The Forrest City times., 1891-05-22
FRINGE MURAT.
Re min isccnces of the Royal Scion and Ills
 American Wife.

In the well-kept little cemetery in capital of Florida, side by side beneath the shade of the trees, rests all that was mortal of a once well-known prince of royal blood and his American bride, their graves turfed over and marked by plain marble shafts. One of these stones bears the following in- scription:
 Departed this life April IS, 1s47. Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat, aged AZ. This monument is dedicated by his wife Catherine in perpetual memory of her love"
 Upon the other shaft is cut these words:
 Sacred to the memory of Princess c. A. Mrtrat widow of Col. Charles Louis Napoleon Achille Murat and daughter of the late Col. Bird c. Willis. of Virginia. She departed this life on the 9th day of August, 1867. in the 9th year of her age. A kind and affectionate wife and sister. A sincere and devoted friend. None knew her but to love her; mono named her but to praise. This monument is erected to her memory by her bereaved brother and sisters"
 The Prince and Princess Murat re- sided upon their plantation in Jeffer- son county, east of Tallahassee, and owned numerous slaves They lived in grand style. and pictures of their royal-robes and magnificent jewels arc yet fresh in the memories of old resi- dents
 Prince Murat was an eccentric char acter, and old citizens who knew him well delight to tell anecdotes and rem- iniscences of his peculiar doings Sev- eral of hE former slaves arc yet living in and about Tallahassee. and they, too, are proud to have one listen to their marvellous tales of ''Maus Muhraw." The prince had three favorite slaves Mingo, Jerry and William-who took part in all his hunting. fishing and ex- ploring expeditions.
 Prince Murat was very fond of tho study of botany. and there was not a root or herb in the country round about that he was not familiar with. Ho compounded natures remedies out of them and himself treated the slaves when they complained of being unwell. In his experiments with roots he dis covered some hrilliant-hued dye-stutfs. and was anxious to test them.
 One day the princess drove to Tal- lahassee to visit friends and the prince had tho field to himself. He called up his three black lieutenants and they went into the woods and gathered a lot of the dye-stuff roots. The biz wash pot was called into service and was soon full andbubbling over with q carrnine mess. Then came the oues- tion Of fabric to test the dye with. He invaded his wife's wardrobe and brought out a half dozen of her most handsome dresses. dipped them into the pot two or three times, then hung them on Il line to dry.
 When the princess returned from tho city he met her with smiling coun- tenance and at once told her that he had made her some grandly beautiful dresses. She followed him to see tho new treasures, and then--but prying eyes should not look upon domestic disruptions Suffice 1t to say that tho prince promised to renew the ward robe direct from Paris, and he did. Among the dresses was one. verita- ble fairies dream, made of pearl white gauge silk and embroidered in rich floral designs of pure threads of gold. It cost thousands of dollars and every lady in three adjoining counties talked about its beauty for years. Old ladies told their fair granddaughte-s about that wonderful dress. but never has it's equal been seen in this country since.
 The prince was great sportsman. and he always shot any bird or beast that came within reach of his gun. He never shot anything but once that he did not eat; in fact. he was often heard to say that before he stopped he intended knowing the flavor of every animal, fish or fowl to be found in Florida.
 One day he brought in bird and delivered it to William with instruo- tions to cook it.
 Good Gawd. mausa. yuh ain't gwan tuh cat dat ting, is yuhPn asked Will liam.
 T will eat zat crow. William; you cook eet'
 But mausa. dat's uh buxzarar'
 You cook eet,"
 The buzzard was pluckea and put in the pot to parboil. but soon the atmos- phere became so dense with such a peculiar effiuvia that even the prince had to hunt purer air. He did not eat that bird.
 One day the prince was talking with a tanner trying to sell him n lot of cured COW hides. The tanner wanted the hides, but he was dickering to get them at low price. Finally the prince lost his temper and blurted out:
 ''You shall not haf gem at zat price; l carry gem home and make ze ox-tail soup of gem firstly