THE SEMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
G-or-CtoiNAJ
Mr People f-
HAMMERING THE TURK
m a ts ti mm a tar mi jb mm mm
Wt PldyjHpq
MONO tho viBitora to tno nospiiuis
In which the English wounded arc
I assigned la a bent and pallid old
(f woman of eighty-eight. Painfully alio
hobbles zroin cot to cot, giving a
flower hero, a pat and a word of en-
K A couragemont there. In appoaranco
sho 1b no different from any old lady
of eighty-eight, unloss tho keen ob-
Borver may Bee that she baa sufforcd great and
enduring sorrow. i.
Tho aged woman Ib Eugenlo do Montljo, for
sovontoon years, 1853-1870, ompreas of the
French, wlfo of the Emperor Napoleon III and
mothor of tho Ill-fated prince Imperial, who was
killed In tho EngllBh war against the Zulus In
1879.
Tho old woman of sorrows has been an em
press of romance as well as of France. Grand
daughter of an Irishman named Klrkpatrlck and
a-Spanish lady, with hor mother and sister she
roved tho cltlos of Europe for sovon years, look
Ing for a great niarrago. Scarce of noble birth,
though her father waa known as tho count if
Tuba In Spain, a potty title at beat, her chance
ror a grand union seamed vague lndood. At tho
age of twenty-five she achieved a notable If not
a grand marriage. No doubt It Is a very great
thing to bo ompress of tho French and reputed
one of tho moBt beautiful and charming women
In the world and to. set the fashions of the unl
verse. For It waa to Eugenie that tho world
owed the torrlble crinoline or hoopsklrtB nnd th
dreadful chignon of tho sixties. Provloua to
birth of tho prince Imperial, Eugenie, vory vain
of her figure,, asaunied tho hoopsklrt. Tho wor
of women followed suit to tho great amusement
and derision of their daughter and granddaVi.
tors. Yot Napoleon III waa far from bolnu ii
grand man, though he was emperor of the
Fronch. In the early fifties tho countess of Toba
and hor two daughters, tho eldor a dark Spaniard
the other a typo of northern beauty, chostnut
hair, vlolot eyes, a perfect complexion nnd lovely
oval featuros, appeared at various European
.capitals. Tho mothor lived a scmibohemlan life
at hotels, something which was not approved of
thoBo dayB, when grand ladles bollovod that a
lady should Hvo at homo and visit only at tho
Iioubob of hor friends. Tho girls wore of an ago
whon they should havo beon In a convent. So,
attractive oa they were, and popular, It wna
noted that many moro men than women called
upon tho Spaulaji countosa and her daughters.
Women viewed tho attractive Spaniards with
lifted oyebrowH of question and ausplclan. Tho
daughters of the countess of Teba woro beautiful,
rarely so. Thoy wore not of great accomplish
ments and It cannot bo said that they were re
spected In tho fullest sense of tho word. Thoy
wore Interesting, they were lovely, but In tho
oarly flftlos It was hold that ladlos of rank should
not live at hotels or bo seen at public dining
rooms.
However, both girls made brllllunt marriages.
The elder marrlod the duke of Alva, owner of a
historic title. This marrlago was regarded tia a
triumph for tho managing mother. A wit said
that the duke was unfortunate in that she did
not chooso to marry both daughters to him by
papal dispensation, the implication being that not
oven tho popo could withstand tho blandishments
of tho countess. No one, however, imagined
that tho lady would bo successful beyond hor
wildest droams and aoo her younger daughter
an omprosB, received with honor by tho courts
of Europo, especially by the Intensely proper Vic
toria of England,
Eugonlo had boon, It was satd, a good deal of a
fomme gallante, or vory forward lady In lovo
affairs. Sho bad thrown herself at the heads of
two young noblemen. At ono tlmo sho had a
violent fancy for tho Spanish count dt Oalva
and tried to commit suicide by swallowing shoe
blacking whon he made It plain that ho did not
deslro her. Women gauged her as a wild and un
dlflciplinod girl, a sort of Lydla Languish, Iiocky
Sharp and Lady Teazle combined, a girl calcu
lated to fill the mind of oven ardent suitors with
misgivings as to her conduct as a wife. Sho
waB always Spanish and never understood the
French. She had great personal courage and
feared nothing. She was a meddleBomn match
maker and In aftor years oarned tho uuuuvtablo
distinction of having marrlod the famous song
stress, Adellua Pattl, to the marquis of Caux, a
marrlago which turned out moBt unhupplly. She
waa superstitious, dealt with mediums, would
flirt audaciously, yot waH always cold and oimi
llonlOBH within.
