Star. — London, England, 1822-12-28 00:00:00

ANECDOTES OF BONAPARTE. . The following anecdotes are from those interesting publications, Napoleon's Memoirs aid Las Cases Journal: NAPOLEON'S MARRIAGE. The marriage of Maria Louisa was consummated at Fontainebleau, immediately after her arrival. The Emperor, setting aside all the etiquette that had pre viously been arranged, went to meet her, and in dis guise got into her carriage. She was agreeably sur rised when she discovered him. She had always been given to understand that Berthier, who had Married her by proxy at Vienna, in person and age exactly resernbled the Emperor; she, however, sig nified that she observed a very pleasing difference between them. Maria Louisa's marriage, said the Emperor, was proposed and concluded under the same forms and conditions as that of Marie-Antoinette, whose can t! act was adopted as a model. After the repudia tion of Josephine, negotiations were entered into with the Emperor of Russia for the purpose of soliciting the band of one of his sisters; the difficulties rested merely in the settling of certain points relative to re ligion. Prince Eugene, conversing with M. de I Schwartzenberg, learned that the Emperor of Aus tria would not object to a union bet Ween Napoleon and his datOrter; and this information was commu nicated to the Emperor. A Council was convoked to decide whether an alliance with Russia or Austria would be most advantageous. Eugene and Talley rand were for the Austrian alliance, and Camba ceres against it. The majority were in favour of an Archduchess. Eugene was appointed to make the official overture, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs Was empowered to sign a that very day, it an op portunity should present itself; which proved to be the case. _ _ Russia took umbrage at this; she thought herself ilifled with, though without jest ground. Nothing . e an obligatory nature had yet transpired ; both par remainel perfectly free. Political interests pre chlmi:lated over everything. Vag is Louisa confessed to the Emperor, that when her tn,,,riage trith him was first pro:iosed, she could not help fm!ling a kind of terror, owing to the ac counts she had heard of Napleon from the indivi duals of her family. When she mentioned these re ports to her uncles, the Archdukes, who were very ttrzelt for the marriage, they replied" That was ri.i've:y true, xvhile he was our enemy ; but the case iti alt red now." TUT Kr:o Or ROME. The foil' wiog anecdote wid afford H correct idea of the man; er in which Madame de ,Montesquiou mana: . ;ed the King of 11r :toe. T tie apartments of the yonng in , :3 were on the ground floor, and looked oot 1.! , e coot t cf . the Tuille:ies. At almost every bow rufnbers of people wete lo.nking in tie in the ho:oe of seeing him. One day tvhea c was in :t violent fit of rusion, and tebelling I,riou:dy azain,t the authority of Madame de Men t-he imineJiately or:lefty:l all the shutters to i-e closed. The , nr i nised at the sudden dark nos:;, M.tiame ::s he used to call her, wlrit it ail tocant ? yrnt too wel!," she re not 1-.:1 Itt-Je your aot..r F. out the crowd in the cofft-yard. Y u, one ty L 3 called to f;OVerli..lf and r..lrq would they say th e y z.:tu• you in ~ ;cll a riz of lal.;;.? Do you think they ". evvr obey - Jiey knew you to be sn wicl;od upoo the c;;ild a tied her. pat don, an!, :nomised never .igain to give way to sucl fiL3 of anBer. 4 .N1) :'IT. I'acl.- . .nprez , i conceived the tenderest affection for the .D.ichT:s et: Montebello. 11:, Lady h-id at one' tiole a chance of being Q..1C.:11 t.f S t ain. rdinand when at 'Valency, requested the Em;.eror's permission to marry Math:moist:lle de 'richer, cousin gerran of Josephine; he even proposed to marry the young la,ly, in her own name, after the example trf the l', ince cf . sa•'.ea, who ma: lied Mademoiselle Beau!lllinois. The Emperor, who already con templated the separation of Josephine, refused his consent to the match, not wishing by this connexion to add to the dial:Ades that already stood in the way of his divorce. Ferdinand then solicited the han..i of 0:e Dnclies de Montebello, or of any other Preach Lady whom the Emperor might think pro per to adopt. THE HOUSE OF AUSTIZTA. "TAO