Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-27

She Relinquished Millions OF
Capital and Interest, But
Still Possesses a
Vast Fortune.

diminishes the intrinsic value of the pastel
1t increases its emotional interest. Valued
at 5000 francs by the independent expert,
1t might bring 10000 francs at public sale
From the Louvre, Eugene was taking her
Queen Hortense clock estimated at 10000
francs. L neglected to mention that the lit
tie bureau had belonged 10 Marie Anto-
nette, marvellous piece in ebony and
laqueur, with carved bronze decorations one
of the most beautiful pieces of the museum,
valued by the expert at half a million. At
a sale 1t would bring a million or more.
One Gobelin tapestry is valued at 10000
francs
The little box of st. Louis. though traded
by Napoleon against l. coo francs of restor-
alton to the Abbey Church de Lys is valued
at 100000 francs by antquares.
Enough. One Paris paper makes the list
run up to 100000 francs of objects pre-
senting neither artistic nor historic inter
est or having an intimate or even personal
character"
Eugene was entering into possession-al-
most. Indeed. the Illustrated London News
of June d. 1907, felt justified in anticipating
a, few days by printing a page Of photo
graphs:
An Exiled Empress Reprisals: Historic
Treasures Recovered by the Empress ELL
genie from the French MISUNDERSTANDING
the bureau. Abbey de Lys box, Napoleon's
clothes, the clock. the pastel, the parade
saddle, the musical clock.
l would not like to recover my pay for
this article in the same way!
OF course, Eugene is very very rich
they say the present young Queen of Spain
will come in for a nice part of il. Her vast
fortune however. comes in no way from the
republic.
will. The young prince imperial. his son.
ought to have been rich when he came of
age, yet he often had not cash enough to
invite his fathers old friends to lunch when
they visited him i'll London.
A year ago 1 lost the sale of a carefully
documented article on this subject to one OF
our foremost magazines-a story ordered!
You must not attack a ladyr' explained
the editor. asking me to do 1t over An
other magazine used it. I'VE think orr
readers would like TO know" its editor
wrote me.
The Princess Bacchiecbi had Iof+ .ba
prince imperial by will much productive real
estate in Florence. Eusenies men of bust
ness persuaded the prince that the estate
was SO run down that he ought to sign a
remuneration of its income during seven
years. lie did it.
The emperor his father, had placed mill
lions in England. Yet history records that
Napoleon III. emerging from war two
years dangerously i'll, on the eve of an
armed attempt to regain his throne. died
disinheriting his only son, the known con-
fidant of his most secret plans. They only
found an old will when they looked into
MS papers!
This was an old will signed when the
prince was a child of nine-heir TO throne
and civil list of 100000 francs'
When Eugene celebrated her son S TWEEN
ty-second birthday by categorically refusing
to ameliorate his condition. he finally de-
manded arbitrators. Both he and Eugene
bound themselves in writing to submit to
thc decision of three Of Napoleon's former
minister's Busson-Billaut, Grandperret and
Pinard.
I'm view of the ineXplicable absence of a
second will rectfying the first, we believe
that we act in accordance with conscience
in annulling the first and unique testament"
ran their decision.
They made the prince his fathers heir,
subject to Eugenie's usual dover rights.
At the same time 1t changed nothing.
Eugene put the paper in a drawer. kept the
entire millions and the prince imperial hur-
ried off to South Africa, where de was
killed.
Ten years later, as II for fear Eugenia
might not have enough, Fortune made some
old neglected Marseilles real estate OF hers
inherited from Montijo, her father, sudden
ly rise, by a shifting of population, to al
most uncountable millions.
STERLING HELLO.