The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-12-03
4 ROYAL CHARM.

4 ROYAL CHARM.
The TaIisEi4san Of GharIeniaene. New ii
Posse~sion Of the Ronapar1e FaHiIy-
tfs trese<vstlcn Through the aiarIiai
Days Succeeding the Fall Of the SeeOn.
Empire.
Says the New York World: II is un
derstOod that at the recent Bonapartis
council held at Arenenberg, in Switzer
land, it was decided that the Empires
Eugene should abdicate the regenet
which she. has held ever siitce hef iii
perial husband left Paris, in the brighf
SUMMER weather of 1870, for the las
time and that the. EotiDg prince, EOtii
Napoleon, 4Tf10 indei vent Ii that fata
summer his baptism of fire." should
take upon himself the responsible leader
ship of the imperial cause in France
Whatever the reasons for this decision
may be, it is quite certain, we suppose
that the Empress Eugene, so long as she
| lives, viii continue 20 exercise a great
| influence upon the fortunes of her son
and of the party which is so openly and
| audaciOusly labOring for his restoration
| 10 the throne 6f France Dir readers
| therefore, Will read with interest, we are
sure, an account which has been for
warded to us from England of a visit
recently paid by an English woman ot
position and intelligence to the dethrOned
and widowed lady who for so many years
commanded the admiration and the hom-
age, not of her own sex and of her OWL
cOuntrymen only, but of both sexes and
of all civilized peoples.
The empress has for some time past
been living. at Arenenberg, where the
Third Napoleon passed so many years OF
his life with his mother, the lovely and
unfortunate Queen Hortense. Arenen-
berg is a charming chateau standing a
little off the direct road from Schaffhau-
ten to Constance. 1t was sold in 1843,
alter the death of Louis BOnaparte, ex-
king of Holland, to citizen of Neuen-
burg, for 81, 900 fOrins, and in 1855 this
citizens heir sent to Paris and sold there
its fine collections of pictures and works
Ofart, including some paintings by David,
and many souvenirs of the first Nap0-
poleor1. This led the Emperor Napoleon
III to repurchase the estate, and it now
belongs to his son. The ex-empress (who
always, by the way, alludes to the disas-
ters of 1870 as " the events - has passed
her autumns at Arenenburg ever since
the end of the FrancO-German war The
chateau stands on a hill nearly l 800 feet
in height, and commands a lovely view
over the upper valley of the Rhine. The
house is furnished now with perfect sim
plicity, the only splendor anywhere kept
up being about the chapel of the chateau,
the altar furniture of which is decorated
with ancient and very costly laces. In
this chapel is kept the Golden Rose, .
sent by his Holiness Plus TX some years
ago to the empress, then reigning at the
Tuileries This g Mystic Rose" by the
way, is rather a rose-tree than a rose, and
is a wonderful piece of goldsmith's work.
Itrepresents a bunch of roses with buds
and leaves, the whole about twelve inches
IN height, being set in an antique vase of
exglEiSite pattern, adorned with bassi-
referi of scenes in the life of Plus TX.
The roses, the leaves, the vase, are all of
the purest gold, chiseled with delicacy
and freedom ard force worthy the best
ages and schools 0f art. The vase is set
upon base of lapis lazuh enriched with
alternate medallions in gold of the papaI
and the imperial arms, cad in its tlgria
supported on four small staps ef lsE1is-s
lazuli. "a
e Va OOh1oC bA1C CA-I1nlDICSo SCOS blIC
highest value on this precious memorial
of her sovereign days, and of the favor
with which the head of her church then
as now regarded her, alike as a woman
and sovereign. Equally treasured with
the Golden Rose, however, is the ''Tal-
isman of Charlemagne, a souvenir of
the two greatest princes who have ever
swayed the destinies of modern Europe.
The Romans were passionately fond of
talismans," which have sometimes been
called chimerfe, from the multiform fab
ulOus monster of that name-goat, lion,
and dragon in one-and sometimes SYM
plegmata, as being made up of discOrdant
elements embraced in one form, and
which have been known in more recent
times as grytti, from the Italian griJJo,
which signifies at once "cricket" and a
caprice. In the latter days of Rome and
the earlier days of modern history the
use of such symbolic devices, carved in
stones of various kinds ard worn chiefly
in rings, became very general. They
were thought to operate as charms and
to secure to the wearer the mystic pro-
lection Of the deity or deities either sym
bolized or set forth plainly upon them.
The stone known as the Craftsman of
is a species of cOrundum,
and is believed to have been held very
precious by that great sovereign. 1t was
long preserved with the rest of the relics
belonging to him at Aix-la-Chapelle, and
the chapter of the cathedral shere pre-
sented it, not without cOgent reasons, to |
the modern Charlemagne, the First Ma
poleOn, who constantly carried 1t about |
with him. The King of Rome, after |
ward Duke of Reichstadt, treasured it |
not less, and from him it passed to his |
cousin LCuis Napoleon, who haG it about |
his person when he made his escape from |
the prison of Ham. He left it behind |
him, however, when he quilted Paris in |
1870. Who knows what might have |
happened had he taken it with him to |
the field? On the 3rd of September, |
when the Empress made up her mind to |
Ay from France, it was inclosed in a rel
quary of rock crystal, shut in by secret
spring, which the Empress did not un-
lerstand and had no time to search for. |
So, with woman's decision she caught |
up a pair of tongs from the chimney
piece and dashed the costly case into
fragments. Shortly afterward she con-
ided it, with large sum OF money, to
faithful official, with orders to find the
at WilhelmshOhe and give them
% him. The official lost his head, and,
instead of setting out at once, went to
his apartments in Paris. There he put /
he money and the talisman into an arm
nrie, the key to which he had lost, and
he double doors of which he fastened /
.ogether by pinning over them a map of
he Notifications OF Paris, with four pins. |
Then came the "events, one after an
!, her, with tremendous rapldity. The
Dfficial, caught one day out Of doors, was
obliged to fly for his life without going