TH E L A ST E M PR E S S

OF T H E FRE N CH
B EIN G TH E LIF E O F TH E E M PR E S S
EU G EN 1 11 .
TH E L A ST E M PR E S S
OF T H E FRE N CH
B EIN G TH E LI F E O F TH E E M PR E SS
E U G ENIE WI F E O F N AP O LE O N III
,
.

B Y P H IL I P W .

S E R G E A N T, B A . .

A U T H O R O F “ T H E CO UR T
S S
H IP OF C A T H E R INE T H E
G R E AT ”
E TC
, .

I L L U S TK A T E D

PH I L A DE L P H I A
J . B . LIP P IN CO T T AN Y COM P
L N DO N
O : T WERN E R L AU RIE
.
 TH E I B R L
A RY
O R NI
UNI E R S IV
T Y O F C A LIF

S N TA A A A A
B R B R

C ON T E N T S

C H A PTER C H I L D H D I N S PA I N AND F R AN C E
OO

CH APTER II E UG EN I E AND HER M T H ER

. O

C H AP TER III F R M P L A C E V E ND OM E
. O TO TH E
'

T U I LER I E S
C H AP TER I V TH E I M P ER I A L M A RR I A G E
.

C H A PTER N AP LE N III O O

CH AP TER TH E OR GAN I SA T I N A C U RT O OF O

CH AP TER TH E I M P ER I A L FA M I L AND OT H ER S Y

C H A PTER P A L A C E LI E F

C H APTER T HE E M P RE SS AND QU EE N V ICT R I A O

CH APTER TH E P R I N E I M P ER A L
C I

C H APTER
C H APTER X II TH E OR S I N I ATTE M P T
.

C H A PTER X III T E M PRE SS S F I R S T RE G E N C

. H E
’
Y

CH APTER X I V A S E AS N S ow
. O OF o RR

C H APTER X V TH E LA TER C U RT
. O

v
 C o n ten t s

C H A PTER X V I T HE E M PRE SS P L I T ICI AN

. O

CH A PTER X V II T HE GRE A T E H I I T I N YEA R

. X B O

CH A P T ER X V III TH E E
. DI SAS T ER
VE OF

CH A PTER X I X T HE T H I R D
. R E G E N C AND T H E
Y

L I GH TF

CH AP TER XX T HE E M PRE SS I N
. EX I LE
IND E X
 L S I T OF I L L U S TR A T I O N S
PA G E

T HE E M PRE SS E UG E I E N
(F rom
Wi
27

n
26 p ai n

ter/l a y ”)
ti n g éy ' '

F ron tz sp z ece

T HE C U N TE SS M N T I J
O OF O O fa cz ng p age
’

2 1

N A P LE
O ON AND E UG E I E N .

N A P LE N III
O O .

P R I N C E N A P LE N O O

T HE E M PRE SS E UG E I E N

T HE P R I N C E I M PER I A L
T HE E M PRE SS E UG EN I E
CO U N T S W W AND M R N
A LE SK I O Y

T HE E M PER R E M PRE SS
O P R I N C E I M PER I A L
AN D

A T CH I S LEH U R S T
, ,

N A P LE N A T WI LHEL M S H OHE
O O .

C A M D E N P L A CE CH I S LE H U R S T ( F rom /z ozo by PV
‘

p a .

,
j ) . R oberts

T HE E M PRE SS I N LA T ER LI E F

FAR N BOR UG H H I LL
O
CHILD H OOD IN SPAIN
A N D F R AN C E
 CHAP T E R I

C H I L D H OO D I N S PA I N AND FR A N CE

TH E attempt is often made by the biographer

o f fa m o u s people to gather from the circum

stances o f their birth or from the co n ditions of

,

their families before it something which may be

,

treated as a premonition of the eminence which

they were desti n ed afterwards t o attai n With .

regard t o her who i s known to history as the

Empress Eugen ie it would certainly require
,

much unprofitable i n gen uity to show what there

w a s to lead —to her rise from the positio n o f
you n ger daughter o f a poor Spanish nobleman
and his half Scottish wife to that of consort of
-

the E mperor of the French S o m e points in .

her character and certain facial traits have been

con n ected rather fancifully perhaps with her
, ,

sudden appearan ce i n the world But in the .

precedi n g story O f her parents a n d i n her o w n

early life there is little i n deed t o draw the pro
mise of a crown even from the legen dary gipsy ,

who i s declared i n the present i n stan ce as always , ,

’
to have prophesied the girl s elevation to royal
ran k T h o se who look for extraordinary results
.

from a mixture o f strangely diverse races may

4 T he Las t E mp res s o f t he F ren c h
claim the E mpress E ugé n i e s case in support o f ’

their theories For instance it has been said

.
,

that her various strains o f blood made her a very

chameleon for taki ng colour from the background
against which sh e stood But such theorising
.
,

after all i s o f the kind easily gratify ing its

, ,

author which ignores the i n a ss o f instances and

,

sums up the exceptions i n to a rule .

On the fifth anniversary o f the death o f

Napoleon Bonaparte at Saint H elena the 5th ,

May 1 8 2 6 an earthquak e disturbed the city o f

,

Granada in S outhern Spai n At the time o f

, .

the occurrence a lady was sitting i n the gard en

’
o f her husba n d s house in the Calle de Gracia .

The shock brought about the premature birth

of the child whom sh e was expectin g ; and thus
came into the world o n e who was t o sit be side
Napoleon s successor in the i n terrupted history
’

o f the French Imperial throne For a large .

portion of her early years this child w a s known

simply as Eugenia Palafox but i n her baptismal ,

register she appears as Maria Eugenia Ign acia

Augustina daughter of D o n Cipriano Guzman
,

Palafox y P o rt o ca rrero Count of T e b a a n d

, ,

o f hi s wife Maria Manuela Kirkpatrick y

,

G revi gn é e .

’
As the evidence o f her parents names shows ,

the future Empress o fthe French w a s of curiously

mixed race The family o f Palafox was o f
.

Aragonian origin In the middle of the eigh

.
 C hildhood i n S pa i n an d F ra n c e 5
t een t h ce n tu ry Do n Philip the second so n o f
,

the head of the family married Dona Francisca

,

de S al es P o rt o ca rrero y Zuniga who among her

,

ma n y titles bore that of sixth Countess of

M on tiJ o . T h i s lady was connected with some
o f the greatest houses in Spai n a fact of whi ch
,

genealogists o f the Second French Empire did

not fail afterwards t o make much S how Owi n g .

t o the Spanish custom of transmission o f titles

through the female as well as the male line the ,

descen dants O f Don Philip a n d his wife possessed

a remarkable string o f honourable names The .

t w o sons Euge n io and Cipriano (Eugenio Eulalio

P o rt o ca rrero y Palafox and Cipria n o Guzman
Palafox y P o rt o carrero ) were Cou n ts respectively
o f Montij o and o f T e b a and were Grandees of

Spain several times over In the P o rt o ca rrero

.

surn ame they showed a strain o f Italian blood ,

the P o rt o carrero s bei n g said to have come from

Genoa to Spain in the fourteenth century ;
otherwise they were thoroughly Spanish .

O n the othe r ha n d the Spanish element in

,

the family with which Do n Cipriano intermarried

was but recent and comparatively small Con .

si dera bl e atte n tio n has been paid b biographers

y
t o the S cottish side o f the Empress E ug en ie s a n
’

c est r s o that it is perhaps u n necessary to dwell

y,

on it at len gth here The genealogy o f the

.

family o f Ki rkpatrick of Closeburn privately ,

printed i n 1 8 5 8 and much drawn upon by

,
6 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
subsequent writers o n the subj ect shows a ,

recognised historical beginn i n g with an I vo n e

de Kirkpat rick early in the twelfth century ;
although it i s claimed that the Ki rkpatricks had
estates i n N i t h sdal e a n d An n an dale four hundred
years earlier a n d legends referred them t o Finn
,

M a c C u m h a i l l the Fenian Ki n g, The grandson .

o f I v on e beari n g the same name married a

, ,

daughter o f Robert Bruce Lord of Agm an dal e ,

and Clevelan d grandfather o f the Scottish King

, .

About 1 4 8 4 after the gift by James I II o f

, .

the estate o f Kirkmichael Dumfriesshire t o , ,

Alexan der Kirkpatrick the j unior bran ch which,

he represented called themselves Kirkpatricks

o f Kirkmichael i n contradistinction to those o f

Closeburn t h e elder bran ch The circumstances

, .

which led t o the con n ectio n between the Kir k

patricks and Spain arose from the civil troubles
i n B ri t i a n under the Stuarts The family were .

loyalists Sir T h o m as o f the Closeburn lin e

.
, ,

remained in S cotland after the flight o f James

I I an d V I I but refused an earldom O ffered
. .
,

t o him by William o f Oran ge The younger .

Kirkpatricks were more actively hostile to the

invader a n d the brothers George a n d Robert
, ,

great great grandsons o f Alexander took refuge

- -
,

i n Irelan d where the former settled an d founded

,

the Irish family of Ki rkpatrick Robert followed .

Pri n ce Charles Stuart a n d paid the pen alty fo r

this when he was beheaded in 1 74 6 He left a .
 C hildhood i n S pa i n an d F ra n c e 7
young son William w h o grew up t o marry a
,

Miss Wilson and t o be the father o f a numerous

fam i ly o n e o f W hom named after him went to
, , ,

Spain i n the eighteen th century and settled in

Malaga He j oined a wine and fruit busi n ess
.

there and married the daughter o f the head o f

the firm an other merchant settler H en ri de
, ,

Grevi gn é e w h o had come from L i ege and had

,

taken as wife a Spanish lady Francisca de ,

G a ll egro s It w as this union of S cottish and

.

Wall oon Spanish strains that w a s t o mingle

-

with the almost purel y Span ish blood o f

D o n Cipriano Palafox in the veins o f his
daughter .

Will iam Kirkpatric k made fo r himself a good

position in Malaga where in 1 79 1 he was ap
,

pointed consul t o represent the United States .

He sen t his three daughters t o Paris t o be

educated and it was there that the youngest
, ,

Maria Manuela was said first t o have met the

,

m an whom S h e afterwards married In the .

troubled state o f Spanish affairs in the early part

o f last century the sons o f D o n Philip de Pala
,

fo x fou n d themselves o n different sides The .

Count o f Mon tij o was a patriot at a period ,

whe n it was an u n grateful task i n deed to be a

patriot H e attempted in vain to sti r up the
.

worthless rulers of Spain and at o n e time had

actually in his power Ki n g Carlos his queen , ,

a n d the royal fa vourite Godo y at the Aranj ue z,

8 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Palace H e had however but few w h o would
.
, ,

follow him w a s u n able to arouse his sovereigns

,

t o actio n and consequently i n the words o f M

, , .

“
Filo n biographer o f Prosper M erime e Eugenio
,
’

de Montij o was looked upon as a fool because he

fa i l ed w h ere had he succeeded he would have been
, ,

”
a hero He fought again st the French but with
.
,

little advantage to himsel f His brother Cipriano .

,

o n the other hand was a worshipper o f N apoleon ,

and an afra n cesa do At Salamanca he l o st an .

eye and broke a leg o n behalf of France ; again

at Buttes Chaumont in 1 8 1 4 he was wounded
-
, , ,

receivin g a French decoration in reward for h i s

services It was about thi s time that he may
.

have first seen Maria Manuela Kirkpatrick in

Paris where sh e was livi n g at the house o f
,

Matthieu de Lesseps who married her mother s ,

’

sister The girl had been in the Fre n ch capital

.

fo r a large part o f her life n o t only for education ,

but also because of the dan gerous condition of

Spain But the second fall o f Napoleon led t o
.

’
her return to Malaga and t o her father s house .

It also killed the prospects o f a brilliant mili tary

career for Colonel Palafox who returned also t o ,

Spain a n d settled down to garrison life in

Malaga .

William Kirkpatrick in S pite o f the fact that ,

the business of exporting Spanish wi n es and

fruit which had now become his o w n had made
, ,

him rich is said to have continued to u se a room

,
1 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
original nobility T h i s he was able to do and .
1

on the 1 5 th December 1 8 1 7 the marriage was

duly celebrated i n Granada O n ly the malice .

o f F ren ch anti Imperialist j ourn alists ever di s -

p u t ed this T he y put forward. later such mutu

ally destructive stories as that the Empress
Eugenie was ten years older than she was re
u t ed to be that she was bor n three years after
p ,

her legal father s death that her parents had ’

been divorced and that they had never been ,

properly married F o r some of these libels .

again st herself an d her daughter the Countess

o f Mo n tij o afterwards obtai n ed j udgment from

the Court of First I n stan ce o f the Seine with ,

fines o n the o ffen ders varyi n g from o n e to three

thousand francs .

After the wedding at Granada D o n Cipriano

and his bride return ed to Malaga to live In .

spite of the fact that they were by n o means

1
hi s Ki kp t i ck f C lo s bu M A l x d K i k
In r a r o e rn r e an er r

p t i ck s y s Wh h C o t d T b s c o d
a r a :
“
enf th t e m e e e a e n so n o e

C o t d M o tij o D k f P
m e e n d G d of t h
, u e o en a ra n
'

a , et c .
, ran ee e

F i s t Cl s
r d p op o s l f i g to D o a M i M a u l
a s, m a e r a o m a rr a e n ar a n e a

Ki kp t i ck it b c
r a r c s y f h f th to p ov th a t
, e a m e n e e sa r or er a er r e

hi s c t y
an s u c h to j u sti fy G d f S p i i
es r w as as a ra n ee o a n n

fo rm i g h c o c tio H id to hi s p o p o s d i l
n t e nne n . e sa r e so n - n - aw,

‘
Y ou t c u p to Ki g Al fo o h E l v th i f I t c to
ra e n ns t e e en ; ra e

Ki g Rob t B u c I s u pp o s H i s M j s ty will b s ti fi d
n er r e, e a e e a s e ?
’

H e l id b fo h Ki g p t t f o h H ld s Offi c
a e re t e n a a en r m t e era
’
e at

E di bu gh c ti fyi g hi s d sc t p t lly f o h c i t
n r , er n e en a ern a r m t e an en

B o f Clo bu wh u po it i s s id h Ki g l ughi g
ar n s o se rn ,
ere n ,
a ,
t e n a n

e xcl i d L h obl M o tij o a y h d aught f

a m e et t e n e n m rr t e er o

Fi g l
n a
 C hildhood i n S pa i n an d F ra n c e I I
wealthy they are said t o have en tertai n ed freely
,

i n the society which was to be found in that

town o r rather it was the Cou n tess who enter
, ,

t a i n ed for the Cou n t of T e b a was remarkably

,

l o t h t o spe n d his mo n ey a n d i n deed the later ,

discord betwee n husban d an d wife arose prin ci

pally O ver this question The Countess lost n o .

time i n making for herself a reputation as a

hostess however her husba n d might grudge the
,

expense But her love o f social success surely

.

does n o t prove entire frivolity as her censors ,

have assumed Beside gai n in g popularity by

.

her attainmen ts as a musician a li n guist and an , ,

amusi n g talker S he impressed foreign visitors

,

with her m e n tal powers and was early called the

most cultivated woman i n Spai n — perhaps not a
very hard title to win i n those days That her .

brother i n law remained u n friendly is hardly to

- -

be wondered at seeing how politics had estran ged

,

him a n d D o n Ciprian o It is more than likely .

that he disapproved of the way in which his

’
brothe r s mon ey was spen t by the lady about
whose entran ce into the family he had not been
consulted He had not however the strength
.
, ,

to hold out agai n st h er for man y years Although .

he married late i n life with the hope it was , ,

thought of keepi n g the extra titles a n d fortune

,

o ut of his b rother s way through that very ’

ci rcumstan ce he fell before the clevern ess o f the

Countess of T e b a After the birth of a daughter.
1 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Maria Fran cisca i n 1 8 2 5 the T e b as removed
, ,

from Malaga to G ran ada where the elder brother ,

resided Ma n uela approached her brother i n

.
-

l a w through his wife with such success that o n ,

the birth of h er second daughter n ext year sh e ,

prevailed upo n him to be godfather to the child .

In this way it came about that the name o f

Euge n ia was given t o D o n C i pri an o s second ’

born .

Little has been recorded o f the first years o f

the future E mpress Washi n gton Irving i n
.
,

“
deed speaks o f having dandled her o n his
,

kn ee when on a V isit to Granada But fo r a .

fortunate acciden t we should kn ow little more

o f the succeedi n g years of her childhood That .

accident was the meeti n g in 1 8 3 0 of Prosper

M erim ee travelli n g i n Spain for the first time
, ,

with the Count of T e b a The latter invited the

.

you n g Frenchman t o call upon him in Madrid ,

whither he had n o w moved and there i n troduced ,

him to his wife The family increased by the

.
,

addition o f a boy who died you n g was housed

, ,

in the Calle del Sordo where M erim ee became,

a frequen t visitor From this point began a

.

frie n dship between M erim ee a n d the Countess

a n d her you n ger daughter which lasted u n til his ,

death .Of the mother i n particular he was , ,

a most e n thusiastic admirer and his corre ,

s o n den c e with her was carried on until the

p
end o f his life His letters to her are only
.
 C hildhood i n S pa i n an d F ra n c e 1
3
known us at present by what M Filon who
to .
,

sa w them says o f them in his

, M erim ee et Ses
”
Am i s To o much importance perhaps need
.
, ,

not be attached to what a M erim ee writes to a

beautiful woman ; but in one he describes him
self as confounded by her learni n g H e was .
,

at any rate indebted to her i n his work for sh e

, ,

”
gave him the story o f Carmen a n d later su g
gested also D o n P edre which he dedicated to ,

her in 1 8 4 8 Of the children Fran cisca and

.

Eugenia aged o n ly five and four respectively he

, ,

did not it may be presumed see so much i n these

, ,

days as a few years later A great change in the .

life o f the family had first to come of which the ,

begi n ning was the death o f D o n Eugen io in

1 8 3 4 leavi n g n o issue
, His brother by this not
.

only became Count of Montij o etc but also , .

,

inherited the bulk o f the family fortu n e and the

estates In itself this would not have altered
.
,

matters much for the Count clung t o his ideas

,

o f domestic economy as firmly as ever His .

ambitious wife however was relieved o f restraint

, ,

by other circumstances The death of King

‘

Ferdi n an d in the previous year had been followed

by the Carlist War In the summer of 1 8 3 4 .

political troubles were at their height i n Spai n .

Massacres were takin g place i n the streets o f

Madrid itself Moreover a cholera epidemic
.
,

was raging in the cou ntry a n d the Count deter ,

mined to send hi s family to France for safety ,

1 4 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
while remaining behin d himself to attend t o his
duties as Senator On the 1 8 th o f July the
.

Countess o f Monti j o with Francisca Eugenia , , ,

and Paco her so n left Madrid At the age o f

, , .

eight Eugenia first set foot near Perpignan i n , ,

the land over which sh e was nineteen years

afterwards t o be Empress .

The break with the o l d li fe was almost c o m

p l et e
. The Countess did not retur n t o her
husband until he was on his death bed nearly -

five years later conduct which largely gave rise

,

to the aspersions from which sh e su ffered so

much afterwards At no period could sh e claim
.

to be a good wife and o f course she had her,

grounds for complain t T here was a re al i n co m .

p a t i bi l i t
y of temperament between her a n d her

husband . The Count though hi s personal ,

bravery was amply proved and though his ,

lineage was beyon d reproach was not perhaps ,

quite so fine a character as was made out by his

French panegyrists under the Second E mpire ,

when his daughter was o n the throne T he y .

could look kindly on h i s views about domestic

economy as remin iscent of the Roman father
, .

But parsimony is not so attractive to the wife

and mother as to the philosopher So when .

D o n Cipriano although he had become Coun t

,

of Mon tij o mai n tai n ed the V iew that his

,

daughters ought t o be brought up as if n o

addition had been made t o the family fortune ,
 C hildhood i n S pa i n an d F ran c e 1 5
it w a s only natural that the Countess should
dissent a n d should thi n k o f the eligible matches
to be made some day Her social pretensions
.

had lo n g been the cause of trouble Her h u s

.

band did not care fo r the society which mean t so

much to her and of its amusemen ts he thought
,

p oorly Her musical tastes were j oi n ed to a

.

love for the theatre and for amateur acti n g ,

which he did not wish t o see indulged To her .

admirers sh e seemed eminen tly capable of i n spi r

ing men ; sh e did n o t inspire her husband The .

energy and vivacity which the former sa w s o

prominen t in her he probably i n terpreted as
,

recklessness a n d disregard for her reputation .

In fact except that they were both champions

,

o f the Napoleo n ic idea there appears to have

,

been nothing in common between husban d and

wife. It is no great cause for won der that ,

circumstances driving them apart only the ,

approach o f death brought them together

again .

On her arrival in France the Countess made

fo r Paris by way of Perpignan an d To u l o u se .

In Paris matters were doubtless made easy for

her by her acquaintan ces in Mad rid society and ,

particularly by that with M erim ee ; for among

her first friends were the D e Laborde family ,

who had kn own M erim ee from childhood H er .

circle was disti n ctly literary in character through

the influence of Count Alexandre de La borde ,
 1 6 Th e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
best known for his studies in the history o f Art ,

M erim ee himself and Henri Beyle who was

, ,

i n troduced by M erimee a n d rapidly became a

great favourite with the mother a n d the two
children ; since Paco was n o w dead The story .

i s very familiar of the little Eugenie and her

sister sitti n g up late o n the even i n gs when Beyle
called and listen i n g eagerly while he steeped
them in the Napoleonic legen d and told them
tales o f the European wars E quall y well kn own
.

’
is that of M é ri m é e s lessons in Fren ch a n d in
handwriting and of his visits with them to the
’
confectioner s to reward the progress o f his
pupils But this was not their only education
. .

In 1 8 3 7 they were both sent as boarders to the

Conve n t of the S acred Heart in the Rue de ,

Varen n es under the names o f Francisca and

,

E ugen ia Palafox Here they remained until

.

early i n 1 8 3 9 when n ews of the serious illness

,

o f the Count of Mo n tij o determi n ed the Countess

to return t o his side She had e n gaged an

.

E nglish govern ess for her daugh ters in whose ,

charge sh e left them with instructions to follow

,

her while she hastened to Madrid Th e devoted

, .

M erim ee after seeing her o ff superin ten ded also

, ,

the departure of his former pupils a n d Miss

Flowers by coach all promisi n g faithfully t o
,

write to him It is reco rded that hi s favourite

.

Eugenie kept her promise o n the j ourn ey T he y .

reached Madrid too late to see their father ; he

E U GENIE A N D
H ER M O T H E R
C o u n te s s o f M on tijo .
 CHA P T E R II

E U GEN I E AND H ER MO T H E R

TH E period immediatel y following the death o f

the Count o f Montij o was naturally a quiet o n e
for his wife and daughters Eugenie was sent .

t o school i n E n gland for a while a fact which ,

was duly noted in the L o n do n newspapers at

the time o f her marriage S carcely an y record.
,

however remains o f her English schooldays

, .

T he y were spen t i n Clifton at an establishment

o nl y two doors from the dame s school where ’

the future Field Marshal Lord Roberts then a

-
,

child of about ten years Ol d was receiving hi s ,

early educatio n .

The Cou n tess did not prolong unduly the

season o f mourning As we kn ow from M eri
.

m é e s letters to Mlle Jenny D ac u i n

’

q . the i n ,

con n u e o f his celebrated correspondence when ,

he made his second j ourney to Spain in 1 8 4 0

he paid a visit to the widow o n her estate at
Carabanchel a n d busied himself with the amateur
theatrical performances with which she enter
t ai n ed her guests The fortune left t o her seems
.

to have amounted to about £ 4 000 a year with ,

a house in Madrid and the estate in the country ,

2 1
2 2 T he Las t E mp ress o f t he F ren c h
and she was thus enabled t o gratify the tastes
for which during her husband s lifetime she could ’

with difficulty find scope She took also some .

part i n politics t o the extent at least that

, , ,

General Narvaez o n e o f the most prominent o f

,

the Moderate Liberal party and afterwards dic

tator o f Spain was n umbered among the a d
,

m i rers w h o came t o her sa l on in Madrid Thi s .

ugly fat little man with a V ile expression o f

countenance as Lord Malmesbury describes
,

him was better as a friend than a fo e A m

, .

bitio n s an d unscrupulou s when ask ed o n his ,

death bed whether he forgave hi s enemies he

-
,

replied that he had n one fo r he had alway s go t ,

rid of them After his death General Prim de

.
,

rived comfort from the idea that now Narvaez

was being tortured by all the devils E v e n the .

friendship o f N arva ez was not entirely a dvan

t a geo u s t o the Cou n tess o f Montij o The .

Moderate Liberals fell from power In the tem .

o ra ry triumph o f the O pposite party under

p
General E spartero which l ed t o the retirement ,

o f Queen Cristina to France Carabanchel o f fered ,

a pleasant retreat to the Countess and her

daughters from the troubles o f the capital The .

daughters were growing up a n d the Countess , ,

o n e o f W hose greatest delights according to her

1
friends was match making w as determined that -
,

1 M F ilo i M e i e t S A i sp a k s of
. n n
“
rm e e es m s
”
e h er
m aki g a i ag s d a u s i g h f llow c at u s to
n m rr e an m n er e - re re th e
2 4 T he Las t E mp ress of the F ren c h
buy the trousseau and in the following February
,

Franc i sca s weddi n g took place in Madrid

’
.

The sto ry told in connectio n with this marriage

has obtai n ed great currency and doubtless thereby
has lost nothing except its resemblance to the
actual facts It may be supposed however
.
, ,

that there was some slight fou n dation for it .

’
Francisca s suitor was the you n g Duke o f
Berwick a n d A lba who united a British duke
,

dom still under sentence o f attain der with

, ,

Spanish nobility James Stuart F i t z J a m es

.
,

eighth Duke of Berwic k and fourteenth o f

Alba was the descendant o f one of the sons of
,

James I I by Arabella Churchill The third

. .

Duke of Berwick married the daughter o f t h e

Duke of Alba and by the Spanish custom his
,

so n took that title also The you n g Duke was .

“ ”
eve n more a Gra n dee than the poor wretch ,

whoever he w a s whom M erim ee had succeeded

,

in getti n g discarded for he was twelve times a,

Gran dee o f the country o f hi s ancestor s adoption ’

Natural ly the ambitious Countess o f Montij o

welcomed him as a so n i n law in prospect and - -
,

encouraged his attentions as much a s possible .

He was said however t o have been slow in de

, ,

cl a ri n g himself a n d so t o have left it in dou bt

which sister he preferred Finally under pres .

,

sure from the Countess he proposed fo r the ,

hand of the elder and was at once accepted .

’
Francisca going t o her sister s room t o tell her
, ,
 E u g en i e an d h er M oth er 2 5
found her lying o n her bed su ffering from the
’
e ffects o f poison She had overheard the D uke s
.

interview with her mother and undeceived n o w , ,

as t o his feeli ngs had attempted to kill herself

, .

S uch is the usual form of the story which makes ,

a serious ill n ess follow the attempt leaving per ,

manent nervous e ffects n otably the sudden fits

,

o f depression to which the Empress was subj ect

in after life There was of course o n ly o n e person

.
, ,

w h o could have told what exact basis the story

had It must be remembered that the affection
.

between the sisters remained very close up t o

the death of the D uchess which was generally ,

looked on as robbing the Empress Eugenie o f

the confidan te o f her most intimate feeli n gs and ,

that the Duke a n d D uchess of Berwick and

Alba were annual visitors to France and t o the
Court under the Secon d Empire The promin
e n ce o fEugenie in Madrid society after Francisca s ’

marriage which the uncharitable have attributed

,

to the reckless n ess o f disappoi n tment is naturally ,

enough explai n ed by the fact that sh e was n o w

the o n e unmarried daughter of a popular hostess .

Moreover sh e was her mother s child to a

,
’

greater extent than the quieter and more retiring

Fra n cisca and bei n g seventee n was begi n ning t o
,

feel the pleasures of a greater freedom than she

had yet en j oyed .

N o t o n ly the brilliant marriage of the elder

daughter but the course o f political events also
,
2 6 T he Las t Emp ress o f t he F ren c h
contributed t o give the Monti j os a good position
in Madrid Espartero had fallen i n 1 8 4 3 and
.
,

the you n g Queen Isabella though on ly thirteen , ,

had been declared of age S oo n after the .

Berwick and Al ba weddi n g in February 1 8 44 ,

Gen eral Narvaez had been made head o f the

Government and the Qeeen Mother Cristina
had been recalled With the Moderate Liberals.
,

and especially Narvaez in power the Cou n tess , ,

o f Montij o became a more popular entertainer

than ever The house in the Plaza del Angel

.

was thronged with visitors an d the Countess ,

might well have thought herself at the summit

o f h er career Her secon d daughter s remark ’
.

able beauty Of a type un common anywhere

, ,

was a valuable factor in her social triumph fo r ,

it drew numbers o f possible suitors to the house .

But curiously no O ffer appears to have come

, , .

The imperti n en ce of history has fu rnished various

reason s for this Frie n ds o f the Empress main
.

t a i n ed later that sh e had set her mi n d o n marry

ing a Frenchman and that this accounted fo r
her seemin g capriciousness toward her coun try
men Yet as is mentioned later sh e con fessed
.
, ,

t o Napoleo n I II befo re h er marriage that her

.

heart had been touched more than once At .

least three Dukes were suggested at various ,

times as havi n g so affected her A l ca n i z es

, , ,

S esto and Ossu n a S o m e said that a Spanish

, .

Grandee would be afraid t o risk such originality

 E u g en i e an d her M oth er 2 7
in a wife For people at least talked o f her
.

riding in the streets o f Madrid o n a fiery bare

backed horse with a cigarette in her mouth o f
,

her appearan ce in brilliant Andalusian costumes

at bull figh t s with not a fan but a whip in her
-
,

hand and a dagger in her belt with red sati n ,

boots o n her feet and flowers and j ewels in the

broad golden plaits o f her hair ; o f her presen
t a t i o n in the rOl e of Queen o f Beauty o f the
, ,

prize for the most successful toreador ; o f her

swimming feats a n d her fen ci n g Again the .

chroniclers have recourse to the e ffect o n her

disposition o f the shock preceding her sister s ’

marriage to explain these extravagances S uch .

explan ation is unnecessary Eugenia de Guzman .

it was not u n til sh e began to live i n Paris that

(
sh e came to be called E ug e n ie de Montij o ) w a s

not the fi rst woman who rode a bare backed -

horse swam fenced o r even (if sh e did so )

, , ,

smoked From early days sh e had given signs

.

o f what is kn own as a tomboy disposition and ,

a love of mischief persisted later in life The .

1

i n flue n ce of h er mother herself reckless in her

,

co n duct though i n a less athletic and perhaps

,

less i n nocent man n er was not o f a kind t o re

,

’
strai n the daughter s u n conve n tion ality which ,

can easily be understood to have created some

sti r among the ladies o f Spain The writer in .

the R evu e des D eum M on des rather under

1
Vi de pp . 2 8 0- 1 .
2 8 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
stated the case in 1 8 5 3 at the time o f the ,

Imperial marriage when he spoke of the great

,

impression which M lle de Montij o had formerly .

made in Madrid society lw her daring imagina

”
tion and the arde n t vivacity of her character .

Washingto n Irving it may be noted speaks o f

, ,

“ ”
her gay circle i n its career o f fashionable
”
dissipatio n at Madrid But no doubt it was .

“
j ealousy of her astonishing beauty her clear
brow shining with youth and grace her gentle ,

blue eyes sparkling beneath the long lashes

which almost conceal them her exquisitely ,

formed n ose her mouth fresher than a rose bud

,
-
,

the perfect oval o f her face as an enthusiast ,

writes — which led to her exile with her mother , ,

from the Court o f Queen Isabell a .

Further successes however awaited both , ,

before their fall At the double m arriage in

.

1 8 46 o f the Queen and her sister Luisa to the

Infan te Fran cisco o f Assi z and the Duke o f
Montpensier respectively mother and daughter ,

were conspicuous figures a n d several o f the ,

French princes who came in the train o f Louis

Philippe s so n were said to have fallen in love
’

with the daughter particularly the Duke o f

,

Aumale Within a year o f the wedding the

.

Cou n tess of M o n t l j o was made Ca m em ra m a y or

to the Queen the highest post attainable by a
,

woman at the Span ish Court and Eugenie was ,

appoi n ted maid o f honour Before the end o f

- - .
 E u g en i e an d her M oth er 2 9
’
1 8 47 both wer e deprived o f their posts E u gé n i e , ,

it was said for the heinous o ffence o f a n evening

,

walk with a you n g Court o fficial conduct not ,

t o be tolerated by Isabella who was known to,

abhor her husband and had already bee n credited

with a lover in General S errano popularly nick ,

named T he Influence with whom sh e had

“
,

recently fallen o u t With regard to the Countess

.

o f Montij o her frien ds said that sh e resigned

,

because o f the political intrigues against her .

E nemies spoke o f a discreditable love affair .

Whatever the real reason the Countess w h o , ,

had certainly lost her favour with the Court ,

decided to leave Madrid and travel abroad .

Eugeni e i n her disgust wished t o e n ter a c o n

vent but her mother though an arden t devotee
, ,

li ke so many o f her countrywomen w a s n o t ,

blind to the chances o f worldly life and per

su a ded her daughter t o accompa n y her on a
European tour One story makes Eug enie
.

actually reach the threshold of the convent

when sh e was met by a n o l d half witted n un -
,

“
who came up t o her a n d said My daughter
, ,

do not seek for rest within o ur walls ; you are

”
called to adorn a thro n e which so imp ressed
,

both her and her mother that there w a s no

more talk about taking the veil T h i s tale of .

“ ”
the o l d half witted nun is an i n teresti n g
-

variant o f the prophetic gipsy legend .

Th e exact course o f their wa n deri n gs in the

30 T he Las t E m p ress of the F ren c h
succeeding two years h as n ever been clearly
described and is n o t perhaps o f much importance .

T he y proceeded first to Lo n don where they ,

remain ed until S eptember 1 8 48 It was in the

.

year 1 8 4 8 and in London that certain bi o

ra h ers woul d place the first meeting o f the
g p
future Emperor and Empress of the French .

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte being i n London

between the end of February and the third
week of S eptember i n that year there is nothing
,

intri n sically improbable in the story t hat he met

the Countess of Mon tij o and her daughter then .

O nl y the evidence i s lacki n g for this as it is for ,

reports of a still earlier meeting The most .

circumstan tial of these other reports states that ,

when Eug eni e was a ch i ld of ten years o l d in

Paris sh e went with her mother an d sister to
,

visit Madame Gabriel D el essert wife of the ,

Prefect o f Poli ce It was the 1 2 th November

.
,

and on that day Louis N apoleo n w a s brought

’
a prisoner to the Prefect s house after the failure
of the Strasburg plot He was detained there
.

two hours before bei ng sent to Lorient o n h i s ,

way to exile in the United States The child .

may have looked out of the window and seen

her husban d that was to be arriving in the
,

custody of g en sda rm es The pro babilities are

.

sufficient fo r the romantic T hey are greater for

.

“
her meeting with him in London after the fright
ful catastrophe as he called it o f Boulogne
, ,
3 2 T he Las t E m p re ss of t he F ren c h
sible to guess what would have happened had
Eugenie married a man o f Prince Napoleon s ’

character Under the Empire the two were

.

always bitterly opposed It would be difficult .

in fact t o fin d two people less likely t o live in

harmony Against the republican and anti
.

clerical ideas the contempt for ordinary notions

,

o f military honour and the degraded theories

,

about the conduct o f private life o f this remark

’
able and u n pleasant man his cousin s wife fo r , ,

all her light hearted unconventionality was

-
,

bound to revolt .

Towards the end o f 1 8 4 9 the Countess and ,

her daughter came to Paris M Filon w h o i n . .

, ,

the capacity o f M é ri m é e s biographer had access ’

t o unpublished correspondence dates from this ,

period the beginning o f the authentic history o f

Louis Napoleon and Mlle de Montij o as she .
,

was n o w called in Paris It is strange that the .

1

date o f the earliest meeting o f t w o people who

were to be so much before the eyes of the world
as Napoleon I II and the Empress Eugenie .

should be uncert ain N o w however we have a .

, ,

definite starting point i n the story o f their

-

acquaintance The friends of the Montij os in

.

France were chiefly Orleanist in sympathy i n ,

cluding their banker Baron James de Rothschild ,

1 M F i lo s y s th a t
. n a
“
l a p a ss i on da p ri nce-p rés iden t
é ta i t n ee dés l a n n é e 1 84 9, m a i s da n s des c i rcon sta n ces qui
’ ’

”
n ecl a i ra i en t p a s de l eu r vra i e j our l es ca ra cté res et l es s i tua ti on s
’ ’
.
 E ugen i e an d her M oth er 33
whose wife under the later Empire persist
ently k ept aloof from the Court The Baron s ’
.

daughter however had married Count Napoleon

, ,

Camerata grandson o f E liza Bonaparte Princess

, ,

Bacciochi To Rothschild was attributed the

.

first introdu ction o f the Cou n tess o f Montij o

to the sa l o n of the President o r Prince Presi
,
-

“
dent as the former discredited exile
, the ,

miserable caricature of a party leader in the

B oulogn e days was begi n ni n g to be styled At
, .

his o w n receptio n s at the Elys ee then accordi n g

, ,

t o the best testimo n y which we have Prince ,

Louis Napoleon first came u n der the i n fluence

of the charms whose power ultimately co n quered
his o w n desire to co n solidate his position a n d
the earn est advice o f all his friends t o ally him
self with royal blood only But durin g the next
.

t w o years he might well have been thought t o o

busy with the affairs o f the Republic which he
was converti n g i n to a n Empire to devote much
time t o the affairs o f his heart ; besides which ,

he had still with him the companion whom he

had brought with him from London the Miss ,

H oward w h o had devoted her resources to the

’
furtheri n g of her lover s cause It was Eug enie
.

de Montij o herself according to M Filon who

, .
,

took the step which made the Prince President s -

’

regard for her grow to somethi n g more sub

st a n t i a l
. This wa s whe n i n her youthful en
,

t hu si a sm , sh e wrote t o him before the Coup

34 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
d Eta t of
December 1 8 5 1 putti n g all her
’

fortune at his disposition This in teresting .

letter has never been published and perhaps is ,

no longer in existen ce .

Before this however while Louis Napoleon

, ,

and his supporters were preparing the way fo r

the restoration o f the Empire which fell i n 1 8 1 5 ,

Eugenie and her mother resumed their European

travels returning to Paris fo r the wi nter seasons
, .

In the summer o f 1 8 5 1 they were in London ,

fo r L ord Malmesbury writes in his memoirs

Went t o Lady P a l m erst o n s party where I ’

sa w Narvaez and the Spanish beauty Mlle .

Montij o . Mlle Montij o very handsome

.
,

”
auburn hair beautiful ski n and figure
, More .
1

over i n the accounts of the State Ball at Buck

,

ingham Palace on the 1 3t h J une 1 8 5 1 the list ,

“
o f guests includes the Coun tess de Montego
( Duchess de Penaranda ) and Cou n tess de F eba ,

u nder which travesty the n ames o f mother an d

daughter may be recognised To the period .

1 8 48 5 1
-
the least definitely known i n their
,

history the critics of the elder Countess have

,

turn ed their attention i n order to represent her

,

as violently match maki n g o n behalf of her

-

daughter in various fashion able resorts pa rti cu ,

l a rl y at Biarritz and other Pyre n ean watering

places where mothers with marriageable girls
congregated at the proper seasons It i s the .

E try f 2 1 i : Ju 1 8 5 1
1
n or 5 ne .
 E u g en i e an d her M oth er 35
misfortune o f all daughters whose mothers con
duct the chase fo r a son i n law to be put in a n
- -

u n di gn i fied positi o n for no necessary fault o f

,

their o w n ; and Eugenie de Montij o did n o t

escape this fate She learn t the bitter lesson
.

afterwards both as Empress and in later years

, , ,

h o w the foes o f her husband and his dynasty

could set themselves t o hunt for material fo r
scandal in this chapter o f her life Unhappily .

the Countess de Montij o for all that she was to

,

M erimee and his biographer a brillian t combina

tion o f beauty wit a n d learni n g w a s not o f a
, , ,

character to disarm scandal The very amiable .

Countess Stephanie de Tascher de la Pagerie ,

w h o knew her as the E mpress s mother and t o

’

“
whom she was a good and excellent woman ,

w h o i n spired in me a real sympathy admitted ,

regarding her and women o f the South generally

that dou btless their theories are laxer than ours ,

though their love is from the heart and calcula

”
tion rarely e n ters into it Considering this
.

admission from a frien d we need n o t perhaps be

,

so much surprised that t o some the Countess of

Montij o althought she had a place in the fashion

,

able circles Of Madrid Paris and even London

, , ,
'
‘ ‘

should appear as the m ero rotn rz ere weighing up ,

suitors prospects and thinking less of honourable

’

intentio n s than o f titles o f honour It speaks .

’
well for her daughter s strength of character
that sh e did n o t reproduce too many o f the
3 6 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
traits o f the mother with whom sh e lived so
long .

The bold stroke however which according t o

, ,

’
M Filon s testimony turned Louis Napoleon s pas
.
’

sion seriously towards his destined bride was hers ,

’
and n o t her mother s It was a romantic specula
.

tion o n her part all the promptin gs toward which

,

it is not possible t o divin e The famous Coup .

d E ta t ca n not be said to have come without due

’ ’

preliminary warni n g The existen ce o f a party

.

o f full blow n Imperialists was evident as early as

-

the autumn of 1 8 5 0 when the Pri n ce President

,
-

was greeted with shouts o f Vi ve Z E mp ereur at ’

a review near Versailles The Montij os perhaps

.

had some slight intimation of what w a s comin g ,

and Eug enie need not have been witho ut hopes

o f a success when sh e wrote o f feri n g the schemer
all she had in even t of a failure The en thusiasm .

which sh e displayed however had its e ffect o n

, ,

him and while he awaited the time when he

,

should be Emperor in name as well a s in fact ,

the struggle in his mind must have been a

curious o n e Hitherto h i s official attitude if
.
,

we may so call it toward love may best be

,

shown by what he wrote t o Odilon Barrot with

regard to Miss Howard then living with her ,

sister i n a house taken for her by the President

in the Rue de Cirque whither he sometimes ,

invited his most i n timate friends like Fleury , ,

P ersi gn y M o cqu a rd and N e y to take tea with

, , ,
 E ug en i e an d h er M oth er 37
”1
him and Madame He n riette Si n ce up t o .

the present my position ha s prevented me from

getting married he wrote I may be forgiven , , ,

I h Op e fo r an affection which i n j ures n o o n e

,

”
and which I do not seek to parade And i n .

deed France had scarcely concerned herself

about the matter as y et A s virtual Emperor .
,

however Louis Napoleon knew that he would

,

be expected to marry ; and as Emperor by title

t o o he would be expected t o marry royal blood .

Those therefore w h o would put back the date

, ,

o f a defi n ite o f
fer from him to Eug enie de
M ontij o some distance from the usually accepted
period would make him act with singular
,

duplicity seeing that his negotiations for a royal

,

marriage were topics o f common conversation at

the time .

1
Dr T . W E va
s L oui s N ap ol o s A i c d t s t
. n ,
e n
’
m er an en i ,
in
h is M oi s w t s
“
em Thi s hou s
r whi c h M ad
ri e
“
e, in am e

H li v d to h f sy cc ss — g t
e ,
was h w ll im o ea a e a a e in t e a ,

en c lo si g h g d f h ! Ely s e ] p l c o p g h
n t e ar en o t e e a a e, en i n on t e

s t t c lo s to h hou s T h f f o h s t a t of
ree e t e e . ere, ree r m t e re r in
o fli l s u ou d g s
ci a rr h P i c P s d t lov d to t k a
n in ,
t e rn e- re i en e a e

cu p f o to s it du i g h whol v i g s i pp g c u p
t ea , or r n t e e e en n in a

of c off ee, s o ki g c ig tt hi s bl ck dog a g t

or m n a a re e, a ,
rea

f vou it with h s o t s hi s f t d s o t s
a r e im , m e im e at ee an m e im e on

h k is n e e.
 CHA P T E R III

FR OM P LA C E VE N D OME To T H E T U I LE RI E S

AT the b eginning o f the winter o f 1 8 5 2 the

C ountess o f Montij o and her daughter in a c co r ,

dance with their recent custom returned t o ,

Paris and took up their residence at No 1 2 .

,

Place Vend ome Owing t o their acquaintances

.

in b oth Bonapartist and Orleanist circles they

h ad an excellent footing in Parisian society and
alike entertained and were received widel y At .

the E lys ee receptions they were regular guests ,

and the attention paid by the Prince President '

-

t o the younger lady was soon noticed Still it .

was n o t until near the end o f the year that any

o f the spectators began t o thin k that it was a

serious drama which was being acted before their

’
eyes Louis Napoleon s adherents imagined that
.

he was merely amusing himself n o r did h i s ,

opponents suspect that he w a s likely t o co m

promise himself Neither party troubled t o be
.

charitable to the lady In November gossip

.

began to take a preciser form Fresh from his .

triumphant tour in Southern France o n his ,

return from which Paris had openl y greeted

him with arches inscrib ed with the titl e o f
41
4 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Napoleon I II the Prince President gathered
.
,
-

together a house party to spe n d four days with

-

him at the o l d Royal Palace o f Fontainebleau .

T h o se invited included his cousins Napoleon and

Mathil de Lord Cowley the British Ambassador
, , ,

some o f the most promin ent members o f the

Government and the Army and the Countess ,

o f Mo n tij o and her daughter At a hunt in the .

forest of Fontainebleau Eugenie was given an

opportunity o f displaying her admirable horse
manship This so impressed her host that on
.

the follo w ing day the eve of Saint Eugenie as

, ,

it happen ed he made her a present of her mount

, ,

together with a bouquet of flowers There was .

-

nothing necessarily i n this graceful action to

alarm Louis Napoleon s followers and when he
’

returned with his guests to Paris on Monday

everyone s atten tio n was turned in the direction
’

o f the plebiscite due at the end o f the week .

The skilful campaign which had been directed

by P ersi gn y in particular ended in a vote in
, ,

favour of the Empire o f more than seven

millio n s against a quarter o f a mil lio n The .

official an n ou n cement of the result was made

on the l st December a n d next day the first
, ,

anniversary of the Coup d E ta t Napoleon III ’ ’

, .

began t o reign over France H ardly was he .

seated o n the throne when M Tro pl o n g the .

,

Premier waited upon him and begged him in

, ,

the name o f the S enate to marry and secure ,

 P l ac e Ven d om e to t he T u il eri es 43
the dynasty The answer was n o t long in
.

comi n g but it was o f a nature undreamt o f by

,

anyone as yet .
1

Among the spectators privileged t o watch

from the wi n dows o f the Tuileries the new
E m peror s first review in Paris o n the 2 n d
’

December were E ugé n i e and her mother A .

sti ll more notable honour was paid to them b y

the invitation t o the first entertainment o f the
Imperial regi m e a house party at Compi egne ,
-
,

the scene o f the First Napoleon s marriage with ’

M a rie Louise Here again were many of those.

w h o had bee n visitors t o Fontai nebleau in the

previous month the t w o children o f Ki n g ,

Jerome the E nglish Ambassador and others

, , .

But the party was on a grander scale and at it ,

Eugenie sa w many o f those who formed her

future Court the leaders o f Bonapartist society
, .

There t o o was the Ambassador o f her n ative

, ,

land the Marquis of V a l dega m a s present to

, ,

witness his countr ywoman s triumph F o r of ’

.

that triumph there w a s no doubt In the series .

o f di n n ers da n ces hunting expeditions a n d étes

,
f , , ,

sh e was prominent always an d the Emperor ,

took n o pain s t o co n ceal his admiration At the .

hunt in Compi egn e forest o n the 2 ot h December

he was said with di fficulty to leave her side as ,

1
o th s a li i M
A few m n e r er, n a
y ,
wh h S t h d
en t e en a e a

d c li d to h d ov h C ow
e n e an er t e r n
je w l s i it s c u s tody u til
e n n

t h P i c P s id
e rn t s hould h a v
e- re en e m a rr e i d h w p o t d to
,
e a s re r e

hv
a kd J
e rem a r i p p
e 8 m e su s as ress é I
44 T he Las t Emp ress o f t he F ren c h
clothed in a close fitti n g habit with a diamond
-
,

clasped ostrich feather in her hat spurs o n her ,

high heels and a pearl handled whip in h er hand

,
-
,

sh e rode her thorough bred horse disdain i ng the -

’
ordinary ladies saddle He gave more public .

proof n o w o f his feelings The best known story .

is that told by M de Maupas Napoleon s Minister

.
,
’

o f Police and o n e o f the plotters o f the Cou

p
d E ta t o f the morn in g walk over the sti l l de w y
’

“
lawns o f Compi egn e when Mll e de Montij o , .
,

whose nature was full o f poetry took p leasure i n ,

admiring the capricious and magical effects o f

light She called particular attention t o a clover
.

leaf so gracefully hung with dewdrops as t o look

like a real gem When the wal k was over the
.

