River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-05-10
LAST DAYS.
The Exciting Situation I'm Paris
Which Drove Napoleon and Eu-
genie Into Exile.

The Exciting Situation I'm Paris
Which Drove Napoleon and Eu-
genie Into Exile.
The events of the 18th served on the
whole to give the court too great sense
of security. On the 18th the battles
around Metz began, and Bazaine's ar
mics, everywhere outnumbered ard
beaten, had to retreat before The Ger
man hosts. But st. Privat and Grave
lotte were reported to the Parisians as
victories, and it was said that Bazaine
ha d thrown himself into Metz in order
to take up Strong positionw The
empress believed in all these fables.
Was it wonder that she should do SO
when at clubs like the Union and the
Cercle Imperial old generals would bark
furiously at you if you expressed any
doubt as to Marshal Canrobert's having
driven whole regiment of Prussian cur
rassiers into the sand-pits Of Gaumont-
sand pits which had no existence. The
truth is, double sets of kilograms used to
be sent from the seat of war, and those
which related events with some APP
proach ID the truth for none
of them were wholly truthful
were never communicated to the en-
press. When the hoaxing dispatch
about the Jaumont sand-pits was pnt in
to her hands, the poor lady, believing in
a real victory, was SO overloyed that she
ran down from her apartments to the
guard room right among the soldiers,
who were lying upon camp-beds or play
ing cards, and waved the telegram, cry
ing: 1.-The Prussians are beatenp She
then suspended all her
own personal preparations for
flight She said that If q revolution were
attempted in Paris she would herself
ride at the head of the troops that quel-
led it. This was her mood during Sc
veral days, and it explains how SO few
of her own chattles were removed from
the palace. Her wardrobe containe d
more than three hundred dresses; her
collection of fans, of frs, of lace. and
linen was probably unique, for the pin
money which she had received in month";
ly payments ever since her marriage
amounted to $iS, 900 a year. and one may
add that she never failed to spend this
sum to the last franc. Everything that
the empress possessed with the excep-
ton of her jewels and few valuable
was left at the Tuileries when
she fled; and the jewels would have been
too, had not Nine. Carette'
one of her majesty's ladies-in- waiting,
prevailed upon her, after much plead
ing, to have these treasures confided to
a banker.
The empress led curious life during
her last days on the throne She was
up every morning at Z o'clock, attired in
a black cashmere dress which she wore
all day with plain white collar and cuffs.
At half past7 she heard mass said in the
private chapel of the Tuileries by Mgr.
Bauer, her alnoner. Immediately
after this she took a cup Of chocolate
with Nine. Carette, who, by the by, was
one of the most renowned court beauties
and most charming companion, owing
to her exquisite cheerfulness. The en-
press private apartments were on the
first floor of the Pavilion de Flore over
looking the garden, and commanding
glorious view of the Seine and the
Champs Elysees as far as the Triumphal
Arch. The room in which she general
" sat was a circular saloon, very gaily
decorated with the panels painted by
Charles Chaplin, and illustrating the
loves ofa violet and arose. In this room
from o'clock in the morning until long
after the nominal hour for dinner, which
day after day was delayed, the empress
received an uninterrupted flow of vlSi-
tors, and the confusion of those wretch
ed times was shown by the kind as well
as by the number of persons who were
to penetrate into her presence.
Crack pated men bringing plans for
new campaigns, inventors who had new
sorts of shells to propose, wives of con-
victs who sought pardon for their hus-
bands, and, it is pitiful to add men of
every degree who wanted to coax or
bully grants of money, posts or decora-
tons out of a regent whom they knew to
have in her more of womanly sweetness
than of regal strength-an these people
we're by some objectionable misman-
agement on the part of those who
should have protected the empress, al
lowed to plague her all day long. An
excuse that may be offered for some of
The then e2eRgs then dirg rev { % tGe feSsfpschsf
bilities of office. M. Clement Duvernois,
for instance a young man of 20, who
has become minister of commerce on
the strength of some dashing newspa-
per articles-was regular bohemian
who used always to show an inch Of
shirt between his vest and the waist
band of his neither garments. From alb
he could go out with
patent-leather boot on one foot and
clump.soled shoe on the other. This
eccentric man of talent, who displayed
some administrative ability in provision
ing Paris for the siege, used to give au-
dience to quondram Bohemian brethren
at the Cafe de Madrid, and when he
could not grant them all they desired he
would dismiss them in patches, saying;
"Ah, you must see the empress-pH
take care that you are admitted"
Things reached pretty pass when Oh
the 3lst of August horde of hungry
applicants, tired of waiting in the ante
chambers of the Tulleries, pushed their
way into the private dinlng-room, and
swooped upona cold luncheon that had
been spread for the empress.
On the lst of September some servants
of the imperial household absconded,
taking with them portable articles of
value, statutes of bronze and marble,
miniature paintings, albums. Some of
the empress's dresses vanished. Gen.
Roland, the governor of the palace, was
at pains to secure proper attendance Tor
the regent; and going on tour of in
spection through the Kitchens, he was
stupefied to see workInen, soliiers, and
wonen-the friends or the solutions
being treated as honored guests in the
servants hall. The intruders were re-
jected pretty quickly by guards sum
moned for the purpose, but by this time
it was known that emperor's struggles
against the German a. mics was hopeless
and there was general feeding fabroad
that before many days were over the
TuiIeries would bel possession of the
mob. The only person that seemed to
doubt this was the empress herself. She
still had herself-contained paroxysms of
horror aout being murdered by an armed
mob; but she thought that the garrison
of Paris would make resolute stand for
the imperial cause and keep the throne
outstanding, though she herself might
accidentally be put to death. Temple
Bar.
Our Country and Other Countries.
Somebody has taken the trouble to
collect the following figures, which will
prove interesting as an exhibit of the
growth and condition of the United
States as compared with other leading
nations Of the earth:
ACQUITTED States, dating from the
Declaration of Independence, 100 years;
United Kingdom, dating from William
the Conqueror, 500; France, dating from
Charlemagne, l,l00; Russia, dating from
Peter the Great, $50; Austria, dating
from Charlemagne, 100.
Population-UnitedS States, 80, 150, 900;
Great Britain, 81. sos 900; France, 81, l66,-