The Clio messenger., 1915-06-18

NJ \ hobbies from cot to cot, giving a
W flower here, pat and word of en-
on \ couragement there. In appearance
MNy&Y she is different from any old lady
GoSD of eghty-eight, unless the keen OBJ
server may that she has suffered great and
enduring sorrow
The aged woman is Eugene de Montijo, for
seventeen years, 1S53-1S70, empress of the
French, wife of the Emperor Napoleon III and
mother of the illfated prince imperial, who was
Killed in the English against the Zulus In
1879
The old of sorrows has been an EN-.
press of romance we'll as Of France Grand
daughter of an Irishman named Kirkpatrick and
a 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 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 a notable If NOT
a grand marriage. No doubt it 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 uni.
verse. For 1t was to Eugene that the world
owed the terrible crinoline or hoopskirts and tho
dreadful chignon of the sixties Previous to tbe
birth OF the prince imperial Eugenie very vain
of her figure, assumed the hoopskirt The world
of women followed suit to the great amusement
and derision of their daughters and granddaueh.
ters. Yet Napoleon III was far from beng a
grand man, though he was emperor of tho
French. In the early ffties the countess of Toha
and her two daughters the elder a dark Spsniard
the other type of northern beauty, chestnut
hair, violet eyes, perfect complexion and lovely
oval features, appeared at various European
capitals. The mother lived a semibohemian life
at hotels something which not approved of
those days, when grand ladies believed that
lady should live at home and visit only at the
houses of her friends. The girls were of an age
1rho thoyc chou1d haua hoar To-,
attractive as they were, and popular, 1t was
noted that many men than women called
upon the Spanish countess and her daughters.
Women viewed the attractive Spaniards with
lifted eyebrows Of question and suspician The
daughters Of the countess of Teba were beautiful
rarely so. They were not of great accomplish
ments and it cannot be said that they were re-
spected in the fullest sense of the word. They
were interesting, they were lovely, but in the
early ffties it held that ladies Of rank should
not live at hotels be 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 as a
triumph for the managing mother. A wit said
that the duke unfortunate in that she did
not choose to marry both daughters to him by
papal dispensation, the implication being that not
even 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
an empress, received with honor by the courts
of Europe especially by the intensely proper VIC
toria Of England.
Eugene had been, 1t 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 1t plain that he did not
desire her. Women gauged her as wild and un-
disciplined girl, sort of Lydia Languish, Becky
Sharp and Lady Teazle combined, girl calcu-
lated to fill the mind of even ardent suitors with
misgivings as to her conduct as a 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 unenviabie
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
firt audaciously, yet was always cold and emo
tioness 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 a discreditable one. He had been con-
stable in London penniless exile In Hoboken,
NJ 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 dsreputabe 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 a drop OF Ma