Emperor drew aside Count Bacciochi w h o set ,

o u t fo r Paris a few minutes later Next day he .

brought back a charming trinket in the exact

form o f a trefoil each o f whose leaves bore a
,

superb diamond drop In the evening a lottery

.

took place in which it was arranged that the

,

j ewel should fall t o her w h o had admired the

clover o n the lawns o f Comp i egne According .

t o another story while walking at her side the

, ,

E mperor asked her whether in her life she had

ever had a serious attachment I should de .

”
c ei ve y o u si re
, she is reported t o have answered
, ,

“
if I did n o t confess that my heart has been
touched—more than once even But I have , .

ne ver forgotten that I am Mll e de M o ntij o she .

,
 P l ac e V en dOm e to t he T u il eri es 45
added . Then m ademoiselle said Napoleon
, , ,

“ ”
o u shal l b e Empress She remarked that
y .

some o f his guests were inclined t o slight her ,

whereon he brok e o ff a branch from a hedge ,

twisted it into a crown and put it on her head

.
, ,

saying : While y o u wait fo r the other 1 ”

Whether this tale i s authentic o r n o t the ,

E mperor s infatuation was so evident that when

’

the house party returned t o Paris o n the 2 8 t h

-

Decemb er his half brother Morny ventured t o

-

”
r0 h esy : She will be Empress The visit to
p p .

Compi egne had been prolonged t o eleven days ,

a wee k beyond Napoleon s original intention so ’

much did it please him ; and all those whom he

had entertained were tal king o n their return o f , ,

the favour shown to the young Spaniard T he y .

’
could hardly anticipate however that M o rn y s , ,

prediction was t o be p roved correct immediately .

According t o the sta ndard version o f this

romantic history such was the case only three
,

days after the departure from Compi egne On .

the last night of 1 8 5 2 there was a reception at

the Tuileries There the account runs a French
.
, ,

lady of ran k made a sneering remark about

Mademoiselle de Montij o as sh e passed her in
the S alle des Mare chaux E ugé n i e who was’

.
,

o n the arm o f T o ul o n eo n one f Napoleon s ’

g o ,

military supporters caught the remark and, ,

deeply hurt went t o the E m p eror and desired

,

leave t o w ithdraw from a Court where she w a s

4 6 Th e Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
insulted Napoleon pacified her with the promise
.

that he would avenge her and o n New Year s ,

’

Day 1 8 5 3 sent to her mother a definite o ffer

fo r her han d This was accepted but fo r reasons
.
,

o f State the e n gageme n t w a s n o t yet made

public Such then is the form of the story usuall y
.

accepted It is n o t quite in accordance with

.

either the report curre n t i n January 1 8 5 3 or ,

the details which have since been revealed o f

Napoleon s m atrimo n ial negotiation s in Europe
’
.

Before g1 v1 n g the ascertainable facts we m ay

stop to consider the earlier ideas o f Napoleon I II .

with regard to marriage since they help t o ,

explain the situation which had n o w arisen .

As early as 1 8 3 4 two years after he had

,

become by the death o f the D uke o f Reichstadt

, ,

the recognised Bonapartist claimant t o the

French throne rumour suggested a marriage
,

betwe en Louis Napoleon Bonaparte and the

widowed Queen Maria of Portugal He hastened .

to disclaim this mistake i n a manifesto however ,

flatterin g might be t h e i dea o f an alliance with

‘

”
a young a n d virtuous queen and Maria wedded
instead his cousi n the Du k e o f Leuchtenberg ,

who died t w o mon ths after In 1 8 3 6 Louis .

Napoleon e n tertain ed the thought of marrying

his cousin Mathilde then only sixteen years o f
,

age ; nor w a s her father with whom sh e was,

living at Lausanne altogether hostile t o the

,

plan The families Were on good terms and

.
,
4 8 T he Las t Emp ress o f t he F ren c h
could command This was of the utmost service .

to him when he set foot i n France again Indeed .

he is commonly sta ted to have had no ready

mon ey i n 1 8 4 8 except what he had received from
his cousin Mathilde and from Miss Howard .

His enemies accused him o f designi n g to make

the latter Empress But his view about her is .

clearly enough shown i n the al ready quoted

letter to Odilon Barrot H e did not discard her .

entirely until he had actually received the title

1
of Emperor and then he made her Countess of ,

Beauregard with a chateau of that name n ear ,

Saint Cloud a n d repaid her abundan tly for the ,

fi n ancial aid which sh e had give n him His .

marriage nevertheless made an enemy o f her

, , .

She could have forgiven him a pri n cess was

her scornful comment To S how that sh e did .

not forgive his actual choice sh e took pains t o ,

appear i n public as much as sh e could where sh e

was likely to encou n ter the Emperor and
E mpress Her hostili ty contin ued until her
.

1 t t h d f A ugu s t 8 5 G o g H i s p iv t
A e en o 1 2 e r e a rr , r a e

s c t y to L o d M l sbu y who h d t h i
e re a r r i ss io a m e r ,
a s en m on a m n

to L oui N p ol o w ot of hi s di ffi c ulti s i obtai i g

s a e n ,
r e e n n n an

a udi c u ti l h c ll d
en e nM H ow d to di d d e
“
a e on rs ar , a e an

fl tt d h s t ti g th t I
a ere i
er, g t h y to g b ck
a n a w as n a rea urr et a

to L do d o ly w t d to
on n H H
an h P id t f
n an e s ee . . t e re s en or

two i ut wh o h d sp t c h d o d ly to N p ol o
m n e s, ere n s e e a e an r er a e n ,

who h s d y t i vit tio to hi to cc o p y

t e am e a s en an n a n m a m an

hi m s hooti g xp ditio
on a h o ow M H ow d
n e e n on t e m rr . rs ar

i s s till sp ok of h P s i d t s i t s i M l s bu y s
en as t e re en
’
m s re s n a m e r
’

en tyf h r orN ov bt e l st em er .
 P l ac e Ven dOm e to t he T u il eri es 49
death twelve years later an event which it is ,

perhaps hardl y surprising to hear did not cause

Napoleon III t o exhibit much grief
. .

As President onl y Louis Napoleon might ,

remain sin gle When his elevation to the

.

position of Emperor was clearly indicated hi s ,

marriage became not merely a matter o f public

interest but an a ffair of State S o his advisers .

and well wishers told him and he coul d not

-
,

disagree with their V iew The list o f eligible .

pri ncesses was an xiously consulted H e might .

have preferred still his cousin Mathilde the ,

devoted frie n d o f hi m and his cause ; but t o

such a marriage there were in superable obstacles .

Al though sh e was separated from her p ro fli gat e

’
husband whom the Tsar (her dead mother s
,

cousin ) had compelled to allow her francs

a year the Roman Church would gran t no
,

di vorce Moreover her father and her brother

.
,

were firm against an alli ance which would com

promise the rights o f successio n of the latter ,

heir to the Imperial throne in default of O ffsprm g

o f Louis Napoleon The idea therefore was
.
, ,

out of the question In the family circle there

.

was another princess who w a s co n sidered el igible ,

Ca rola Vasa gran ddaughter both o f Stephanie

,

Beauharnais the still livi n g dowager Grand

,

Duchess of Baden and of Gustavus I V de

, .
,

th roned King of Sweden It is said that it

’
w as Napoleo n s cousin the D uchess of Hamilton ,

D
50 Th e Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
fo rmerly Princess Mary o f Baden who first ,

recommended to him an alliance with her niece

Carola . But her father the exiled Prince ,

Gustavus Vasa had become an Austrian fiel d

,

marshal and memories o f Marie Antoinette

,

and Marie Louise made the Emperor Francis

Joseph unwill ing to see an Austrian Princess
going to Franc e Nevertheless negotiations .

proceeded for some time and the o l d Grand ,

Duchess seemed at first favourable to her grand

child s marriage with a Napoleon
’
Finally a
refusal was given on the grou n d that Pri n c ess
,

Carola was alread y promised to anoth er .

Napoleon s enemies S pread the fep o rt that the

’

girl had been unwilli n g t o marry her ki n sman ,

not liking his portrait She married in the .

,

year o f his wedding with Eugenie de Montij o ,

Prince Albert afterwards King o f Saxony The

, .

negotiations however did not come t o an end

, ,

much before the conclusi on o f 1 8 52 .

Other names in the meantime were suggested

, ,

in plenty German Russian Spanish English

, , , , ,

and others and French society eagerly discussed

the chan ces o f various unmarried princesses On .

their side the royal families o f E urope pa rt i cu

, ,

l a rl y o f Northern Europe remai n ed cool toward ,

proposals T he y sa w no certainty in Napoleon s

.
’

position before o r after he had received the full

,

title of E mperor and were l o t h t o e n trust any

,

o f their daugh t ers t o hi s care He could hardl y .

 P l ac e V en d om e to t he T u il eri es 5 1

have ex p ected t o find them otherwise than re

l u ct a n t He knew well enough himself the

.

dangers which surrounded him i n France and

could n o t suppose the rulers of E urope ignorant
o f them The humiliatio n which he co n sented
.

t o endure must excite sympathy It was bitter

.

indeed t o be put up for sale and find n o bidders .

His advisers endeavoured to lessen the bitter

ness by pointing o u t the inevitability o f the
initial di ffi culty in fi n ding a bride and urging
that a little time by strengtheni n g his position
, ,

would make him courted i n stead o f a fruitless

wooer Possibly little as he was wont to yield
.
,

to advice which did not harmonise with h i s

secret wishes he might have consented to per
,

sist in his overtures until he succeeded had n o t ,

the violence o f his passion for the choice o f his

heart carried him away and driven him to cease
’
the ungrateful begging fo r a princess s hand and
to risk all on romance He made o n e final e ffort
.

first about which thanks to the interesting

, ,

indiscretions o f the Greville a n d Malmesbury

memoirs we have mo re exact k n owledge than
,

about his other matrimo n ial attempts .

Among the princesses whose names had sug

gested themselves t o Napoleon o r his councillors
was Pri n cess Adelaide of Hohenlohe a niece ,

o f Queen Victoria with whom sh e was staying

,

in England i n 1 8 5 2 While the Emperor a p

.

ro a ched the father Prince Hohenlohe h i

p , s ,
52 T he Las t E mp res s of the F ren c h
Foreign Minister Morny wrote t o Lord M al m es
,

bury divulgi n g the scheme and explain i n g that ,

the great obj ect was t o tighten the bonds b e

tween E n glan d and Fra n ce requesti n g him t o ,

lay it before Queen Victoria The replies which .

this double approach elicited were n o t very satis

factory but they did n o t altogether preclude
,

the possibility o f the match Prince Hohenlohe .

stated that he would not dispose O f his daughter s ’

hand without h er co n sen t but that he would ,

leave the decisio n t o her Queen Victoria was .

annoyed at the reference o f the matter to her ,

a s it put her in a n awkward position w hether ,

sh e approved o r disapproved but apparently she

did not give the idea that sh e would oppose the
marriage Malmes bury says that on the 2 8t h
.

December w hen he a n d his colleagues went t o

,

give up their seals of office at Windsor there ,

was a talk about the proposal Prince Albert ,

reading a letter from Pri n ce Hohenlohe who ,

said that he was not sure o f the settlement bei n g

satisfactory and that there were religious a n d
moral obj ections The Queen and Pri n ce Albert
.

talked o f the marriage reason ably an d weighed

”
the pros and cons T he y were afraid o f Princess
.

Adelaide bei n g dazzled if sh e heard o f the o ffer ,

a n d the Queen spoke of the fate of previous

“ ’
French rulers wives but did not positively
,

”1
obj ect t o the marriage All seemed therefore
.
, ,

1 In h i s en ty
r fo r t h e l 6th Fbu y
e r ar 1 8 53 G vill say s
re e
 P l ac e V en dOm e to t he T uil eri es 53
to depend on the decision o f Princess Adelaide
herself .

While her answer was being awaited Wal ew ,

ski Fre n ch Ambassador i n London c rossed o v er

, ,

t o Paris H e arrived on the 3 l st December as

.
,

the evidence of co n temporary newspapers S hows .

Hardly had he arrived when he met Lord

Cowley (o n e of the guests at Fontai n ebleau
a n d Compi egne it wi l l be remembered ) who , ,

told him of the suspicions aroused in Paris that

Napoleo n was design in g to marry Mll e de .

Montij o Wal ew ski who had proved a popular

.
,

th at L o d C owl y b ck f o P a i s th p viou s d y i
r e ,
a r m r on e re a , n

l ti g to h i wh t h k w f h goti tio s f t h
re a n m a e ne o t e n e a n or e

P i c s Ad l id s h d s id th t h Qu
r n e s e a h d b h v d
e
’
an ,
a a t e een a e a e

v y w ll d h d b s t i d f o givi g y a dvi c
er e an a a a n e r m n an e o r ex

p ss i g y o pi io
re n an h s ubj c t C owl y h d d iv d
n n on t e e .
”
e a er e

hi s i fo tio f o W l k i t h F c h A b ssado
n rm a n r m a ew s , e ren m a r .

O n h 7th F b u y C owl y w
t e 1 t to Qu Vi c to i
e r ar e en see een r a,

an d two d a y s l t h g v G vill a th di ff t cc ou t
a er e a e re e ra er eren a n

of wh t h d h pp d t th d f D c b H sp ok
a a a en e a e en o e em er . e e

of h Qu t e s oy c t t h po s itio i whi c h h h d
e en
’
an n an e a e n n s e a

b p ut d s id th t h s ult th t h Qu
een an a t a
“
t e re w as a t e een se

h s lf g i st h
er e a t c h though th gi l l ft to h s l f
a n t e m a , e r , e er e ,

would h v cc p t d T hi s s c o d acc ou t G vill s y s

a e a e e . e n n re e a

w as h co t ct e as i t w giv by Cowl y ft h h a d
rre o n e, as en e a er e

s Qu Vi c to i T hi s do s s how how v th t
een een r a . e n ot , e er, a

Qu Vi c to i s ti t s w k ow i F a c t th
een r a
’
s en m en ere n n n r n e a e

en d f 85 o I t u s t b ot d th t G vill i h i t y
1 2 . m e n e a re e n s en r

for h 2 h M y
t e 85 1 c o d s oth c o v s tio wi th
t a 1 4 re r an er n er a n

Lo d C owl y i wh i c h h p s t s h i as i s i s ti g th a t
r e , n e re re e n m n n

N p ol o s
a eig n
’
fa t a l
m a rr a su H would h v e was a m ea re . e a e

do f b tt i f h c ould h v
n e ar e er i d h H oh loh gi l e a e m a rr e t e en e r ,

who dyi g to b E p ss d C owl y thi ks th t th

w as n e m re ,
an e n a e

Qu w as w o g to p v t th t c h
e en r n re en e m a .
54 The Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
representative o f France in London had recentl y ,

succeeded in persuadi n g the British Government

to take the i n itiative in recognisi n g the Emperor
as Napoleon III and he hoped t o complete his
.
,

work by the Emperor s marriage t o a princess’

w h o was conside red almost E n glish In great .

’
surprise and m o rti ficat i o n therefore at Cowley s
i n telligence he told him h o w matters stood
, .

The English Ambassador advised him to exert

hi s influence t o stop the demonstrations going
on between the Emperor and the Mlle de .

Montij o .
”
The next day Wa l ew ski met Cowley
again and told him that he h ad seen the
E mperor w h o shook him by both hands and
,

“
exclaimed M on Cher j e sui s p ri s , explainin g
that he was resolved t o marry Mlle de Montij o . .

Wal ew ski represen ted t o his master the position

“ ”
in which the other affair stood whereon ,

Napoleon con sented t o await Princess Adelaide s ’

answer an d t o marry her if S he accepted him ;

otherwise he wo uld carry o ut the resolve he had
j ust revealed On the followi n g day (the 2 n d
.

January if Greville s dates for the Wa l ew ski

,
’

Cowle y co n versations are exact ) the Princess s ’

a n swer came very civil but decli n i n g o n

account o f her youth and n o t feeling equal t o
,

such a position .

Such being the history o f the last o fNapoleon s ’

efforts t o obtai n a royal bride it is clear that , ,

in sp ite o f his M on Cher j e sui s p ri s ’ t o

“
, .
56 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
accepted adding that his mind was ful ly made
,

up and that it was a marriage o f affecti o n .

There was no public announcement until the

1 9 th when L a P a tri e made the following state
,

men t : It is reported that a happy event ,

calculated t o strengthen his Imperial Maj esty s ’

Government an d t o e n sure the future o f his

dynasty is shortly t o take place The E mperor
, .

is about t o marry Mlle de Montij o Countess.

,

o f Teba a n d the O fficial

, notification o f the
weddin g will be made to the Legislative Body
o n Saturday The Countess belongs t o o n e o f
.

the highest families o f Spain and is sister to the

Duchess of Alba She is endowed with great
.

intelligence and possessed o f remarkable beauty

and grace The other papers were requested
.

t o copy this paragraph without comment from

, ,

L a P a tri e ; while the o fli ci al M on i teu r o n the

2 0t h issued the brief notice that o n the 2 2 n d
the Emperor would deliver a communication
relative t o his marriage to the Senate Legisla ,

tive Body a n d Council of State assembled at

,

the Tuileries fo r that purpose .

N o t eve n n o w did everyone believe in the

engagement Du Casse aide de camp to the
.
— ,
-

E mperor s uncle Jerome going home from his

’

club o n the night o f the 2 l st was as k ed by ,

the ex King what was the topic of the day

-
.

Du Casse told him the marriage o f the Emperor

an d Mlle de Montij o whereon J e ro m e de
.
,
 P l ac e V en d om e to t he T uil eri es 57
'

it as a bétz se and forbade him t o spread

n o u n c ed
’

such absurd rumours Next morni n g at eight

.
,

o clock du Casse received an urgent message

’

from Jerome still i n bed w h o on his arrival

, , , ,

“
said to him : Well Louis i s to marry Mlle
, .

de Montij o . F leury Ney and To ul o n geo n

, ,

have done their utmost to prevent it Order .

my state carriage for eleven We must be at .

the Tuileries at twelve .

Thus after a study of the Hohenlohe n ego t i a

,

tions and of contemporary Paris eviden ce the ,

story o f a defin ite o ffer by N apoleon fo r E ugenie s ’

han d on the 1 st January seems to fall t o the

ground Whatever Napoleo n may have said at
.

the Tuileries reception o n the last day of 1 8 5 2

or writte n o n the morrow he still considered ,

himself free to marry Princess Adelaide if sh e

accepted him and it was n o t u n til the middl e
,

o f Janua ry that he bound himself irrevocably .

With regard to an earlier prOp o sal it was firmly ,

asserted from the earliest time though denied ,

by such thorough partisan s as the Countess

Stephanie de Tascher de la Pagerie for instance , ,

that Napoleon first made approaches t o the

Cou n tess of Montij o t o learn whether anything
short of the position of Empress such as the ,

euphemism called morganatic marriage would ,

satisfy her daughter According to the story

.
,

the Countess dismissed Fleury whom Napoleon ,

employed as his agent to her i n contemptuous ,

58 T he Las t E mp ress of th e F ren c h
silence while Eugenie wrote t o the Emperor
,

quoting the saying that C& sar s wife mu st be ’

above reproach The details of the story may

.

be merely intelligent invention but there is ,

nothing in o ur knowledge o f the Third Napo

’
leon s character which need make us disbelieve
that he first attempted to obtain what he wished
at less than the full price N o r is such an at .

tempt necessarily inconsistent with a n honour

able statement after he had made up his mind
,

t o pay the price o f the drawbacks t o the honour

,

which he was conferring That he made this .

1
statement is revealed in the Greville Memoirs ,

Grevill e learning it from Lord Clare n don w h o

“ ”
heard i n a rou n d about way the conte n ts o f a
-

letter from t he Countess o f Montij o t o a friend ,

the Marchioness o f San ta Cruz According t o .

this when Eugenie expressed to Napoleon her

,

sen se of the greatness o f the position t o which

he wished t o raise her he replied that i t was ,

only fair that he should set before her the whole

truth a n d let her know that if the position was ,

very high it was also perhaps very dan gerous

, .

Greville continues : He then represen ted t o

her in detail all the dan gers with which he was
environed his unpopularity with the higher
,
'

classes the m a l vez lla n ce o f the Great Powers

, ,

the possibility o f his bein g any day assassinated

at her side his popularity i n deed with the masses
, ,

E t y f 9th F ebru ary 1 853

1 n r or .
 P l ac e V en d om e to t he T u il eri e s 59
but the fleeting character o f their favour but ,

above all the existence o f a good deal o f dis

affection and hostility in the army the most ,

serious thing o f all If this latter danger he said

.
, ,

were to become more formidable he kn ew very ,

well h o w to avert it by a war ; and though his

earnest desire was t o maintain peace if n o other ,

means o f sel f preservatio n should remai n he

-
,

should not shrink from that which would at ,

once rally the whole army to o n e common feel

ing All this he told her with entire fran kn ess
.
,

and without concealing the perils o f his position ,

o r his sense of them and it is o n e o f the most

,

creditable traits I have ever heard o f him It .

was o f course calculated t o engage and attach

”
any woman o f high spirit an d generosity .

The facts of the case if they are as given

,

above present Napoleon in a more favourable

,

li ght than the accounts o f the would be eulogists -

o f his reign w h o in u p holding a definite offer o f

,

marriage o n o r b efore the l st January 1 8 5 3 ,

thereby involved their hero in the baseness o f

being willing t o break his word t o E ugenie de
Montij o fo r the sake o f a Princess Napoleon .

appears t o have acted like a man distraught

between reasons o f love and State Unable t o .

gain the love he desired without the gift o f a

crown and urged by his Ministers t o bestow
,

that crown elsewhere he delayed t o the last

,

moment an a bsolute decision In hi s very di ffi

.
60 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
cult positio n that was hardly reprehen sible As
, .

fo r the attitude o f the Countess o f Montij o and

her daughter assuredly neither had any reason
,

t o be ashamed of the part which sh e played .

Both were attacked however the Countess as

, ,

driving a hard bargain fo r her daughter wh i le

,

a gainst Eugenie was directed the celebrated gibe

o f a rival beauty I might have been E mpress ,

had I resisted .
TH E IMP ERIA L
M ARRIA G E
 Na p o l e o n an d E u gen i e.

o c ol u
Fr m o red l it h o gra p h b y Al o ph e , 1 8 55
.
 CHAP T E R IV

T H E I MP E RI AL M A RRI A GE

H A I NG
V made his decision Napoleon had t o ,

face the storm His family his ministers and

.
, ,

France itself were indignant at the idea of such

an alliance as he announced Jerome as we .
,

have seen refused to believe the story when it

,

w a s told to him Mathilde is said t o have gone

.

down o n her knees to her cousin t o beg him n o t

to compromise himself so Count Tascher de .

la Pagerie who was especially dear to Napoleon

,

III as having been to the last a faithful friend

.

o f Queen Hortense expressed h i s sorrow at h av

,

i n g been thought unworth y o f the Emperor s

’

confiden ce since he had not been warned before

,

hand o f what was comi n g When told that he

.

’
was to be put over the Empress s household ,

he wished to withdraw to Germany and was with

diffi culty persuaded to remain Some of the .

’
Emperor s ministers were equally outspoken .

Three threatened to resign at once while Per ,

signy who had the reputation o f bei n g more

,

Nap oleo n ist than Napoleon himself told him ,

fran kly that the labour of the 2 n d December

had been spent in vain if he were going t o end
63
64 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
li ke this On all sides he w a s besought n o t t o
.

give way before the prej udices o f Europe when

in a little time he could conquer them S ociety .

fo r the most part s n eered o r was horror st ri ck en -

,
l

the general public was amaz ed and there was ,

a fall o n the Bourse as soon as the n ews became

definitely kn ow n N o r did the Emperor make .

matters better by the remarkable speech i n which

he Officially announced his decision t o the a s
sembled Senate Legislative Body and Council , ,

o f Stat e in the throne room of the Tuileries -

on the 2 2 n d January Supported by ex King .

-

Jerome on his right hand a n d Pri n ce Napoleon

o n his left the Emperor stood in front of the
,

throne and read o ut an oration which bore the

stamp of its author s personali ty in every li n e ’

This union which I am contracting he said , ,

after a few opening words is not in accordance ,

Th w
1 ere how v s o t l s t who did t ltog th
ere , e er, m e a ea no a e er

di s pp ov
a A l tt f o t h M qui s d C t d to h
r e . e er r m e ar e e on a es er

f t h M h l C s t ll i s x t t i whi c h h s y
a er a rs a a e an e e an , n s e a s, o n

th e 6th J u y 8 53 th t othi g i s b i g t l k d f i
l an ar 1 ,
a n n e n a e o n

P i s xc p t
ar e e i g b tw th E p o d M ll d
a m a rr a e e e en e m er r a n e . e

M o tij on B tw ou s lv s h c o ti u s it ight
.
“
e e en r e e ,
”
s e n n e ,
“
m

w ll c o bout Th E p o h c o c iv d v y vi ol t
e m e a . e m er r as n e e a er en

p s io f h
a s n d s
or s to to b quit i
er a n st A s ee m m e e e n ea rn e .

for h h c t s w i th s v d dig ity P oliti c lly h

er, s e a re er e an n . a t e

i g pp s fi s t s ight to h v d wb cks but i f it

m a rr a e a ea r at r a e ra a ;
do s c o ff it i s o th p ob bl th t h E p o
e n ot m e o ,
m re an r a e a t e m er r

w ill y l l f h i p ug c to
n ot m a rr at i g so f a , or s re n an e m a rr a e ar

has b o ly w ll p ov d d c t i old E gli sh ti s

een n too e r e ,
an er a n n e ,

whi c h s till bi d h i d th t o f thos who lov h i

n m an a re e err r o e e m ,

m a y s t i h
re i ra n m .
”
 T he I mp eri a l M arri ag e 65

with the political traditions of o l d Therein lies .

its advantage By a succession o f revolutions

.

France has abruptly separated herself from the

rest o f Europe A wise government must
.

seek her return withi n the pale of the ancient

monarchies ; but this result will be much more
certainly attained by a frank a n d up right policy ,

by loyal conduct than by royal alliances which

, ,

create false security and often substitute family

interests for those o f the nation Moreover the .

example o f the past has left behind in the mi n ds

of the people superstitious feelings One .

woman alone seems to have brought good fortune

with her and to live longer than the rest in
popular memory and sh e the good and modest
, ,

wife o f General Bonaparte was not the issue o f

,

royal blood . When i n the face o f o l d

,

Europe a man is borne upward by the force o f

,

a new principle to the height o f the ancient

dynasties it is not by attributing antiquity t o
,

his escutcheon and by see king at all costs t o

introduce himself into the family o f kings that
he makes himself acceptable Rather it is by .

remembering always his origi n by preservi n g ,

his o w n character and by frankly taking up in

,

the face of Europe the positio n of a p a ro en u

a glorious title when one wins it by the free
su ffrages of a great nation .

As I w a s obliged to depart from the prece

dents followed up till now my marriage became
,

E
66 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
simply a private matter There remained only .

the choice o f the person She whom I have .

chosen is o f exalted birth French by education .

an d by the memory of the blood her father shed

in the cause of the Empire sh e h a s the a d ,

vantage as a Span iard of havi n g no fami ly i n

, ,

France to whom honours a n d dign ities must be

given Endowed with every quality of the mind
.
,

sh e will be an ornament to the throne an d i n ,

the hour o f danger o n e of its bravest defenders .

A devout Catholic S he will address her prayers

,

with mine t o Heaven for the welfare of France .

Gracious and good sh e will I firmly hope ex

, , ,

b ibit in the same position the virtues o f the

Empress Josephine .

So gentlemen I am here to say t o France

, ,

I have preferred a woman whom I love and

respect t o an unknown an allian ce with whom ,

might with its advantages have brought the

necessity for sacrifices Without disrespect to
.

anyone I yield to my inclinations

, Soon .
’

I shall go to Notre Dame t o present the Em

press t o the people and the Army Their con .

fiden ce in me will assure their sympathy for her

whom I have chosen a n d you gentlemen when
, , ,

you learn to know her will be convi n ced that

,

o n ce more I have been inspired by Provide n ce .

Though not devoid o f eloquen ce this speech ,

had at least t w o unfortu n ate poi n ts i n it It pro .

“
v o k ed sneers at the inclusion of the Empress
 The I mp eri a l M arri a g e 67

J o sephi n e s virtues in the dowry to the brid e

’
.

But worse still the allusion t o the p a rven u hurt

, ,

the pride of the nation who had put themselves

under the rule o f that p a roen u Rhetorically .

the boast was e ffective ; diplomatically it was a

grave error The strong point w a s the appeal
.

t o romantic love But even amo n g those o f his .

,

listeners w h o felt the romance there may well ,

have been many who agreed with a statesman

whose comment was : This marriage is a lovely
poem The Emperor rivals M de Musset ; and
. .

his reign I fear will be but the song o f a

, ,
‘

While the E mperor was announcing the name

o f her w hom he had determi n ed t o ma k e hi s wife ,

sh e w a s at home with her mother in the house

o n the Place Vend ome After the ceremony in .

the throne room at the Tuileries many of the

-
,

E mperor s hearers hasten ed to pay their respects

’

to the coming Empress Among them were .

Jerome Prince Napoleon and their aides de

, ,
-

camp D u Casse describes E ugé n i e whose

.
,

“
figure and shoulders a n d more than blond
hair excite his admiration as sitting o n a high ,
'

stool in the middle of the room in a n eg l zg ee

’ ’

1
Quot d by M P i d L o L S ec t d E pi
e . e rre e an , e re
’
un m re .

Th sp k e i s s id to b h s s t t s who o ffi c i lly
ea er a e t e am e a e m an a

c o v y d N pol o s p o p o s l to h P l c V d o F
n e e a e n
’
r a t e a e en m e . or

th efi st p t f h
r k co p L i
ar o tTh e rem a r , m a re a m a rt n e s
’
“
e

E p o h j u s t li s d th o s t b uti ful d a p o ssi bl

m er r as rea e e m ea re m e

to m an to i s th wo a h lov s abov all oth wo

,
ra e e m n e e e er m en .
68 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
morning toilette while her mother listened t o ,

the compliments which the o l d King s previous ’

i n dignation did n o t preve n t him from paying

with his well kn own courtly grace -
O n the .

same day mother a n d daughter moved from the

Place Vend ome t o rooms prepared fo r them at
the Elys ee Here for the eight days before the
.
,

weddin g at Notre Dame the Cou n tess of Teba , ,

as Eugenie was n o w officially called in France ,

spent the remainder o f her unmarried life She .

refused as Spanish etiquette demanded all i n

, ,

v i t a t i o n s includi n g one to the Tuileries Ball o n

,

the 2 2 n d itself when her absence was a great ,

disappointment to the curious Every day the .

E mperor paid her a visit and brought her a

bouquet and every day t o o crowds o f callers
,

arrived t o leave their cards o r write their nam es

’
in the visitors book The important task o f .

purchasing the trousseau was entrusted t o

Madame F o ul d wife o f the Minister o f State , ,

but o f course Eugenie and her mother must

have been consulted also S ociety w as stirred .

at the news that the p oi n te d A l en pon lace alone ’

w a s valued at francs Gossip represented .

1

1
li s t of h t ou ss u y b i t s ti g to s o
A t e r ea It
m a e n ere n m e .

i c lud d th i ty fou
n e d s s by M ad
r - r Vi g — th
res e am e n on z ree

m o i g p ig oi s d c o t d with M c hli d V l c i s
rn n e n r , e ra e e n an a en en n e

l c d li d with o s blu d whit s il k ; two b d

a e, a n n e r e, e, a n e ro es e

ch amb re, bl ck v lv t with s k y blu s il k f c i g s th

on e a e e - e a n , e

oth g d Ner ros ewi th a whi t s i l k l i i g ; a full d ss

a va rre, e n n re

of w t
ro s e d s il k w i th lo g b qu s o
a ere ,
t d with si l k
n as e , rn a m en e

an d l ac ed ; of g t aff t s wi th flow s o a t d
an on e re en e a ,
er ,
rn m en e
7 0 T he Las t Emp ress of th e F ren c h
layi n g more fully at y our feet an d to restrict
myself on an occasion which overwhelms me
,

with so much honour to a loyal tribute of my ,

emotio n s Elevated as I am by the design s o f

.

Divine Providence which I accept without know

,

i n g them all my i n cli n ations accord with m y

,

duties i n urgi n g me t o renew here the sincere

profession o f these sen timents o f respect ,

loyalty and love towards your august person

,

in which to my happiness I was brought up

, , .

I am sure Madame that Your Majesty well

, , ,

persuaded o f what I have j ust written will ,

deign to consider fortun at e the even t which

brings me to a throne I am above all con .

fiden t that Your Maj esty satisfied with my ,

perso n al se n timen ts will be convinced that in

,

the lofty and dangerous position which I am

to occupy I shall have n o thought but that o f
,

contributing to the u tmost extent o f my power

to draw still closer the ties which unite t w o
great nation s a n d two great sovereigns t o whose
service I shall perpetually devote myself i n love
and duty .

E U GEN I D E G U MA N C O U
E Z , N TE SS OF TE B A .

Th eQueen repli ed expressing her satisfaction ,

and saying Y o u can rely o n my en ti re conse n t

to a n u n ion so glorious for you a n d be assured ,

of the wishes which I make for your happiness

and that o f the E mperor des iring that both , ,
 T he I mp eri a l M a rri ag e 7 I
being guided by the Almighty s hand you may ’

lead a great n ation t o the highest point of

prosperity a n d well bei n g In the diffi cult and -
.

dan gerous path which y o u must hereafter tread ,

accept con fiden tly the guidance of the Supreme

Bei n g a n d the duty o f sac rificing everythi n g
,

for the Emperor and fo r France S uch are .

the sen timents of the Queen and the counsels of

your affectionate I S A B E LLA .

If Eugen ie while sensible o f the fortune

,

which had befallen her could regard it without ,

undue pride o r exultation neither was her mother ,

so lost in j oy at the exten t o f her success as

match maker as to ignore the possibility of
-

another side to the brillian t future which sh e

anticipated for her daughter She wrote to the .

Marquis of Roche Lambert o n e of her oldest ,

Fren ch friends : I do not know whether to be

happy or to weep Eugenie is to be Q u een over
.

your Fran ce an d I can but remember that your

,

Queen s have had little happi n ess In spite of .

myself I am possessed by the thought of Marie

,

Antoinette a n d I won der whether my C hild

,

may not suffer the same fate A very salutary .

reflectio n n o doubt i n the hour of triumph

, , .

In the interval before the wedding every effort

was made to i n fluen ce the Emperor s subj ects in ’

1
Th s c u iou s l tt s s y s B o I b t d S i t
e e r e er ,
a ar n m er e a n

Am and who giv s th

,
full w
e c o u i ca t d to h by
em in , e re m m n e im
th e D uk f M d s S p i h A b ss do a t h T uil i s
e o an a ,
an s m a a r t e er e .
7 2 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
favour o f h i s bride F o r the benefit o f the .

’
aristocracy the Heralds College in Paris di s
,

covered that the Countess o f Teba belonged t o

“
the H ouse of Guzman all the branches o f ,

which have played a distinguished part in history

among many others the Dukes o f Medina Las , ,

Torres Medi n a Sidonia and Olivares the Counts

,
-
, ,

o f Montij o Teba and Vill a Verde the Marquises

, , ,

o f Ardales Algara etc Gran dees o f Spain

, , .
, .

Adherents o f the late King learnt that the

Countess o f Teba was already using her influence
t o induce the E mperor t o restore t o the Orleans
family the proceeds o f the confiscated propert y
o f Louis Philippe Religious people heard o f .

her visit to the Convent o f the Sacred Heart ,

her old school and o f the warmth of her greet

,

ing t o the sisters F o r the populace there were

.

whispers o f an extensive amnesty suggested by

her to Napoleon and of a small reduction in the
,

Army while the M on i teur recorded h o w sh e

,

hastened t o bring help t o a workman w h o fell

from a scaffoldin g i n o n e o f the streets o f Paris
as sh e passed Of her benevole n ce a most
.

stri k ing proof was given only t w o days before

the marriage when at a session o f the Municipal
,

Council a letter from her was read by the Prefect

o f the Seine declining a gift o f a diamond p a ru re
,

which the City of Paris proposed to make t o

her and asking that the
, francs voted fo r
it should be devoted t o charity It pains me .
 T he I mp eri a l M arri age 73
to think that the first public act connected with
my name at the moment o f marriage should be
a heavy expen se t o the City o f Paris sh e wrote , .

“
Allow me therefore n o t t o accept your gift
, , ,

however flattering it be to me Y o u would .

make me happier by employi n g in charity the

su m o n which o u have fixed fo r the purchase
y
o f the j ewelry The Council was touched and
.

resolved t o devote the francs t o the

foundation o f a school beari n g the Empress ,

E ugenie s n ame at which sixty you n g girls o f

’

the poorest class should be trained and kept

until situations were found for them Public .

Opinion which seems to have condemned the

,

’
City s gift as excessive was conciliated by the ,

graceful refusal .

Nevert heless the struggle agai n st prej udice

,

was hard The fall in the Funds i n deed which

.
, ,

after the semi o ffici al a n nouncement o f the en

-

a em en t was so great as to cause serious alarm

g g ,

proved o n ly temporary But while the working .

,

class showed sign s of reconciliatio n to the idea

o f an Empress not of royal blood the upper ,

section o f society on which Napoleon s hold was

,
’

very precarious remai n ed for the most part u n

,

frien dly A busy campaign o f scandal agai n st

.

’
the Emperor s choice was carried on and anony ,

mous libels were so freely circulated that the

Prefect of Police foun d it necessary t o give
orders that anyone found spreading unfavourable
74 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
reports about the Cou n tess o f Teba S hould be
arrested with a view t o prosecutio n b efore the
public tribu n als It was known that a certain
.

section of Legitimists were not innocen t of com

p l i ci t
y i n this scandalous campaign but the ,

difficulty was to bri n g the guilt home t o them ,

si n ce it was possible for libels to be prin ted in

Belgium or Germany and smuggled across the
fro n tier even if the police could prevent the
,

prin ti n g of scurrilous matter in Paris itself ,

which was by n o means easy These u n derhand .

attacks continued after the wedding an d ulti

mately led t o a n umber o f arrests .

While the public were being strenuously

wooed to look with favour on their Empress ,

preparation s were bei n g made that the pomp o f

the marriage ceremo n y should impress them
thoroughly The civil act was performed o n
.

the even ing preceding the religious wedding and

in the semi privacy of the Tuileries At eight
-
.

P M
. . on Saturday the 2 9 t h January Eugenie
, ,

and her mother left their rooms i n the Elys ee

a n d preceded by a carriage co n tai n i n g the l a dies
,

i n waiti n g drove to the Tuileries in the company

-
,

o f the Duke of Cambac eres Master of Cere

,

mo n ies and the Spanish Ambassador Three

, .

’
stages in the bride s progress were marked by
her reception at the foot of the staircase by the
Grand Chamberlain the Duke o f Bassan o ; o n,

the threshold of the first saloon by her new ,

 T he I m p eri a l M a rri a g e 75
cousi n s Pri n ce Napoleon a n d his sister ; a n d in
,

the family saloon by the Emperor himself ex ,

King Jerome Princes Lucien an d Pierre Bona

,

parte a n d Lucien Murat Pri n cesses Bacciochi ,

a n d Murat the cardi n als a n d the chief civil

, , ,

military an d n aval officials of the Empire

, .

At nine o cloc k all assembled moved t o the

’

Salle des Maréchaux where F o u l d the Minister , ,

of State p ro n ou n ce d the words which u n ited

,

husband a n d wife and placed the register before

them to sign This was the famous family
.

registe r in which Napoleon I had i n scribed the .

events relati n g to the Bo n apartes from the ,

adoption as his son Of Eugen e Beauharn ais on

the 2 n d March 1 8 06 to the bi rth of his o n ly ,

legitimate child the King o f Rome on the 2 ot h

, ,

March 1 8 1 1 In the Act whic h they n o w

.

signed the husban d i s described simply as the

Emperor Napoleo n II I while Eugen ie appears .
,

“
as Her Excelle n cy Marie Eugen ie Guzman y -

Palafox Fern an dez de Co rdova Leyva y la ,

Cerda Comtesse de Teba de Ban os de Mora

, , , ,

de San ta Cruz de la Sierra Marquise de Moya

-
, ,

de A rda l l es de Ose ra Vicomtesse de la Calzada , ,

etc Gran dee of Spain of the First Class

.
, After .

Napoleo n a n d Eugenie the witn esses signed— o n ,

behalf of the Emperor the members of the ,

Imperial family the Cardi n als the Marshals of

, ,

Fra n ce and the P residents of the Sen ate the

, ,

Legislative Body an d the Council of State ; ,

7 6 T he Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
on behalf o f the bride her mother her uncle
, ,

Gen eral Alvarez de Toledo Count Calvez , ,

brother of the Duke o f Berwick and Alba the ,

Duke of Ossu n a the Marquis o f Bedmar and

, ,

the Spanish Ambassador The Imperial couple

.

the n retired while Eugen ie chan ged her white

,

satin gown fo r one o f rose colour covered with

lace and put o n a gold a n d diamond circlet ,

and soon rej oined the guests numbering over

,

five hundred n o w in the theatre room o f the

,
-

Tuileries Here was performed a cantata speci

.

ally composed by Auber for the occasion and at ,

half past eleven the assembly bro k e up the

-
,

Empress being conducted back t o the Tuileries

t o spend her last n i ght with her mother .

The preparations at the Cathedral o f Notre

Dame had been the wonder of a ll Paris fo r a
week past Not on ly had the interior been
.

transformed but gangs working day and night

,

had been e n gaged o n the outside a n d had con

structed a huge wooden building i n front o f the
Cathedral to give extra accommodation fo r spec
t a t o rs. The day opened brilliantly and from an,

early ho ur on Sunday processions were on foot

in the streets represen ting the various trades ,

with their ban n ers flyin g The sou n ds o f mili

.

’
tary bands began t o be heard about t en o clock ,

a n d infantry proceeded to line all the streets

through which the m arriage procession was t o
pass A little before twelve Eugenie started
.
,
7 8 The Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Tu i leries triumphal arch w a s passed so that a ,

halt w a s necessary to replace it It w a s pointed .

o ut that the same thi n g had happened to Napo

leon I and Marie L ouise

. Apparently the
.

Imperial weddin g coach was kept i n bad re

pair between such ceremo n ies .

The vast crowds were as hearty in their be

haviour as could be desired particularly i n the
,

newly co n structed Rue de Rivoli where shouts ,

of Vi ve l E m p ereu r / Vi ve l Im p era
’ ’
and
’

tri ce ! were conti n uous duri n g the passage o f

the procession .All public and many other
buildings were decorated with flowers ever ,

green s tricolours and green velvet hangings

, ,

with golden bees upon them When the .

Cathedral was at last reached the results of ,

the week s work were see n All the doorways

’
.
,

the prin cipal o f which was reserved for the

Imperial coach only had been embellished with
,

specially built porches in Gothic style hung ,

with shields bearing the i n itials L an d E .

a n d the gra n d portico had on its summit gigantic

equestrian statues of Charlemagne and Napoleon

I The towers a n d the whole exterior displayed
.

ban n ers and spread eagles an d the fa cade showed

,

draperies of the Bo n aparte green with golden bees

thereon It was withi n however that the work
.
, ,

of the Imperialist stage -managers reached its

highest point of success — and it must be remem
bered that the example set by the First Napoleon
 The I mp eri a l M a rri a ge 79
in the matter of scen ic display was difficult to
h ea t .The whole roof was hung with long
fringed streamers o f pink yellow red blue , , , ,

and green The gallery was swathed in crimson

.

velvet and gold cloth and the arms of France ,

and Spai n appeared o n shields between each

compartmen t Crimson velvet covered the
.

lower part of the pillars on both sides of the

nave while the upper parts were draped i n blue
,

cloth decorated with Imperial crowns the initials ,

L and
. a n d the arms of Bonaparte and

Montij o the latter with twenty five quarterings

,
-
.

Fifteen thousand can dles lighted the buildi n g ,

an d rows o f lustres hung in the aisles from end

to end The high altar had been moved for

.

the occasion to the centre o f the church in ,

fron t of the choir which was n o t occupied

,

(the orchestra of five hu n dred being placed by

the organ ) but was adorn ed with the arms and
colours of the eighty si x departments of France
-
.

Above the high altar was a canopy of crimson

velvet li n ed with ermi n e and suspended by
, ,

golden cords ; and facin g it were faldstools ,

bearing the Imperial arms in gold and two ,

arm chairs i n crimson velvet A double throne

- .

was set o n a raised platform in the middle o f

the nave carpeted with ermine and surmounted
,

with a second crimso n velvet canopy over which ,

was poised a colossal Imperial eagle .

It w a s about one O cloc k a n d the Cathedral ’

,
80 T he Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
was pac ked with the representatives o f every
part of France and o f all Europe when the
Emperor preceded by all the great officers o f
,

State appeared leading the E mpress by the

“

hand and followed by the Cou n tess o f Montij o

, ,

t h e Ladies o f Honour the Marshals and other

- -
,

chief dignitaries o f the Empire He was dressed .

in the uniform o f a General Officer with high ,

boots over the knees and wore the collar o f ,

the Legion of Honour which had been the First

Napoleon s and that of th e Golden Fleece which
’

was said t o have belonged to the E mperor

Charles V The Empress w h o was seen t o be
.
,

very pale and nervous was in white ep i ngl é

’

velvet with a long train On her head over

, .
,

a veil o f p oi n te d A l en pon lace sh e had a ’

diadem o f brilliants and about her throat a

pearl neckl ace The service lasted about an
.

hour Napoleon had desired that the Pope

.

should come to Paris t o celebrate the wedding ,

but was unable to o ffer him su fficient conces

sions to make him repeat the j ourney o f Pius
V II to Notre Dame In default the A rch
. .
,

bishop of Paris Mon seigneur S i bo ur performed , ,

the ceremon y Until the blessing of the p i eces

.

o f gold and the weddi n g ring Napoleon and ,

E ugenie remained o n their thron e i n the nave .

At this point they advanced t o the altar where ,

they knelt under a strip of silver brocade held

over their heads A fter he had given h i s bene .
 T he I mp eri a l M arri ag e 8 I
diction and presented the Holy Water the ,

Arch bishop began the Te D eum which the ,

choir took up He then conducted bride and

.

bridegroom to the western door of Notre Dame ,

and the procession resuming its order as before

, ,

rode bac k through the streets amid the cheers

o f the crowds the sounds of drums and trumpets
, ,

and salvoes of artillery while ab ove all was heard ,

the boura on o f the Cathedral which they had

’

j ust left When the gardens of the Tuileries

.

was reached there were found in waiting de

,

u t a ti o n s from all the city corporations of

p
France marshalled with their banners as well
, ,

as bands of young girls representing the vill ages

around Paris As soon as the Imperial carriage
.

drew up these children in their ardent en

,

t h u si a sm ran forward and began to fill it with

flowers S o fast indeed was the shower o f
.
, ,

bouquets that the escort fi n all y had to inter

vene to rescue the overwhelmed Emperor and
E mpress Their Maj esties were glad to escape
.

wi thin the Palace but made their reappearance

,

on the balcony o f the Pavillon de l H o rl oge ’

t o watch the deputations with their banners .

Later in the day they proceeded to Saint Cloud -

for the honeymoon attended only by their ,

immediate relatives a few intimate friends and , ,

the necessary officials .

N AP O LE O N III
 Na p o l e on lll .

o
Fr m Pa i ti
n n g by Wi tn e rh a lt er
.
 CHAP T E R V
N A PO LE O N I I I

No would dispute wrote M erim ee t o the

on e ,

Countess o f Montij o in March 1 8 5 4 that sh e ,

had married her children very well Truly a s a .

,

match maker sh e had good reasons for pride

-
, .

Her elder daughter when only eighteen years

,

ol d , wedded the best blood in Spain The .

you n ger if she was obliged to wait until S he

,

was twenty seven was the bride o f an Emperor

-
, ,

“
not of a mere Marquis o f Santa Cruz as ,

’
Beyle used j estingly in Eug enie s childhood t o
prophesy that sh e would be An E mperor .
,

even an Imperial p a rven u was a prize beyond ,

all hope a n d it is easy t o understand the

,

feeli n gs of the Spanish girl (o f whom M erim ee

tell s in a letter to Mlle D a cq ui n ) who when.
,

sh e heard how her countrywoman s residence

’

in Paris had ended in her marriage t o

“
Napoleon exclaimed In this country a girl
,

has no future !
Apart from the value of his rank in the
marriage market he was certainly a very re
,

markable m a n whose wife E ug enie de Montij o

’
had become History s final verdict upon
.

85
86 T he Las t Empress of the Fren c h
N apoleon II I has yet t be heard Perhaps
. o .

no final and satisfactor y verdict can ever be

given His public career c o mmenced in ridicule
.
,

continued amid suspicion and contemptuous

hostility emerged into brilliant triumph and
, ,

closed in utter humiliation F o r a long period .

after his death although he still had warm ,

eulogists amo n g the few remaining faithful to

him he was in general trampled on and even
,

spurned asi de as despicable There have been .

