The age-herald., 1901-09-05
A Story of an Empress.

widows of dead soldiers, who rememDereo
 that Monday was the thirty-flrst anni-
 versary of Sedan. and probably very few
 men except students and historians re-
 called that world-moving battle,' said
 man who visited that battlefield a few
 years ago. speaking to some loungers in the lobby of the Florence Hotel last night. 1 ''The widow who remembers Sedan most vividly Is the Empress Eugenie,
 whose sole comfort in her old age is that 1 love of her dead which cannot perish and 1 her religion which has so long sustained I her and will sustain to the end. Men may affect indifference and stoicism in sorrow, but women cling to holy religion as the ever-secure rock of refuge. "One day, many years ago, had spent an hour in St. Marks Cathedral, Venice, and was in the act of passing down the l low steps, which are hardly steps at all. | I paused idly to observe a woman In black about to approach the great door, the main entrance to that ancient and sacred house of prayer. Though she was closely yelled, she was evidently old and
 somewhat feeble; but there was a kind of regal bearing in her demeanor that in- stantly attracted by most alert and wide eyed attention. Clearly she was woman of exalted rank.
 "As she was about to ascend to the Ca- thedral door her long black skirt became somewhat entangled and she seemed about to fall, when a German naval of ficer-I recognized his rank and nation ality by his uniform-caught her with his left arm, which was strong as steel, and gently lifted her up.
 Merci, Monsieur I heard her say gently.
 "He answered in what I understood to be equivalent ito I am proud in Ger man.
 Instantly she threw back her black veil and lnstinctively the unknown Ger man officer and I uncovered and bowed low, each of us recognizing from photo- graphs we had seen the former Empress of the French. The German fell back, be- cause of the look upon her worn, proud, defiant face
 "She seemed faint, and I stepped for | ward instantly, with my hat in my hand, and offered her my hand with the palm turned downward in recognition of her rank, and acting In punctilious regard for | the higher law of diplomacy. Immediate ly she rested her hand upon my arm, and said:
 'Americaine?'
 "'Yes, your majesty I answered.
 With her right hand resting upon my | left forearm, my hat being in my right hand, we slowly approached the Cathed- ral door. and as she kept her hand there I advanced with her into the vast audi
 torium of that splendid palace of divine
 worship. Coming to face the altar, she made the genuflection, and I did likewise then without the right to do so In the spirit In which she did 1t. She withdrew ] her hand from my arm and said in the
 A.ndliest tone I ever heard,
 | 'Merci, monsieur
 "I did her homage and slowly retired l keeping my face to her, as became her rank, and she sank into a chair. looking back once to smile her thanks.
 ''The incident is recalled to my mind afresh by this thirty-firsts anniversary of Sedan, for at Sedan her illustrious con sort, the Emperor Napoleon III, worn with the sickness that two years later killed him when exiled in England, sur I rendered with S6,0O0 soldiers to the old King William of Prussia, who soon after | wards was proclaimed German Emperor | in the Hall of Mirrors in the ancient pal | ace of the French Kings in Versailles proclaimed Emperor and never crowned l It all comes back to me tonight
 Remarkable Coroner Without Hands Coroner Paris of Jefferson county is | one of the most remarkable men have ever known" said man yesterday. one who has frequent business transactions with the sherin.
 "As everyone knows. the coroner has no hands, having lost both in an accident in his early youth. Onesof his arms is slightly longer than the other, but botf are cut off between the elbow and wrist
 .'The loss of his hands. however, does not seem to bother the coroner much He can use his arms to such advantage that it is an object lesson as to what can be done under the pinch of necessity To begin with, the coroner is good driver His business calls him to all parts of the county and he keeps a horse | and buggy and drives alone quite often I to points that are not too far distant | He drives a good fast horse, too, and not a slow poke too old to run, as you might l imagine. The way the coroner manages Il | Is this: He has some one buckle both reins to his left arm, then by using his
 right stump of forearm he makes a | hook which he hooks in the reins, and pulls to the right or left as the case may l be.
 "The coroner Is not only good driver, l but he can pick up pen and write as well as many people with the usual num- Der of hands. He. can turn the leaves of
 a book, and keeps his records, which are often many slips of loose paper, perfectly straight I am not sure but he can thread a needle and he may be tolerabiy good seamstress-or I should perhaps say, | tailor.
 "when he was running for office some of his political enemies circulated the re- | port that he beat his wife. This, of | course, is not true, but it tickled the voters so that they turned out and elect | ed him by a large majority. The Dignity of Labor. An honored citizen of Birmingham, who has held high office said last night: DO not believe but shall do thee mis- chief in the word, aye, in the temple, n