The Washington herald., 1913-03-18
FOREIGN GOSSIP.

H the past giories of the French capital.
for the wife of the new chief executive
is noted for her beauty. charm and ciev-
erness as a hostess, and therefore 1t Is
hoped that she will entertain lavishly at
| the Elysee Palace, the Official residence
OF the French President.
In a certain sense the election OF NJ.
Poincare marks q change in an interest,"
ing chain of French Presidents. His
predecessors, Faure. Loubet, and Fal-
Heres. were men who rose from the ranks
and their wives were women, who under
ordinary conditions would have remained
| in middle class provincial life Nine
\ Faure was the daughter of an attorney
of Amboise and an orphan at the time
| of her marriage to the man whose mother
had been a seamstress, and whose father
| had worked as a cabinet maker. In fact,
| she first saw her husband when Faure.
| in blouse and wooden shoes ipantines).
was at work in tanners yard at Am
boise
Nine Loubet. who was Mademoiselle
Danis of the out-of-the-way village Of
Montelimar. was the daughter of re-
spectacle bourgeois parents, while her
husband. in his early years. was work
| ing on his mothers farm. And Fallieres
was but an humble worker in the vine
yards of Loupiilon. when he wooed and
won Mile. Joanna Besson. a girl in COM
paratively poor circumstances.
True, NJ Poincare also is a self-made
! man. but II so he started life with far
greater social and educational advan-
tages than his predecessors. His father
WAS a distinguished engineer. occupying
government position as inspector of
roads and bridges. He is a man of sim
pie tastes a scholar who loves his own
fireside and shuns social functions. His
greatest pleasure and recreation is to
spend evenings with his books and two
devoted companions. Cigri, a magnificent
Siamese cat, and Bobette, his pet dog.
have read good story about the
man in Figaro the other day: Some
weeks ago. when it was feared that the
peace OF Europe was seriously endanger-
ed. NJ Poincare was observed leaving
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs depressed
and preoccupied. The situation must be
bad, indeed. whispered those who saw
the great man go by, to one another.
But they were wrong. One of his pets
was dangerously i'll. and he had been
called home.
A further Illustration OF NJ. Poincare's
simple ways is remark made by his
cook. God grant that he may not he
elected she said to an interviewer. Il
don't want to go to the Elysee Palace.
] am very fond of quiet. and monsieur
and madame are so good and unpreten-
tious Just think. all they ordered yes
terday was beefsteak and fried onions.
and to-day it will probably he the same"
The popularity and success of a French
President depends to a great extent on
the manner in which his wife adapts her
self to the life at the Elysee Palace. The
social duties attached to the Presidency
are onerouS The wife of the President
is helped very considerably by the STAFF
at the palace. but she herself must su-
perintend the management of the recep-
tions. balls. and dinners, which are given
in the gorgeous and spacious state rooms.
Housekeeping at the Elysee Palace is
no easy matter. The President receives
from the State a salary of sl25, 900 per an
num- i'm addition to 100000 for household
expenditure and another $50. 600 for travel
ing expenses. Out of this money. how
ever he is expected to keep up the Presi-
DENTAL establishment. entertain distin-
guished guests. subscribe TO all kinds Of
charities. and pay all his travelling eX-
pcnses on French territory.
BY some curious custom. dating. no
doubt from the days of the old regime.
this "apanage" is paid in hard cash. on
a certain day every month two officials
from the Minestre de Finances. accom-
panied by n clerk from the mint, bring
him 10000 francs in gold. all brand new.
The occasion is always one of genial
i.
Monsieur. le President. here is your
money. We hope it will not bother YOU"
1t is estimated that President Faure.
with his love of entertainment and dis
play. spent at the rate of $4,000 a year
during his four years of office and that
N. Loubet. during the seven years 10 re-
sided at the EIysee Palace (the President
is elected for seven years. not four. as in
Americal. exceeded his official income
oil ha
the eNtravagant tastes of his predeces-
sor.
One of the first acts of Nine Fallieres. |
upon her husbands election as Presi- |
dent in 1906, was to effect a small revolu- |
ton in the household arrangements at
the Elysee Palace. Two days after her
arrival she dismissed the entire staff Of
cooks. scullions. chambermaids. and va
let's. and installed in the Presidential |
kitchens 'Mariette." the family cook. a |
native Of NJ. Fallieres home district and !
who has been in his service from time |
immemorable. And the President also |
reduced his military and naval staff NJ. |
Loubet had at least twenty officers Of |
high rank attached to his person. His |
successor CFallieres) promptly reduced
the number to three the highest in rank |
being a colonel. remarking that in his
opinion. ii was out of place that the
should he surrounded with so much pomp
and ceremony.
Nine. Faurc. like Nine. Loubet and
Mime. Fallieres. was n typical French
woman. fond of home and family life |
But the French President and his wife
have little opportunity Of quiet domestic
life at the Elysee. for it is strenuous
work holding the reins of government
President Carnot often was found seat
ed in his office adjoining his bedroom
at ; o'clock, although he seldom went to
bed before midnight Faure rose all the
year round at S O'Clock. and after a bath
at once set to work. although he did not
require his secretaries to begin so early
Loubet was at work at I o'clock in the
while Fallieres winter and
summer alike. rose at G. and. after a
cold shower bath. went for n five-mile
walk before breakfast, in order as he
himself once said. ito keep myself in n
fit physical condition for State duties"
So much is being said and written about
American baby multi-millionaires, such
or twelve-year-old John Nicholas Brown.
&c. that the fact is being overlooked
that there are few baby multi-million-
aires in England also. To begin with,
one never hears of the Rothschild or the
Barring babies. or others in the financial
world of Europe. And il should not be
that among the British nobil-
ity there are quite number. also.
On the last day of 1910 son was born
to the Earl and Countess Fitzwiliam