1

signs o f a reaction i n h i s favour but it looks as ,

if the memory o f hi s failure must always o u t

we i gh that o f his success Yet at this distance .
,

in time the success appears beyon d contest

,

more astoundi n g than the failure Probably .

neither the success n o r the failure could have

been his in a n y but a Lati n country possibly ,

not in any country except France The story .

o f N apoleon I II revealed the strength and .

weakness not only o f the man himself but also

o f his country He seemed t o know exactly .

how to take advan tage o f the pecu li arities o f the

nation t o which he belonged His boast t o his .

kinsman Count Tascher de la Pagerie that h e ,

“ ”
knew men is at least true to the extent o f
,

“
C av o ur s j udgment o n him that he was
’
un ,

hom m e ha bi l e gu i con n a i t son eu

p p l e et son

1 As l t as 9 a c iti c vi wi g a boo k h s ubj c t

a e 1 05 r , re e n on t e e

of h D uk f R i c h s t dt (N p ol o IL) was a bl to w it
t e e o e a a e n , e r e

N ap ol o I e nk o N p ol o III d s pi s
. we n w, a e n . we e e .
88 T he Las t Emp re ss of t he F ren c h
wealth o f illustration Perhaps it was his .

obstinate clinging t o his o w n opinions which

most o f all remained in the minds o f those w h o
watched him A fair sketch o f him in the days
.

o f his presidency written by de la G u ero n n i ere

, ,

edi tor o f L a P resse will serve t o indicate ho w

,

m uch this struck early observers

E very day he presides i n silence at his
Council o f Ministers He listens t o everything .

that is said speaks but little and ne ver yields

, , .

With a phrase brief and clear as an order o f

,

the day he decides the most disputed points

, .

That is the reason why Parliamentary Govern

ment is impossible with him A Parliamentar y .

Ministry would want to govern and he would ,

n ot con sent to abdicate D oes that i n .

flexible j udgment constitute an active will 7

No . Louis Napoleon Bonaparte is e n dow ed
with an incontestable power o f resistance a ,

oi s i n erti a e ; bu t what he lacks in the very ,

highest degree i s the power of initiative He

, .

believes t o o much that the Empire is t o be and ,

is apathetic He has freed himself from

.

everyone but has led no o n e after him He is

, .

at p resent the undisputed head o f the Govern

ment but he is not the head o f public opinion
, .

He has no doubt behind him the many rem i n i s

, ,

cences which hi s name arouses much enthusiasm ,

which his blood produces many sympathies ,

generate d by his character and many interests ,

 N ap ol eo n I II 89

reassured b y his rule B ut he has n o t under his

.

hand those great currents of O pinion which men

o f real stren gth create and direct which bear
,

along their fortunes with those o f their country .

Is this his fault ? I think it i s .

The Prince President himself wrote t o his

-

“
cousin Prince Napoleon in 1 8 4 9 : I receive
daily the most contradictor y counsel ; but I
follow on ly the dictates o f my reason and my
”
heart. This was how he j ustified his obstinacy .

He saw clearly what course appealed to his o w n

reason o r his o w n heart On the other hand
.
,

there were the widely divergent advices o f those

about him in whose abilities he did n o t trust
, .

Whereas hi s hostile critics saw in him a dislike

of men superior to himself in talent he a t tri ,

buted the isolation in which he stood in his rule

o f Fra n ce t o the fact that he could n o t fin d the

men whom he wanted t o put an end t o that

isolation In 1 8 55 he told Lord Cowley that it
.

was his great misfortune that there were n o men

o f capacity or character whose services he could

command n o r any men if he could command

,

them in whom the public would place co n fi

,

dence It is to be noted that Von Moltke i n a

.
,

letter written while he was in attendance o n the

Crown Prince of Prussia i n Paris in 1 8 56 re ,

“
marks h o w the French Emperor su ffers from
”
a want o f men o f ability t o support him The .

want continued t o the end o f his reign In .

9 0 T he Las t Emp ress of the Fren c h
another chapter we shall see w h o were the men
whom he succeeded in attracting t o his servi ce .

That there were far abler Frenchmen at the

time can not be den ied But that they could
.

have been i n duced to take service in his govern

me n t is hardly possible and to Napoleon II I
, .

that form o f government seemed the only kin d

which could succeed at first H e set up the .

“
Liberal E mpire at the end o f 1 8 69 when he
”

knew that he must expect death soon It w as .

in agreement with his ideals and he hoped that ,

its establishment might secure his son s rule ’

A Liberal Empire was not possible in the Fi fties ,

with memories o f the Kingdom a n d Republic so

recent It requ i red a greater man tha n Louis
.

Napoleon to accomplish the double task of re

tai n ing the support of the provinces his real ,

stren gth where every peasant had o n his walls

,

a picture o f the E mperor and Empress and of ,

conciliati n g the intell ectuals He told the Duke

.

of Newcastle w h o was with Prince Albert at

,

Boulogn e i n 1 8 5 4 that whereas preceding

, ,

governments had tried t o reign by the help o f

o n e m i llio n o f the educated class he claimed ,

to hold the other twen ty nine millio n s He did

-
.

not however go t o those twen ty n ine millions

, ,
-

for his assistan ts as to a great exten t his u n cle

,

had don e but continued to the end to make use

,

of the tools which had come to hi s hand at first .

At the beginnin g indeed those tools served

, ,
9 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
achievemen t is n o small o n e The mere fact .

o f historian s admitting that had he died sa y in , , ,

1 8 65 he must have been accounted a successful

,

ruler o fFrance suggests that an altogether hostile

verdict on account of the failures at the end o f
his reign must be unj ust What he did fo r .

Paris for France and for E urope in a dozen

, ,

years remained good in S pite o f the evils which

befell when he was slowly dying If he is t o .

be j udged it must be by the whole o f his career

, ,

not merely as the M a n o f Sedan And if he .

be thus j udged by his whole work there will ,

be found much t o be said for this dreamer who

did not know the difference between dreaming
” ”
and thinking this tortuous schemer w h o
, ,

took neither France n o r Europe into h i s co n

fiden c e but unaided at the start except by the
,

equivocal sound of a great name bent both t o ,

the acceptance of what he himself called the

dictates of his reason and o f his heart .

Whatever w a s his debt t o the power o f the

Bonaparte name Louis Napoleon certainly did
,

not o w e any o f his success to looks inherited

from the family I n deed it is difficult in his
.
,

face to make o ut any o f the Bo n aparte features

as we know them best i n portraits o f the Great
,

E mperor for i n stance o f Jerome an d hi s so n

, , ,

an d among the women o f Pauline and Mathilde

, , .

He w a s more of the Beauharnais type and H o r ,

tense though considered elegant and fascinating

, ,
 N ap ol eo n III 93
had a long nose and thick lips Louis Napoleon
.
,

by the way he wore the hair o n his face con ,

c ea l ed his mouth an d wisely ; for Joh n Forster

, ,

describi n g him a s he unexpectedly appeared ,

j ust after his escape from Ham at a small di n n er

,

party given by Lady Blessingto n at Gore House ,

“
writes : Before or since I have n ever seen his
face as it was then ; for he had shaved his
moustaches as part o f his disguise and his lower ,

and least pleasi n g features were completely ex

posed under the straggli n g stubble of hair b e
”
gin n ing again to S how itself The familiar
.

“
moustache and imperial concealed the defects
o f h i s lower face .But he su ffered from the
addition al disadvantages of a body t o o small for
his head and short legs so that his appearance
,

was often described as m esqu i n an d his figure

looked far less well o n foot than o n horseback .

His chief charms were his eyes and hi s smile .

The eyes were of a faded blue ; under droop

ing lids they had a n almost exti n guished look to
, ,

use the words of Von Moltke Napoleon s cousin

.
’

and unwaveri n g admirer Cou n tess Stephan ie de

,

Tascher de la Pagerie speaks of the eyes in

, ,

“
early days at A ren en berg being , ge n erally
”
veiled as if they looked inward but adds that
, ,

they must have been eloquen t i n the language

”
o f love . His sleeping smile was celebrated by
many writers and was said t o be irresistible
t o women .It compensated fo r the less winni n g
94 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
manner of Napoleon the S ilent as his Court ,

nicknamed him (the down in his

mother s more tender phrase ) w h o repelled
’

strangers by the cold mask which they could

n o t pie rce ; and when he chose to drop that
,

mask a n d become animated he could inspire en ,

t h u si a sm and affection in men as well as women

—a n d even fear in statesmen a s is mentioned ,

above Why did he who could so charm and

.
,

was universally admitted t o be benevolent and

kind hearted risk the charge of moroseness so
-
,

often ? Perhaps this was partly the effect o f

early failures o n a sen sitive disposition But .

also he was n oted for his uncommunicative ways

in childhood When a mere boy he was usually
.

silen t gen tle an d timid though subj ect to occa

, , ,

si o n al violent fits o f temper according to the ,

testimony of his foster S ister She knew for sh e -

.
,

experienced the e ffects o f that temper herself .

Laughi n g at him o n e day because he at the ,

age o f ten was inspired by conversation o n his

,

uncle Napoleon to boast what he would do when

he was a m an she suddenly found her w rist
,

seized with the exclamation If you do n o t take

,

”
that back Horte n se I ll break your arm !
, We
,
’

never hear o f any display o f this passion in hi s

“ ”
later life and it may be that hi s mask was
,

the outward sign o f the constant control which

he kept over himself .

Having many qualities which mi ght conduce

9 6 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
enemies put all the scandals quick enough t o
,

grow without in the forcing house of their

,
-

imaginations But it cannot be den ied that her

.

husband s u n faithfulness was a bitter element in

’

the life o f the E mpress

.
T H E O R GA NIS ATI O N
A C OU R T
IO O T he Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
crowd everywhere Nevertheless in spite o f
.
,

the magn ificence of the wedding ceremony and

the endeavours made to fix its occasion in the
people s minds as by the broadcast distribution
’

o f commemorative medals stamped with the

heads o f Napoleon and Eugen ie and more , ,

notably still by the pardon o f over four thou

,

sand o f those condemned to imprisonment at

the time o f the Coup d E ta t ; i n spite of the
’

announcement in the M on i teur that of the su m

of francs in the pocket book included -

’
in the Emperor s wedding present t o his bride
sh e had given to maternity societies
and the remainder for the foundation o f new
beds in the Hospital fo r Incurables ; in spite o f
all such bids for popularity it was impossible ,

t o conceal the signs o f dissatisfaction in various

classes o f society Rumours were rife in early
.

Febru ary of great ministerial changes It was .

said that only F o ul d and two of his colleagues

were willi ng t o remain in office Saint Arnaud .
-

actually retired from the Ministry o f War very

soon after the wedding Dro uy n de Lhuys was
.

only prevented from resignin g even before ,

’
Saint Arn aud by Eug enie s personal tact He
-
, .

had already sent in his resignation but being ,

obliged t o pay an O fficial call o n the Empress

elect he was met by her with an expression o f
,

thanks for having given sincere advice to his

”
master “
T he Emperor has betrayed me he
.
,
 T he O rgan i sa tio n o f a C o u rt IO I

exclaimed N O n o t betrayed you

. replied
, ,

“
Eugen ie he told me the opinion o f a faithful
,

servant which was the same as my o w n advice

,

to him I too told him to co n sult the interests

.

”
o f his throne After this D ro uy n de Lhuys
.

(w h o was generally recko n ed an able man and ,

in spite of great wealth reputed to be honest ) ,

withdrew his resign atio n ; and finally the War

Mi n ister was the o n ly o n e to go .

The circulation o f libels which had disgraced ,

the period between the engagement and the

marriage continued after Eug en ie had become
,

Empress Ano n ymous verses lampooning her

.

were seized i n Paris a n d the police were busy ,

seeki n g the authors A few obscure Belgians .

and German s were arrested fo r circulati n g such

attacks an d what w a s more se rious a n umber
, , ,

of French Legitimists some highly placed were , ,

implicated Eug enie bei n g th e usurper s wife

.
,
’

was fair game for the u n scrupulous amo n g the

Royalist party Chival ry did n o t protect her
.
,

perhaps less than ever S i n ce sh e had been well

known in Legitimist a n d Orlean ist ci rcles before
her e n gageme n t and w a s as Napoleon j esti n gly ,

asserted an O rlean ist at heart The chivalry

, .

at this time was shown chiefly i n the humbler

ranks o f society who readily adopted Napoleon s
,
’

views con cerning the Queen o f Beauty whom

he h a d w o n Eug enie was indeed well fitted
.

to sustain that title One of the most flatter .

1 02 T he Las t E mp res s of t he F ren c h
ing descriptions of her appearan ce is that given
by the Cou n tess St ephanie de Tascher de la
Pagerie who now sa w her for the first time
, .

” “
The Empress Eugenie sh e writes , is o f ,

medium height a n d no o n e can deny the

,

delicate and distinguished harmon y of her pro

portions They might serve as a model t o a
.

sculptor for Hebe or Psyche so true a n d fine ,

are the lines The lengthened oval of the face

.

seemed t o me a little marred by the fulness of

the cheeks in the lower half but the regularity ,

o f outline lost nothing thereby and the p r ofile ,

was like a cameo The forehead was high and

.

delicately arched The skin was so transparent

.

that o n e could follow the blue lines o f the veins

i n the temples .The almond shaped eyes were -

divine i n the mobility of their expression but ,

were more often lan guorous very seldom livel y , .

’
The n ose was classic a s a statue s and a mouth ,

o f charming proportions finished of f a lovely

face .

Tributes t o the Empress s looks are so plentiful

’

in memoirs and other writi n gs Of the time that

it would be tedious to collect them Mention .

should be made however of that celebrated

, ,

re veren ce ci rcu l a i re in which sh e w a s supposed

to S how o ff to the best advantage the graceful

ness of her carriage The act has been thus
.

described She placed her feet firmly and then

stood bending the upper part of her b ody back
1 04 T he Las t Emp ress of t he Fren c h
her own name alone but o n Thursdays during
,

the first year at the Tuileries she and the

Emperor received visitors i n the evening an d ,

balls were give n ordinary and fancy dress varied

,
-
,

in Lent by concerts fo r which the best pro

,

fessi o n a l singers were engaged .

Nevertheless it appears from numerous sources

,

that dul n ess w a s the prevailing feature o f the

early days at the Tuileries of the new Empress ,

a n d that Court etiquette which Napoleon I I I

, .

was anxious to model as much as possible upon

that o f the First Empire weighed heavily upon
,

her The chief trouble was that S he could

.

hardly be permitted t o make any friends She .

must n o t visit even the Ta sch ers t o o frequently ,

although they lived in the same bu i lding and

were relatives by marriage N o r might she S how
.

preferences among the six ladies who waited o n

her in rotation two at a time throughout the
, ,

year The j ealous eyes o f women watchi n g her

.

a n d the an xiety o f Napoleo n t o mai n tain a pomp

that was almost theatrical t o give dignity t o his

,

Empire combined to bind down wearisomely

,

one accustomed in girlhood to free movement

and u n restrained acquaintances There is little
.

wo n der that sh e showed so much attachment t o

the one Spaniard whom sh e had in her house
hold h er waiting woman Pepa whom her
, ,

en emies magn ified later into a domestic tyrant

’
and all but a ruler o f her mistress s actions .
 T he O rgan i sa tio n of a C ou rt 1 05

Pepa had been with her in Spain when both ,

were girls and had an almost ferocious regard

,

fo r Eug en ie In her capacity as guardian o f the

.

Emp ress s wardrobe sh e was most j ealous an d

’

was reported t o put the Imperial slippers in her

pocket every morn i n g in order that no o n e else
should touch them but herself A little pale .
, ,

irritable woman starting at every noise o r move

,

ment she always thought herself t o be dying

,

but lived beyond the end of the Empire and

managed though credited with small i n t el l i
,

gen ce to save about a million francs by

,

commissio n s from tradesmen t o the Imperial

household etc E ugenie entrusted her with her
, .

purse and found her a husban d in an infantry

officer named Pollet As Pepa had a high idea
.

of her own importance an d rumour made her

influential i n her mistress s counsels sh e was
’

n aturall y disliked by the French members o f the

household ; but it does n o t appear very blame

worthy that the Empress S hould have clung to
the o n e li n k with her native land that sh e was
permitted to keep the o n e person about her
,

who was n o t hedged about with etiquette .

Con cern i n g the sti ff formality o f the Court

several memoir writers give their testimony
-
.

The eviden ce of Lord Malmesbury is interesting .

A s an Ol d frie n d of Louis Napoleon whom he ,

had k n own i n Rome i n 1 8 2 9 had O ften met in,

Londo n and had visited at Ham he dined with

, ,
1 06 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
the Emperor a n d Emp ress at the Tuileries near
the en d o f Ma rch 1 8 5 3 sitti n g next to the
,

“
E mpress whom he fou n d still (at twen ty
,

“
seven ! ) very handsome with a beautiful bust
,

a n d S houlders and small hands and feet After .

di n n er he complains of the etiquette which

obliged all the ge n tlemen t o remain standing
for t w o hours together Malmesbury however
.
, ,

had less reason t o be bored than the rest since ,

both Emperor and Empress talked to him freel y ,

Napoleon aski n g him among other things what

he thought of his choice of a wife and Eugen ie ,

question i n g him concerni n g her husband s health ’

.

A n amusing i n ciden t occu rred for the Emperor

,

and Empress havi n g the custom when they did

, ,

not desire the whole table to understa n d them ,

o f addressing one an other in English (which

both spoke well ) did so on the present occasion
, ,

forgetting that o n e of their guests was English .

“ ”
They laughed heartily at the mistake when
they discovered it .

To relieve the mon otony o f life E ugé n i e at

le n gth devised her Mo n day even i n g entertain
men ts . Usually after di n n er at the Tuile ries ,

except o n State occasions all that followed was

,

a move to the Salon d A p o l l o n where the

’

Emperor stan din g like all the men present

, ,

“ ”
either smoked a cigarette in benevolen t silen ce ,

as it has been described or else over the cigarettes

, ,

o f which he was a great consumer talked in a ,

1 08 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
Those asked them included the personal a c
to
u a i n t a n c es of Empe ror a n d E mpress an d the
q ,

i n vitation list ran to about five hu n dred names

in all A s the guests arrived the Empress
.
,

received them in a tapestry hun g room leading -

to the Salo n du P remie r Consul A small dance .

was i n the early years the conclusion o f the

entertai n men t later charades or ta bl ea u x vi va n ts
were frequent under the supervision O f M erimee
,

o r V i o l l et l e Duc
- -
Games were played at times
.

fo r the amuseme n t o f those prese n t a n d it is ,

this featu re which was so unfairly attacked by

en emies of Napoleon an d Eugen ie A n American .

lady Miss A L Bickn ell who was for nine years

, . .
,

govern ess to the family o f Tascher de la Pagerie

at the Tuileries says very truly : The Emperor
,

a n d Empress were exceedingly hospitable a n d

kind hosts anxious t o amuse their guests ; but

, ,

for this purpose u n fortunately rompi n g games

, ,

were often chosen which though certain ly n u , ,

di gn i fied and i ll suited to those beyo n d school

years had not however the character attributed
, , ,

to them by public report nor the licentious free

”
dom believed i n by the Faubourg S ai n t Germai n -
.

”
The belief o f the Faubourg S ai n t Germain in -

its o w n tales may pe rhaps be question ed ; it

could not well make a crime o ut of hide a n d -

seek blind man s bu ff a n d hunt the slipper and

,
-
’

,
- -
,

therefore inve n ted less i n nocent follies t o rep re

sent as the pastimes o f the Imperial guests .
 T he O rg a n i sa tio n of a C ou rt 1 0
9
The suppers t o o which sometimes took place at
, ,

the Tuileries at the close o f a n en tertainment

were made out to be midnight orgies In reality.
,

chocolate boiled by Pepa and a few cakes con

stituted the extent o f the iniquity In the
.

whole library o f abuse o f the Imperial regi m e

it would be impossible to find a more ridiculous
chapter than that relati n g to the Empress s ’

l u n di s Eug en ie s own apology is simple enough

’
. .

D o they find fault with our gayeties at the

” “
Tuileries ? sh e asked . I must find some
diversion for the poor Emperor who is worried
,

all day long with politics and give him the

,

”
chance of seeing some pretty women Puerility
.

w a s as hard a name as could be given to the

en tertainment at its worst No doubt there

.

was more room for attack on the characters

of some of those invited They were i n deed
.

similar characters t o those which do not debar

people from other society gatherings and other
Courts .

The selection o f those who were to be admitted

t o the i n timacy of the Palace naturally fell rather
t o the Emperor than to his foreign bride esp ec i ,

ally i n the early days of their married life Now .

Napoleon II I w a s confronted by o n e of the

.

greatest difficulties o f his reign when he came

to organi se Court life Here the circumstance
.
,

of which he so o ft en complained especially to

E nglish visitors with whom he was o n terms o f
1 1 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
friendship that he had n o aristocracy was his
, ,

chief trouble The old aristocracy of France

.

stood aloof from his Court n o t merely i n di ffer

,

ent but for the most part bitterly hostile and

,

cen sorious His marriage had made matters

.

worse i n this respect While he was still only

.

President o f the Republic his in vitatio n s t o the

,

Elys ee reception s might be accepted But when .

the Empire was proclaimed and a n Empress

i n stalled the Royalists banned him completely
, .

Although he could dispense with their assistance

in government and did not indeed a sk for it he ,

could not so easily do without their decorative

presence at Court to honour his wife He was .

compelled to recruit that Court from the few

o f the o l d peerage whom sheer poverty and

hopes o f profit induced t o desert Legitimism ;

from the bou rg eoi si e ; from the capitalists with
whom M o rn y s commercial enterprises brought
’

him i n contact ; and from the crowd of foreigners

“
in Paris The number of exotics at her Court
.
,

especially a few years later was made a ground ,

o f pers o n al attack agai n st the Empress E ug e nie .

This was scarcely fair for S he desired at once t o

,

second h er husban d s aims to counteract the

’

dulness which was always threatening to settle

down o n the Tuileries an d t o prove to the
,

sneerers that sh e was n o t so u n fit t ed to play the

Imperial hostess a s they alleged In the end .
,

struggling to avoid i n si gn i fica n ce and dulness the ,

1 1 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
able in the Princess Mathilde Their forget .

“
fulness of all co n ven a n ces he says is quite , ,

incredible and in more than one instance ex

,

cited the disgust Of the Empress as well as o f her

guests It is to be observed that at n o time
.

did trustworthy observers writing about the ,

Court implicate the Empress in any way i n

,

the freedom of conduct and talk which provoked

censure It was her exceeding good n ature
.
-
,

which stands o u t in all accounts S how ing any

real acquaintance with the scenes which they
profess t o describe and an a bsence of h a ught i ,

ness which prevented her from interfering to

chec k as it would have been better fo r her own
,

sake to do the liberty which those about her

,

abused In her anxiety to combine the characters

.

o f a good hostess and a popular sovereign sh e ,

erred no doubt on the side o f over indulgence -

toward the faults o f her circle She shared t o o .

, ,

t o some extent the views about the freedom to

be allowed to married Women as Opposed to ,

unmarried girls o f which her mother w a s a ,

1
promi n en t illustratio n So while sh e impressed .
,

people with the perfection of her man ner as h o s

tess and with her grace an d charm as Empress S he ,

had not the strength to make others observe the

rules ofconduct which sh e did not herselftransgress .

1
B ut P i g y told M l s bu y th at h E p ss
ers n a m e r t e m re ob

j ec t e d to vulg p s o s d p v t d cc ss to
“
ar er n an re en e a e th e
E m p o (M o s h A p il
er r em ir ,
“

1 3t r
 T he O rga n i sa tio n of a C ou rt 1 1
3
Apart from this good nature which she carried
-

t o an excess the E mpress early gained a reputa

,

tion for directness impulsiveness and a quic k

, ,

temper coupled with a tenacity o f purpose

,

which almost equalled that o f her husban d but

was less diplomatically veiled The consequence
.

was that some were i n clined to forget the general

amiability which sh e showed t o them because
o f the occasional whims i n which her persistence

put them to inconvenience and that she never

,

inspired quite the affectionate regard which is so

striking a feature in the attitude of B onapartists
who knew Napoleon II I intimately It i s true
. .

that the Countess St ephanie de Tascher and

Madame Carette author o f three boo k s on the
,

Tuileries under the S econd Empire are unstinted ,

i n their admiration of the Empress Eug enie ;

but many other Imperialists are ungallantly
ready to abando n her t o the wolves of Royalism
or Republicanism if they can thereby save
,

Napoleon himself .
 i
Pr n ce Na p o l e o n .
1 1 8 T he Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
him o n the morning of the Coup d E ta t when ’ ‘
,

he divined that it would succeed and in spite o f

,

the blow which the Spanish marriage had dealt

t o his family pride was content to draw his
,

salary of francs as Governor o f the

I n vali des and his pay as G eneral He was n o w
.

too o l d and too insignificant to be dangerous .

H i s remaining years he devoted mainly t o the

cultivatio n o f his last love affair and t o the
superintende n ce o f his memoirs .

If Jerome was harmless h i s son Napoleon

,

Jerome usually k n own in history as Prince

,

Napoleon was distinctly dangerous to his cousin

, .

This most prodigiously intelligent and most

prodigiously vicious man that eve r lived a s his ,

father s aide de camp Baron du Casse calls him

’
- -
,

w a s indirectly o n e of the E mperor s greatest

’

enemies inasmuch as he was the most unpopular

,

member o f the Imperial family and by his vile

private life an d Red Republican views gave an
easy handle t o opponen ts o f the Empire Louis .

Napoleon w h o was fourteen years his senior

, ,

never forgot the days at A ren en berg when he

had helped Mathilde s brother i n his mathematics
’

and con tinued always to demonstrate affection

toward an unrespon sive obj ect Once indeed he
.

was recorded to have lost patience with him

entirely at the first interview after Prince
,

Napoleon s speech i n 1 8 61 which roused the

’

anger or derision o f all parties in France and

The I mp eri a l Fam ily an d Oth ers 1 1 9
provoked the crushing answer o f the Duke of
Aumale On that occasion the E mperor raised
.

his voice so loud in anger as t o be heard in

adj oin i n g rooms Such an e ffect had this on
.

Prince Napoleon that he hastened back to his

home in the Palais Royal and smashed a n ex
pen sive S evres vase H e might it is true claim .
, ,

good Napoleonic precedent for smashin g orna

ments ; but Napoleon I had done so t o exhort .

a treaty from unwi l ling diplomatists n o t merely ,

t o relieve his temper .

In 1 8 5 3 however the relations between the

, ,

cousin s were very friendly The Prince o f the .

Mou n tain — so the most revolutionary o f the

Bon apartes was n ickn amed at this time — had
forgotten his own strenuous oppositio n t o the
Coup d E ta t in his pleasure at being decreed an
’

I mperial Highness like his father a n d his sister

, ,

i n December 1 8 52 O n New Year s Day it was

’
.

known that he had a private conversation o f

over half a n hour s duration with the Emperor
- -
’

in the cou rse o f which the latter took o ff his

own ribbon of the Gran d Cross of the Legion
of Honour and put it on the Prince It is .

allowable to suppose that the Emperor thu s

prepared the way fo r the announcement o f his
engagement which must be a severe blow t o
,

o n e who was at present but o n e step from the

thro n e Prince Napoleon s amiability did n o t

.
’

last long There is a serious under statement o f

.
-
1 2 0 T he Las t Emp ress of th e F ren c h
the case when Baron Imbert de Saint Amand -
,

for instance makes the di fference b etween the

,

cousins amou n t merely t o a political o n e between

the Right an d Left parties at Court Prince ,

Napoleon leading the Left and the Emperor

himself the Right It is true that the t w o had
.

convictions in common such as a firm belief in

,

the principle o f n ationalities and a union o f the

cult o f Napoleon I with respect fo r democracy
. .

But i n personal matters if Napoleon felt like

, ,

an elder brother t o Prince Napoleon as the ,

Baron says the latter scarcely made a brotherly

,

return As for the relations between the E m

.

press Eugenie and Prince Napoleon it was n o t ,

long before their hostility was barely concealed .

The lapse of time made matters worse After .

his omission to challenge the Duke of Aumale

in 1 8 61 E ugé n Ie turned her back o n him the
,

first time they met She could n o t understand

.

the code o f honour which was content with an

epigram in place o f an appeal t o sword o r pistol ,

and therein sh e shared the views of Society and

the Army Prin ce Napoleon anticipated many
.

o f the ideas o f modern France n o t only as re ,

gards an ti militarism but also in his hostility t o

-

the clericals and his desire to see as he said , ,

popular education without limits free from the ,

control o f the religious congregations who would

impose on us the bigotry o f the Middle Ages .

It was im p ossi ble t o disregard his views fo r the ,

1 2 2 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
Pauline la bell e ales bel l es The following is
, .

Sainte B eu ve s description of her publi shed after

-
’

his death
The Princess has a lofty noble forehead and , ,

and her light golden hair leaving u n covered o n ,

either side her broad pure temples i s bound in ,

wavy masses on the full fin el y shaped neck ,

-
.

Her eyes which are well set are expressive

, ,

rather than large ; they gleam under the i n fl u

ence o f the thought of the moment and are not
o f the kind which can feign or conceal The .

whole face displays nobility and dignity and , ,

as soon as it lights up grace united t o power

, ,

fran k n ess an d goodness ; at times too it ex

, , ,

presses fire a n d passion The head so well.

,

poised and carried with such dign ity rises up ,

from a dazzli n g and magnificent bust and is

j oined t o shoulders o f statuesque smooth n ess
a n d perfection .

A certain heaviness which her portraits betray

is hardly surprising seeing that her mother
,

i n herited stoutness from her father Frederick o f ,

Wi i rt em berg physicall y at least the greatest

,

king in Europe .

’
The Pri n cess Mathilde s beauty talent and , ,

wealth combined made her a welcome frien d t o

the m en o f letters whose society sh e sought and ,

Sainte Beuve E dmo n d an d Jules de Go n court

-
, ,

Gautier and Tai n e were amon g her circle N o t .

only writers but painters musicians diplo

, , ,
T he I mp eri a l Fam ily an d O t h ers 1 2
3
politicians financiers etc are described
m at i st s, , , .
,

as flocking on Sundays and Tuesdays t o her

house where a staircase fit fo r an Eastern
,

palace hu n g with cascades o f Chinese silk

,

draperies a n d guarded by j ewelled peacocks

traili n g their tails alon g the balusters led up ,

to rooms full o f Old Masters statuary and , ,

Orien tal ware Here her hospitality was freely

.

dispensed to m en o f talent whom she treated ,

as a sister might treat her brothers The story .

—
is well known i t is told by D e Goncourt him
—
self h o w o n e day when E dmond de Goncourt
had spoken rudely to her before her guests an d ,

becoming penitent had apologised to her with

,

tears in his eyes sh e threw her arms about him

, ,

“
kissed him o n both cheeks and cried : Of ,

course I forgive you Y o u know how I am .

attached t o y o u I t o o have been nervous and

.

upset lately It was n o t however merely an

.
, ,

amiable eccentricity of this ki n d which laid her

open to the attacks o f enemies Her freedom .

o f language even (wherein sh e approached her

brother though she w a s more witty where he

,

was more coarse ) was n o t her worst point Her .

standard of morality might be ca l led Bohemian

and was certainly characteristically Napoleonic .

She had a grievance against the p ro fli ga t e ,

Demido ff mitigated it is true by the fact that

, ,

he was obliged by the Tsar to settle on her

francs a year But her o w n conduct .
1 2 4 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
after the separation was loose an d her no ,

t o ri o u s relations with the good looking young -

sculptor Count Nieuwerkerke were n o t her

, ,
1

only lapse from a by no means rigid stan

dard which Court society was supposed t o
observe .

In the rest o f the Imperial family (Bonaparte

and Beauharnais ) o f which the Ta sch ers , ,

Cameratas Caninos M u ra t s and M o u chy s

, , ,

represented the legitimate branches Morny and ,

Wal ew ski the left han d o ffshoots the bad pre -

,

ponderated over the good Cou n t Louis .

Tascher de la Pagerie a first cousin o f the ,

Empress Josephine was an amiable o l d man ,

a n d a devoted adherent o f the dynasty in whom ,

Napoleon II I reposed great confidence as he .

,

showed by his i n siste n ce that he should accept

the control O f the Empress Eug enie s household ’
.

The Count had married the daughter o f o n e

o f the Princes of the Holy Roman Empi re
”
mediatised by Napoleon I Am elie v o n der .
,

L ey en who lost her mother in the terrible fire

,

at the Austrian Ambassador s ball in Paris ’

.

Their so n Charles First Chamberlain t o the ,

1 Ni w k keu u i t ti o l c u s of E d o d
er er e w a s th e n n en na a e m n

A bout s di s g ac w i th t h P i c ss I vi t d to di d
’
r e e r n e . n e n n er a n

b i g th fi s t gu s t to iv A bout
e n e r t l ki g to hi s
e a rr e, was a n

ho s t ss wh th Cou t pp d G o way y ou j lou s

e en e n a ea re . a , ea

m an , s id A bout Th P i c ss i di t ly o s a g h
a . e r n e m m e a e r e, r n t e

b ll d told h s v t to t k M A bout to hi s c i g
e ,
an er er a n a e . a rr a e, a s

h w as
e t di i g wi t h h
no th t ightn n er a n .
1 2 6 Th e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Of the Empress E ugé n i e s own family the ’

visitors to Court included her mother and the

Duke and D uchess of Alba The Countess o f .

Mo n tij o w a s n o t a frequent guest The Countess .

St ephanie de Tascher though a n admirer o f her

, ,

thinks that S he lacked su fficient sa voi rfa i re and

dign ity for her position and leaves it i n doubt
whether she kept away from the French Court
because the Emperor wished it or because she
preferred Spain and her elder daughter s society ’
.

’
M erim ee whom t o his wife s delight Napoleon
,

made a Senator wrote to the Countess co n

,

st an tl y to tell her how admirably Eug enie

“ ”
f a i sa i t son m eti er and served as a kind of
’

o fficial postman between mother and daughter .

Those w h o were less blinded than M erim ee by

the Montij o charms did n o t hesitate to say that
Napoleon discouraged visits from his m other i n -

law He expected from her a restraint which

.

she had never shown before sh e became mother

o f an Empress . The e ffect was to depress her
volatile S pirits to make her tearful and also t o
, ,

lead her to con tract expen ses in Paris the extent

of which the Emperor learnt when the bills came
i n to the Tuileries H e then put a stop to her
.

credit Nor did he relish the Spanish piety

.

which made her as soon as she reached her

,

daughter s palace a sk whether Napoleon stood

’

well with L e B on D i eu a n d l a S a i n te Vi erg e and

continued t o treat them properly He p referred .
T he I mp eri al Fam ily an d O t h ers 1 2
7
her society therefore in moderation She left
, ,
.

fo r Spain t w o months aft er the wedding escorted ,

by M erim ee as far as Poitiers and adj ured by him

to thi n k n o w about living fo r herself and to try
to become u n p eu eg oi ste ; and we hear little o f
’ '

her again except at the birth o f the Prince

Imperial .

The Duchess o f Alba o n the other hand with

, ,

her husband a n d children was always a welcome

,

visitor to Paris The tender affection between

.

the two sisters made the families quite harmoni

o us
, and the Albas spen t the wi n ter regularly
with Eug en ie and Napoleo n The E mpress .

had j ust had the Hotel d A l b e built fo r her ’

sister when Francisca died i n 1 8 60 a blow ,

which fo r the time completely crushed E ugé n i e s ’

spirits. She took Fran cisca s two daughters ’

under her protection then a n d endeavoured to ,

fill for them the place of their mother whom

sh e had loved so well S O far did sh e succeed
.

that death alone was able t o break the warm

friendship between au n t and n ieces .

In the picture of the Court of the Second

Empire as it appears in memoirs of the day a ,

very promin ent position is taken by t w o i l l egi

timate connections of the Emperor his half ,

brother Morny and his cousi n Wa l ew ski Men .

o f very di f ferent stamp the t w o had great

,

weight i n his councils and had as much t o do

with shaping the external policy o f France as
1 2 8 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
anyone except Napoleon himself Morny de .

serves first place not as the greater man but

,

as the stronger personality He has succeeded .

in establishing for himself a sure title to the

unenviable name o f evil genius of the Second
Empire .

Charles Auguste Louis Joseph Duc de ,

Morny was the result o f the relatio n s o f

,

Queen Hortense with General de F l ah a ul t de

la B i l l arderi e aide de camp in turn t o Murat
,
- -
,

Berthier and Napoleo n I He was born in

, .

Paris in December 1 8 1 1 registered a s the so n o f

,

an obliging person called D em o rn y and though ,

recognised by neither parent was brought up ,

by his father s mother the Marquise de Sou z a

’

, ,

whose first husband the Comte de F l a h a ul t

, ,

w a s executed during the Ter ror Entering the .

Army he served in Algeria under the D uke o f

,

Orleans and gained a decoration fo r saving the

,

life o f General Tr ezel H e was only twenty .

seven when he threw up his commission and

went into commercial life Herein he showed .

g reat talent and made m oney rapidly by beet

sugar manufacturing and other enterprises In .

1 8 4 2 he too k up politics as a follower o f Guizot ,

b ut after becomi n g deputy he was driven by the

fall o f Louis Philippe t o London Here fo r the .

first time he met that other exile L ouis Napoleon ,

’
w h o had o n ly learnt o f his brother s existence
through the record which their j oin t mother had
I 30 Th e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
o f o l d, reminding his admi rers o f a marquis of
the time of L ouis XV and generally envied as.
,

being at once brilliant and happy With the .

sweet and nonchalant seductiveness of his

creole mother and the chivalrous and polished
man n ers o f his father he was a cco rdi n g t o the
, ,
'

Cou n tess St ephanie again o n e o f those who ,

compel themselves to be talked about— some

times well sometimes ill and so prove their
,
-

u n common stamp That he was at the same

.

time an unscrupulous ru ffian is lost sight of in

the splendour o f the picture ; or rather it is a , ,

side of his character which never enters i n the

estimates o f the daz zled crowd o f those privileged
to describe him Yet the evidence is plentiful
.

that this glorious Morny was the corruptest o f

the whole gang which surrounded the E mperor
a n d abused his good nature and dislike o f
scandals Morny never asked his brother for
.

money said his worshippers This was true : he

, .

never asked he too k the money by every under

, ,

han d means which his power made possible and

h i s busi n ess acuteness made easy to him There .

was n o reason for him to hurt h i s pride by

b eggi n g when so many pockets were within
reach of his hand .

’
Perhaps the summit of M o rn y s magnificence
was coi n ciden t with what has been cal led his
apotheosis as a statesman when he went t o St ,

Peters burg in 1 8 56 as Ambassador Extraordinary

T he I mp eri a l Fa m ily an d Oth ers 1
3 1

at the coronation o f the Tsar Alexander From .

St Petersburg to Paris came back wonderful

stories o f his conquest O f the Russian capital .

Enthusiasts for the Dual Alliance are entitled

t o loo k upo n Morny as o n e of its earliest
champions His campaign however was more
.
, ,

social than diplomatic an d he created a great

,

sensation with his splen did carriage emblazoned

o n the panels with the ho rten si a flower over the

motto Ta ce sed m em en to On the subj ect of

his mother s indiscretio n (the discovery o f which
’

had cut Louis Napoleon to the heart ) even hi s ,

’
friends thought M o rn y s taste questionable ; the
Countess St ephanie suggests that he might have
shown more respect to Queen Horte n se by keep
ing silence on the mystery of his birth His .

display gained its en d In St Petersburg he

.

won the hand of the Princess T ro u bet sko i a re ,

p u t ed daughter of the late Tsar Nicholas The .

“
match inspired him to this atrocious j est : I
’ ’
am a queen s so n and an emperor s brother and ,

’
I have married a n emperor s daughter It is all .

”
quite natural .The Duchess of Morn y was one
o f the fairest of Russians so pale i n deed that
,

sh e obtai n ed at the French Court the nickname

“
of the White Mouse She appears to have
.

impressed people chiefly by her evil temper .

’
To M o rn y s reputatio n as a wit allusio n has
already been made O n e epigram at least i s
.

recorded about him His former leader Guizot

.
1 3 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
said t o him : Y o u are the only man clever
enough t o upset the Empire and y o u will never ,

”
be foolish enough to do it Morny made no .

attempt t o upset the Empire which was so ,

profitab l e to himself but by his character he did ,

his best t o disgrace it Victor Hugo s sketch o f .

’

”
him in L H i st o i re d un Crime is n aturally not
’ ’

an unprej udiced statement but it is hardly u n ,

1
j ust .He had according to Hugo the manners , ,

o f a man o f the world and the morals o f a

teetotum He combined a certain liberty o f

.

ideas with a readiness to accept useful crimes ;

was dissipated yet well concentrated ugly , , ,

good humoured ferocious well dressed fearless

-
, ,
-
,

willing t o leave under lock and key a brother in

prison but willing to risk hi s head fo r a brother
on the throne ; conscienceless irreproachably ele ,

gant infamous and amiable— at n eed a perfect

, ,

Duke .

A more creditable specimen o f the i l l egi t i

mate section o f the Imperial house was Count
Florian Alexandre Joseph Colonna Wa l ew ski ,

so n of Napoleo n Bonaparte and the beautiful and

patriotic Countess Marie Wa l ew ski to whom ,

Napoleon aft er one chance meeting wrote I

have seen y o u only I admired you only I de , ,

1
E xc p t i c lli g h i ugl y M o y h d a di s t i c t
e n a n m . rn a n re

s bl c to hi s h l f b oth but t ll d h d b tt
em an e a - r er, w as a er a n a e er

f tu s H h a d h sa c h
ea re . f voi c but h l ck d
e t e m e a rm o e, e a e

th g av d p s v look whi c h
e r e d d L ou s
an en i e was a m i re in i
Nap ol o e n .
1
34 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
with the Mi n istry o f Foreign A ffairs His re .

l i gi o u s convictio n s however made it impossible

, ,

for him t o accept Napoleon s Papal policy and ’

though he retained his portfolio through the

war with Italy he resigned next year while
, ,

remaini n g a privy cou n cillor His Russian .

sympathies in 1 8 5 5 5 6 seem to have alienated -

some of his E n glish critics but Malmesbury o n ,

h i s death S peaks of him as “

a n agreeable a n d

perfect gentlema n Greville o n the other

.
,

hand calls him a corrupt j obber a n d gives a

,

letter from Lord Greville according to whom ,

Wa l ew ski is a n adven turer a needy speculator , ,

without hon our conscie n ce or truth and utterly

, , ,

unfit both a s to his character a n d his capacity

”
for such an o fli ce as he holds It was co m .
1

m o n l y believed in E n glan d that Wa l ew sk i an d

the Rothschilds made much mon ey o n the

London Stock Exchan ge by the u se of early
secret i n telligen ce of peace between Russia and
the Allies But Wal ew sk i at least died leaving
.

very little mon ey which might be con sidered

,

evidence in favour of his in tegrity if it were ,

n o t fo r the positive charges against him by the

undoubtedly honest P ersi gn y .

Personally Count Wa l ew ski was considered

less fasci n ati n g tha n Morny by the Court and ,

particularly the ladies of the Secon d Empire , .

1 Se . th e F o ig
re n O ff
i c e . T hi s l tt was w tt
e er ri en in
J a ua y
n r 1 856 .
T he I mp eri a l Fam ily an d Oth ers 1
35
Although also a man o f the world he was graver ,

and less flashy He escaped therefore fo r the

.
,

most part the heritage of anecdotes which fell

,

to Morny O n e however is told to his credit

.
, , .

H e did n o t imitate Morny i n fl a u n t i n g his origi n .

A lady on ce exclaimed in his hearing H o w like

his father ! ”
Wal ew ski turned t o her and said
coldly : “
I did not kn ow madame that you , ,

were acquainted with the late Cou n t Wa l ew ski .

He married twice first a daughter of Lord ,

Sandwich who died you n g ; a n d then the Con

,

tessa Ricci n iece o f Prince Joseph Po n iatowski

,

and a desce n dant of Macchiavelli Madame .

Wal ew ski who is described as amiable grace

, ,

ful a n d quiet had con siderable influence with

, ,

Napoleo n I I I from which scandalmon gers d rew

.
,

their deductions The only kn own instan ces o f

.

’
her exerti n g her influen ce are when her husband s
position was in dan ger ; and in spite o f the ,

fact that he had a l i a i so n with the actress Rachel ,

of which the result was a so n husband an d wife ,

remai n ed attached Wa l ew ski s death in 1 8 68

.
’

followed an attack of apoplexy at Strasbu rg

b rou ght o n by helping t o carry upstairs i n a
chair h i s wife who was ill at the time
, , .

It would be outside the scope o f this book

to describe the m en who were associates with
Morn y an d Wa l ew ski i n the admi n istration of
Napoleo n III Two however deman d a little
.
, ,

more than the later incidental reference which

1
3 6 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
may su ffice for the rest Both P ersi gn y and
.

Fleury without bei n g exception al men were at

, ,

least interesti n g figures in their day U n like .

the other perso n ages men tion ed in this chapter ,

n either of them owed his fortune to aristocratic

lineage legitimate or illegitimate

, P ersi gn y .
,

though he wrote himself F i a l i n de P ersi gn y ,

was born plain Victor F i ali n and was the son ,

o f an undisti n guished Napoleon ic officer H e .

began as a Royalist a n d was i n Louis Philippe s ’

Army but he i s said to have caught the Bona

,

a rt i st infection quite suddenly after reading the

p
M em o ri al de Sai n te H el ene in 1 8 3 4
- Havi n g .

done so he attached himself to the perso n o f

,

the heir of the Bon apartes and was implicated

in the Strasburg attempt bein g acquitted with
,

the rest of the ban d after Louis Napoleo n had

been S hipped o ff to America He j oi n ed the .

preten der i n England and was his page at the

cele brated Eglinton Tourney He supported .

him too in a more practical way for when

, , ,

Napoleo n published his Ide es Napoléoniennes’

“
in 1 8 4 0 P ersi gn y wrote his Visite a u Prince
,

”
L ouis a warm eulogy of the Pri n ce and his
,

theo ries Accompanyi n g his leader to B oulogne

.

in August of the same year he was sentenced ,

to twen ty years imprisonment When he was

’
.

once more free he set t o work i n earn est to

,

restore the Empire in the i n evitability o f which

,

he had even more faith than Napoleon himself .

1
3 8 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
scenes in the Emperor s presence On one ’
.

’
occasio n annoyed at Napoleon s theories con
,

cerning Liberal govern men t P ersi gn y suddenly ,

sp ran g up and cried Oh I have been deceived , ,

“ ”
deceived ! In what P ersi gn y ? asked the ,

”
Emperor In my belief in y o u sire answered
.
, ,

P ersi gn y brutally Napoleon turned pale and

.

uttered sadly one word only — “

P ersi gn y !
Cryin g Forgive me ! P ersi gn y threw himself
,

’
into the Emperor s arms It is a curious Story .
,

and illustrates well both the personal power of

Napoleon over h i s followers and the character
o f P ersi gn
’
s devotion
y .

Fleury tho ugh like P ersi gn y in owi n g his

,

career to his talents not his birth was more of , ,

the typ e of Morn y Of charming manners .

,

witty courageous and good looking he was a

, ,
-
,

favourite with most But he was a better man .

than Morny an d a loyal frien d o f the Emperor .

His rise was rapid for he en listed at the age o f ,

twen ty t w o in the Spahis in Algeria an d after

-
,

gaini n g his commission and being men tioned

five times for bravery left Africa in 1 8 4 8 as ,

ch
f d esca dro n Napoleon si n gled him out as a
’

e .

valuable adherent a n d took his advice i n the

selection o f Sai n t Arn aud as the gen eral fo r the
-

Coup d E ta t
'
O n the foundatio n o f the Empi re
’
.

Fleury was made Gran d E querry t o the Emperor

and in 1 8 5 6 nineteen years after he had en tered
,

the Army as a pri vate he became a general , .

T he I m p eri a l Fam ily an d Oth ers 1
39
Unfortu n ately he did not get o n with the
Empress who was generally credited with hav
,

i n g suggested his appoi n tment as Ambassador

t o Russia in 1 8 69 which exiled him from Court
, .

He was still at St Petersburg when the Franco

Prussian War b roke o u t i n spite o f his urgent
,

requests to N apoleon t o recall him and so there ,

was one sincere frien d the less at the side o f the

Emperor when he most n eeded such .

It may seem that this chapter has very little

to do with the history o f the Emp ress Eug en ie .

To appreciate her position as E mpress however , ,

it is necessary to kn ow somethi n g of the most

p romi n en t people with whom S h e was brought
i n co n tact. The characters o f the Imperial
family had certai n ly a bearing o n her happi n ess
an d comfort as wife o f Napoleon I II With .

his leadi n g statesme n S he came i n to con stantly

closer relations as time we n t o n Her gen eral
.

attitude toward them can only be described as

o n e of hostility . She did not like Wa l ew sk i
nor Morn y n o r even the less obtrusive R o uh er ,

whose political views were n o t very dissimilar

from her o w n She was j ealous of their i n fluence
.

with the Emperor Still less liki n g had sh e for

.

