The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-07-09
Eugenie.

Eugene.
With all the faults of Napoleon the First
Josephine has escaped the shafts of hit
critics, and hsr name goes down to history
embalmed in an atmosphere Of romance
and love. We had thought that something
OF similar fate would befall Eugenie, the
last Empress of the same line, but it seems
that one OF our cstemporaries has decided
that this shall not be. One of our neighbors
considers Gen. Trochu's speech a regular
eye-opener in this respect. After the de-
velopments there made Eugene goes out in
a most uDgrac!eus style, and subsidies into
common scold, IL domineering, selfish,
shrewish wife,
we shall not enter into IL controversy on
this subject, for the history of these events
is not to be made in New Orleans or writ
ten at this date. Great events are like a
range of mountains, they must he looked
at from distance, after having travelled
miles and miles away from their base, in
order to form a correct outline of their out
lines and proportions. From the stand
point of Gen. Trochu Eugenie may look
rather rugged and precipitous, while from
lovellest, greenest, sunniest summit of the
whole range.
1t is little singular, though, how differ
emit readers can extract such different
meanings from the same words. A re-
spected contemporary interprets Gen. Trochu
as above. We, on the contrary, rose from
the perusal of his speech with this impress
sion We saw there the picture of true
woman and true wife, trusting to her in
stinct instead of the slower process of mems
reasoning. She scented treason in the
wind, abe saw the shadow of coming dan
ger. Danger! che despised it, she was
there to brave it herself, but her husband
Should not come, no, he should not and
her little foot came down with emphasis.
He did not come, and We can all see now
that, if he had, his fate would have been
like that of Archbishop Darboy. He would
have never escaped from the populace. 1t
may be very we'll to say that great and
brave man ought to have courted such q
fate rather than submitted to exile, but you
can't expect his wife TO think 90. She was
not afraid for herself and staid till the last
moment of mortal peril in the faithful dis
charge of her duty as her husbands lieu
tenant. This our neighbor finds to be
proof Of overweening love of power. She
feared with frantic fear for her husband
and thought not of her own peril. This it
finds to be selfish.
Now We see in Gen. Trochu's speech no
trace of reflection upon the character of
no symptom that he made such
from his own facts as those of
our neighbor. He speaks of her in tone
of courteous respect, not extended to her
a tone which, under the circum-
stances of antagonism between bis. views
and hers, partakes of the chivalric.
: Eugenie is a pet of the public, and we
confess t. sharing the sentiment to some
extent. AS her admirer, we have no fear
that her fame shall 60 down before the !
ponderous sentence and accusing frowns of
our daily Ajax. Indeed the author of the |
referred to puts her misdoings
on this occasion in the same basket with
her sympathy for the Pope. She was bad |
of her husband. She advised |
his Mexican policy. This we doubt. She
advised his Papal policy. Nothing of the |
sort. She advised and begged him to be q |
genuine, thorough going friend of the Pope,
but could never get him beyond the point |
Of milk and water. She advised him not |
TO come to Paris. Yea! and NO doubt he |
thanks her for 1t every day. At any rate |
he ought to do 90.
But in the meantime We find out the |
real animus of tho article. She was tho |
friend Of the Pope. Therefore, let the |
alime OF Puritauism DO thrown upon her. |
1t 10 not the slime-throwers, however, who !
write history.