New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-09-24

Hanged
,oou during his residence at the Ministry Of
ro$lgn Affairs. as did also Marshal MacMa-
,on when he established his headquarters there
during the operations against the Commune in
nav 1871 The style OF the architecture and
decorations is pure First Empire. In an alcove
,s the bed made by Jacob. the eheniste of Ma
ooleon ]. Among those who have slept in this
he'd are Napoleon l, Talleyrand. Chateaubriand,
Theirs Guizot Lamartne. Gambetta and Mac
Mahon A writing desk. also made by Jacob.
matches the bed as does also the armchair
the famous armchair 90 Ta!leyrand"-and these
three pieces Of historical furniture. the bed the
desk and the armchair. lave always been kept
together and have lived In undisturbed COM
panionsh!p since the beginning Of the century.
II Is related that General Lahitte who was
Minister Of Foreign Affairs in 1870 discharged
his servant for stealing eighteen bank notes Of
600 francs each. But when the desk
transferred from the Ministry IN the Rue Neuve
des Capucines to the present building the
DUAL d'Orsay workman found the eighteen
bank notes under the mahogany board that
forms the top of the desk. where they had re-
NAMED undiscovered for fourteen years. Even
the clock in the Talleyrand bedchamher is of
historical interest II was sent by Louis XVI
as present 70 TippOO Sahib. the last Sultan or
Mysore. and the inveterate enemy OF the Eng
lish. The ship which carried this valuable
clock foundered in n storm at the entrance or
the Bay of Bengal The ship was raised in
1888 and the clock recovered. Having
hesn carefully packed in an airtieht casket II
WAS uninjured. But Tppoo Sahih had meanwhile
been killed and Louis XVI had been guillo-
tined The clock was nevertheless brought back
N Paris and deposited by a French diplomatic
agent in the Ministry OF Foreign fairs where
II has since remained. for no one has ever
claimed IL.
A VALUABLE COLLECTION OF MANUSCRIPTS
The library and archives of the Ministry o.
Foreign Affairs are situated AT the end Of the
garden In sracious. well-ghted buildings espe-
cially built fer them The library contains some
fifty thousand volumes relating to history and
diplomacy In the archives there are over nifty
five thousand manuscripts of the highest MS
torical value. constituting what may be termed
the Academy of Diplomatic Literature. for they
represent in a perfect and uninterrupted FORM
the correspondence Of the French department
Of State since diplomacy first became science
Each nation Is classified In alphabetical order.
and the correspondence relating TO it is brought
down to the latest date and arranged for ready
reference These archives have always been
tealously guarded. and IT was not until the de-
cree OF the Due Decazes in 1874 that the docu-
ments I'D 10 the time Of the Revolution were
open for consultation. NJ De Freycnet after
ward extended the limit to $50. II is curious
20 note that most Of the documents OF the time
of Cardinal Richelieu still arranged in pack
ages so that they might he readily packed on
mules for IL was the Cardinals custom TO have
the documents removed from their archives and
tram OF mules would transport them about
from place TO place following their master
wherever he went. Parcels of the Richelieu
manuscripts bear such inscriptions as Gin
Quieme Liasse-Huitieme Caisse.' etc, so that
each package Of documents might be quickly
found when the mule train halted. Among mod
ern writer's who have had access TO the archives
OF the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and who
have most signally profited by their researches
are Victor Cousin, Pierre Clement dHausson-
VILE. Avenel. Charles Weis, Pelletier. Camille
Rousset Provost -Paradol. Due dAumale. Due
de Noalles, Champollion Mermee, Taschereau
Saint Marc Giradin. Motley. Leopold Ranke.
Huebner. Wahrenberg Tame. Hanotaux and
many others.
Jacques Lacornee the architect Of the Palace
OF the Minister Of Foreign Affairs. also designed
the Palace of the Cour des Complies. which was
burned down by the Commune in May lSI1, and
the picturesque ruins Of which have just been
removed 10 make room for the Orleans Railway
terminus. which is TO be one Of the most I'M
portant constructions Of the new and greater
Paris Of 1900 Napoleon l. having, as he sup
posed. consolidated his power by victories and
by marriage with the Archduchesse Marie
Louise. decided to erect 10 the imperial
residence Of the Tuileries a palace OF imposing
magnificence for the reception Of foreign Am
bassadors. The Emperor traced with his own
hand the plans for the new Ministry OF Foreign
Affairs. and intrusted the work TO Bonnard, an
eminent architect Of the period, to whom La
cornee, then young man, acted as assistant
Upon Bonnard's death Lacornee became the
Of the Palace Of the Cour des Complies
which, according to NapoleOn's original inten-
ton, was TO be the Palace OF the Ministry Of
Foreign Affairs. After the restoration 1t was
decided 70 use the palace the Tuileries as
the Council of State and Cour des Complies,
Lacornee meanwhile being inrusted with the
construction OF the present Palace Of the Min
istry Of Foreign Affairs which he began In
1S45 when Guizot the then Minister. laid the
cornerstone Of its foundation. The building
was not completed until 1853. when NJ. Droyn
de Lhuys on September OF that year installed
himself there and since then IL has been occu-
pied by the successive Ministers OF Foreign Az
fairs Of the Second Empire and Of the Third
Republic.
GENERAL" EUDES'S MAD ACT.
In May 1871, General" Eudes. the ill-bal-
anced fanatic who led the Federalist Bellevlle
prepared the public buildings on the
Quai dOrsay for destruction by saturating them
with petroleum and sprinkling them with gun
powder. On May % the Palace OF the Cour
des Complies was set on fire and totally de-
stroyed. The Palace Of the Legion OF Honor.
next II. which was the former residence Of Nine.
de Stke was also nearly burned down. The
Palace Of the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs was
set fire TO and seriously damaged. but in the
very nick OF time II was captured by the troops
from Versailles, who succeeded In putting out
the flames. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
during the fighting In Paris was Marshal Mac
Nahons headquarters. The Commune bat
teries placed the huge barricade at the corner
OF the Rue de Rivoli and the Place de la Con-
corde kept up disastrous fire the Ministry
OF Foreign Affairs. and its facade complete
ly rddled with shell and bullets. After the
suppression OF the Commune. two eminent
NJ Laforge and NJ. Moyaux restored
the building and replaced with great skill the
shattered masonry OF it's walls NJ Moyaux told
the writer that on three occasions when making
the repairs he found unexploded proteCtes i'm
bedded In the cornices, and even in the masonry
itself After six months labor the Ministry