P ersi gn y o r Fleury She could hardly be ex

.

ct ed t o look with friendly eyes o n P ersi n

p e
g y ,

who co n tinued to repeat to her husband that he

had made a great mistake in marrying her .

Fleury o ffended her both by hi s power with

1 4 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Napoleon and by his liberalism o f views After .

his removal t o Russia sh e is reported to have

observed : N o w I shall have so much i n fluence
over the Emperor that he will be unable t o do
an ythi n g without my kn owledge .Whether
sh e actually uttered these words o r n o t they ‘

may at least be taken as fairly represen ting her

attitude That the Emperor ought to have n o
.

secrets from her was her firm opinion and as ,

she imbibed a taste fo r politics sh e en deavoured

to apply the rule in this sphere t o o Although
.

Napoleon never co n ceded th e point even when ,

most en couraging his wife t o play her part in

public affairs (as may be see n from hi s secret
dealings with Ollivier before setti n g up his last
Ministry ) the Empres s o n her side never ceased
,

her struggles .
 CHAP T E R V III

P ALA C E L I F E

IN the first year o f their married life Napoleon

and E ug en ie established the system which with ,

slight variations they followed during the rest

,

o f the reig n with regard to residence in the i r

different homes ; leaving the Tuileries for Saint

Cloud in May spending the greater part of the
,

summer by the sea going to Compi egne and ,

Fontainebleau in the autumn and returning t o ,

Paris for the winter season Owing t o the .

arising o f the question of the Holy Places

and the consequent discussions between France
a n d England it was not until nearly the end o f
,

May that a move was made to Saint Cloud the -

,

palace whose bea uty had once prompted B l i i ch er

to remark to Metternich discussing there Napo ,

’
“
leon s ruin in Russia : A man must be a fool
to run o ff to Moscow when he has all this at
home ! The Third Napoleon was disposed to
agree with B l i Ich er s verdict ; at least be pre
‘ ’

ferred Saint Cloud and its park to any other o f

-

his homes Growing roses ma king rustic seats

.
,

to put in suitable spots and strolling about ,

—
with his dog such is not the u sual picture of
1 43
1 44 T he Las t Emp re ss of t he F ren c h
Napoleon II I in history ; yet it truly p
. re re

sents at least an aspect o f his strangely blended

personality .

The Emperor and Empress received guests

regularly at Sain t Cloud as at their other resi
-

den ces but owi n g to the more formal and official

,

character of their house parties here we do n o t -

read so much about them as about those at

Compi egn e or Fontainebleau It was at these .

two places and especially at Compi egne that

, ,

the hospitality o f the Empire was chiefly remem

bered For both E u gé n i e herself drew up the list
.

“
o f guests w h o were divided into
, series of a
week each selected as far as possible according
,

to their tastes and harmony o f disposition .

A S there was a general similarity in the plan

of entertainment at Compi egne Fon tainebleau , ,

and Saint Cloud it will su ffice to refer to the

-
,

first visit of the Countess St ephan ie de Tascher

to Compi egne to give an idea of al l The guests .

were met on arrival at the station by the Im

perial carriage and conveyed to the Palace ,

where between rows o f liveried lackeys and

,

past doors all guarded by one of the Cen t G a rdes ,

each was taken to the room assigned The .

Countess was rather shocked at a painting of

“
an almost life size mythological figure without
-

”
a single garment but S h e had otherwise no
,

complaint to mak e against her quarters At .

dinner took place b eing excellent in quality

, ,
1 4 T he
6 Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
able people Nearly all the most distinguished
.

Frenchmen of the day i n literature art science , , ,

etc and many foreigners were included in the

.
,

invitations and their surroundings were made as

,

congenial as possible If they were occasion ally .

bored it w a s not by being forced into frivolity

,

against their will In the year o f the Countess .

’
Stephanie s first visit the four series were the ,

Spanish set the ca m p ales bourg eoi s the Aristo

, ,

c ra t s and (S h e suggests the title being o n e o f

, ,

them ) the I n e vi tables The bou rgeoi s were .

mostly young married women the great sup ,

porters o f dances disti n guished for looks an d ,

livelin ess The Aristocrats were partly such o f

.

the o l d n o bl esse as were reconciled to the Em

pire partly the Bonapartist n obility and i n cluded
, ,

also distin guished foreigners As for the In .

evitables the name requires n o more explan ation

,

than that o f the Spanish set But some of the .

Aristocrats remained over from the previous

week to leave n the fourth series Such were .

the Cowleys the Duchess of Manchester an d

, ,

some other English visitors .

As may be imagined the last accusation that ,

.

could be made against such gatherin gs w a s that

they were n o t proper Yet what has n o t been .

said against the Compi egne a n d Fontain ebleau

”
series ? exclaims the Countess Judged from .

her description they may well have been very ,

du l l at times A scandal might have been a

.
 P a l ac e L i fe 1 47
welcome change Day followed day with little
.

variation except such as was caused by the

weather and week was much like week save
, ,

that the Aristocrats and the men o f letters or

science did n o t dance to the same extent as the
ca m des bourg eoi s In the less formal weeks
p .
,

also in later years at least the same childish

, ,

games were played as were popular at the

Empress s l u n di s’
.

’
At Fontainebleau the First Napoleon s best ,

loved home though it was not so favoured by

,

its present ow n ers as Compi egn e the frivolous ,

S pirit seems to have been more to the front .

It is here that we are told of the E mpress

gathering her skirts about her an d sliding dow n
“
a san dbank calli n g Follow your leader !
,

promptly imitated by all her suite Here too .

, ,

sh e liked to go to the a n nual fair without cere

mon y and even the Emperor would do the

,

same In other respects the Fontainebleau visit

.

was like a continuatio n of that to Compi egne ,

but hunting formed a greater part of the daily

entertai n me n t .

The Court did n o t duri n g the first year o f the

,

Imperial marriage go to Biarritz In 1 8 5 4 a

, .

visit was paid duri ng July After this it became .

’
Eug en ie s regular custom to spen d S eptember
there while Napoleo n w ho did n o t care for the
, ,

place was often engaged elsewhere i n military

,

or political work The Empress apart from.

,
1 4 T he
8 Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
what pleasant recollections she carried o f earlier
days at Biarritz enj oyed the O pportunity o f see
,

ing more Spanish society a n d o f maki n g short

trips ac ross the frontier pi ckn i cki n g in Pyren ean
,

valleys talkin g to the peasants a n d breathing

, ,

the air o f her native lan d F o r her ben efit the .

Villa Eug enie was built o n a rocky platform

opposite the town bearing its name proudly
,

upon its front toward the land The Villa has .

been described as more like a barracks than a

palace but M erim ee writes glowi n gly about
,

the hospitality there There is n o t a castle in

.

” “
Fran ce o r Engla n d he says , where one is so ,

perfectly at liberty and so free from etiquette ,

”
or where o n e has so amiable a Chatel a i n e He .

was himself a n in dispen sable guest at the Villa ,

accommodating himself more easily than the

Emperor o r some of the gentlemen of the Court
to the rather tame existen ce His talent fo r .

the organisation of country house amusemen ts -

,

charades etc was most useful to his hostess

, .
, ,

who without him must herself have felt the

mon otony o f a holiday made up chiefly o f bath
ing and walki n g i n the day conversation and ,

even sewing in the evening varied by a dance ,

every Sunday night .

In the wi n ter of 1 85 3 as in every subsequent

,

winter the E mperor and Empress returned to

,

Paris and installed themselves again at the

Tuileries in time fo r the begin n ing o f the
1 50 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
dressed always i n black with a white tie His , .

voice was unctuous and hi s respect for his

mistress such that he was almost ben t double
as he approached her H e brought to her .
,

annotated by himself the in n umerable petitions ,

sen t to her daily asking fo r favours o f all kinds

, .

Into these she would insist o n goi n g personally ,

and she w a s generous in her response to all w h o

seemed deserving Sometimes in the morn ings
.
,

very soberly clad sh e would drive in an u m

,

Official carriage kept for the purpose t o the

, ,

house of a petition er a n d would investigate the ,

merits o f the case Her expen diture on charity

.

was very large for apart from what was i n

, ,

spired by the stream o f beggin g letters she had ,

her regular institutions hospitals etc to which , , .

,

she devoted con stant attention But there was .

at least one person in the cou n try who spent

more in charity than sh e did and that was t he ,

—
Emperor himself whose alms givi n g was reck
,

less and was said to amount t o the vast figure o f

fran cs a day Eug en ie i n deed is said t o
.
, ,

have reproached her husband fo r his i n di scri m i n

ate generosity In spite o f the charges of ex
.

t ra va gan ce made against her S he kept a careful ,

accou n t of all she expended whether o n herself ,

o r o n others .

Beside Damas H i n ard the E mpress had

-

t w o other curious o l d people o n her literary

staff M de Saint Albin at whom all the
. .
-
,
 P a l ac e L i fe 1 5 1

Court laughed as wearing clothes datin g from

the reign of Louis Philippe so careless a n d ,

S habby was he was her librarian much valued

, ,

for h i s j udgmen t and e n trusted with the selec

tion o f her books More extraordi n ary was her
.

First Reader who hardly ever read to her and

,

only wrote a few letters with which the private

secretary did not deal The Countess Wagner
.

de Pons was about seventy years o f age and ,

havin g once been beautiful could n o t forget

it
. Her foible was always to be dressed in the
latest fashion and a compliment fro m her m i s
,

tress would send her into a n ecstasy Usually .

sh e wore a bright brown wig but o n e day , ,

charmed at the appearan ce o f Horten se S ch n eider

in “
Belle H el en e S he came out i n fair hair
,

dressed i n the Greek style This was too much

.

’
for the Empress s sense of dign ity o r humour ,

and a hi n t was conveyed t o Madame Wagn er

that she w a s preferred i n brown hai r A n other .

delusion of the o l d lady was that S he was of

great importan ce to the Empress a n d many a ,

long con versation did sh e pretend to have with

her relati n g the details afterwards i n co n fide n ce
,

to anyo n e who would listen In the early

.

Sixties E ugé n i e appoi n ted a second reader M lle , .

Bouvet who u n der her married n ame o f Madame

, ,

Carette has given to the world so man y discreet

,

revelations of the domestic life of h er mistress .

The appoi n tment was made out o f kindness

1 5 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
entirely Mlle Bouvet bein g left unprovided o n
, .

’
her father s death She was given rooms in the .

Tuileries but very seldom had t o exercise her

,

duties as reader unless it was as the Empress ,

prepared fo r bed .

’
At two o clock every day the t w o ladies i n -

waiting whose turn it was arrived at the Tuileries ,

and o n e of them accompanied the Empress o n

her regular drive in the Bois The drive was so .

timed that she should show herself to the public

there bowing on every side in answer to saluta
,

tio n s and return in time t o dress for dinner

, .

At this meal after Mlle Bouvet s arrival at .

’

the Tuileries the usual number present o n

ordi n ary nights w a s fourteen including the ,

little Pri n ce Imperial E ven o n such i n formal .

occasions the rigidity of etiquette which we

have already noticed w as maintained The ser .

vice was so good however that in spite o f this , , ,

and the number o f courses dinner was over in ,

three quarters o f an hour Of the gatherings in

-
.

the Salon d A po l l on afterwards we have spoken

’

above They appear t o have conti n ued much

.

’
the same in Mlle Bouvet s time as in earlier .

y ears That is to say that it needed a ll the

.

’
Empress s en ergy t o prevent a cloud o f dulness
settling down and enwrapping all present .

If sh e had not had any special pursuits the ,

E mpress Eugenie must have found tiresome n o t

merel y the evenings but the day s a s well .
1 54 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
mere sartorial frivoli ty On the other hand .
,

her defenders say that she was as a rule very

simple i n her attire and that if in honour o f ,

State occasio n s S he was wont to dazzle the

world of fashion it was only her duty as ,

Empress in a land which prides itself on its

taste i n milline ry Naturally neither o f these
.

views i s quite true A n impartial study o f the .

memoirs o f ladies o f E ugén i e s Court leaves the ’

impression that there was very considerable ex

t ra v aga n c e throughout the Court in the matter
o f dress and that the Empress w a s the g reat
,

leader o f fashion fo r all at least up t o the Sixties , ,

when the Pri n cess Mettern ich shared her place .

’
We may accept the Empress s statemen ts t o ,

Dr Evan s at Farnborough that S he had never ,

spent more than 1 5 00 francs on any dress ; and ,

in a letter t o an American friend i n 1 9 06 that ,

only three times in her life did S he wear a dress

that cost her as much as forty guineas o n e being ,

her wedding dress and another h er costume at

the baptism of the Prince Im peri al fi But o n l
,

“
the testimony o f Madame Carette sh e re ,

formed the greater part o f her wardrobe twice

a year givi n g the clothes t o her women who
, ,

sold them at good prices in America So al .

,

though she obj ected strongly t o waste o f mon ey ,

1E va s M m oi s i 1 06 L tt quot d i D i ly Ch i l
n , e r . . e er e n a ron c e,

Ju 906 I t y b ot d th t t h c oll c ti o
n e 1 . m a e n e a e e n of fu s
r

ab do d t th T u i l i s w s i d to b wo th
an ne a e er e as a e r

f a cs
r n .
 P a l ac e L i fe 1 55
kept her o w n costume designer at the Palace and
-
,

’
in person checked her dressmakers bills as care
fully as the rest of her household accounts sh e ,

nevertheless spent on dress a large total sum .

It was the number o f dresses rather than the ,

individual expensiveness which made that total

,

large and it was the imitation o f this constant

,

change which infected Society with extravagance .

It has very reaso n ably been urged in excuse for

the young Empress that her husband insisted ,

from the first o n an elaborate wardrobe as o n

,

an elaborate ceremonial He even obj ected t o

.

the simplicity of morn ing attire which sh e pre

ferred in the Tuileries — a loose red flan n el
Garibaldi blouse over a black S ilk skirt As .

sh e was provided with an ample income t o

spen d o n dress a n d expected t o spend it in that
way sh e would have been in a di fficult position
, ,

had sh e obj ected But S he needed n o prompt

.

ing. She was credited with consummate taste ,

which we might accept readily if we could

forgive the crinoline and u n do ubtedly devoted
,

considerable i n gen uity to the i n vention o f

fashion s It is not correct o f course to say
.
, ,

“
that sh e i n vented the crinoli n e ; but sh e re
introduced the hoop for the same reason fo r
which it was said t o have been first worn t o ,

co n ceal the figure before the birth o f her child ,

and then continued its use Besides maki n g .

popular this monstrosity in which only those

,
1 5 T he
6 Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
looked well who would h ave looked better with
o u t the Empress gave t o the world o f fashion
,

Garibaldi blouses coloured underskirts and

, ,

hair nets - Even milliners therefore have t o

.
, ,

admit that she did not live in vain Possibly .

also she w a s the inventor o f the dressing li ft -

w h i ch a ro u sed the curiosity o f the Republican

'

invaders o f the Tuileries in 1 8 70 This was a .

lift communicating with the Empress s dressing ’

room o n o n e floor o f the Tuileries and with

rooms containing her wardrobes o n the floor
above It was customary fo r her waitin g women
.

t o dress in the costume proposed fo r the E mpress

o n e o f four m a n n e u i n s modelled o n her figure
q
a n d to send it dow n in the lift Eugenie could
.

thus see herself before as others would see her

later and transfer the clothes from the model
t o her o w n person Needless t o say this dress
.
,

ing room mystery when revealed to the eyes o f

-
,

ex Imperial Paris provoked derision and abuse

-
, .
 Th e E m p re s s E u gen i
e.

F ro m Pa i i
nt n g by Wi n t e rh a lt e r.
1 60 T he Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
The position o f the Empress with regard t o a
struggle which writers who profess t o see traces
o f her influence in almost every eve n t duri n g the

Second Empire represent to have been u n der

tak en t o gain fo r her the cou n ten ance o f Queen
Victoria was in reality quite simple
, The .

French championship of the Roman Catholic

claims over the Holy Places which was the ,

starting point of the French quarrel with Russia

-
,

protector of the Orthodox Church was naturally ,

welcome to her as a continuation o f the policy

which escorted Pius IX back to Rome i n 1 8 5 0
.

with a French Army Otherwise she cert ai n ly

.
,

displayed no more enthusiasm for the war than

did the mass of French women The secondary .

results o f the A n glo French alliance were i m

-

portant to her a s leading to Windso r ; but she

can hardly be accused of foreseeing them o r o f
desiring the war with Russia for their sake .

War was declared at the end of March 1 8 5 4 ,

Napoleon hesitati n g at the last owing to the

man ifest reluctance o f the French nation — a
great con trast to the eagern ess displayed o n the
other side of the Channel — and the financial
depression then weighing the country dow n .

The social aspect o f the allian ce soon became

visible In the summer o f1 8 5 4 Napoleon a cco m
.

an i ed his wife to Biar ritz where she was to

p ,

take sea baths by the doctor s advice and from

-
’

Biarritz he sen t a letter to Prince Albert i n vi t ,

T he Emp ress an d (Qi een Vi c to ri a 1 61

ing him to meet him at Boulogne in order t o

see the military camp formed there i n connec

tio n with the Russian war which we have begun

together as he wrote Prince Albert replied
, .
,

addressing t he E mperor as S i re et m on F rere ”

,

and accepting the i n vitation Napoleo n reached.

Boulogn e on the last day of August leaving the ,

Empress at Biarritz Prince Albert did not

.

arrive until the 4t h September All Boulogn e .

o n that day was decorated with flags a n d the

“

cli ffs were lined with troops while a heavy artil

,

lery salute greeted the e n try of the British

Royal yacht into the harbour Napoleon met .

the Pri ce with tears i his eyes were they

n n —

tears of pleasure at the p romise of success — a n d

did his best to create a good impressio n o n his
visitor The Prince who wrote home full de
.
,

“
s cri t i o n s of what occurred fou n d him not
p , so

Ol d nor so pale as his portraits make him and ,

”
gayer than he i s usually rep resented The .

military character of the entertai n ment was

strictly preserve d Napoleon had with him
.

“
only his o w n household ( n o t disti n guished
by birth manners or education remarks the
, , ,

“
Pri n ce , their ton e bei n g rather that Of a
garrison with a good deal of
, with
the additio n of Eug en ie s brother i n —l a w the
’
-
,

Duke of Alba a n d Dro uy n de Lhuys then

, ,

Foreign Minister .He felt it necessary to

apologise for being unable to receive the
1 62 T he Las t Emp ress o f t he F ren c h
Prince as he could have wished being only at ,

a hotel and expressed the hope that Queen

,

Victoria would before long V isit Paris with her

husband where he could give them a worthier
,

reception Prince Albert in the course of a ,

speech at the banquet before his departure ,

replied wi th an informal i n vitation o f the

Emperor a n d Empress t o Windsor .

If Prince Albert returned to England well

”
satisfied with his visit as Lord Clarendon told
,

the diarist Grevill e was the case Napoleon must ,

have been still more satisfied when he left

Boulogne for Bordeaux to meet the Empress
return i n g t o Paris On the 2 ot h September
. ,

the day o f the Alma they re entered the ,

-

Tuileries They had two victories to rej oice

.

over ; and the greater undoubtedly because the ,

more difficult was that gained in the struggle

,

“
for recognition inside that pale of the ancien t
”
monarchies o f which Napoleon had spoken in
his famous p a rven u speech in January of the
previous year At Win dsor he and Eug en ie
.

would i n deed be within the pale and such rebu ffs ,

as the insisten ce o f the Tsar on addressing him

“ ” “ ”
as M on A m i i nstead o f a s M o n F rere
‘

, ,

would hardly be repeated The official con .

firm at i o n of the invitation t o England followed

in the spring It had it was true a diplomatic
.
, ,

as well as a social significance but that of , ,

course di d not minimise i t s importan ce The

, .
1 64 The Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
to hand the Empress o ff the boat The scene is .

one of the oftenest described in her history ,

how in V iew of the curious crowd the Empress

E ugenie stepped o n shore in her straw bonnet
,

and her tartan dress under a grey cloak her ,

han d resting o n Pri n ce Albert s while Napoleon ’

followed i n the gen eral s u n iform which he

,
’

always wore o n such occasions Only a sufficient .

stay was made at Dover for a lu n cheon and the

’
presentation o f the Corporation s address and ,

then the train conveyed the party to Lon do n .

”
Here what used to be called Queen s weather ’

awaited them and in brilliant sunshine a crowd

,

estimated at fully a million was out in the

streets very loud in i t s shouts of welcome but
,

behavi n g excellently Greville remarks that it

.

w a s a fine sight for the visitors to see such vast

multitudes so orderly a n d so p rosperous and
, ,

without a sin gle soldier except their o w n escort .

Between Charing Cross and Paddington the

streets were all profusely decorated and in the ,

E mperor s hon our bands played Partant pour

’

” ’
la S y ri e, his mother s composition Queen .

Victoria awaited her guests at Windsor at the ,

e n trance to the Castle Napoleo n hasten ed

.

forward t o kiss her hand whereon she embraced

,

him twice and then the Empress as Napoleon ,

i n troduced her ; after which the royal children

were presented Napoleon embracing the thirteen
,

year-o l d Prince o f Wales The cordiality of the

.
T he Emp ress an d Q i een Vi c to ri a 1 65

greeting gave the n ote O f the visit None o f the .

usual fo rms p ractised between sovereigns were

omitted writes G reville He says also
, .

“
None of the sovereign s w h o have been here
before have ever been received with such m agn i fi
cen ce by the Court or with such curiosity and
delight by the people Wherever an d whenever .

they have appeared they have been greeted by ,

enormous multitudes and p rodigious acclama

tions The Queen is exceedin gly pleased with
.

both o f them ; sh e thi n ks the Empress very

natural graceful and attractive and the Em
, , ,

”
ero r fra n k cordial and true
p , , .

Queen Victoria s diary fully bears o u t this

’

statement a s to her O pinion o f the Empress

E u gé n i e “
She is full O f courage and spirits
.
,

“
sh e w rote and yet so gentle with such inno
, ,

cence a n d enj o uem en t that the en sem bl e is most ,

charmi n g With all her great liveliness sh e has

.

the prettiest an d most modest man ner This .

tribute to the Empress is well known for it h a s ,

bee n quoted very ofte n It deserves record .

agai n however i n a n y history o f the Empress

, ,

Eug en ie Of this con quest which sh e made at

.
,

fi rst sight of the Quee n o f the reputedly most

,

exclusive Court in Europe the Empress was very

n atu rally proud She had th rough the atti tude
.

of other Courts bee n set i n a n equivocal positio n ,

but n o w no o n e could s n eer Her triumph was .

complete a n d fi n al and fo r her the pri n cipal ,

1 66 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
obj ect o f the visit was attai n ed almost at the
outset In her turn Eugen ie was said to be
.
,

immen sely impressed by the ceremonial at the

British Court a n d from this time on ward to have
proved a fa r more willi n g listen er t o her husband s ’

V iews on etiquette than he had found her before .

With regard to the proposed Crimean j ourney ,

Napoleo n was talked o u t o f hi s i n tention in the

course of a long Cou n cil at Wi n dsor o n the
second morni n g of his arrival neither Queen nor
,

Empress bei n g presen t during the consultation .

’
According t o Queen Victoria s testimon y the
Empress Eug enie had at first been a s eager as
Napoleo n himself that he should go to the East ,

where she saw n o greater dan ger for him than in

Paris She probably thought with him that a
.

little military glory would add to his prestige in

Fran ce Nevertheless he now agreed t o abandon
.
,

his idea .

The programme of entertainmen t for the

Imperial guests began with a military review at
Windsor o n the secon d day and continu ed o n
,

the 1 8 th with the i n vestiture o f the Emperor

with the Garter and a State Ball Concernin g
.

the ceremon y of investiture Greville remarks

that Napoleon took all sorts of O ld feudal oaths
o f fidelity and knightly service t o the Queen ,

and he then made her a short spe ech to the

followi ng e ffect : I have sworn to be faithful t o
Your Maj esty and to serve y ou to the best o f
1 68 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
E verybody cried even the suite The Queen s
, .
’

children began as the E m press had been v ery

,

ki n d to them and they were sorry t o lose her ,

”
a n d this set o ffthe Empress and maids o f honour - -
.

Before he left Napoleon obtai n ed a promise o f

,

the visit to Paris fo r which he had worked at

Boulogn e ; and so with great hopes fulfilled he
, ,

and the Empress returned to their capital to pre

pare a receptio n fo r their coming guests .

The B ritish visit however was all but made

, ,

impossible by an occurrence which might have

removed the intended host and left the hostess a
widow On the 2 8 th April the first serious at
.

tempt w a s made t o assassinate the Emperor .

Plots against him were n o t n ew n o less than ,

three havin g been discovered i n 1 8 53 To such .

the Empress Eug en i e had referred at Windsor ,

when she spoke of there bein g n o greater dan ger

to her husband i n the Crimea than i n Paris .

But the attack o f Pianori was nearly successful

from the apparen t absence of an organ ised plot
beforehand and only the presen ce of mi n d o f his
,

companion Edgard Ney the fourth son of the ,

famous Marshal o f the First Napoleon saved ,

the Emperor s life ’

.

A week after his return from Win dsor and ,

about five O clock on a S aturday aftern oon the

’

Emperor left the Tuileries o n horseback with ,

him being Ney a n d h i s chief equerry He i n .

tended to meet the Empress w h o was driving ,

T he Emp ress an d Q i een Vi c to ri a 1 69

in the Bois de Boulogne In the Champs .

Elys ees a man suddenly ran forward from the

pavement and fired a shot Ney rode down .

upon him but he was able t o take a second

,

aim at the Emperor This proved as ineffective

.

as the first The police immediately arrested

.

the crimi n al an Italian o f twenty eight named

,
-

Pianori a n d Napoleon rode o n calml y to the

,

Bois to meet the Empress As soon as he had .

communicated the news t o her they turned ,

back t o the Tuileries escorted by a band o f ,

the riders in the Bois Napoleon still o n horse

,

back Eug en ie in her carriage with her h an dker

, ,

chief often t o her eyes The news had preceded.

them In the Palace they found waiting fo r

.

them a crowd composed o f the Imperial family ,

the leading officers o f State a n d their o w n house ,

holds all eager t o congratulate the Emperor o n

,

his escape an d t o express their sympathy with

the Empress To reassure the public the
.
,

Emperor i n siste d o n goi n g t o the Opera the

same n ight accompanied by the Empress
, ,

“
who is described as looki n g pale and pre
”
occupied i n spite o f her efforts t o appear calm .

The natural e ffect of this attempted crime

was to heighten the popularity of the Emperor ,

to whom the whole a ffair was really very a d

v a n t a geo u s H e appeared distinctly at his best
.

at such a crisis The visit to the Tuileries o f

.

a deputation from the S enate t o O ffer its co n

1
7 0 T he Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
gratulations o n the day after the attempt gave
him the O pportu n ity o f making o n e o f his most
astonishing and characteristic Speeches I .

thank y o u he said but I do not in the least

, ,

fear the e fforts o f assassins There are some .

men who are the instruments o f Providence s ’

decrees As lon g as I have n o t accomplished

.

”
my mission I run n o danger , N o better .

example was ever furnished O f the so called -

fatalism of N apoleon I II .

P i an o ri s attempt thus turned o u t i ll fo r none

’

but the author who was executed after offer

,

“
ing as his only defence that Napoleon had
mad e t h e R o m an campaign ! o f 1 8 5 0] and had
'

”
ruined Italy The Emperor continued his
.

preparations fo r returning the hospitality o f

Windsor Among the sights o f Paris which
.

he had mentio n ed that he wished t o show

his visitors was the E xposition Industrielle .

This E xhibitio n was in tended t o help to re vive

the languishing trade and industries o f Fran ce .

Although rather inappropriately held in time

o f foreign war it was to be illustrative of the
,

’
arts o f peace Queen Victoria s presen ce the
.
,

first visit of an E n gl ish sovereign to Paris sin ce

the time o f James I I was a fortu n ate addition .
,

to the attraction s o f the Exhibition about whose ,

success Napoleon was supremely anxious as well ,

as a person al triumph fo r himself and the

E mpress E ugenie .
1
7 2 T he Las t E m p ress of the F ren c h
Prin ce Albert was paid in August o n the day ,

aft er the Fren ch V ictory o n the Tch ern a y a The .

Quee n and her consort brought with them the

Pri n cess Victoria a n d the Prince of Wales .

Napoleon came to Boulogne to meet them and

at t w o o clock on the 1 7th August crossed over
’

a velvet draped gan gway t o the Royal yacht

-

Vi ctori a a n d A l bert to lead the Queen on S hore

amid a rou n d o f artillery salutes It was seven .

o clock when they reached Paris and was grow

’

ing dark to the disappoi n tment o f the crowd

, .

As the Queen stepped from the train while ,

“ ”
the band played God save the Queen ! the
commandan t of the National Guard stepped
forward to p resen t a bouquet Napoleon then
.

drove his guests across Paris through his newly

built Boulevar d de Strasbourg under the Arc ,

de Triomphe through the Bois and to Sai n t

, ,

Cloud where they fou n d waiting fo r them the

,

Empress E u gé n i e attended by the Princess

,

Mathilde a n d her ladies o f the Court The .

E mpress bein g at this time en cei n te (though

,

this fact w a s n o t publicly an n ounced u n til three

mon ths later ) could take little part in the em
,

t ert a i n m en t o f the visitors which therefore de

,

volved p rincipally o n the Emperor himself He .

fulfilled his task well co n ducting them all t o

,

the Exhibition and other points o f attraction ,

and showin g special kindness to the young Prince

o f Wales t o whom n o w in his fourteenth year
,
T he Emp ress an d (l ueen Vi c to ri a 1
73
he gave the first introd uction to that Paris for
which ever afterwards both as Pri n ce and as,

King he showed so much liking The visit

, .

“
lasted eight days eight happy days wrote
-
,

Queen Victoria i n a letter after leaving S aint

—
Cloud and on the last night there was held
the State Ball at Versailles when the Empress s ,
’

appearance in white decorated with diamo n ds

,

and her Spanish and Portuguese orders is said ,

t o have extorted from her husban d the exclama

”
tion Com m e el l e est bel l e ! There was no
doubt o f the sincerity of hi s admi ration for his
wife.

As had been the case at Windsor the parting ,

scenes showed that the V isit had not been merely

o n e of courtesy Grevi ll e gives a quaint detail
.

in connection with the Prince of Wales Near .

the end he expressed to the Empress Eug enie

,

how reluctant he and hi s sister Victoria were

to leave Paris and asked if S h e could n o t get
permission from their parents for them to stay
a little lo n ger The E mpress amused said that
.
, ,

sh e was afraid that the Queen and Pri n ce Al bert

“
could n o t do without them Not do with.

out u s ! exclaimed the future King E dward .

’
Don t fancy that fo r there are si x more of us
,

at home and they don t want us

,
’
Both children .

had been delighted with their visit and had won

“
high praise for their deportment You will .

be pleased to hear wrote Prince Albert to

,
1
74 T h e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
S t o ckm how well both the children behaved
a r, .

They have made themselves general favourites ,

”
especially the Prince o f Wales qui est si gen ti l , .

To their grandmother the Duchess o f Kent , ,

t o o he wrote
, I am bou n d t o prais e the chil
dren greatly They behaved extremely well an d
.
,

pleased everybody The tas k was no easy o n e

.

for them but they discharged it without em

,

”
b a rra ssm en t a n d with natural simplicity
, .

Queen Victoria appears t o have been n o less

charmed than her children for accordin g t o ,

Lord Clarendon w h o accompanied the party in

, ,

special charge o f the Prince o f Wales she was ,

“
delighted with everything and especially with
the Emperor himself who with perfect know , ,

ledge o f women had taken the surest way t o

,

ingratiate hi mself with her This it seems he .

, ,

began when he w a s in England a n d followed

it up at Paris After h i s V isit ! t o Windsor] the
.

Quee n talked it over with Lord Clarendon and

said : It is v ery odd ; but the E mperor k nows
everything I have don e and where I have been
ever since I was twelve years old ; h e even re
collects how I was dressed and a thou sand littl e ,

detai ls it is extraordinary he should be acquainted

’
with . She has never before been o n such a
social footing with anybody an d he has ap ,

ro a ch ed her with the familiarity o f their equal

p
positions and with all the experience and know
,

ledge o f womankind he h as acquired during his

1
7 T he
6 Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
underclothing o f French dancers But Victor .
1

Emmanuel was one whose character compelled

that all his V ices should b e known before hi s
virtues became revealed .

The reception o f the King of Italy occasioned

the last appearance in pu blic of the E mpress
before the birth o fh er so n While the talk of .

peace which France so anxiously desired was

, ,

growing definite sh e was awaitin g motherhoo d

, .

When the Congress o f Paris at last met u n der ,

the presidency of Count Wal ew ski n o w Foreign ,

Minister sh e was unable to take an y part in

,

social entertainments The Congress came to .

an end on the 3 oth March after an interruption ,

o f four days when the Prince Imperial was born ,

and i t s successful issue was celebrated by ba n

q u et s at the Foreign O ffice and the Tuileries ;

Had E ugenie been able to be present sh e would ,

have played a prominent part i n festivities o f

the time The cause of her absence n o w how
.
,

ever brought full recompense in the succeeding

,

years of the Imperial mother .

1 M l s bu y
a m e r , 2 9t h N ov b em er 1 8 55 . On m e di t, h e s id
a ,

l es da n seus es fra n ga i ses des ca l egon s Si ’

ue ne o rten t as c est
q p p .

l
com m e ce a , c c sera
p o ur m o i l e p a ra di s terrestre .
TH E PRIN C E IMP E RIA L
 i
Th e Pr n ce i
Im p e r a l .
 CHAP T E R X
T H E P RI N C E I MPE RI AL

A LTH O U G H it was uno ffi cially k n own in the

summer o f 1 8 55 that the Empress E ugé n i e was
ex pecti n g the birth o f a child it was n o t until
,

the late autumn that o fficial sanction was given

to the reports The Countess o f Mo n tij o arrived
.

from Spai n t o be with her daughter at the

critical time a n d when the Con gress of Paris
,

began t o S it at the end of February 1 8 5 6 the ,

birth was expected almost at o n ce On the 1 4th .

March the Friday before Palm Sunday the

, ,

sessions o f the Congress were suspen ded Napo ,

leon being thrown into a state o f great anxiety

by the doctors annou n cement that the event
’

might now take place at any mome n t The .

diarist Greville was i n Paris on the eve of the

“
birth. H e writes : We passed the day ! the
1 5 t h ] in mome n tary expectatio n of hearing o f
’
the E mpress s confi n emen t No news arrived
.
,

but at si x in the morning we were wakened

from our beds by the sound of the can non of
the Invalides It had been arranged that one
.

hundred a n d o n e guns should be fired if the

chil d was a boy the signal being given by
,

lights at the Tuileries g revill e continues : It

.

1 79
1 8 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
is a remark able coincidence that the confinement
was as di ffi cult and dangerous as that of Marie
Louise with the same symptoms and circum
,

stances and that the doctor a ccou cheur in this

,

instan ce was the so n o f the Dubois who attended

the other Empress .

Napoleon was reduced t o an extraordinary

state of nervousness When told by the doctors.

that an operation would be necessary he b e

sought them to thi n k only of the Empress H e .

refused to leave the room although as he was , ,

reported to have wept for fifteen hours his must ,

have been rather a disturbi n g prese n ce When .

at length all was over he rushed in to the adj oin

i n g room which was full of people a n d began
, ,

embraci n g everyone in turn Sudde n ly he re .

collected himself a n d with the words I can n ot,

embrace y o u all he ceased This is the only

, .

occasio n on which we have a glimpse o f Napo

leon I I I with his calm thrown aside and his
“
mask o ff a n d from the fact we may gather
,

some idea o f the intensity of his delight at the

arrival o f an heir He was himself n early forty
.

eight years o f age his health had already given

,

signs o f decline and his thron e would be a n

,

in secure legacy to a n i n fant Three years earlier .

he had remarked to his guest Lord Malmesb ury

that he had no time to lose if he w a s to leave
”
a grown -up heir N o w at least there w as a
.
1

1 M l s bu y M
a m e r ,
s
em o i r , 2 ot h M ch
ar 1 8 53 .
1 8 2 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
and benevolent action with regard t o her wed
ding present from Paris .

N o t only France but the rest of Europe t o o , ,

j oined in the celebration s o f the event of Palm

S un day At Rome where the pilgrims were
.
,

gathered in preparation for Holy Week the ,

Pope ordered a salute of a hu n dred and o n e

guns t o be fired from the Castle o f San A n gelo
t o proclaim the news In the Crimea where
.
,

pending the conclusion o f the treaty a state o f

war still existed n o t only did the Allies fire a
,

similar salute in co n quered S ebastopol and its

harbour and illuminate their li n es by night when
Marshal Pelissier received the telegram from his
master but the Russians also did the same a
, ,

courtesy which pleased Napoleon immen sely .

The various courts o f Europe despatched n o

less than twe n ty eight Orders t o the infant t o
-
,

whom his father had al ready given the Grand

Cordon of the Legio n o f Honour t o wear in his
cradle This cradle which was afterwards pre
.
,

sented by the Empress to the City of Paris an d

fi n ally came into her possessio n again i n exile ,

t o be placed by her in the room at Farnborough

devoted to memorials O f the Pri n ce w a s a very ,

elaborate co n struction i n the shape o f a boat o f

rose wood with decorations o f S ilver bronze
-
, , ,

and e n amel plaques At the foot stood an

.

Imperial eagle and at the head a silver statu

,

ette representing Paris held a gilt bronze crown

, ,
-
 T he P ri n c e I mp eri a l 1 83

over the pillow Lying in such a bed with the

.
,

scarlet of the Legion o f Honour about him the ,

baby is described by Fleury with V ivid imagi n a,

“
tion as seeming to understand without surprise
, , ,

the hon ours paid to him

A private baptism was celebrated i n t h e
Tuileries on the day o f the birth in the presen ce ,

of the Emperor the leading members o f his

,

Court a n d Governmen t and the Duke of Alba

, ,

w h o soon returned to Madrid to fetch Queen

’
Isabella s gift of the Golden Fleece t o his nephew .

The public baptism did not take place until three

months later o w ing to the illness o f the Empress
, ,

who recovered slowly from her severe shock .

In the middle of May S h e was well enough to

move to Saint Cloud an d a month later S he
-
,

returned with the E mperor and their child t o

the Tuileries.

Notre Dame was once more gorgeously

decorated within as in January 1 8 5 3 ; with the
additio n of a throne for the Cardin al Legate
Patrizzi w h o came to represent the Pope god
, ,

father o f the Prin ce A t five o clock o n the

.
’

afternoon of Saturday the 1 4th Ju n e an eight

, ,

horse carriage con tai n i n g the Emperor Empress , ,

an d Pri n ce Imperial left the Tuileries a n d drove

through lin es of troops and behind them the ,

populace o f Paris to the Cathedral At the door

, .

they were met by the Archbishop of Paris with

Holy Water a n d then the ceremony took place
,
1 84 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
in the transept where had been erected a t em
,

o ra ry altar the velvet canopied thrones and -

p , ,

between them the baptismal font a vase o f dam ,

a scen ed copper reputed t o have been brought

back by Louis V II from the Crusades The . .

Prince in an ermine lined robe o f crimson

,
-

velvet was carried to the font in the a rms o f

,

Madame Bruat Official Governess o f the Chil

,

dren o f France and w a s christened w ith the

,

names Napol eon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph his

- - - -
,

godparents bei n g Pope Pius IX represente d .

,

by Cardi n al Patriz zi and Queen Josephine o f ,

Sweden and Norway represented by the Grand ,

D uchess St ephanie o f Baden The baptism co m .

l et ed Madame Bruat handed the Prince to his

p ,

father who held him up in his arms t o all i n the

,

church t o see with a gesture very expressive

”
o f j oy and te n derness writes B aron Imbert de ,

Sai n t Amand who was o n e o f those presen t ;

-
,

while the Vi va t composed by Lesueur fo r the

heir o f Napoleon I was played by the .

orchestra .

The child was immediately driven back t o the

Tuileries the father and mother awaited the T e
D eum and be n ediction from the Papal Legate ,

after which they drove to the H Ot el de Ville

t o be prese n t at the banquet to four hundred
guests given by the City of Paris The elaborate
, .

scale o f this banquet may be imagined from the

records that the service used cost francs ,
1 8 6 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
least the E mpress E ugé n i e was n o t t o forfeit
the regard o f her Church Her Golden Rose
.

which was in reality a rose bush o f gold growing

-

from a vase o f the same metal o n a base o f ,

lapis lazuli adorn ed with t w o bas reliefs repre

,
-

senting the birth and presentation o f the Virgin

Mary and with the Papal and Napol eonic arms
—S he kept in her bedroom in the Tuileries ,

together with a palm blessed and sent to her by

the Pope o n every anniversary .

The birth o f the Prince Imperial made a great

di fferen ce to his mother s position If in the
’
.

months preceding it sh e had been compelled t o

absent herse lf almost en tirely from public life ,

S he became a much more promin ent person age

in the State si n ce she had performed the duty
expected o f her in givi n g to the Emperor an
heir She is said before that event to have been
.

haunted by a dread o f the fate of the Empress

Josephi n e N o w at least all such fear was past
.
,

and i n less than two years time a striki ng proof

’

o f her altered status was given It cannot be .

supposed that had sh e remai n ed childless the

, ,

provisions for her regency would have b een

made which actually followed the Orsi n i attempt .

When Napoleo n s wish o f goin g t o the C rimea

’

had seemed impossible to thwart it was a ,

regency of ex -King Jerome n o t o f the Empress

,

Eug enie which had been discussed A ft er the

,
.

Prince Imperial was born the claims o f Jerome

,
 The P ri n c e I mp eri a l 1 87

and his so n were immeasurably diminished .

One result o f this was that Prince Napoleon

was drive n into more uncompromisi n g opposi
tion The Prince had perhaps been only human
.

in his satisfaction at the barren union o f the

Emperor ; but he was credited with a sneering
suggestion that nothing else could be expected
o f his cousi n . Whoever was its origi n ator both ,

Emperor and Empress rej oiced at the refuting

o f this mali cious falsehood .

One o f the common accusations brought

against the Empress Eug enie during the long ,

period in which so much industry w a s devoted

to the blackeni n g of her character was that sh e ,

was a harsh mother to her child The charge .

w a s supported by a carefully pointed contrast

’
between her attitude and her husband s a n d by ,

r eferences t o a partiality shown by the b o for

y
his father s society The basis O f the accusation
’
.

in reality seems to amount to this Napoleon .

certainl y idolised his so n and was willi n g to i n

du l ge him in every respect His te n derness o f
.

heart however did n o t make him a very wise

, ,

guide in bri n ging up a child We may remem .

ber M é ri m é e s story o f the children s party at

’ ’

Biarritz in 1 861 when the Pri n ce was not much

,

more than five Napoleon i n sisted on mixi n g

.

with his o w n hands some champagn e and soda

water for the small gu ests to drink the c o n se ,

q u en ce of which was that for a quarter o f an

1 8 8 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
hour they were a ll tipsy and made such a noise
that M erim ee who was i n the room with them
, ,

o t a headache Not only was Napoleon

g .

discrimi n ating in his kindness but his so n po s ,

sessed a will The Countess St ephanie de

.

Tascher describes him as a very determin ed and

independent child a little fractious and n o t, ,

easy t o man age To win a smile from him the

.

Emperor would drop all his usual gravity The .

’
Empress Eugenie had not her husban d s talent
for amusing a child ; but adds the Coun tess ,

St ephanie while admitti n g this j e l a trouve ,

del i ci euse a vec so n

Eugenie i n fact had the d ifficult a n d u n

, ,

grateful task o f correcting the errors i n the

E mperor s treatment o f their child The normal
’
.

position s were reversed If Napoleon s love fo r .

’

hi s so n was as many have written that o f a

, ,

mother rather than a father Eugen ie felt that ,

sh e must play the part which is traditionally

fatherly The n atural result was that outsiders

.

were led t o consider her stern to Prince Louis

an d that he himself was attracted rather to the

more indulgent o f his t w o parents A S time .

passed and differences more political than ,

domestic a n d mai n ly concern ing the attitude o f

,

Fra n ce toward Rome arose between father and ,

mother there undoubtedly began to be a certain

,

struggle fo r the control o f the bo y Eugenie .

was then taxed by observers friendly t o Napoleon

1 9 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
“
vive the death o f him whom sh e declared t o o
”
good fo r this world .

In addition to Miss Shaw there w as the

offi cial govern ess Madame Bruat At eight
, .

years of age when Mlle Bouvet describes .

Prin ce Louis as a beautiful child with an open ,

counten an ce a white skin his mother s blue eyes

, ,
’

and curlin g brown hair— the feminine control

was a little modified and he had assigned to him
,

a tutor and an equerry The first tutor was a .

M Monier who was succeeded by M Fil on

.
, .
,

afterwards the biographer of Prosper M erim ee .

From hi s eighth birthday too he w a s permitted , ,

to di n e with his parents Up t o then hi s on ly .

meal with them w a s dej eun er when they were

at the Tuileries After dej eu n er he was accus
’

t o m ed t o spe n d some time with his father ever ,

ready to play with him in the Empress s work ,

’

room .Then when the hour arrived for his

,

drive his mother sen t him o ff carefu l ly makin g

, ,

the S ign of the cross on his brow O n the drive .

he was accompanied by o n e o f his person al at

t en da n t s and often by the little Louis C o n n ea u ,

’
so n o f the Emperor s faithful doctor w ho w a s ,

h i s chief playmate .

Stories o f the sayings o f the Prince Imperial

were as common as about most favourite
“ ”
children ; a n d Loulou was almost a s much
adored by the Bonapartist masses as by the
Emperor himself These sayings if n o t very
.
,
 The P ri n c e I mp eri a l 1
9 1

remark able seem t o S how an alert intelligence

, .
1

Physically the Prince was not a strong child and

after an attack o f scarlet fever followed by a ,

relapse his chances of life were n o t con sidered

,

very hopeful The concern shown for him by

.

King W i lliam O f Prussia in 1 8 67 is said to have

touched the E mpress s heart However wi th
’
.
,

care his health mended and at the age o f four

, ,

teen he was co n sidered robust en ough t o go to

the fro n t in the war agai n st that same Ki n g
Wil liam .

1
S ee, e .
g
.
,
p . 2 44
 CHAP T E R XI

TH E years immediately following the birth o f

her so n were years of great importance to the
Empress E ugé n i e Her motherhood had n o t
.

only strengthened her position in the State ,

particularly against the pretensions o f the next

o f kin but had given her
-
, too a guarantee o f
, ,

Napol eon s regard It may be doubted whether

’
.

in any event N apoleon II I could have been

, .

induced to follow the cruel policy o f his u n cle

toward Josephi n e But there would always have
.

been a li n geri n g insecurity in the status o f a

childless Empress which the appearance o f the ,

Prince Imperial removed entirely .

Nevertheless t o the very event which promised

,

her security and co n tin ued happiness can be

traced a cause o f sorrow to the Empress From .

1 8 5 6 onward according to close observers there

, ,

was a less i n timate relation between husband and

wife . Napoleon could never be considered a
faithful husband and the birth o f an heir cer
,

t a i n l y lesse n ed hi s se n se of duty toward his wife .

Common talk o f the Court made 1 8 60 the year

o f domestic crisis To this allusion will be made
.

1 95
 1
9 6 T he Las t E m p ress o f t he F ren c h
later It is s ufficient here to record that there
.

were reas ons for complaint o n the part of the

Empress and that the theory i s not unreason
,

able which makes the growth o f her political

tendencies due to thi s as well as to the anti
Papal di rection of her husband s policy about ’

the beginning of 1 8 5 9 .

Before the mani festation of her poli tical de

v el o m en t however the Empress gave signs of
p , ,

a greater social freedom after sh e had become

a mother At the height of her beauty whi ch
.
,

at thi s period the rapturous Countess St ephanie

“ ”
describes as perfect in its mi nutest detail s and
taki n g first place everywhere by i ts brilliancy
”
and distin ction sh e presided over the movement
,

of her Court towards its highest pitch of magni

ficen ce and extravagance in the ea rly S ixties .

The winter followin g the close of the Crimea n

War however w as as gay an d frivolous as any
, ,

later seasons It began with the visit o f the

.

Crown Prince of Prussia in D ecember when , ,

accompani ed by a sui te whi ch included V o n

Moltke he l o dged at the T u ileries which was
, ,

o n e day to s ee him e n ter i n a very di fferen t rOl e

from th at of invited guest The murder o n the .

3 rd Jan uary 1 8 5 7 of Mo n seign eur S i b o u r the ,

Archbishop of Paris who had married Napoleon

a n d E u é n i e and had baptised their chil d hardly
g ,

mad e any break i n the festivities The author .

o f that nai vely e ul ogistic wor k

“
La Cour du
1
9 8 T h e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
green glass eyes ; Lady Cowley in Queen Anne
dress ; and the other Ambassadresses etc And , .
,

not least o f all there was the Countess C a st i g

,

lione as Queen o f Hearts her skirt and c o r,

sage lace d with chai n s of hearts and a heart

shaped cro w n u pon her flowi n g hair (The gallant .

writer does not mention a fact supplied by others

w h o have described the scene that the Countess ,

displayed so much o f her beauty as t o cause

quite a stir and many guest s were stan ding upon
,

chairs to get a good V iew o f her ) Most o f the .

men were in black coats and knee breeches with -

,

Venetian mantles but a few were in domi n os

, .

