New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-06-13
A BOOK OF GOSSIP.
AN ENGLISH DIPLOMAT IN PARIS.

ish Embassy in Paris during the last years or inc
Second Empire. has put upon paper some interesting
| recollcctions of persons and events, ana SOHO
sketches of a strange state of society. lie was not
high enough in the diplomatic service to learn
many secrets of state OF to become intimate with
many important personages. and 1t must be con-
fessed that his book contains good deal OF
small talk which would serve better for n dinner
| table than for n book Nevertheless q variety or
| entertainment can be extracted from his pages.
Even about people whom he did not know well he
often has something lively to say-of Montalem-
| bert for instance LncOrdairc, the elder Dumas,
Mr. Gladstone, Gambeta aud Theirs and many OF
his slight anecdotes Of value as illustrations OF
character. He quotes an odd letter from victor
| Hugo to Madame Louise Colet. a paragraph in
| which Is thus translated: "Do write somewhere in
| some paper or another four lines on the
Miserables so that / may make it an
excuse with my editors" fie Mr. birmingham you
mean publishers " for sending you copy of the
book. 1t seems TO me that work of mine has nota
reared unless have presented you with it, TO
prosac persons it will seem that if that is the way
| the poet felt, he might have made Nine. Colet a
present of the book instead of bargaining will her
to write puff of it in consideration of getting
copy from the booksellers. Nine. Colet was one
of n queer company of enthusiasts and celeb
mites whom Mr.. birmingham used TO meet at the
| table of tho Dowager Duchess of Somerset. Her
| Grace was an ardent Garibadan, who became the
happy possessOr Of the identical red shirt which
the hero in London.
Mr.. birmingham describes with animation little
dinner with old Dumas the invitation to which
was accompanied by promise of an eel ma 'elote,
to be cooked by the veterans own hand. Dumas
opened the door for him, III his shirt sleeves, and
after cordial greeting ran back to the kitchen,
emerging after while i'll velvet jacket to discuss
the first stages Of the dinner At the
proper moment he darte1 off again, and
brought IN long dish containing cells
swimming in blazing brandy Il assure YOU"
said he II have written much, have even written
fine things, but what do best is eel maie'oie"
At this dluncr Mr.. birmingham made n dreadful
blundcr. guest. the Princess Nariskkn. COM
planned that she had not been able TO antony"
which was then acting at the Cluny Theatre. Our
attacl6 had been advised by friends against that
pay, and not knowing whose il WAS, he said, All,
Princess, pray don't 20 to see that" The
CONSERVATION every face showed him
that something wrong; perhaps the
author was friend of the family; Mr..
birmingham quick enough to collect himself
and proceed, with an innocent air. " No, read the
piece 4 thousand times bat pray do not go TO see it
so badly Acted The hosts p0ndeTous hand fell upon
hls arm with the words tires bicH, jeane homme,"
and the rest OF the dinner passed oil brilliantly.
Before he went away sIr. birmingham learned that
the author Of Antony was Dumas hi nself.
Having undertaken to translate the Countess
Guicciolrs Recollections OF Lord Byron"
Mr. birmingham had considerable intercourse
with that distinguished lady. then the
widow of NJ de BoiSsy, whose biography she
proposed to write after she had finished the
memorial OF her first and famous love. She was
very sensitive on the subject Of her relations to
Byron, and once asked her translator ID breakfast
for the express purpose Of convincing him thai the
report of her having been Byron's mistress was n
SANDER After hours explanation she burst into
tears, and exclaimed: En- mon Dleu! now
could have been the mistress OF Lord Byron I L
never saw him alone. Some one OF my family was
always us; what chance had
to throw myself upon his noble bosom
All, he was indeed beautiiulH
She was as much in love with Byrons memory as
she had been with the living man nearly half a
century before, and she was never tired of dwelling
upon his beauty. She gave Mr.. Jcrni lgham his
tory of Byrons Legitimate daughter Aliegra whose
mother was Clara Wollstonecraft, the sister Of
Shelley's second WIFE, Byron deestel both the
mother end the child Clara Wollstonecraft had
actually forced herself upon him. When allegro
came into his presence he used 10 turn IN Ding ust
and say: "Take her away; she is too much like her
mother OF Lady Byron Nine. Gulccioii always
spoke with peculiar bitterness. "Can man ever
be in love with a stone 7 or genius with log =
or a poet with blue stoclungi' The Countess
book was the provoking cause Of Mrs. Stoves pab-
lcation and while the controversy was raging the
Emperor Napoleon informed Lord Lyons that he
would be glad to have a copy of the "Rec0llec-
tionsD from the hand Of the translator. AT the
appointed time Mr.. Jernin CHAM as ushercd into
the Emperor's study with the books under his arm:
As the door closed behind me. saw standing in
front Of me a figure as sinmpy IN appearance az the
face was seemingly llfeless. Indeed looked hard
at the face, and it seemed to me as II there were no
ewes in il at all. Presently some sounds reached
NV ear which could not make ont In the least.
Was the Emperor speaking in English Not hav-
inc undersi ood what his Majesty said. took refuge
IN = deep bow looked up. ana beheld hand tv irl
ing tho mnstacho on the face without eyes, but
still saw no eyes. "
time had little doubt they were in English; but
INV surprise was not lessened. for | hal always
heard that Napoleon III. good English
Still the fact remains that, on his two attempts
with me, the Emperor was very unsuccessful. AMI
left me with the conviction that the reputation
given him was mistaken, so lar rs MS knowledge OI
English went.
4 second deep bow greeted thus second effort ut
the end of WI ich. however his Majesty, not having
ionnd the exact English word he wanted. used q
rench equivalent, which quickly took as signal
that he desired the conversation to 80 on IN that
language.
From that moment tho eyes opened. the fat
seemed to melt away, the limbs became animated,
and there poured on t. the countenance ray of
sunlit intelligence such as have seen before
or since. probably never will note again on any
human face.
At once the Emperor began in a playful banter.
and asked how thought Monsieur do Boissy would
have relished this publication.
"Nerv much, sire; for lie was proud oil the pre-
ceding connection"
+" Very true but it is hard for husband TO have
the life OF tue lover written by his wife"
Not hard when his own life IS to DO chroncled
Immediately alter"
by the same hand"
BY the same"
q Tres bienw SAID tho Emperor. " this is really
delightful. Lovers. first. husbands next; les
q, ycirs du cpur les premiers ceux de la femme
cnsnite, | Think continued his Majesty, " that |