Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-07-12
EMPRESS EUGENE
DIES PEACEFULLY
IN SPANISH HOME

capture o. Napoleon at Sedan. Tho
Empress was popuiarlY accused Of
bringing on that disastrous war Win
Prussia, Historians have since de-
ciarcd that there is little 10 suppor
such charges, but the rLoions mobs OF
Paris. shouting for the ncw republic
"hlch the Deputies proclaimed.
stormcd tho Palace of the Turtles
anu ho~!ed !mprccations upon Ei-
Scnic's head until the Empress became
convinced tina, her LIE was In p.r;l
Flight was decided upon. hut one plau
after another failed until an ext, was
found by way OF the Louvre. The
Empress in disguise, accompanied only
ny one OF her ladies in waiting. was
wh!rled away in a cab 10 The resi-.
dcnce OF the American dentist. Or.
Thomas J. Evans. Lost to all Paris,
the ladies' spent the night in The pro-
tcction OF this chivalr0us American.
and the next dag they were driven vN
In his carriage for Hight across
France TO the channel. and the secret
boarding OF a yacht for England
Loses Throne, Husband and Son.
The fall OF the empire WAS followed
by the death OF the cxiied k.mperor
Napoleon III. in England three years
later. ana the killing OF his only son.
the Prince Imperial, while IN battle
with the English against the Zulus.
"Somct!mcs-" wrote the Empress in
"a letter which has recently come to
light bearing date OF ls73,-'somc-
times. on seeing certain children
tearing the wings of butterflies and
torncn,inB poor things tina; canno,
show signs OF suffering I have made
the comparison that people some
times pluck out the heart and hurt 4,
without knowing the evi, that they
do with an eternal smile on their
l!ps.' This was written the day be-
fore her husband died.
The Empress. in the twoscorc years
that followed. found intimate friends
In England and interest In travel. in
Guiding visits TO her former aunts in
Paris. Dressed in black, she passed
almost unnoticcd where once she was
the leader Of one of the most brilli-
ant courts OF the nineteenth century.
In her occasional Interviews she re-
vcalcd the strain OF inournfulncsa in
her lifc.
Patiently Awaited the End.
Il am the past the horizon" she
said. There is nothing for me but
10 wait; my winter is nearly over
She prepared her last resting place
some years & by ordering an adj
dillon to the mausoleum in the Benc-
dictine Abbcy. which she built at
marlborough, and where she buried
the cXilcd Emperor and the Prince
1mpcrial.
Lived to See Germany Crushed.
Although more than 90 years old.
the former Empress Eugene not only
hoped and prayed, but worked. for
the victory of the allies in the great
world war of l9l4-l9IS. The war
found her in a splendid home At Farm
borough lIill, in Hampshire. Eng.
Early in the conflict she gave up her
quiet and secluded life there so that
her home could he transformed into q
hospital for wounded British officers.
Despite her advanced age she as
sumed, entire direction of the place
and devoted herself to aiding the
wounded men.
While the war was in progress She
had n ii She hoped to live to see the
Germans driven from France. After
half q century OF seemingly hopeless
waiting. she lived to see the Prus-
slams humbled, and is said to have
found contentment in her knowledge
of their humiliation in tho peace OF
Versailles.
Went Tears of Joy.
II is recounted that when tho.
brought her the news on November
II. 1918. of Germany's unconditional
signature OF the armistice terms and
again last year, word of her signing
on the dotted line" at Versailles
the very Versailles where forty-cight
years before Bismarck dictated peace
with a pistol at his victims head
the venerable ~cx-arbitcr OF Europe's
fate broke down and wept like a
child, wept tears OF Joy. He death
occurred two days after the Germans
at Spa were forced to sign the death
warrant of the last I'M of the
once proud Prussian war machine.
Friend OF George and Mary,
In their frequent journeys to Alder
shot to review troops during the war,
King George n Queen Mary often
called upon tho former Empress of
France. at Marlborough Hill. They
found her alert mentally and that she
kept In touch with the news of the
war as few women Of half her ago
did. Those who knew her said that
her greatest hold on lifo was u to
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