I  asked my friend, Helene, why the palace was named Malmaison, meaning ‘bad house” (funny name).  Helene’s address is –  Rueil Malmaison.  In the Middle Ages this outlying district of Paris was where lepers were cared for.   —Near us in Nova Scotia there’s  “Malignant Cove” —  kind of off-putting for the tourists, but was named for the  battleship ship “ Malignant” that once  pulled in there, or sunk there, or something. . . . History isn’t my thing.

I wanted to return to the chateau as I’d been  fascinated  by the unending paintings and busts of Napoleon, and afterwards, I pondered his egotism. —  Arthur and I once visited a couple near Los Angeles, and were astounded to see their house plastered with pictures of themselves.  They were everywhere – walls, tables, refrigerator, bedrooms, bathrooms.  – Napoleon’s palace was like that.  I wanted to go back and take pictures of my own.

I took a lot of pictures of Josephine and Bonaparte, and of  their extraordinary house and furnishings –  Napoleon’s billiard table, his ‘Council Room’, their bedchambers.  –  But, it was the many huge paintings of Napoleon’s campaigns that interested me most –  the vibrant colors,  but most  particularly his gorgeous white stallion, Marengo — When I had a French restaurant in New Hampshire, I served a dish called “Poulet Marengo”, originally created at the Battle of Marengo by Napoleon’s personal chef.

Merango

Napoleon owned hundreds of horses, but his most famous was Marengo,  the white stallion, imported from Egypt as a 6 yr. old. According to the paintings, he was a magnificent horse —  or actually, a pony. He was  14.1 hands.  Imagine that!  The great Bonaparte rode a pony.  —

Marengo was wounded 8 times, and carried Napoleon until he was 27 when he was captured by the British in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo.  When not at war, Marengo competed in 80 mile gallops which he did in 5 hours. He lived to be 38 years old in England.  –  I knew nothing about Napoleon’s horse until I visited the chateau and saw the paintings.  Such a wonderful horse . . . I couldn’t help but be interested.   Hard to imagine that a horse used so hard lived to be 38.  - – -

Today, a  horse that lives to that age is still the exception.

Last week walking through the city square here in Paris, I saw posters announcing a Guignol, which means puppet or Puppet Show. — I asked Helene if she’d go with me. She thought it was crazy, but to humor me, she came along, and we had fun. Now I hear her on the phone saying “You’ll never guess what Carol and I did today” –

Watching the children interact with GUIGNOL was the most charming part of our afternoon.There were grandparents just beaming at the look of joy on their grandchild’s face.- I loved it!

We were the only adults there without little children, and the children were as delightful to watch as the show. —- They were totally into the action screaming to warn Guignol the bad guy was coming to steal Guignol’s dog. It was three acts with a change of scenery for each — the village square, interior of a house, and the forest.

To me, the funniest part of the puppet show was when Guignol had vanquished the villain with his stick, and the Gendarme said . . . “what a good job you’ve done, Guignol. You deserve a reward, a large glass of wine and a cookie.” Only in France . . . .

I guess that line (the cookie part) rang a bell with Helene, because afterwards she insisted we go to the patisserie across the street and have a treat. She got a “petit pain aux raisin” (a French pastry kids get on their way home from school) and said she hadn‘t had this treat since she was a little girl- 70 years ago.

This entertainment was as far away from Spongebob Wetpants, or whatever he’s called as you can get. — French children watch all those animated things too, but somehow GUIGNOL spoke to them, and they answered right back.

I love France and its people, but am often amused by them. They are so tradition bound. — Puppet shows and “petit pains aux raisin” are for children! That’s it! — North Americans are much more free in those ways. We don’t worry so much about categories. — I love children’s books. Loved them as a child and now. I still have my books from childhood and once in a while sit down and read the old stories. I buy children’s books for myself, enjoying the illustrations and stories (life as it should be) — The French read the classics. They actually read Moliere, Victor Hugo, Camus, and such. – At our house, we also have such books, but nobody in living memory has read them.

Carol Rivoire…

FOLK ART by Cape Breton artist, Colin Elliott – This is Colin’s expression of what we saw the other afternoon – Guignol in the Park. — As a child in England, Colin used to go to the park to watch the Punch & Judy Shows. I played with his marvelous piece all summer, and now I got to see the real thing. — I’m glad I was able to convince Helene to go with me, even though she had to drop her dignity to do so.