The Red Cloud chief., 1880-05-06

49,
JCsr below Constance the beautiful
island of ReichenaG lies ike . gem in
the miniature sea- On the bills 10 the
ief. afs chateauI. villas and castles At
least one Of these Is historical: IL is al
most the simplest among them, hut h
interesting rs having been for twenty
years the home Of Queen Hortense. the
daughter Of Josephine and the step
daughter of Napoleon the First With
all her brilliancy Of birth and charac-
ter. she was an unhappy and an unsor-
tuna.e woman.
She had seen her own father muir
dered on the ~guillo,ine. Her mother
married m Emperor, only 20 die broken
hearted. Her step-faiher died on a
lone island Of the sea She herself
married & King. only 10 be divorced and
dethroned. while her children and her
whole family became wandering fugi-
tiyes In strange lands. Ii Is extremely
saddening To walk through the rooms
OF her little home here. and recall the
fate that followed her in life
When Napoleon became Emperor.
she was one Of the most brilliant and
talented women Of his court. She
wrote excellent verses, arranged plays
and composed songs that have cheered
the French armies in battle from that
day TO this. Her song "Partant pour
Ia Syrie" may last with the French Ian
guage.
When Napoleon's star Of destiny
failed him. and all who bore his name.
or were related 10 him. were bani,hed
from France, poor H~Ortense. after be-
ing refused a resiing-place In many
lands, bought this little villa in q quiet
corner of Switzerland. Here she de-
voted many years To self-culture and
the care Of her two sons.
Here was spent the boyhood OF
Frances second Emperor. Arenenberg
is a plain villa outside, but is situated
on one of the loveliest spots Of the
shores of the river Rhine. In the gar
den neal the villa Is a long. low house,
used then, as now. for stables. The
upper floor of this clubhouse contained
the rooms of the young Prince. Louis
Napoleon. Here he studied, and here
he schemed.
In a recent visit TO Arenenburg the
writer hunted up a number Of old resi-
dents Of the neighborhood who had
been companions Of Napoleon. and a
few who had been friends II Hortense.
There were many remembered incidents
of the life of both; for both. though ia
a very different way. had been much
liked by all the villagers. Hortense's
kindness To the poor Of all the district
has embalmed her name in grateful re-
membrance there, and even the stern
republicans of Switzerland had a warm
sympathy for an unfortunate Queen.
As to her son, the late Emperor. people
never could tire telling of the incidents
of his boyhood that pointed TO the COM
ing man. What a swimmer he was!
a horseman, what a wrestler!
Of his horsemanship it is maintained he
had not an equal anywhere. 1t was a
habit of his never 10 mount a horse by
the use of stirrIp, but 10 run and spring
over the crupper and into the saddle at
. bound.
Louis Napoleon visited A~renenberg
when he became Emperor. and twenty
thousand people came TO bid him wei
ZONE. AS a young man he had been
4 captain of militia sharp-shooters here,
md president of the village school
board. These bodies joined officially in
he greeting. There were several
coaches and four drawn up at the sta
ion for the Emperor and his staff to
.ide in. What was the establishment
md Joy to see Napoleon jump into the
,ne-horse wagon of a friend that hap
Dened to be there, and with him head
he great procession through Con-
How the people shouted and
hSads at the democratic En-
DerOr!
Hertense. after suffering several years
8ka G dreadful cancer, ended her event
'ul life here in 1887. She died in the
title upper east room. The stranger
in there now will be impressed to
zee everything just as she left it. There
$ the bed on which she died. and near
t is the camp bedstead which her son
he Emperor had at Sedan. There, too;
S her harp, as well as the harp of jose
)hine.
Down stairs there are five rooms filed
With remembrances of the Napoleon
On a little table in the recep-
ion-room is the gilt clock used by Ma
,oleon on the island of st. Helena. In
,ther rooms are good paintings and
made from life of Napoleon the
First, H~ortense, her mother Josephine,
md her brother Prince Eugene; also the
urniture presented to Hortense by the
of Paris at the time of her marriage
Napoleon's brother. There, too. |
with a crown of ivy, is a mar
de bust of Napoleon the Third, taken
rom a cast of his face after death.
The Empress Eugene repurchased
his place Git had been sold after the
leath of Hortense), and presented it to
he Emperor. 1t was lately the sum-
ner residence of herself aud the young
Prince Louis.
Over the hills from Reichenau. and in
mother arm of the lake, lies the pretty
title island of Mainau, with its charm
NC gardens reaching down to the blue
Real royalty dwells here. tor
t is the property of the Grand Duke of
and his father-in-law, the En-
of Germany, often spends his
days in this lovely retreat. In
act, the Kings and Princes of Europe
managed to secure most of the rare
pots around the lower end of Lake
;onstance.-S. III. II. Byers, in Har-
,er,s M111z;,,e far 4nr,l |