, 1879-08-07
Mismated Royalty.

For the first year of her marriage
with Prince Napoleon the Princess Clot
ilde was very wretched, and spent much
Of her time in prayer The Prince was
extremely courteous to her, but as he
was at the same time rs friendly as ever
with the old set there was no true bond
of sympathy between them. 1t cannot
even be said her heart was vacant, for
her girlish hopes and alliance worthy OF
rank had been centered on the Due de
Charities. There was but one prospect
of better understanding between the
pair, and when their Oldest son, the
present Prince Victor Jerome Frederic,
was born on the 18th of July, 1862, his
mother seemed to take new interest in
life. Other children followed-Louis
Joseph Jerome, born on the 10th of
July, 1864, and a girl, Letitia, born on
the Goth of December, 1866.
The Princess was naturally attached
to all these children, but certain notori-
ous scandals in the fathers life gradu-
ally estranged her more and more from
him. He was on the best of terms with
the Marquise de c., and though the Prin-
cess at first affected to ignore it, she
sought every opportunity of getting out
of his way. They may be said to have
lived apart since the birth of their daugh-
ter though at first neither avowed the
motive of the separation. The Princess
simply contrived to be where the Prince
was not. When he was at Paris, she
was either in Italy or at one of their
country houses. This state of things
continued down to the date of the
war. When that was over the Princess
lived for while in absolute retirement
at Prangins, small domain let to the
Prince out of the wreck of his posses
sions as a member of the reigning
family. He meanwhile had left the
Palais Royal for an apartment, like any
other private citizen. He sought her
out and proposed that she should share
the apartment (no mean one, as matter
of course,) and return "home." She
consented, and the first thing that met
her eye as she crossed the the threshold
was the portrait of the Marquise de G.
1t was too much, and she went straight
off to her fathers chateau of Montcalice,
near Turin.
The Prince kept the boys, and, having
them, he had still the mother, in some
measure, in his power. The terms Of
their separation are that he shall take
the two Princes once a year to see their
mother'in Italy, and this has been done
year by year since. The lads
are very little with their father, even
when in Paris. They attend the Col
lege Charlemagne, and live with their
tutor, q M. Barber, in the Rue de la
Cerissic. They spend their holidays
with their aunt, the Princess Mathilde,
the sister Of Prince Napoleon, and it is
she who really brings them up. She
has the greatest affection for
Victor - the eldest and the new
pretender - and it is all the stronger
because he is SO different from "poor
Louis, "whohasjustmet his death. Bear in
mind that the late Prince Imperial and
his mother were never heartily liked by
any branch of the true Napoleon family.
Jerome and his sister Mathilde are true
Bonapartes. AS to the one whom they
consented to call cousin because he bore
the title of Napoleon III, the less said
the better as to the purity of his descent.
He was undoubtedly ''the son Of his
mother" Queen Hortense, but beyond
that it would not be safe to 60, more es-
pecially as his reputed father, Louis Of
Holland, declared in the most formal
manner that he had but too much reason
to regard that lady with the deepest
aversion. Now the present Prince Ma
poleon and his sister Mathilde are of the
pure imperial stock, whatever else they
may not be.--Boston Herald.