Despite not speaking a word of French, the intrepid Dr. Evans left his native Philadelphia for Paris. His professional qualifications as a dentist did not seem to indicate that his life be filled with the adventures that he gleefully threw himself into. Within a short period in Paris, he became renowned for his medical skill and enjoyed the confidences of Kings, Princes and no less a person than the Emperor Napoleon III. He acted as a go-between among the crowned heads of Europe with his engaging manner. As the American consul-general William Seward wrote: “IT SOMETIMES HAPPENS when the crowned heads of Europe wish to communicate with one another without any responsibility they send for Evans to fix their teeth. As you are not likely to send so far for a dentist, I need only add that the messages of this sort, which he bears, are always communicated to him by word of mouth and in the presence of no witnesses.” His memoirs of the second Empire read both an engaging personal narrative and a secret view of the life of the court through tumultuous times including the diplomatic problems surrounding the Civil War, attempts at Coups d’état, numerous political plots, and disastrous Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71.

The memoirs of Dr. Thomas W. Evans, a prominent American dentist and physician who lived during the Second French Empire. Evans was a close friend and advisor to Emperor Napoleon III, and his memoirs provide a unique perspective on the political and social climate of France during the mid-19th century. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from Memoirs of Dr. Thomas W. Evans: The Second French Empire On account of my friendly connection for more than thirty years with the late Dr. Thomas W. Evans and in compliance also with his frequently expressed desire that I should be the editor of his "Memoirs" and manuscript remains, these writings were placed in ray hands soon after his death; and I have, since, been requested by his executors to prepare for publication that portion of them which gives the sub-title, and forms the subject-matter of this volume. Dr. Evans's long and close attachment to Napoleon III. and his family, the confidential relations he maintained with other sovereigns and princely houses and his large and intimate acquaintance among the men and women who, from 1848 to 1870, were the governing powers in Europe, afforded him unusual opportunities of observing the evolution of political ideas and institutions in France, and the conditions and the causes that immediately preceded and determined the fall of the Second French Empire as seen from within; and supplied him also with facts and very valuable information concerning the same subjects as seen, or gathered in, from without. No man, moreover, was better acquainted than he with what may be termed the moral atmosphere of the several Courts to which, for so many years, he was professionally attached. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.