Amo n g the latter w a s a rag picker I n white satin

~

S pangled with golden suns and hearts wearin g ,

on his head a policeman s cap adorned with

’

diamonds A gilt wicker basket hung about

.

him full of gardenias and camellias which he

, ,

distributed to the ladies with his left han d while ,

his right held a lighted lantern on a silver hook .

As he drew near to a blue domino he put out ,

his light saying I was looking fo r a man I

, .

have found him ! The rag picker was Count -

Amelot de Chaillou ; the blue domino the Em

p ero r The
. Empress in the early part of the
evening wore a S imple dress and domi n o in ,

which she escaped notice At supper time she

.
-

“
appeared in a delightful Bohemian costume ,

and the mask which hid the lower part o f her

face did not altogether conceal her glowing
 1 8 57 1 99
beauty .One could n o t dream of a more grace
ful carriage a finer figure o r more sparkling
, ,

”
eyes exclaims the intoxicated Baro n
, .

Other royal visits followed that of the Prussian

Crown Prince The early part of May saw the
.

Grand Duke Constan tine o f Russia brother o f ,

the Tsar a guest at Fo n tai n ebleau and the day

, ,

after he left he was succeeded by Ki n g Maxi

milian I I o f Bavaria who paid the penalty in
.
,

his mysterious death seven years later for his

Opposition t o Prussia Maximilian i s said to .

have been declared by the Empress Eug enie

the handsomest man sh e had ever seen .

After their visitors had left it was the turn ,

o f the Emperor and Empress to be received

elsewhere In August they made their secon d
.

j ourney together across the Channel They were .

preceded by Prince N apoleon w h o after trips , ,

to Berlin a n d Dresden as guest of the Prussian

and Saxon Courts made a tour in E n gland,

and Ireland in July He was uno ffi cially a c .

companied by the notorious Cora Pearl whose ,

reputation filled Paris and o verfl o w ed into

Europe ; but at least he signalised hi s return
to propriety by a visit to Osborne before he
quitted E n glan d .

It was o n the morning of the 6th August

that the E m peror and Empress reached the
Isle of Wight the Prince Consort meeti n g
,

them by boat while the Queen awaited them

,
2 00 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
on the landi n g —
stage There was n ot the social
importance attached to this visit which belong ed
t o that of 1 8 55 Napoleon an d Eug enie came
.

as o l d frien ds n o t as acquaintances awaitin g po s

,

sible admittance t o intimacy But there were .

political en ds i n V iew also Lord Malmesbury .

“
wrote in his diary o n the l ot h August : The
O bj ect o f this visit is kept very secret but I ,

have no doubt that it is to discuss the question

o f the Principalities upon which the English
,

and Fre n ch Governments are at variance .

The Emperor has lon g been very much di ssa ti s

fied and I suppose that finding that P ersi gn y
, ,

h as failed i n O btaining any concessions he has ,

come to try a n d settle matters himself with

the Queen ; a n d certainly his brin ging his
Foreign Secretary together with the fact that
,

Lords Palmerston and Clarendon are summoned

”
t o meet him looks very like a co n ference
, .

Malmesbury was quite right i n his surmise .

It was the question o f the Danubian Princi

a l i t i es which brought the Emperor of the
p
French to England Napoleon was as it were
.
, ,

“
givi n g his principle o f nationalities a trial
trip before he raised the Italian Question I n
practical form His policy at this time was
.

more consistent than his allies were incli n ed to

suspect He had begun in the previous year
.

to conciliate Russia in preparation for a move

,

against Austria and now he desired t o o btain

,
2 02 T he Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
terms o f peace with Russia seemed likely t o be
forgotten entirely by the beginning of 1 858 ,

when a new i n cident arose t o make it really

serious But i n order not to anticipate the
.
,

order o f events we must return t o the summer

,

of 1 8 57 .

After a very brief stay in Paris for the open

ing of the new Louvre buildings whereby the ,

Louvre and Tuileries were at last united in a

con n ected group Napoleon with the E mpress
, ,

Eug enie a n d the Prince Imperial departed again ,

o n the 1 7t h August for Biarritz He left the .

Empress however a week later and before the

, , ,

end of August had reached Ch alons where he ,

was t o spe n d a month in camp Eug enie mean .

while remai n ed at her favourite Biarritz fo r her

usual holiday by the sea and within easy reach o f
her native land On the present occasion there
.

was the additional attraction o f the presence

o f that remarkable person Home the medium , .

Of all the actions fo r which her critics so i n

discriminately attacked the Empress perhaps ,

the only o n e concerning which the censure did

not exceed the merits o f the case was her pro
t ect i o n of this S piritualist wonder worker The -
.

complete history o fDavid Dunglas Home perhaps

will never be written There are those n o w w h o
.

believe that somethi n g lay behind the ordin ary

tricks o f the quack which were good enough t o
,

take in so many w ho flocked t o Home s sea n ces ’

.
 I 8 57 2 03

On the other hand while his chief enemies in

,

Fran ce were persuaded that he was an agent in

the pay of the Berli n Govern ment this charge ,

appears n o w to have no grou n d Of his u m .

worthi n ess o f the patronage o f a self respecting -

sovereign there can be no doubt and the favour

,

shown to him for a brief while by Napoleon

, ,

and all through by the Empress ca n but ,

diminish o ur estimate o f the i r mental powers .

Home appeared i n Paris i n the sp rin g of 1 8 5 7 .

Although born in S cotlan d he first became

,

kn own t o fame i n the United States whither ,

he was taken as a child o f nine At the age .

of seven teen o r eighteen he began to deal in

spirit messages a n d whe n he lan ded in E n gland
-

in 1 8 5 5 he had already a reputation Being .

received i n to the Roman Catholic Church in

Italy next year he was u n derstood to have
,

given up his practices but i n Paris in 1 8 5 7

a n attack o f catalepsy it w a s said was followed
, ,

”
by a return o f his powers S oon after this
.

he is fou n d i n the house o f a Russian lady ,

livi n g in Paris w h o before a ball asked him to

,

give an exhibition Home complied with the

.

n ow well known man ifestation o f moving

pictures o n the walls a n d disturbance o f fu rn i
ture His hostess then in troduced him to her
.

guests fashionable ladies most eager t o get i n to

,

touch with the occult ; and he secured e n ough

invitations to assure him a brilliant future in
 2 04 T he Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
the French capital At last stories o f his .
1

i n fluence over tables a n d chairs his production ,

o f myste rious music a n d his messages from the ,

spirits reached the Empress s ears and sh e ’

persuaded a frien d to i n troduce the magician t o

the Palace H ome consented to give a sea n ce in ’

the intimate circle o f the Court a n d one even ing ,

in June a round table w a s brought into a room

where were gathered the Emperor and Empress ,

King Maximilian o f Bavaria Count Wal ew ski , ,

the Duke o f Bassan o a n d various Court ladies ,

and ge n tlemen Over the table was thrown a .

lo n g cloth and the company seated themselves

,

round it while Home directed the lowerin g o f

,

the lights Rappi n g commen ced without delay

.
,

’
but the spirits first message was a request that
the unbelievers Wal ew ski and Bassano should
withdraw That the two were hostile to his
.

pretentions Home kn ew already Their retire .

ment proved satisfactory fo r the sou n ds of an ,

accordion began to be heard in the room Then .

o n e of the ladies expressi n g a desire for her ,

’
dead father s presence felt a clammy hand o n ,

hers Next Maximilian s shoulder was touched

.
’

by an unseen hand a n d a cold breath blew upon

1 M r
g D . hi s
S boo
. k M
M oh ar d ol i o u t h in on am m e

p( 3) p oi t s out i t s ti g s i il ity b tw H o
. 1 1 n an n ere n m ar e e en m e

an d M oh d i th t both w bl to di sp wi th h
am m e n a ere a e en s e t e

a pp l s f s u ppo t f o th i c o v t s whi c h oth i

ea or r r m e r n er er m s

i i
s o n a r es d T hi s bility to do without p y c h ity
m a e . a a or ar

was a o s t s u cc ss ful ca d f a di u
m a p oph t to p l y
e r or m e m or r e a .
2 06 T he Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
Accordingly he was taken with the Court t o
Biarritz i n spite o f the rapidly growin g scandal
,

outside fashio n able circles a n d i n the European

Press . Here he overstepped the limits o f
patien ce of the E mperor who had already ,

ceased his belief Con trolli n g the pencil with

.

which the spirits wrote when they did not u se

the table for rapping he produced a message
,

”
S igned by Queen H ortense and giving the
“

“
advice that the Emperor should make war t o
deliver Italy from the Austrians a remark -

which gave rise to the theory that he was a

German agent for provo king France against
’
Austria Napoleon did n o t desire the spirits
.

intervention in his secret designs ; and yieldin g ,

at last to the lon g urged entreaties of Wal ew ski

-
,

w h o not only considered Home a dangerous and

discrediti n g guest at Court and spoke bitterly
o f the j uggleries of the charlatan but also was ,

an enemy of Sardinian pretensions against Rome ,

he disregarded the protests o f the Empress and

gave Home n otice t o leave France at o n ce .

S o much to the advantage of Eug enie s re

,
’

putation there departed from France o n e who

,

was certainly the cleverest o f his tribe Apart .

from his spiritualist accomplishmen ts and his

al ready men tioned in depen dence of pecu ni ary
rewards Home had no person al advantages to
,

account for his success He was an ordinary .

looking man tall slight with an intelli gent

, , ,
 I 8 57 2 07

face keen but mournful blu e eyes and rather

, , ,

insignificant features H e looked about twenty

.

o n e o r two in 1 8 5 7 and was actually only

,

twenty four He called himself an American o f

- .

high S cottish descen t He w a s in fact a natural

.

so n o f the tenth E arl o f Home H i s men tal .

an cestry is less in shadow than his racial and ,

none of his predecessors in the art of playing

upon human credulity could have any reason to
be ashamed o f a con n ection with David D unglas
Home .

Home seems to have made a brief reappear

ance at the Tuileries in 1 865 after he had visited ,

the principal courts of E urope giving sea n ces at

’

all
. N o such notoriety however attached t o , ,

his seco n d visit a s t o that in 1 8 5 7 Yet a third .

time he w a s see n in France in 1 8 70 when he ,

followed the Prussian forces to Versailles H i s .

former Imperial patrons were then far away

from the Palace at which they had once received
him .

The stay o f the E mpress E ug en ie at Biarritz

this year was made memorable for her apart ,

from the fact that it saw the end of H ome s ’

ascen dancy by a visit which she paid to Spain

, ,

i n company with her sister and three of her

ladies on the 1 7th September It was but a
, .

brief even ing excursion by boat from Biarritz ,

but the town of San Sebastian illumin ated i n

her hon o ur and received her with a military
2 08 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
band A S has been said before informal trips
.
,

across the frontier into the land of her birth were

a regular part o f the Empress s yearly soj ourn s ’

at Biarritz ; but no more elaborate V isit than

that t o S an S ebastian was made until S ix years
later .

The holiday by the sea was prolonged in 1 85 7

for the reaso n that the Emperor was busily en
gaged elsewhere After his month at C h fil o n s
.

he went to Germany with deep political obj ects,

I n V Iew making however a pretext merely o f

, , ,

returni n g the call which the King of Wi Irt em

'

berg had m ade on him i n Paris the previous

year William of Wi i rt em berg was the brother
.

o f Jerome Bonaparte s second wife Catherine

’

and although he had been a very u n grateful and

even cruel brother t o the unfortunate Queen of
’
Westphalia his conduct as uncle t o Jerome s
,
1

’
and Catherine s children was evidently considered
a sufficient atonement for past o ffen ces for the ,

now o l d King w a s o n excellent terms with the

Fren ch Imperial fam il y At Stuttgart by no .
,

undesigned coi n cidence Napoleon fou n d that ,

the Tsar Alexander had arrived a day earlier

‘

and on a smaller scale there was re produced the

meeting o f another Napoleon and another Tsar
Al exander at Erfurt in September 1 8 08 There .

was not o n this occasion the p a rterre o f kings of

1
S ee t h e p s tw t s
re en ri er
’
“ Th e B u l s qu N p ol o
r e e a e n,

p p 2 74 , 3 3 6
. .
2 10 The Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
with hi s cousin ; but though a little later he
,

was obviously in the E mperor s full confidence ’

there is no indication that he was yet allowed

t o share in the dream o f United Italy Least .

o f any i n his circle could the Empress Eug e nie

be permitted by her hus b and t o suspect designs
which threatened the power o f the Holy
Father .

The usual theory ab out the cause which

decided i t can hardly be said precipitated
-

’
Napoleon s intervention in Italy is that he was
alarmed by the attempt o f Orsini at the be
ginni n g Of 1 8 58 A m pl i fica t i o n s o f this theory
.

represent him as the ex carbon aro o f 1 8 3 1 -

trembling at the threats o f ven geance of the

comrades whom he had deserted It may be .

remarked that the vengeance was very slow ,

seeing that twenty seven years sa w the deserter

-

still livi n g It is true on the other hand that

.
, ,

the various plots agai n st the Emperor were all

Italian Since the failure o f Pianori the Paris
.

police had arrested i n 1 8 5 7 t hree Italians j ust

arrived from London They were convicted o f
.

the design o f murdering the Emperor o n e b e ,

i n g tran sported for life the others imprisoned for

,

ten years each The attempt o f 1 858 w a s a far

.

more serious affair and whether o r not it had

, ,

’
any influence o n the Emperor s designs in Italy ,

it was at least followed directly by an u n fo re

seen e ffect o n the relations of France and Britain .
 1 8 57
’
But for the Emperor s determination (with which
his wife most heartily sympathised ) to maintain
the A n glo French u n derstandi n g at all reason
-

able costs it would assuredly have shattered

,

that agreemen t beyond remedy .

 CHA P T E R XII

T H E O R S I N I A TTE MP T

T H E RE was nothing distinguish the winter o f

to
1 8 5 7 5 8 from the usual winter seasons o f the
-

Second E mpire u n til the arrival o f the 1 4 th

January E mperor E mpress and Court had
.
, ,

’
returned to Paris after the autumn s end to
resume the usual round o f gayeties which c o n
c ea l ed the course of political events Eminent .

foreign visitors were fewer than in m any years ,

the principal guest at the Tuileries being the

Duke o f Coburg w h o w as in Paris i n time to
,

be all but a n eye witness o f the crime which

-

startled the world The details o f the Orsini

.

plot are well known and need only be given

briefly here Felix Orsini had twice been in an
.

Italian prison ; the second time at Mantua ,

whence he soon escaped and fled to England .

In the course o f a lecturing tour he met another

refugee named Pieri i n Birmingham Taki n g
, , .

t o themselves as a third conspirator a French

man livi n g i n London Dr Simon Bernard , ,

they organised a plot against the life o f Napo

leon I II Tw o minor associates j oined them
.
,

Rudio a Venetian of good family who h a d

, ,

2 1 5
2 1 6 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
got into trouble and was teaching langu ages at
Nottingham and Gomez a Neapolitan w h o was , ,

Orsini s servan t Orsini left E ngland at the end

’
.

o f November 1 8 5 7 with a passport beari n g the

,

name o f Thomas Allsopp and passing through , ,

Brussels established himself in rooms in Rue

,

Mont Thabor in Paris o n the 1 5 th December

-
,

having in his luggage a number o f bombs Pieri .

and Gomez j oined him o n the 8 th January and

Rudio t w o days later Piero and Rudio taking ,

a room at a small hotel in Montmartre S o far .

,

all appeared to have gone excellently for the con

s i rat o rs ; but as a matter o f fact something
p , ,

was already known t o the police Pieri had .

come by way o f Brussels with one bomb in his

possessio n Brussels was the asylum of many
.

French malcontents and exiles and o n e of these , ,

a watchmaker go t t o know Pieri s secret A l

,
’
.

though an Orleanist the watchmak er did n o t

,

approve of assassination a s a weapon against the

Emperor usurper and he gave information t o
-
,

the Fren ch Legation A description o f Pieri .

was sent t o Paris where the police immediately

,

began t o search fo r him .

On the night o f the 1 4th January a S pecial

performance was taking place at the Opera a ,

benefit fo r the retiring baritone Massol and the ,

presence o f E mperor and Empress was promised .

It was noted afterwards what a tragic pro

gramme had been chosen i ncluding the executi o n ,
2 1 8 T he Las t E m p res s of t he F ren c h
Napoleon and E ugé n i e were safe the a i de de ,
-

camp severely wounded near the ear the coach ,

man and footmen o f the Imperial carriage all

badly inj ured one horse killed and the other ,

mortally wounded In the crowd arou n d the .

entrance twelve were ki lled and a hundred and

fifty six inj ured
-
.

The escape o f the intended V ictims was as

t on i shi n g S eventy six fragments of the bombs
.
-

were aft erwards counted embedded in various

parts o f the coach Th e Emperor s hat was
’
.

pierced and his nose was scratched R o guet .

was bleeding so profusely that the Empress s ’

white cashmere gown was much stai n ed But .

sh e personally was untouched a n d preserved an

admirable calm As people crowded rou n d her .

and Napoleo n sh e exclaimed Don t trouble ,

’

about us This is part o f o ur profession Look

. .

”
after the wounded In a few minutes S he .
1

entered the Imperial bo x with the Emperor .

“ ”
The scene from Maria Stuarda had been
M eri m e et S e Am i s M Filo say s th a t t h E p ss
1 e s . . n e m re

E uge i s c ou a g a d M e i m e c om pl i
n e
’
rW h a ft e c h
em e r e a n . en er a

p lot u g d h c ss ity of g t p c utio s h

he r e t e ne e rea er re a n s e an

s w dere I f thought a bout i t s hould v s l p I t i s

: we we ne er ee .

b s t to thi k f it d to t u s t i P ovi d c P i g y
e n ot n o an r n r en e . ers n

t s tifi s i d sp t c h to W l ki th 8 th J a u a y to
e e n a e a a ew s on e 1 n r

wh t axt t h E p ss s b h viou i pi d p p oval

an e en t e m re
’
e a r ns re a r ,

f h t l l s how g a tl y p o p l (i
or e e L o do ) h d b s t u ck
re e e n n n a een r

by th c ou g e d c ool ss of t h E p o d E p ss
ra e an ne e m er r a n m re .

T h y k w wh at ight b xp c t d f o h c h c t f
e ne m e e e e r m t e a ra er o

th E p o ; but th E p ss pp s i
e m er r ti l y w e m re a ea r n an en re ne

li ght d h as gai d u i v s l d i ti o
an ne n er a a m ra n .
”
 T he O rs i n i A tt emp t 2 I9
reached and the late Adelaide Ristori had j ust
,

scornfully denounced Eli z abeth as Bastard !

when the explosion was heard There was n o .

panic the actress continuing her part but the

, ,

news o f what had happened S pread rapidly over

the house A tremendous demon stration greeted
.

Napoleon and Eug enie as they appeared and they

had t o bo w repeatedly in acknowledgment At .

last the Emperor waved his hand encouragingly

t o Madame Ristori a n d the performance went
on. Napoleon an d Eug enie stayed t o the end
and then drove home through a shouting crowd
and illuminated streets to the Tuileries where ,

the diplomatic body the high officials O f State

, ,

and many others were gathered to o ffer c o n

gratulations A report had spread and was
.
,

not entirely dissipated that they had been killed

, .

The reception accordin gly was very warm as

the y entered the saloon Napoleon as calm as ,

ever and the Empress smili n g o n all It was .

said however that sh e broke dow n at last when

, ,

sh e reached the Prince Imperial s cradle and was

’

free from the gaze o fthe curious .

E ven more strange perhaps than the escape

, ,

from injury o f Emperor and Empress was the

fact that all the perpetrators o f the c rime were
arrested the same night A search through the .

Rue L epel l et i er revealed Gomez in an Italian

restauran t weeping Questioned by the police
, .
,

w h o found a revolver under o n e o f the tables in

2 2 0 T he Las t Emp re ss of t he F ren c h
the S hop he asserted that he was the English
,

valet o f Mr Allsopp o f 1 0 Rue Mo n t Thabor

,
-
.

Thither the police went at once and found Orsini

in bed Bein g himself wounded by h i s first
.

bomb he had been u n able t o throw the second

, ,

and after havi n g his hurt dressed he had gone

home Seei n g that Gomez had compromised
.

him he admitted w h o he was and was removed

,

t o gaol N o r did Rudio escape for Pieri hav

.
, ,

i n g stated that he lived with another man in

the Montmartre hotel the police went thither and
,

arrested Rudio The u n i n tentional treachery

.

o f t w o o f the plotters thus led to the capture

o f all — except Bernard o f course w h o took , ,

n o active part in the work and had n o t left

England .

On the followi n g day to reassure Paris the , ,

Emperor and Empress drove o ut unescorted

alon g the boulevards and visited the wounded
w h o had been removed t o hospital the night
before From every part o f Fran ce poured in
.

congratulations a n d a s far as Napoleon was co n

,

cerned the abortive attempt o n his life was like

, ,

that o f Pianori most advantageous as an i n cen

,

tive t o demonstrations of popular loyalty He .

was able i n the state o f public excitement and

,

anger to take measures o f precaution which

,

w o ri l d have been otherwise impossible At the .

Opening o f the Chambers four days after the

outrage he gave warni n g t o all inciters to dis
2 2 2 The Las t Emp ress of t he Fren c h
had already been implicated in disturbances ,

who should i n future attack the Emperor or

his family etc w ere liable to such punishments
, .
, ,

“
but also those who might attempt to hold the
Government up to hatred or ridicule o r be
implicated in other vaguely specified crimes .

At the same time that the pen al code was thus

strengthened a new office was temporarily created
,

i n the Ministry General E spinasse succeeding

.
,

t o the department o f the Interior was made also ,

Mi n ister o f Public Safety Napoleon writing,

to him : Do n o t by a n inordinate moderation

seek to reassure those who have been alarmed by
your accession to office They must fear y o u ;
.

otherwise your appointment would be without

an excuse .

The total result o f this reign o f terror was

the arrest o f some four hu n dred persons o f ,

whom three hundred were i n tern ed in Algeria .

Orsini and Pieri were executed o n the 1 3 th

March the other two escaping with penal servi
,

tude The Empress made strenuous endeavours

.

to avert the death penalty Accordi n g to Dr.

Evans S he appealed to everyone abo ut her to

“
,

aid her until o n e day the Minister o f the Interior

, ,

havi n g heard o f some n ew move sh e had made

to obtain a reprieve went to her and said almost
, ,

brutally : Madame y o u do not know how much

,

ann oyance your silly sentimentalism is causing us .

Let us attend t o o ur b usiness and occup y your

 T he O rs i n i A tt em p t 2 2 3
self with your own a ffairs E spinasse in this
.

“
speech certainly showed no inordinate modera
tion.

A more notable result o f the Orsi n i plot than

either the con stitutional change with regard t o
the rege n cy or the sti ffeni n g o f the pen al code
was the effect produced on the relations between
France and Britai n The fact that the co n
.

s i ra t o rs had concocted their plan s in E ngland

p ,

that they had but lately reached France from

there when they attempted to execute them and ,

that o n e o f their number was still at large in

London caused a storm of passion t o rage
throughout France in January and February .

Un fortunately considerable official support w a s

given to the direction of the storm across the
Channel On the 2 0t h January Wa l ew ski sent
.

a remonstrance to the British Government ask

ing how shelter could co n tinue to be given t o
“
men outside the common law and under the
ba n of huma n ity . Three days later P ersi gn y ,

receivi n g a deputation from the City o f Lo n don

to offer co n gratulations o n the Emperor s happy ’

escape spoke o ut very strongly what was in

,

his mind on the subj ect o f refugees Further .

,

the M on i teur committed the grave blunder of

publishi n g the terms o f some V iolent addresses
to the Emperor from military men speaki n g
on behal f o f their regime n ts demanding satis ,

1
E v a s M oi rs i i p 5 4 8
n , em . . .
2 2 4 T he Las t E m p re ss of t he F ren c h
faction from the land in which were the lairs
o f the i n famous monsters who had attacked
him It is true that Wa l ew ski sent through
the Embassy i n Lo n do n an apology for the
indiscretion of the M on i teu r But the effect o f
.

the addresses was n o t thereby effaced in pub lic

estimation The British Press took up the
.

challe n ge vigorously and on the reassembly o f

,

Parliament o n the 8 t h February the signs o f

danger were gravely plai n No direct answer
.

’
had been made to the French Foreign Minister s
letter although the Prime Minister and Lord
,

Clarendon had already hastened to convey fo r ,

themselves a n d for the Queen their detestatio n,

o f the outrage an d their sympathy with those

who might have been its victims On the second .

day o f the session Lord P a l m erst o n s Conspiracy ’

t o Murder Bill ofte n called the Refugees Bill

, ,

was introduced The champion s of the right o f

.

asylum were vehemen t against it an d o n the

second readin g an amendment proposed by Mr
Mil n er Gibso n was carried by 2 3 4 votes to
215 . This was o n the 1 9 th February Lord .

Palmerston promptly resign ed to the consterna ,

tion of P ersi gn y an d the dissatisfaction o f Napo

leon P ersi gn y had been talki n g in a n agitated
.

man n er from the begi n n in g o f February about

, ,

t h e immine n ce of war if n o co n cessio n we re

made to French sen timent and the accessio n t o
,

o ffi ce of Lord Derby seemed to him to settle

2 2 6 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
evitable Suddenly on the 1 6t h March the
.
, ,

British Premier made a personal call at the

Fren ch Embassy a n d co n gratulated P ersi gn y o n
the fortu n ate news He was asto n ished to .

find that P ersi gn y had not heard it It was .

to the e ffect that the matter was settled .

Wa l ew ski a n d Lord Cowley had arran ged all

i n Paris P ersi gn y had every right to feel hu rt
. .

He wrote an i n dignan t letter to Wa l ew ski and

foll owed it up with a despatch to the Emperor ,

resign ing his post i n Londo n He did not think .

that his friend and patron would a bandon him .

Napoleon however forced to choose could not

, , ,

throw over Wal ew ski who insisted o n his a c ,

ce t a n ce of the resignation a n d himself sent o f f

p
”
the b rutal reply Vo tre dem i ssi on est a ccep tee
’ ’

The ill — used P ersi gn y returned t o F rance to tell

the Emperor what he thought and to j oin forces
with Prince Napoleon to undermine Wa l ew ski s ’

positio n .

P ersi gn y dema n ds our sympathy but although , ,

he was an hon ourable man and a friend o f Eng

lan d his removal a t this c risis was to the a dv a n
,

tage of both cou n tries His successor Marshal .

Pelissier D u e de Malako ff though summed up

, ,

by Greville as a military ruffian who kn ows n o

” 1
more o f diplomacy than he does of astro n omy
1
G vill i s t j u s t
re e n o . ough d th g ot s qu ly
Th e r an ra er r e e

m a n n ere d M sh l wi th ar a , th i pp op i t Ch i s ti a
e na f r ra e r n n am e o

A i bl
m a e, was a f vou it butt f s to i s th F c h
a r e o r e at e ren
2 2 8 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
July before the Emperor Napoleon made his
,

memorable trip to Plombi eres It was cordially .

accepted and on the evening o f the 5 th August

,

the yacht Vi ctori a a n d A l bert escorted by six ,

British warships e n tered the harbour of Cher

,

bourg the appoi n ted place of meeting

, At .

eight o clock the Emperor a n d Empress came

’

on board unaccompa n ied by a n y suite and

, ,

were met by Prince Albert at the foot of the

ladder by the Queen o n deck A n absolutely
, .

private conversation followed in the saloon ,

Queen Victo ria re c ordin g in her diary that the

Emperor was much embarrassed the Empress ,

“
less so an d most kind Questioned as to
.

whether the a n ti —Fren ch feeling in England was

still strong a n d whether a n invasion was still
expected the Quee n and Pri n ce Consort smil
,

i n gl y endeavou red to reassure the Emperor but ,

spoke of the great harm done by the M o n i teu r s ’

publi cation of the military addresses Napoleon .

admitted the M o n i teur s error but said that

’

the addresses had been published without his

kn owledge The Prince Con sort describes the
.

Emperor as l ooki n g ill and bein g out of humour

at all that was said about him i n E n gland— which
can n ot be won dered at Lord Malmesbury who
.
,

accompanied the Quee n a n d Pri n ce adds the ,

i n formation that both he and the Empress were

unable to digest some articles in The Ti m es ,

which had been o ffensive especially again st ,

 T he O rs i n i A tt emp t 2 2 9
her and it was in vain that he tried t o mak e
,

them understand what freedom the Press had i n

E n gland After less than t w o hours Napoleon
.

and the Emp ress left the royal yacht .

Next day the English visitors lu n ched at the

prefectu re o f Cherbourg and in the eveni n g ,

there was a dinner given by the Emperor o n

his yacht the B retag n e At both meal s the sub
.

j ec t of the English Press attacks was discussed .

“
The Queen says that at dinner the Emperor, ,

unbent a n d spoke i n his usual fran k way to

me But he was n o t i n good spirits a n d seemed
.

sensitive about all that had been said of him

in Englan d and elsewhere Th e proposi n g o f
toasts the first occasion o n which dangerous
,

topics had to be mentioned publicly was a ,

painful ordeal to all Napoleon however giv

.
, ,

ing the health o f his guests spoke cordially and

“
asserted that facts had proved that hostile
passions aided by certain u n fortunate incidents
, ,

could chan ge n either the friendship existi n g

between the t w o Crowns n o r the desire o f the
”
peoples to remain at peace It was Pri n ce .

Albert s duty to respo n d

’
Quee n Victoria .

admits that sh e had a momen t of torture which ,

sh e would not willi n gly have passed th rough

agai n as he rose ; a n d duri n g his S peech S he
,

kept her eyes fixed o n the table But with .

,

on ly one hesitatio n the Prince Co n sort per

,

fo rmed his difficult task The Emperor shook .

2 30 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
’
the Prince s hand in the cabin afterwards an d
over their coffee all four discussed the terrible
nervousn ess which they had felt Amid a .

demon stratio n of fireworks a n d a n illum i nation

i n which the British fleet took part the E n glish ,

guests left the B retag n e Next morn ing they.

sailed from Cherbourg while the Emperor stood

,

o n the poop of his yacht and waved hi s hand

until they were o ut o f sight .

The Cherbourg meeting reaffi rmed the friendly

feelings of the Royal a n d Imperial families but ,

it also served to S how to what an alarming

exte n t the separation between the two peoples
had i n creased and how difficult it was for their
,

rulers t o maintain the semblance of a genuine

n atio n al u n derstan di n g It must be remem
.

bered too that the Pri n ce Co n sort shared t o a

, ,

great extent the suspicio n s of the British public

an d Press agai n st the Emperor Such S uspicions .

were hardly un n atural after the demonstratio n s

following the Orsi n i outrage seeing that con ,

si dera bl e French military a n d n aval preparatio n s

coi n cided with the an ti E n glish outburst i n the

-

Empire Napoleon had quite other obj ects in

.

V iew than a n i n vasion o f B ritain ; but he could

only c redit to h i s u n dergrou n d diplomacy the
misi n terpretation o f his V iews .

Queen Victoria s notes on the Cherbourg

’

meeting contain her usual tribute t o the Emp ress

Eug enie She speaks o f her lilac and w hite silk
.
 Th e E m p re s s E u gen i e.

F ro m Pa i ti
n n g by Wi t
n t
e rh a l e r .
2 3 6 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
to them that she was both Catholic and pious
, .

The Bishop o f Ren n es was even more eloquent

On the same text a n d so pleased the Emperor ,

that he elevated Ren n es to an archbishopric

as a reward When the j ourney en ded after a
.
,

fortnight th e clerical Press of France was full

,

o f eulogies of the sovereigns and Napoleo n stood ,

at the highest point o f favour with the Church .

In a year he had reached almost the lowest It .

is easy t o imagine how painful was the change

t o Eug enie the doubly Catholic as sh e call ed
,

herself Catholic both as a Spaniard born and as

,

Empress of the French .

In October the Court went t o Saint Cloud -

fo r the marriage o f the Duke of Malakoff with

S ophia Valera de la P afi erga a relative of the ,

Montij o family Malakoff was n o t a favourite .

o f Napoleon con cern i n g whose military ideas

,

he was supposed to hold a poor opinion But .

’
the Marshal s success in the Crimea where he ,

w o n his title and his services in London had ,

made him a hero whose claims must be recog

n i sed His wife is described as a pretty and
.

graceful Spaniard a great contrast t o her short , ,

rough and u n polished husband

, The match .

was attributed t o the Empress w h o had bro ught ,

Mlle de la P afi erga with her t o Cherbourg with

.

the idea that sh e might meet the French A m

b a ssa do r from Lo n don Malako ff fell in love .

at once wrote verses — an incongruous hobb y of

,
 T he Emp res s s F i rs t R eg en c y
’
2 37
his— i n her honour proposed and was accepted
, , .

They became regular attendants at Court though ,

Malakoff was naturally a retiring man and are ,

often mentio n ed i n the memoirs o f the period

as guests at Fo n tainebleau a n d Compi eg n e .

To Compi egne the Co urt went this autumn

for the usual entertai n me n ts Amon g those
“
invited to one of the series were Lord and
Lady Palmerston Lord Claren don a n d Lord
, ,

and Lady Cowley Palmerston and Clarendon

.
,

whose visit was much criticised i n Englan d met ,

at Compi egn e P ersi gn y whose one great wish

,

was to see Palmerston back in power again and

to upset what he considered the anti French -

admi n istration of Lord Derby There can be .

no doubt that Napoleon now discussed with

Palmerston a n d Clarendo n the application o f
the pri n ciple of nationalities to Italy The idea .

was already spreading that the Emperor was

con templati n g war i n the Peninsula so much -

so i n deed that it was thought advisable t 0 p u t

*

, ,

a paragraph in the M o n i teu r to the e ffect that

“ ’
the E mperor s Governmen t feels compelled to
caution the public conce rn ing the results of a
discussion calculated to change the relations of
”
Fran ce with a frien dly Power Napoleo n him
.

self very soon destroyed the e ffect o f such

pacific assurances .

The details o f the intrigues which led up to

the Italian War need not concern us here N o t .
2
3 8 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
even the bitterest enemies o f the Empress
Eug enie have attempted to show her influence
in bringing about the struggle with Austria .

They have bee n obliged t o admit her ignorance

o f her husband s plottings with Victor Emmanuel
’

in 1 8 55 a n d with Cavour at Plombi eres i n 1 8 5 8 ,

for the reason that had sh e k n own sh e must have

opposed his designs with all her strength B ut .

Napoleon took su ffi cient care that she s h ould n o t

kn ow The Plombi eres con ference he arranged
.

with the help o f his doctor C o n n eau N o sus

, .

i ci o n was aroused by a j ourney of C o n n ea u to

p
’
Turin in the summer of 1 8 5 8 ; but Napoleon s
agent went t o inform the Sardinian Ki n g that
the Emperor would be at Plombi eres taki n g the ,

waters in July and would be glad if he met

,

Cavour there So it fell o ut Napoleon was

. .

atte n di n g to hi s health (and this was no mere

excuse ) when Cavour arrived at Plombi eres o n
the 2 ot h July on his way to Germany for a
,

holiday The result was the famous interview

.

which settled the fate o f Italy Victor Em .

’
man uel o n reading C a vo ur s report remarked
In a year I S hall be either Ki n g o f Italy o r
merely M de Savoie. .

Very naturall y the M on i teur made no men

,

’
tion of the Emperor s doings at Plombi eres n o r
o f the visit thither o f the Italian Minister .

Napoleon wrote to his wife only o f his anxiety

con cern ing the health of herself and the little
2 4 0 T he Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
’
leon s unpopularity was increased by the news
of his political marriage An glo French r ela .
-

tions sustain ed a fresh shock a n d the Emperor s ’

o n ce great favour with the British public was

threatened with total extinction if he should
p rove to be a disturber of European peace .

Queen Victoria wrote to Lord Malmesbury

that France might have all Europe against
her as in 1 8 1 4 1 5 and it certain ly looked as
,
-
,

if this might be the case if Napoleon persisted

i n his Italian proj ects Yet the rema rkable
.

result of it all was that not w ithout many ,

misgivings he did persist that he had his way

, ,

i n spite of all E urope— i n cluding France — and

that Europe above all E n glan d came to co m
, ,

men d him for what he did i n Italy .

Events now began to move rapidly Victor .

Emman uel opened the Sardinian parliamen t with

a warlike speech At the en d o f January the
.

wedding between Prince Napoleo n and the Prin

cess Clothilde was solemnised o n the eve o f ,

which some sort of agreement if only a p a cte de ,

a m i l l e was signed
f Austria attempted
. to get
England s mediation a n d Napoleo n who did not
’

, ,

li k e the feeli n g displayed agai n st him acr o ss the

Channel professed to be willing to see a Con
,

gress At this poi n t Cavour is credited with

.

playi n g the trump card by threatening to resign

his office and to make public the correspondence
which had passed between him and the Emperor .
 T he E mp ress s F i rs t R eg en c y
’
2 4 1

Napoleon was not prepared t o meet this threat ,

but fortunately fo r him he found the reason

able pretext for war which he had told Cavour
would be necessary O n the 2 2 n d April Austria
.

called o n Sardinia to disarm and receiving a ,

temporising reply crossed the Ticino a wee k

later .

’
Information of Austria s ultimatum reached
Paris o n the Thursday before Easter Everyone .

was already in a nervous state The Empress .

w a s one o f the foremost advocates of peace and ,

was very upset by th e news which all took to ,

mean war for France S he forced herself to .

appear calm a n d o n Sunday wen t to pray a t five

,

churches where amid the large congregations

,

gathered for the celebration of Easter sobs could ,

occasionally be heard from those who had sons ,

near relation s o r friends i n the Army The

, .

Army itself had not received the order to

mobilise with any more enthusiasm than the
people in general But as soon as it was heard
.
,

that Austria had actually begun the attack on

Italy there was a revulsion o f feeli n g France
, .

rose warlike next day writes the Countess ,

St ephanie de Tascher ; Austria was the aggres

so r and ho n our demanded blood
, High spirits .

a n d confide n ce took the place of u n willi n gness

a n d forebodi n g The Emperor on the first

.

“
an n ouncement appeared preoccupied but co n
”
tent accordin g to the Countess He prepared
, .

Q
2 4 2 T he Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
to lead his troops in person and war was declar ed
,

in Paris o n the 3 rd May .

N o w for the first time came into operation

the regulations for the Empress s regency which ’

had been made after the Orsini attempt The .

Council which was to advise her was already

appointed an d it on ly wanted the Emperor s ’

departure to see Eug enie Empress Regent o f -

France The Emperor left Paris on the l oth

.

May after a farewell mass i n the Tuileries

chapel at which he was paler than was his
,

wont a n d the Empress like a marble statue ,

absorbed i n prayer As sh e sa w regimen t after

.

regimen t leave an d fin ally Napoleo n himself her ,

eyes were swolle n with tears but she maintained ,

a n attitude o f resolution a n d devotion When all .

were gone she set herself i n earn est t o perform

her work M erim ee wrote to the Countess of
.

Montij o that he fou n d her daughter learni n g

the Constitutio n by heart Three times every .

week sh e presided over a Ministerial Cou n cil ,

en teri n g i n to the business with such zest that

she declared that the en d of her regency would
fin d her vexed at the loss o f her present inter
ests In the evenings she gathered about her
.

at Sai n t Cloud her Court ladies to prepare li n t

-

for the wounded .

Of course the Regency o fthe E mpress E ugé n i e

has been ridiculed it being represen ted that
,

Napoleon merely allowed her to play an empty

2 4 4 T he Las t E mp res s of t he F ren c h
tw o weeks later came S olferi n o It was o n the .

2 1 st June at four A M that Napoleon s tele ’

. .

gram an n ou n ci n g merely Great battle great ,

victory reached the Empress at Sain t Cloud

,
-
.

Impetuously she arose from bed dressed a n d , ,

was o ut in the grou n ds o f the Palace to tell the

tidi n gs to the sentries Another Te D eu m was
.

ordered at Notre Dame a n d for the first time

,

i n his life the Prince Imperial appeared with his

mother at a public ceremony The Countess .

Stephan ie de Tascher records his answer when

he was told he must be good durin g the service .

He promised I will behave like the m en an d

pray like the ladies which seems a very diplo
matic an swer for a child of three
In con n ectio n with the S olferino T e D eu m
arose a diffi culty which was omi n ous fo r the
future The Archbishop of Paris was most re
l u ct a n t t o Offici a t e though consen ti n g at last
, .

’
The reason was that the Austrians defeat at -

Magen ta a n d their withdrawal i n co n sequen ce

from the Papal territory had resulted i n a ris
ing i n all the Legations and a throwing o ff
o f the Pope s rule This i n terpretation by the
’
.

Romagnols o f the sayi n g with which the Em

ro r Napoleo n had left France Italy must be
p e ,

”
free from the Alps to th e Adriatic gave great ,

o ffence to the Church s adherents i n Fran ce as

’

elsewhere a n d su sp1 c1 0n grew fast now about

,

’
the Emperor s real designs .
 The Emp ress s F i rs t R egen c y
’
2 45
Other news even more generally unwelcome
and still more astonishing followed fast France .
,

reconciled t o the war and delighted with Mage n ta

and Solferino heard with dismay o f the meeting
,

o f Napoleon and Francis Joseph at Villafra n ca

on the 1 l t h July N o t knowi n g the motives

.

’
which determin ed Napoleon s action the people ,

whom he had co n verted to warlike feeli n g were

disgusted that a stop should be made when
victory was in full flood a n d they were looking
for the expulsio n o f the Austrians from Venetia
as they had bee n driven from Lombardy The .

Emperor sa w that he could n o t expect a good

reception at the present stage and after signi n g
,

the peace preliminaries at Villafranca haste n ed ,

back through Fran ce without giving time for

an
y demonstrations At ten
. O clock ’
on the
mor n in g of Sunday the 1 7th July he reached
, ,

Saint Cloud where the Emp ress Regent was

-
,
-

awaiti n g him with the Pri n ce Imperial and the

Court . A mass was held at noon dej eun er ,
’

followed and then a reception in the Palace .

Once more the Emperor is described as looking

calm a n d content but it is evident that the
,

mask was servin g him well o n this occasion .

Historian s have abundan tly discussed N apo

leon s reasons for stoppi n g short at Villafranca
’
.

The contemporary theory has been generally a c

c e t ed a n d it agrees with the excuse given by
p ,

Nap oleon himself t o h i s Council and the tw o

 2 4 6 The Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Chambers at Saint Cloud two days after his -

return I found myself he declared then

.
, ,

obliged t o attack in front an enemy entrenched

behind his great fortresses and in beginning a ,

lo n g war of S ieges I was faced by Europe in

arms ready either to dispute our successes o r to
,

aggravate o ur reverses It would have been .

necessary first to break down the obstacles

thrown in o ur way by n eutral territories and aft er
wards to accept a conflict o n the Rhine as well
as o n the Adige Another consideration which .

Napoleon did n o t think it advisable t o tell the

Council and Chambers was that fever and the
two battles had already played havoc with the
flower of his Army Lastly it w as said that .
,

hi s humani ty revolted agai n st a continuance o f

the fighti n g ; which seems perfectly true .
1

France as a whole soon reconciled herself t o

, ,

the peace The Bonapartist craze of the masses

.
,

o f which Montalembert complained was n o t t o ,

be ki l led by an event which restored their

L dy C owl y told G vill th t N p ol o III

1 a e so re e a a e n . was
t d h t d th t h c ould
en er- ea r e b h s ight of pa
a e n ot ea r t e in,
m u c h l ss b i g h c u s f i fli c ti g it d h h a d s
e e n t e a e o n n , an S e een

h im quit u ps t ft vi s iti g hospit a l s h s u ff i g s h

e e a er n at t e er n e

h d wit
a ss d th n eG vill h o fl c t s th t N p ol o
e ere . re e e re n re e a a e n

h d how v
a ,
hu d d s d thou s d s f p o pl to f o
e e r, n re an an o e e rn r m

th i f ili
e r d without t i l s
am es t to l g
an p is h r a en in er o r er in
p s til t l c li t s vi c i g pity vou s s satio s
_

e en ia m a e , e n n no o r n er en n

f
or h i suf
t f i g
er (M oi s h
er nJulys . G vill em r ,
1 3t re e

i s v th l ss v y pl s d at h E p o s ag fi c t
,
n e er e e , er ea e t e m er r
’

m n i en

pa t r
”
c o c lud g p a aft S ol f i o
in n in e ce er er n .
2 4 8 T h e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
Pope ho n orary president o f the Italian confedera
tion the Sardi n ians furiously charged Napoleon
,

with a gross breach o f faith Several o f the .

Italian states refused to con form to the Villa

franca agreement and i t s confirmation by the
Treaty of Z urich w a s powerless t o bind a pro
testing Italy Napoleo n proposed another C o n .

gress o f Paris Various difficulties were in the .

way of a Co n gress and in its absence the Em ,

ero r allowed himself to be carried along in the

p
direction which he secretly desired to take This .

involved a definite attitude o f hostility t o the

temporal claims o f the Papacy alienated the ,

French clergy and i n troduced complications n o t ,

o n ly i n Napoleon s Mi n istry but in his o w n h ouse ’

hold He did n o t shri n k however from pre

.
, ,

c i pi t a t i n g the storm On the appearan ce at .

Christmastide of an anonymous pamphlet o n

”
The Pope a n d the Congress he was at once ,

identified as the author The devout were stirred .

to i n dign ation by the advoc acy o f the restriction

o f the Pope s temporal rule to t h e territory i m
’

mediately around R ome as best for the peace o f

1
His Holiness himself The French bishops un .

1
N p ol o
l s o w ot p s o all y to Pi u s IX th 3 1
a e n a r e er n . on e st

D c b p si g u po hi h
e em er re s c ssity f t p o l
n n m t e n e e o em ra

s c ifi c s Th P op who at h i N w Y s c p ti o h d
a r e . e e, s e ea r
’
re e n a

told h c o t d f h F c h g i s o Ro th t h
e m m an er o t e ren a rr n at m e a e

ho p d h E p o would c o d th a t s ig l o u t
e t e m er r n em n
“
na m n m en

of hy p oc i s y t h j s t i s u d p a p hl t c iv d th l tt
r ,
”
e u s e m e , re e e e e er

wi th v y atu a l c old ss
er n r ne .
 T he Emp ress s F i rs t R eg en c y
’
2 49
sparingly attacked the pamphlet and welcomed
the Papal encyclical o f the 1 9 th January cal li n g
o n the faithful to unite in defence of the Holy

See The laity proved as troublesome as the

.

priesthood a n d in the very Cabi n et Wa l ew ski

, ,

at whom his e n emies had rather unfairly sneered

hitherto as bein g merely the portfolio on which
his master wrote declined to co n ti n ue at the
,

post which he had held for the past five years ,

if the Emperor admitted the authorship of the

pamphlet Napoleon accepted his resignation
.

an d replaced him at the Foreign O ffice by

Thouvenel formerly Ambassador at Constant
,

i n o pl e reputed to be able industrious and

, , ,

honest and undoubtedly an e n emy o f the cleri

,

cal party if n o t an o ut a n d o u t supporter of the

,
- -

’
Emperor s Italian schemes .

Even wo rse than Wal ew ski s defection was ’

the opposition of the Empress The hopes which .

the favours at the time o f the Prince Imperial s ’

birth and the tour in B ri t a n n y had inspired in

her mind were shattered a n d her strongest feel
,

ings were outraged when her husband exchanged

the title of Eldest S o n o f the Church for that
o f enemy which hi s clerical oppo n en ts freely
,

bestowed on him S O bitterly hurt was sh e that

.

sh e is reported to have declared that if the Pope

were driven from the Quiri n al she would leave

the Tuileries I would rather see the Emperor
.

dead than damned for ever Compelled to

2 5
0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
witness what followed sh e exert ed all her i n
,

fl u en c e i n the cause of her fai th and from this

time onward she certainly played a much larger
political part than hitherto She could n o t save.

the alienation o f the Papal States bu t sh e is ,

credited with obtain i n g the maintenance o f the

French garrison at Rome — though it is doubt
ful whether Napoleon could have withdrawn his
troops in any case — a n d sh e lent her fullest aid

t o the reaction w hi ch fo l l o w ed after the spolia

tion had been completed .

That spoliation proceeded apace after the ap

poi n tment of Thouve n el t o the French Foreign
O ffice a n d C a vo u r s return to the post which he
’

had abandoned i n disgust after Villafranca .

N apoleon agreed to the S ardinian an nexation

o f Modena Parma an d the Romagna claiming
, , ,

in return S avoy and Nice for which he had ,

stipulated at Plombi eres a n d which should have

been his already but for the breach of faith at
Villafranca After a diplomatic show o f O pposi
.

“
tion t o the transfer o f the cradle o f the
”
King s family S ardinia n o w agreed to leave
’

the decisio n to the inhabitants themselves .

