The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-08-16
FAMOUS MALs,A1soN IS RESTORED
SpIendor of Josephine's Day Given
Back to 1t.

sp1endor of Josephine's Day Given
Back to 1t.
| Malmaison, the Trianon of Josephine,
| the asylum of her sorrows, the last
corner of France in which Napoleon,
driven to bay, called upon his soldiers
to repel the English and Prussians who
advanced upon Paris, is soon to become
the property of the state through the
munificence of a citizen who has spent
millions in the restoration of the cha
teau, with the object of making it a
public museum where may be gathered
relics of the consulate. With Chantilly
it rounds on the state possessions so
full of historic interest-Merseilles
Fontainebleau, Compiegne, St. Ger
main, st. Cloud, and Vincennes.
When the chateau was bought at
public auction year ago, it was found
to be in a state of extreme dilapidat1on.
| Unfortunately very little of the inter-
ior remained. None Of the old furniture
was found, and very little of the valu-
able woodwork; even the knobs of the
doors had been carried off to be sold
| to dealers in curiosities. There re-
| manned still several pictures tolerably
| well preserved, some allegorical fres-
| Goes by Laffitte, and some castings in
| white marble, vestiges of the decora-
| lions of the small salons of the first
room, and the bath of Josephine. The
| nodded ceiling of the grand gallery
| was intact. Drawings and detailed deS-
criptions of the furnishings and deco
| rations, however, were found In the
| National library, so that the work or
| restoration has been not only COMPARE
| lively easy, but also exact. Most Of
| this work has been done in the small
apartments in the northeast angle of
| the first floor, and in the state apart
| ments of the ground floor, where are
| situated the reception rooms, the coun-
| Gil chamber, the billiard room, and the
| library. 1t was in this last room that
| the first consul, when he wished to
work, had placed long row of tables
upon which maps were spread. Ac-
| cording to his method he walked to and
| fro the length of the room. his hands
| behind his back, laying his plans
| while consulting the maps. A small
| isolated pavilion, still in good state
| Of preservation, lying to the south OF
the chateau. in the park, was the work
| shop to which he retired when he wish
ed to be absolutely alone for any length
of time.
| According to the memoirs of Con-
stant the first consul passed at Nal
maison the most delightful years of
his life; he spent there, before he be-
came emperor, every moment that he
crossed him at Paris, At Malmaison,
too. there were some brave fetes, in
which the ruling spirits were Lauriston,
Rapp, Eugene de Beauharnais, and his
sister Hortense, Jerome Bonaparte,
Isabey, and the demoiselles Anguie, of
| whom one later married Ney.
But even in those happy days, before
Napoleon was given over body and soul
| to glorification and ostentation, there
was a canker in the bud. He had al
| ready enemies, and whenever he was
| to appear at his country seat Josephine
| took care to hedge him with armed
| spies and servants all the way from
Paris. It was said that there was a
conspiracy on foot to kidnap him-the
plotters having their headquarters at
| the neighboring quarry Of Nanterre.
They had even succeeded, 1t appears, in
| buying over some Of the servants Of the
| chateau, for upon one occasion ser
want placed poisoned snuff on Ma
poleon's desk, which, being used, made
| Citizen Bonaparte very Ill.
Josephine gathered about her at NAL
maison many objects of art Of great
value. Upon her death, several pict-
ures from the gallery, and two pieces
of statuary by Canova were bought by
| the Emperor Of Russia for 100000.
The large portrait Of Josephine, by
| Gerard. which hung in one of the
! salons, is now in Munich. There was
also collection of Greek vases, of an
| ticue bronzes, and of pictures from
Pompeii, painted upon stucco, given to
Josephine by the King Of Naples, which
is at the Louvre.
The statues Of marble which orna-
| mented the facade are also to be seen
at the Louvre. They have been re-
placed, in the restoration, by figures
| in terra Gotta On the park side, in
front of the drawbridge are two large
pyramids Of red granite, with hero
| glyphics, which were taken from the
chateau Of Richelieu by Josephine, who
wished to surprise Napoleon with these
Egyptian relics upon his return from
| his Oriental campaign. In the park
there are also still standing some tenn
pies and fountains and a gothic chapel
brought from Metz OF the entrance
lodges formerly occupied by the Gren-
adiers Of the guard nothing remains
but the walls and the grilles One of
these is the gate which Napoleon
opened when. after Waterloo, he left
| the chateau. his last refuge, to 60 to
Rochefort. At this spot a stone marks
the place where the dethroned en-
peror set foot for the last time upon
the beloved ground to which he would
never return.
Malmaison is near the Town Of Nam
terre, and but half an hour by steam
| tramway from Paris. After its openiner
| tn the n1lhlic II will doubtIa.e hooo...