229.—A COMICAL REVENGE.
That eccentric prima donna of the French stage, Madame La Maupin, some of whose pranks we have mentioned in another sketch, after passing her prime and losing her voice and prestige, was glad to accept whatever offered as a means of earning her livelihood; and so we find her as lady-in-waiting to the Spanish Countess Marino. But that misfortunes had not broken her spirit or destroyed her sense of humor, we may see from this incident:—
Feeling that she had been ill-used and harshly spoken to on a certain occasion, she determined to have a harmless revenge. My lady was preparing to attend a grand ball, and called on La Maupin to dress her hair, as one of her duties was to assist at the toilet of the Countess. When the task was completed the Countess gave a hasty glance into the glass, and relying on her maid's skill did not make a careful examination of her coiffure. The feathers in her head-dress were tastily placed, and so, complimenting the maid, the lady hastened away.
Upon her entrance into the ball-room she noticed that she seemed to cause attention and even illy-suppressed mirth. But the reason she did not discover until she had paraded around the room, and some good friend, taking pity on her, informed her that her back hair was tastefully trimmed with little red radishes! Exit Countess! She returned home in a great rage to vent her anger on the unlucky Maupin; but the bird had flown, feeling that she had obtained her revenge by making the sharp-tongued Countess the laughing-stock of the town.