The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-03-19
hePreyented Sale Of
Cuba to U. s.
S0ULE'S MISTAKE.
He Satirized Her and Ne
gotiations We're Off.

Here is a bit of inside history. An
old diplomat told it the other day.
while discussing things Cuban and
Spanish with a newspaper man. II
have been amazed" he said, that in
all the pother over Cuba, the raking
and scraplng of all sorts Of history and
fiction. nobody has thought 1t worth
while to revive the story of how, but
for a woman, it might have been an
American possession 40 odd years back.
should not have known, but that
was secretary of another continental
legation while it was happening.
zone of the first things James Bu-
chanan did, after he was firm in bis
seat, was to appoint three commission
ers to treat with Spain for the pGr-
chase of Cuba 1t was understood that
their proposals, whatever they might
be, would be passed on to the confer
ence OF powers soon to assemble at
Ostend. Pierre Soule. then our minis
ter to Madrid, was ex-officio, at tine
head Of the commission. Now, Pierre
was Frenchman born, also an aris
crat of aristocrats. But he had been
brought up in America--he was senator
from Louisiana,-and had imbibed the
EXTREMIST democratic doctrines Thus
as an aristocrat he had the Faubourg
ST. Antoine's contempt for the upstart
Napoleon III; as a lover of liberty, and
republicanism, he loathed him as an
usurper. And Pierre was a fine hater.
l have never known a man who put
more of the sentiment into sentence.
His detestation of the brummaSem
French emperor extended to the EN-
press and all her family. The Montijos
were Spanish and not very grand
grandees, still Eugenie's sister had
made a good match as matches go IN
Spain, and was, as the Duchees dAlha-
something of a power at the Spantah
court
"She had all Eugenie's temper and
none of her graciousness 1t was thar
perhaps, more than her Napolsonio
connection which made Pierre Sorile
hate her heartily. One night at grand
function, as she swept past, appearing
to spurn the earth and all upon It. he
made a comment, more satirio than
polite He meant it only for the friend
next to him, but others heard II, and ID
time ii reached the French minister,
The upshot was a duel-Pierre would
have fought a regiment with Joyous
grace IN those days. The Brenchman
was wounded-not dangerously, but
enough to send him home. Pierre HIM
self expected nothing less than recall
There were no cables in those days, 50
even international insults had 70 wall
on the course Of the mails
But he was not recalled. Spain took
no notice of his little difference with
brother diplomat The mischief II did
was quite in another quarter The at
fair, of course, came to Louis Napo-
iah
great friendliness betwlXt the French
and British foreign offices. After
little both governments represented to
Spain, not openly, but through secret
channels. that she was not free to dis
pose Of Cuba-the other powers would
not permit; further It would be much
to her advantage to reject Instantly
and with scorn, any proposition the
Americans might make.
$50 the propositions were rejected,
though before there had been a good
chance that they would be well enter
tanned The French have a proverb,
Opportunity has no back hair We are
finding that out with vengeance now
regarding the eVer-falthful isle. A hun
bred million dollars might have bought
it, except for two things. One was the
anti-slavery sentiment of the north, the
other Pierre Soules sneer at a. woman
who happened to be the sister of an
empress. Think of the lives and the
money that might have been saved
Buchanan chung to his project. and
went so far as to ask that congress APP
propriate the purchase money, but he
might have saved his Ink It was a
most statesmanllke measure, but
statesman had blocked 1t for fun gen
GRAFTON. Soule himself knew and felt IL.
He was ardentiy in favor of the scheme.
In disgust over it's failure he resigned
and came home"