EUGENIE, EMPRESS OF FRANCE. We hope to please our patrons by send-ported to be naturally spirituelle, and her ing to them as the chief embellishment of education, partly conducted in England, our present number, a beautifully engraved portrait of the Empress of France, in her Imperial robes. As her Majesty Queen VICTORIA is regarded as the first lady of Europe and the world, doubtless the Empress EUGENIE may be considered the second lady-personage in rank and position among womankind. We subjoin a brief biographical sketch as a matter of interest and information. Eugénie, Empress of France, and Countess-Duchess of Téba, was born at Granada in Spain, May 5th, 1826. She is the daughter of Donna Maria Manuela Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, Countess-Dowager de Montijos, Countess Miranda, and Duchess of Peraconda; member of the noble order of Maria Louisa and first lady of honor to the Queen of Spain. The father of this lady had been English-Consul at Malaga at the period of her marriage with the Count de Montijos, an officer in the Spanish army, belonging to one of the most ancient of the noble families of Spain. He was connected, more or less closely, with the houses of the Duke de Frias, representative of the ancient Admirals of Castille; of the Duke of Fyars, and others of the highest rank, including the descendants of the Kings of Arragon. The death of this nobleman, which occurred many years ago, left the Countess Montijos a widow, with a fortune adequate to the maintenance of her position, and two daughters, one of whom married the Duke of Alba and Berwick, lineally descended from James II. and Miss Churchill. For Eugénie, the second, a still higher destiny was reserved. In 1851 the Countess Teba, accompanied by her mother, paid a lengthened visit to Paris, and was distinguished at the va rious entertainments given at the Tuileries by the dignity and elegance of her de meanor, and by great personal beauty, of the aristocratic English rather than the Spanish type. Her mental gifts were proportionably attractive; for she is re was very superior to that generally bestowed on Spanish women, who seldom quit the precincts of their native country. Shortly after the opposition of the other Northern Powers had put an end to the idea of a union between the Emperor Louis-Napoleon and the Princess Carola Wasa of Sweden, he apprised the council of ministers of his intended marriage with the daughter of the Countess Montijos; a measure which excited some disapproval among them, and even led to their temporary withdrawal from office. During the short time which intervened between the public announcement of the approaching event and its realization, the Countess Téba and her mother took up their abode in the palace of the Elysée. The marriage was celebrated at noon on the twenty-ninth of January, 1853, at Notre Dame; and the Emperor and Empress, after making their appearance some hours later on the balcony of the Pavillon de l'Horloge at the Tuileries, to receive the acclamation of the multitude, adjourned to the comparative seclusion of St. Cloud. It is almost unnecessary to allude to the magnificence of the preparation made for the ceremony, as they are sufficiently recent to be fresh in the memory of the reader. However, the one item of fortysix hundred francs, expended in Point d'Alençon lace, will suffice to give an idea of their character. Although a union which should have added to the political importance of the nation might probably have been more immediately acceptable to it, no mark of honor and loyalty was withheld from the Imperial bride. The dotation asked for her of one hundred and thiry thousand francs per annum (the same sum which had been granted to the Duchesse d'Orleans) was eagerly accorded; and the municipal council of Paris voted six hundred thousand francs for the purchase of a parure of diamonds, as a present from the city to the Empress. It may be imagined how much enthusiasm was excited among so impressible a peo- | comparatively uneventful; made up of ple as the French by the purport of a the ordinary routine of state etiquette; of letter which she addressed to M. Bezet, migrations to the various royal maisonsprefect of the Seine, in reply to this pro- de-plaisance, varied by an extended proposal. After warmly thanking the coun- gress through France in company with cil for their token of regard, she declined her husband; and a sojourn for the benethe rich gift; alleging that the city was fit of her health at Biaritz in the Pyrenees, already overburthened, and that the sum