The Saint and the Empress

I watched one of my favourite films again during Easter - The Song of Bernadette. In this movie, there is a scene in which several people are arrested because they took water from the miraculous spring at Lourdes where Saint Bernadette (played beautifully by Jennifer Jones) had her visions of Mary.  These people are asked to pay fines.  One well-dressed lady offers to pay everyone's fines.  There is great shock when this lady states imperiously that she is the nanny to the Empress Eugenie's son who is gravely ill, and the Empress has requested a bottle of water for him.

Was this true? According to the Catholic News Agency, Empress Eugenie 's son was cured, so she did support Saint Bernadette.  However, the movie dramatized the situation.  I haven't read an account of the nanny asking for the water from the spring in these circumstances!

Mary told Saint Bernadette that she was the Immaculate Conception, and asked her to have a chapel built on the site of the holy spring.  The authorities tried to close the site and delay construction , but the Empress had seen for herself the power of the holy water, and supported the young saint. She intervened to make sure that the chapel was built.

Song of Bernadette

The Empress's Escape

Empress Eugenie heard loud insults from the mob nearby. Too terrified to look out of the window, she wondered what to do. If she didn't escape she could be murdered like poor Marie-Antoinette! She knew that The Third Republic had already been declared.

Luckily, she still had friends amongst the Guards who helped her sneak out of the Palace in disguise and catch a cab to her dear friend, Dr.Evan's house. The American had been her dentist and friend for many years. She knew that he'd help her.She was desperate with little money left.

The Empress had to wait for Evans for two hours. Her impatience and anxiety almost drove her mad but she didn't know what else to do. Luckily they escaped without too much trouble. When they were stopped the Empress, dressed in black, pretended to be a lady on her way to the insane asylum who didn't want to go! After a long and tiring journey they reached Deauville. From here they hoped to flee to England.

Evans asked Sir John Burgoyne to take them across the Channel in his yacht. At first he refused, but his horrified wife insisted that he try to rescue the Empress. It was a rough voyage. The night was very dark, and the wind tore at the small boat. Everyone was seasick, except the deck-hands. Sir John thought that they were all going to die but eventually the night calmed down and they reached Ryde. Now the Empress could see the Prince Imperial who was at Hastings.

Oh-La-La Challenge

Violets for the Emperor: The Life of Louisa de Mercy-Argenteau by Therese de Caraman-Chimay
This biography was dedicated to the author's favourite horse, so I didn't have high hopes for it! After all, even 'Mr.Ed' couldn't read! It was nicely-written, however, and very enjoyable.

Louisa was a beautiful princess with golden hair who travelled to St.Petersburg and Vienna in search of a husband. She had a grand time and many suitors pursued her. She failed to fall in love, however, and eventually settled on the handsome and wealthy Comte de Mercy Argenteau. Unfortunately, she found him quite boring, but she had a lovely daughter to compensate!

Her husband worked for the Emperor Napoleon II. Louisa impressed the Emperor with her beauty and charm, and grew very fond of him. When war with Germany eventuated, she found herself in a world of intrigue, and involved in negotiations with the Prussian Emperor and the dreadful Bismarck.

Louisa and the Emperor were probably platonic friends, according to this book. She is described as lacking passion, and she probably didn't want any scandal. Empress Eugenie was very jealous so Louisa didn't want to upset her too much!

Louisa was very talented musically and became friendly with the famous composer, Liszt. She also gave many Russian composers their big chance, apparently. The story of Louisa's influence on music only comprises a short part of the book, which is a pity.

I found Louisa very likeable and I'd like to read more about her. This was a very interesting biography, but it's hard to know how much of it is true. It reads more like a novel than a biography. There is a lot of dialogue in the book and I think that this might have been made up by the author.

Eugenie is presented as being very unlikeable. She had too much influence over Napoleon politically, and she was difficult, according to this book. I haven't read much about her yet, so I don't know that much about her character.

This was a sweet book. I recommend it if you're interested in this time in French history and French royalty.