THE SCENES OF HER GLORY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 954, 22 October 1910, Page 11

THE SCENES OF HER GLORY.

. : ;Eor simple and direct .pathos few, scenes could-.beit'odnd-to equal:,that.of the.aged Empress Eugenie walking: with. the crowd as simple.tourist through the ancient palace of Cofn'piegn'e, now.:a"show place for strollers : from' Paris,''says ~an English 'writer; ":; ! .;-; ; ' i ' < ':'■■'■'.'■"'/'' ■'■' ;; ;.'.-'.'-.'•"

■: The Empress Eugenie, eighty-four .years ■of "age,' makes'' an annual'pilgrimage, to .Paris, staying- always .in: the same apartments, which pleasantly; overlook: what was once her, palace of the Tuileries. The Parisians have.always had/a warm corner. in : their hearts'.for this, much-tried lady) and always greet her with the greatest respect' '' '•'""'-,'' •■ '"■■' i The news: of -/her pathetic visit to .the Palace at Compiegne, has fired the emotional -French people in remarkable fashion. ; Clad in black, with the escort of Count Primoli and Mi Francis Pietri, she presented herself as one of a party: of casual .tourists. ■;,:.':■..; ■■~■ ,V. .•,.'..' ..'..

• The guide/rattled.off .the.history of, the palace,. and remarked how this room: %ad. been • the ■ third . Napoleon's study; • . that the Empress 'Eugenie's sitting-room,, that other the schoolroom of the Prince Im-" perial, never/.dreaming 'that.in: the party he was informing wasithe widow.of Napoleon .111 ;and. the- mother;,of the dead. Prince.';- .■-■■■,. ■-, ; ; .,, .;'.-.

; It was only at, the end,of, the .visit, that she was' at last suddenly recognised. She remained behind in which'had been the study of the-.Prince; Imperial when he was v a ; boy,'and- the.party of tourists, abruptly silenced when'they-un-derstood who she was, went -on to the next apartment,; leaving her alone in that in which-her son had done,his lessons in : childhood. , ■

Before leaving the Empress caused her card to be given;to M..Arsene Alexandre, the ' art;critic, who is- curator of the palace, and has completed and rearranged the collections with ■' much ' judgment. From the palace the Empress pursued a tragic pilgrimage through-the woods by the avenue named after t her, past Napoleon Ill's shooting box, to Pierrefonds Castle, which is as full of memories for her as Compiegne and the Tuileries. The aspect of the palace of Compiegne has 'but little changed since the days when it witnessed 1 the gatherings of the wit, beauty, and wealth of the Second Empire. There are the same pictures and tapestries which looked down on Napoleon, Ill's brilliant, Minting parties. and the Princess Metternich's famous tableaux vivants. In one room, though a.notable addition is Winterhalter's portrait of the Empress reproduced' in tapestry' close to a bust of the Prince Imperial by Carpeaux. The Winterhalter portrait is a great reminder of theibeauty of the Spanish: countess, who captured the fancy.of the French Emperor; : It was at Compiegne that Napoleon 111 and his consort held their intimato courts among personal friends, and the rooms of the palace were, for her, full of memories of a happy and brilliant past. Ono almost wonders at her courage in calling them up again on the spot. Under the Second Empire the intimate evenings, the quiet card parties, the small dances, and the private theatricals of Compiegne were famous in Paris society. At Compiegne the Emperor arid Empress, threw off as much as they could of the ceremony of majesty arid each guest was a personal friend. To be. of the small circle of Compiegne w'as the highest social ambition of all who went to Court at the Tuileries.