Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-02-19
HOTEL INCIDENT IN THE RIVIERA

N one VINO mas SOJOCrnoQ IOr d WIlll6 al
| the Riviera is surprised at the crowds Of
! foreigners that are collected from all parts
Of Europe into it's various hooks and re-
treats. We English go there to escape
mist and fog; the Russians, to avoid ex.
IRENE cold; the invalid Germans to put a
barrier between themselves and the with
ering' east wind Some, again, visit it for
other sanitary reasons. Monaco, with its
gambling attractions, entices and detains
some, and the mere enjoyment of luxu-
rious climate even in winter invites many
more. afH
We-that is, my wife and myself-were
enjoying few weeks at one of the large
hotels that are so numerous]y dotted along
this coast. 1t might have been at Hyeres,
Cannes or Nice, at Monaco OF Mentone,
Bordighera or San Reno, Savona or Pegli,
or it might have been at no one of all
these.
We had been staying-it is sufficient to
say-at the Hotel du Bon Viyant, about
week, when there appeared at the table
d'hete a very striking parsonage, Ass oon
as dinner was over, my wife found herself,
by accident, near the visitors book, and
discovered that the new arrival had enter
ed himself as the Baron Monteggiana-Ta Ia
vernelle. We were chiefly English at the
Hotel, there was no Italian there, and our
acquaintance with the national Burke was
limited, so we easily accepted the theory
that this lengthy appellation was one Of
the most ancient in the land. We were
subsequently informed by the Baron that
it was Sicilian, which made our Ignorance
the more excusable.
1 don't think it was his title, or, at least,
it was not only that, which made us all SO
charmed with him. 1t must have been
'shis noble bearing, his perfect manners,
his evident desire to please, his modest
evasion Of all topics bearing on his own
career, and his handsome face. He ap-
peared to be about thirty years of age, his
black hair was as glossy as ravens plu-
mage, and his black, flashing eyes betrayed
a passionate soul, while his thick NOUS
tache framed, rather than concealed a
smile that irradiated his Intellectual coun-
tenance with sweetness aud light"
Such, at least, was the description given
of him in one of my wife's letters to my
mother-in-law; and am glad I looked in
to that letter, as it saved me some little in
words of my own.
The baron mixed very little with his own
countrymen, and as I ventured to suggest
to my wife, seemed rather shy of them.
He never went to the public amusements,
and declined to subscribe to the Circolo
She explained to me in reply, that he was
the only nobleman in the place, and was,
perhaps, a little naughty towards his COM
patriots Of a lower rank. He had also in
formed her himself, that he had selected
our hotel for the express purpose of mixing
with the English, as he was expecting
shortly to receive Government appoint
ment, and for a better discharge of his
prospective duties little knowledge Of
English was desirable.
[ should have mentioned before, that /
only speak my own language; but my wife
can converse in Italian with ease and flu
ency, and the baron very naturally talked
with her good deal, and occasionally con-
descended to speak to ne by her interpre-
tatiOn. le.sps fl-sl
= Shortly after the arrival of the Baron
Monteggiana- Tavernelle, we were further
enlivened by another, This time it was a
Russian lady attended by her maid. There
we're no other Russians at the Hotel du
Bon Vivant, and she appeared to have
come rather from necessity than by choice,
as there were no rooms vacant in the inn
| usually frequented by those of her nation.
| She declined to enter her name in the visi-
tors book, and for the first two or three
days dined in her own room, and held
aloof from the rest of us. This, added to
the effect produced by stateliness, not to
say grandeur Of department, and rich So
briefly Of dress, prepared us all for the dis
coyery, which, in few days, oozed out,
that she was a Russian Princess, widow,
who wished to remain i,acog1aita, and to
live quietly in the enjoyment of an uncon-
ventional freedom from the obligations OF
nobility-an enjoyment beyond her com
manGat home. R fI
We never fully understood how this
dozed out. Her female attendant could
understand nothing. The maitre d'hote
assured his guests that he knew no more
than the rest of the world; and, by his mys
} FERROUS shruggings, his Standardization
and, above all, by his manner, impressed
us all with the firm belief that there was