which has peculiar associations for her, in question would be more usefully em- having been the favorite summer resort ployed in the foundation of some charita- of her family in the days of her girlhood. ble institution for the poor and destitute. On the sixteenth of April, 1855, the EmIn accordance with this suggestion, the peror and Empress of the French arrived money was devoted to an establishment in England on a short visit to the Queen, for the maintenance and education of sixty during which they proceeded in state young girls chosen from the working to the city, visited the Crystal Palace, classes of Paris. The life of the Empress etc., their stay terminating on the twentyEugénie since her marriage has been first instant. As a companion plate to the leading print of the month, we introduce the scene portraits of Maria Theresa, the renowned Empress of Austria, and her Minister of State, Kaunitz. Thus the two plates will present portraits of two Empresses of two empires; not rivals personally, though the two empires to which, in different ages they belonged, have time and again been opposed to each other in the fiercest struggles of war. The lineaments of the two Imperial faces will be seen in strong contrast. The one masculine and expressive of self-reliant determination. The other mild and amiable as a Spanish maiden, as she was. A brief biographical sketch will add interest to the portrait. Maria Theresa was born at Vienna in 1717. She was the eldest daughter of Charles VI., Emperor of Austria, who died in 1740. The succession of Maria Theresa to the hereditary dominion of the House of Hapsburg had been guaranteed by the principal states of Europe; but, on her father's death, she found herself assailed by the kings of Prussia, France, Spain, and Sardinia, and the elec tors of Bavaria and Saxony. Each of these princes laid claim to some part of the Austrian territory; and Maria Theresa, at the age of twenty-three, was called on to make head against the armies of all her neighbors, except the Turkish Sultan, who alone acted towards her with fairness and good faith. Maria Theresa had been married in 1737, to Francis of Louvain, grand Duke of Tuscany, but he was a prince of little intellect or energy; and it was to the spirit of Maria Theresa herself, and the loyalty of her Hungarian subjects, that Austria owed its rescue from destruction. When driven from her capital by her enemies, Maria Theresa repaired to Presburg, and summoned the Hungarian Diet. She appeared in the midst of the martial assembly with her infant son in her arms. She addressed them earnestly and eloquently in Latin, (a language long currently used in Hungary;) and when she came to the words, The kingdom of Hungary, our persons, our children, our crown, are at stakeforsaken by all, we seek shelter only in the fidelity, the arms, the hereditary valor of the renowned Hungarian nobility," the Hungarian nobles, and all present, with one unanimous burst of chivalrous loyalty, drew their swords, and shouted, "Let us die for our king Maria Theresa," [Moriamur pro rege nostro Maria Theresa.] This was no transient demonstration of zeal. The whole military force of Hungary was soon in the field: the current of invasion was checked, and by degrees the foes of Maria Theresa made peace with her, and ceased to reckon on their shares in the dismemberment of Austria. She was obliged to cede Silesia to Frederick of Prussia; but with this exception she was left in full possession of her dominions, when the war of the Austrian succession was closed by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1758. The loss of Silesia was a deep mortification to Maria Theresa, and the hope of recovering that province made her take an active part in the seven years' war against Frederick of Prussia. That contest, however, closed in 1763, leaving Prussia in possession of Silesia, and with no gain on either side to Maria Theresa or Frederick. Maria Theresa's husband had been elected Emperor of Germany in 1745, and on his death in 1765, their son Joseph was chosen to succeed him. But Maria Theresa retained in her own hands, throughout her life, the administration of her vast dominions, which were generally governed by her in a wise and enlightened spirit. Her private character was irreproachable, and the morals and manners of her court formed a bright exception to the gross profligacy by which the courts of nearly all the other sovereigns of the age were disgraced. She was sincerely pious, and Botta, the Italian historian, passes on her the high eulogy, that "during