ThiH was the young lady of twonty-llvp. who
appoared In ParlB in ISM, just alter 1-ouU Napo
leon, president of the republic, had accomplished
the bloody coup d'etat In which hl troops shot
down hundreds of lunocout purBons along tho
boulevards of Paris. Out Napoleon caused him
self to bo ro elected president for a term of tun
years, and later, In 1851, had himself declared
emperor of tho Fronch.
The previous lltu of the now emperor had boon
rather a discreditable ono. Ilo had beon a con
tablo in London, a penniless exllo In Uoboken,
N. J., ho had mado several tutllu and ridiculous
attempts to restore the empire, his roputatlon
was that of a silly, Impracticable dreamer. Ho
had "had many dlsreputablo love affairs and It
was known that an English womuu who was
enamored of him had financed his successful
effort In that direction. Soon afterward ho
caused her to bo doportod by the police
Though ho bore the magical name of Bona
parte, it -was doubtful that ho bad a drop of Na
poleonic blood In
his veins. He was
personally brave,
he established xa
brilliant court at
tho Tullerles and
promised to revlvo
tho Napoleonic glo
ries of Franco in
peace, not In war.
Dut he had had an Illegitimate son in America,
ho had boen arrested In an ovll resort In Paris,
ho had beon promiscuous In his lovo affairs, he
had an unattractive personality, bad Bkln, poor
eyes, poor currlago. Yet ho was attractive to
women who did not think ho ever would be an
omporor.
He was fascinated by Eugenie and made love
to her In an informal, easy-going manner. But
ho tried hard to marry some princess of an es
tablished dynasty. No woman of royal rank
would accept tho adventurer. Had auyone sig
nified her wlIllngnesB to do bo Eugenie had never
boon empress of the French.
It la said that he at first offered hor a mor
ganntlc marriage. This she refused, and nlso
refused to seo him again. Chance drove Nnpo
loon Into tho marriage. Ills uncle, Jerome, for
mor king of Weatphnlla. circulated a rumor that
ho was Incapable of marriage. Bismarck, It Is
Bald, belloved tho story. To disprove It, Napoleon
naked Eugenie do Montljo to share hlB throne.
They woro married January 30, 1853, at Notre
Dame, Paris, and began a reign of seventeen
years, In which goal was Intermingled with much
ovll.
Their positions wero hard at first. Not being
of royal blood, roynl families looked nakanco
upon thorn. Thoy circulated all sorts of Btorlos
about them. In his mnrrlnge proclamation the
emperor said: "I hopo that sho will revlvo the
virtues of Joaophlno." Cynical Parla roarod. It
romemborod tho easy virtue of Josephlno before
and aftor hor marrlago to tho great Corslcan. A
postcard bearing tho picture or tho empress had
this sentence upon it:
"The portrait and virtues of tho empress all
for two sous."
None the Icbs Eugenlo'B Influence was great.
She urged her husband to undertake many en
terprises that proved dangorous to his empire,
but for twenty years Franco was succeasrul In
poaco and In war. Tho court glittered. Every
form of pleasure was encouraged. The empress
Bhone with tho supreme radiance of womanly
fascination. Parla wub the center of Interna
tional society. Whatovor Eugonlo did was done
by tho women of nil tho world. She wore tho
ridiculous crinoline and huge, fantastic chignon.
The world wore them, too. Sho hnd HauBsman
romodel and rebuild Paris. Tho great boule
vards and avenues of today aro the work of the
llttlo old woman who now moves amoug tho
wounded In England.
In 1850 an heir was born, the llttlo Louis,
whoso end was to bo so tragic. Sho dubblod In
politics and offended hor husbnnd. Sho oven led
a party which opposed him In tho chamber of
deputies. Ho found out that the love letters
which hnd charmed him had boon written by tho
distinguished academician, Prosper Mcrlmee,
blred by Eugonlo to do it. When Eugenie had to
wrlto horsoir, hor lotto-a were no better than
thoso of a somllltornte peasant girl. Asked about
It Merlmoo said: "God gave her tho choice be
tween beauty and brains and sho chose benuty."
Eugenlo loved bohemlanlsm nnd laxity and
Paris bocaino effeminate. Handsome faces, a
small gift of epigram, a romantic past, woro the
credentials to the court or tho empress. A grad
ual docay honoycombod society and tho array and
tho foundations of Sedan wero laid.
Eugonlo was not popular with princesses who
floutod hor birth or with French women who
folt that when Napoleon made up his mind to
marry a woman of loss than roynl rank ha
should have chosen one or their
countrywomen. ".'WVit.
However, iu the end Eugenie waa
received in all the courts or Europe.
Napoleon won Victoria of England, a
very conservative queen, and Eugenie
made a conquest of Victoria's hus
band, Albert. Franco and England
fought against Russia In the Crfinea.
