The Penn's Grove record., 1884-11-29

A Partisan correspondent thus writes:
As Empress, the fair Eugene was
chiefly remarkable for the taste and
splendor of her toilets. OF her might
be thus paraphrased the epigram on
Charles II.-sle never wore a shabby
thing and never said a wise Ne. Like
most Spanish girls, she had received a
very limited education. h was very
narrow-minded and uDinteilectual,
though very sweet and winning IN her
manners, The witty and appropriate
remarks which she as Empress was
called upon to make in public were all
written for her beforehand, and she
was as carefully coached in them as
ever was an actress in the speeches Of q
new part. In fact, she had no talents
except for dress. She tried amateur
acting at Compeigne, in imitation OF
Marie Antoinette at the Little IrianOu,
and, despite her beauty, even her flat
terers were forced to confess that she
was a failure. She was in her element
whilst inventing new dresses-ball toll
cts in puffed tulle with a chain of dla-
monds drawn through each pun, dress
es in silk and velvet with the low-neck-
ed corsages hung with diamond trtnges,
others all in the costliest lace-clOuds
upon clouds of poin d'Aiencoo or point
A Taiguille-manties Of genuine east
ern cashmere, stiff with golden embroi-
dery-theTe was no end to her magnih-
cence and to her caprices. She institu-
ted the rule that at the hummer parties
at Compeigne no lady was to appear
twice in the same dress, so afortnlght's
invitation entaIled upon the lady accept
ing it the purchase of a wardrobe of
forty-two dresses at the very least, as
three changes a day were requisite,
with an addition of some two or three
especially magnificent ball dresses for
possible extra occasions.
1t would have been well for France
had the Empress confined her attention
to her gowns and her gewgaws, and
left politics alone. She tried to reign,
and invented a special toilet in which
to preside over Cabinet meetings. She
did more than anybody else to bring
about the war with Prussia, her reli-
gious convictions as a Spanish Catholic
having persuaded her that a war with
the country of the infidel and the here
tic would be a holy crusade, and one
specially best by heaven. When left n
widow she tormented her sons life out
with her parsimony, and her bigotry
and her exactions. She kept him on the
smallest possible allowance consistent
with his position as a royal Prince and
the associate of the sons of Queen Vie
tOria. She would not even allow him a
sufficient income to keep second horse,
or to take rooms in London during the
season. A French hairdressero on Bond
street placed a suite of rooms over his
shop at the disposal of the young Prince
Imperial, remarking with a smile that
his princely guest could pay up all ar
rears of rent when he became Emperor.
1t was to escape from home worries and
home exactions that the poor boy went
off to Zululand, there to lose his young
life beneath the spears of a handful OF
savages.
What a contrast daeanntLL1-m
press Eugenle of to-day present to the
beauteous girl-C Countess described at the
beginning of my article. l have seen
her once within the last few years. II
was on the occasion Of the brief visit
that she made to Paris some months
ago. A pale old lady, with bleached
hair and a crippled gait, shrouded in
Grape and cashmere, was mounting
slowly and with difficulty into a car
riage on the Place Vendome as ! was
passing by. "That is the Empress, y
said a sidewalk lounger as the carriage
drove off. /, too, had recognized her.
When last l saw her lin 1870 she was
a painted, powdered, penciled, bewig-
ged caricature of her former self, the
radiant young sovereign that l had seen
in 1854. Now she looks like the ghost
of the dead Empire, the wan, joyless,
faded image of what once was the most
dazzling vision of beauty and splendor
and queenliness that the sun had ever
shOne upon.