St. Mary's beacon., 1858-09-02

The Paternity Of the Empress Eugenie.
The English are the haushtiest men on earth;
and yet none can bear snubbing and humilia-
ton better. This fact is illustrated best in
their conduct towards Louis Napoleon As
President, they denounced and cursed him, and
called him names; as Emperor, they cxtcllei
his greatness, gladly accepted his aid in battle,
and their Queen, In person Conferred the high
est honors upon him. Just at the moment her
Majesty Victoria Is paying her respects to the
Empress Eugcnie,-and thus again ackpowl-
edging her rank to all European English
journalist volunteers some doubts of the pa
ternity Of the Empress" One would suppose
that proud Englishlnan would bc slow To tell
the world that his Queen had, in the CHEST
forms Of royal pOmp, gone abroad to do hom-
age to the handsome "foundliUg" Tie ro-
nance is in these words:
The lofty and prominent station attained by
that distinguished lady who shares the throne
Of Fr,,nce with Napoleon III, has attracted
public attention Of late to some law proceedings
which took place some time past at Naladoi,i
ana proceedings which throw some
doubts upon the paternity of that Illustrious
lady There has been great demand for the
Spanish law journals Of 1927 and the follow
ing year. On searching through TIE files of
that period We find the subInined account of
the nullty Of a divorce pronounced in 1918
between Spanish wife and husband.
Don joaquin de Montijo, captain Of the
regiment Of SeGOvia married in 1910, Donna
Maria dc Pcnansandr, belonging to respecta-
Die family Of Fontepe!ay". near SegOyia.
Shortly after his marriage he was taken prison
er Of war and was carried off 70 France,
whittier nc was followed by his wife az soon as
she ascertained that he had obtained an APP
pontmcnt as commandant of prisoners of war,
which made some addition to his paw Al
though Donna Maria went to France in COM
pliancc with her husbands request, she does
not appear to Lave lived happily with linn.
Discussions soiIed the jmcstic heartl,-mutual
rccrininatons, each charging the other with
adultery, brought about separation.
Don Joaquin having lost his appointment
in consequence Of the removal Of the prisoners
Of war from Bourges to Dljon, took service in
the French army, being driven there by want
His wife, finding again that he had means OF
supporting her, went to his rcgimcntal quar-
tcrs but was rcpeIlcd hy him with disoiain.
finally pronounced by the French law courts
il November, 1913. On the return of Ferdi-
nand VII to Spain, Donna Marie .eturncd to
!. hall naIi, aid lived there for six years with her
family. Her husband remained i'll France Till
1920 when Ferdinand took oatl t. renew the
constitution of 1872. He then returned to
Spain, and resided at his native town Of Arc
vallo where he had some property; from
thence he wrote to his wife to claim his son.
She refused to send the child. Don joaquin
went to exercise his patcrnal right, but Donna
Maria refused to give him up. Don joaquin
returned home without his child but after \
few weeks he went back to Fontepclayo, fell
in love again with his wife, and proposed
that they should live together again and say
nothing about the divorce. which was known
only to tho family, and his brothers. She re-
turned with him TO Arcvallo and there resided
with him until October 30, 1923, when he died
from the effects of fall from his horse.
Her son inherited his fathers property, M
der tho guardianship of his mother, who con-
tinued to reside at Arevao. We say her son
berausc, although at the death of Don Joaquin,
she had a daughter, aged nine months, the
child died shortly after the death of its father.
In the year 1880 she had also the misfortune
;, lose her son, and her grief was embittcred
by the conduct Of her late husbands brothers
Don Antonio and Don Brantio do Montiio
who ordered her 90 leave their late brother.
house. she having no right to call herself hi
widow, having by her infamous conduct ne.
cesSitated a divorce She refused TO leave hel
house Proceedings were instituted before the
! Corregidor Of Arevally, Don Joaquin Bcneto
J who delivered his sentence on the 18th Of June
/ 1927, that whereas a divorce had been pro
nounced in France in 1913, it had not bee:
annulled after colabitatjon; consequently
in fault Of heirs direct. she must restore tn,
property Of Don Joaquin de Montijo to hi
brothers. Against this sentence Donna Ma
ria went 10 the Royal Chancery of Nalladpl!d
ard after many months litigation the origina
! Judgment was quashed. Whereas Dom:
Maria de Peansarde was married ola June
I 1910. to Den Joaquin de Montijo, and where
as the divorce was pronounced in a foreigl
country, then under the rule of a usurper, un
der government as illegal as irrchgious, an,
! not recognized in Spain; and whereas sucl
, ,levorcc had been annulled nv the ultimate re
morse of the parties, declares Donna Maria en-
titled to the life interest in the property of he
/ late husband, to revert to his brothers at he
demise"
Now, dates are troublesome things. Tn
French .MoniteMr of the 4th of June last an
nouuced that the Empress Eugeuia had attain
ed her thirty-second year on the preceding day
J and had received the conGratulations of be
friends on the occasion. According to tn
official Nonitenr, therefore, the Empress Euge
mia was born on the Sd of June. 1926, an
according to the undisputed testimony Of regst
crs and other documentary evidence, her fathe
died on October 80, 1923, from the effects Of
fall from his horse. These things doubles
admit Of explanation, but none has vet bee
/ given. Indeed, the French Gazdtte de Trib,,
+ ndur Of September 2l, 1881, which contain
the reJ6dtiBa report of this cause celeJre, ha
been forcihly distracted by Imperial ukas
from the files Of that Journal which are keT
for reference in the reading rooms
/ DEATH OF AN AGED NEGREss. neGr