The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-14
THE HISTORY OF PLOMBIERES.
A Resort Of 1IIuatrlous visitors.

"Echoes from the Continent" in the London
Herald, contains the following sketchy account
OF Plom beres:-
parallel to the schwarz. .Wald, on the oppo-
site side of the Rhine, is the chain OF the Vosges
the French Alps. If those mountains are less
grand and terrible than the icebergs OF SwitZer-
land and Savoy, they are much more sym pathetic
TO man. The Vosges abound in rural beauties,
while the air is wonderfully bracing. Here are
detles impenetrabe 10 the sun, there gentle
decliyities as yerdant and soft to the feet as the
best of our English lawns; here fresh valleys,
there high peaks crowned with luXuriant trees
and dotted with towers and other teudal ruins.
Nothing is more pleasing than to wander through
those mOssy paths, under those arches of Verdure,
along those limpid rivulets streaming on the
rocks, some OF them tributaries OF the MediteI-
ranean through the Saone and the Rhone, and
others mixing their waters with the Rhine and
the North Sea through the Meurthe aud the
Moselle.
"Well, in nook of those enchanted regions
lies PlombieTes with its sixteen hundred inhabi.
tants. There is no village that has received so
many royal and lllustrIous visitors. Iu the six.
teenth century Montaigne wrote, The people of
Plombieres are brave nation, free an1
oficious.' Later, Marsh hal Richeleu gave a re-
spite TO the town of Nancy, which he was
besieging to 60 and spend a few days in that
watering-pace. Some chroniclers will have it
that the Duke came expressly to Plombieres to
wash there in the Crucihx well his hand stained
with Chalais blood.
''The King of the sceptics, Voltaire, pro-
ceeded also to the Vosges; he Trote:-I will
bathe in the Plombieres waters, though l don't
believe in their properties; will take them in
the same way that | read the fathers of the
Church. He has left of the place rhymed
description, of which this is the gist:-'From
the depth of this stony den, between two horned
mountains; der black and rainy sky, where
the stormy thun6ets der nb are carried d,o on Thick a
up with tumipg aud boiling water; patients in
flannel, wraptup or block-headed hypochon-
driaCs, bathe and smoke themselves to torture
for the sake of health all the while disputing
and arguing on their disorders etc.
''ln 1770 the despoiled sovereign of Poland
reduced to the simple Good Duke Stanisaus,'
took to Plombi two of his grand-daughters,
Mesdames Adelaide and Victore of France.
Under Louis XIV adulatlon was as fulsOme as
ever. At Epinal, when the Princesses crossed
the bridge spanning the Moselle, they had
fancy for fishing for gudgeons. At once the
Kings carriages were stopped, and his daughters
ahghted, dressed in ialbalas, very ample, and
with trains prodgously long, while their
cO{tuTe q Ia Cdtbedrdle-the mode has been re-
vyed nowadays-had thrown in amazement
and puzzle the bystanders. line was handed
10 each OF them; they let it drop in the silVery
stream, aud in less than minute they caught q
full basket of pink trout and big pike.
The Empress Josephine visited Plombieres
in 1908, bat she lived there almost in seclusion.
Perchance she passed her time in dolefully
musing on the repud ation in store for her.
"En reUdnche, the Princess Paulina Borghese,
who passed there the season OF 1911, lived with
ectdt. She entered the little town dressed a Ia
StdeI, almost buried in cushions, muslins and
cashmeres, and on a palanquin carried by
twelve negroes, wearing the Eastern costume.
Behind her rode leg ion Of aides-de-camp aud
five officers OF the stat.
MADAME Duchess OF Angouleme resided at
Plombieres in 1929. One year later she was at
Holyrood!
1T was on the 81 of July, 1912; the little
town had put on its best dtOuTS; the houses
were decked with flags and flowers, and the
entire population lined the Streets Frantic
acclamalons suddenly rent the air. The Duke
and Duchess OF Orleans were in sight. Three
days after, the Prince, who was the hope OF
France, lett the Duchess at Plombieres to return
to Paris on public duty, saying to the people
who saluted him on his departure, i shall soou
come back. condde TO you those who are
dearest to me- Az six o'clock on the evening
of the I4th the DGchess returned to town from
her usual drive. Her soft physognomy, her
kind regard seemed to tell the people crowded
on her way, i am hppay amongst you.' Alas,
during that drive courier had arrived from
Nancy. The first impression was that he was
but preceding the Duke of Orleans; but soon
after the CONSERVATION OF the household OF the
Princess led to the idea that great misfortune
had happened. Was it Che King? Was it the
Prince Royal? You can conjecture how pain
| ful it was to see the Princess returning home
calm and happy, as when she went out three
"The Princess had few guests to diuner, and
| she was on the point of entering the drawing
loom, when the project of the VOsges took upon
hImself the dOletul task OF breaking the sadne gs
10 her; only he committed plous lie; he said
! that the Prince was dangerously i'll. 1t would
| be impossible ever to forget what did pass then.
On the one hand the Princess, full of terror
and anguish, scanned in turn the pretended
| despatch handed by the prefect, and the preiect
/ himself, TO detect the least movement in hls
countenance; ON the other side, the pre- ect in
despair restraining his tears, kuo wing that the
catastrophe was still greater than she knew,
had courage aud presence OF mind enough to
answer the pressing and numerous questions
Of the Princess, Who insisted on beng ap-
priced of the worst. An hour Afterwards the
Princess was ready to leave. II was at that
moment that her great and noble soul shone in
the fulness of its courage aud kindness. She
was prey 10 fttneste presentiments; she she
abundant tears, and she, never theless, she wed
great resignation. She spoke to every one; she
arranged for ahording more assistance to the
poor, and she expressed the wish that the good
people Of IlomOieres should pray the next
morning for the recovery of the Prince Bat
on that morning the population cried and pray ed
in the church OF PlombieIes for the reDose OF
the soul of the beloved and valiant Prince who
had told them but ten days before, Il shall soon
come back; ! conhde to you those who are
dearest 10 me.n
1T was but Sunday last, little after seven in
the evening, an open carriage drawn by two
splendid Russian horses, entered Plombleres al
3 full tTot II conveyed the Emperor Napoleon