Napoleon and Eugenie visited Lon
don and the man who had been a
police officer on Ita streets waB now
received with royal honors and de
clared nn emperor by the grace of
God. The beautiful woman who had
run the gamut or life In every large
ciTy of Europe and who had swal
lowed blacking In an attempt at sui
cide waa now on empreBB, welcome
everywhere. She was thrlco made
regent ot France when her husband
was out with his army. She repre
sented France at the opening ot the
Suez canal In 1869. She had tho es
cort of the khedlvo nt the first per
formance of the opera "Alda," for
writing which Verdi got 80,000 francs.
In many wise she had been her hus
band's evil genius. She hnd urged
him to set up Maximilian ub emperor
of Mexico that she- might patronize a
people speaking her native tongue.
When Maximilian fell the stur of Na
poleon alpo waned.
It was the "empress' party" In the
chamber of deputies that forced the
war ot 1870 upon France, though Na
poleon knew his country waB not pre
pared for war with Germany. After
GraveloUo and Sedan he would have
returned to prepare for the detense
or Parla as Joffre retreated after the
defeats of Llego, Mons, Charlerol, La
Cateau and Maubeuge, but Eugenlo
Imperiously commanded him to re
trieve his tortunes In the field. Then
she disobeyed his most positive In
junction and summoned parliament. She refused
to allow the king of Italy to enter Homo, though
ho promised to lend France his army for tho
srlvllero. She estranged Italy and offended Aus
tria, which might havo Joined Napoleon against
Germany. -
Quickly the star of Eugenie declined. Her
husband was taken prisoner at Sedan and rushed
Into Germany. Tho parliament sho had sum
moned against his order dethroned her and het
emperor. The glittering empire fell In a tre
menddus crash. Her life was threatened by
Apaches on tho boulevards. In disguise, Doctor
Evans, tho famous American dentist, helped hei
to sneak out or Paris to the seacoaat, where n
British yacht convoyed her to England. Stripped
ot her glory In a few week8, Eugenie settled m
a modest homo given her by Victoria at Chisel
hurst, England. Three years later Napoleon died
there or cancer or tho stomach.
It seemed as if fate, which had lavished all its
favors on Eugenie, was now botit upon her do
struciion. Heroft or empire, husband, honors
her cup seemed hilt to tho brim. But the bitter
est blow or all was yet to roll upon Eugenie. Her
son, Pilnce Louis, whom she brought up ns heir
to the French throne, was killed in a petty wai
nguinst savnges In South Arrlca. Ho was an
amiable, attractive youth or twenty-three, with
excellent parts, when a Zulu assegai found his
heart. The gay French had mocked when he had
been Bent to South Africa. Thoy relt that En
genie was "making a play" to their well-known
lovo or martial glory. So In the cares chantanta
they sang;
"Loulou, Loulou,
He endues Zulus."
But even the French cry or mockery turned
to an agonized wall of sorrow when the prince
imperial was stricken down iu a savage am
btiscade. It wob a sad death. The party had
knowledge of tho coming or tho savages and
proceedod to mount their horses and eallon awnv
Thinking that the prince had mounted, his Eng
lish companions galiopod off. Alua, tho horao
used by Eugenie's only son proved restive and
ran away, leaving 1iIb rider to the mercy or the
savages, who did not know a prince from a pau
per and who gave no quarter.
The women of fho world who had once dressed
with Eugenlo now mourned with her. It was the
last of the many blows sustained by the once
beautiful Mndemolsolle de Montljo.
Then It was salri that her fierce, Impenetrable
pride and ambition hud lost her her son. He
had been wanting to marry a gcntlo EngllBh girl
and Eugenie wanted him to marry a reigning
princess. She sent him to South Africa to sepa
rate him from his love, So, the high ambition
or this Spanish woman raised her to the position
or tho greatoat monarch in Europe and dropped
hor to a state so lowly that even jiensunt women
pltlod her rorlorn plight.
Sho hud beon responsible for the death of
Maximilian, tho madness of Carlotta, tho loss of
the French empire and for tho lives or her bus
band and only son.
Even the wildest French socialists now bIiow
deep respect for the small, bowed figure, always
clothed In deepest mourning.
Such Is tho story or the little, white, bent old
woman who moves among tho English wounded
Sbe is or tho past. Sho is a living sorrow An
old woman, poor in everything that makes a
woman rich, gavo In sympathy. Her dearest do
stro la to bo forgotten.
Gen. Sir Inn Stundlah Montolth
Hamilton, in supremo command of
tho British-French army now lnnded
on the Gnlllpolt peninsula to co-op-erato
with tho British-French fleet for
the conquest of tho Dardanelles and
Constantinople, Is a poct-soldler, with
tho tough, wiry frame of tho Scotch
nnd tho Scotsman's long, narrow
head, strong nose and bold chin, and
with the big ears of tho generous
Irishman and tho Irishman's, Ingratiat
ing smile. The eyes are shrewd and
calculating, as becomes n canny Scot,
but no. less emotional nnd full of fun
tho endowment of a son ot Erin.
