Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1848-02-24

her thoughts. Nelpperg is on the alert.
They saunter lovingly among the shrubbcry
which lrlnges the serpentine walks, and recline,
till the stars gem the sky, in bowers fragrant
with the perfume Of every odorilerous plant
Oh! II one could only forget. Maria could for
get. Maria was an Epicurean. The pleasure
loving philosophy is very comfortable to those
who have no souls. The daughter of the Cn-
sars had no soul. Surrendcring herself to all the
seductlons of momentary enjoyment, her slum-
berlng spirit was undlsturbed either by anguish
or remorse, And yet the Icing agony of some
minds is far preferable to the dead rep0sc of 9TH
ers.
True, NeippeFg was a stiff, formal Hungarian
soldier. The automatan manners of the camp
had left their coarse impress upon him, One
eye had been torn out by a bullet, and a black
patch covered the deformity. lie was twenty
years older than Maria, and had no attractions
Of body or Of mind to win a generous Nwoman's
love. The flexible heart of Maria. however,
gladly sought solace for its voluntary Widowhood
with this unalluring %courticr. Floating upon the
current Of selE-indulgence, she endeavored with
timbrel and dances to beguile life of its cares
Reveiing in scenes Of ~festivity and luxuriating
upon velvet sofas, she Rugged her comforts, and
needed not the storms which howled around the
eternal crags of her husbands prison. Consign-
ing Napoleon to the grave Of oblivion, and for
getting that she had ever been a wife, a mother
and an Empress, she yielded herself to the seduc-
tons of each passing hour. And yet who, that
has an emotion of honorable feeling, would not
infinitely prefer to have been Napoleon, listening
to the dlrge of careering storm and dqshing wave
upon the sea-engirdled, mist-enyeloped rock,
rather than to have been Maria in her ducal pal
ace, on the sunny plain of Italy, breathing the
fragrance of y%iolets, and lulled to slumber by the
soft music of the lutte. Maria though thou
vert Graded i'll the palaces of the Caesars, it was
indeed an ignobIe spirit which chose thy frame
as It's tabernacle.
Yet after all, it must be confessed that the
s%oulless and the heartless glide comfori0bly thro'
such a world as this. If they know nothing OF
the deeper cXcitements and nobIer emotions Of
oar nature, they are also saved from that inten-
sity Of suffering which, at times, will wiring al
most the lIie-blood from the sensitive heart. The
terrific storm Of temptation never "wrecks their
sky" The anguish Of conscious frailty or wrong
doing never ~lacerates their hearts. Like the
stalled OK they ruminate in sunshine and storm,
and die in peace.
A secret marriage, it is commonly reported,
was soon consunated between Maria and Count
Nelpperg, which was publicly recognized soon
after the death of Napoleon. Three children
have been the issue Of this marriage. The eId-
est, a daughter, is married to an Italian Count,
Grand Chamberlain ofParma. A son, the Count
de Monti Nueyo, is an officer in the Austrian ar
my. A second daughter died in infancy. Ten
years ago Count Neipperg died, and Maria was
again left a widow.
When, some four years ago, the remains d
Napoleon were brought from st. Helena, to re-
pose upon the banks of the Seine, the eyes o
the civilized world were directed to the sublime
spectacle. The French nation arose, as one
man, to do homage to the dust of their mighty
Emperor. The gray-headed survivors of the
Old Guard, who had proved faithful to Napoleon
through all his r~everses, came lettering to mcet
their beloved chieftain, now returning triumph
ant, though in death. The king, the royal fam
lily, the nobility, the people in city and in coun
try all came-a mourning nation-t0 honor the
memory Of Napoleon, A scene of SURPRISING
moral sublimlty, earth has seldom if ever witnes
sed. AS IN solemn pomp the remains Of TIT
Emperor were conveyed through the streets o
the capital where he had SO often moved til,
most powerful of monarchs, all the sons an,
daughters of France bowed their heads in sor
row, as children weeping over a fathers sepul
ture.
Maria, in her ducal palace, was at so short
distance from France that she could almost beo
the mufled drums, the tolling of bells, the boom
ing of cannon, and the solemn requiems by whic
the ashes of her husband were so mournfuII
welcomed to the land over which he had so ole
%riousIy rcigned. Under the majestic dome {
| the MUaLidcS, which his own energy had reared
the body Of Napoleon now slumbers awaiting tn
} resurrection.
But the widow of Napoleon could take no pal
> in these impressive scenes. Maria discrcetly dc
termined to remain at home. And when a n;
ton Wept at the burial Of her imperial HUSBAND
she sat listloss in her palace, with unmoistene
eye and unmoyod heart,
} Had Josephine been living, every eye wouI
S have been turned to her. She would have bee
= the prominent mourner; and sorrowing Franc
= would have bowed before her in vencration.-
| One can almost see the faithful spirit Of Jost
j phine rise from the grave to welcome her return
4 ing husband, and to invite him to slumbcr i
i death by her side.
A few years ago the young king of Rome, VIII
f had received from the Austrian Court the title {
the Duke Of Reichstadt, died at the ace of |,
He had been reared at Vienna, forgotten by h
+ mother, and carefully guarded against all know
edge OF the heroic character aud achievements
h his imperial father, AS the name of Bonapar
e was still a word of terror to the thrones Of f
n rope, his u%ntimeIy death was probably regarde
with satisfaction by all crowned heads. 1t
c not improbable that the son of Napoleon W
borne to the tomb unaccompanied by a sing
mournor. Ills birth was hailed by the ACCLAIM
d tiQns of thirty millions, and received the co
graduation Of every court in Europe. His dea
was unlamented and unnoticed.
n On the 18th of Dec. lS47, came the closil
); scene in the life of Maria. She had passed thr
ity-seven years. At the silent hour of midnigl
with peaceful attendants around her pillow, 81
n breathed her last, and departed to that tribun
y where we all in turn must appear. The wor
had long forgotten her. She had neither enemi
f nor friends. Her death caused none to mour
l. and none but those who inherited her estates.
rejoice, Requiescat pace.
$50 live, that sinking in thy laot long sleep,