afford an idea Of the sympathy and good will with which the different members of the Au,trian fa mily were taught to regard me," said the Emperor, it is sufficient to mention that one of the young Archdukes frequently burned hi, dolls, which he •called roasting Napoleon. Ile afterwards declared he would not toast me any mole, for he tutted me very mud:, because I had given his sister Louisa ulenty of money to buy hint 14:v:things." - Since my return to Europe, I have had an oppor tunity of ascertaining the sentiments entertained by the lionse of Austria towards Napoleon. In Ger many, a person o! . distinction informed me, that hav ing had a private an Bence of the Emperor Francis, during his tour in Italy, in I SIG, the conversation turned on Napoleon. Francis spuke of him in the niott respectful term , . One might also have sup posed, said /fly informant, that be still regarded him .as tho Ruler of Franco, and that he was ignorant of .his captivity at St.llelena. Ile never alluded to him by au) , other title than the . Emperor Napoleon. I Ir.-it-tied from the same individual that the Arch dult..! John, when in Italy, visited a rotunda, on the ceiling of which was painted a celebrated action, of Naroleou was the hero. As he raised his head to lock at the painting, his hat fell off, and one of his attendants stooped to pick it up. " Let it be," said " it is thus that I should contemplate the man svlio is these pourtrayed. The Empress Maria-Louisa complained, that when she qnitte.l France, M. de Tallepand reserved to .himself the honour of demanding froth her the resti tution of the Crown jewels, and ascertaining whether they had been restored with the most scrupulous exactness. . . OVERTURES OF THE BOURBONS. • " The King of France," said Napoleon, " wrote a letter which was conveyed to me by Le Brun, who had it from the Abbe de Montesquiou, the secret agent of the Prince at Paris." This letter, which was written in a very laboured style, contained the follow iqg paragraph You delay long to more me uly Throne. It hto be feared that you -may allow fa vourable moments at escape. Yon cannot complete the happiness of France without mt, nor c I serve France without yen. Ha>ten, then, and specify yourself the places which you would wish your !friends to possess." • To this letter the First Consul replied. , " I have your Royal Highness's letter ; 4 have always felt deep interest in your misfortunes and those of your family. You must not think of appearing in France : you could not do so without passing over a hundred thousand dead bodies. I shall, however, be always eager to do everything that may tend to alleviate your fate, or enable you to forget your misfortunes: The overtures made by the Count d'Artois pos sessed .still more elegance and address. He com missioned, as the bearer of them, the Duchess de Quiche, a Lady whose fascinating manners and Fer sonal graces were calculated to assist her in the im portant negotiation. She easily got access to Ma dame Bonaparte, with whom all the individuals of the old Court came easily in contact. She break fasted with her at Malmaison ; and the conversation turning on London, th.e emigrants, and the French Princes, Madame de Guiche mentioned that, as she, happened a few days before to be at the house of the' Count d'Artois, she had heard some person ask the l i Prince what he intended to do for the First Consul, in the event of his restoring the Bourbons ; and that the Prince replied—" I would inhmediately make him Constable of the kingdom, and everything eke he might choose. But even that would not be enough : we would raise on the Carousel a lofty and magni ficent column, surmounted with a statue of Bona parte crowning the Bourbons." As soon as the First Consul entered, which he did very shortly after breakfast, Josephine eagerly re peated to him the circumstance which the Duchess had related. 