a forty years' reign she always showed a love of justice and truth.” Her share in the first partition of Poland is the great stain on the character of Maria Theresa. But she came unwillingly into this plot, which was urged on her by the sovereigns of Prussia and Russia, and by her son the Emperor Joseph. She is said to have left a written record that she consented to this measure out of deference to the opinions of others, and that she foreboded evil consequences to Europe from this act of injustice to one of its states. Maria Theresa died in 1780. Her remains repose in a superb sarcophagus, or metal coffin, among about seventy other coffins of the Imperial family of Austria. Some of them are of costly workmanship, In the composition of one of them, for the Emperor Joseph I., sixteen hundred pounds of pure silver was used, as the capuchin friar who has charge of the mausoleum stated to us a few summers ago on the spot, while admiring the imperial grandeur of this silent and sad family gathering under the dome of the Capuchin Church in Vienna. Every Friday for thirteen years after the death of her husband, did Maria Theresa descend into this mausoleum to pray and weep by the side of his remains. Among this coffined imperial family are the second Empress, and the only son of the Emperor Napoleon I., the young Duke of Reichstadt, whose sarcophagus is of copper.-EDITOR OF ECLECTIC. PRINCE KA UNITZ. THIS personage, who appears in the print, pen in hand, at the council-table, with Maria Theresa, as her Prime Minister, was an Austrian statesman. He was born in 1711, at Vienna, and educated for the Church. In 1744 he was appointed Minister of State for the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, and afterwards. was sent as Ambassador to Paris. On his return to Vienna in 1753, he was appointed Chancellor of State, and made a prince of the Empire in 1764. He died in 1794. FUTURE LIFE; or, Scenes in Another World. By GEORGE WOOD, Author of "Peter Schlemihl in America." Pages 360. New York: Derby & Jackson. 1858. READING this book will take the mind quite away from the beaten track of common writers. It is a book of rare interest and no little instruction; it is rich in poetry, though written in prose, by a gifted pen. The author, we believe, has walked through some of the dark passages of life, and quite naturally with chastened cheerfulness of thought and feeling would look up and away from the shadows of earth to brighter scenes. The curtains are gently drawn aside, and the reader's mind is introduced to the converse of those who are semi-spiritual beings, once dwellers below, now returned to gain intelligence of the present condition of things on earth. commend the book, and quote the first page or two, to show the author's starting-point and style. We "It was at the close of a summer's day, that a female form, arrayed in robes of light, floated in the atmosphere of a world of loveliness and grandeur. Upon her beautiful brow shone the halo of immortality, whose pure rays resembled the scintillations of stars. Her robes and vesture, Sky robes spun of Iris' woof," were looped at the shoulders, and fastened round the waist by a girdle studded with gems of rare brilliancy. Her eyes were lit with intense delight as she gazed long and ardently upon the varied landscape mapped out beneath her. "On this globe were vast continents, with mighty mountain-chains, and oceans gemmed with islands, whose peaks were lifted high above the clouds. All around were scenes of rarest combinations of luxuriance and loveliness. Cities of vast size were seen, whose domes rose like gold and silver-capped clouds. "Sweeping above the earth, like an eagle on wings of even poise, did this shining one circle over the plains below. And while thus occupied and absorbed. angel forms from the empyrean, appeared in the distance, with the suddenness of falling stars. Arrested by the vision of beauty, with a swoop high in air, they staid their flight, and floated amid the clouds. "This squadron of angels, descending, left one of their number above. He, too, bore the flame of the Redeemed, shining like the morning star over his forehead. By a law of sympathy, as undefined in heaven as on earth, these two shining ones drew nearer and nearer, until, in immediate proximity, they awoke to the consciousness of each other's presence. After graceful salutations, as befits the courtesies of all worlds, the man, for such he was, addressed the woman thus: 'Fair sister, are you, like myself, a stranger here?' "She replied: 'I am, and have but just