The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-17
WILLIAMSON.
FALLEN INTO DECAY AND SOON TO
BE DEMOLISHED.


Paris. A few months, a few
weeks, perhaps, and Malmaison.
with its vast garden fun Of mem
cries, will be sold at public auc-
zion like any ordinary bit of waste land
or vulgar. rent-paying property And the
brutal and unimaginative speculator, pick
as in hand Will doubtless demolish those
walls, Witnesses OF so much grandeur
chose centenarian trees, those stately al
Iays and groves of lilac under whose
shadows Prud hon painted Josephine IN
al the charm of her nonchalant creole
beauty. and J. 3. Isabey painted Bona
Y8rIe wandering solitary and pensive in
the long alleys of the park. There" Isa-
hey tells us in the account of his STAY
ID, NalmaisOn, Il executed the first full
length portrait of Gen. Bonaparte. Morn
ing and evening l watched him walking
along in the park, his hands behind his
back, absorbed in thought, and it was
easy for me to seize his pensive express
sion and the characteristic turn of his
head The portrait finished, l submitted
it TO the general. He was pleased with
the g0Cd likeness, and congrat ulated me
especially on being able thus to work with
OUT amy sittngs from my model"
Before the fulhlment of the threatened
sentiment ought vigorously to protest, !
wished once more to visit the illustrious
abode. The journey may be made in less
than am hour by the steam tramway run
ming between the Barriere de PEtoiIe ana
st. Gcrmaln-en-L aye.
Here before the facade where in oldeD
days thc glded portals used TO open wide
10 d stream Of glittering escorts, extends
today melancholy railing devoured bv
rust Everywhere are giaring posters
with the Inscriptions Land and second
hand building material for sale
Slowly and I'M great flakes the snow falls
from z heaNy-laden sky; the giant trees
bend their heads before the icy blast.
A profound silence reigns In this desert
60 spot The first impression is one of
intense sadness, and involuntarily the
spectators heart sinks before this mourn
4uk evidence OF the mortality of all things
A sullen-faced little girl conducted one
-hroush the deserted and dilapidated
rooms Of the chateau, calling ones at
tention in d harsh voice and with the mo-
notonous intonation of professional
&ulde 70 the grand vestibule, the library
the hllldrd room (stiU adorned with H.
principal furniture), Josephine's bedroom
tne pretty circular room in which the moor
1oisahen empress died, the emperor
ap5fIrIIn .. the rooms of Queen Hortense
ana Eugene de Beauharnais the council
eaamoer ANA all around fragments of
laitd hanglngs chung to the leprous walls,
Wlere even yet may be dimly traced some
decorative paintings of that period
lie cold wind that followed through the
lal-opSh doors wandered moaningly
--IHI tue SIedL deserted corridors upon
when open the long series of guest cham
DeIs, occupied once, in the happy wears
4i5e ana 1893 by Bernardln de Saint Pierre
41uthor OF Paul and Virginia" Arnault,
Ducls' Lemercier, Joseph Chenier the
poet; Mehul, the musician: Talma .be
actor, Nolney AndrieuX, Duval the paint
eeLs' Gerard, Goiodet, Isabey. Drawn by
the DeWltching charm of Josephine they
assembled here in a sort Of niniature
court where wit and freedom reigned nm
lem NsU a. yet py the chilling hyzantin-
1buo 81 fflllueIte rms grave reunion of
PlHusopAers, hterateurs and artists was
always frightened by the presence of
GouHs women in all the splendor of their
Gaesssy,' r IIst, the sisters Of the future
atsaf, ana Hoftense de Beauharnais
men ABOUT Is years old, the Countess d
LloH4euot Mesdames Cafarelli, Andreassy
% nam i5 ~ the radiantly beautiful Reg
iteil ue saint Jean dAngely. so attract
~ e ID ner somewhat frail loveliness, whose
gnaInlng portrait, painted by Gerard
may be seen in the Louvre.
Alas those lovely forms slender and
s.a5eIul In their long Greek TUNES, that
uSeJ 10 haunt the park at Malmaison are
d HAN, IKE Inc pretty, frivolous, ribbon-be-
en- poussiere legere." A few more wears
ana me recollections of those vanished
siI@osles Oh other days, whom we might
an a our thoughts with those of long past
For if Malmaison was in contemporary
IIIa5e, lie sejour des Jeux ct hes ris''2
MHeh Bonaparte, back from Maren-
go amused himself by givin The
tened f9e to Fleury orr AIlle, Mars, lis
Ie5' played at leap-frog with the merry
-9dpey, or sought momentary forgetfui-
M Oh me cares of state by joining in the
Monaco, his faVorite dance-it became
drama % " must tragic
1t was only after the return from AIaren-
~ ChaI a theater was built at Malmaison.
me style was extremely simple, and fbe
w i de cost Of construction did not exceed
49, 49,, francs The outlay on improve
+liiells az Malmaison by the architect Per-
yer ana Lafontaine in May 1901 amounted
10 more than 100000 francs, and this ex-
~ 'site Hgure determined the First consul
f ~ uoWn expenses. However, in spite
"a we theaterS lack of architectural Dre-
tiio1S at was built of wood and rooted
n -'it Sidlel, the performances of the Nal
mason company were witnessed nv a
5ilgal DISTINGUISHED public as one NAV
yuuse from the following lines: 1.-The first
re go were occupied only by dukes, duch-
49,, ambassadors and their wives, the
,Sa 81 minister's and of the principal
5y-re4aIs OF the republic; in the second
tbai, paced ,.5, the counselors Of state with
JuOses, then, in the pit, generals and Off
oeIs Oh az ranks The managers We're, as
, ule' -Nlle, Hortense and her brother Eu-
~ ne Beauharnais; the chief actors
I} Ci,.'a, Mlchot, fleury, and Mile. Mars.
+,oHd pafte himself was especially fond of
6i"Slc roles, thinking they suited better his
- voice and thin, expressive features
be, w a. II not here that Josephine fled after
tiol uI,Y0rce to hide her misfortune and her
UiiSpalr! Here, also, within the walls and
EEiCtuIesque park of this little "Trianon
Hsuiaire," where he had spent the hap
81 udys or his life, the few calm hours
A. az .l!s existence, Napoleon awaited the or
u5F 10 start for Rochefort.
+l IKE the historic garden at Versailles,
ie great park of Malmaison had also its
tAiosks, temples of love and hamlets, and
~ games of billiards to replace the old
mgIIy-go-rounds. In the salon of the chat
~ were numerous paintings by Gerard
nl.u Glrodet, as well as gems of the OLD
IEasters Antique statues, Greek and
f5S} ptan, and precious vases were taste
lily arranged along the facades and cor
dtt.oIs' and among those souvenirs of a
I,slant past were ten little pictures on
Eyer of cement covered with stucco, repre-
SFntlng Apollo Musagetes and the Nine
FUSES unique examples of Greek art
MI1ch were presented to Nine. Bonaparte
Sis ler visit to Italy by the King of Naples.
~, ~ az these works Of art none remain to-
10y put few pictures belonging to the
-9puly OF Leuchtenberg in Russia.
both fallen emperor and deposed en-
press, imOelled by some strange fatality,
zane to seek refuge in the abode that had
WiInessed the smiling dawn of their for
how many anecdotes, now of historical
tt,.Iportance, and tragic as any scene in
lF-farr IN