VARIETIES.
The "Woman of Stenay."
"And so you have not heard the story of the 'Woman of Stenay'?" said a Lorraine peasant. "It was in war-time, and she offered a barrel of wine to a detachment of Austrians, saying—
"'You are thirsty, friends. Drink. You are welcome to all my store.' And as she spoke she drank a cupful in their honour.
"The soldiers accepted with pleasure, and in a few minutes four hundred men were writhing on the ground in agony.
"Then the 'Woman of Stenay' rose, and with her dying breath shrieked out—
"'You are all poisoned! Vive la France!'
"She then fell back a corpse."
This is the legend of Lorraine, and the memory of its heroine is revered by the peasantry as highly as that of Charlotte Corday.
Singing Servants.