reached this beautiful world. Can you tell me any thing of its history?' "My companions in travel, who have just left me, tell me that this world is one of the centers of the Fine Arts, to which many of the redeemed of earth are sent to be initiated into the love of Music and the Arts of Design.' "I am most happy to know this. I have never heard of such a world, but as God, our Creator, is with the feeblest efforts of his children, in whatever the author of Beauty, I knew he must sympathize scale of existence, and however rude their attempt to realize the Ideal.' recognition, and with a burst of joy the friendships of earth were now renewed." "As the woman spoke, there was a flash of mutual Pages A YACHT VOYAGE, Letters from High Latitudes. Being some Account of a Voyage in the SchoonerYacht Foam, to Iceland, Jan Mayen, and Spitzbergen, in 1856. By Lord DUFFERIN. 406. Boston: Ticknor & Fields. 1859. WHEN we take up a new book with the names of Ticknor & Fields upon its title-page, we regard it as prima-facie evidence that it is worth reading. We do not know that they have ever published a poor one. This yacht-voyage volume of Lord Dufferin, is a book rich and beautiful in description aud full of exciting interest. It sparkles and "foams" like champagne all along its pages. The whole is a triplicate. The yacht is "The Foam." She leaps and dances like a thing of life through northern seas of "Foam;" and the book takes its impress of "Foam," scattering graphic and beautiful descriptions all over its pages, like foam before the dashing prow of the gallaut yacht, as she went dashing over the waves and among the icebergs of the Northern Seas. It is worth a cart-load of sheer romance, and every family ought to have and read the book. CHARITY GREEN; OR, THE VARIETIES OF LOVE. By THEODORE HARTMAN. Pages 600. New-York: John W. Norton, Publishing Agent, No. 447 Broome street. 1859. THIS volume is dedicated to the Rev. Charles Kingsley and Florence Nightingale, of literary and benevolent renown in England. It comprises fortysix chapters. The story claims to "be no fiction." It may be called, however, a religious romance, in which many real personages, under fictitious names, are made to appear in the changing scenes, inculcating moral and religious sentiment in a pleasing and attractive form. EUROPEAN LIFE, LEGEND, AND LANDSCAPE. By an THIS volume is made up or rather comprises graphic sketches of sea-scenes and foreign travel and sojourn in various cities of Europe, with which are mingled descriptions, stories, and legends. The artist-author seems to be quite an enthusiast, and aims to enlist the attention of the reader and interest his mind. Graphic descriptions of cities and places in other lands, can hardly fail of being instructive, because they impart useful information to the reader. CHRISTIAN MORALS. By JAMES CHALLEN, Author of "The Gospel and its Elements," "Christian Evidences," etc. Philadelphia: James Challen & Son, Lindsay & Blakiston. New-York: Sheldon, Blakeman & Co. Boston: Crosby, Nichols & Co. 1859. THIS little volume is rich in thought and full of instruction. It abounds in important truths and principles of action which enter into the character and well-being of life. Books of this stamp can not be too much multiplied nor too much read by young or old in the community. DEATH OF MR. PRESCOTT THE HISTORIAN.-With sorrow we announce the demise of this eminent man and historian. American Literature and the true "best society" of the New World have just lost, in Mr. William Hickling Prescott, one of their noblest ornaments; an author of large performance and yet unexhausted promise; a gentleman in the best sense of that much abused word, whose many accomplishments clustered with a natural grace about the firm reality of a dignified, honorable, and well-balanced character. Only a few days since we received a pleasant note from bis pen. A few months since we enjoyed the luxury of a long interview with him at his charming country mansion overlooking the waters of the Atlantic ocean, while he spoke of Spain and its history with enthusiasm and interest. We made it the occasion of obtaining photographs of his remarkable face, which he kindly consented to have taken, from which Mr. Sartain engraved the most truthful likeness of the Historian ever executed, which may be found, in the November number of the ECLECTIC for 1858, with a biographical sketch. his memory. Chapman and Shirley are buried in St. Giles's-in-the-fields; Marlowe, in the church-yard of St. Paul's Deptford; Fletcher and Massinger, in the church-yard