WONDERFUL! Bob ________________________________ From: Degruy List Administrator <listadministratordegruyl@earthlink.net> To: GEN DEGRUY Mailing list at Rootsweb <degruy@rootsweb.com> Sent: Mon, June 28, 2010 12:06:57 PM Subject: [DEGRUY] Long - excerpt from French book using Google translation Hello Cousins, I am a happy camper. I’ve been having more fun this morning than I have with genealogy in quite some time. After so much tedious research in books of all sorts, I have inadvertently stumbled on [and I do mean stumble since I can’t even remember what I was searching for when this popped up] a source that gives a glimpse into one aspect of the life of our Antoine than we have seldom, if ever, had before – his personal social life. You may recall that I have previously entered on our website excerpts from the book entitled Jean-Bernard Bossu's “Travels in the Interior of North America,” translated and edited by Seymour Feiler. In that book we had a quite personal, albeit brief, glimpse into Antoine’s life at Fort de Chartres and Kaskaskia. Well now, unexpectedly, I’ve discovered yet another glimpse into Antoine’s life – this time into his social life. This comes from a book in French entitled “L’Histoire Merveilleuse de La Louisiane Française [Chronique des XVII et XVIII Siècles et de la Cession aux Etats-Unis,”] written in 1941 by Régine Hubert-Robert. You can access this for yourself in its entirety at Google books. http://books.google.com/books?pg=RA1PA257&dq=de+gruy&ei=6hgoTOqRLoKClAe1l62Aw&ct=result&id=mEQHCpSD7gMC#v=onepage&q=de%20gruy&f=false <http://books.google.com/books?pg=RA1PA257&dq=de+gruy&ei=6hgoTOqRLoKClAe1l62Aw&ct=result&id=mEQHCpSD7gMC#v=onepage&q=de%20gruy&f=false> Following you will find very inexpert translation of a few passages, but probably sufficient enough to give you an idea of the contents. For those of you with a better background in French than I, if you will contact me off list, I can send you the actual French wording complete with accent marks, which the Rootsweb list cannot accommodate. Some of you ‘out there’ might like to play with the translation for yourselves so that you create a better version of the French text. Once we have the optimal translation, we can add it to our website along with the Bossu work. Note that in the following excerpt there are several French expressions that I cannot find even in my thick Harrap’s French Dictionary; so I suspect they are “dated” phrases which probably only a French scholar might be able to interpret... So be patient with me as you read the excerpt, partially a Google translation: [To set the stage: the following can be found in the 36th chapter: XXXVI. 1753-56. Kerlerec, Gouverneur (1753-65). Premier sucre. Révolte Ile-aux-Chats. Guerre anglaise. Ft. Ascension sur Ohio. Arrivée des I«TM Acadiens 257] The passage begins by describing Le Marquis Rigaud Cavaignol de Vaudreuil as “a genial nobleman, whose family is well placed at Versailles” and who [“Tout de suite, il organise autour de lui une Cour en miniature,"] "immediately, organized around himself "[and this is rather fascinating] "a miniature Court." That is important to understand in light of the section which mentions our own 5th Great Grandfather, Antoine. Here goes: [again, the accent marks are probably going to have messed up the text a bit. If we ever get a more ‘professional’ translation, I’ll put it on the website which can handle accent marks] *** “Monsieur Louis Billouart de Kerlerec, Captain of the Royal Navy, the new Governor, is an upright Breton who made his fortune, but is retiring after 25 years of service at sea. On Feb. 23, 1753, he arrived with his wife and her sister, Lady du Blot. Before leaving, the Marquis de Vaudreuil invited the family to an enchanting farewell dinner, and reception, at the Government House. About a hundred pretty women, with sparkled cheeks and baskets filled with silk flowers, their décolleté softened by their hair, and many gentlemen dressed in gored and boned wigs, sparkling in all their outfits, were found in the perfumed spring evening. The Marquis was in a corn poppy red outfit, laced with gold, and cut velvet jacket; the Marquise in exciting thigh taffetas embroidered with silver eglantine; Jean-Baptiste la Pierre, his hairdresser, was overdone. Joseph de Pontalba, in royal blue outfit cuffs and facings, offered to his wife, Marguerite Broutin, the most beautiful necklace that Duval-Chevreuil, the goldsmith’s hands could make; Manon de Belle-Isle, blue as the starry night in her sequins; François de Caüe, dressed by Belhomme, the former Court tailor, in an outfit of cherry silk enameled buttons on crimson velvet breeches nearly eclipsed his wife, who was crowned, as a hidden tree nymph, with jasmin. Hélène de la Morinière, wearing the royal bird [a crest? some kind of insignia?] wrapped in pale gold; the height of Manon de Livaudais disappears between petticoats of dove-colored silk. Antoine de Gruy, Lord of Mesnil-Souchard, is in green velvet with a gold vest; Jacques le Vassore de Bonneterre, who accompanied Manon de la Vergue, was bright as a buttercup in dawn colored silk; Catherine de Gourdon is encased in a daffodil satin, embroidered with purple. [other attendees are described, but I won’t include here] …The feast, accompanied by an orchestra playing Gluck, is beautiful The long tables are arranged between the columns encased with greenery, on which garlands of roses and myrtle are festooned. The empty cups are filled with old Baléron wine and there are cascades of carefree laughter. [other guests who arrive are described: including Joseph de Favrot, M. de la Chaise, M. de la Lande d’Alcourt, de la Fresniere, de Lery, dur Pasquier, Montbrunde la Souderaye, de la Pommeraye, de Chalmette, Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville….. etc] The minuets and the gavottes began. The sweet sounds fly through the windows, leaking into the soft evening, to dissolve into floating harmonies, sounds like silent lips. On the square, two fountains of wine, without stopping, flow to the populace; large kettles of stew, chicken and sauce, are served in the Round The clock strikes eleven. The Marquis de Vaudreuil and Madame de Kerlerec, [fireworks are described] at a hundred paces of fireworks, where the [fireworks] dragon is already out of the coils, two doves are dropped, which simultaneously fire both ends In the languid night, swaying violins and harps, a fireworks crackling fuse, the beautiful city of New Orleans is completely silent before this beautiful spectacle. Tonight, we treat people as handfuls of sparks, to lighten the sky.” * * * Enough for now…. But isn’t that fabulous to give us a glimpse of Antoine’s social life? It’s like reading the Society section of The Times Picayune…..only in the 1700’s! Now can you see why I’m such “a happy camper” today !!!? [Oops forgot… the the passage above, did it occur to you to ask: so where is Marie Therese Aufrere? Back at home in Kaskaskia or near Fort de Chartes….? Taking care of the kids while Antoine cavorts? Is he going to be in trouble when he gets back to the wilderness? Or will he bring her something pretty from the city to placate her for all that she has missed…. We can only wonder!] This is a "discussion" list. Individual messages cannot be assumed to be "fact."  All data should be verified. Be Generous. Share Your Family Research. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to DEGRUY-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message