Page 189 Advertisements Column 1

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1569, 21 April 1874, Page 189

.Josephine's Ring.~A romantic incident is related of the way in which fate seemed to decree that the Montrjos and the Napoleons should he united. The story is of wise : Eugenie's father, while serving Id the first Napoleonic army, resided in Paris. In 1809 a little girl, Maria Montijo, three years old, went to play in the Tuileries with her nurse. There she met a little boy, who gave her a gold ring. As the children were strangers to each other, and did not meet again, the owner remained unknown, and so thelittle Maria kept it for a plaything. That ring was Josephine's, and the little boy was Louis Napoleon, who had run away with the ring.. The loss of the ring was a bad omen to Josephine, for a year afterward she had to resign in favour of another. At sixteen .years of age she married, and became the mother of Eugenie, whose birth took place May 5,1826. Her mother engraved the date •on the ring she had worn so long herself, and when Eugenie was'older gave it her. When •quite a child Eugenie went to; London to pay •a visit. ■ There she became acquainted with Lbriis'Napoleori,' who saw the ring with the •date'and'Josephine's name upon it, and knew it belonged ,tq her. I From this circumstance Louis looked upc»n the little Montijo as attached to his! house,' arid twenty years afterwards" it became ; a foci;' After a time Eugenie's mother came to regard the token : as of great importance; and formed a plan of. bringing the two families together. Tbis was the secret of 'so' lovely 1 a woman as Euggnie remaining single till the age of 26, A crown •awaited her which was never lost sight of.