The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-28

which was united with n apparently
unpolished, the outcome Of his early ira nv.
ing, and presented him In an tmfavorahlr
light to those who could only sec the rude
exterior. With the best intention OF being
courteous, he would walk toward a man
until he had pushed him back TO the wall
and, IL no remark occurred to him. as often
happened, he would burst into a oud laugh
turn on his heel and walk or" The victim
Of this public performance would naturally
be offended. and II he were not accustomen
to the manners OF the court would take his
leave in fierce anger, persuaded that the
King had wished in some way to insult him
According to Nine. de Boigne. the King IN
private life would complain bitterly Of the
way In which he had been brought up. he
would declare that the only mar for whor
he felt any real hatred was his tutor. the
Duo de Ia Vauguyon. and he quoted in
support OF this feeling instances Of low
servility toward his brothers and himse'f
which justified his opinion
After Nine. de Boigne returned To- rors
she was one of the ex-emigrees To whom the
Emperor Napoleon and the Empress Joseph
inc were particularly gracious. Like many
OF her nearest relatives. however. she :e-
sponded very coolly 10 these overtures
sShe tells us In her memoirs that she Otter
saw the Emperor Napoleon at the thea,r"
or driving in q carriage. but only twice in a
room. Once at a ball. on the occasion -
the marriage Of Stephanie Beauharnais : ,
the Prince Of Baden, she relates tina; IT,
Empress. the princessess their ladies an.
their chamberlaine. all in fulld dress. enter
in the train of the Emperor and took up then
positions on a platform. After watching IT.,
performance of a kind of ballet the En-
peror came down alone and ven AROUND III.
room, speaking exclusively To the ladies
He wore. it seems. his imperial dress, IL
white waistcoat and white satin knee
breeches, white shoes with gold rosettes.
coat Of red velvet. cut straight in the 81 VI"
of Francis l., with gold embroidery Upon all
the seams, a sword sparkling with dia-
monds above the coat, orders and star
also Of diamonds, and a cap with the feathers
held up by a diamond buckle" The cos
tune seemed to our author well designed
but utterly unsuited to the wearer. on ac-
count OF his small size. his corpulence an
his clumsiness Of movement. Perhaps,
she says. 1T was prejudice on my part. bd'
the Emperor seemed to me frightful AM
looked like a mock king He had the GOO
sense Immediately afterward TO abandon
this costume.
According TO his custom. the Lihptr"l
asked Nine. de Boigne her name. which she
told him. The following dialogue ensued
you live az Beauregard?" yes, Sire" 81,
is a beautiful spot and yo,,r husband I'm
ploys much labor there; I am grateful to him
for the service he does to the country. az !
am TO all who employ workmen. He has
been in the English army" She though
il shorter TO answer Yes. but he continued
That is to say. not exactly. He is a Savoy
ard. is he not?" Yes. Sire" But you
are French, entirely French. and we there
fore claim you, for you are not one Of
those rights easily surrendered She
bowed. How old are your" She told him
And frank into the bargain. You look
much younger"
Some years afterwart Nine. de Boigne
was present as nm onlooker at a ball giver
OF the occasion of the baptism OF the King
Of Rome. so far "a she can recall It wa
the last imperial festivity. Although she
with a dozen other representatives OF the
ancier regime who were present, belonget
to the Opposition they we're forced. she
says, to admit that the spectacle was mag
n~ificent. The Emperor. ollowed by his es-
cort, had to cross the room to reach the plat
form which occupied the back. He walked
first, with such speed that almost every
body. not excepting the Empress Marie
Louisel was almost obliged to run to keel
up with him. Dignity and grace were
thus out OF the question. But this ~rustling
of skirts and rapid pace seemed to symbolic
a dominant power which suited him. II
was magnificent, though not in our way.
| Napoleon, we are told. seemed he maste'
OF all this magniicence. He wac no Longer
in the imperial costume. and the simple
uniform which he alone wore in the midst
| Of all the full dress made him a yet more
striking figure and spoke more loudly 10 tho
imagination than all the gold lace in the
world. HE was anxious to be gracious
! and kind and made a far better impression
upon me than at the other ball. Our
author goes on to say; The Empress
| Marie Louise was 4 fine woman, fresh in
appearance but somewhat too red. Not.
w~ithstanding her dress and her precious
stones. she seemed very vulgar and en-.
tirely without distinction"
Particularly interesting also will he
found that part OF these memoirs which
treats Of the INVASION of France by the
Allies and of the first Restoration in 1919
The present volume does not carry US a.
far as the Hundred Days.