Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1873-01-31


Persons who knew Napoleon say that b,
yalGed nothing in this world but himsel
and his own success. 1t Is true that he wa,
not cruel except when his interest demanded
he shoald be 50. When that was in ques.
ton he knew no bounds At the same time
be had fits Of sentimentality like a German
/ student Of theology, gratefulness toward old
| friends, and kind OF enduring attachment
! for certain individuals He was never deemed
capable Of genuine love or passion, and
| all his relations to the female sex were based
! upon sensuality, caprice or stubbornness
| This showed itself in his marriage with the
Countess Teba.
The mother Of the Empress As well a her
self, stood in uncertain repute in Paris, and
for this reason the latter had not found a
| husband ia her 9th year, an age which IS
lar beyond the time when ladies are usually
married in France or Spain. The soE Of the
Sandman Embassad0T wanted TO marry her.
but hlS PARENTS bad Veremptorily refused
their consent. and in the circles Of the good
arlstocruc, t.r ladies were not even received
rs guest A3r a more welcome were the
two Coai..-..eS III the Elvsee, where the
Prince-Pr,sideut held his court, and where
frequent orgies took place The Countess
Meutijo was intimate at that time with the
son of Spanish banker, with whom and
whose brother she might be seen daily, driv-
ing a an open carriage in the Bots de Bou-
logne. all of them smoking. She was and Is
exceptionally beautiful, although her stature
* scarcely over the middle height Louis
Napoleon had courted her, wanted to marry
her, and she refused him. At this time the |
J ] 4 T.
ferent courts in an.wer to offers of marriage. |
When the fifth arrived (unless my memory |
fails me was informed at the time that
the last was from the Prince Of Hohenzol-
lern), the Emperor, who had good deal of
muscular strength, in spite of his small fig
ure and weakly appearance, broke chair in
a fit of passion, and said Now. these
gentlemen, my cousins, shall hayean Empress
of my own making, and they shall honor
her as such, as if she were the daughter Of
an Emperor :" The next day he proposed
to Eugene. But she was not inclined to ac-
cept him, partly out of love for the Spaniard,
partly from fear of the restraint which an
imperial marriage would impose upon her.
When the Spaniard was now urged to pro-
pose for her, he said he could not make up
his mind to marry a woman who would not
fail to remind him that she had given I'D an
imperial crown for his sake, and at whose
'ide ne would have to endure the advances of
10 Emperor. 1t Is quite certain that ulti-
nately Eugene accepted the Emperor with
great reluctance. On the very dar when
he contract was to be signed, and her ar
-ival at the ceremony was DELAYED, it was
considered possible that she had changed her
-ind, that her relations with the Spaniard
tight have been resumed, and that she :
would not come at all.
People have called Eugene % lioness in
gilt cage and said that she often com I
aained of the tediousness and etiquette of I
curt life, and that the Emperor, in many
'espects annoyed by her ofenses, regretted j,
lis choice and was frequently yery inpatient !
md violent with her. She has been describ-
d as possessing very little information, as :
,eing extremely bigoted, of bad, or rather J
rec manners, and of limited intellect :
shile, on the other hand, it has been said 4
he strongly inclines toward stubbornness. '
hirst of power, and intrigue She used to |
pend many hours of the day in occupying d
,erself with matters of toilet, and her ex7 6
in this direction was unbounded o
1t is said that she has little aptitude for a
loing the honors of the court, and no inAu- !
nee whatever on the Emperor, but more on
he men who surrounded him, and she ruled q
through them. lady who frequently ap- =
feared at court asked the Empress to exert !
her influence in procuring small place for !,
ady as music teacher who had been in some !
way connected with Queen Horsense. The Z
impress promised, but did not do it, and i