The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1892-11-11
DTDLOUIS USE PAINT?
zOLA's CHARGE THAT NAPOLEON
PAINTED HIS FACE.

ZOLAS CFfRRGE THAT NaPOLEDH
PAINTED HIS FACE.
The Novelist Says the Emperor Made Use
of Rouge at tho Battle of sedan--The
Statement COntradlcted by Eminent Au-
thOrity-DId He Turn Green9
On the declaration Of war against
Prussia, both MN. do Cassagnac and
Mitchell threw down their pens for the
sword, and enrolled themselves Us vol
unteers in the First zouaves. Both
were personally known to the Emperor
Napoleon III, who saw them almost
every day, and now these two distin-
guished authorities have come forward
to traverse the inference suggested by
M, Emile Aola in LA Debaele" that
Napoleon III at Sedan had reserted to a
cosmetic to impart unnatural rosiness to
his complexion. NJ. zola describes the
emperor as having glowing cheeks, and
adds, "Assuredly he had his face paint
ed" M. de Cassagnae has emphatically
stated that during his close association
with Napoleon before the battle he
never noticed trace Of paint on the
imperial counteuance, and In this denial
he is corroborated by M. Robert Mitch
ell, who declares his certainty that the
then ruler of the French people used no
pigment whatsoever during the opera
tions leading to the capitulation of
Sedan,
The question, although intrinsically
unimportant, is very curious, inasmuch
as this is not the first time that the
change of complexion of the son Of
Queen Hortense has been made mat
ter Of public discussion. The anony-
nous writer Of that most entertaining
medley, The Englishmau in Paris"
who first met Prince Louis Napoleon at
the Hotel du Rhin, Paris, in lS4S, has
plenty to say about the personal appear
ance of the then pretender to the French
throne. He describes his heavy brown
mustache, his thin lank hair, his aqui-
line nose and grayish blue eyes and the
general impression which the features
of the prince gave him Of being ha-
bitual opium eater; and opium eaters are
assuredly not as q rule persons of O rud-
dy tint. Provokingly enough the Eng
lishman has nothing to say touching the
princes complexion at this stage of his
career,
The late Mr., Kinglake has, on the
other hand, a great deal to state touch
ing the facial hue Of the third Napoleon.
In his prologue to the history of the
Crimean war the writer describes the
emperor as apt, on days of great peril,
to turn facially green, and ON this cir
cumstance he founded the opinion that
the emperor, either at the period of the
coup detat or on subsequent occasions
as lnomentous, did not, SO far as could
be judged from his appearance, suggest
the conclusion that he was u man of ex-
ceptional courage. 1t is said, indeed,
that when Napoleon III read the first
volume of Mr.. Kinglakes history he
observed with smile to one of his con-
fidants, This" pointing to the sea green
passage, must have been written by a
woman, and anti-English French jour
nalists of the period did not scruple to
insinuate that Mr., Kinglake's structures
on the personal appearance Of the EN-
peror were due to the inspiration of an
Egeria well known in Partisan society,
who hated the third emperor as bitterly
as the first one had been detested by
Nine. De Stael.
The authority, however, of the histo-
rian of the Crimean war was naturally
SO highly valued in England that the
story of the emperor turning green on
days Of battle or revolution obtained
universal CredenCe, and to some extent
it was used to bolster up the absurd ac-
cusation of personal COwardice which
the ultra republicans constantly brought
against their imperial foe. 1t remained
for an illustrious English surgeon, not
long deceased, to point out the indubita-
bic verify that man has no command
over his blood, although by the exercise
Of his will he has every command over
his muscles. Meanwhile it must be
frankly admitted that in circumstances
of emergency the features of Napoleon
Ill did assume a peculiar hue,
The color was certainly not ruddy,
nor was 1T swarthy or sallow; it was
curious leaden gray, But that such
leaden gray had nothing to do with the
emperor's capacity for mourning danger
without wayering there is on record first
the observation of the distinguished Eng
lish medical man to whom allusion has
been made, and next to the personal tes-
tim0ny-not by any means exclusively
that of MN. de Cassagnao and Mitchell
of people who had constantly been
close to the emperor, and who had OBJ
served his physical mien from the early
stages Of his career to its mournful and
inglorious close. He was undoubtedly
as brave as his uncle, the Great Napo-
leon, who, by the way, was frequently
accused in the English press of being an
ahjeet coward,
The harum scarum adventure OF Stras-
burg and the madcap escapade at Bou-
logne showed that pQltroonery was not
among his shortcomings, aad although
Mr.. Kinglake would have us believe
Napoleon Ill turned green at solferino
and Magenta, there is plenty Of evidence
from eye witnesses who were near to
the emperor throughout those moment
ous battles To show that whateEGr tint
the face Of the emperor took, it was GER
tainlg not Ferdant one, As to Sedan
there's the further testimony Of Princess
Mathilde, who declares that she never
told any one that the emperor was in
the habit Of using cosmetics Since the
appearance Of M, Zola's statement she
has questioned persons who were at the
battle and they all assert that ''the leg
end Is absolutely false.n The princess
adds, I cannot believe thai, even with
good Intention be could have en-
| ployed that actoF's trick under saeh
! grave circumstances, i4ondan Iele
grapA.