Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1879-12-04
EtGENIE'S LAST RELATIVE.

EthLNltS LANl HELAIlNE.
TuE DEATH ~ Madrid or rnE MOTHER OF
TnE IkEHrHEss ErruRE HER
psrGHrEgs ARRIVAL.
Dona Maria Manuela kirkpatrick,
of tlo-eburn, Dowagcr Countess Of
Montijo, died on Saturday in Madrid.
She was born in 1899. and was de.
scendcd Oh the fathers side from
Roman Catholic family of Scotland,
which sought refuge in Spain after the
downfall of the Siuart-. Cine Of her
ancestors, Sir Roger kirkpatrick, a
cousin Of Robert Bruce, won the fam.
lily motto, Il, max -ickcr," by rushing
back with this exclamation 10 finish
the Regent tunyn at the altar of the
Grryir,ar, IN Dumiric.. Ills -on fell
into deadly tcud with the Lindsavs
aud hi. granddaughter Margaret was
the heroine of the ballad of The
Earl'- Daughter" The father of the
Cuuntc-- Of Montijo being British Con-
sul at Malaga she there married Cyp-
rian, Count of Mon,ijo and Miranda
aud Duke Of Pcucranda. three times a
Grandcc of Spain Of The first class.
Her husbands family, the Car
rcro-, Of Genoa, after settling in Spain
in the fourteenth century formed CON
ncctiou- there with many illustrious
house,, including the Guzmans and
Cerda-. \ colonel in the Spanish
Army, the Count had embraced the
French cause with fcrvor, fighting un.
der the banners uf the Fir-t Empire
IN Spain aud France aud firing one Of
the last shots in defense of Paris in
1914. His wife bore him two daugh-
ters Of singular beauty, whom, after
her separation from her husband, she
took to Paris in 1888. She placed
them for brief space at the Convent
du Sacre Cwur, and here as a child
the future Empress was ieted aud
caresscd by Prosper Merimec, life
long friend of her mother. The edu.
cation of the daughters was complet.
ell at Toulouse. at Bristol in England
and at Madrid, to which city the
Countess returned upon her husbands
death. In lSl5, when with them she
resided in the Rue st. Antoine at Paris.
Nine de Montijo was subjected to sur.
veillance by the police of Louis Phil.
ippe and a confidential report made
at that time was published by the
French Republicans after the fall of
the Second Empire to injure the I'm.
press in the public mind. The sum
and substance of the report was that
the Countess de Montijo lived in
easy but not afilucnt circumstances. re.
ceiying few female friends, but having
many visitors at her receptions, where
there was some talk of politics and
good deal of card.playing. Her eldest
daughter, while still very young. mar
ried the Duke of Alba and Berwick,
head of the great house of Fitz james.
a descendant of the great soldier Duke
of Berwick, the natural son of james
III. and Arabella Churchill, the sister
of the Duke of Marlborough; and also
of the terrible iyrant of the Neither.
lands. This great nobleman settled a
liberal allowance upon his mother.iu.
law, who, with her second daughter,
fated to make 2 still more brilliant
match, resumed her life of travel,
dividing her time between Germany,
England and Spain, always, however,
maintaining her foothold at Paris,
where, after the Revolution of lS4S
and the foundation of the Second En-
pire, her daughter Eugenie became n
court beauty and in due course of
time Empress of the French. Since
the marriage of Eugene and Napo-
leon, Nine. dc Montijo has been little
heard Of, though her daughter has fire.
quently visited her at Madrid, where
she has lived in q splendid sort of
halfretirement. At the time of the
death Of the Prince Imperial, 10 June
last, the Countess was In very feeble
health and 1t was feared she would
not long survive the news which,
though broken to her with ell gentle.
ness and every precaution, threatened
at first to prove fatal, Her death
leaves the ex. Empress absolutely alone
in the world, the Duchess of Alba and
Berwick, ii will be remembered, having