New-York tribune., 1873-01-18
NAPOLEON III.
"REMINISCENCES OF IMPERIAL FRANCE.
INTERESTING ANECDOTES OF THE EMPEROR AND
EMPRESS - THE DECENTRALIZATION OF THE

SIR: Persons who knew Napoleon Say that ne
valued nothing in this world but himself and his own
success Ii is true that he not cruel except wnen
his interest demanded he shond be 80. When that was
in question be knew no bounds At the same TINE ne
had fits of sentimentay Ike German student OF the
ology gratefuness toward old friends, and kind OF en-
during attachment FOR certain individuals. He was
never deemed capable OF genuine love or passion anu
all his relations 10 female we're based upon sen
suality caprice or stubbornness This showed tse 10
his marriage with the Countess Teba
The mother OF the Empress. well AZ herself stoou
in uncertain repute in Pans and for this reason uo
latter had not found husband in her 27th year. al
AGE which is far beyond the time ladies usually
married in France Spain The son Of the sardinAl
ambassador wanted marry her, but his parents hau
perempt0ry refused Their consent, and ~ the circles o
the good arstocracy the ladies were not even receeu
as guests. All the more welcome were the two coun,
tesses at the Eysee, where the Prinee-Presiueh'
held his court, and where frequent orgies tooA
place The Countess Mcntuo intimate 81
that time with the son of Spanish banker
with whom and whose brother she might DC
seen daily driving IN an open carriage in the Bols ue
BoulogDe all Of them smoking She was anu
il exceptionally beautiful, although her stature
Is scarcely over the middle hight Louis Napoleon nau
courted her, wanted to marry her. and she refnseu MN
At this time the Emperor had received refusals rom
four different courts in 10 offers OF marriage
informed the time that the last was from the Prince o
Hohenzolernl. the Emperor, VINO had a good deal oil
muscular strength, I'm spite OF his small figure ana
weakly appearance, broke chair In MT OF passon'
and said "Now, these gentlemen, my cousins, shAn
have an Empress OF my own making, and they sna"
honor her as such, she the daughter of an EN-
peror :" The next day he proposed to Eugenie. But
she was not inclined accept MIN, partly out OF lo'e
for the spanard partly from fear OF the restraint weh
an imperial marriage would impose upon her. When
the spanard was urged 10 propose for her, ne sau
he could not make up his mind TO marry woman VINO
would not fa remind him that she had gwen up an
imperial crown for his sake and at whose side he would
have 10 endure the advances OF an Emperor ii is que
certain that ultimately Eugene accepted the Emperor
with great reluctance On the very day when the con-
tract was to be signed and arrival at the ceremony
was delayed il was considered possible that she
had changed her mind, that her relations with the
spanard might have been resumed, and that she Wouu
not come at all.
People have called Eugene "a lioness in gilt cage,
and said that she often complained Of the tedousness
and etiquette OF court life, ana that the Emperor IN
many respects annoyed by her ohenses regretted hs
choice and was frequently very impatient and violent
with her. she has been described as possessing very
little information as beng extremely bigoed of bad or
rather free manners and Of limited intellect; while, on
the other hand, il has been said she strongly lhehes
toward stubbornness. thirst OF power, and intrigue
She used to spend many hours OF the day IN occupying
herself with matters OF toilet and herr extravaganza IN
this direction was unbOunded.
II is said that she had little aptitude for doing the
honors Of the court, and influence whatever on the
Emperor, but more on the men who surrounded him.
and she ruled through them. lady who frequently APP
peared at court asked the Empress to exert her influence
in procuring a small place for lady music teacher
who had been in some way connected with Queen Hor-
tense The Empress promised, but did not do IT. ana
.faa Gha
said Yes yes have thought OF IT, but really dare
not the Emperor is so much engaged 70 The lady
tured to point that the request very modest
one Thereupon the Empress considered for moment.
and sad DO you the Emperor at the other end OF
the apartment / shall send word and request him to
come here then you speak for yourself and shall
say "a word support you, and he VIII comply. But
dare not do it myself, am so bashtul SO fright
ened 70 This ." so bashful, so frightened!
she was said TO repeat every OCCASION particularly at
official audiences; whereas, on the other hand sEcs
would burst into laughter trfing occasions, or
give vent to loud and improper calculations; as for in
stance " Oh la m6ehanb! oh, Ia raatne :" or DIes
gfI est dr6le % by which the courers much
tonished as they were shocked.
The Emperor deeply depressed for whole days dur
ing October 1885, fun Of suspicion regarding his
retinue arising from the attempt upon his life by OF
the centgardes On such occasions he retired into abso
lutte solitude in his apartments the aids-de-camp
had 70 keep distant rooms because he could not bear
to hear people talk and any noise frightened him. He
sat for hours, brooding smoking and staring at the
ceiling, until would suddenly Jump mp and force him
self activity The Empress also frequently appeared
discouraged. When of her ladies tried her
up and spoke her OF the Emperor love, Of her bril-
liant position Of the impending joys OF mother saying,
Indeed, your Majesty is the most enviabe OF
mortals," the Empress answered, "Oh, yes, very
happy-until one fine morning they will throw
sfs..
took a peculiar interest IN everything which refers
TO Marie Antonette and collected all souvenirs she
could hunt up which belonged the beheaded Queen
for the Ms6e des Sourerd.s The Emperor took her 20
Ham 10 show her the rooms which he occupied during
his Imprisonment. He loved 10 recoleetious OF
the past and TO interpret aud expound them according
10 his fashion.
The life at court was nothing but continuous round
OF shallow, sensual dissipation The Empress without
intellectual interest Of any kind, aimed daily at new
pastimes. lady living az court said 1--WE live the
Ixion wheel OF pleasure" When mentioned lin 1859 TO
the painter. r. L. how tasteess the dress had
grown in Paris; how everything overdone in color
and shape, he answered 1--WE have lOrtiie ON the
thrOne the character Of the Oe pervades the taste OF
society; andades Of 80 TO 40 years who have preserved
the good old French TASTE have to fight hard TO save
themselves and their daughters from the dominating
tasteessness" "Look at the way they their hair "
said another painter, who present; this alone
gives them bold look; they all look II
they had Just returned from ball at the Opera
House, after having spent a wild night" "And we
shall soon find by our morals who governs u.s." said
third one, a member Of the Academy Of Sciences.
scandalous stories OF the court were continually
circulated. which denoted It's utter Generalization.
During the divorce suit which the banker Hope Lon
don instituted against his wife, gave certain
evidence which involved the Empress. Feury was In
formed Of this by telegraph and finally the English Earl
Of Cn who used TO belong TO the intimate circle Of
Countess Teba, Madrid saved the Empress by using
his influence in expungng certain evidence from the
stenographic reports.
The numerous stories which were circulated