The Donaldsonville chief., 1911-11-18
"HaYe you got her 2"

Have you got ner!
Hoary old sinner unrepentant of his deser-
ton, fifty years ago, of his true American wife
In Baltimore, he had the court ladies in full
SANDER of Eugene before Napoleon had made
up his mind, and he exercised diabolical in
genuity in trying to prevent an honest mar
riage.
Those first ladies Of the Second Empire had
extraordinary manners. One evening, ,at Com
peigne when Eugene going in to dinner
on the arm of Colonel de Toulongeon, a slight
confusion permitted him to whisk Eugenie
ahead of Madame Fortoul, Wlte OF the minister
of that name.
Glow" exclaimed, audbly to her cavalier,
"do you permit that - creature to push
past me?"
The next morning Mile. de Montijo, with
tears in her eyes, stood on the terrace apart
from the others. It was no ruse to attract
Napoleon's sympathy, the girl saw her prince
hero disappearing in nightmare OF hateful
gossip. Napoleon, who had sought her, asked
the cause of her sorrow.
I must leave Compeigne,' she fa1tered-
and told of the sights and insults to which
she was subjected
The emperor listened to the beautiful girl
Then. when she had finished, he tore green
string of ivy from park tree, deftly twisted
it into crown, and said loudly-that all might
hear-as he placed it on her head:
ssWear this one-meanWhile.
It is a twice-told anecdote, but, as 1t was
Napoleon's proposal Of marriage, see no way
to omit 1t. He never actually asked her hand
he took it. Not another murmur arose from
the court ladies. At once they focked around
Eugene.
It was another matter, however, for Napo-
leon to force his choice on the statesmen and
soldiers backing his still risky empire. Opin-
ions were divided on what royal alliance he
CHI Io nj
Sweden; some for a Braganza, some for the
Hohenzolern. Then, suddenly, Napoleon,
speaking of Eugene, sprung the mine by say
ing, "There Is question but the right OF
hand"
mo question but the right Of hand!" The
words ran through his hackers like alarm
of fire. One with the strongest hold upon
Napoleon-De Persigny, his minister of the in
terior-was sent to tell him in the name Of all
that it would not do
De Persigny, mixed up with Napoleon in
many an adventure, had kept his old-comrade
liberty of speech. He joked about Napoleon's
admiration for Eugenie; surely the emperor
must amuse himself. When he noticed that
Napoleon's face grew stern, he rose to fighting
arguments. brutally accommodating proofs and
reasons why marriage would be idiotic, both
dynastically-and otherwise He sneered at
the Montijo title; brought out the grandfather
Kirkpatrick, bankrupt Malaga raisn merchant;
and then he took up Eugenie's rowing life,
What was the girl doing here in PARISH"
did you ever hear Of the young Duke Of
sesto?" asked De Persigny. "Did you ever
hear of Merimee?'
"Merfmee is great writer" said Napoleon.
"Surely-for he writes Eugenies letters to
you!" laughed De Persigny. Mother daugh-
ter, and newspaper man sit round the table
and concoct the beautiful letters that you cher
ish. Really, it was not worth risking the coup
detat to arrive at that!"
What triumph for the aged lady to recall
Napoleon's steadfast love in face of both policy
and slander! It was always known why Eu-
genie hated De Persgny, Prince Jerome and
the Princess Mathilde. She could forgive po-
Htical counseors who pressed the royal prin-
cesses upon Napoleon; she could not forgive
the powerful ones who sought % take away
her character behind her back.
Napoleon heard them all alike He answered
nothing. Fould and most of the military back
ers, with Edward Ney and Toulongeon for
their spokesmen. formed rapidly "The Clan
of the Lovers" In vain did Mathide drag her
self at Napoleon's knees, begging him to re-
nounce marriage that would be the ruin OF
them all. The emperor had decided "You will
give great ball to announce the engagement"