THE COMING NAPOLEON AS AN ARTIST.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 90, 16 January 1875, Page 15

THE COMING NAPOLEON AS AN ARTIST.

The Paris correspondent of ' Tho Pilot,' writing on October 16, tells the following interesting story :—": — " Tlis Art Exhibition at the Palace of Industry is almost as great an attraction at present as the world of fashion, the field, and the rail. Among other treasures are works executed by several royal personages. The King of Portugal has sent in a superb drawing and two etchings ; the Princess of Hesse has a child's head in terra cotta ; the Princes 3o£ Prussia a water-color landscape ; the Duchess de Charfcre3, a still life ; the Prince da Joinville, studies ; a little turned box has bean manufactured by the King of Sweden ; tiiere are also two beautiful sketches by the Prince Imperial. He draws with a pen, and excels in grouping figures, having great facility of invention. When he is in a right mood he sits down in a corner, and after flinging a few lines at random, on a sudden a head appears, then a body, then a subject, and finally quite a tableau. anecdote ia told of the young prince which illustrates how very " fond he is of art. He was sitting one" evening at dinner by the Princess de Poniatowski, and examined the lady's fan which was perfectly

plain on both sides. 'Your fan looks very white,' ho said ; 'almost too blank to be pretty ; lend it to me for a moment, I will arrange ifc for you.' On leaving the table he took up a pen, and seating himself apart from the re3t of the company, proceeded to embellish the fan surface, which he signed Louis Napoleon. ' Here is your fan, Madame, he said to the Princess, 'pardon me for having upset my inkstand over it.' " A characteristic, trait of the young pretender is that he is thoroughly French. " Prince Louis is charming," wrote the Czar, when in London, to his sister, "he is a true Frenchman, born in the Rue de RLvoli." Contrasted with the very refined circles of artist princes are the ways and idioms of Gxelic-speaking Celts, an observation that suggests itself after so long a paragraph on royalty. The Highlanders, says "A. K. H. B." in. 'Eraser,' were sitting over their toddy with manifest enjoyment. One said, putting aside Ms tumbler with great solemnity, "This is the best whiskey I never tasted any more." The second observed, "So did I neither." The third subjoined, "Neither, did I, too."