New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-03-30
RANDOM "Reminiscences
A Monarchist on France Half a
Century Ago.
MEN AND THINGS OF MY TINE. BY
the Marquis de Csstellane. Translated
by Alexander Tefxeira de Mattos; win
"a portraits. Svo, pp. vii, 1877. Chicago:
4 C MCClurg & Co.

NJ IL
the Marquis de Csstellane. Translated
by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos: With
Is portraits Svo. pp. vii, 1877. Chicago:
A. c. McClurg & Co.
These "reminiscences are entertaining
rather than important, not so much on
account Of their monarchical PARTISAN
ship as because VI. de Castellans never
played A prominent part In the events
which he describes. A good patriot he
was and undoubtedly remains. but in the
retrospect he despairs Of the future OF
France He believes himself the his
torian of a new "old regime" whose
strong hold under the empire were the
clerical. legitimist salons Of the fau-
bourg. and whose death knell was sound
ed BY the Illustration OF royalist hopes
under tho presidency Of MacMahon. The
world at large Is not likely TO agree with
him.
The author begins with the rigorous
education which he received at Orleans
at the seminary of the Chapelle Saint
Mesmin. under the direction OF the IA
nous Monsignor Dupanloup. 1t was a
Spartan system in which religion and the
classics held first place, the result being
that the young noble emerged from the
school profoundly ignorant. 'provin-
ciaI and a perfect little BOBBY" The
neglect Of physical cleanliness in the
institution was that Of It's period else
where as we'll as in France, yet, thanks
to a severely simple routine, its pupils
found themselves well prepared for the
hardships of the campaigns of 1870.
In 1865 the marquis took his place IN
the salon Of his mother. who was Talley-
rand's gran6niece and the daughter Of
the famous Duchesse de Dino. 1t was "A
sort Of neutral ground, a meeting place
for royalists and antilmperialists
THEIRS was a prominent and welcome
visitor. He did not converse, he Grated
SAYS ". de Castellane; his wife invaria-
bly, went TO sleep in her fauteuil. The
crafty little statesman, who had insti-
gated Louis Philippe's Infamous treat
mcnt OF the Duchesse dc Berri talked in
those DAYS OF the united monarchy"
His republicansm he did not unmask
until later
During the Franco German War the
author served as lieutenant of volun-
teers. the entries from his notebook here
printed being fragmentary, but wildly
illustrative OF the confusion, the unpre-
paredness of the country for the struggle.
He gives some instances of the detesta-
ton in which Napoleon was held. among
them this episode:
At the mess this morning I saw a second
lieutenant take his sword and rip up a col
orcd engraving on the wall OF the dining
room, representing the Emperor IN gen
erals uniform. saying:
There! That's one for YOU,
And all the officers shook their fists at
the portrait and applauded Mostly.
At Bordeaux he saw Garibaldi hand
in his resignation TO the National AS
sembly among furious cries of Take off
your cap" And Victor Hugo gave there
another exhibition of his megalOmania.
For the rest, the book is devoted to the
noltics Of the republic during the years
1SIl-'7S. NJ de Castellane serving as
member of the Chamber Of Deputies.
The strangest Of all his anecdotes is that
in which he assures US that MacMahon
did not say "J'y suis, j'y reste" in the
Malakoff tower, but that he himself
sscribed the phrase to the marshal in
speech In the Chamber, and that it was
his wife who invented the phrase while
helping him in the preparation of the
upaecl