Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1871-11-24
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Eugenfe

fall or the rustling of. a drapery, th,
empress stood before me. -a...1 - ,{..
The lady-in-waiting arose, arranged {
slight cushion in an armchair, courte
sled and departed. 3" - '-'.
The empress seated herself, and sign
ed to me to do the same. @ @i 34 si'
| @ She looked what Tennysoni call,
" divinely fair,n but as one who has suf
fered much. There was "a, worn, weary
look, inexpressibly pathetic, in her eyes
Just touched under the lower lids With
black her cheeks were thin AID very
pale, her fair hair simply afrang gaa' loN
on the neck behind, drawn back dti the
sides and with curls, tbn the foreheada q
and it was her own hair, distinctly and
palpably her own. Her dress was oi
black paramatta, self-trimmed, with a
small tunic, and a general look Of scant-
mess about it. She wore little white
shirt-collar and cuffs, and not a single
jewel, save one diamond-star that held
the little collar. Her manner suits her
| imperial presence--simple, courteous,
earnest. 1t is as of a ready -witted wo7
man, sweet tempered, full Of human
interests and feelings. impressionabie,
mobile, fascinating emphasizing all
| she says with her grandly-cut Spanish
eyes, that might almost, indeed, stand
her in lieu of speech, so eloquently do
they converse, There is a wonderful
and varied charm about her, Cleopatra
like, that neither age nor custom can
wither or stale. TO see how the woman
struggled with the empress, and how it
brought her down to claim sympathy
and pity from a solitary stranger, was
very touching. Decorum alone kept
the tears from my eyes. -eH .rs5r hre
For while the Empress, kept her
state," as tGe old chronicles have it, in
the armchair (perhaps she forgot no
royal canopy hung oyer her head).
Then she rose and moved near me, seat
ing herself on light chair, and
straightway lapsed into the easy flow of
talk of the high-bred lady. This duali-
ty, the Empress and the woman, is one
Of her great charms. Both, moods are
perfectly natural, but in an Instant she
can evoke all the divinity that doth
hedge" a queen, or as quickly subside
into the lively, elegant woman of the
world, asking and answering questions
in rapid succession, without vestige of
court etiquette. s.. .-......,... F.. .....
She began in English (which she
speaks readily, and with good accent,
only now and then wanting word,
which she asks you with her eyes to
supply by regrettiug that the Emperor
was too i'll to see me. .. ..-s. +.
Not seriously i'll, far from it," she
said, "thank God, but suffering greatly
from rheumatic pains in consequence
of chill when he first arrived at Chisel-
hurst. The weather had been warm
and fine, and he had been tempted out,
too much wrapped up for it was so cold
at Wilhelmshohe) and he had incau
tiously taken off his paletot, and so
caught cold, which had produced an at
tack of rheumatism"
Then she expressed much interest
about the place came from. 1t was
associated with her early life. H +...s:.
"Ah, how happy / was then 1t
seems like a dream-so happy" and her
glorious eyes glistened. "How we'll I
remember the house where l was at
school, the broad terrace, and the
distant hills, and my companions
my dear friends-they have not forgot
ten met" .r t.-. 49, t"-
"Yes,n said |, "young Miss B---.n9
Youngl All, no u and she laughed.
{" She is not young, she is my age, and
that is not young"
1t is not allowed to contradict sove-
reigns, but, as she said this, she was a
living contradiction of her own state
ment. She looks wonderfully youth
full, and her present thinness is very
becoming in this respect. .E -. ...
When first came to England" she
continued, 81 desired to 60 there
"Ah, madame, why did you net
come? We would have received you
with enthusiasm" a..t - -Hs
She bowed IL ...s- t.-aJf BE- W4
"Yes, wished it 4; it was my first
thought; but it could not be-" VI .
"But, madame, will you not come
among us, end see your old haunts ?" 4.
" Some time, perhaps, but not how. |
cannot; the Emperor is i'll. [ cannot
leave him, and go nowhere. think
of nothing, day and night, but of poor
France. All, what horrors will be
passed through ere France can be at
peace Those dreadful scenes are al
ways before me; the end is not YETI
Her eyes filled with tears, and rested
on her shabby black dress-and this
was the late queen of fashion-and her
look seemed to say, "See how /
mournr' And it was true. There is
often whole world of pathos in little
trihes that involuntarily bear witness to
the individual mind. ...... t...........
Madame" said l, there is but one
consolation-the worse things 60 in
France, the more the Emperor is sure
to be recalled. 1t is the Emperor alone
who can govern France. They are like
bad children, and require the master
hand of wholesome restraint and discip-
line"
~ do not wish to .return-I suffered
too much but L trust that events will
Justify the emperor. Surely the world
must come to see what kind of people
he had to govern. The emperor knew
that these people were in Paris-.for
tpenty gears he kneO 1t, and he did not
shoot them. He was too merciful."
Madame" said 7, at is as though
the Fenians ruled in London. The
Reds are the same all over the world.p
"The emperor is blamed for every
thing" said she; yet how rich and
prosperous France has been for SO many
years. The wages of the laborers and
the Ouoiers- were high, and work was
plentiful. To Paris came all the world,
and money was srent. Now; the taxes
have not been paid for three whole
months. The taxes not paid, ana no
money at the Bourse The emperor is
blamed, too, for the war. He was against
it. Such blame is most unjust. But"
and she drew herself up" we do not
desire justification. Time will do that.
Let events speak. By-and-by Europe
shall judge the emperor fairly"