New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-01
MEMOIRS OF VEL CAsTEL
TIE SCANDALS OF THE THIRD EMPIRE.

NNpOesu
lss dspras 10 MSnJscr:i Original Avcc ,in, i, C.
face par ]. iEoNzoS ~ DrC. Tones lvI. raiTs.
The announcement ef the publication OF thcSr
memoirs caused ea almost unprecedented sensation
among the surviving actcss OF the Third Emmrr.
and the uneasness experienced was shown to he
well founded when the work appeared. For no
such unspar;ng exposures of the co=uptions, seem
dals, businesses and general prchsacy Of the
reign of Louis Napoleon had previously been at
tempted and what made the revelations of Wei
Castel the more humiliating to the persons whose
names and deeds he so frankly recorded was the
indisputablc authenticity of his information. Fol-
Count Horace dc Viel Castel was an Imperial ON
cial during the greater part 81 the Third EMPIRE
lie held the important position OF Seer tary-General
Of the Imperial Museums. with headquarters at
the Louvre He was himself member of the old
nobility allied by blood or marriage with many
great houses, and during the whole of his career he
associated on terms OF intimacy with the most con-
spicuous and important personages There can be
no doubt whatever that he always intended his
memoirs for publication. The proof of this con-
sists mainly in the fact that he wrote an intro
duc,ion TO them in which he justified his pitiless
candor And thoug', many Of the stories he re-
atcs altogether unit for general publication 1t
cannot be said that lie has recorded these shame
ful things from that love of nastness which seems
so inherent in the Gallo nature. On the contrary
Wei Castel appears to have set down the almost
incredible scandals which came to his ears much
es Juvcnal and Suetonius recorded the facts which
prove the corruptness of Imperial Rome. man
who declares himself to have been shocked and
rcvoltcd by the dramatization of La Dame
Camellias can have had little in common with
the proGigatc adventures who swarmed about the
court Of Napoleon III. and indeed the tone of his
comments throughout these six volumes is one of
ceaselcss disgust and indignation at the conditions
amid which he lived.
He was himself an artist and man of letters. and
he seems to have been withheld by Just pride
and self respect from joining the crowd OF con-
s"icnccless sycophants who were forever seeking
fresh spoils from the parvenu Emperor. His atti-
tudc toward Louis Napoleon gradually changes as
time passes and he comes to understand that ruler
better. At the beginning he is an enthusiastic
Bonapartist. He has fault to find with the
coup d'etat. lie does not even think it worth
while to defend or apologize for tho cffusion Of
blood on that occasion For several years the
mask Of imperturbability worn by the Emperor de-
ccived Castel as 1t did so many Others. By de-
grecs however, the impossibility Of believing the
Emperor to be unaware of the true character of
his lieutcnants and instruments became palpa-
bic that the good faith Of the old official failed
him, and in the end he read his masters character
shrcwdly enough.
II will be seen that he gives all the Bopapartes
save the Princess Mathilde the most dctestable
characters. There is, however, no reason to sup
pose that they suffer injustice ut his hands. He
was too familiar with each and all OF them to
make any grave mistakes in discussing them, and
moreover there plenty of contemporaneons
narratives by which to test the truth of the ma
jorty of his statements. In dealing with so VOLT
minous record it will be necessary to Gull here
and there anecdotes and narratives of general III
terost and of course the extracts for which alone
space can be found in daily paper must fail 20
represent adequately a narrative extending over
thirteen peculiarly memorable and exciting years
NJ Wei Castel was an eager politician and moved
in circles where the springs Of political action
were habitually disclosed to initiates lie himself
calls it the dirty kitchen of politics" and as the
creatures of the Empire grew holder and the for
eign entan clements of Napoleon became more per
picking the resort to corrupt methods and espccl-
ally bribery and intimidation, was so general as
TO convince the old observer that the end was at
hand. The memoirs close with the year 1864
The Empire had then six years before 1t. but 1t
was going down hill so rapidly that even without
Eedan the secheance must have arrived before long
In Justice to the Empire. however it must be
lointed out that Count Vel Castel distinctly
ascribeS the social corruption Of his time to the
moral laxitY which characterized the reign OF
years ls5i-l $50 there is abundant evidence that
the Empire at its worst only perpetuatcd and per-
.haps extended decentralization which it sound in
full frution
NJ de Wei Castel was no believer in the modera-
ton. reasonablencss civilization of the French
masses. he outrages of the Commune in 81
were predicted by him twenty years before. Writ
ing in s5l he says: " 1t is sad TO see how gayly
this crowd of Deputies is marching toward the
abyss. The Barbarians are there: they await but
opportunity and there will be more ruin than when
the Huns and Vandals ravaged the Empire. Lam
artine has written nevertheless that this French
people was remarkable for its respect for art mon
uments.' Lamartnc, fattcrer of the populace
Lamartine courtier of the gutter TO seem indie
pendent. Formerly kings had their sycophants,
but the very mud must have its obsequious
servitors. Respect for art monuments When
arrived at the Louvre l saw the pictures from
Neuilly and the Palas Royal cut. hacked and
siashed: statues mutilated and smashed and the
beautiful porcelain and cups of onyx and
rock crystal and the engravngs books and nsanl-
scripts. NJ de Lamartine; you have wilfuliy
lied this populace is thieving one, and all the
revolts you glorify have been accomplished by
those who sought disorder to excuse plllage. In
1880 thess honest citizens stole 1900, 600 francs
worth of Jewels and valuables from the galleries
of the Louvre without counting the pillage OF the
Tuileries. In ls4S another sack OF the Tuilerics,
pllage of the Paais Royal which was set on fire,
pillage Of Neuly, Of the house OF NJ. de Rothschld
forced contributions in many houses, among Others
at Lord Henry Seymours, where happened to be,
and whence valuable arms and 1000 francs in
money were taken At the Tuileries everything
was sacked and stolen. Diamonds and precious
stones were fought for at the knife's point. The
Huns and Vandals were better than this canaille y
NJ dc Wei Castel ridicules the passion for deco
lations manifested by his countrymen lie says
they love them /" as negroes love glaring colors
md ornaments" and he tells laughable story
about diplomat, NJ de Lagrenee. who was sent
on a mission to China.
"Torchon is a great lover Of decorations; 1T
e not a crime but the nreYalent disease. All the