The son of a Scotch father, stern.
Industrious and far-sighted, a distin
guished military man himself, and ol
an Irish mother, fnaclnatlng, vl
vaclous and artistic, Hamilton wat
born alxty-two years ago In the
fortress at Corfu.
Hamilton came under tlto notice
of Roberts In tho Boer war of 1880,
where he went with the Gordon Highlanders, and where, at the British de
feat at Majuba hill, he discovered that there wasn't a. British soldier in a
hundred who knew how to handle his musket, and not one in a thousand whe
appreciated the necessity ot learning how. .
Wounded at Majuba hill and taken to the hospital, Hamilton waa given
up for dead. He revived when Sir Evelyn Wood dashed up, covered with
mud from a long ride, to tell him that the dlapatchca home were going to
mention his bravery. It was tho firat of a aeries of honor records which now
have become so numerous that they would fill a book, while his medals and
clasps, If he wore them all at tho same time, would weigh him down like i
coat of mall. , .xrvo.h
SING SING'S NEW WARDEN
When Governor Glynn appointed
Thomas Mott Osborne warden of Sing
Sing prison he said ho did so that
those who claim the present method
of trying to reform men who havo
gone bad Is wrong might have n
chance to prove that their theory is
the correct one. Mr. Osborno is un
hampered by any power except the
laws, and the trial of his system of
treating prisoners Is being watched
by tho country with keen Interest.
Mr. Osborne, who is heir to a
large fortune, has been intensely in
terested ,in prison reform, and ho be
lieves there Is something good in
everybody, even in tho unlucky
wretch who has to wear pYison gray
and sleep in a cell.
Not only does Mr. Osborno believe
In the men in the cells, but he goes
further. He does not believe in the
cells. If he could have his way, there
would bo no Sing Sing; there would
be no more of the dank cells, dark
and gloomy, with their walls dripping moiature and breeding disease; there
would be no more of the wearing down a man with solitary confinement, shat
tering his health and ruining his self-respect so that he is indelibly stamped
"prison made" when he again gets out and tries to get a Job.
mmSSmSSmmmlSmmmmmm
ILLINOIS' FIRST WOMAN MAYOR
Mrs. Angela Rose Canfield ot
Warren, first woman mayor in Illi
nois, who was elected over two other
candidates by a plurality ot fout
votes, hag Ideals for her little city.
. Warren, situated within half a mile
of the Wisconsin state line in Jo
Daviess t county, la not a bad place
at all, she says. She will try to make
the city oven more attractive than it
Is during the two yeara sho will over
see ita municipal affairs.
Tho first woman mayor in Illinois,
and, incidentally, the second in tlie
United States, Is sevonty-four years
young. v
"Young as I certainly am," she said.
"I am confident that I have reached
yeara of dlacretlon. I know I can run
Warren's affaire better than they have
been In the past.
"There aro things In the city ol
Warren that need to bo remedied. I
have not lived hero ror 35 years with
out knowing all about them. First
and foremost among them is graft. Graft has got to go from this town."
Mrs. Canfield was born in New York state. During the Civil war days,
when sho was Mrs. O. J. Hlldreth she has been twice married she was
superintendent of the Nashville messhouae of the United States army.
mMmwmMir
"DEAR OLD REN"
Ilia intimate friends refer to him
affectionately as "Dear Old Ben." His
superiors describe him with the single
word "loyal." His subordinates call
him "human." And, In brier, coupled
with his record for steady advance
ment and absolute dependability,
which hqs made him the prototype
in tho navy or what Brig. Gen. Hugh
Scott, chlor or staff, stands for In the
army, these characteristics give per
haps as good an Idea as can bo ob
tained of the kind of man near Ad
miral William Shepherd Benson, chief
of navnl operations, really Ib.
But be not misled by tho nick
name, or by the fact that he was
graduated In '77, and la nearlng hla
sixtieth birthday, Into picturing him
aa a crotchety and bowhlakered old
seadog; for after you have heard his
frlcnda call him "Old Ben" and have
heard how he haa spent 22 yeara at
sea, circumnavigating the African
coast at one time and going to tho
Arctic with the Grecly roller expedition at another, meeting Admiral Benson
Includes considerable ot a shock.
In appearance "Old Ben" la a "fine upstandln' man" of forty-five. He la
tall, well knit, and compactly sinewy. Hla dark hair is closely cropped and
shows traces of graying. His mouth is large and friendly, and his eyes, dark
and deep set, anap with the light ot instant comprehension, for you don't
have to'say a thins to "Old Ben" more than once.
