While one cannot but admire his talent and his
moral courage, and admit the justice of many of his
ideas, one must draw back from some of his preach-
ments and squarely pronounce them dangerous and
leading to division rather than to concord. ' '

While instructing the young Prince in prepara-
tion for his first communion, Abbe Deguerry had,
without knowing it, prepared the way to a conversion.
Miss Shaw, the devoted governess of the Prince, had
been present at the lessons given by the curate of

105



MEMOIRS OF THE EMPRESS EUGENIE

the Madeleine, and although she was an Anglican,
she never failed to help the Prince to accomplish his
religious duties, and especially his daily prayers.
Two days after this first communion she went to the
Madeleine, told the cure that she had been led to
think very seriously about religious matters and
now desired to become a Catholic. The Empress was
much pleased by this spontaneous act of Miss
Shaw's and thus became more than ever attached to
this excellent young woman who did so much for
the English education of the Prince Imperial and
who thereafter aided greatly in strengthening his
religious convictions, which, however, were always
firm and solid. It may be added that the Prince was
not at all influenced by political or dynastic reasons
in becoming and remaining a firm believer in the
doctrines of Christianity, especially as set forth in
the tenets of the Church of Rome. He was very
thoughtful by nature, and often spoke, even in his
earliest youth, of the great mystery of life, and
always declaring that he, for his part, could find no
satisfactory explanation of it except in the divine
revelation of Jesus.
