New-York tribune., 1920-07-12

Sild 4IupeELlneuCGS Oh gne WIS Oh <n6
| Austrian Ambassador, the highborn
my sovereign is real Empress" is
I.still remembered. And when she COM
planned to the Princess Clotilde Of
Savoy, who had married Jerome Bona
parte, of the fatigue and tedium OF a
court function, tho Italian answered
arniably, "We do not mind; you see, we
are born to it, VAinly did she try
to attract to her court the old French
nobility; they. with few exceptions,
kept aloof till the end.
Her Palaces and Court.
Her life was now passed in palaces;
the Tuileries, Saint Cloud. Fontaine-
bleau. Riarritz, each in turn formed
the setting Of her days, and each had
distinct character of it's own. At the
Iuileries it was impossible to escape
from an atmosphere of state cere-
monlal, inseparable from royalty in
the capital of great kingdom. Every
year, on January /. there was recep-
ton In the throne room, attended by
all state functionaries, including min
isters. cardinals, marshals. admirals,
the Governor Of the Invalides, the
Governor General Of Algeria and the
leading dignitarias Of the Legion Of
Honor. Following close upon this
event came q series of state balls.
three more court balls, attended by
from 5000 to $500 persons each. and
during Lent three state concerts were
given.
From the Tuileries to Saint Cloud
the change was slight but agreeable.
While there were here also a certain
amount OF court etiquette and few
omcIal functions, the fatigue attendant
upon her high duties was lessened by
q larger degree of privacy and repose
than could be obtained at the Tuileries.
was far simpler affair. An absence
OF official ceremonial and the charm of
country pursuits lent an idyllic happi-
ness to the weeks passed by the i'm
perial court in these summer palaces.
1t was, however, only at Biarritz
that the Empress Eugene was able to
throw off the cares and duties Of her
high position. There is no doubt that
1T was in order to indulge her love Of
this semi-Spanish Basque village be-
tween mountains and sea that Napo-
leon III chose Biarritz for residence.
A palace was built there for the i'm
perial use,. in which the greatest COM
fort united with the utmost simplicity
prevailed. The palace was afterward
turned into a hotel, and later de-
stroyed by fire. But, as might have been
foreseen, the presence of the court
soon brought number of visitors
| and tourists to the place, and it was
not long before the quiet little Basque
village was covered with hotels, chal-
cts, large casino and all the para
phernalia which inevitably follow in
the wake of fashion. The prosperity
of Biarritz as popular watering place
dates from this time.
Birth of Prince Imperial
On Falm Sunday. March 16, 1856, the
cannon of the 1nvalides announced by
salute of 101 guns the birth of a
Prince Imperial. The child was chris
tened on June ID following, in the
Cathedral of Notre Dame, by the name
OF Napoleon Eugenie Louis Jean Joseph,
the ceremony being performed by the
Cardinal Legate. The Empress was
radiant, the Emperor happy. the dy-
nasty was now secure.
1t was on the night of Orsini's
attempt on the life of Napoleon, in
the evening of January IA, 1858, that
Eugene gave another proof of her
superb courage. The bomb was thrown
as the imperial couple were on their
way to the opera house. Amid the con-
fusion and the CHASTITY destruction, on
the steps of the opera house, the En-
press, bleeding from slight wound
on the temple. took the Emperor's arm,
that We are not afraid" To the de-
moralized ministers, who had arrived
post haste, and most Of whom were
her opponents, she made the simple
appeal: "Gentlemen, we must close our
ranks, now that we have to deal with
wild beasts"
From this night dates her political
ascehdancy over Napoleon, who had
hitherto mistrusted her Judgment and
looked upon her political activity as a
feminine whim and a not unwelcome
distraction Of her attention from his
own private pursuits. Hereafter he was
to take her seriously.
After the Italian war, into which Or
sini's attempt had driven the fright
ened Napoleon, Eugene persuaded him
not to withdraw the French army of oc-
cupation from Rome, which was the
course advised by his ministers, who
deemed the propitious moment come
for getting out of the Italian question
altogether. She had plans Of her own
concerning the Papacy, which she con-
tinued to force upon Napoleon: Plus
TX was to be succeeded by Bonapart-
ist Pope in the person of Prince Lucien,
who afterward became cardinal. Thus
the old nobility and the clergy Of
France might be led to accept and sup
port the empire. The backing and~fiil
ing of the French policy toward Ital,
its endless and bewildering vacillation
must be ascribed to this. Eugene was
actuated, not, as has been said, by re-
ligious motives, but by worldly ones
Her aim was the strengthening of the
dynasty, the increase of it's glory, and