New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-08-07
THE EMPRESS EUGENE
Her Relation to Chapter in Dir.
Legge's Memoir.
Iifnr Of The Tribune.

L
"The Empress Eugene, 1870-1912" published
~ Tho Trif,,ne on the 18th Of June. Your critic
wrote:
eoTvbe bare assertion Of a Paris writer that
| the EMPRESS did not favor the conflict Of 1870
settles nothing; neither does his assurance that
she did not say This Is my war
Allow me TO say here, for the first time, that
the whole of the chapter containing the case
for the Empress written and puo-isnei On
the iIIustrious Iady's own authority Inc entlTe
statement was handed to NJ Castor Cahnette
by an intimate friend Of the Empress, and that
friend "a LADY, was in a position 20 give ample
| nroof of the accuracy of every word Of it. IN
der no other circumstances could, or would, this
historical document ever have been given to the
world.
I say this historical document because il
| is the Empress Eugenie's own reply TO her ca
| lumniators. The only thing lacking Is ner sig
nature which, for obvious reasons. she could
not append to it. Thus without being the act
uaI writer Of the statement, her majesty IS the
author of it It is the only reply 70 her assall-
ants which the Empress has condescended to
| make, and it has never been translated by any
one but myself.
Let me add another fact. Having given this
categorical statement authorized publicity, the
Empress will never write or cause to be writ
ten, another line in reply to the accusations or
her enemies Although tormented almost to
madness by the brutalities which were written
about her between 1870 and 1891, she remained
silent for twenty years. She has long regarded
with profound Indifference everything Whlcn IS
published to her detriment; she does not even
trouble to read it Vile stories have been PRINT
ed about her The coarsest anecdotes have aP-
reared from time to time. This marvellous
woman whose life for forty years has oeen one
long Calvary heeds them not She does not
even see them Her friends-especlaIIy her
many women friends, English and French, ltai-
ian and Spanish-read these commerages with
pain and disgust, mingled with regret that the
law In every country permits the publication OF
scanda1ous matter picked out Of dung heaps
Allow me, in conclusion, to refer 20 another
matter 1 read in The Trihune's review of my
work: Throughout he (the author) Is consist
ent in his attitude whence his silence about
many awkward happenings-the puzzle, for IN
stance, of Napoleon's second WILL
I have no knowledge of second will, nor
do I know any who has. Some readers OF
the words which have quoted from The Trib-
unes able and gratifying criticism might posi-
bly, draw the inference that have been in
duced to keep silence about many awkward
happenings" Permit me to say ennphatically
that 1 have written with perfectly unfettered
pen and without the slightest bias My one aim
has been to record facts and to ignore the tit
tle-tattIe of irresponsible and deplorably ignor-
ant writers.
I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude 70
nv critics-many of them scholars of the high
est attanments, and personally unknown to me
whose Communications any one might well be,
as am. proud Of.
THE AUTHOR OF THE EMPRESS EUGE-
ME: 1S7O-191O."
London July %, 1910.
1.-THE only will of Napoleon found after his
death was that drawn up and executed in 1865,
which made provision for his and heir,
on the assumption doubt, that the child
would succeed to its fathers throne and civil
list 1t bequeathed to the Empress mon do
maine priv3" (my private property. The fall
of the Empire therefore left the Prince Imperial
unprovided for financially unless a different
will was drawn That Napoleon did draw such
will he made known before his death to sew
eral prominent Bonapartists among them a
member of the imperial family. The Tribune
reviews reference is 10 this missing will Its
disappearance, or even possible non-existence
led TO the appointment OF committee of three
Of NapoleOn's former Cabinet ministers NM
Grandperret. Pinard. and Busson- BiIlaut which
in its report annuIled the will of 1865 and made
several provisions intended 70 place the Prince
Imperial in possession of part OF the estate