The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-12

iAcidHCHOly majesty OIL the lonely parH
and the silent chateau wrapped in its
winding sheet of snow took possession
Of me, and absorbed in the past I be.
came lost to all sense of time, when the
\ little girl who had served me as guide
! anxious no doubt to pocket her fee as
soon as possible, interrupted my reverie
by the following remarks, uttered in a
dreary voice:
''Malmasion was occupied in 1870 by
"a regiment of pontOnniers; you may
still see their lists, which are posted on
the doors of the guest chambers. These
soldiers did a great deal of mischief
mere. The PruSSians who succeeded
them were on the contrary very CONNIE
/ IL faut; they destroyed nothing and con
tented themselves with carrying off a
mosaic chimney-piece presented by the
pope to Josephine on the occasion of
her marriage
Even our conquererS then, obeying 8
chivalrous sentiment, felt bound to re-
spect spot honored by the presence Of
lie plus grand des hommes," Qo use
the expression of Thiers), OF the EN-
peror who had been their 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
"
as has been said. great thoughts come
from the heart"
And thus it is that. thanks to the III
gratitude of the Napoleon party and
the culpable Indifference of the French
government, the chateau of Malmaison
viii very soon, with its lovely vision
haunted park, submit to destruction
For the readers information let US
complete this record of painful impress
sions by a rapid historic survey of
Malmaison, which is situated about
nine miles from Paris on the road to
St. German.
The name of the village dates, it IS
said, from the invasion of the Normans
in the ninth century. Those maraud-
ers remained for sumo time and their
presence proved fatal to the neighbour
hood, so that the place received the
name of Mala Mansio. In 1914 Mall
maison was kind of barn, so to
speak, dependent on the commune Of
ReinL In the fourteenth century the
fief paid homage. to the abbey of St.
Denis. In 1922 a counsellor in the parlia-
ment of Paris. called Perrot, was lord
of Malmaison, and took its name It
then became successfully the property
of the Barentin family. the controleur-
general of Sichelles, Madam Hareuc
(who assembled here a company Of
savants and philosophers, and the
family lie Coulteur, who were the pro-
prletorS at the time Of the revolution.
After Waterloo.
In 1889 Josephine Beauharnis. then
Madam Bonaparte, bought from LIE
Coulteaux the land of Mdlmaison for
the sum of 10000 francs (S32 O0O).
On this subject some remarks may
be borrowed from the diary OF Isabey:
Madame Bonaparte occupied at
that time the little house in the rue
Chauterine, which had belonged ta
Talma; but the general, who desired
solitude for personal reasons, wish
ing to escape from curiosity and i'm
Fortunate solicitations, spoke ~ pur-
chasing a country place in the neigh.
borhood of Paris. Having heard Of
this, Madame LeCoulteux, with whom
I was intimately acquainted. re-
quested me to make overtures to
Madam Bonaparte ON the subject OF
property she possessed near Reuil. |
Madame Bonaparte consented to visit !
It; 1 accompan her and the acqui-
sitfon of Malmaison was made that
very day.
1.-The chateau was far from possess
sing 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 deplorable state of de- |
cay. Thanks, however, 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 1926 was bought by M. daguerrean, |
d Swedish banker, who restored it TO
It's original aspect at the time jose
phine purchased it from Madame LIE
Cculteux In 1912 the property was
bought for the Queen of Spain.
Maria-C Christina, for 100000 francs,
and Napoleon III then became owner
at the rather excessive cost of 100000
francs Some praiseworthy attempts
were made to restore to Malmaison
It's consular appearance. There was
even some talk of assigning to it the
role most suitable, that of Musee do
Souvenirs du Grand Emperor. Sew
eral original drawings of Isabey were
secured for it. and in the old room
Of the first consul was placed the bed
On which Napoleon died at st. Helena.
But the empire fell, the-cold breath
IF war and revolution swept over
france. sparing not even Malmaison,
which mad changed hands. Among
he ruins surrounding Paris it stood,
| melancholy wreck, last remnant OF
he imperial fortune, empty like 8
Numbered mansion, in a park torn Up
w the feet of horses.
S,Ieh, is the historical account Of
hat famous house d-om its origin TO
IS final DECAY. AR SIND DAYoT.