S avoy and Nice which had been French up to

,

1 8 1 5 voted by a n overwhelmi n g maj ority t o

,

become French again The u n happy Princess

.

Clothilde wedded t o a man with whom sh e had

,

n ot a thought in commo n made the bitter ,

’
comment on her father s policy : When the
S E A S O N O F S O RR O W
2 56 T h e Las t Emp ress o f th e F ren c h
acquisitions i n the S outh and after them t o
Corsica and Algeria It was suspected and
.
,

events amply proved the suspicion true that ,

he w a s an xious to be absent from the n eigh

b o u rh o o d o f his capital in order to cover his
complicity with the design s o f the Italian
Liberatio n ists who had n o mind to be restricted
,

by the Treaty o f Z urich Between May and

.

the middle o f August Gari baldi conquered

Sicily a n d at the very time when Napoleon
, ,

was starting on his tour he was marching o n

,

Naples to drive Ferdi n an d o ut On the 7t h .

“ ”
September when the Dictator of Sicily en
,

t ered Naples full of co n fide n ce that this was

,

but the step which led to Rome Napoleon w as ,

at the ancient Papal asylum of Avignon listen

ing t o the Archbishop s expressio n s of trust i n
’

the hand that protected the thro n e of Pius IX .

in the Eternal City Certain ly it w a s diplomatic

.

to be away from Paris at such a time .

S outhern France entertained the Emperor

and Empress with the utmost warmth of
welcome F étes and balls followed in rapid
.

succession at Lyo n s Chamb ery Avigno n

, , ,

Marseilles and Nice varied with a little

, ,

mou n taineerin g i n Savoy by the Empress ,

who climbed the M o n t a n v ert o n the back o f a

mule . Napoleon i n the mean while was en
gaged in some of his most tortuous man oeuvres .

Having threate n ed Victor Emmanuel that if ,

 A S eas o n o f S o rro w 2 57
the Sardi n ian troops attacked the States o f
the Church without pretext he must withdraw ,

his Mi n ister from Turi n and i n terve n e as an

antagonist again st h i s late allies he witnessed ,

t w o days later a Sardinian invasio n o f Umbria

and the Marches In another two days o n the
.
,

1 3 t h September he withdrew his representative

, ,

as he had threatened ; but he left a cha rg e

’

d afi a i res at Turin and conti n ued on his j ourney

’

to Corsica without taki n g the further step which

h i s Ministers and the country expected The .

former i n cludi n g Thouve n el at the Foreign

,

O ffice who did not share all his master s views

,
’

about Italy were left al most e n tirely in the

,

dark and after their indignant protests against

Sardin ia s violatio n of agreements found they
’

could do n othi n g t o support those protests .

The Emperor cleverly circumnavigated a most

dan gerous poi n t But the embarrassmen t a n d
.

disgust of his supposed advisers may well be

imagi n ed T houvenel to relieve his feeli n gs
.
, ,

’
took three days holiday in the country Thus .
,

at any rate he did the Emperor the compliment

,

of imitating hi s example on a lesser scale ; and

he o n ly returned to Paris i n time to hear of the
disastrous blow to the Papal army at Castel
fida rdo .

Leaving his Mi n isters to recover from the

shock which he had dealt them Napoleon ,

reached Corsica with the Empress o n the 1 4th

R
2 58 T h e Las t Emp ress o f t he F ren c h
September It was his first visit as it was hers
.
, ,

to the o l d home o f the Bo n apartes and after ,

the local authorities at Aj accio had received

them with municipal platitudes a day w a s spent ,

in visiting the house i n the Place Letizia with ,

its relics o f Madame M ere and the tombs near

,

by o f her and her half brother Cardinal Fesch

-
, .

Three days later they landed in Algiers where ,

a magnificent e n tertainment had been arranged

by the officials a n d the Arab chiefs The Arabs .

entered most heartily in to the display i n hon our

o f the visitors and the summit of all was reached
,

when their leaders came forward to do obeisan ce

to the Emperor a n d Empress Eugen ie accord .
,

ing t o Fleury who was in the Imperial suite

, ,

was especially flattered by the open admiration

expressed by the Arabs when they gazed upon
“ ”
her . The woman w a s uppermost in her he ,

writes and she found this homage all the more

,

pleasant for being so artless and unexpected .

’
When the day s festivities were over the Em
ero r began to break to her the terrible news
p
which he had already kn own With intended .

kindness he did not yet tell the whole truth ;

but it is doubtful whether her sufferi n g was not
really increased thereby .

Whe n the Emperor and Empress left Mar

seilles the Duchess of Alba was lying ill in
,

Paris at the newly opened H Ot el de l A l be

,
’

built by the Empress for her sister and family

2 60 T he Las t Emp re ss O f t he F ren c h
on earth . Often by trampling o n one s very ’

heart alone can o n e reach them .

It is impossible to doubt the bitterness o f this

sorrow o r to questio n the crushing e f fect on the
Empress E ugenie of her sister Francisca s loss ’
.

She surprised everyo n e about her by the depth

of her feeli n g She shut herself up in her rooms
.

and cared to see no one at Court But it i s not .

correct to represent as do some that sh e i n

, ,

sisted on an immediate retiremen t to S cotland .

She did n o t i n fact leave France until the

, ,

middl e of November and o n the 2 4 t h October

,

we find M erim ee writi n g to his i n con n u e of a

luncheon with Napoleon Eug enie and the , ,

Prince Imperial at Saint Cloud the previous -

da y when the Empress was fu l l o f enthusiasm

,

over her visit t o Corsica The view that a

.

combination of circumstances made her desire

for a while peace and solitude seems to be co r
’
rect Two days after her sister s death the Papal
.

forces under the Fren ch General Lamorici ere ,

an Orleanist exile had been utterly routed at

,

C a st el fida rdo by the S ardinian troops and little

n o w remained to the Pope outside Rome itself ,

secured only by the presence of Napoleo n s gar ’

rison The Emperor i n spite of his threats

.
, ,

had su ffered Ca st el fida rdo to come about without

doing more than increase his small garrison N o .

satisfaction could be found by a devout daughter

o f the Church in such a n attitude Further it .
,
 A S eas o n of S o rro w 2 61

was universally believed at the time and not re ,

eat ed only by the scandalmongers that proofs

p ,

o f her husband s unfaithfulness now forced them

’

selves o u the Empress s notice We need n o t ’

.

credit over circumstan tial tales o f her consulta

-

tion o f lawyers o r o f her returni n g t o the Palace

1

after what S he took to be a publi c affront by

“
the former Madame Henriette and after a ,

pai n ful scene with the Emperor insisting o n ,

leaving Paris Such no doubt were the su r .

, ,

mises o f the day The Countess St ephanie de .

Tascher devoted adherent o f both husband and

,

w ife admits that people in utter astonishment

, ,

’
at the Empress s sudden departure connected it ,

with the presence o f the Countess o f Castiglione

at Court but dismisses the report as untrue
, .

M erim ee vaguely says that the E mpress s j our ’

ney is causi n g a great deal o f chatter and n o o n e ,

can quite make o u t what it means .

Very few of Napoleon s greatest admirers ’

attempt to maintai n that his wife had n o t

reason t o complain if sh e knew what others ,

knew ; and without seeking for the details o f

the presen t trouble we may rest conten t that
there were aggravating circumstances in addi
tion to her mourni n g which drove the Empress
1
M L o f x pl g v s h s to y th t h vi g
. de an , or e am e, i e t e r a , a n

t k lo g to s u sp c t i fid lity h E p ss
a en n th t h
e n e , t e m re ,
n ow a s e

was c o v i c d f it d s i d to k ow wh th a s p t o
n n e o , e re n e er e a ra i n

was p o ssibl d c o s ult d Jul s F v who c ould o ly d

e an n e e a re, n a

v s h to go ho
i e er d do oth g l k a y a oth w f
m e an n in ,
i e m n n er i e .
2 62 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
to leave a while h er home She decided t o go o n .

a j ourney to S cotland includi n g a visit t o the

,

Duke and D uchess o f Hamilton the latter being ,

her husban d s cousi n formerly Princess Marie o f

’

Baden On the 1 4 th November she left Paris

.
,

biddi n g good bye to the Emperor at the Gare du

-

Nord She travelled i n cog n i to as the Comtesse

.

de Pierrefonds and took with her only the

Countess o f Montebello Madame de Saulc y an , ,

equerry and o n e o f the Imperial aides de camp

,
- -
.

She passed two days in Lon don o n her way

t o S cotland stoppi n g at C l a ri dge s Hotel and
’

avoiding any offi cial recognition by the French

Ambassador As her presence in England could
.

n o t be concealed it was given o ut that sh e was

,

in bad health and in search o f a change o f air .

She did not entirel y seclude herself for o n the ,

second day sh e was out o n foot shopping and

in the afternoon sh e saw o n ce more the Crystal .

Palace where five years ago she and her husband

,

had been the obj ect o f every eye .

From London she proceeded t o E di n burgh ,

arrivi n g o n the 1 7th November ; the first Royal

lady of France to visit S cotland it was observed , ,

since Mary Queen of Scots three hundred years

before She took a deep interest in Mary
.

Stuart as i n that other hapless Queen Marie

, ,

A n toi n ette and now visited her relics at Holy

,

rood She could not escape publicity in spite

.
,

o f her heavy mourning and before sh e left ,

2 64 T h e Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
en g ra n de On entering t h e drawing
ten u e .

room there stood the Empress with a black

, ,

suite all i n the deepest mourning There were

, .

n o t more than four o r fiv e visitors Scarcely a .

word was said and the e ffect was very melan ,

ch o l n either did the subseque n t repast co n

y ;
duce t o cheerfulness The great din ing room .
-

had been darkened ; though it was o n ly three

o clock the lights were subdued : so the repast
’

was a very funereal o n e The whole scene was .

suited to the Empress s frame o f mind ; sh e ’

very tal ked little and afterwards in conversa , ,

tion with her en tourag e it was impossible to gain ,

any information In fact there was an air of .

,

1
profound mystery in the whole proceeding By .

the time the dinner o r rather luncheon was over , ,

( and it lasted two hou rs ) the crowd of people ,

i n the park was immense It seemed as if the .

whole country had coll ected to stare n o t at ,

any grand procession or military display but ,

simply at a graceful lady in deep mourning , ,

w h o wore such a thick veil that not a feature

was discernible .

N o t o n ly here but throughout her tour the

Empress found the same anxiety to see her o n
the part of the crowd ; and embarrassing a s this ,

L o d L i gto dd s th t a f i d w ot to h off g
1 r am n n a a r en r e im eri n

to t ll h h two o s t c o fid ti l s c t s t u s t d to h
e im t e m n en a e re en r e im
l t ly
a e xc h g f th t f h E p ss s j ou y b
,
in e an e or a o t e m re
’
rn e ; ut

th t f a ,
h w as c o c
as d th t s c t was li k h
ar a s e n ern e ,
a e re e t e

k if g d s s to y—th was o to t ll
n e- ri n
’

er r ere n ne e .
 A S eas o n of S o rro w 2 65

prove d t o her at the time sh e w a s pleased at ,

the welcome At least sh e expressed to Lord

.

Malmesbury t w o years later her delight with

the j ourney i n Only in London could
s h e escape unsolicited ovatio n s In Man chester .

S he received another address from the Town

Council and i n the smaller places the exp eri
,

en ces of Motherwell were repeated .

The E mpress in S pite o f her i n cog n i to did n o t

, ,

leave England without seein g Queen Victoria .

On the l ot h December sh e was at Windsor ,

lunching with the Queen and the Prince Co n sort ,

before going t o London for another t w o day s .

On the 1 3 th D ecember sh e returned to Paris ,

havin g been away only o n e day less than a full

month t o find Napoleon embarked o n another
,

line o f policy of which S he disapproved if n o t ,

s o vehemently as o f his conduct toward Ital y .

The courage shown by the Emperor at this

period is unden iable In 1 8 59 60 he dispensed
.
-

with clerical support in France in order to further

his principle o f n ationalities In Januar y 1 8 60 .

he published a letter from himself to his Finance

Minister F o u l d practically annou n ci n g his i n
,

tention of maki n g Fran ce a Free Trade cou n try ,

and he followed this up by a commercial treaty

with E n gland A n d n o w o n the 2 4t h November
.
, ,

when the Empress was in S cotlan d he issued a ,

decree allo w i n g the Chamber the right o f draw

1
M al s bu y
m e r , M em oi s
r , 2 7t h N ov em b er 1 8 8 2 .
 C HAP T E R XV

T H E L A TE R CO URT
1 860, as has been said is commonly regarded as
,

the year in which the Secon d E mpire reached

i t s highest poi n t Perhaps the period may be
.

exte n ded to cover 1 8 60 63 the Gen eral Election

-
,

at the en d o f the last o f those four years and

the events in Ce n tral E urope in 1 8 64 giving
significan t proof of France s decli n e i n domestic ’

and foreign affairs The early Sixties too were

.
, ,

in social matters the years of greatest splen dour .

It is generally agreed among chroniclers of the

Court of Napoleon and Eugenie that the advent
t o Paris after the conclusio n of the Italian
,

War o f the Metternichs had much to do with

, ,

the developmen t of the Court to i t s giddiest

height When we sa y the Metternichs we
.
,

either wron g or flatter the husband for it was ,

the wife Princess Pauli n e Mette rn ich who w a s

, ,

regarded alternatively as the leading S pirit o r

the femi n i n e evil ge n ius of the Cou rt The .

Prin ce since it was at Napoleon s special re

,
’

quest that he was sent at the early age o f thirty

, ,

to represen t Austria in Paris after the con clu

sio n of peace we must suppose to have had
,

2 69
2
7 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
diplomatic gifts In the memoirs o f the time
.

he appears as a tall heavy han dsome man with , , ,

lo n g fair whiskers well dressed and as gallant

,

in manner toward women as a watchful wife

allowed him to be Toward men his pose was .

o n e of dignified retice n ce co n scious o f the high ,

importan ce o f the diplomatic career .

The Pri n cess was born Pauline Chandor ,

daughter o f an eccentric Austrian Count and , ,

like her husban d was about thirty years of age

,

when sh e came t o Paris After her marriage .

with the Pri n ce sh e had accompanied him to

Venice where sh e made no small sens ation in
,

society It was Paris however which gave her

.
, ,

a real opportu n ity of showi n g her talents an d ,

sh e was not slow to take it She was n o t a .

beauty In fact sh e was what was known as

.
,

u n e j o l i e l a i de and described herself a s the si n g e

a l a m ode a very happy phrase according even

,

to friendly critics If S he had simian features

.
,

however she had also golden hair a S lim figure

, , ,

and shoulders of which sh e made an abundan t

display Her diamo n ds were remarkably fin e
.
,

and her dresses charmi n g original a n d expen , ,

sive Although sh e was well supplied with

.

mo n ey by her husban d sh e was said t o have left ,

Paris o n the outbreak o f the Fran co P ru ss1 an -

War heavily in debt to Worth .

Still the Princess Pauline did not rely o n

,

dresses o r diamon ds to produce her effects .

 2
7 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
frank in her explanation to convince them that
he w a s faithful The Prince made n o attempt .

t o restrain his wife s originalities beyond a l an

’

“
guid utterance of A ber P a ul i n e ! when she ,

was more than usually dari n g after which he ,

return ed to the dignified con templatio n o f his

diplomatic glory So Pauli n e con tinued on her .

way to her o w n amusement a n d the admiration

,

o f the Court The Empress Eug enie had wel

.

comed her from the beginni n g seeing i n her ,

a s rn foe to dulness the terror of Courts , .

There were even certain superficial resemblan ces

in the characters o f Empress a n d Princess Both .

had taste i n dress viva city of manner and a , ,

craving for amus ement The relationship be .

tween the two however was much exaggerated , , .

The very etiquette of the Court did n o t allow

the Empress to be so intimate with a nyone as
sh e was represented to be with the Pri n cess

Pauline It would perhaps have bee n better for

.

her n ame if she had been less so than she actually

was even if we regard the Princess s vagaries as
,
’

comparatively harmless But Eug enie having .

,

o n ce conceived a liking for her was not disposed ,

t o abando n it lightly in spite of several shocks ,

which Pauline did n o t hesitate to give to her

dignity .
1

1 s t c th i s h o ly too oft quot d s to y of

Fo r i n an e, ere t e n en e r

t h dvi c whi c h h P c ss M tt i c h g v th t c t i
e a e t e ri n e e ern a e a a er a n

s ho t sk t s hould b wo by h E p ss d C ou t l di s
r ir e rn t e m re an r a e

on holid y xc u s io s Y would
a e r dv s you n .
“
ou n ot a i e r o wn
 Th e La t er C ou rt 2
73
The Emperor o n the other hand (although ,

malice coupled h i s name with the Princess

’
Mettern ich s as with that of almost every lady
at Court ) did not care for the influence of the
brilliant Austrian over hi s wife and those that
surrounded her But he took no steps t o com .

bat i t and appeared with the Empress at the

,

official a t homes of the Prince an d Princess

-
.

L A m ba ssa dri ce as sh e was called established

’

, ,

herself as the brilliant star of the constellation

o f women which made the Court so famous .

This period i n Paris has been described a s the

Age of Woman Woman reigned and the em .
,

blem o f her authority was the crin oline which ,

the Empress Eug en ie had made popular Time .

has reduced the memory o f most o f those who

shone then to mere names with which we may ,

couple perhaps a vision of ringlets and a m o n

strous hoop Few amo n g the D uchesses o f
.

Bassan o Cadore P ersi gn y and Malako ff the

, , , ,

Countesses Wa l ew ski Castiglion e Morn y Pour , , ,

tal es a n d Mercy Argen teau and the other titled

,
-
,

ladies had great claims to distinction though ,

most of them had pretensions to good looks 1

.

E m p ss to w
re s u c h sk i tea r o s t t d F c h l ady a r ,
rem n ra e a ren

aft w d
er N but y E p ss
ar s . bo P i c ss w as
0, m m re was rn a rn e ,
”

th w you
e an s er, o ly M ll d M o tij o
rs w as n e . e n .

1M l bu y how v w it s
a m es r h
, 7 h O c tob 86 e er, r e on t e 2 t er 1 2
th t h g f h wo ! bout h E p s ] with h
“
a t e en re o t e m en a t e m re s , t e

exc ptio f M d W l k vil Th i h i i s d gg d

e n o a am e a ew s i, i s e . e r a r ra e

off th i f c s s o tightly th t th y
e r a e h dly s hut th i y s a e ca n ar e r e e ,

S
2
74 T h e Las t Emp ress of th e F ren c h
Of them the most remarkable certainly was the
Cou n tess Castiglione a Florentine by birth and ,

a niece o f Cavour In a di fferen t way sh e made .

as much sensation at Court as the si ng e a l a

m ode but unlike the Princess Metternich sh e
,

w a s less appreciated by the Empress than by

the Emperor .

The Cou n tess Castiglione was very young

when S he came to France Only born in 1 8 4 0 .
,

Virginia O l do i n i married at the age of fifteen

o n e of Ki n g Victor E mmanuel s equerries Her ’
.

arrival in Paris in spite o f her youth showed , ,

her beauty fully developed An admirer de .

‘

“
scribed her as a woman whom Greece would
have deified an d reserved as a model for Phei
dias o r Praxiteles The Countess St ephan ie .

de Tascher is less amiable than usual in this i n

’
stance She does n o t deny t h e It al i a n s beauty
'

.
,

but says it was of body n o t o f sOul the ,

beauty of an o bj et d a rt which leaves the heart ’

u n touched The lady had the gift however

.
, ,

“
o f attracting all regards ; it needed virtue to
resist her an d virtue w a s not the point o n which
,

”
men prided themselves in the circles where S he
triumphed H er pride in her lovelin ess led her
.

to exhibit it as much as possible— as if to prove

that sh e was altogether lovely adds her critic , .

an d sc l t cc out
th ei r t s j ack t s c lo k s
ar e a th y rem en ,
e ,
a , etc .
,
as e

h pp to b v y fai ad
a en e bl erd sc b bly u b
r, m e a n en s em e in e ri a n e

c o i g Th s
m n . h o ccas o f a hu t g xc u s io
i w as on t e i n o n in e r n ,

o f c ou s r e .
2
7 T he
6 Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
a certain class o f memoirs t o treat what i s merely ,

the equivalent of a low type of society j ournalism

as if it were history Nevert heless it must be .
,

admitted that there were occasion s when the

censors genui n e or pretended had good ground
, ,

for their severity Th e Court i n cluded many

.

whose characters were n o t concealed by their

talents o r their looks Men li ke Morn y women
.
,

like l a bell e Castig l i on e a n d worse than they , ,

could not bring honour o n those with whom

they associated ; and it cannot cause wonder
that people credited them with the sentiment
of Madame de Longueville u n der Louis XIV
vou l ez l es j eu a i n n o
’

Q ue vous ?
- J e n aim e
p as
'

cen ts .

The great entertainments were the fetes at

C o m p ei gn e or Fontainebleau ; the hu n ti n g parties -
,

with the Empress ever at the front and often

in at the death ; the galas on the lake with ,

M erim ee Court poet reciting hi s verses in a

, ,

boat to the Emp ress and her ladies ; an d above ,

a l l the Court balls whe n E mperor and E mpress

,

wer e in Paris The most celebrated of these

.

balls owing chiefly to a n exploit of an Imperial

,

lady was that in fancy dress given at the open

,

i n g of the H Ot el d A l b e i n April 1 8 60 S everal

’
.

description s of this remain amo n g them o n e i n ,

“
M é ri m é e s letters The costumes were very
’
.

”
fine he writes and there were plen ty o f pretty
, ,

women present who proved conclusively how

 T he La t er C o u rt 2 77
bold an age this is Their dresses were o ut
.

rageously short both above and below and I

, ,

was able to see any number o f pretty legs and

man y a garter too while they were waltzing
, , .

There was a ball et of sixteen ladies all ver y ,

fair in sh ort skirts an d blazi n g with diamonds

, .

Half o f them represe n ted Naiads a n d were p o w

dered with silver which fell on their shoulders li ke
dew drops while the others were Salamanders
-
, ,

spri n kled with gold dust The supper room-

.
-
,

with its pictures its attendants i n sixteenth cen

,
-

tury costume and its bril l iant illumination re

, ,

minded M erim ee o f Belshazzar s feast in Martin s ’ ’

picture All the Court was there the Empress

.
,

in white velvet with a black domino easily recog ,

n i sed by all and the E mperor vai n l y trying t o

,

disguise his identity by a frequent change o f

costume .

The sensation o f the eveni n g even amo n g the ,

S hort skirts which struck M erim ee so much was ,

the appearan ce of the Princess Mathilde The .

Princess was not fo n d o f balls but sh e wished ,

at least to be a n artistic success and sh e went as ,

a n Egyptian fellah woman with her s k in appro ,

ri a t el dyed A s sh e e n tered the ballroom a

p y .
,

shock ran through the I mperial family Every .

o n e else crowded to look at her and voices were ,

heard asking her lady i n waiti n g Did you paint - -

your mistress The question is not surprising

to us when we read Lord Malmes bury s entry ’
.
2 7 8 T h e Las t Emp res s of t he F ren c h
”
Her dress he says was o f the scantiest very
, , ,

decol l etee her arms bare up t o the shoulders with

’ ’

, ,

a narrow band by way of sleeve fastened with ,

a brooch The body was slit under the arm t o

.

the waist showing her skin The drapery behind

, .

was tran sparent which she probably was n o t

,

aware of as sh e had not dyed her S kin in that

,

particular place and the e ffect w a s awful

, The .

Empress managed t o disguise her feelings but ,

the Princess Clothilde was so affected by her

sister i n law s display that she refused t o go t o
- -
’

another fancy dress ball after this -

.

The P rm cess Clothilde was drawn by her

’
marriage with the Emperor s cousin into u m
congenial surroundings a n d demands pity for
that ; but she is hardly a sympathetic figure .

Her reply was n o t graci ous to the E mpress s ’

kind attempt to reassure her o n her arrival in

Paris . Be at ease dear y o u will soon feel a t , ,

”
home in my Court said E ugen ie I am quite , .

” “
at ease Madame replied the Princess
, an d
, ,

have been accustomed since birth to my father s ’

”
Court She was a s devoted a Roman Catholic as
.

the Empress herself but o f a type very di fferent ,

from the Spanish Clothild es whole life except .

’

when her household duties employed her was ,

given up t o religious practices in spite o f the ,

continual remo n strances o f Prince Napoleon .

She wearied with her church going her ladies -

,

w h o unfortunately were not o f her choosing .

2 80 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he Fren c h
reflective expressio n but occasionally broke o u t
,

into a hearty laugh Milder productions seem

.

t o have prevailed later and the fashion o f play

ing original drawi n g —room comedies sprang up ,

Morn y setting an example as author which others

followed .

A S for the games which excited wrath parti

c ul a rl
y in Royalist circles the y were,of the
foolish harmless kind o f which we have already
,

spoken in con n ection with the Empress s l u n di s ’

.

If the E mpress had a liking fo r blind man s bu ff -

’

if the Emperor consented o n occasions t o j oin

in with his guests who shared her liki n g we may ,

surely look without t o o great severity o n the

relaxation of those whom etiquette had made t o
ache The volatile S pirits o f the E mpress were
.

impatient under the long restraint On occasions .

they betrayed her into even wilder excesses than

blind man s buff Again we must have recourse
-
’
.

t o the pages o f the Countess St ephanie de

Tascher fo r the story o f what followed the
hunting excursion to Rambouillet The hunt .

over and dinner at the chateau fin ished all

, ,

’
clamoured for children s games Even Napoleon .

was in fected with the spirit o f the evening and ,

they played the usual pranks At the end the .

E mpress suddenly produced from her pockets

handfuls o f flour and scattered it over the rest
o f the company Clearly S h e had found it i m
.

possible to crush all the mischief o f her girlhood

 T he La t er C o u rt 2 81

at the bidding o f etiquette Another stor y is.

told o f an escapade at Biarritz when she and a ,

few others concealed themselves behind the wall

in front of a n empty house and hit unsuspecting
passers by with switches until o n e irate victim
-
,

thought o f breaki n g into the house whereon ,

the guilty parties w ith some difficult y go t over

another wall in time t o avoid detection A .

better known tale is that o f her bet with Colonel

Verly o f the Cen t G a rdes that specially selected
,

and gorgeously uniformed corps which prided

itsel f on its immobility when o n duty The .

Empress was sure sh e could spoil this boast and

backed her opinion with a wager Walking in .

company with the Colonel sh e did her best t o

,

attract the attention o f a ga rde sta n ding o n

duty At last anxious to win her bet S h e
.
, ,

walked up to the man and boxed him o n the

ear H e did not move an d when the E mpress
.
,

sent him an i n tended compensation he gallantly

retur n ed it saying the E mpress s hand had
,
’

already honoured him .

S uch acts as these cannot be defended as

dignified but they certain ly give a very human
’
touch to the Empress s picture Without such .

reminders that sh e was still at heart the Eugenia

de Guzman who had startled Madrid it would ,

lack defin i t en ess a n d we might be incli n ed t o

,

agree with a writer who compared the Empress

to a brilliant rainbow tinted by the sunshine
2 8 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he Fren c h
of the Second Empire but n o t part o f anything
around her .

It w a s not a contemporary complaint o f

’
Napoleon s Ministers that the Empress was t o o
detached from thi n gs about her O n the con .

t ra ry they thought and sometimes said that

, , ,

sh e took far too much part i n affairs She .

is reported t o have opened accidentally o n o n e

occasion a letter from P ersi gn y complaining
t o the Emperor o f his submissio n t o feminine
i n fl u en ce a point o n which P ersi gn y had
spoken to him plainly before As the Empress .

and P ersi gn y were always o n bad terms the ,

discovery o f this letter made little di fference .

Remonstran ces at any rate did not affect the

E mperor s ideas H e intended that his wife
’
.

should be able t o fill the office which she might

be called upon t o hold if he should die su d ,

den l y o f Regent t o the Emperor Minor

, So it .

is not altogether j ust to speak o f the Empress

“ ”
meddling in affairs as fo r instance does Sir
,

M E Grant Du ff in an interesting note o n her

. .

about this time He says .

“
The Empress is the reverse o f stupid but ,

has had a very imperfect education an d is a ,

devotee of the Span ish type which is far worse ,

than the Fren ch and has much less of personal

piety in it Mass at the Tuileries is a sort o f
.

transaction with very little religious fervour .

She is brave and would show very well indeed

T H E E MPR E S S P O LITI CIA N
2 88 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
caused by the growing strength o f the clerical
party it was marked by the disappearance o f
,

the anti Papal Thouve n el from the Mi n istry

-

o f Foreign a ffairs an d the return o f Dro uy n de

Lhuys now Foreign Mi n ister for the fourth
,

time Rumour implicated the Empress in the

.

change She was at least exceedin gly interested

.

in it having protested against Th o u ven el s

,
’

appointmen t from the first Lord Malmesbury .

records an hour s co n versation with her chiefly ’

o n the Roman question j ust after Th o u v en el s

’

“
fall The Empress did n o t as I expected
.
, ,

he writes treat the subj ect as a devo te though

, ,

sh e said that no scandal could be greater than an

exiled Pope with no foot of earth belon ging i n

dependently to himself and that the honour o f ,

France was engaged to protect him from being

driven o ut o f Rome ; that if he were the
Austrians would come t o his rescue and France ,

would have n o right t o prevent it as by the ,

treaty o f Z i i ri ch with Austria the Pope was

to be mai n tained ; that the Italians should be
satisfied fo r the time with what they had got
, , ,

and not attempt impossibilities but organise ,

” 1
what they possessed .

1 M l sb u y M o i s
a m e r , em r , 2 7t h O ctob er 1 8 62 . Me i r m ee i n
th e o th b fo
m n co d s gul p itc h d b ttl
e re re r a
“
re ar e a e
”
at

B i it b tw
a rr z h E p es d hi s lf h Ro
e en t e m res an m e on t e m an

qu tio h p ki g with viv c i ty but without g

es n , s e S ea n a an er .

Th d i sc u ss io
e c to d th ough th o t s b i g
n am e an en r o ur r a e n

ti d d th w p ofou d s il c f ight
re an ere i ut s
as r n en e or e or t en m n e ,
 T he Emp ress P oliti c i an 2 89

It must n o t be supposed that the Emperor i n

any way altered hi s opi n ion a s to the desirability
of dep rivi n g the Pope of his temporal power .

’
Two years after Th o u v en el s dismissal a n d ,

while Dro u y n de Lhuys was still at the Foreign

Office we fin d N apoleon entering into a compact
,

with Victor Emmanuel to withd raw the Fre n ch

garrison from Rome a step which could on ly ,

have o n e result ; and i n December 1 8 66 he

carried out the terms of the compact disregard ,

ing the e n treaties o f the Empress an d her

“
prophecy : You may call it what y o u will ,

instinct presen timent or superstition I am c o n

, , .

v i n ced that my so n will not mou n t the throne

”
if we forsake the Holy Father Garibaldi s .
’

failure i n the following year left Napoleo n n o

altern ative but t o disavow him (as did Garibaldi s ’

o w n sovereign ) ; but what concessions he made

to the clericals were due to necessity n o t to ,

choice He had still to steer a very di fli cul t

.

course a n d the support which he got i n his

,

o w n country aggravated his difficulties P rince .

Napoleon the most vehemen t champio n of an ti

,

Roman schemes was a compromisi n g ally for ,

his cousi n Taking advantage of the greater

.

freedom of S peech resulti n g from the decree of

the previous November he gave a b rilliant ,

a t whi c h I thought h
f er o th o di ily tt ti v s e w as m re an r n ar a en e

to m ev id tl to s how th t h
e en g y Sh
y m e a s e w as n ot an r . e

ev sk d M d d R y l wh th h thought I
en a e a am e e a n eva e er s e w as
hu t t it i tly c h c t i s ti c f h
r ,
a ra em you k ow
n en a ra er o er, a s n .
2 9 0 T he Las t Emp ress o f t he F ren c h
oratorical display in the debate in the Senate
following the Speech from the Throne in 1 861 .

Setti n g forth boldly his o w n free thinkin g views -

a n d eulogising the policy o f a n United Italy ,

he p roceeded to a severe attack o n the various

parties in France Carried away by his m agn i fi
.

cen t delivery the S enate applauded him loudly ;

,

but as soon as the oratio n appeared i n print

there was an outcry The Prince was n ot on ly
.

denounced in France itself The exiled Duke .

o f Aumale taking up the defence o f the

,

“
Royalists issued a n open Letter o n the His
,

tory o f Fran ce o f which fifteen thousand copies

,

were scattered through the cou n try before the

police could take action While vi n dicating his .

o w n party th e Duke made a violent counter

,

“
attack o n the m an who had left the Crimea too
”
early as he had reached Solferino t o o late
, .

Public opi n ion decided that Prince Napoleo n

must challenge the oppone n t who called him a
coward The Pri n ce however declined t o issue
.
, ,

a challenge for a duel H e remarked that it .

was unpleasant to fight with o n e w h o had in

his pocket l a corale du p en du This bitter .

allusion to the fact that Aumale had i n herited

the fo rtune of the old Duke o f Condé whose ,

body was found hanging from his bedroom w i n

’
dow i n Louis Philippe s reign either murdered ,

or having committed suicide after a disgraceful

i n trigue with the adventuress Madame F euch ere ,
2 9 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Lisbon Gibraltar and Cadiz and so
, , o , bac k t
France at Marseilles With her usual impulsive .

ness sh e insisted o n putting her plan i n to e ffect

,

at once a n d started o ff with no more than a

sm all suite i n attendan ce She had paid n o .

official visit to Spain S ince sh e had left the

country as a subj ect a n d not a favoured sub ,

j ect o f its Queen

, But Isabella was anxious t
. o

make amen ds and invited her sister sovereign

to Madrid Eug enie accepted a n d arrived to
.

be treated with all the ho n ours which could be

lavished upon her She took Madrid b y storm . .

An interesting descriptio n of her appearance at

this time has been preserved written by the ,

United States representative in Madrid then .

H e says
“
The Empress has the figure o f a girl the ,

very model of a Hebe Her bust neck .

, ,

shoulders arms an d especially her hands are

, ,

incomparably beautiful and sh e has the grace ,

o f an Andalusian da n seuse And then her .

dress The ladies contemplated it in silent awe ,

and even grave diplomatists were in raptures

about the arrangement and adorning o f her hair .

Perhaps for an E mpress sh e w a s too much of a

coquette but as an Andalusian which she is
, , ,

and looked upo n simply as a woman sh e was ,

the most perfect creation I have seen any

”1
where .

1 Th e s a m e w i t d sc i b s
r er e r e th e Cou t ss of M o t j o
n e n i , fa r
 T he Emp ress Po liti c i a n 2 93
This visit t o Madrid so great a perso n al ,

triumph for the Emp ress Eug en ie was at t ri ,

buted a s soon as the idea of raisin g the A rch

,

duke Maximilian to the throne of Mexico was

talked about t o her i n terest i n that scheme
,
.

Everythin g seems to point to it bei n g rather

the p rompti n g of o n e of the sudden whims for
which she was celeb rated However she was .
,

duly blamed o n this ground also people bei n g ,

S hocked at the impropriety of a n excursion to

the Spanish capital without the full Imperial
reti n ue She must be wrong whatever her
.
,

motive .

Events co n spired t o make the Empress take

a mo re active i n terest i n domestic as well as
foreign politics Two causes i n conj u n ctio n were
.

ten ding to alter the characte r of the Imperial

Government O n e was the growth o f the Par
.

l i a m en t a ry Opposition At the Ge n eral Election .

o f 1 8 6 3 the total n umber of a n ti Governme n t -

candidates successful w a s on ly thirty five it is -

,

true agai n st two hu n dred and forty nine Govern

,
-

men t n omi n ees But previously there had been

.

o n ly five ; a n d n o w Paris return ed no n e but

Oppositio n membe rs The other cause was that .

death was dep rivi n g the Empero r of his old

on s ix ti s but s till s howi g th t h u s t h v b
i n th e e n a s e m a e een

b uti f l s itti g o pp o it h d ught

ea u ,
n Qs I b ll s
e er a er a t ue en sa e a
’

di t bl s k c o t pl tio f h wo d ful s ight

n n er- a e,
“
un in n em a n
”
o t e n er ,

c u bli g l g oll f b d d without h s light st

r m n a ar e r o rea an t e e con

ce
p f
ti o nwh o t h a tis g d i
e k i g
w as ea n or r n n .
2 94 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
advisers In 1 8 64 M o c qu a rd died a m a n o f
.
,

whom we do n o t hear much ; but he was the

chief o f the i n n er cabinet of the E mperor a n d
from the days of the Coup d E ta t of which he /
’

’
was o n e o f the organ isers was i n his master s ,

fullest confidence He has been described as

.

witty gay and original but his en emies i m

, , ,

n ed his i n tegrity Napoleon s short a d ver

’
u
p g . s
”
C eta i t m on a m i
’
dict , was perhaps the best ,

tribute to his memory H e was followed i n the .

March of 1 8 65 by Morny on ly created a Duke ,

three years before He was aili n g at the b e

.

gin n ing o f the year and was unable to preside

over the openi n g of the Legislative Body N o .

immediate result was an ticipated by the doctors

to his i l hi ess but a drive i n the Bois on Sh rove
,

Tuesday had fatal e ffects The Emperor and .

Empress visited his bedside the Archbishop of ,

Paris spent an hou r with him an d o n the l ot h ,

March the evil gen ius of the Secon d Empi re ,

after a n edifyi n g death bed passed away amid -

,

the eulogies of his a 1h n i rers .

It was thus with an i n tern al political situation

much cha n ged si n ce 1 8 59 that the Empress
E u gé n i e took up her second Rege n cy i n May
1 8 65 .The Emperor had decided to pay a visit
to Algeria a n d left the Empress i n his place
, ,

with Pri n ce Napoleo n his reputation partly ,

mended si n ce 1 8 6 1 as Vice Presiden t o f the ,

-

Privy Cou n cil A mo re u n welcome adviser t o

.
 2 9 6 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
execution Henceforward I shall n o t depart
.

”
from this same line o f action .

Pri n ce Napoleon careless as he was of public

,

opi n ion was i n ten sely proud an d he answered

, ,

this letter by resign ing the Vice Presidency o f -

the Cou n cil After the en d o f the Imperial visit

.

t o Algeria there was a pai n ful interview the ,

E mperor as has been mention ed in an earlier

,

chapter losing his self control and letting his angry

,
-

voice be heard over the Palace The Prince was .

reduced to such fury that o n his return home

he smashed a valuable vase to pieces F o r some .

time he remai n ed en tirely out O f public life

but his political instincts were too strong and
before the en d of the followin g year he was
found en gaged in the combinatio n which turned
Dro uy n de Lhuys out of the Mi n istry o f Foreign
A ffairs He n ever regained however quite the
.
“

, ,

same place i n his cousin s esteem a n d his m i s

’

conduct was doubtless a n addition al i n cen tive

to the Emperor to put confide n ce rather i n his
wife Eugenie than in o n e who p roved himself
so unworthy of trust After the termi n ation
.

o f her seco n d pe riod as Regent o f France he ,

granted to her the right to attend at Cou n cil

meetin gs when S he desired She made u se of .

h er p rivilege an d brought i n to the deliberations

,

a n ew an d sometimes rather disturbing element ,

it would seem She is described by the Minister

.

Pinard as listeni n g usually in S ilenc e but if , ,

 T he E mp ress P oli t i c i a n 2 97

her interest was stirre d breaking o u t in spite

,

of herself i n to eager lan guage which made her

hearers realise that there was an exuberance
o f life i n her which contrasted with the sobriety

o f language and meditative countenance o f the

E mperor .
”

The autumn visit t o Biarritz in 1 8 65 was i n

vested with unusual importance The Emperor .
,

contrary t o hi s general custom made it the occa

,

sion of an important political plot Among the .

’
guests accepting his and the Empress s hospitality
at the Villa Eug enie was Count v o n Bismarc k ,

who ha d been recalled from the Paris Embass y

by the King of Prussia in 1 8 62 t o become the
head o f his Government and w h o had si n ce then
,

steered Prussia through the intricate diplomacy

o f the combination with Austria against D en

mark and w a s n o w preparin g to rob the other

spoiler of her share of the prey He required .
,

before Prussia could go to war with Austria an ,

assu rance o f the neutrality of Napoleon w h o , ,

though appa rently u n decided as to the applica

tion of the p rinciple of nationalities t o the
Schleswig Holstei n question was not satisfied
-
,

with the gai n s of the German Powers at the ex

pen se of D en mark a n d was likely to be still less
pleased at fu rther Prussian aggran disemen t with
o u t any compe n satio n for F rance There w a s .
,

however n o written agreement at Biarritz an y

,

more than at Plombi eres The Emperor under

.
2 9 8 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
stood that Prussia would consen t t o a territorial
recompen se for Fran ce i n event o f her o w n suc
cess agai n st Austria But as the Luxembourg
.
,

affair subsequen tly showed he found no second , .

Cavour i n Bismarck Whether he expected .

Luxembourg o r somethi n g more— Belgium fo r ,

instan ce o r a fron tier o n the Rhine— from a

,

grateful Prussia he was totally disappoin ted

, .

H e received n othing at all and had n o mean s o f

putti n g pressure o n the astute Prussian Minister .

The result for Prussia from the Biarritz co n

s i ra c
p y was seen before ma n y months had passed .

In Ap ril S he concluded an offen sive and defensive

allian ce with Italy In May there was talk first
.

o f war a n d then
, of a Co n ference Fran ce .
,

B ritain and Russia indeed invited the holdi n g

,

of a Confere n ce b ut while Prussia and Italy

, ,

declared their readi n ess Austria ill advised as , ,

ever throughout her history in the nineteenth

cen tury imposed con ditions which the others
,

could n o t accept O n Austria further desirin g

.

to appeal t o the German Federal Diet Pruss i a

dropped preten ces On the 1 2 th Jun e diplomatic
.

commu n ication s between Berlin a n d Vien na

ceased an d i n three days Prussia w a s addressing
,

deman ds t o Austria s German frien ds followed

’

by a n invasion of Han over an d Hesse Casse] -

.

The Cou n tess St ephanie de Tascher draws a

picture of the Empress Eug enie s l u n di o n the ’

ev e of the Austro Prussian War -

There was a .
3 00 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
gai n s at the expense of her sincerity for if war ,

between Prussia and Fran ce was i n evitable it

would have come better for Fra n ce i n 1 8 66 than
in 1 8 70 A n d after all it is her consistency
.
, ,

rather tha n her si n cerity which is impugned .

To dislike war yet advocate a war is n o t a n

, ,

uncommon phen omen on even among those ,

usually held si n cere .

The Emperor was prompt with his announce

ment of n eutrality H e added that France would
.

only look fo r a territorial i n crease for herself in

even t of alterations i n the map in favour of one
o f the hostile parties He would not con sider a
.

rectification o f the Prussian frontiers n o r the

addition of Ven etia to Italy as such His reason .

i n g was not followed by h i s subj ects Sympathy .

with Austria was early man ifested and the effect ,

o f Prussia s crushi n g victory was t o make it very

’

pron ou n ced The clerical party and those who

.

remembered the Rhine fron tier were united in

their opposition to Prussian growth Napoleon .

’
felt that his country s sen timen ts were too stro n g
to be disregarded When therefore Francis
.
, ,

Joseph asked his mediatio n promisin g i n return ,

a cession o f Ve n etia to him to be han ded over ,

to Italy he stepped i n gladly and p roposed an

,

armistice P russia accepted an d the n egotiatio n s

.

which led to the Treaty o f Prague n ext month

were begun at the en d of July The Emperor s .
’

diplomacy signally failed to gai n an ythi n g for

 T he Emp ress P oliti c i a n 301

his country o u t of the rearrangeme n t o f Europe .

Prussia got nearly a ll sh e wished Italy obtain ed ,

Ve n etia Austria dropped out of the German

,

system and yet Napoleon was unable to j ustify

,

the remarks i n his declaration o f n eutrality .

While her husba n d was vai n ly endeavouri n g to

’
1
match his failin g powers agai n st Bismarck s
genius the Empress E u gé n i e was win ning for
,

herself the admiratio n o f all France N 0 action .

o f hers met with such universal commendation

as her conduct duri n g the cholera epidemic i n

the summer of 1 8 66 The scare was at i t s height .

at Amiens when she arrived there S he i m m edi .

“ ”
ately wen t u n der fire as sh e expressed it , ,

goi n g t o see the victims in hospital a n d showing

herself without the slightest fear o f death A l .

ready she had shown an example by her visits t o

the hospitals when cases o f cholera were occuring
in Paris i n the previous autumn But it w a s at .

Amiens that sh e created the great sensation .

She we n t from buildi n g t o building speaking t o ,

every patient an d not sh rinking from actual con

tact An i n ciden t which particularly touched
.

’
the people s hearts was when t w o children being ,

pointed o u t to her as orphan ed by the scourge ,

sh e adopted them and gave orders that they

I S ep t m b
1
n ft th P c f P gu w c o c lud d
e er, a er e ea e o ra e as n e ,

N ap ol o p o t d to b v y l l wh t ki g h w t s
e n w a s re r e e er i en a n t e a er

at i c hy d hi s tu to P i s h pp d s o b d th t
V ,
an on re rn ar e a ea re a a

th ere g l l
was d f ll
en era h B ou s Th
a a rm an a a on t e r e. e

E u op
r P ss p s t d h
ea n re l dy dyi g
re re en e im as a re a n .
302 T he Las t E mp ress o f t he F ren c h
should be cared for at once N o r did it escape
.

attention that while sh e exposed herself u n spar

i n gl y t o the risk o f cholera sh e refused t o allow
any of her ladies to accompany her When she .

left the afflicted city it was amid the blessings o f

“
all its people and the fame of the Sister o f
,

”
Charity followed her far A few months later
.

when sh e appeared at Nan cy t o represent the

Emperor at the celebration of the centenary o f
Lorraine s i n corporation with France tales o f
’

Amiens were o n everyone s li ps Her S landerers

’
.

for the moment were dumb .

 CHAP T E R X V I I
T H E G RE A T EX H IB ITI ON YE AR
TH E Mexican War was gen erally co n sidered by
his contemporaries the greatest blot o n the
record of Napoleon III a n d t h e utmost that
.
,

his apologists could do was to mai n tai n that he

had been sadly misled a n d to distribute the cen
sure as widely as possible rou n d the Imperial
circle not forgetti n g the Empress Of the grave
, .

effect of the war o n Napoleon s fame there ’

could be n o doubt S omeone is said to have re

.

marked to Garibaldi i n 1 8 64 that the Third Napo

leon was a more successful m an than the First .

’
Garibaldi s answer was prudent if not o rigi n al ,

”
We must wait for the end Three years .

later the n ews of the Queretaro catastrophe may

well have suggested to Garibaldi that the end
of which he had spoken was n o t far o ff .

The respo n sibility for the ruin ous e n terprise

has been variously apportio n ed It is impossible .

to absolve the Empero r from the largest share

i n the blame H e seems to have bee n i n fluenced
.

by a number of motives By the establishme n t

.

o f Maximilia n of Austria o n the Mexica n thro n e

he hoped at once to restore order in a land of re

U 30 5
 306 The Las t E m p ress of the F ren c h
volutions as disdainful of the rights of foreigners
,

and of its debts to France and other European

nation s as is the modern Venezuela ; to check
the pretension s of the United States by buildi n g
up a strong Latin State in Cen tral America ;
an d to conciliate both Austria and Rome to ,

whom he had given so man y causes of o ffence .

Then he found his design s warmly supported

’
by both Morny a n d the Empress E ugén i e s .

en emies credited her with a ve ry large share in

bri n ging about the war There is perhaps more .
, ,

j ustice i n co n n ecti n g her name with this war

than with an y of the Others of Napoleon s reign ’

i n all of which her malign i n flue n ce has been

seen ; especially if we accept the statement ,

quoted above of Thiers t o Pri n ce Hohen lohe ,

’
about Eugenie s con viction that a victorious
’
w a r was needed to secure her son s future .

But even in the case of Mexico little more

ca n be definitely shown than that sh e sym
a t h i sed with the idea o f replaci n g an a n ti
p
clerical republic by a clerical absolute monarchy .

The u n dertaking wore almost the aspect of a

crusade to her a crusade o n behalf of divi n e a n d
,

royal rights Her visit t o Madrid in 1 8 62 has

.
1

1
Si r M t D u ff s y s th at M d Co u i
. E G . ra n a a am e rn , n con

v s tio with h i tt ibut d h M xi c W to th

er a n m ,
a r e t e e an ar ree

thi g s — h E p ss s o ti c fa cy N p ol o s d s i
n t e m re
’
r m an n ; a e n
’
e re

f or ac ou t poi s i A i c to th U it d S t t s ; d
n er e n m er a e n e a e an

th e p s t tio s of th M x i ca x il s Th Cou t s
re re en a n e e n e e . e n es

S t ep h i d T sc h it y b ot d loo ks t h M x i c
an e e a er, m a e n e , on e e an
308 T he Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
Juarez had o ffended n o t only French but also ,

English a n d Spanish subj ects and a j oi n t expedi,

tion was agreed upo n This was quite successful

.

without striking a blow an d i n January 1 8 62 the

Con ve n tio n of La Soledad was S igned at Vera
Cruz Englan d and Spai n were both satisfied
.

with J u a rez s promises a n d had France also

’

withdrawn conten ted at the same time all would

have ended well At this poi n t however the
.
, ,

presence of further designs was revealed A n .

agen t o f the Absolutist party i n Mexico a p

ea red in the Fre n ch camp at Vera Cruz and a
p ,

repudiation o f the co n ve n tion followed It was .

an n ou n ced that the crow n o f Mexico was to be

given to the A rchduke Maximilian of Austria .

