Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1875-08-27
Clrlotta.


Romc correspondents Philadelphia Bulletin.
4 month or six weeks past there
appeared in several Of the European jour
mails an extremely interesting account Of
the poor Empress Carlotta. 1t has been re-
printed, see, in the American newspapers
| was talking Of this account lately with
parsonage who knows great deal of Euro
pean courts and the private alfIirs OF royal
ties. This person said The description
given of the present lie and habits Of the
Empress leads one TO believe that she l. no
longer insane she may be melancholy, but
she has her reason, and Is sternly refusing
to hold communication with the outside
world, in which she suffered 81 much sor-
row. l. not that the impression II made
upon you?
irepied in the Affirmative. and. apropos
to the Empress mode OF life, I told ny
visitor strange and interesting story had
heard that morning, OF a lady wEo had
some fatal grief which had swept away from
her all human hope and help. She was a
woman Of fortune, high culture, learned,
indeed she was singularly alone IN life
all her near relatives were dead. She was
about 35 wears of age. She lived in an clc-
gantly furnished apartment ; one OF the
rooms was fine library all on one fat. en-
She dismissed her servants, for thirty wears
refused to hold any intercourse with socic-
tv, and led an entirely solitary life. Every
morning confidential servant came and
entered door that was left unlocked az
certain hour. She went into the bedroom
and put il in order, also the dinlng-rDOm,
removed the dishes of the preceding day.
and placed on the table the food for tho sue
ceeding twenty-tour hours, bat she never
saw her mistress. Written orders. made in
the concisest. clearest form, were lett from
time 20 time on the dining or dressing g-tablc.
Through these orders all business vas d.
rected and everything provided that was
needed by the recluse. The whole sdite Of
rooms, except the dining, sleeping, and
s.uc-rooms remained strictly closed for
thirty years. People talked a great deal at
first, mu;h curiosity and wonder was ex-
pressed. bat in time other wonders appear
ed, and the lady and her solitary life were
forgotten. The original confidential ser
want in course of time died, and another
reliable person succeeded to the post, but
nothing changed the habits OF the laGy-hG
was never seen by any one. Some thirty
wears went by, when one morning the ser
want found the bed undisturbed, the iOJd
untouched She forced the doors and
searched for her mistress. She passed
through long succession Of rooms which
presented most strange appearance. \
thick bed of dust lay on every article o.
furniture, q silent covering over carpets
and floors. But straight through the rOcias
was narrow, direct path that led to the
end room or library. path swept clean by
! the long trailing garments OF that solitary
woman in her daily walk OF thirty years. Ii
sweryed neither to the right nor to the LETT.
The servant followed the strange path to
the library. There she found hr mistress
seated at a reading table in a high backed
| chair her hands were folded peacefully in
her lap. her head was leaning back, the
| sad. worn old face Was calm and still. she
had at last, gone to that other solitude.
| Death On the table were Homer and Nlr-
| gil they seemed TO be the only books she
| had read. as the others on the shelves we're
| bound with the dus, of years. There ~as
not one written line or word lett. The s0li-
tary thirty wears had ended, aS they had
! been lived. in solemn silence. Toe sOrr1S-
ing woman at last knew tho Great Secret.
which i,ld her why She had been called 30
| suffer : ch keen mortal anguish that mad
snapp, d all bonds between her aud her kind.
When heard this story II affected ine deep
| ly. and one of the most impressive points
was the mention of that long path leading
throush solitary rooms, and which had
been kept free from the silent droppings Of
dust through cycles of years BY the solemn
steps Of the suffering, lonely woman-she
only record of her solitude This feature
in the recital was as a ghost!y hand. trac-
ing on space some mysterious AMI inexpli-
cable design of sorrow.
When had finished this story my friend