The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-17

Lel MN come, then! he cried, striking
ms breast with clinched fists, let him
baredr van
All these tragic memories crowded upon
me as l. wandered under the ruined arches
stumbling over lOosened bricks at every
step. lnsensibly the melancholy majesty
OF the lonely park and the silent chateau
wrapped in its winding sheet of snow took
possession Of me- and absorbed in the past
/ became lost to all sense of time when the
little girl who had served me as guide
aao Ntou US no DOUBT to pocket her fee as
soon as possible, interrupted my reverie
py the following remarks, uttered in a
dreary voice:
"Malmaison was occupied in 1870 bv a
regiment of pOntenniers; you may still see
their lists, which are posted on the doors
OF the guest chambers. These soldiers did
a great deal of mischief here. The Prus-
Sans VINO succeeded them were on the
contrary very CONNIE il faut. they de-
stroped nothing, and cOntented them
selves with carrying off a mosaic chimney
piece presented by the pope to Josephine
on the occasion of her marriage"
Even our conquerors then. obeying
chlValrous sentiment, felt bound to re-
spect spot honored by the presence Of
lie plus grand DIES hommes" ito use the
expression of Thiers), of the emperor who
mad been the most terrible adversary.
1t would have been a noble thought on
the part of the Bonapartists to buy back
Malmaison, the spot where the destiny
of the glorious founder OF their party was
woven and unwoven But, as has been
SAID, great thoughts come from the
heart"
And thus it is that. thanks to the ingrat-
itude of the Napoleon party and the cul-
pable Indifference Of the French govern
ment, the chateau of Malmason will very
soon, with its lovely vision-haunted park
submit to destruction.
The town of Malmaison dates, it is
said, from the invasion of the NOrmans
in the ninth century These marauders
remained for some time, and their pres
ence proved fatal to the neighborhoOd
nlann received
Mala Mansio. In l44 Malmaison was a
kind of barn, so to speak, dependent on
the commune Of Reuil. In the fourteenth
century the tief paid homage to the alb
hey of St. Denis. In 1922 "a counsellor in
the Parliament Of Paris, called Perrot
was lord of Malmaison, and took its
name. 1t then became successfully the
property of the Barentin family, the Con-
troleur General of Sichelles, Nine. Ha-
reuc (who assembled here a company of
saVants and philOsophers), and the family
of lie Coulteur who We're the propretors
at the time of the revolution.
In 1888 Josephine de Beauharnais, then
Nine. Bonaparte, bought from LIE Coul-
teur the land of Malmaison for the sum Of
100, 900 francs (S32,O0O).
On this subject some remarks may be
borrowed from the diary of Isabey:
Mime. BOnaparte occupied at that time
the little house in the Rue Chauteraine
which had belonged to Talma; but the
general, who desired solitude for personal
reasons, wishing to escape from curiosity
and importunate solicitations, spoke of
purchasing a country place in the neigh
borhood of Paris. Having heard of this
Nine. lie Coulteur, with whom 1 was in
timately acquainted, requested me to make
overtures to Nine. BOnaparte on a prop
erty she possessed near ReuiL Nine. Bon
aparte consented to visit it; l accompanied
her, and the acquisition of MalmaisOn was
made that very day.
THE chateau was far from possessing
the conditions of elegance and comfort
desirable for the wife of the general in
chief of the army in Italy. The rooms
were barely furnished and the walls in a
deplOrabie state of decay Thanks, how
ever, to the good taste of the lady of the
manor, and the talent of Touraine, things
were soon made more presentable."
After Waterloo the property passed into
the hands of Prince Eugene, and in 1925
was bought by NJ. Haguerman, a Swedish
banker, who restored it to its original as
from Nine. lie Coulteur In 1912 the prop
erty was bought for the Queen of Spain
Maria Christina, for 100000 francs, and
Napoleon III. then became owner at the
rather excessive cost of 1900, 900 francs
Some praiseworthy attempts were made to
restore to Malmaison its consular ap-
pearance. There was even some talk of
assigning to it the role most suitable that
of Muse de Souvenirs du Grand Empereur
Several original drawings of Isabey were
secured for it, and in the old room of the
First Consul was placed bed on which
Napoleon died at st. Helena.
But the empire fell, the cold breath of
war and revolution swept over. France:
sparing not even MalmaisOn, which had
changed hands. Among the ruins sur
rounding Paris it stood, a melancholy
wreck, last remnant of the imperial for
tune, empty like a plundered mansion, in
a park torn up by the feet of horses.