The E n glish and Spanish forces were withdrawn

’
in protest agai n st France s violation of the
agreemen t sign ed by the th ree Governmen ts i n
Londo n the previous October ; and France was
embarked now o n a war against the Mexican
Republic single handed -
.

The first suggestion of the Archduke Maxi

m i l i a n s candidature seems to have bee n made
’

in 1 8 6 1 when agen ts o f the defeated Clericalist

,

presiden t Miramon arrived in Europe to discover

whether Austria would look o n such a p roj ect
favourably The A rchduke bei n g brother of
.
,

the Emperor was secon d heir to the th ro n e but

, ,

the idea o f Mexico lured him or rather it was ,

said his wife Maximilian was a weak amiable

, .
 T he G rea t E x hibitio n Y ea r 3
09

man whom a heroic death has made a sai n t

, .

His weakness seems reflected in his features .

“
Queen Victoria wrote o f him : With the excep
”
tion of the mouth and chin he 1 3 good looking -
.

He had the Austrian lip a receding chin rather , ,

promin ent blue eyes and a long face framed in

,

abu n dant fair hair H i s portraits scarcely bear

.

o u t the contemporary verdict o n his handsome

ness He was however u n doubtedly o f a sweet

.
, ,

disposition and alone of the Austrians was re

,

garded with affection in Ital y His country seat .

Miramar o n the Adriatic coast provided him

, ,

with his favourite hobby He drew up all the .

design s for it himself a n d was said t o have got

in to debt through his heavy expe n diture on the
house an d grou n ds ; yet he left it unfinished
when he started o n his fatal voyage .

The limitations o fMiramar were t o o narrow for

hi s young wife Charlotte child of Ki n g Leopold
,

o f Belgium a n d his seco n d wife Louise daughter ,

of Louis Philippe Marryin g Maximilian in 1 8 59

.
,

whe n she was o n ly nineteen sh e was eager t o ,

see him o n a thro n e and her ambition decided

,

him perhaps al ready i n cli n ed to go In October

, .

1 8 63 a Mexican deputatio n reached Miramar t o

make the formal o ffer o f the thron e Maximilian .

accepted a n d started with Charlotte t o Paris to

interview the Emperor Napoleo n The Parisians .
,

quick to express their verdict nickn amed him ,

“
the A rchdupe considerin g him t o be led by
,
3 1 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
his wife The interview at the Tuileries was
.

successful the can didates were approved by both

,

Empe ror a n d Emp ress and Maximilian obtained ,

’
the promise o f a Fren ch army s aid for three
years O n the l ot h April 1 8 64 at Miramar
.
, ,

the Archduke renou n ced his claims to the Aus

trian succession and w a s then crown ed Emperor
of Mexico The head of the Mexican deputa
.

tion D o n Gutierrez de Estrada addressing him

, ,

said We are assured that you have the secret

’
o f co n quering all men s hearts an d excel in the ,

rare k n owledge o f the art of go v ern m ent The .

assuran ce was a vai n one Maximilian did n o t .

kn ow how to co n quer o r govern a n unwill ing

country a n d he w a s deceived if he thought that
,

he was more than the nomi n ee o f the Clerical

party in Mexico .

The new Emperor a n d Empress however , ,

took farewell o f Napoleon and Eug enie with

high hopes On the fifth ann iversary o f their
.

wedding day they were o ff the coast o f their

-

Emp i re The French forces which numbered

.
,

about forty thousan d quickly drove Juarez t o ,

the extreme N orth Success was rapid but illu

.

sory The end of the civil war i n the United

.

States upset Fre n ch calculation s Full a dvan .

tage had been taken o f the preoccupation of the

Washi n gto n Cabi n et but n o w i n 1 8 65 the States
refused t o ackn owledge the Mexican Empire o r
an yone except Presiden t Juarez and intimated ,
3 1 2 T he Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
pai n the latter could n evertheless promise to do
,

no more fo r her husband At last Charlotte .

broke down completely Asking for a drink .

,

she w a s brought a glass of orange syrup but she ,

pushed it away cryin g : They wan t t o p oison

,

”
me ! Then after the i n terview had lasted nearly
,

two hours sh e hurried away open ly cursing the

, ,

folly o f one who being the granddaughter o f ,

Louis Philippe had trusted the word of a,

Bonaparte .

The sequel is well kn own In a few weeks .

Charlotte was out o f her senses and n ever re

covered The French troops were withdraw n
.

from Mexico in the sprin g o f 1 8 67 The de .

sert ed Maximilia n kn owing o f h i s wife s mad

,
’

ness was an xious to leave Mexico where the

, ,

J u a ri st s spran g u p o n every side as the Fren ch

left ; but he could not in honour desert those
who were with him On the 1 5 th May he was .

betrayed together with his army of nine thou

san d men a t Queretaro by Colonel Lopez a ,

Mexican to whom he had show n special favour .

On the 1 5 t h Ju n e he was con dem n ed to death

by court martial together with Miramon a n d
-
,

“
Mej ia his gen erals Four days later
, in su n .
,

” ’
shin e o n a summer s day as he was reported t o
, ,

have wished he might die he paid the penalty ,

o f others mistakes
’
.

The tragic horror that the Austrian Emperor s ’

brother should die a traitor s death with his ’

,
 Th e G rea t Ex hibitio n Y ea r 3 3
1

back against a wall convulsed Europe and no

, ,

other end could have been so damaging to the re

putation of the promoters o fthe Mexican scheme .

Fran ce herself not havi n g shared the E mperor s

,
’

political dreams the E mpress s V isio n o froman ce

,
’

o r M o rn y s thirty per cent o n the Jecker bonds

’
.
,

and seei n g only S ix thousan d Frenchmen dead ,

was disgusted with the whole affair The re .

turn o f the troops from Mexico i n spite o f ,

Bazaine s military successes was very coldly

’

received in the spring and the an n ounceme n t ,

’
o f Maximilian s death o n the very day o f the
grand prize giving at the E xposition Universelle
-

had a disastrous effect Stories o f M o rn y s

.
’

i n terest i n the war began to spread and the ,

o ffen der himself being dead did great harm t o ,

his master s reputation As usual Napoleon

’
.
,

was all for hushi n g the matter up a n d as usual , ,

he brought u n just suspicion upo n himself .

The abando n ment o f Mexico was not the only

’
misfortun e which befell Napoleo n s plans i n 1 8 67 .

T h e Luxembourg negotiations ended i n an inter

natio n al co n ference neutralisin g the duchy which
Napoleon coveted and the acquisition o f which
,

by France he thought Bismarck would regard

ben evolen tly Thus he remai n ed without the
.

gain of territory with which he hoped to appease

his subj ects for the Prussian triumph i n 1 8 66 ;
and there was nothing t o set o ff agai n st t h e
bitterness o f Mexico .
 T h L E of t he F ren c h
’

t m
3 4 1 e a s
pre s s

Still it was the year o f the Great Exhibition

, ,

and Fran ce might yet be dazzled No effort .

was spared to attain this end a n d Paris i n 1 8 67 ,

looked n o capital o f a faili n g Empire From the .

l st April whe n the gates o n the Champ de

,

Mars were open ed t o the day o f prize gi ving ,

-

there was a conti n uous round o f splendour The .

list o f visitors included the Tsar of Russia the ,

S ultan o fT urkey seven Kin gs three Queens , , ,

the Prince o f Wales Crown Prince o f Prussia , ,

and Tsarevitch two dozen other princes o n e o f

, ,

them from Japan and nine Grand du kes ,Paris -

.
1

was fairly intoxicated by the brill ian t stream

o f royalty p assi n g through her in May and early

June N o t even the First Napoleon had ever

.

collected a fi n er assembly As the hostess of .

all the Empress Eug en ie was now called upon

t o act In the previous Exhibition year 1 8 5 5
.
, ,

sh e had been unable on account of her health , ,

t o play a prominent part This year S he had .

the opportunity to display the grace and tact for

w hi ch sh e was so n oted in the reception o f guests
'

at her Court She did not fail Every royal

. .

visitor was compelled to admit her perfect success ,

and she had i n deed ample reven ge i n a most ,

pleasan t form for the slights which the so vereIgn s

,

of Europe had once been inclined to put upon

Mademoiselle de Mo n tij o .

1 “
Th e s as o
e n, w ot M i
r e er m ee, “
i s p ol i fi c i p i c s
r n r n e an d
chdu k
ar es .
316 T he Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
reminded m ore seriously o f the fact that he was
Ts ar of Russia He was driving away from the
.

Bois with Napoleon E ug en ie a n d the King o f

,

Prussia following i n another carriage when a ,

man ra n forward a n d fired a shot at him Im .

mediately a Fre n ch officer dashed forward b e

tween the weapon an d the carriage a n d many ,

h an ds were laid on the would b e assassin -

.

Napoleon promptly stood up and shouted that

no o n e was hurt Then turni n g with a smile
.
,

to the Tsar he embraced him a n d said : N o w

,

we have been under fire together ! There was

n o pa n ic a n d the c rowd cheered enthusiastically
,

both Tsar an d Emperor as they drove o n The .

prison er turn ed out to be a Pole n amed Bere

z o w ski He was co n demn ed to pen al servitude
“

in New Caledonia and was released forty years

,

later after he had go n e mad

, .

O n the n ight of the same day there was a ball

at the Russian Embassy It is recorded that .

as Alexan der e n tered the ballroom with the

Empress Eug en ie o n his a rm his face still ,

showed traces o f irritation The Empress s eyes .

were moist with tears an d a s the assembled

,

guests loudly demon strated their feeli n gs sh e

could n o t help betrayi n g h er emotion She . .

entertai n ed a high regard for t h e Tsar an d as , ,

will be seen it was to him that sh e appealed i n

,

the hope of mitigatin g the Prussian terms in the

autum n o f 1 8 7 0 when the other chief guest
,
 T he G rea t E xh ibitio n Y ear 3 7
1

on this memorable 6t h Ju n e held i n captivity

her unhappy husband Nothing could have
.

seemed to her more improbable o n this day o f

the grand review than that little more than three
years later sh e would be appealing t o Alexander
from Ki ng William whose ki n dly solicitude for
,

the delicate Prince Imperial was so grateful t o

her n o w .

Th e military display in the Bois by no means

e n ded the i n ternational festivities B alls at the .

Tuileries the H Ot el de Ville a n d the various

, ,

E mbassies followed and afte r the Tsar and Ki n g

,

William had left there was still the Sultan to be

entertai n ed He arrived i n Paris in time for the
.

p rize givi n g at the E xhibition for which there

-
,

were also prese n t the Pri n ce o f Wales a n d the

C rown Pri n ce of Prussia both o n their seco n d
,

visits and the Crown Pri n ce o f Italy It was

, .

to have been a very brillian t ceremony on the

l st July but j ust before the hou r appointed
,

there came by way o f New Y o rk the ghastly

news from Queretaro The ceremon y was held
.
,

the brillian cy was undimmed outwardl y but the ,

feeli n gs o f all presen t a n d especial ly we must b e

, ,

lieve of the F rench sovereign s were very di fferent

, ,

from what they had a n ticipated Nevertheless .

the Emperor firmly asserted what w a s the mean

i n g of the E xpositio n U n ive rselle i n the mi n d
o f himself its chief design er
, The Exhibitio n
.

will mark I hope a n ew era of harmony and

, ,
3 1 8 T he La st E mp ress of t he F ren c h
“
progre ss he said
,
. Convinced as I am that
Providence blesses the e fforts o f all those w ho
desire to do well as we do I believe in the
, ,

triumph of morality a n d j ustice which are alone

,

able to co n solidate thrones uplift peoples a n d

, ,

e n n oble human ity.

“
It was a bad ome n for the new era of
harmony that 1 8 67 did not close without for o
ing the E mperor t o take military action in Italy .

It must have cost him a severe struggle to i n ter

fere as he n o w did i n the Pe n i n sula in spite ,

o f the O pportu n ity which he the reby received

o f propitiati n g the very powerful party at home

which i n cluded his wife i n its ran ks : Napoleon ,

i n accordance with the agreeme n t which he

had made with Victor Emmanuel in September
1 8 64 had withdrawn the Fre n ch garrison from
,

Papal territo ry by the end of 1 8 66 amid bitter ,

protests from the Empress a n d the clerical Im

p eri a l i st s
. Victo r Emmanuel on his side w a s to
, ,

refrain from an attack on the Pope s dominions ’

a n d to protect them from outside interfere n ce .

In the autum n o f 1 8 67 however Garibaldi act

, ,

ing once mo re as a free lan ce invaded what

-
,

remained to the Pope of his former States a n d

threatened Rome The Church party in Fran ce
immediately deman ded that this breach of faith
by Italy should be punished The Empress
.
,

eagerly devoti n g herself to repair the previous

outrages against the Church by French hands ,
3 2 0 T he Last Emp res s of t he F ren c h
of the Chamber concerning Rome Within .

three years Italy was i n possession o f Rome ,

Fran ce n o t being i n a position to prevent the

occupation Napoleo n could with appare n t
.
,

safety disavow Garibaldi now But the general

, .

violence of the Fre n ch attitude a t the moment

was fatal to Franco Italian friendship an d so in
-
,

his hour o f need the Emperor could not count

’
upon Italy s gratitude for the great share which
he had taken i n freeing her .

On the other han d he had at last reco n ciled

,

to some extent the religious section o f Fran ce .

The Empress a n d the Roman Catholic masses

were i n triumph over h i s appearance once more
as defen der o f the Chu rch S uch loyalty as .

the Clerical party now agai n professed was very

welcome t o Napoleon But unfortunately he
.

could see no way to strengthen the Imperial

hold o n the throne i n the interes t o f his so n
, ,

save by attracti n g the Liberals to his side The .

two parties were impossible to amalgamate In .

his ever growi n g physical weakness therefore

-
, ,

and robbed by death i n suc cession o f M o cqu ard

, , ,

Morny F o u l d and Wa l ew sk i Napoleon could

, , ,

hardly avoid being pulled this way an d that i n

the strife between the reactionaries championed ,

by the Empres s and the progressives to whom

, ,

his o w n inclinations went out more a n d more

and who i n cl uded in their ran ks Prince Napoleon ,

still a power in spite of his terrible blunders .

 T h e Grea t Ex hibitio n Y ea r 3 2 1

Victory appeared to go to the progressives

“ ”
when the Liberal Empire w a s i n augurated
in December 1 8 69 but i n nine months more
,

E mperor Empress and all alike who struggled

,

and power were swept away .

 CHAP T E R X V II I
THE E VE OF D I SA S TE R

IT was inevitable that the di vergence betwee n the

political views of Napoleo n and his wife should
g row more mar k ed in the last years o f his
’
reign Eug enie s approval of the outside action
.

o f France which resulted i n Me n tana could weigh

little agai n st her dislike of the ge n eral ten dency

o f home policy Even apart from her theories
.

about monarchical government S he could hardly ,

be expected to welcome measures which must be

interpreted as restrictive of her powers as R e
gent in the event o f the Emperor s death duri n g ’

Prince Louis s minority The concessions by

’
.

which Napoleon tried in 1 8 67 69 t o meet half -

,

way the growing stre n gth o f the Opposition were

bound to be o ffen sive to her and it was no ,

secret at the time that sh e was opposi n g them

obstinately The Emperor pressed on n ev ert h e
.

less toward that liberalisi n g o f the Empi re which

he con ceived to be necessary fo r the con ti n uance
of his dyn asty upon the throne In the spri n g .

of 1 8 69 he decided to put i n o ffice an avowedly

Liberal Min istry throwing over the remn ants of
,

his old advisers i n cludi n g R o u h er who o n ma n y

, ,

32 5
326 T h e Las t Emp ress of the Fren c h
’
points shared the Empress s opinions It is .

always said that the General Election of Ap ril

1 8 69 forced Napoleo n s han d The Opposition
’
.

gain ed a mil lion a n d a half i n votes a S ign ,

which could not be disregarded Three months .

later the Emperor was promisi n g fresh reforms

which i n September he had embodied i n a Sena
t o ri a l Decree
. He had already O pened n ego t i a
tions with Emile Ollivier o n e of the original
,

“ ”
Five who were the sole Opposition in the
Chamber at the begin n in g o f the reign Ollivier .

had been i n his early days so b itter an en emy o f

Bonapartism that according to his own account
, ,

it was with tears in his eyes that he watched the

“
return from Saint Helen a of the bones o f a
wretch that ought to have bee n cast o ut on the
highway . Gradually however he had grown
, ,

less hostile to the Empi re and while he still

, ,

conti n ued to S i t i n Opposition he had parted ,

compan y with Jules Favre and many o f his

former associates He gave a favourable answer
.

t o Napoleon s approaches and before the end o f

1 8 69 had consented t o form a Mi n istry .

The Empress Eug enie had already made Olli

vier s acquaintance D uri n g her second Regency
’
.

she had taken some steps i n the directio n o f i m

provin g the treatmen t o f youthful o ffenders a ,

matter in which she was always i nte rested Olli .

v1 er having like views to hers o n the subj ect

, ,

had been invited t o the Tuileries and induced

 3 2 8 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
made a ground fo r attack on both the C o m ,

s S hares were depressed and prophecies

’
an
p y ,

were abundant that the waterway would be un

n avigable fo r large vessels The very fact o f .

the Empress s j ourn ey was a matter for bitter

’

comment an d rumour exaggerated the expenses

,

t o an enormous su m But the Emperor was .

determined that sh e should go to Suez N o t .

o n ly did he desire to complete his arrangements

with Ollivier but also he was much t o o ill t o
,

travel himself In August stories were current

.

that h i s death w a s at hand An operation was .

possible an d as Napoleon wished this t o be

,

kept a sec ret from Eugen ie advantage was t o

be taken of h er absen ce from Paris to perform
it Herein at least the Emperor showed a ki n d
.

anxiety to spare h i s wife pai n in whatever light ,

we may regard his plan for her absence during

his political coup Certainly he must have felt .

’
a con spirator s relief as he witnessed in October
her departure o n her brillian t tour .
1

The Imperial yacht L A ig l e sailed first to ’

Venice and then to Athens both cities givin g ,

a hearty welcome t o the Empress o f the French .

At Co n stan tinople the Sultan i n hi s determina ,

tion to outdo his Western rivals greeted his ,

1
Cou t B u t m i t i d th t th j ou y to th Eas t w
n e s a n a ne a e rn e e as

pl d to k p th E p ss out f s ight f th F c h
an n e ee e m re o o e ren

p o pl
e a ti
e fo rh Ult o ta l i g h d d
m e,
“
as er ra m n n e ea n n s a m a e

herv y u p op ul
er S Pi c H h l h
n p o t to h
a r. ee rn e o en o
’

e s re r t e

Ki g f B v (M oi s I
n o a a ri a em r .
 T he E ve of D i sas t er 3 2 9
visitor i n extraordinary fashio n As the A ig l e .

e n tered the Bosporus naval a n d military salutes

ran g o u t on every side Both shores were .

covered with thousands o f spectators an d the

water with a fleet of boats E astern and Western ,

in build The Sultan himself came on board t o

.

greet his g uest and t o place at her disposal a

forty oared caique containing a tent o f crimson
-
,

silk and costing with all its decoratio n s

francs She was lo dged o n the Asiatic side o f
.

the Bosporus and a magnificen t litter waited

t o carry her t o the palace Twenty thousand .

Turkish troops were mustered t o do her honour ,

and on her visit to Constan tinople itself sh e found

whole streets cleansed repaired and widened , ,

for her passage A fete at the Palace was the

.

con clusion of this unique hospitality accorded

by a M ah o m edan ruler t o an Eu ropean woman .

O n this occasion the Empress appeared in ambe r

sati n deco rated with diamonds a n d caused a
, ,

great sen sation it is recorded

, .

I smail s reception o f the Empress at Alex

andria was almost as brilliant A special trai n .

co n veyed her to Cairo along a decorated and

illumi n ated lin e The actual passage o f the
.

Can al took place o n the morn i n g of the 1 6th

November L A ig l e bei n g the fi rst vessel t o go
,
’

through carryi n g n o t only the Empress E ugé n i e

, ,

her t w o nieces a n d her suite but also the Em ,

ero r of Austria the Crown Prince o f Prussia

p ,
330 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
and the Dutch Prince and Princess who had ,

all come t o witness the ceremony an d now sat

in a group around their hostess o n the yacht as ,

to the music o f the Napoleon ic Partan t pour

la S yri e the Can al w a s successfully navigated .

In the afternoon there followed a curious re

l i gi o u s service at which the Empress o f the
,

Fren ch cousin o f the victorious Ferdin and de

,

Lesseps was again t h e most prominent figu re

, .

Leanin g on the arm o f the Emperor Francis

Joseph and clad i n pale grey silk decorated
, ,

with Brussels lace weari n g a black hat and

,

veil and a black velvet ribbon round her neck ,

E ugé n i e listened in tur n to the prayers o f the

Gran d Ulema on behalf o f the M ah o m edan s
and o f her o w n chaplain for the Christians
present The latter w a s the Abbé Bauer who
.
,

three years previously had arrived in France

from Rome and had immediately fascinated not
o n ly the Court ladies but their mistress also
, ,

by his eloquence and by an ascetic appearance

which misrepresented his character A short .

contact with the Court of the Tuileries suffi ced

to drive him to an imitation o f the abbés o f the
o l d re i m e But he did not thereby lose his
g .

i n fluen ce as was seen by his presen ce on this

,

importan t occasion .

After this j ourney certain ly the most go r

,

geon s even t of her career the Empress Eug en ie

,

returned to Paris i n December to resume the

33 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
an anti dy n astic dem onstration But in spite o f
-
.

the gatheri n g o f a crowd o f about a hundred

thousand people the day passed o ff without
any serious disturbance The crime o f Prince
.

Pierre n evertheless even if it was really com

, ,

m i t t ed in self defence-
as he alleged was both
, ,

damaging t o his family and hurtful t o the

Government of his country His trial and ac .

quittal though accompanied by an order t o pay

,

francs compensation t o the parents o f his

victim did n o t improve matters The whole
, .

i n cident a fforded an opportunity fo r Hen ri

Rochefort w h o had taken advantage o f the
,

modification o f the Press law in 1 867 t o found

his n otorious papers L a L a n tern e and L a
,

M a rsei l l a i se to attack with the utmost viru

,

len ce every member o f the Imperial family n o t ,

excludin g the Empress Eug enie Comparison s .

with Nero and the B o rgi a s were among the

usual weapons of the L a n tern e s editor and the ’

Government was compelled to take notice o f

him to such e ffect that he was prosecuted for
incitement t o rebellion fined 3 000 fran cs and
,

sen tenced t o si x mon ths imprison m ent from

’

which the Paris mob in the following Septem

ber rescued him to put him i n the Government
o f the day .

Even without the troubles caused by the kill

i n g o f Noir the Ministry soo n began t o find its
task more di ffi cult than had been expected .
 Th e E ve of D i sas t er 333
N ot only were the advanced section of its sup
porters pressing for speedy reforms but the ,

o l d Imperialists — strong in the support o f the

Empress and of R o u h er the Emperor s constant ,

’

Minister w ho was very naturall y discontented

,

with his dismissal from o c ffi e —

were o u t o f han d ,

and virtually in Opposition It was possible to .

ignore the o l d Imperialists temporally at least ,

since their loyalty was unshakable ; but only at

the expense o f more rapid forward movement
t o pacify the Liberal supporters of the throne .

Ollivier proposed t o the Senate compliant as it ,

befit t ed the Emperor s nominees to be a revision

’

o f the Constitution and the S enate s power o f ’

constitutional alteration was transferred t o the

n ation acting through a plebiscite Applying
, .

the new rule at once Napoleo n asked fo r the ,

’
nation s approval o f the Liberal reforms and
ratification of the Senatorial D ecree of the 2 ot h
April 1 8 70 Thus came about the plebiscite o f
.

the 8 th May o n the result of which the Govern

,

ment staked everything Signs of hostile feel .

ing were evident especially in Paris where red

, ,

“
flags were hoisted shouts o f D own with the
,

”
E mpire ! heard and even a few barricades
,

erected Napoleon taki n g with him the E m

.
,

press appeared in the streets without an escort

, ,

striving to prove a co n fiden ce which he scarcely

felt Nor was anxiety unj ustified In spite o f
. .

tremendous exertions of the o fficials to secure

3 34 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
every vote out o f eight millions and a hal f o n e
,
1
,

and a half were seen declari n g their discontent

with the Government and worst o f all the di s ,

content was found t o have infected the Army .

On the 1 9 th May Lord Malmesbury was presen t

at the Tuileries at a dinner t o Gramont his ,

cousin j ust appoi n ted by the Emperor Minister

,

o f Foreign A f fairs Once more the English .

diplomatist had the opportunity o f admiri ng the

beautiful shoulders which had struc k him seven
’
teen years before as he sat at the Empress s side
, .

He found her again bitter in her complaints

against the Press in which Gramont j oined her
, .

The Emperor was m uch altered and looked o l d

a n d very ill H e confided to Malmesbury in the
.

smoking room that n o less than fifty thousand

-

o f the Army had voted N o in the recent

plebiscite It cannot be wondered at that this
.

question o f the Army s loyalty sho u l d h ave been ’ '

thought a serious matter o r that it should have

been taken into account as it was said to have ,

been in the decisio n arrived at t w o months later

, .

Few facts about the Second Empire are more

remarkable than the suddenness w ith which the
final catastrophe came about At the di n ner .

t o Gramont mentioned above Napoleon spoke ,

t o Lord Malmesbury of the general tranquillity

“
o f Europe and evidently had n o idea o f the
1 Thi s d c l d to E gli s h v s to th t th s t p
er e a re an n i i r a i am eri n g
w i th l c t o s f h l as t t
e e i n is or t e im e .
”
33 T h e
6 Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
criminal weakness o f Napoleo n I I I o r o f a .
,

sudden delirium of the French people E ug en ie .

,

Napoleo n a n d Fra n ce did but take their part in

,

selecting a time for an explosion which a more

powerful i n tellectu al force had determined should
take place The work o f the actual match whi ch
.

lighted the train may be attributed t o the same

foolish Duke o f Gramo n t whose name ha s j ust
been men tioned It is useless to lo ok o n the
.

French S ide for a chief villain when o n the

other side the organiser o f the plot took little
pains t o hide his part after he had attained his
end .

No doubt the connection o f the osten si bl e

’
cause o f the war with the land o f the Empress s
birth helped the accusations of her enemies in
’
their accusations Late i n 1 8 68 one o f Spain s
.

chron ic revolutions drove Isabella i n flight across

the Fre n ch frontier The Imperial family were
.

at Biarritz o n their autumn visit a n d received

Isabella on her way t o Pau Eugenie who w a s .
,

noticed t o show great respect to the falle n queen

throughout their interview was much affected at
,

the railway station where they parted a n d i n

sisted on getting into the carriage to receive a
farewell embrace Th e Emperor was cold says
.
,

the Countess St ephan ie who was an eye witn ess

,
-

o f the scene while the Pri n ce Imperial was curi

,

o u s and astonished The attitude o f Eug enie o n

.

this occasion as at Madrid in 1 8 62 S hows ho w

, ,
 Th e E ve of D i sas ter 3 37
little malice she bore toward her sovereign as ,

sh e persisted i n calli n g Isabella fo r the disgrace,

put upon her in her girlhood .

Nothi n g could have been further from the

thoughts of all concerned than the idea that
’
Isabella s loss o f her throne would involve the
ruin of the Napoleonic dynasty i n France Yet .

’
such was the result i n less than two years time .

Isabella had desired to abdicate i n favour o f

her so n the Prin ce o f the A sturias afterwards
, ,

Alfon so X II Spai n refused to recogn ise the

.

Prince and looked for a ruler elsewhere General .

Prim temporarily govern i n g the country offered

, ,

the crown first to a Portuguese and then to an

Italia n Prince After both had declined the
.

honour he approached Pri n ce Leopold of Hohen

zollern — Sigmari n gen whose father Pri n ce A n
,

tony had preceded Bismarck as Prussian Premier .

Prince Leopold a good looki n g young man w h o

,
-

had married the beautiful daughter of the Ki n g

of Portugal w a s politically quite insignificant
, .

Prim probably imagi n ed that he would be wel

come to Napoleo n hi s father being grand nephew
,
-

of Murat and his mother daughter of the Gran d

Duke of Bade n and St ephan ie Beauharn ais .

Napoleon however if we j udge by the utter

, ,

au ces of h i s responsible Ministers could not ,

ignore the fact that Leopold was a German .

As for the Empress Eug enie sh e was far more

i n dignant than her husband for her Legitimist ,
3 3 T he
8 Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
principles were outraged by the suggestion o f
a change o f dynasty .

On the first hint o f a Hohenzol lern succession

t o the Spanish throne Benedetti the French
,

representative at Berlin was instructed t o mak e

enquiries and received the answer that the can
di dature had never been mentioned in Prussia .

This was possibly true at the moment but early ,

in 1 8 70 a definite offer was made On the 3 rd .

July it was announced i n Paris that Prince

Leopold would accept the o ffer if the Span ish
Cortes ratified his election S o readily inflamed
.

was French public opinion at the idea that the

declaration of war seve n teen days later was re
c ei v ed with almost u niversal acclamation a
fact which put France the unprepared wrong
, ,

in the eyes of the world as against Prussia who ,

had seen the war coming and had prepared for

it in every way .

But the intention o f Prussia o r the Prussian

“

Government that is ultimately of Bismarck to

, , ,

dr i ve France i n to war does not absolve those

who allowed her to be so driven The question .

remains whether the censure has been rightly

apportioned The idea that it was Napoleon s
.
’

war was only entertained even at the time

, ,

by blind enemies of the E mperor That it was .

the Empress s war was a more general theory

’

and o n e which has endured t o the present day .

With the Empress have been coupled the Duke

34 0 T he Las t Emp res s of t he F ren c h
ing that his diplomatic talents ought n o t t o be
wasted Representing France in succession at
.

Turi n Rome a n d Vienna he was recalled by

, , ,

his master from the last named post to strengthen -

the Ollivier Ministry by becomi n g its Foreign

Minister though he was in no way a Liberal
, .

Malmesbury h i s cousi n pronounces him agree , ,

able and polished in society but vain an d i m ,

p e t u o u s Certainly he gave no signs

. o f the
diplomatic genius with which he credited himself .

Unhappily the Emperor appare n tly took him at

his o w n valuation and gave him a freer hand
than his predecessors had at the Foreign O ffi ce
a n d the result was almost immediately fatal .

Some suspicion o f the danger may have been

1
felt outside Governme n t circles But Ollivier .
,

though a man of peace did not protest against ,

association in office w ith the Duke and the ,

latter foun d in one of his colleagues Leboeuf ,

the War Ministe r a kindred spirit , .

’
On the definite news o f Prin ce Leopold s
1
v s c o d s th t wh G o t s app oi t t
Dr E an re r a en ra m n
’

n m en was
an n ou c d s t t s a f E u o p
n e ,
p t tio s id to h i
a a e m n o r ea n re u a n a m

B li v e h e pp oi t t fo bod s F c o P u ssi
e m e, t e a n m en re e a ra n - r an

w ar I t h H oh
.
”
loh M oi s it i s s t t d th t wh
n e en e em r a e a
“
en

G o t
ra m pp oi t d M i i s t B i ck told B d tti
n w as a n e n er, sm a r en e e

th t thi s
a i di c tio th t h E p o h d s o d k
was an n a n a t e m er r a m e ar

d s ig oth wi s h would v h v d s o tu p id
e n , er e e n e er a e m a e s a m an

Mi i st
n B d tti i t i d th t h E p o did
er . en e e m a n a ne a t e m er r n ot

k ow G o t w ll ough
n ra m wh i c h B i s ck
n kd e en ,
at m ar re m a r e

th t th E p o N p ol o h d d sc ib d G o t to h i
a e m er r a e n a e r e ra m n m

a s un a nc en i bel l dtre (II .

 T he E ve of D i sas ter 34 1

reply t o the Span ish offer Napoleon summon ed

,

t o his presence Gramont w h o t h e same evening

,

assured Cou n t Metternich that the Hohenzollern

succession could never be S i n ce France would
,

oppose it by every means even if a war with ,

Prussia were the result He proceeded t o talk

.

“
in the Legislative Body o f the threatened re
vi va l o f the empire o f Charles V assuring them .
,

that the French Governmen t would do its duty

without hesitation o r weakness Ollivier and his .

fellow Liberals were carried along in the wake

o f Gramont a n d Leboeuf The latter wished to
.

look o n the mere fact o f Prince Leopold bei n g

a candidate as a ground for war The E mperor .
,

however was still a restraining force After the

, .

moderately favourable i n terview between B ene

detti and Ki n g William at Ems o n the 9 th July
the mischievous activity o f Gramont w h o was ,

daily urging Benedetti to press Prussia hard ,

was temporarily checked Military preparatio n s

.

paused O n the 1 2 th news was received o f the

.

‘
telegram t o Madrid o f p ere A n toi n e as the Par ,

i si an s called him withdrawing his son Leopold s

’

candidature Ollivier rushed in to the Emperor s

.
’

presence waving a telegram in the air and cry

,

“
ing Peace ! Peace ! H e was despatched t o
the Legislative Body where he congratulated
,

the peace party o n the turn taken by events .

Napol eon himself lost no time in sendin g for

Nigra whom he requested t o inform the Italian
,
34 2 T he Las t Emp ress of th e F ren c h
’
Government that Prince Antony s telegram
meant peace He knew that public O pinion in
.

Fran ce would prefer war he added but the re

, ,

n u n ci at i o n o f Pri n ce Leopold s claim disposed o f

’

all the pretexts fo r it .

I n deed but fo r Gramont and Bismarck some

,

other pretext must have been sought fo r war

than was furnished by the affair o f the Spanish
succession Gramont endeavoured through the
.

Prussian Ambassador in Paris t o obtain what

was virtually an apology from King William .

The Ki n g on receipt o f Baron Werther s despatch ’

sent a n aide de camp t o Benedetti announcing

- -
,

that Prince Leopold had confirmed his with

dra w a l and stati n g that the matter was ended .

Benedetti actin g as the tool o f Gramont sought

, ,

the King whom he met as he too k his morning

,

“ ”
waters and pressed him fo r an audience as
, ,

his instructions required a guarantee against a

renewal o f the Hohenzollern candidate The
'

King replied that another audience would be

quite useless as he had nothi n g t o add to what
,

he had already said With that he turned away

. .

Both left Ems the next morning n o rupture ,

havin g occurred .

’
The n ext stroke was Bismarck s Displaying .

the red rag fo r the French bull as he called ,

it he had published in Berlin o n the 1 3 th a brief

,

telegram from Ems t o the effect that the Ki n g

had refused t o see the French Ambassador and
344 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Thus the eviden ce which makes Eug enie the
stirrer o f the Franco Prussian War would cer -

t a i n l y not be considered enough t o convict any

o n e else It is proved it may be granted that
.
, ,

sh e thought that honour demanded war On .

her interpretation of honour which was also all ,

France s at the moment was sh e wrong ? The

’

Bismarck version o f the Ems affair On the 1 3 t h

July was deli berately intended t o insult a high
spirited natio n the most military nation o f the
,

1
day and it succeeded as it could but su cceed
, .

That sh e and all others who seeing war u n ,

avoidable demanded its advent were t o blame

,

in that they did n o t i nsist o n making it at

’ ’
France s conven ience n o t at Prussia s is a j ust , ,

charge But who i s deserving o f ce n sure the

.
,

Empress who has t o rely o n the information o f

’
her cou n try s Foreign and War Ministers or the ,

Foreign Mi n ister who spen ds hi s stren gth in

hasteni n g o n the rupture the War Minister ,

who declares that all is ready to the last gaiter

button ? Napoleon might j ustly be blamed for
accepting statements by Leboeuf to the effect
that France n ever was and never would be so
ready for war as in 1 8 70 kn owing that the ,

’
plans which Marshal Niel L eb o eufs predecessor ,

at the War Office had thought necessary for ,

N ap ol o w as fully j u s tifi d i quoti g to t h d p ut atio

1 e n e n n e e n

f o th L gi sl tiv B ody th 2 2 d July M o t s qui u s

r m e e a e on e n n e e
’

s yi g th t th l utho f w i s t h who d c l s
a n a e rea a r o a ar no e e a re

i t but h e who ak s it c ss y
m e ne e ar .
 T he E ve of D i sas t er 34 5
’
France s military safety had n o t been carried
into effect and that the advice of his o w n
trusted military a tta che Colonel Sto ffel at Berlin
had been ridiculed by Gramont and others But .

was the Empress supposed to go behind the

declarations o f the Ministers paid t o know and
’
report o n the country s fitness ? Assured that
Fran ce was fit and knowi n g that Fran ce shared
her views as to the bearin g o f insults sh e must ,

in the circumstances be fo r war unless her senti ,

men ts as woman w i fe and mother restrained her

, , .

Now her maternal attitude w a s often likened t o

that o f the Spartans Only a few days after the
.

outbreak o f war S he said : In case o f a defeat

I prefer my so n t o be with the Army I do .

”
not wish him to be made a little Louis XVI I .

As the wife o f a Bonaparte sh e thought that ,

her husban d must stand o ut in France s eyes as ’

a ruler who inflicted o n her n o humiliations .

There is n o evidence that sh e forgot what is sup

posed to be a woman s proper attitude toward
’

war nor looked o n it as a matter for a li ght

heart Madame Carette quotes her words to
.

V a rei gn e Palace Prefect at the Tuileries

, The
honour of France is at stake but what disaster ,

will follow if fortu n e goes agai n st us We have

but o n e card to play If we are n o t success
.

ful France will n o t o n ly be dismembered but

,

swallowed up by the most frightful revolution

ever witnessed These words so soon t o be
.
,
34 6 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
proved true were uttered by the E mpress o n the
,

night o f the declaration o f war as she stroll ed in

the park at Saint Cloud with her ladies and the
-

Baron V a rei gn e had rallied her on her extreme

.

melan choly whereo n sh e asked how sh e could be

,

expected to be free from care a n d proceeded t o

make her sad prophecy .

Decidedly those w h o have represented E ugén i e

as simply carried away by thirst fo r military
glory eager to prop the tottering dynasty
, ,

fanatically anxious for the overthrow of a great

Protestant Power and so o n defeat their o w n case
, ,

by the recklessness of their accusations More .

v em o n o u s accusations o f a desire for Regency

perhaps need n o t be more than n oticed .

It is open to say that if the Empress E ugén i e

had been quite a di fferen t woman sh e would
have thrown all her influence in the scale for
peace o n the night of the 1 4 th July Would .

she then h a ve been successful ? The Emperor ,

it is true as Eug enie afterwards expressed it

,

“
in a letter t o Dr Evans neither desired n o r
” “ ”
sought the war but submitted to i t
, But .
1

was Gramont t o be talked over who in his own , ,

“
words , decided o n the war with an absolute
confidence i n victory Or L eboeuf who wished ,

t o make the mere fact of the Hohenzollern pre

tensions a ground fo r hostilities ? Or the people
of Paris w h o went mad with delight o n the
,

E va s I 2 03 ff
1 n . .
TH E T HIR D R E G EN C Y
A N D T H E F LIGHT
35 2 T he Las t E m p ress of the F ren c h
fore held a private consultation ) should start from
Paris itself and a special trai n was ru n from a tem
,

p o ra r
y station improvised at a summer house i n -

the park at Saint Cloud The Emperor

came o u t of his wife s apartments i n to the grand ’

saloon in the undress uniform of a General o f

,

Division The Prince Imperial followed i n sub

.

lieuten an t s dress S lappi n g his sword constantly

’

against his S ide as though to S how his pride i n it

“

’
But with his other han d he held the Empress s ,

a n d close observ ers n oticed tears in his eyes .

The Emperor was said to have a n exp ression o f

sad n ess o n his face which had n ever been seen
before Eug enie though trembling strove hard
.
, ,

t o look cheerful a n d kept her emotio n unde r

control until the parti n g was over A ft ei Napo .

'

leon had said good bye to those i n the saloon he -

,

drove with his wife a n d so n to the statio n O n .

the platform he shook ha n ds with Ollivier to ,

”
whom his last words were : I count upon y o u ,

“
and the sign al for departure w a s given Do .

your duty Louis was the Empress s fin al mes

,
’

sage to the Pri n ce and then amid cries of Vi ve ,

1

’
l E mp ereu r ! t he train steamed out for Metz .

E ugenie returned to her carriage and drove back

weepi n g to the Palace Spartan motherhood was .

1
l dy t l g p h d to h i g a d
S h e h a d a rea e e ra e s r n m oth er i n Sp i a n

L oui s will s t t with hi s f th f h A

ar a er or t e rm yi n a few d ysa ,

an d I w i s h y ou to d hi you bl ssi g
s en m r e n . Do n ot be an

i
x ous .I qu i t c l H u s t do h i
am e a m . e m s d ty
u an d bi gr n

ho ou to h i
n r s n am e .
 T hi rd R eg en c y an d t he F light 3 53
not as easy a pose for her as her enemies im
a
gi n ed .

Sain t Cloud was the Regent s appoi n ted place

-
’

o f residence during the open i n g days of the

’
campaign With her were her dead sister s t w o
.

daughters and Admiral Jurien de la Gravi ere ,

Imperial aide de camp who was e n trusted with

- -
,

the care o f her and occupied rooms with hi s

family in the Palace The closing days o f July.

were quiet A letter from the Emperor arrived

.
,

telling o f u n readiness a n d confusion at Metz and

a forced chan ge o f the plan of campaign Then .

on the 2 n d August a telegram followed a n ,

n o un ci n the a f
f air at S a a rbri i ck N apoleon s ’

g .

perfectly reasonable statement that Louis bore

”
himself well under fire was soon afterwards
mercilessly ridiculed by his e n emies It w a s a .

—
fact that the fourteen year old Pri n ce was under -

Prussian fire and that he picked up a bullet as a

memen to Had success fallen to Fran ce that
.
,

fact would have been recalled with delight As .

it w a s the an nou n cemen t sha red the fate o f

,

“
the accompan yi n g report of the victory of
S a a rbri i ck Th e Fre n ch nation had bee n o n ly
.

too eager to receive n ews of success R o uh er .

,

ex Mi n ister Presiden t of the Sen ate a n d n o w

-
, ,

member of the Cou n cil of Rege n cy had already ,

“
spoke n to the Sen ators of the grateful n ation
prepari n g the ho n ou rs of victo ry S a a rbri i ck .

seemed to promise the victo ry When the truth .

2
354 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
was discovered indignation swept away all at
,

tempts a t j ustice o r discrimination .

Nor did the expectan t masses have long t o

wait for disillusion O n Saturday the 6t h Augu st
.

the air was full o f rumours o f a great battle At .

first a French success with the Crown Prin ce ,

an d twenty fiv e thousand Prussian s prisoners was

-
,

talked o f at Paris and preparations began to

,

be made for decorati n g the city The Empress .

Eug enie received the earliest correct tidings .

A dmiral de la Gravi ere was preparing t o dine

with her at Saint Cloud on S aturday night when
-
,

he was informed that bad news had reached her .

Hasten i n g to her he found her speechlessly await

,

ing the decipherment of a telegram from the

E mperor while her nieces were sobbing at her
,

side She handed the Admiral the begin n ing o f

.

the transcript W e are in full retreat

, The .

conclusion was brought i n from the n ext room ,

and sh e read the last words All may yet be ,

retrieved . She fell o n her k nees and began t o

weep The Admiral tried to calm her when
.
,

she turn ed to him and said I thank God that

there is still room for hope It was decided .

that sh e must go to Paris that night and the ,

evil news was meanwhile sen t t o the Mi n istry o f

the Interior Soon after a message was received
.

from the Prefect o f Police urging the Empress ,

t o leave Saint Cloud as he feared an attack o n

-
,

it by the mob Already the disaster was public

.
3 56 T h e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
met with a check Be firm in face o f this reverse
.
,

and let us hasten to repair it Let there be but .

one party amon g us the party o f Fran ce ; and

,

let u s follow but o n e flag tha t of the national

,

honour You shall see me here in your midst

.
,

the first at the post o f dan ger defendi n g the ,

”
banner o f France .

Her o w n brave words could not deceive her .

“ ”
There was no o n e party and sacrifices were ,

necessary to appease the mob Ollivier must .

o with the first The unfortunate Premier had

g .

endeavoured immediately after the news of

,

W orth t o save his Cabinet by attracting to

,

the Ministry o f War the popular Trochu then ,

in Paris without a command in place o f the ,

incompetent a n d ruined Leboeuf Trochu re .

fused to save th e falling Ministry N o r could .

Olli vier it was said persuade the Empress to

, ,

allow him to put under arrest the most dan ger

o u s leaders o f the Oppositio n In any case his .
,

own doom was sealed The meeting o f the

.

Legislative Body o n the 9 t h August remark ,

able for violence of language i n side and outside

the Chamber proceeded at once to carry a vote
,

o f no confidence a n d the Ministry resigned .

Olli vier retired to Switzerland The Empress .

determined to entrust the Govern ment to a

man o f her o w n choice In command o f the.

troops at Lyons there was Count Palikao who ,

as General de Mon tauban commanded the

 T hi rd R eg en c y an d t he F light 3 57
French troops in North Chi n a i n 1 8 60 a n d
S hared with Lord Elgin the very doub tful glory
of the loot o f the S ummer Palace at Peking .

He w a s seventy fiv e years of age but was still

-
,

very active and carried his years well He .

1

appealed to the Empress as an embodiment o f

chivalry She greeted him o n his arrival at the
.

Tuileries o n the morn i n g o f the l ot h August

with the words : Ge n eral I have sen t fo r you ,

because I have to as k from you a great act o f

devotion He was ready he replied t o prove , ,

his devotion to Empress a n d to co u ntry I .

ask y o u to accept the Min istry o f War .

Palikao possibly prepared for the request a c

, ,

ce t ed The Empress co n tinued : A s you

p .

have consen ted y o u must sacrifice yourself en

,

”
t i rel y You must form a new Mi n istry
. Again .

Palikao accepted the task and for the moment ,

the S ituation was saved .

The fall o f the Ollivier Cabinet a n d the re

moval of Leboeuf was not all that the n ation
in defeat required Napoleon recogn ised this
.

b y resign ing h i s own chief command and putti n g

it in the han ds o f Bazaine a popular choice , .

Then no lon ger a believer in his star and so

,

ill that he could hardly si t a horse he depart ed ,

to Ch alons While his enemies were bitterly

.

1 In 1 8 60 S i r H op G e ra n t had d sc ib d h i
e r e fi m as a n e,

h ds o
an m e,
”
s oldi lik
er- e m an , a pp tly u d s i x ty y s
a ren n er ea r

of a
ge .
35 8 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
assaili n g the m a n who disguised his pallor by
pain ti n g his face Napoleon II I was probably , .

showi n g the greate st courage o f his life ; a n d 1

he had n ever been accused of cowardice before .

It was n o t o f course known at the time pre ,

cautions having bee n taken to keep it eve n from

the Empress that at the begi n ni n g o f July a
,

consult ation o f five doctors had been held t o

consider whether an operation could be longer
delayed He was reprieved for the moment
.

but obviously was n o t fit t o start o n a campaign .

His very looks and incapacity for military duties

were so pron ou n ced that the generals in despair
urged him to depart from the front He re .

tired as far as C hé l o n s where he met Gen eral ,

Trochu appointed t o comma n d the 1 2 th Corps

,

there after his refusal t o j oi n Ollivier K n ow .

i n g Trochu s popularity with the people— n o t

’

with the Army authorities fo r he was lon g an ,

advocate o f Army reform— Napoleo n besought

him to go to Paris a s Governor T rochu co n .

sented on ly o n the u n derstandi n g that the

Emperor w a s t o follow him soon Your .

popularity said Napoleon to him as he wen t

, ,

“
is the key to open the door o f the Tuileries
fo r me Con sult with the Empress
. I have .

every confidence in y o u .

1
y T ho ps o who o p t d h i i J u a y
Si r H en r m n era e on m n an r

187 p ok f hi s x t o di y h oi s i itti g i h
2 s e o e ra r n ar er m n S n n t e

s ddl f fi hou S d (Ev s II p

a e or ve rs a t e an . an . .
 60 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
3
Trochu to be However in spite o f some con
.
,

ci l i at o r words from Admiral de la Gravi ere

y ,

the first i n terview was but an u n happy foretaste

o f what was t o come The question o f the
.

Emperor s return to Paris above all caused a

’

W ide divergence of ideas Already Ollivier .

,

before his fall but after W orth had I nsisted ,

that Napoleon must return Eug enie had then .

steadfastly declined t o hear o f such a thing .

