are very much behind the age, and the husband can do about as he likes with the person and property, of his helpmate. The laws are silent as to the wife's claim on the husband,' but lawyers have said that this apparent void in the lawbook is caused by the invariable devotion of the Hollander to his home and its inmates. Love for home, wife, and children is nowhere more thoroughly illustrated than in the Netherlands, and cases of neglect to provide in every 'possible way are very rare |n% land of dykes. ■ • " The wives. "and; daughters of the lower cjass.es fay in every way imaginable to aid the husband and father in proouring a living. In summer you will observe hundreds of them on their knees in the public squares, armed with a three-inch spike, weeding the grass blades from between the stones, for which they receive about 6d a day. Others are engaged in wheeling sand into outwardbound merchant ships, to be used as ballast. You will see a woman pushing a wheelbarrow, containing about '2001b of. sand, up a broad gangway inclined at least 30deg, at a gait simply wonderful consider- 1 ing that the wheeled is of. the weaker sex. You will often meet a small procession' on the tow-path of the river Amstel, consisting of mother and two or three children, harnessed to ! the tow : lihe of the catoal-boat ,yery much in thd. manner of American mules. '• They hang, •as it Were, '*in ' the harness, and their swinging regular 1 walk proves, that ;a ; great/ part of; their,. Jfyqr

has v been passed.! .ln,-thia^way i t&?« the. .boat s comes , abrpa^,,. f yp I1 , /o feel ft uamg a ,rope's end on tluvi&tjie? of S family, .who,, placidly smoking, his pin c 2 in the. .stern steering ih'e Vessel} 'but *2 anger will cool when investigation sC that if he took to the? tow-path, and al] 0 2 his wife,, .the helm,' all damages of collte? &c., would haye to.be paid by him., ™ , ,Ypu cross a railroad, andY.casting aeW along the iron path,, a woman, 1> dressed VS tunic and glistening helmet,,waving a *h7 signal-flag, catches^ your eye, She i 8i 8 A watchwoman at the, corner. At every J? road in Holland this position; is filled h woman, and railroad officials have said th ! no accident has ever been oaused by watchwoman's [ carelessness. They receiv* 20 guldens (about £1 :10s) per. month I man would require , double -that salary 'J* ! might.get iptoxicated oncq in a.while. ' q Distinctions in privileges .between! maitiM and single women are so thoroughly eatafc! lished here by - spoial custom as to L observed in the.every-day jasso<?iatiops of tb se^es. A nativewill readily discover .whetfo the couple walking ; the street in front oi U» are married or not, this discovery being mad, easy hy the strict adherence of the populJ to the ancient custom compulsorily intjT duced into the country when under the W rule of "Alva the, bloody" An xuim&tZ woman always takes the right arm' of here* cort, while the, married on,e selects the leftgjs, of her husband. So deeply has this custca entered the life of Hollanders th^t.at a church wedding the. bride .enters the €dsce ontlu right side of t\\e groom, the, Wife returnim on, the left side of her, husband. when lJ oerewony has , been performed. ]-No m, married lady can dream of going 'to 1 ohurci concert, or any place oi public assembly with! out the escort of parents pr m'ale f n}enibeiiot her family. She cannot talk^a wa]k, pay s visit, or.gq 'shopping unaccompanied byh» mother or other chape.ron,. Until 1 the h trothal of the jroung lady , has heenanpouacod she remains the sole ckar'ge of father aaj mother, and she makes.acquajntances onlyin the presence of a third party. Unmarried daughters in ' Holland an chaperoned to ,a}l places of amusement, Even dancing parties are interspersed with singing, recitations, #c. f - for, amusement ol the elders of the famjUy, wh,a sit, ground the tables, sipping their 'coffee, wine, or other favourite beverage, while the young peopfe dance. Here the young must make,the best of their opportunities* for, w.b.en it pleases the parents to go home, 'the daughters also quit the gaieties of the ballroom. ,