66 And did you not-reply," said her hug band, " that the corpse of the First Consul would have been made the pedestal of the column ?" The charming Duchess was still present ; the beauties of her countenance, her eyes, and her words, were di rected to the success of her commission. She said she was so delighted, that she did not know how she should ever be able sufficiently to acknowledge the favour which Madame Bonaparte had procured. her, of seeing and hearing so distinguished a man—so great a hero. It was all in vain : the Duchess de Guiche received orders that very night to quit Park. The charms of the emissary were too well calculated to alarm Josephine, to induce her to say any thhig very urgent in her favour, and next day the Duchess was on her way to the frontier. It is, however, absolutely false that Napoleon, on his part, at a subsequent period, made overtures or propositions to the Princes touching the - cession of their rights, or their renunciation of the Crown ; though such st•ttements have been made in some pom pous declarations, profusely circulated in Europe. BONAPARTE'S LOVE OF THE SEX. In one of our nightly walks, the Emperor told me that he had in the course of his life been much at tached to two women of very ditto ent characters. The one was the votat y of art and the graces ; the other was all innocence and simple nature: and each, he observed, had a very high degree of merir. The first, in no moment of her life ever assumed a position or attitude that was not pleasing or capti vating ; it was impossible to take her by sot prise, or make her feel the least inconvenience. She employed every resource of art to heighten natural attractions; but with such ingenuity . as to render every trace o( allurement imperceptible. The other, on the con trary, never suspected that anything was lobe gained by innocent artifice. The one was always somewhat short of the truth of nature; the other sas alto gether frank and open, and was a stranger to sub terfuge. The first never asked her husband for any- . thing, but she was in debt to every one; the second freely asked whenever she wanted, which, however, very seldom happened ; and,she never thought of re ceiving anything without imniediately paying for it. Both were amiable and gentle in disposition, and strongly attached to their husbands. But it must already have been guessed who they are ; and those who have ever seen them will not fail to recognise the two Empresses. The Emperor declared.that he had uniformly ex perienced from both the greatest equality of temper, and most implicit obedience. One day, immediately after dinner, the Emperor walked in his favourite path. He had his coffee car tied down to him in the garden, and he drank it a, the walked about. The conversation mined on love. I must have made some very fine and sentimental re , marks on this. important subject, for the p Emperor laughed at what he styled my prattle, and said that he • understood none of my romantic vei biage. Then speak ' ing with an air of levity, be wished to make me believe that he was better acquainted with sensations than sentiments. I made free to remark, that he was try ing to be thought worse than he.was described to be in the authentic but very secret accounts that were circulated about the palace. 44 And what was said of me?" resumed he with an air of . gaiety. " Sire," I replied, " It is understood., .that when in the sum mit of your power, you suffered yourself to be en slaved by the chains of love that you became a hero of romance. In short, that you conceived an attach.' ment for a lady in hunsble.cirenmstances; that you wrote her above a dozen love letters; and that her power over you prevailed so far as to compel you to disguise yourself, and to visit her secretly and alone, and at her own residence in -the heart of Paris."— " And how came this to be known?" said he, smil ing, which of course amounted to an admission ofj the fact. 44 And it was doubtless added," continued .he, 66 that this was the most imprudent act of my' whole life; for had my mistress proved treacherous,' what might not have been my fate— alone and dis guised, in the circumstances in which I was placed,. amidst the snares with which I was surrounded ? , But what more is said of me?"- 4, Sire, it is affirmed that your Majesty's posterity_ is not confined to the King of Borne. The secret chronicle states that he has two elder brothers; one the offspring of a fair foreigner, whom you loved in a distant country; the other the fruit of a connexion nearer at hand, in the bosom of your own capital. It was asserted that both had been conveyed to Malmaison before our de parture ; the one brought by his mother, the other introduced by his tutor ; and they were described to be the living porvaite of their tetberr—Las Oases' ;Jogrrial. BEARDS AND WHISKERS. . . . Various are the customs and ceremonies of diffe rent-nations with regard to the beard. A consider.. able part of the religion of the Tartars consists in the management of their beards, and they once waged a long and bloody war with the Persians, and declared them infidels, merely because they would not cut their whiskers after the mode or rite of the Tartars. -A Spartan being once asked why he wore so long a beard? replied- 4, since it is grown white it inces santly reminds, me not to dishonour my old age:— Nevertheless, in Sparta there was a law to make the people shave the upper lip. The Egyptian priests shaved the head, chin, and the whole body. The Assyrians had long beards; the Kings of Persia had their beards woven or matted together with gold thread; likewise the first few Kings of Frarke: Alex ander made the Macedonians shave, lest the length of their beards should give a handle to theirenemies. The Greek philosophers distinguished themselves from the vulgar by their long beards. Persius used to call Socrates Magistrum barbatum. The Romans for a long time wore beards and long hair ; they did not begin to shave till the year of Rome 451., when P. Sicinius bright over a number of barbers from Sicily, arid Scipio Africanus was the first who intro duced the mode of shaving every day--to whose me mory the cutlers of Sheffield ought to erect a statue of fine wrought steel. An Englishman little thinks that every year he makes 43,800 strokes with the razor across his chin, for no man in shaving can make less than 120. In time of grief and affliction the Romans suffered their beards and hair to grow. The Greeks, on the contrary, in time of grief, cut their hair and shaved their beards. The list fourteen Roman Emperors shaved till the time of the Emperor Adrian, who re tained the mode of wearing the beard. Plutarch says he did it to hide the scars in his face. The Ancient Britons, in the time of Casar, shiived the rest of the body except the head and upper lip. Tacitus says the ancient Germans shaved the beard, except that en the upper lips; and among the Catti, a nation of Ger many, a young man was not allowed to shave or cut his hair, till he had slain an enemy. Among the Jews, was reckonedignominiOus to shave a pet son's beard. It is not easy to fix with precision the time when the beards were first shaven amongst the young Romans; the first growth was consecrated to some God— usually to the 'Ares. Nero consecrated his, in a gol den box set with pearls, to Jupiter Capitolinus.— Slaves wore their hair and beard long, but when ma numitted, they shaved the head in the Temple of Fe ronia and put on a cap, or " Pileus," as a badge of liberty. The Chinese affect long beards extrava gantly ; but Nature has baulked them, and only given them very little ones, which they cultivate with great care; the Europeans are greatly envied by them on this account. The Russians wore their beards till within these few years, when the Czar Peter enjoined them to shave, but was obliged to keep on foot a number of officers, to cut off by violence the beards of such as would not otherwise part with them. At hit he laid a tax on long beards, which might be put into effect in this country upon whiskers and mustachio : . A beard was held in high estimation in Russia in early times, for it is a law, in the Novgorodian Code, that whoever plucks hair from another's beard shall be mulcted four times as much as for cutting off a finger. Upon the death of Henry IV. of France, who was succeeded by a beardless youth, the beard was pro scribed. Louis XIII. ascended the Throne of his glo. rious ancestor without a beard, and his courtiers im mediately reduced their beards to whiskers, and a small tuft of hair under the lower lip. The Duke of Sully, however, though he encountered ridicule, would never adopt this effeminate custom. I;: the reign of Catherine, Queen of Portugal, when the brave John de Castro had taken the Castle of Diu, in India, he was under the necessity of borrowing from the inha bitants of Goa a thousand pistoles, for the support of his fleet; and as a security for the loan, he sent them one of his whiskers, telling them " all the gold in the world cannot' equal the value of this national ornament of my valour, and I deposit it in your hands as a security for the money." Such was the high estimation in which whiskers were then held. The Arabs make the preservation of the beard a capital article of their religion, because Nlahomet never cut his. The Moors of Africa hold by their beards while they swear, in order to give validity to their oath,which, after this formality, they rarely vio _ - The Turkish wives kiss their husbands' beards, and children their fathers', as often as they come to salute Ahem. The Mahometans wear long hair, pro ceeding from a piece upon the head about the size of a crown piece, by which Mahomet pulls them up into Heaven, it is supposed. It is the practice with the North American Indians to pluck out the beard by the roots from its earliest appearance, and hence their faces appear smooth. This fact is confirmed by Capt. Brent and others. So much for beards—now for the ope rators thereon. There were no barbers at Rome before the year A.U.C. 454. Ticinus Mena brought them thi ther from Sicily. The barbers' shops soon became the resort of idlers and gossips. To this purpose, Horace, in expressing what was public and notorious ' says, that " all the barbers knew it." The ancient barbers also trimmed the nails. Formerly a lute or viol was part of the furniture of a barber's shop,which was then fre quented by persons above the ordinary rank, who re sorted thither for the cure of wounds,or as it was called, to be trimmed—a word which signified either shaving or cutting, and curling the hair. The musical instru ments in their shops were for the amusement of wait , ing customers, and answered the end of a newspaper. Some have supposed the barber's pole to have been de rived from the poll or head ; but the true . intention was to shew the master practised surgery,and could breathe a vein as well as take off the beard. The present frater nity of barbers are well known for their ready wit, and "'We have only to walk In their shop., and see What witty and merry fellows the Sha vers be !" On the 12th of November a farmer's wife, of the name of Weischwill, at Wilkischken, in 'Prussia, poisoned with arsenic her daughter, a girl of 15 years of age, for fear she should make it known that her mother stole some geese. After the crime was dis• covered, she confessed that two years ago she dis- patched her father-in.law in the same manner, to inherit his prole" the sooner; and fi ve months ago the husband o her eldest liaughterii4 order to marry her to a tichwt wan. VERERAZ arAL 'fits ettßisTENt. INGS AND BURIALS, WITHIN THE CITY OP LONDON AND SILLS OP MOSTA. LITT, PROM DSC. 11, 1821, TO DEC. 10, 1322. • Christened in the 97 Parishes within the wails, 1,051 ; burled!, 1,141. Christened in the 17 Parishes without the walls 5,015; buried, 3,703. Christened in the U Out-Parishes in 111iddle ses and Surrey, 12,551 ; buried, 9,074. Christened in the 10 Parishes in the City sad Libtxtles of Westminster, 4,944; buried, 4,947. THE DISEASES AND CASUALTIES THIS YEAR.. Abscess Apoplexy Asthma Bedridden Cancer Childbed Consumption Convulsions Croup - Diabetes Dropsy - Dropsy in the Brain Dropsy in the Chest Dysentery - Epilepsy Eruptive Diseases - Erysipelas, or St. Anthony's Fire 17 Fever 1,104 Fever (Typhus) - 17 Fistula 6 Flux 6 (Cunt 41 Hemorrhage 31 Harping Cough 757 'casts Broken Limbs Burnt 18 Drowned 113 Excessive Drinking 4 Executed• 8 Found Dead 6 Fractured 2 Killed by Falls and several other Accidents - 84 11,948 In all DISIMAI.U. 11)7 Inflammation - 1,".08 206 Inflammation of die Liver 61 553 Insanity - 218 1 Jaundice - 111 - 82 Measles - 712 191 Mortification - 159 Old Age and Debility 2,601 G Palsy - 168 itieumathai - e Rupture - 44 Scrofula - I Small Pot - 001, Sore Throat or Quinsy it .., Spasm . Sg Stillborn • - 667 Stone - 16 Stoppage in the Stomach 16 Suddenly - 220 Teething - tont Thrush - 102 Venereal - 7 Worms - 5 Males 3,608 2,929 100 3 . $5l 324 4 2 6 !WU 9,455 In all - WHEREOF Under two years cf age 4,605 Between twq and five 2,c7,3 Five and ten 932 Nlalcs Ten and twenty 6.11) Twenty and thirty 1,3:8 Thirty and forty 1,1;05 Forty and fifty 1,993 Total of Diseases. 18,577 LTM. Murdered Overlaid Priisoned Scalded Suicide StranglA Sidocitted 4 I 3 Z 5 1 tal of Casualties tEs F. ~Jy~! J 11,4C5 ~.-~= rowll.,?s 13,84.1 !A v E mho, Fifty and sixty - 1,%26 Sixty serunty S,vcray and ,•ighty r,nety 653 X.auty 111it:41P.4.1 le+ A hundre 1 1 fl hundred a•:d one 1 Increased in the Wrials this 414. • There have been executed in Lon.loft and the County of Surrey, 24 ; of which number eight on'y have been reported to be buried within the Hills of Niortality. The following Song is sung in the rew Christmas Pantomime of Gog and Magog, performing at Drury- Lane Theatre: This wonderful city 'tis said was begun, In the year ot' the world something thousand and one; But wh,n 'twill get finished, or lily!ly to be, Is a secret Old Time hasn't yet told to me! But b.:rling all pother Of this, that, and t'oth , r, Folks all go to London in turn! London's rich, and she's poor, and she's fiuniule and rroutl, She's handsome and ugly, now calm, now a crowd ; Her trade is so Vail', it extends v if I'm right, From each ;Monday inclining to S.iturday night! Yet barii.T, The Parliament once thought of pat , ..ing a Bill, To bid London cease building, ..nd keep la.:t :elf still; But why about trifles make , less to do, When her length only teaches trotn Itotnfora to Kew . . Yet barring, &c. She had once hut two bridges as history notes, Now the watermen say there's more bridges than boats Her Churches were and St. Peter, and flow, Now there's almost as many as people that go! Yet barring, &c. For Playhouses once there were here and there on?, For Shakspeare and Font, and far Pantomime ian ; Now there's one in cads street, and ~ 0 0,1 luck may they gain, Only Ladies and Gents don't forget ' brury- Lane, • Where, barring all pinb.r, Of this, that, and t'oth:r, We all strive to phase you in turn ! - • -- • NEWGATE AND LEA DE NIL A LI. AI A liTs, DEC. (By the Carcase.) Beef os Od to .1:s Of I Veal ...... 4J to 4s 41 Mutt0n.......... tAI to 2s 6d Pork os 0,1 to Os 41 NEW RAGS. PRICE 0 F 1101'S. Kent Sussex 2l Os to 21 8s Essex Foreign NEW POCKETS. Kent 2l los to 41 15s ISussex 2l 4s to 31 Os Essex Farnham PRICE OF CA N Dl.F.S—Front Tallow Chandlers' Hall. Candles, per doz. 9s Od—Moulds, los Od; 6d. per dozen allowed for ready money. COAL 3IA ILK ET, DEC. 27. Adair's 41s.—IIeaton 455 9d—holy well 43s—Pelaw Alain 42s 6d—Killingworth 44s Id—Tanfield Trader—Wallsend 45*--Willlsend Russell 43s 6d—Tanfield Trader 42s 6d Townley 41s—Ilartley 40b—Walliend Liddells 40s. 61i Ships at Alarket-16 Ships sold-451 un s old. COUNTRY MARKETS. Chiron°, Du. 21.—Wheat 4s. &I. a bushel. The price of a half.peck loaf (household) Is. Id. BANBURY, DEC. 26.—Wheat 2s. 3tl. to ss. Od—lleans ss. Od. to 3s Bd.—Vetches, Os Od per bushel.—Barley, 18s to 2S.i— Oats, 16$ od to 2Ss od per quarter—Bread, Is Od half peck ; and smaller in proportion. Flour 225. to 58s. per sack. Ussatocr, DEC. 26. New Wheat per load £ll Os ro /14 Os. —Wheat, X 9 Os to £l3 Os—Barley, per qr. 2:is to ;;Is.—Ors, 176 to 25s—Beans, .26s to 7,os.—Peas, 28s to 535. Nswauav, BERES, 26.—Wheat, .32s to 49s•— Bark)", 20s to 28s—Oats, 14s LA 28s.—Beans, 26 to 29s—P' as, to 30s.—Rye, Os to Os.—Bread, 10fid to 1300 per Gallon. COURSE (IF Amsterdam l2 6 C.F. Ditto at sight 12 3 Rotterdam... l2 7 2U. Antwerp, ex-mo. 12 6 Hamburgh........ 37 9 2U. Altona l7 10 IU. 3clay'ssight 25 65 U. Ditto 0 5 85 2U. Madrid, effective :16 Cadiz effect 554 Barcelona ........35} Bilboa, effective 7,61 PRICES OF GOL Foreign Gold in liars New Doubloons New Dollars Silver, in bars, standard MAILS. ARR. PO I. Dublin 1 0 Waterford 1 1 Guernsey and Jertey 0 3 Lisbon 0 2 Holland • 0 0 :XCHANGE. Seville - 5i Gibraltar ...... Leghorn Genoa Venice Ital. Liv 27 30 Malta Naples 79 Palermo : .... ...117 per oz. Lisbon 52 Rio Janeiro 46 Dublin 9i C0rk........... ANDSILVEIL ZS 17 0 0 0 0 4 9i 0 4 11i_ ARR. DM FranCe I 0 lEnthttrgh 0 0 Flanders e 0 Nialta 0 0 Gottenburgh o`o0 ` 0 RIGH-WATSItat LONDON. U GIL T0.3401t1t01 t. • ' Merton; - . 3 minute. Atter 3 Afternoon • - minutes after 3 ukj: L'ritited and publilhed by 4n4i, Plcl►« lcinyk-134.