Return would look l ike flight ; the Emperor s ’

place was with the Army A S soon as France .

obtained the slightest advan tage then let the ,

Emperor come back to Paris but n o t until then .

She argued long with Trochu now a n d explained

t o him the po li tical reasons against his desire .

Accordi n g t o her friends he appeared convinced

,

at last But there is n o proof of this The Em

. .

press followed u p her arguments by telegraphing

t o Ch alons : Do n o t think o f comi n g back un
less y o u wish t o let loose a terrible revolution .

This is the advice of R o u h er and Chevreau ,

1

whom I sa w this mornin g People would say .

you were running away from danger Do n o t .

’
forget how all Pri n ce Napoleon s life has been
”
a ffected by his departure from the Crimea .

S o determi n ed was Eug en ie t o gain her point

that she sent R o u h er to Napoleon t o persuade
him t o stay where he w a s The Emperor gave .

way before this persistence and broke his promise

1
Mi i st
n er o f t h e I t io
n er r .
 T hi rd R eg en c y an d t he F ligh t 36 1

to Trochu The latter brought t o Paris o n false

.
,

p reten ces a n d denied the Empress s confidence ’

avoided the Tuileries where he at least imagined

,

himself regarded with suspi cion a n d contempt .

According t o Cou n t Iri sso n d H é ri sso n (w h o i s ’

however a witness u n frien dly to the Empress )

, ,

Eug enie gave the Gen eral t o understand that

sh e was obliged to tolerate him but that his pre ,

sence at Court was disagreeable t o her Colour .

is certainly len t t o this statement by the story

told by Madame Carette a very di fferent witness ,

from the Count There had been a Cou n cil

.

meeti n g at the Tuileries after which the Em ,

’
p ress detained Trochu fo r a few min utes private
conversation i n h er study She came o u t to her .

ladies afterwards with a weary face sayin g that ,

Trochu had been more tediou s than ever and ,

related h o w when sh e expressed her con fidence

,

in him he had knelt down and kissed her

,

“
hand exclaimi n g : Madame I am a Breton a
, , ,

Catholic a n d a soldier and will serve y o u t o

, ,

“
the death ! An honest man said Eug enie ,

“
t o her friends has no need o f such a flood o f
,

”
words t o express h i s readi n ess to do his duty ;
and sh e rubbed the back o f her hand as if in
repugn ance at the recent kiss Others were .

more pro n ou n ced in their attitude towards the

Ge n eral an d it ca n hardly be denied that he
,

was imp roperly treated at the Palace A s the .

’
Emperor s nominee alone he had a right t o
3 62 T h e Las t Emp re ss of t he F ren c h
confidence unless he was proved disloyal The
, .

mean s which he took t o rese n t his treatment ,

an almost entire abandonme n t o f the Empress

in the hour o f greatest n eed u n fort u n ately fo r ,

him seemed to confirm the suggestion o f dis

loyalty Even Napoleon considered that he
.

betrayed his trust Malmesbury records that in .

the course o f o n e of his con versatio n s with the

ex Emperor at Chislehurst in the following May
-

he mention ed the name o f Trochu Napoleon .

,

w h o had said n o word against anyone yet ,

suddenly abandoned his general calm t o ex

“ ”
claim A h voi la u n dro l e
’
1
,

’
Th e Empress Eug enie s vigorous resistance t o
her husband s propos ed return t o Paris naturally
’

did not escape comment As was so often her .

fate both friends a n d e n emies o f the Emperor

,

attacked her Nevertheless her j udgmen t seems

.

t o have bee n politically sound A Napoleon .

should n o t come back u n less victorious N o t .

even the First Napoleon could afford to do that

after Waterloo What could Napoleon I I I a . .
,

broken dow n wreck as well as a defeated com

-

man der do i n such circumstances ? N o t even

,

human ity nor a wife s affection could commend ’

that he should display his weak n ess t o the

treacherous Parisian populace i n order t o gain
1 p phl t p ubli h d
In a am lo g b fo hi s d ath
e s e n ot n e re e

N p ol o w ot f T o c hu N v h
a e n r e t as o b
o r :
“
e er as a re n een

c o itt d s o b l ck fl g t d u p do bl —c o itt d
m m e a , a ra n ,
an n ar na e m m e

too g i s t wo
,
a a n d du i
a ti f fo ig i v sio
m an a n r n g a m e o re n n a n .
 6
3 4 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
lative Body the most insisten t question w as
whether there w as to be a gen eral armamen t .

O n the Bourse there was a wild debauch o f

speculation Rumours of Fren ch successes were
.

constantly started to be silenced ve ry soon by

,

fresh truths The Empress in the midst o f all

.

spent her time almost en tirely between the

Coun ci l of Rege n cy and hospital work As sh e .

never left the Palace the Cou n c i l w as held there ,

and i t s meetin gs took place th rice daily A .

great part of the Tuileries had been turned by

Eug en ie in to a shelter for the wounded pour
i n g back from the front A ll the time which .

sh e could spare sh e spent in going from sick b ed -

to sick bed Her meals sh e took whi le at work

-
.

i n her private study When sh e arrived from

.

S ain t Cloud on the n ight of the 6th August S he

-

fou n d a ll the rooms at the Tuil eries shrouded in

their usual summer coverin gs a n d these sh e for
bade to be removed There were no distractions
.

allowed from the dai ly round of labour The .

Empress s name day always before o n e o f the

’
-
,

gayest days i n the year passed har dl y n oticed , .

The devoted Madam e Carette records that sh e

took a stroll i n the Tu i leries garden that even
in g
. Outside could be heard the noises o f the
crowd and of the rural fire brigades which had -

j ust been summoned to Paris t o aid i n the de

fence o f the city The Palace buil din gs stood
.

out cl early again st a red sunset Look ! cried .

 T hi rd R eg en c y an d t he F light 6
3 5
the E mpress you would think the Tuileri es
,

were i n flames and sh e turn ed to go i n doors

-

with a rigid expressio n on her p i n ched and

marble pale face which struck most pai nfully
-

o n e w h o had kn o w n her so long in other circum

stances That ambitio n to be the ruler which

.
,

was all eged to have inspired her to warn Napo

leon o ff from Paris procured fo r the E mpress ,

“
Eug en ie what h as truly been described a s the
long torture of August and early September
1 8 70
. So great was the strain that S he coul d get
no n atural sleep and sh e felt obliged to mai n tai n
,

herself with very stro n g co ffee and chloral There .

can be little wonder that after the crushi n g ,

blow of S edan the aftern oon of the 4t h S ep

,

tember fou n d her will b roken at last i n the

of fici o u s han ds o f the Austrian and Italia n
Ambassadors .

With the arrival of September the end came ,

very soon Paris which stood the shock of the

.
,

openin g defeats a n d even the first losses u n der

Bazai n e of whom better had bee n expected was
, ,

n o t i n a state to bear up against the catastrophe

o f Sedan The terrible n ews came i n gradually

.
,

n o r was the Empress the fi rst to hear it O n the .

seco n d aftern oon of the mo n th a Brussels despatch

reached the Mi n ister of Public Wo rks Baron ,

Jerome David o n e of the n umerous Jcromes of

,

whom the ack n owledged father was the ex Ki ng -

of Westphalia The despatch annou n ced briefly

.
3 66 T h e Las t Emp ress of th e F ren c h
that there had been a great defeat that the ,

Emperor w a s p rison er M a cM a h o n killed and , ,

the Prince Imperial lost David immediately .

commu n icated the report to the T uileries where ,

the Empress hopin g i n the abse n ce of o fficial

,

news that it might prove false although sh e be ,

frayed great agitation maintai n ed a brave fron t

, .

Her frien ds the same eveni n g without consultin g ,

her persuaded M erim ee to visit Thiers one of the

, ,

ten members o f the Legislative Body who o n the

1 5 th July had O pposed Ollivier s requisitio n for
’

the w a r a n d after in forming him of what had

,

happen ed to beg him to come to the aid of the

Governmen t Thiers refused M é ri m é e s appeal
.
’

he did a seco n d also from distracted Impe ri

a l i st s . As he told Pri n ce Hohen lohe i n 1 8 75 ,

he reported to the Empress that he could n o t

“
h elp her I had no special esteem for the
.

”
Court he added but I would have saved her
, ,

if I had had the power However I had it n o t .

, ,

and it would have been i n vai n t o make the

”1
attempt .

This was the last attempted service o f the poor

”
Court fool M erim ee to the mistress whose
virtues and charm he extolled so much an d so
long . A week earlier he had written t o hi s
“
friend Pan izzi i n Londo n : I have see n the
Empress Her co n duct i s truly sain tly an d
.

deserves all admiration Two weeks later he .

H oh loh M oi s II 1 3 5
1
en e em r , . .
 3 68 T h e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
revenge for a ll slights put on him at Court for ,

he did not visit until n ext day the woman who

asked for his help Probably he felt that he.

required sleep But the Empress can have had

.

little Further despatches were con stantly com

.

i n g i n with details o f Sedan The Legislative .

Body was sitting but n o information was sent

,

to the E mpress as to what they were doi n g

which was preparing for the motion deposi n g
the dynasty n ext day Part of the n ight was .

spent by her i n destroyi n g private papers At .

s even in the morn in g— i t was an other Sunday

morning as after W orth — S h e wen t to her private
,

chapel A visit to the wou n ded i n the Palace

.

foll owed a n d at half past eight the Coun cil began

,
-

t o assemble Soon after General Trochu arrived

.
,

greetin g the E mpress with the words Madame ,

the hour of great dan ger is at han d We will .

do all that we ought to do A short conversa

tion with the Governor apart is said to have en
co u ra ed Eug e n ie but little When the Council
g .

began however sh e showed herself resolute She

, , .

must fall without encumberi n g the defen ce she ,

said an d oppose d a suggestion to move the

,

Government from the dangerous n eighbourhood

o f Paris It w a s agreed t o appeal by proclama
.

tio n to the patriotic feel i n gs of the city an d to

i n vite the Legislative Body to elect five repre
s en t at i ves to assist the Regency The an swer .

t o the i n vitation was brought to the Tuileries

 T hi rd R eg en c y an d the F light 6
3 9
by a deputatio n w h o requested the Empress t o
,

hand over her powers t o the Legislative Body .

I cannot consent in the hour o f danger t o

abandon the post which has been confided to
me sh e replied in the course o f a l o n g speech
, , fl
.

’
Were S h e an encumbrance were the Emperor s
,

name an obstacle in the way o f the defence ,

then the deputies must pronounce the deposition .

She could n o t herself betray her trust The wise .

an d patriotic course S h e pleaded

, was for the
,

country s representatives to rally round her and

’

the Govern ment and t o unite in opposing the

i n vaders Was it n o t possible that sh e might
.

obtain less harsh terms o f peace ? She went o n

to sa y that she had the day before received from
the representative of a Great Power (Russia ,

though the name was not revealed ) a proposal

fo r mediatio n which would guarantee the i n
t egri t y of F rance and the maintenan ce of the
dynasty The second condition sh e had refused
. .

The maintenance o f the dynasty is a matter

which co n cerns France alone and I will never
,

permit foreign Powers to interfere in our internal

”
affairs.

Her eloquence had n o t the desired e ffect The .

deputies were firm and at last she was compell ed

,

to yield declari n g that nothi n g could hereafter

,

remove the bitter memory of that hour for her ,

the crowned sovereign of their holidays whom ,

they were drivi n g away in the time of peril .

2 A
37 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
She would resign her powers if Palik ao thought
it n ecessary Palikao could n o t thi n k otherwise
.
,

’
and the deputies after kissi n g the Empress s
,

hand retired t o an n ou n ce at the Palais Bourbon

,

the success o f their mission .

The Second Empire was at a n end Only .

the last vestiges o f its rule remained t o be

swept away From the early hours o f Su n day
.

morning when the placards i n the streets

,

revealed the story o f Sedan revolution was ,

o n foot Crowds were gathering everywhere

. .

Round the T u i l eri es were what Count Iri sso n

“
d H é ri sso n graphically describes as the ragged
’

creatures with si n ister heads watching the ,

P al ace come n o o n e knew when ce and only

,

seen at such times Like beasts o f prey wait

ing for a sp rin g they surrou n ded the enclosure
o f the Tuileries Gradually they began to press
.

agai n st the railings a n d to knock the eagles o ff

the gates The ordinary garrison o f Imperial
.

Guards was draw n up in fro n t of the mai n en

trance but plainly it would not be able to
,

protect the Palace against the mob Moreover .

,

the Empress agai n in sisted that not a si n gle

drop of blood should be shed for her a n d would ,

hear of n o firi n g o n the people There w a s .

only o n e alternative At half past three the.

-

Prefect o f Police rushed into the Palace

cryin g We are betrayed ! We can n ot
resist the crowd is breaking down the railings
, .
37 2 T he Las t Emp ress o f t he F ren c h
ful o f Marie Antoinette Eug enie exclaimed : ,

They shall not have a second Queen t o i n

s ul t ! After the Prefect s terrified advice the ’

Ambassadors redoubled their entreaties and the

Empress wavering for some hours past at last
, ,

gave way Metternich and Nigra have been

.

severely censured fo r the part they played It .

is suggested that they were an xious to see the

dynasty s fall owing to the fact that through
’

them their countries had a verbal understand

i n g with Napoleon t o come to his aid again st
Prussia in certai n co n tingencies France now .

bein g beaten it was better that the witness o f

,

the understanding should be unable to return

’
t o Paris . Hence Eug enie s flight would be of
service to the m If this were the true ex
.

planatio n o f their advice their con duct would ,

certainly appear very base for both especially , ,

Mettern ich had been treated as intimate friends

,

in the Palace But whatever the truth about

.
,

a secret understanding between Metternich ,

Nigra and Napoleon with regard to Prussia

, ,

there does not seem sufficient reaso n to con

’
dem n the Ambassadors advice as i n sincere No .

on e on the spot could have cou n selled the

Empress t o face the Paris mob u n armed and
almost alone waiting for the chivalry of Gen eral
,

Trochu to rescue her in case o f danger to her ,

life Nor even if she came to n o harm would

.
, ,

her stay in Paris have delayed the proclamation

 T hi rd R eg en c y an d t he F light 37 3
of the Republic The curtain was already rung .

down .

When the decision was taken there was n o ,

delay A S the Empress bade good bye t o her

.
-

ladies o f whom only Madame Lebreto n the

, ,

widowed S ister o f General Bourbaki was t o ,

“
accompany her sh e exclaimed t o them : In ,

France n o o n e has the right to be unfortu n ate

the only bitter saying recorded at her fare
-

well t o the Tuileries The ladies all kissed her .

1

hand a n d then Metternich taki n g her arm and

, ,

N igra Madame L ebret o n s while Admiral de la

’

G ravi ere and t w o other faithful F ren chme n led

the way the party hurried through the Louvre
,

Galleries to the door o n the Place Saint Germai n -

l A u xerro i s An attempt t o get out through

’
.

o n e o f the Palace gates was abandoned as t o o

dangerous A S ign o f the haste of the departure

.

w a s that when the Palace was e n tered by the

,

’
n ew Government s agents o n the Empress s ,
’

dressing table were found a handkerchief and a

-

bag with night dresses and a few other clothes

-
,

while a waiting woman in tears said to the

invaders She has gone without even a hand
kerchief .

For Eugenie this was n o time fo r tears It .

was drawing near t o four O clock when sh e and ’

1
Md
a C tt s y s th a t h p a t g wo d s w
am e a re e No
a er r in r ere :
,

n ot adi Aeu i W s h ll t ga s h ll
u revo r e a m ee a in, a we n ot

tu i g bac k f a l s t loo k h w t f o h oo
rn n or a as s e en r m t e r m .
374 T h e Las t E m p ress of t he F ren c h
her smal l escort reached the street As they .

stood a while in the doorway t o let a crowd

’
pass Nigra took the Empress s arm and asked
,

“
her if she felt alarmed D o y o u feel me .

”
tremble ? she replied As soon as it was safe .
,

a cab w a s called An observant street arab .

,

w h o recognised the fugitives was silenced by a ,

kick from the Italian Ambassador and the ,

Empress and Madame Lebreton stepped in ,

while Metternich gave the cabman the address

o f M Besson Councillor of State in the Boule
.
, ,

vard Haussman n The Ambassadors their last .

,

u n usual duties accomplished said good bye and ,

-
,

E u gé n i e d rove o ff thus cu riously falsifyi n g her -

“
sayi n g I shall never run away in a cab like
,

”
Charles X an d Louis Philippe
. .

N o w enters into the story a person w h o has

“ ”
aptly bee n called the one hero in the career
of the Empress E ugé n i e When the Empress .
1

’
reached M Besson s house she found n o one
.

there In her distress sh e could only think o f

.

o n e refuge She told the cabman t o take her

.

t o the house in the Avenue de l Im p é ra t ri c e o f

’

Dr Evans the American den tist retained by

,

Napoleo n I I I and employed also by the Tsar

.

an d other European sovereign s Dr Thomas .

Evans had been a frie n d as well as dentist t o

Louis N apoleo n from the days of his Presidency .

1
So c ll d by h utho f v y i t s ti g ot c
a e t e a r o a er n ere n n i e in
Truth, 1 4 t h D c b 9 of h E v s M oi s
e em er 1 05 , t e an em r .
37 6 T h e Las t Emp ress of the F ren c h
fift een miles from Paris Evan s took counsel .

with his assistan t afterwards the editor of his

,

memoirs Dr C rane They decided that it would

, .

be best t o j oi n M rs E vans at D eauville and to

drive thither with relays o f horses instead o f
travelli n g by trai n The Empress fortunately
.

had with her a passport made o ut at the British

Embassy for an Engli sh doctor and a lady
patient duly vi se but for some reason u n used
’

, .

A plot was at on ce co n cocted whereby Crane ,

became the doctor the E mpress the patient, ,

Evan s her brother and Madame Lebreton a ,

nurse The ladies then wen t to bed while the

.
1

others made preparations for a start at half past -

five the next morn i n g .

The second volume of the E vans Memoirs gives

a lon g and very graphic accou n t of the j ourney
to the coast The Empress rose at five o n the
.

morni n g of Mo n day the 5 t h September After

, .

a breakfast o f co ffee a n d roll s the party of four ,

’
drove in the Doctor s lan dau to the city gates ,

’
where owing to E va n s s manifest American
,

’
nationality and the Empress s complete disguise ,

they were allowed to pass through w ith hardly

a question At Sai n t Germain en Laye they ran
.
- - -

the gauntlet of the octro i with like ease and by

eleven were at Nantes Another carriage and .

horses were there procured Evans recalls that .

,

after leavi n g Nantes he gave the Empress the ,

news which he had j ust rea d in the Paris papers

 T hi rd R eg en c y an d the F light 377
about the proclamation o f the Republic with
Trochu as President of the Government It .

required the actual production o f the J ou rn a l

Ofi ci el t o persuade her o f Trochu s conduct
’

When she read the words o f his appointment as

President says E van s the paper dropped from
, ,

her han ds and sh e exclaimed :

“‘
H o w was it possible for him S O t o betray
me Then after a few mome n ts she continued :
O n ly yesterday morn ing spontaneously o f his
, ,

o w n volition he pledged to me o n his honour as

, ,

a soldier o n his faith as a Catholic a n d a Breton

, ,

that he would never desert me that whoever ,

might w ish to harm me would have to pass first

over his dead body ; a n d those words were spoken
with such apparent emotion that I could not
suspect his sincerity Whom could I have
.

trusted if n o t him — a soldier selected by the

Emperor himself as specially trustworthy ,

whose accepted duty it was to defend me w h o ,

t o the last hour swore fealty

These words reported by Evans remind u s o f
the story told by Madame Carette but the Em ,
~

press s affirmation o f her implicit trust i s hardly

’

what would be expected and when we read , ,

E v an s s comment that it was n o t so much the

’

setti n g up of the Republic that distressed her a s

“
h er discovery o f the treachery of the soldier ,

the avowed friend and protector in whom sh e had

trusted we can but wonder without mak ing an
, ,
37 8 T he Las t Emp ress of t he Fren c h
attempt t o reconcile the various accounts o f the
episode o f Trochu s Governorship o f Paris ’
.
1

The j ourney t o Deauville conti n ued w ith few

incidents Monday night was passed at a small
.

wayside i n n where the Empress as S he after , ,

wards related with amusement played her part ,

o f i n valid as well as she could Mrs E va n s s ’

.

house was reached at n oon next day an d the ,

Doctor relates that wearied and exhausted the , ,

Empress sank into a chair crying : Thank G o d !

”
Saved !
It remained t o cross the Chan n el Fortu n ately .

it happened that in the neighbouring harbour of

Trouville there lay a 4 2 t o n yacht belon gin g t o -

Sir J ohn Burgoyn e who had come t o fetch his ,

wife from Fran ce Evan s and Crane came o n .

board the G a z ell e a n d Evan s givin g the own er , ,

his card asked him if he would take under the

,

protectio n o f the British flag the fugitive Empress

o f the F rench Burgoyne was incredulous and .

sent E vans t o h i s wife who recogn ised him , .

Lady Burgo yne overcame her husband s reluct ’

1
Th e E m p ss
h s l f lw y s d c li d to t
re E ugé n i e er e a a e ne en er

i to t h c o t ov sy to T och u s c o du c t E v s quot s a
n e n r er as r
’
n . an e

l tt s t by h to hi s l f h
e er en d O c tob
er 8 96 wh m e on t e 2 2n er 1 , en

h h d w i tt
e a to th G l i bout c t i s t t ts i h
r en e au o s a er a n a e m en n t e

T o c hu M oi s Y will u d s t d I ho p th t I
r em r : ou n er an ,
e, a am

quit s olv d to p ly to othi g how v pai ful it y b

e re e re n n ,
e er n m a e

to A
m e f c i i
. tio d j u s tifi c tio i s pug t
w ar o re r m na n an a n re n an

to I h a v f ith to b li v th t to h E p o fi t d
m e . e a e e e a t e m er r rs ,
an

to p h ps ( ) Ti will do j u sti c (E va s M oi s II
m e er a P
,
m e e .
”
n em r ,

p .
 8 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
3
set by the Empress who exhibited a cool
,

courage and a consideration fo r others which w o n

the esteem o f everyo n e o n board Her actual .

feeli n gs at the time are plainly revealed in a

letter which sh e wrote immediately afterwards t o
Madame Carette I believed that we should
.

”
all be lost she said
, But death in such a raging
.

storm seemed t o me easy and welcome I ex .

ect ed t o disappear and that no n e would know I

p
meant t o take refuge i n E n gland What had .

become o f me would n ever have been discovered ,

and my end would have been lost in impenetrable

mystery . That dramatic close to a career how ,

ever was n ot to be At le n gth the Solent was

, .

reached and at four A M o n the 8 th September

. .

the G a z el l e an chored o ff Ryde Three hours

.

later the Empress Eug enie set foot o n E n glish

soil henceforward her home
, .
TH E E M P RE SS IN EXILE
 CHAP T E R XX

THE E MP RE SS I N EX I LE
TH E first thought of the E mpres s on landing
at Ryde was of the Prince Imperial On the .

j ourn ey through France sh e had talk ed about him

anxiously and now sh e gladly assented to the
proposal of Dr Evans that they should go t o
Brighton where he held o ut hopes of news of
,

’
the Prince s position b eing obtainable Seei n g .

that Evans had read in a Ryde paper that the

Pri n ce w a s at Hastings we ca n bu t wo n der at
,

’
his roundabout method o f gratifying the mother s
desire to see him Obviously however the
.
, ,

worthy man d readed the e ffect of excessive

emotion on his charge At the din n er table at
.
-

Brighton which they had reached i n the after

,

noon after leavin g Ryde he let her know where

,

the Prince was stopping The e ffect was .

“
electrical he records
, She ro se u p quickly
.
'

left the table and insisted upo n goi n g i m

,

mediately to meet her so n E ven at H astings

.

the Doctor left the ladies at o n e hotel while he

went to fin d Pri n ce Louis at a n other The boy .

was at the Marine Hotel with a few friends and ,

eagerly questioned Evan s about his mother of ,

383
 8
3 4 T h e Las t Emp res s of t he Fren c h
whom nothing had been heard for four days .

Telling him that S h e was safe and that he would

go and make enquiries Evans hastened back to
,

the Empress It was now quite late but sh e

.
,

was set o n going at once t o the Marine Hotel .

Neither time nor intended kindness could keep

mother and so n ap art any longer Followed by
.

the D octor and Madame Lebreton sh e flew t o ,

the Prin ce and the two were reunited for the

,

first time since they parted o n the platform at

Saint Cloud o n the 2 8t h July
-
.

At last the Empress felt j ustified in givin g

way t o the exhaustion which sh e had been en
duri n g so long and for several days she was co n
,

fined to the room which sh e took at the Mari n e

Hotel In the meantime the n ews o f her arrival
.

spread rapidly and almost as soon as S h e w a s

,

ready to see them sh e had a smal l court about her ,

made up o f the Duke a n d Duchess of Mouchy

a n d other prominent exiles .There could be n o
hope of Napoleon j oining them yet His i m .

prisonment at Wilhelmsh ohe (once the palace

of his uncle Jerome ) had begun o n the even
i n g when E ugé n i e was acti n g the i n valid at the
wayside i n n and had yet seven months to run
, .

But preparations must be made for the comin g

life i n exile and the faithful Dr Evans was en
,

trusted with the duty o f looking for a suitable

house in Ken t It was n o t altogether acciden tal
.

that he came to choose Camden Place Ch i sl e ,

 T he Emp ress . in Ex il e 8
3 5
hurst a spot ever afterwards to be remembered
,

for its co n nection with Napoleo n I II a n d his .

wife A S he tells in the Memoirs he remem

.
,

bered Napoleon speaki n g t o him once o f pleasant

days spe n t at Tu n bridge Wells Thither E va n s .

wen t and looking rou n d the n eighbourhood he

,

came upon Camden Place It pleased him and .

his wife a s it di d the Empress s n iece w h o came

,
’

t o inspect it o n her behalf a n d the ow n er was ,

persuaded to let it to the Empress Afterwards .

it was discovered that Pri n ce Louis Napoleon

had been a visitor to a former owner in his early
exile .

On the 2 4 t h September twenty days after ,

leavi n g Paris and sixteen after lan ding in E n g

land the Empress Eug en ie arrived at Camden
,

Place her home for the next ten years She

, .

grew reconciled t o her surrou n di n gs as rapidly

as could be expected recovered her health and
, ,

even began to talk again with the an imation

which had marked her of old All references t o .

French politics however were avoided at her

, ,

desire not because these politics had ceased to

,

interest h er but because they i n terested her too

much Her enemies repres ented her at this
.

period as worki n g strenuously for a Bo n apartist

restoration p referably for the proclamatio n of
,

Prince Louis as Napoleon IV with herself .

,

as Regen t This was very far from the facts

. .

Five days after she reached Hasti n gs sh e wrote

2 B
3 8 6 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
to the Tsar entreati n g him to try t o secure fo r
France a n hon ourable an d lasti n g peace sh e did
n o t add a word about the dynasty She asked .

him it is true to keep secret the fact of her

, ,

writi n g to him for the reason that as sh e said , ,

an erroneous interpretation might be put on all

sh e did at this moment She also appealed to
.

the other Powers o f Europe b ut always o n be

,

half o f Fran ce n o t o f the Bonapartes On all

, .

sides sh e fou n d a resolve n o t to interfere owing

to the i n tern al political situation i n the country .

Eug en ie probably expected no recognition of

the sincerity o f her e fforts She certainly re
.

cei v ed none but o n the contrary was freely

,

accused o f discreditable i n trigues both then and ,

subsequently Her assailants did not trouble to

.

produce evidence in support of their charges no ,

doubt considering that the character which they

assigned to her was sufficient evidence in itself
of her willingness to stoop to any means which
promised a return to power With the one
.

notorious yet still inexplicable i n trigue even

, ,

they could not connect her On the 1 4th Sep

.

tember the day after E ug enie had written t o

,

the Tsar a hitherto obscure Fren chman n amed

,

R egnier called at the Mari n e Hotel at Hastin gs

a n d asked for the Empress She refused to see
.

him kn owi n g nothi n g about him R egn ier then

, .

waylaid the Pri n ce Imperial and hi s tutor o n

the promen ade told the Prince he was goi n g to
,
 T he Emp ress in Ex il e 8
3 7
communicate with the Emperor a n d asked him ,

t o sign his name o n a photograph of H astings to

S how his father The Prince was naturally o ff
.

hi s guard a n d wrote a few li n es with his name

after them R egnier immediately left for France
.
,

appeared to Bismarck at F erri é res and showing ,

him the photograph seems strangely e n ough t o

have convinced him that he was a n age n t from
the Empress and Pri n ce At any rate he was
.

passed under safe c o nduct into Metz where he ,

told Baz ai n e that he came from the Empress ,

who was about to S ign a treaty with Prussia and

des i red to have a representative of the Metz
Army at her side while she did so Bazaine .

fell into the trap and sen t Bourbaki out with

R egnier The Prussian s passed both through
.

their lines ; but while Bourbaki proceeded to

,

the Belgian frontier R egnier disappeared from

,

V iew.

Consequently the next scene left everyone

in a state o f m y st i fica t i o n Bourbaki (who it
.
,

will be remembered was b rother to Madame

,

Lebreton ) arrived at Camden Place at breakfast

time o n the 2 7t h September The Empress i n .
,

utter astonishmen t asked the cause of his appear

,

ance The Ge n eral w h o thought that he had

.
,

been summon ed to h er was equally st upefied

, ,

a n d the i n terview was u n pleasa n t and pai n ful t o

both N o r was the situation any better whe n it

.

was discovered that R egn ier for some unkn own ,

3 8 8 T h e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
purpose had duped Bazai n e
, . Bourbaki retired
to Fran ce leavi n g the puzzle u n solved as it ,

remai n s t o this day ; and i n the followi n g

mo n th Metz surren dered Before the capitula .

tio n Bazai n e was allowed to sen d an other o f

his gen erals to the Empress still recogn ised as ,

Regent by the Army at Metz t o gain her con ,

sent to the terms Gen eral Boyer came to Cam

.

den Place a n d was received by the Empress ,

first alo n e an d the n i n the presen ce of the leading

Bon apartist refugees in cludi n g Prince Napoleo n
, .

Eug enie who had already been acutely distressed

,

by Bourbaki s description of the garrison s su ffer

’ ’

i n gs was still further harrowed by what she

,

learn t from B oyer But when urged by him to

.

agree to the Prussian terms whatever they might ,

be sh e decli n ed Rather than Sign away any

, .

Fren ch territory S he would have Metz surren der

unconditio n ally With her refusal departed the
.

hope o f a n Imperialist restoration which King ,

Willi am was supposed to favour i n the form of

a regen cy o f the Empress on behalf of the Prince
Imperial Had Eug en ie really craved merely a
.

retu rn to power as her e n emies alleged sh e cer

, ,

t a i n l y would n o t have thrown away the chan ce

because she suspected that the blan k treaty
which she was asked to S ign would I n volve a
cession o f territory which must be inevitable in
,

a n y case .

On the 2 7th October Metz surrendered and ,

39 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
great sorrows which left her withi n nine years ,

o f the time when she reign ed in Paris the wife

of an Emperor and the mother o f his heir a ,

childless widow mourn ing i n a foreign lan d To .

these two events brief allusion will be made

before this account o f her career is brought to
a close .

Napoleon I I I when he came to Chislehurst

.
, ,

was a man under sentence of death A few .

’
years respite was the utmost that he could ex
peet His fo n dest hopes like those of his wife
.
, ,

were centred i n the bo y who still might come in

for the heritage which they had once seemed
desti n ed to han d over to him So while the life .
,

at Camden Place w a s o n e of studious retiremen t ,

it had a domi n an t i n terest i n the subj ect o f the

education of the so n of Napoleon and Eug en ie .

Although his mother s i n fluen ce remained very

’

stro n g over Pri n ce Louis his father was able ,

to devote more time to him than had been po s

sible at the T uileries First under the charge of
.

his private tutor a n d then for a brief while at ‘

Ki n g s College Lon don the Prince was prepared

’

, ,

for Woolwich In the October o f 1 8 7 1 when

.
,

he was n earin g hi s sixteenth year he became a ,

cadet at the Royal Military Academy to the ,

great satisfaction o f his paren ts .

We n eed n o t dwell o n the last painful days

of the Emperor s life In the autumn o f 1 8 72
’
.
,

i n spite o f a visit to the Isle of Wight his ,

 T he E mp ress in E x il e 39 1

health became alarmin gly bad On the last day .

o f October a consultatio n was held at Camden

Place between Sir James Paget Sir William ,

Gull an d Dr C o n n ea u a n d o n the 2 4t h
, ,

December the same three met again with the

additio n o f Sir Hen ry Thompson They de .

cided o n operation There was n o n eed to keep .

the E mpress o ut of the secret n o w Tw o

operation s were performed o n the 2 n d and 6th
January an d a third was fixed fo r the 9 t h
, .

The doctors arrived a n d at eleven in the morn ,

i n g the E mpress sat waiting the result havi n g ,

her carriage in readi n ess to drive over to the

Pri n ce Imperial at Woolwich to tell the news .

Suddenly an urgent message was brought t o her

from the S ick room She hurried i n a n d fou n d
- .

the Emperor uncon scious and barely breathing .

”
“
He is dying ! S he c ried ; a n d S he spoke the
truth The priest came in and admi n istered
.

the sacramen t a n d Napoleon passed away A c .

cordi n g to some accounts he did n o t regain

con scious n ess su ffi cien tly to recognise an yo n e ;
1
accordi n g t o others he was able t o look at his
wife at the i n stant before death All agree in .

maki n g his last i n telligible utteran ce to have

been C o n n ea u were you at Sedan ,
? a
pathetic p roof of the way i n which that terrible
E g E v s who s y s th t h i
1
. . an ,
y s w fi x d th
a a s e e ere e on e

E p ss
m re h b t ov h i
as s e d hi s li p
en ov d (M er m ,
an s m e em .

II . Th e M oiem rs gi v v y f ll d t il s f
e er u e a o th e l st
a

ill ss but E v s
n e ,
an w as n ot p s t th d th b d
re en at e ea -
e .
39 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
memory had burn ed itself into the soul o f
Napoleon the Silen t .

Prin ce Louis who had been summon ed i m

,

m ediately that a fatal endi n g was foreseen ,

arrived t o o late to find his father alive His .

mother who had been kn eeli n g at the bedside

,

since the moment o f death arose to meet h i m ,

as he en tered the room divi n i n g rather than

knowi n g what had happened Throwing her .

“
arms about him she sobbed J e n a i p l us gu e ’

”
toi L ou i s !
, and with him S he knelt down once
more to pray .

The ex Emperor s body was embalmed and

-
’

in order to allow for the atten dan ce of all Napo

’
leon s friends sympathisers a n d former subj ects
, ,

w h o might desire t o be prese n t at the funeral ,

the ceremon y was fixed for the 1 5 th January ,

six days after the death The body mean while .

lay in state i n the hall at Camden Place an d ,

was viewed by vast numbers o f visitors The .

funeral service took place shortly before noon

on the day appoi n ted The Empress utterly .
,

wo rn o u t by a long vigil beside the coffi n was ,

unable to be present With a few ladies sh e.

remain ed in h er own room while the Prince ,

Imperial Prin ce Napoleon an d his wife a n d

,

sister the Pri n ces Lucie n and Charles Bona

,

parte and Joachim Mu rat rep resented the Im

perial family in the church o f St Mary A .

remarkable gatheri n g of Impe rialist exiles a t

394 T h e Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
him against his will He was n o t in such awe .

o f his supposed tyrant that he did not dare t o

insist o n o n e occasion in dressing her up in his

cadet s cap and j acket a n d o n an other in gather
’

i n g her up bodily and running upstairs with her .

She held the purse it is true but he himself , ,

insisted always o n referring all matters o f money

to his mother and her husbanding o f the family ,

fu n ds was certainly natural i n view o f the possi

b i l i t y o f a Bonapartist restoration The a dven .

turer Louis Napoleon of 1 8 48 had to draw from

n o very creditable source much o fthe mo n ey which

he required There would have been no such n e

.

c essi t fo r the Fourth Napoleon had he lived to

y ,

become a serious pretender to the throne o fFrance .

After leaving Woolwich the Prin ce Imperial

was attached as officer t o an artillery corps in
the Brit ish A rmy and while conti n ui n g t o reside ,

at Camden Place used to go over to Aldershot

for the man oeuvres each year His military work .

interested him and he showed a genui n e ability ,

to which among others Sir Evel yn Wood bore

very high testimony When early i n 1 8 7 9 .
1

1
w it s ( F o M id s hi p to Fi l d h l II p
H e r e
“
r m m an e m a rs a , . .

7 ) 2 Th you g P i c i p sd
e u c h by hi s s oldi
n rn e m re s e m e m er

lik id s d h bit s d w
e ea an w i d i d avou i g to
a ,
an as un ea r e n en e rn

a c qui k owl dg d ilita y xp i c

re n e A g i (i b
e an m r e er en e .
”
a n .

p 75) H h d b u u s lly w ll t ught hi s pl s

. e a een n ua e a ; an

s ub itt d f fo t s to d f d d p ot s s howi g o ly g at
m e or r e en e n n ot n re

na tu l t l t but th t h h d tho oughl y s i il t d th

ra a en ,
a e a r a s m a e e

s ou d i t c ti o i p t d h Roy l M ilit y A c d y
n n s ru n m ar e at t e a ar a em

a t Woolwi ch .
”
 T he Emp ress in Ex il e 39 5
the Zulu War broke out i n S outh Africa an d
the corps to which the Prince was attached
was ordered South it was but n atural that he
,

should be struck with the desire to see some

active service I s it n ecessary t o co n clude that
.

he was u n happy at home because at the age

o f twenty three he wished to S hare the lot o f
-

his comrades in the Army ? There have been

writers who have thought so .

It was with the utmost di fficulty that the

Prince prevailed upon his mother to consent
to his departure O n ly because she sa w that
.

he had set his heart upon it an d because sh e did

,

n o t wish to appear to domineer over him did she ,

at las t reluctan tly yield Having done so she

.
,

j oined him in his appeal to the British Govern

ment t o permit him to volunteer Permission .

was given after a p reliminary refusal by the

,

D uke o f Cambridge Three days later the

.

Pri n ce was on hi s way to the lan d of his sad

yet emi n en tly hon ourable death .

The story is too well kn own to n eed re telling -

.

It was on the morni n g of the l st June 1 8 79 that

the Pri n ce Imperial rode out from camp with a
British officer and six Colon ial troopers o n a
sketchi n g expedition News of his death was
.

brought back in the eveni n g by the officer a n d

the four survivi n g troopers and next morni n g
,

the bod y pierced with eighteen assegais was re

, ,

covered where i t lay n ear the It y at o si River .

39 6 T h e Las t E mp ress of t he F ren c h
When the n ews reached E n gland immediate
steps were taken that the u n happy mother should
learn her loss i n the least pai n ful way possible .

A messenger from Wi n dsor was sen t t o the Duke

o f Bassa n o o n ce Gra n d Chambe rlai n to Napo
,

leon I II a n d still a co n stan t atten dan t o n his

.

former Empress Th e o l d man was reluctant

.

to u n dertake so terrible a task as breakin g to the

!

mother the n ews o f the death of o n e to whom

he too was devoted He yielded however to .
, ,

the argumen t that the shock would be far

greater if the Empress should be enlightened by
ordinary means He wen t therefore to her at
.

once She saw from his face that somethin g was

.

wro n g You have heard news from Zululan d ?

.

S he cried Louis is wounded ? Bassan o could

“
,

n o t S peak but as the Empress went o n to urge

,

that in stan t preparation s should be made for h er

to go o ut to nurse the Prince his tears began to ,

flow a n d the Emp ress u n derstood all

,
.

Her friends feared that she would succumb t o

the blow so ill was sh e o n this first day When
, .

she rallied her state was still more pitiable A

, .

description has been left in the letters of Queen

Victoria to the Duke o f Cambridge which pic
tures this vividly On the fi rst receipt o f the .

news the Queen had written in her characteristic

style t o her cousi n
This is awful so fearful I don t know what
, .
’

to sa y and o n e is verstu m m t before so dreadful a

,
T h e E m p re s s i n l a te r l i fe .
 T he E mp ress in Ex il e 39 7
catastrophe ! I shall go and see his desolate
mother as soon as possible Hers i s a fearful .

lot God alone can comfort and sustain her

. .

A little later S he wrote to the Duke

I went this aftern oon a n d sat with the dear
Empress and it is quite heart breaki n g to see her
,
-

— so gen tle uncomplai n i n g a n d resign ed yet so

, , ,

broken hearted A n d one can say nothi n g to

-
.

comfort her I never felt an ythin g more and.

,

am quite miserable and overwhelmed by it .

Poor dear ! She asked me Did I thi n k it pos ,

sible it might not be true a n d that it might be ,

someone else ? But I said I thought tha t was

i m p ossi bl e for his dear remains were at o n ce re
,

cognised .
1

When the first passio n of the E mpress s grief ’

was over rumours began to be circulated that

,

sh e would retire to a co n ve n t for the remainder

o f her life The Emp ress however neither died

.
, , ,

as it w a s at first feared sh e might do nor took ,

the veil She was possessed by a n i n tense desire

.

t o visit the spot whe re her so n fell though his ,

remai n s had been co n veyed promptly to C h i sl e

hu rst . S he w a s able to carry out h er wish .

Readi n g in the papers a touchi n g allusio n to her

so n i n the speech of General S i r Evely n Wood

at the ban quet given to him by the F i sh m o n gers ’

Compan y at the end of S eptember she asked him ,

1
B oth t he l tte ers fr o whi c h th s quot ti o s
m e e d a n a re m a e

giv i
a re en n t h e Re v . E dg S h pp d s G o g D k f
ar e ar
’
“
e r e, u e o

C b idg
am r e .
”
39 T h e
8 Las t E mp res s of t he F ren c h
to come and see her at Camden Place Several .

long interviews foll owed and then the General,

was commanded to Windsor and asked to take

charge o f the Empress Eug en ie o n a j ourn ey to
the scene o f the Prince Imperial s death Sir ’
.

Evelyn has given a short account of this j ourney

in the second volume of his From Midshipman
to F i el dm arsha l and in the newspapers o f the
,

day may be fou n d some supplementary details .

The Empress left Southampton in March 1 8 8 0 ,

accompani ed by Sir Evelyn and Lady Wood the ,

Marquis o f Bassano (so n of the Duke ) the Hon , .

Mrs Ronald Campbell a doctor a n d some ser

, ,

van ts Queen Victoria had enj oined the greatest

.

’
care for the Empress s safety i n reply to which ,

Sir Evelyn stipulated that the Empress should

follow his instructions as though sh e was a
—
soldier under his command a duty which did
not prove irksome to her On her arrival in .

South Africa sh e was assigned rooms at Govern

,

ment House Capetown a n d at Durban a private

, ,

residen ce was found for her The strictest .

retirement was observed by her express request ,

and the sympathetic South African s could only

testify their feeli n gs by writin g their names i n
a visitors book From Durban she went to
’
.

Maritzburg and at the end of April sh e started

, ,

with a party n umberi n g eighty i n all for the ,

Blood River and Zululan d Sir Evelyn Wood .

records that the Empress wished to ride all the

4 0 0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
The mourni n g mother had what satis factio n was
to be derived from a n almost exact k n owledge
o f her son s last m o n en t s F rom Sir Evelyn
’
.

sh e had already heard his opinio n o f the young

soldier s talen ts a very high opi n ion as we have

’

, ,

seen O n her retu rn to Durba n she visited the

.

D a n u be the steamer which had b rought the

,

Prince from E n glan d and learn t from the cap

tain how he had spent his days at sea No more .

questions remai n ed to be asked The Empress .

had i n deed pressed her pai n ful breast against

the thorn In July S he set her face homeward
.

agai n toward E n glan d takin g with her a full

,

stock o f memories o f her only child As an o ut .

ward memento o f the visit sh e brought some

bunches of the high African grasses growi n g
about the monument S ome of these Were
.

fashio n ed into a cross upo n the wall of the

Farn borough mausoleum others were used to ,

decorate the room in which all the Prin ce Im

ri a l s childish a n d later belongi n gs were put
’

e
p
when the move w a s made from Camden Place
to a new home .

For o n her return to E n gland the Empress

, ,

E ugé n i e bega n to think of leavi n g the house at

Chislehurst where she had n o w spent t en years
o f exile Not o n ly were the associations over
.

o w eri n gl y sa d but also sh e expe rienced great

p ,

difficu lty i n fi n d i n g at Chislehurst a suitable

spot fo r the tomb which she desi red to build for
 The E m p ress in Ex il e 4 0 1

the remains o f her husband and son There was .

a report that S he might retire t o A ren en b erg ,

’
once the home o f Napoleo n s mother Horten se ,

which had passed t o her on hi s death a n d re

main ed hers u n til in 1 9 06 sh e p resented it t o
the Swiss can ton of Thurgau in which the castle ,

is situated But sh e did n o t leave E n glan d It

. .

was finally decided by her to move t o Farn

borough Hill a man sion standi n g i n exten sive
,

grounds in Hampshire thirty two miles from ,

-

London a n d close to Aldershot The owner

, .

was the head of the publishi n g firm of Lo n g

m an who had built the house and who agreed
,

t o sell it a n d the grou n ds to the Empress .

Hither accordingly sh e removed in 1 8 8 1 and ,

here sh e has lived ever S i n ce She has had the .

house considerably enlarged and has built in

particular a room i n ten ded one day to be a
Napoleo n ic museum In the house sh e h a s all
.

the relics of Napoleon II I and the Prince .

Imperial coll ected The mausoleum for the

.

actual reception of their remain s takes the form

o f a chapel completed i n 1 8 84 an d dedicated

to St Michael the tombs bei n g in a crypt under

,

the chan cel Napoleon s o n the right hand side

,
’

’
the Prince s on the left On the left also is .

the place designed by the Empress for her own

burial when the time comes for her to follow
those whom sh e loved .

After the death of the Prince Imperial the

2 C
4 0 2 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Emp ress E ugé n i e earned the privilege if ever ,

any character i n histo ry has don e so of veiling ,

her life in the privacy which is generally denied

to historical personages A s the wife o f the
.

Emperor of the French even when that Em ,

ero r had become an exile with n o hope of a

p
personal restoration S he could n o t be merely
,

a private i n dividual in whatever cou n try sh e

made h er residen ce As mother of a still p o s
sible occupan t o f the throne of F ran ce sh e ,

could n o t yet be allowed to pass her existen ce

in absolute retirement It was at least co n cei v
.

able while her so n lived that S he might one

, ,

day be seen again i n the Tuileries where sh e

had reign ed and charmed befo re There w a s .
,

therefore n othin g very unreasonable in the

,

curiosity which desired to kn ow all that might

be known about the life o f the ex Empress -
.

But since sh e became i n 1 8 8 0 on ly the sorrow

i n g widow an d childless mother o f the last Im
perial Napoleons it would be an impertin en ce
,

to attempt to disturb her privacy What is t o .

be made public about her existen ce at Farn

borough can only be revealed if ever when , ,

the silen ce has been broken by her o w n per

mission .

The Empress E ugé n i e however has not with

, ,

drawn totally from the Vie w of the outside world

since sh e left Chislehurst In the early years
.

o f her second bereavement sh e was prevailed

4 4
0 T he Las t Emp ress of t he F ren c h
Swiss canton in which it stood In connection .

with the courtship by the young King Alfonso

o f Spain o f the Pri n cess Victoria Eug e n ie o f

Battenberg the name o f the Empress Eug enie

, ,

her godmother was often heard and indeed the

, ,

marriage w a s commonly attributed to her i n fl u

en ce her i n terest i n both b ride an d bridegroom
, ,

but particularly the bride bein g well known

, .

The tour by which she celebrated her eightieth

y ear was a remarkable achievement fo r she ,

visited Italy and ascended t o the t o p o f Vesu

v i u s lately i n eruptio n
,
and then proceeded by
,

way of Venice to Ischl t o meet the Emperor

Francis Joseph He (only four years her j unior )
.

had written to her in May to con gratulate her

o n her bi rthday a n d she wen t t o Ischl i n July
,

t o thank him an d as she said t o take her last

, ,

farewell of him Th e Viennese papers o f the day

.

were full of stories o f the Emperor s chivalrous ’

welcome to his guest durin g the few days which

S he spen t at the H Ot el Elizabeth named after ,

the sa d fated E mpress his wife and her com

-
, ,

pan io n duri n g some o f her Contin ental holidays

i n t he Eighties The Prin cess Metternich once
.
,

the b rillia n t A m ba ssa dri ce was invited to meet

,

her former hostess a n d friend of the Tuileries ,

but was prevented by illn ess from going t o Ischl .

A fter two days in the society o f the Emperor

Fran cis Joseph the Emp ress Eug enie returned
,

through Salzburg and Paris t o spend the re

 T he E mp ress in Ex il e 4 5
0

m a i n der o f
a year which had opened with so
unusual a display o f vigorous age i n the quiet
retiremen t o f her Hampshire home surrounded
,

by the memorials both sad and glorious o f her

, ,

former life and state .

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