The Portland daily press., 1871-10-31
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 81, 1871.
saIo Of the Personal Property of the En-
press Eugenie.
PORTLAND

press Eugenie.
In passing by the new galleries of the Lon
vre, facing the quay, heard the tinkle of a
bell, and the voice of Ia crier inviting the pub
lie to come and buy what remained to be sold
of the Empress Eugenie's personal effects.
Accepting the invitation, entered the little
court standing in the midst of the imperial
stables. Another bellringer was at the door
of the mdnege where M. Buchon used to give
the Imperial Prince riding lessons. 1t was
occupied by old clothes sellers of both sexes,
curiosity dealers, a few friends of the fallen
| dynasty whose faces had often seen grouped
around the throne of the Sale des Etats, some
dirty students, a reporter of the Gaulois, at
tracted, like myself, by the noise of the bell,
and sprinkliEg OF those antiquated gentle.
men in white CATERS who pass their lives in
lowering about the book stands on the para
pet OF the Quay Voltaire, and crossing and re-
crossing the Pont des Arts. The auctioneer
was selfsufficient sort of commonplace
bourgeois. He did his best to be jocular at
the expense OF fallen greatness. Each article
he seemed to think, was worth its weight in
| gold, if only as relic. The dresses, laces.
shawls and mantles had been disposed of on
| previous day; and it was now the turn of
| to be liquidated. Pillow-cases of fine cam
| bric--so fine that one wonders how they sup
ported elaborate embrOideries and deep, leal
lace borders-were holly contested for By a
"petite damc,,' a shabby Jew of the Rue des
Victories, ard a party of buyers belonging,
should say, to the Quarter Breda. The little
lady carried off dozen. 1t "poses" one, she
cried, tittering as she spoke, to press the pillow
on which an imperial head reposed. The ci-
yhor II happ 10 or for bar til
she volunteered to tell one of the old friends
of the fallen dynasty, was Eulalie. AS for
the crown under it, ma fol, she was Just as
worthy to wear it as any one else! Tue old
friend was not 10th to cultivate the acquaint-
ance of the sparkling fair one. He assented
to this proposition, and volunteered to hold
plllow-case, which the auctioneer had allowed
her to take. The towelling was endless. Bun
die after bundle of Fine Saxony damask nap
kins, all with the E, the crows, the eagle, the
busy Carlovingian bee, and profusion Of
laurel wreaths were handed round the vaulted
| room to be examined by bidders and then
disposed Of Some breakfast table napery,
the present of king, now Emperor Williams
best feudatOry, was bought by some of the
former habitues of the Sale des Etats, who
got it cheap. One of the old gentlemen, who
happened to be deaf, was furious when he
found that he might have had the lot
at 1901. do not know why the brokers
and students were so jocose when an in.
side garment was held up by two dainty
sleeves and the public asked to examine it, as
a fair specimen OF the large bale from which
it was drawn at hazard. American modesty
cannot bring itself to name this garment any
more than it can to speak of shirt. II Paul
de Cassagnac were as good as his oft-repeated
oath, he would have run his sword cane
through the profane auctioneer's Snowman
who held the article in question up to be
scoffed at by the males and admired by the
women. There were peignoirs and dressing
gowns, clearly furnished by Chapon, the ia.
nous ladies' outftter in the Rue de la Paix,
and all wonderfully elegant, but dusty and
somewhat bue-molded. The stockings of
thread, silk and Shetland wool were of gossa-
mer lghtness. An in6nity of bath and toilet
spoDges were knocked down at hundred
francs. These were all of the best quality.
The little lady said she would have been the
purchaser ii the auctioneer had guaranteed
that he was selling her something which had
actually passed through the empress's hand.
As for the boots and slippers, they justified
the eulogiums passed by NM Franc and
Loekrey in their report on Partisan shOemak-
ers. Then there were, the ladies thought, de- |
liclous things in the way of petticoats, flannel
bustles, robes de chambre, sorties de balm and |
woolen wraps. Some baby's robes, which, ac- |
cording to the salesman's legend, belonged to
the prince imperaPs layette, were bought by |
Russian lady. A snuffy purchaser near me |
shook her head incredulously at those belong
ings of imperial infancy. They were sump-
tuousy gotten up, she admitted, but nothing
would convince her that they did not belong
to some distressed bourgeoiso,S layotto, and
were not palmed off by the auctioneer to en-
bance their price, as having been worn by
the prince, at whose birth, II years ago, offic-
ial France went into the most excessive dem
onstrations OF delight that ever hailed the ad-
vent of a royal child on our planet.-Paris
Letter to London Times.