The Washington times., 1934-03-22
True To
Type
Bourbon Prince
Makes History
3 Alive
By GILBERT SELDES

SAAS AA4osAA WAAO Vol A4CA J4AO
possibility Of peace in his
pocket in 1917 has just died:
Prince Sixtus of Bourbon.
Parma. If his mission had
succeeded, America would
never have proceeded beyond
the training camps, the Allied
armies would never have occu-
pied the cities of the Rhine,
and the Kaiser might still be
ruling in Germany.
These ifs of history aren't,
however, as important as the
fact that peace proposals were
carried from one foreign office
to another, and were turned
down. Those who are now en-
joying the fruits of the addi-
tional year of war can take
what pride they wish from
that memory.
My own memory Of the
prince is, however, a personal
one. We never met, but the
prince gave me an extraordi-
nary thrill. About 10 years
ago I was in the south Of
France on BaStille Day and
went to the little casino at
Juan-les-Pins for dinner "a
gala, with fireworks over the
Mediterranean and any amount
Of patriotic singing of the
Marsellaise. It was the sing
ing that started the row.
Up-and at Him!
After the orchestra had
played the introduction, a So
prano, majestic and magnifi-
cent, rose and began the song;
at once everyone stood up.
Half a minute later there was
a Scuffle, some potted plants
were overturned, a few prema-
ture fireworks went off, and
from every table near me cries
went up, "Debout! Debout!"
I thought that they were call
ing a waiter to put upright
some decorations which had
toppled. Then I saw what was
going on.
They were shouting "Get up!
Get up!" at a table of two men
and two women who were OBJ
Stinately remaining seated.
The singer and the orchestra
went on, but no one listened;
walters and civilians made a
flying wedge to attack the
table, and several hundred
Frenchmen and women were
in what Mark Twain called "a
French calm-to wit, hySteria.
Then the ominous shout of
"Boche! Sale Boche! rose and
a gendarme approached.
All Patriots
One man at the table rose
and answering the cry of
"Boche" cried out: 'I fought
at the front as well as you,"
and pointed to his decoration.
The other sat silent a moment,
then rose. The incident was
for the moment ended. Then
a murmur went round. The
second man, the silent one, was
Prince Sixtus-aS a Bourbon,
related to the pretenders to
the throne Of France, he could
not recognize either the repub-
lie or the "MarsellaiSe," which
is q republican song, although
he had fought for France in
the army Of Belgium.
I had heard enough about a
"royaliSt" movement in France,
but I had never seen or touched
it before. The thing that i'm
pressed me most was that all
the people dining there that
night lost their anger the mo-
ment they knew who the Of
fender was. They thought he
should have stayed away; or, if
he came, he should have &C.
cepted the custom of the
country.
But the violence they were
about to show to a German for
an insult to their country died
down the moment they discov-
cred that the enemy was a
Frenchman like themselves, ex-
cept that he earnestly in his
heart felt that their government
ought to be overthrown. I knew
then, as I know now, that I
would never completely under
stand the French but I also felt,
for a second, that I was in the
presence of French history.
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