The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-12-10
EUGENIE'S OLD AGE.
a G1fMPsE or HEB IN THE cor
RIDER ora LONDON HOTTIE. s

RIDER OFT LONDON HoTEL. ,
Stories of the Marvellous Gowns She Used
to Wear when Sho Was the Empress
Her Favorite Song.
An elderly woman passed through the
corridor of a hotel in London, JUST as |
entered, a few weeks ago. She leaned
heavily upon the arm of her companion, a
young girl, and also supported herself
with her ebony w~alking-stick. She wore
an antique pin at her throat set with
many black and colored pearls, diamonds
IN her ears, and was dressed in the deep
est Grape. Her face was very sad and
wOrn, although an attempt q been
made to conceal the ravages of time and
tears with an artificial bloom. There was
still much majesty left in her glance and
bearing, but she passed through the halls
unrecognized, as she was travelling IN
cognlto. She had come in hurriedly from
the street in terror of a thunderstorm
which was gathering, of which | after
ward learned she has great fear. All DIS
turbances of nature excite her very much,
as she was born during an earthquake,
her mother being obliged to take refuge
from the falling houses under a Tree.
She was Eugene, nee Empress OF the
French.
Few know that Napoleon III. proposed.
to three German princesses and was re-
fused before he offered himself to the
beautiful Spaniard. The last was the
Princess Adelaide, niece of Queen
Victoria, who had something to do with
the refusal, the young girl being inclined
to accept. Mile. de Montijo had been q
sensation at Vienna, where her wonder
full beauty, her grace, her superb riding
and her wit had brought her many offers
of marriage from the Austrian nOblemen.
Hers was the beauty of perfect health.
Her complexion was eXQuisits and her
expression brilliant and animated. When
she came to Paris Napoleon was not yet
crowned. He saw her first at a grand
ball, where she sat quite apart and alone.
who is that beautiful girl?" he ex-
claimed.
That is Mile. de Montijo, the Spanish
beauty, who has just made such a sensa-
ton at VIENNA
He despatched one of his officers to re-
quest for him permission to dance with
her. She received the officer, and when
he had told his errand, replied:-"Tell
HIM that q not dance with a Napoleon
who is not an Emperor"
The reply fascinated Napoleon, and he
eagerly sought her acquaintance. He
was then paying court to the German
princess, and on receiving the final re-
fusal said:-"I will marry one who will
shame them all with her beauty" and
Bsned q proclamation to his people asking
leave to marry the woman he loved.
This bit of clever sensationalism, of
course, aroused great enthusiasm.
For many years Eugene ruled the
world in matters of taste and fashion.
When she left the TuilerieS her wardrObeS
were sights to behold, for in her flight
she could take but little. There were
dresses of styles, materials and colors
enough to have costumed an army of
beautiful women. Most of them had
been worn only once, many not at all.
There were hats and bonnets by the hun
dreds, mantles, fans, laces, boots and also
semi-precious articles, in gold and silver,
parasols, opera glasses, card cases, many
of them blazing with her mono
gram in diamonds. There were
packages of ace-trimmed under
clothes, dozens of which had never
been opened. A madness for mere
buying seems to have seized her when
she entered a shop, for she ordered right
and left everything beautiful that caught
her fancy, and then forgot what she had
bought. The clothes presses were
crammed with such purchases. There
were parasolS with handles of gold,
studded with t%orquoises, boots with ruby
buttons, piles of the little jewelled bon
bon boxes she used to scatter so freely,
even small things like pins, needles and
scissors in quantities that she could not
nave the slightest use for. The only
Queen of today who can match this in
luxury and extravaganza is the Queen of
Portugal, who spends money in the same
reckless manner, and buys by the whole
sale.
When the Empress was enjoying her
splendid youth in Vienna she heard a
great singer l~nterpreta new German song
that much affected her. 1t was the
"Good Night, Farewell" now SO widely
known, but then just published. She sent
| for him and asked him to teach it to her.
She had a beautiful mezzo voice, and it be-
came the favorite in her repertoire. Years
passed, and when. she visited England in
'55 with the Emperor the same singer
sang at a state concert at Buckingham
Palace and sang the same song. She had
not looked at her programme, but when
the familiar tones came to her ears she
burst into tears.
AS l saw her bent aud trembling,
draped in black and leaning on a staff, |
thought of her sorrows, and /, too, muir
INJURED, Good Night, Farewell. "-Neav
York Star.