New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-10-28

THE SECRET OF AN EMPIRE.

Transi,"d rom the French by ;helred TAYLOR
Emo. PIP go with portrait. u'di' Mead
Among a hundred works on Napoleon the Great
comes one on Napoleon Tho Little. not unaitingly
There IL nothing Of importance In European history
for the last hundred wears 20 little UNDERSTOOD aS
the second Empire: nothing Of when the record
has less perfectly written. 1t VIII be d;hcuIi
+, Get /, properly written. 80; in this generation
probably. can any one man write IT, though there
are or have been many who cosh contribute"
charters Of surprising interest VI. de Lano makes
no pret.nce u writing history. or even complete
chapter hut rather collection Of notes. incidents
conversations letters AMI what not which may be
Of use in the final writing Of such a history There
l. no doub; that they will be of Use. As they are
indeed Of present interest The especial tht:re 81
the book j. the Empress Eugene. or. ~ thr sub
title declares The Secret ~ an Empire. There
was much OF mystery about the second Empire. not
yri all flthomcl bat she heart ~ u was the En-
press herself People usel t. talk u Louis Napo-
leon as "the silent man and as sphinx because
Of a certain impressive stoliI..y, giving Som' c'uh-
t.utnc. 20 stories OF MS Dutch paternity. But Tar
more = q sphinx Wa IN" mobile. v.vacious beauty
who Won hI4 r,lrt and hand 80 Comp.tgn". Tn"
nos inexIIicahlc events OF his reign Owned her -
N. ,!., ~ mlcnina "Oh Waterloo, "ltcrloo''
walled Mine, Junot. and a.,!oI. N sh1lit reveal
An that / know ''- But II mystery there was
.n ihe catastrophe % Waterloo. surely more Was
there IN that Of Metz and 81 It, who bat fueeni"
h.Il the key " Ic IaHp does not profess fully io
explain the secret of thu Empire. What h. does j.
- portray ini. rnigmahcal woman with apparent
fe,r.c-yncss ana franknoss.
beginning with the familiar scenes Of their court
snip and marriage VI q" Iano presents Napoleon
In a much more favorable guse than Eugene The
latter influenced perhaps by ~up"rsttious belief
In 4 gypsy's prophecy that sac would one day wear
a crown was ambitions. cold AMI calculating. II
WAs largely due To her reserve. artless or arNu,
that fh, Emperor became mucn IN love with her
That h~ Wa deeply IN love with her there Is s'Ani
room for doubt, In MS attentions 10 Ml.c DO Mon
tilp there Vrrr mucl % grac" AMI chiNh'rN.
Thus 81 Compiagnc some Of the chief ladies
~ tho court treated her cp.lly almost win
Insult zone day he broke from hedge
several flexible green hranch"'. and twisting
them into a crown. put II on me mead OF MI"
10 Noutj1. saying IN q ton" ioud enough 10 ne
heard While waiting for the other NJ; "orI
was said by the group OF her critics. wno from
that time were as lmidbr AMI ObSequious to her
As they had been sccrnfui and arrogant" After
they we're married there change. Though
always fond ~ her ne came 90 regard his marriage
VOWS lightly while she learned 20 love him earnest
~. and. despite her numerous hiriauons. was ever
faithful 10 aim.
BESIDES flirting. she tickle In other respects.
whimsical romantic. frivolous. SUPERFICIAL and yet
again practical and worldly wise. 70 some friends
she Was generous and loyal, TO others the reverse
In household economy she was not the spendthrft
many have imagined her but simple in taste ana
careful ~ all rcckonngs. Toward her son she was
inclined be severe. even IN his early childhood.
while toward ner husband she VAS most amab.e,
complaisant-savc in po,Itics-and necessarily so
lcitous for his comfort and welfare. with all her
lghtncss Of temperament she ~ heroic spirit.
At Amens she won the applause Of a hostile mutt
tude by visiting tho cholera lazareito. And on the
occasion OF the Orsin outrag" her ready valor WIS
brilliantly displayed Most ~ the details u that
precursor Of latier-lay dynamltlnG we'll known.
But. says VI. de Lano what Is not known is that
the instant the bomb exploded at the Opera House
a man. barehralcd and haggard-eycd. rushed To tho
door of the imperial carriage, opened II, and. with
a dagger in his hand stood on tho step. Then the
Empress screamed sprang from her seat. and threw
herself across her husband whom sac thus covered
with her body. protecting him. nst!nctNey and
with admirable courage. But fortunately her fears
were groundlc-s The armed of tn
two Alcssandr brothers. those faithful C0rsicaus
who never left the Emperors side He had ncen
with his brother the outlook near the opera and
had hascned defend his sovereign"
In society Eugene never fully gained the place
she coveted. Foreign courts treated her with
serve. and the old arstocracy of Paris
cordial
Extraordinary comedies occurred when the En-
press. choosing the ladies Of the Palace, wished To
close aristocracy Of the Fauhourg one ~ these al
though pleased and battered by this distinction. did
vice Of the king; and she made special trip to
Frohsdorf in order to receive authority 10 tn"
Empress. or. the case might be. 80 answer her
quest with refusal The COmte de Chambord WAS
capable of considerable ceverness occasion. II"
granted full permission To this gracious suppliant,
and. her return she Immediately took Ter place
10y the side OF the sovereign Among all the migrate
ful ones she alone remembered the Kindness OF the
Empress and on rne iih of SepSmber she was
woman and remained with her until her departure
Neither did the Empress with all her beauty and
grace. win the affection or even the regard of the
people who to the end remained Indifferent Ia her,
and almost hostile She foreigner, and she
was not OF royal blood. Either they could have
looked Both were fatal. Moreover at her access
sion some maladrot wit made pun upon her name
which stuck to her for years. And in France
word has thus often made much history. All these
things tended to driving the Empress toward a certain
defiant recklessness of demeanor. to making her
sociatlons light and lax. and to cultivang such
amusements her famous Irritation with the senti-
10 herself. however. all the romances OF the court.
on the contrary. she promoted the love affairs OF
others until she in danger OF being considered
that very disagreeab:c thing, MATCHMAKER.
The longest chapter in NJ. de I.anos book IL that
Eugene's relation to politics. In her political
life the Empress the reverse OF what she was
In private Just she was frivolous and incon-
slant in the latter in the former she Was deter
mined. logical. persistent For seventeen years she
c.ung 10 unveryng policy with religious de-
voton and thus succeeded In influencing Ministers
fairs of State. In domestic politics sine took not
much Interest. But her love of absolute authority
led her oppose obstnate.y every liberal tendency