Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-15
The Pretty Eugene Who Once Ruled
the World of Taste and Fashion.
HER MADNESS FOR PURCHASING.
Great Luxury and Extravaganza of the
Queen of Portugal.
EX-QUEEN lsABELLA'S, LITTLE COURT
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH!

|
and colored pearls, diamonds in her ears,
and was dressed in the deepest Grape. Her
face was very sad and worn, although an at
tempt had 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 unreeognized, as she was travelling
incognito. Her only companion was a
young girl. She had come in hurriedly
from the street in terror of thunderstorm,
which was gathering, of which 1 afterward
learned she has great fear. All disturb
ances 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 tree.
Few know that Napoleon the Third pro-
posed to three German princesses and was
refused, before he offered himself to the
beautiful Spaniard. The last was the Prin-
cess 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 sensation at Vienna,
where her wonderful 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 walk had an Andalusian spring
in ii. her complexion was perfect: and her
expression brilliant and animated. When
she came to Paris Napoleon was not yet
crowned. He saw her 1irst
AT A GRAND BALL,
where she sat quite apart and alone. "Who
| is that beautiful grip" he exclaimed. "That
is Mile. de Montijo, the Spanish beauty
who has just made such a sensation at
Vienna" He dispatched one of his officers
to request for him permission to dance with
her. She received the officer, and when he
had told his errand, replied-"Tell him
that l cannot dance with Napoleon who is
not an Emperor" The reply fascinated
Napoleon and he eagerly sought her ac-
| qualntance. He was then paving court to
the German princesses, and on receiving
the final refusal, said: 81 will marry one
who will shame them all with her beauty"
and issued a 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 fight she could take
but little. There were dresses of all styles,
materials and colors, enough to have CO.'S
tuned an army of beautiful women. Most
of them had been worn only once, many not
at all. Hats and bonnets by the hundreds,
mantles. fans, laces, boots, and also semi
precious articles in gold and silver, parasols,
opera glasses, card cases, ETC., many of them
blazing with her monogram in diamonds.
There were packages of lace trimmed under
clothes, dozens of which had never been
opened. A madness for more 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.
Parasols with handles of gold, studded with
turquoises. boots with ruby buttons, piles
of the little jeweled bon-bon boxes she used
to scatter so ireely-even small things like
pins. needles and scissors in quantities that
she could not have had the slightest use for.
ONLY ONE SUCCESSOR.
The only queen of to-day 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
wholesale. She does not wait to examine
and make her selections before purchasing.
She buys all the styles of the day direct
from Paris, giving orders for the leading
houses to send anything that is new and
beautiful, wears what pleases her, and casts
aside the rest. She has good taste, and when
one of these collections of dresses, mantles,
hats, gloves, boots, laces, etc., arrives from
Paris, she makes long study ofeach article,
trying on many times, studying the combin-
alton with the lines of her figure, the color
of her hair, until she gets harmony per-
&c to.1 e
loves to make costly and eccentric gifts, but
in that way no one has surpassed the charm
ing idea of the Queen of Holland. On her
husbands recent birthday she presented
him with an enormous bouquet of flowers,
OF the kind used on benefit nights at opera in
Italy, SO heavy that it required several serv-
ing men to carry it. As it was brought
close to the throne the old King stopped for
ward to examine it, when amidst the flowers
the head of his little infant daughter popped
out, to the surprise of the monarch and the
amusement of the whole court.
Eugenie's father had been devoted fol-
lower of Napoleon l., and her mother a
brilliant society woman. Washington
Irving was entertained at her home in
Spain when Eugeuie was little girl; later
the Empress of the French loved to gather
all the greatest artists in Paris at her after
noon tea parties, which were delightful.
Napoleon often used to disgrace her by
the openness of his intrigues, and wounded
by these affairs she several times attempted
to leave his court and his throne. One of
her retaliations was very amusing. The
Countess Castiglione was then the Iavorite
of the hour. The Emperor had openly in
yited her to a royal supper. Eugene had
her hairdresser make for her poodle head
dress exactly like the one customarily worn
his fayorite were walking arm in arm and
examining the pictures in the room, the
doors opened and in ran the poodle in rib
bons and Jewels an exact counterpart of the
Countess, who retired furious with rage
" hen she reached the door Of her chamber
she was faced by placard printed in large
letters: "The Royal Poodle"
AN EXILES' COURT.
Paris has always been favorite resort for
les rois en- exile, and there are many who
hold their little courts and are more or less
worthy of distinction. 1t was always a
great privation to the ex-Empress that she
was obliged to seek protection from the
rather frigid English, though they have
been most kind to her in her grief King
Milan, of Servia, has renounced his throne
that he might join this colony. Unlike the
reigning royalties, who are gradually dis
pensing with form and ceremony, the ex-
lied queens are very particular to keep up
every torn of state that belongs to their
rank, as this outward observance is the only
thing they have to mark it. Their coronet
is everywhere, and "Your Royal Highness'
is insisted upon in addressing them. The
ex-Queen of Naples held a very quiet
but remarkable court, but her rela-
tive, ex-Queen Isabella of Spain, is the
most interesting and notorious of all royal
refugees who make Paris their home. She
was driven from the throne by the Spanish
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