of St. Saviour's, Southwark; Dr. Donne, in Old St. Paul's; Edmund Waller, in Baconsfield church-yard; Milton, in the church-yard of St. Giles's, Cripplegate; Butler, in the churchyard of St. Paul's, Covent Garden; Otway, no one knows where; Garth, in the church at Harrow; Pope, in the church at Twickenham; Swift, in St. Patrick's, Dublin; Savage, in the church-yard of St. Peter's, Bristol; Parnell, at Chester, where he died on his way to Dublin; Dr. Young at Welwyn, in Hertfordshire, of which place he was the rector; Thomson in the church-yard at Richmond, in Surrey; Collins in St. Andrew's Church at Chichester; Gray in the church-yard of Stoke Pogis, where he conceived bis Elegy; Goldsmith in the church-yard of the Temple Church; Falconer, at sea, with "all ocean for his grave;" Churchill in the church-yard St. Martin's, Dover; Cowper in the church at Dereham; Chatterton in a church-yard belonging to the parish of St. Andrew's, Holborn; Burns in St. Michael's church-yard, Dumfries; Byron in the church at Hucknall, near Newstead; Crabbe at Trowbridge; Coleridge in the church at Highgate; Sir Walter Scott in Dryburgh Abbey; Southey in Crossthwaite Church, near Keswick; Shelley "beneath one of the antique weed grown towers surrounding ancient Rome," and Keats beside him, "under the pyramid which is the tomb of Cestius." Barker's Three Days of Wensleydale. THE WHITE LADY" OF BERLIN.-Singular reports are in circulation here, (states a correspondent from Berlin,) which we relate as signs of the public feeling. It is rumored that the White Lady has ap peared in the Palace. According to tradition, the White Lady is an ancestor of the house of Hohenzollern, who is never seen except when the Royal Family is menaced with some grave and disastrous event. It is said that her appearance generally announces the death of the reigning Prince, but on Mr. Prescott died in Boston, on Friday last, very this occasion another signification is given to it. suddenly, upon the recurrence of a paralytic affec- The present rumor is, moreover, founded on a very tion which had once before threatened his life. Al- singular circumstance. There is living in this city, though the senior, by four years, of his compeer in a man named John, who enjoys great popularity the hierarchy of American letters-Mr. Bancroft among the lower classes, and who occupies himself and of the only living English historian who has very much with prophecies and predictions. Ho attained an equal renown with his own, Mr. Pres- has been several times punished by the Correctional cott was still in the meridian of his powers, and he Police for his falsehoods. Whenever any important has been cut off in the midst of historical labors of occurrence takes place, the general cry is: "John a wider scope even than those by which his honor- predicted it." He is now in prison for having, it is able fame has already been earned. said foretold the birth of a Prince, accompanied by a disastrous event. In popular opinion the prediction of John and the appearance of the White Lady are connected with each other, and there are many who feel uneasy as to what may happen. A lady of honor to the Princess Frederick Charles, and Mdlle. de Galtz, sister of the former, are said to have Mr. Prescott was born at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1796, in the same year with the French historian Miguet, whose duty it has now become, as Perpetual Secretary of the French Institute, to announce to that illustrious body the death of one of its most conspicuous foreign members, his Own fellow-laborer upon the annals of Spain and of been the first who saw the apparition. An inquiry Charles V. THE GRAVES OF THE POETS.-Chaucer was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, without the building, but removed to the south aisle in 1555; Speuser lies near him. Beaumont, Drayton, Cowley, Denham, Dryden, Rowe, Addison, Prior, Congreve, Gay, Johnson, Sheridan, and Campbell, all lie within Westminster Abbey. Shakspeare, as every one knows, was buried in the chancel of the church at Stratford, where there is a monument to has been set on foot to discover the person who, for a stupid joke, must have given rise to the report, by assuming the costume of the White Lady. LOOKING out of his window one summer evening, Luther saw on a tree at hand, a little bird making his brief and easy dispositions for a night's rest. "Look," said he, "how that little fellow preaches faith to us all. He takes hold of his twig, tucks his head under his wing, and goes to sleep, leaving God to think for him!" |