Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1915-06-25

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MONG the visitors to the hospitals
in which the English wounded are
assigned is a bent and pallid old
" woman of eighty Painfully she
NJ a hobbies from cot to cot, giving a
VA flower here. q pat and word of en-
couragement there. In appearance
she is no different from any old lady
o of eighty-eight. unless the keen OBJ
server may see that she has suffered great and
enduring sorrow.
The aged woman is Eugene de Montijo, for
seventeen years. 1853-1870. empress of the
French. wife of the Emperor Napoleon III and
mother Of the ill-fated prince imperial, who was
killed in the English war against the Zulus in
1879.
The old woman Of sorrows has been an en-
press Of romance as well as of France Grand
daughter Of IN Irishman named Kirkpatrick and
. Spanish lady, with her mother and sister she
roved the cities of Europe for seven years. look
ing for great marriage. Scarce of noble BIRTH
though her father was known as the count Of
Teba In Spain. petty title at best. her chances
Tor grand union seemed vague indeed. At the
age OF twenty-five she achieved q notable II not
. grand marriage. No doubt 1t is a very great
thing to be empress of the French and reputed
one Of the most beautiful and charming women
In the world and to set the fashions of the unj
verse. For It was to- Eugene that the world
owed the terrible crinolne or hoopskirts and the
dreadful chignon of the sixties. Previous to the
birth Of the prince imperial, Eugene, very vain
Of her figure. assumed the hoopskirt The world
OF women followed suit to the great amusement
and derision OF their daughters and granddaueb
ters. Yet Napoleon III was far from being
grand man. though he was emperor of the
French. In the early fifties the countess of Tcba
and her two daughters. the elder dark Spaniard
the other . type Of northern beauty chestnut
hair. violet eyes. perfect complexion and lovely
oval features appeared at various European
capitals The mother lived q semibohemian life
at hotels. something which was not approved of
those days. when grand ladies believed that a
lady should live at home and visit only at the
houses Of her friends. The girls we're of an age
when they should have been In q convent. So,
attractive az they were, and popular, II was
noted that manf more men than women called
upon the Spanish countess and her daughters.
Women viewed the attractive Spaniards with
lifted eyebrows OF question and suspcian The
daughters of the countess of Teba were beautiful.
rarely co. They were not Of great accomplish
ments and 1t cannot be said that they were re-
spected In the fullest sense Of the word. They
were interesting. they we're lovely, but in the
early ffties II held that ladies of rank should
not live at hotels or be seen at public dining
rooms
However. both girls made brilliant marriages.
The elder married The duke of Alva owner of
historic title This marriage was regarded
triumph for the managing mother. wit said
that the tslke was unfortunate In that she did
not choc1s to marry both daughters to him by
7epal dispensation, the implication being that not
-eS-sss the pope could Withstand the Establishments
OF the countess. No one. however. imagined
that the lady would be successful beyond her
widest dreams and see her younger daughter
IN empress received with honor by the courts
sof Europe especially by the intensely proper Vic
toria Of England.
Eugenie had been. It was said. good deal Of a
femme gallante. or very forward lady In love
AFFAIRS. She had thrown herself at the heads of
two young noblemen. At one time she had
violent fancy for the Spanish count di Galva
and tried to commit suicide by swallowing shoe
backing when he made II plain that he did not
desire her. Women gagged her as q wild and un-
disciplined girl, sort Of Lydia Languish Becky
Sharp and Lady Teazle combined. a girl calcu
lated to MI the mind of even ardent suitors with
misgivings as to her conduct as q wife. She
was always Spanish and never understood the
French. She had great personal courage and
feared nothing She was a meddlesome match
maker and in after years earned the unenviable
distinction Of having married the famous song
stress. Adelina Patti. to the marquis Of Caux.
marriage which turned out most unhappily. She
was superstitious dealt with mediums. would
hirt audaciously. yet was always cold and emo
tionless within.
This was the young lady Of twenty-five. who
appeared in Paris in 1851. just after Louis Napo-
leon, president Of the republic, had accomplished
the bloody coup detat in which his troops shot
down hundreds of innocent persons along the
boulevards Of Paris But Napoleon caused him.
self to be reelected president for term Of ten
years, and later. in 1851. had himself declared
emperor of the French.
The previous life Of the new emperor had been
rather discreditable one. He had been q con-
stable in London. penniless exile in Hoboken.
N j.. he had made several futile and ridiculous
attempts to restore the empire. his reputation
was that Of . silly. impracticable dreamer. He
had had many disreputable love affairs and It
was known that an English woman who was
enamored of him had financed his successful
effort In that direction. Soon afterward he
caused her to be deported by the police.
Though he bore the magical name of Bona
.parte. It was doubtful that he had drop Of Ma