The Knight of Maison-Rouge_ A Novel of Marie Antoinette - Alexandre Dumas [193]
12. Proteus: son of Poseidon, this demigod had the power to change his form at will.
13. Pastor Aristaeus fugiens Peneia Tempe: From Virgil’s Georgics, Book IV:317: “The shepherd Aristaeus fled Peneian Tempe”; when the shepherd Aristaeus was struck by a series of unexplained misfortunes, his mother advised him to leave his home in Tempe to seek out and capture Proteus, who would then reveal the divine source of Aristaeus’s bad luck. Proteus, for obvious reasons, proved difficult to catch.
14. Barnave: the politician Antoine Barnave (1761–93), one of those selected to escort the Royal family back to Paris after their attempted escape was foiled at Varennes. The Queen and the Revolutionary—who favored a constitutional monarchy—rode back to Paris in the same carriage and found each other surprisingly sympathetic.
15. Diafoirus: A character in Molière’s Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), Diafoirus is a pretentious and incompetent doctor who exploits his hypochondriacal patient.
16. Washington: the great citizen-soldier of the new American Republic was a hero to the Revolutionary and Romantic generations of Europe.
17. muscadin: scornful nickname given to fashionable young men during the Revolutionary era.
18. “wear a wig”: Like breeches, wigs were considered a sign of aristocratic sympathies, frowned on by good patriots like Maurice and Lorin.
19. Chloris: the name given to the object of love by some eighteenth-century poets, in imitation of the Greeks.
5. WHAT SORT OF MAN MAURICE LINDEY WAS
1. the Robe: the noblesse de robe formed a second tier of nobility between the upper nobility, the noblesse de l’épee (nobility of the sword) and the bourgeoisie. The offices of magistrates were handed down from father to son for generations.
2. Versailles on the fifth and sixth of October 1789: On the evening of October 5, a violent mob, stirred up by agents of various anti-royalist factions and led by the market-women of Les Halles, arrived from Paris to demand the return of the Royal family to the capital. Louis XVI and his Queen never saw the palace again.
3. as many patriots: i.e., Maurice was seeking to impose order on the violent chaos of that night.
4. Swiss Guards: The troop of Swiss Guards at the Tuileries palace in Paris were the Royal family’s last line of defense in the assault of August 10. Most were killed.
5. Jemmapes: the site of an important victory of the French—led by Dumouriez (see Glossary, p. 419)—over the Austrians on November 6, 1792.
6. The people’s representative: political officers attached to military units to ensure the proper adherence to Revolutionary dogma.
7. son of Saint Louis: King Louis IX (born 1214, reigned 1226–70), a direct ancestor of the Bourbons, was cannonized for his efforts in the crusades. The Bourbon kings frequently referred to themselves as “sons of Saint Louis.”
6. THE TEMPLE
1. Marie: Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, known as Madame Royale.
2. Santerre: Antoine-Joseph Santerre (1752–1809), commander of the National Guard, was appointed to command the soldiers posted at the Temple to guard the Royal family. See also Glossary, p. 422.
3. Elisabeth: the sister of Louis XVI, known as Madame Elisabeth.
4. Citizeness Capet: Marie Antoinette (see note 1, p. 403).
5. Dauphin’s bed: Dauphin is the official title of the eldest son and heir of the King of France. The boy mentioned is Louis-Charles de Bourbon. See also Glossary, p. 419.
6. the Austrian woman: Marie Antoinette was born an Austrian Archduchess. The French word autrichienne, meaning “Austrian,” contains the word chienne, “bitch”; this was one of the first epithets used against the Queen as her popularity deteriorated.
7. Tison: