Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1848-02-10

upon IIiiIl' w nereVcr he meets his foes he hurts
his little band upon them and scatters them as
leaves before the tempest. Aud still the concen-
trlc lines draw nearer and nearer to his capital
FOR when victory is perched upon the banner off
the Emperor, and with his beardless boys, he is
trampIIng III the dust the shaggy barbarians of
Hungary and Tutary, in other parts of the in
termlnabe line the countless hosts are adyan-
eng They roll on and roll on, from the north
and the east and the SOUTH like the ocusts of
Syria. Often as Napoleon rode over the cory
field, and saw the slender and fragile forms with
which the ground was strewn, Injured as he was
to scenes OF carnage, and contending as he was
for his throne and his liberty, he forgot himself
and wept. But it was all in vain. Europe had
risen in arms against single man. The allies
pressed on, and soon their batteries were reared
upon the heights which surrounded Paris, and
their balls began to fall upon the roofs of the be-
leaguered city like the first drops of tempest.
Napoleon was absent, breasting the invaders in
one part of the vast segment by which they were
approaching. All hearts in the metropolis were
frozen with terror; and to avoid the horror of
bombardment the capital Of France capituated,
and Napoleon was ruined.
1t was indeed gloomy hour, when Maria
Louisa with her son descended from the apart
ments Of the Tuieries to escape from Paris
In the distance could be heard the thunders of
the approaching battle and the young Napoleon
chung screaming to the tapestry, refusing to be
torn from the palace of his father. Pale and de-
jccted, the unhappy Empress entered her car
rage, while Partisan crowd gazed upon the
scene in melancholy silence. 1t was the burial
hour Of the Napoleon dynasty. The funeral
procession in long train of carriages passed
slowly away, and Maria, deserving her husband
in the hour of his greatest need threw herself
upon the protection of the Allies. If she had
possessed one emotion of real greatness, then
was the hour to have shown it, and to have eMort-
ed the admiration Of mankind. Had Paris held
ont three hours longer, Napoleon would have
thrown himself behind its delenses, and at least
would have compelled his foes to come to rea-
sonable terms. lie felt most kcenly the want of
character manifested by his wife on this occa-
sion. Once only in the most confidential inter-
course, did he allow himself to utter any express
sion Of these feelings. Who can calculate the
effect, he said, (which would have been pro
duced by my youthful consort running through
the ranks Of the army and the National Guard,
holding her young son in her arms, presenting
him to all, and placing herself and him under
the protection Of their courage and they bayonets
Whenever think of it, the anguish abrldg yes my
life of an hour
Had Maria possessed the heroic soul of Joan
Of Arc or of Charlotte Corday, she would have
ennobled herself and her sex in this crisis, which
seemed to achievements of magnanimity. She
would have reused the enthusiasm of the nation,
and rushing to the rescue Of Napoleon, would
have thrown entire France upon the INVADERS
But Maria was no heroine. Had Maria been
capable of chershing those deep emotions of
woman's love, which gowed in the truly imperi-
al soul Of Josephine, and which have made her
the idol OF all true hearts, she would have clung
to Napoleon with deafness fcryor in these DAYS
Of adversely, and would have won the admiration
of the world. Maria following her husband to
Elba, sharing his pcriIs at Waterloo, and seated
by his side on the storm-Washed rocks of st.
Helena, would have occupied in the eyes of all
nations, a more exalted throne than her llustri
Gus ancestors Of Rome ever embeIlished. And
in her own living, glowing, throbbng heart she
would have found a luxury OF emotion for which
one might well spurn all the baublcs of pomp and
pride and power But Maria was of the earth
earthly In the poverty of her ignoble spirit,
she preferred to daily with her own chamberlain
on yoluptuous sofas, in the luxurious apartments
Of a ducal palace, and to leave her husband to
languish and to die alone. Peace be with you,
Maria.
1t was perhaps less the fault than the msGor-
tune of Maria that her soul was incommcnsu-
rate with the grandeur of her circumstances
She was by nature merely mild, amiable wo-
man, and utterly incapable Of heroic action or OF
romantic love There is no power upon earth
by which the mind of man is so perfectly en-
tranced, as by the spirit Of truly noble woman
One is constrained to bow, almost with adora-
ton, before the alliance of female loveliness with
the lofty attributes of the soul. The union is
rare but when encountered, the cntranced spirit
does it willing homage. There are spirits dwell
ling in these mortal frames, which seem almost
radiant with the Iustrc Of heaven. But they arc
seldom graded under the canopy of throne
1t is true the situation of Maria, during thi,
conflict, was peculiar, and for feeble mind cx
tremely embarrassing The armies of Austria
and France were arrayed against each other
Her father and her haSbaad had crossed sword,
in the most unreIeuting hostility. The affection,
are plants which do not thrive in the atmosphere
of courts Napoleon could immediate Josephine
upon the altar Of his political ambition. AnC
the Emperor of Austria had no hesitation in sac
riicing the grandeur of his daughter to promote
the grandeur of his throne, In the downfall O
France, the spoilers would share the booty
And Francis was very willing to wrest territory
and power from his own child, that he might an
mex them to his own domnions. 1t is not per
haps, strange that daughter of the C@sar
should inherit this passion of the Caesars. Al
Maria saw the empire of Napoleon falling int
fragments, she forgot both her husband and he
son, in her eagerness to save what she coulC
from the wreck for herself
, How different, on the contrary was the con
duct of Josephine. She was the daughter of al
obscure planter of Martinique But her SPIRIT
! was of celestial mould. In the day of Napoe
on's ruin, she forgot herself and her heart-rend
ing wrongs, and was eager to abandon all tn
: uxuries with which she was surrounded, and t.
!, follow the fortunes of her former husband int
= poverty, obscurity and exile How infinitely su
a perior are opulence and nobility Of SOU to tn
> accidents of birth. Exalted lineage does bu
u render more conspicuously degrading, lownes
= and vulgarity and dishonor.