Personal Reminiscences of the late Prince Imperial.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3233, 30 June 1879, Page 2

Personal Reminiscences of the late Prince Imperial.

I recollect the natal day of the chifalrous P^nc^ .Eugene^Loujs, r s ?r £M September, 1855, by the birth of a baby brother of mine occurring on the same date.ns tlie heV< was flashed by teW R ra;pli S that an heir was bprn to,the,,Emperor of France. In 1861, being onsurvey duty at! the Pans Exhibition, f^ibecame Emperor Napoleon and the youthful Prince;, imperial, j ( *hen,, if about „,»«„„ years old. Even at that early age, the Prince was frequently dressed in unifbrn* » as ;an officer of the Gardes Franeais, in one of which, regiments hi was entered Jwhen a few days old, as a private sentinel, find hii-rfame was always called ous< parade, though never responded to, Hjt. Imperial Holiness being absent with ~" ileareij The;next occasion on w^hich I eai* ' and conversed with the JJmperor and the then exiled Prikce'ira's at Chiselhurst in 1871, after the release of ilouid Napojeon by the German Emperor. The Prince Imperial *m\^sm&'J¥frs'WMX a ; handsome. . and pre-ppssessing^ ',u» pearance, in fact, much like the Empress, >h.ii mother. From;,whasTeptfld gather tjtcj Prince was"'thor)o]i^ly imbued'with' 1 the belief, which was instilled into his v mind by his father, that he would tie called upon to assume the sceptre of. ifjpe!", Empire. I believe top that the, Princejwafv preparedipa^reufcure his lift, Uke^^r^y, .Prince Charlie, whenever a favourable op;. >■, portunity might occur; in the,, political' affairs of France to take possession,pf ■by power the throne of his ancestors. Although now a man of middle/, age 1, a; cdlomst,of 'New Zealand, aid'the father of aftmily, f I^usVpleiA 'MSHfW ft having eiiertained the hope of »om^ day reminding the Prince of the promise he made me at Chiselhurst—that he would be proud to confer a commission on meLif^ at a|ny time I should make application to hini when,hehad thepower ? ) Thejwords 7 of Frenchmen, nor of Britons will now | never flash from their scabbards to place another Napoleon on the throne—fate has decreed otherwise. The Prince Imperial, shortly after his landing in England, was entered as a; cadet at tha >> College,' Woolwich, and as a military student distinguished himself by close andi assiduous application! } j y£Ji§ -^ more than one occasion Her Majesty the Queen, accompanied by H.E.H. the-Duke of Cambridge, has visited the college and seen the Prince exercise a brigade of "ffljf1 * »* '? r%U^.*P"rtM»ttl#t Mil Woolwich the Prince was not gazetted to aj commission in the English service. Evety officeripf^inei|Bs^ty):!i¥Ußt! ]t*k#!th||: : oath! of allegiance to "Queen Viftoriai her heirs and successors." The preramptive j emperor wpjitd) have, placed himself u in an awkward predicament if. after serving as an English officer, he had ascepded the throne an6>;w;a|[e4jw|^iri3b|i;»[|] England. He would have been, in such a case, a traitor to his sovereign, and in the event of being taken a pria^neff, would;jr have! been amenable to the British articles of wnn I do not suppose this was the Prince's chain of reasoning; batyirhtteVßi!/^ jthe reasons, there were objections raised by the Empress to, the Prinoe taking a comttiissjop an^h«|^oral( $<% Hi which, I believe, he was himself somewha^ anxious, as it would have given him acting of equaUty^liijWei^eii^iy ot the corps with whom he delighted to associate. The Prince was, however, ooked upon thearSa^ 4Hit^ Yj lery : as one of themselves, wearing as he did the uniform of a lieutenant, less the designation of rank ,oja tunic collar. The .Empress was passionately attachefh f to the Princ©, he being, her,qnhr child. \ It is;to be iiopbd thaV time: wiH ttfwl^ solace her in this her saddest bereavement. r"rr -W. J. B.