The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent., 1851-05-16
The Magic Of Napoleon's Name.


A charming writer Of .ssouvenirs of
the Opera in Europe" for the New York
Day Book, gives the following interesting
description Of the enthusiastic esteem for
Napoleon which is still cherished in Milan,
as manifested on a recent occasion of the
visit to the Opera of the unworthy Mate
of the great Corsican, Maria Louisa, once
the Empress of France: aoEI a.
Maria Louisa, whose grovelling soul
preferred the qualification Of low tastes and
degrading debaucheries to the ful6lment
OF the noblest and brightest destiny ever
assigned to woman, ventured, after some
years residence in her duchy of Parma
and occasional excursions to Vienna, to
come into the States of Lombardy on a vis-
it to her uncle, the Arch Duke Regnier,
then vice king of Milan. There were
many fetes given to welcome her by the
governor, the military commanders. and at
the palace; for princess, whatever her
conduct and character, is always prin-
cess and always finds courtiers. One
evening the Scala was ordered to be illu-
minated. The large royal box in the CEN
trc was to be occupied by the royal family,
who were to come in state to do honor to
their royal visitor. The house was full;
brilliant uniforms crowded the pit, and
several Of the boxes surrounding the royal
one glittered with diamonds. The royal
party came. First the arch-Duchess,
proud as a princess of the house Of Carig-
nau. whose unusual tall stature excited
wonder before her extraordinary beauty
had time to create admiration. She came
leaning on the arm OF her chamberlain,
the Marquis D'Adda, then the Arch-Duke,
with bis slouching gait and sad, dreamy
countenance, where, as in his character,
goodness and weakness struggled for maste-
ry, the latter often marring, the effects of
the former. On his right, her hand just
passed through his arm, was the daughter
Of the Czars-she who had been the wor-
shipped bride of the greatest man of the
countrywide had worn upon her brow
the iron crown of Italy, and the imperial
diadem of France, the mother Of son
by whose cradle a whole nation had stood,
and who now slept in an untimely grave,
as solitary as the one washed by the
waves on the rocks of St. Helena-Maria
Louisa, now the too lately welded wife Of
General Neiperg. Her stature, scarcely
Of the middle height, now seems dwarfish
from the excessive bulk of her person.
the fair, redundant bosom and shoulders
can scarcely be contained within the folds
of her dark blue velvet corsage--the dla-
dem armlets which encircle her arm. might
enclose the waist of annther-her face is
large and looks broad, though partly hid
den by long ringlets of light hair falling
on each side Of her face-her skin is daz-
zlingly white-her eyes are large and very
blue. though meaningless-she wears a
ponderous head-dress. then called beret,
with diamonds and white feathers. AS
she advances. the Austrian officers in the
pit stand up, so do the Milanese, but turn
ing their back to the stage. they face the
royal box, and one long, unanimous hiss,
such as never greeted the ears Of the ar
t!st, however unpopular, resounds through
the theatre. The Arch-Duke places his
niece by his wife, calmly casting an in
quiring glance on the public-the vice.
queen colors and speaks to her chamber
lain. who is behind her chair. Maria
Louisa looks unconcernedly round and
opens her fan. The overture begins. but
the public does not change its attitude nor
lis menacing sound. Presently the agita-
tion is communicated to the boxes anima-
ted conversation, vehement gesticulations
may be heard and observed in all. The
police begin to circulate-the sentinels,
stationed at every door of the pit. ground
their muskets with foreboding noise-the
officers put their hands upon the hits of
their swords, but :he inexorable multitude
are roused--the low hiss becomes louder
-shrieks and groans follow; and then the
name of Napoleon Bonaparte is pronounc-
ed By one or two-it acts with all the mag
ic power of former years; and presently.
as but with one voice, three thousand vol
ces wake the cry which was once so fa-
milliar to those walls-"EvUiUa Napole-
one!" Led on by the fumes of their own
excitement, their enthusiasm soon reaches
phrenzy. In vain the authorities try 10
inIerpose to stay the shout of love and tri-
umph. Some bolder than the rest, CRY
'.fuorir fitorir adding such epithets to
the name of Maria Louisa as rarely salute
a royal ear. The Marquis D'Adda leans
over the vice-queen's chair, and taking
from the hands of the lady in waiting the
white satin cloak, seems to urge a retreat;
but the princess, with smile of disdaln
upon her lips, and anger in her flashing
eye, keeps her seat. The arch-duke
comes forward and bows, but this does not
sooth the infuriated mob-"fuori'' re-
sounds with redoubled violence. Maria
Louisa in alarm rises from her chair, looks
around, meets the naughty
glance of her kinswoman, the respectful
but cold look of her chamberlain, and on
The other side the embarrassed and frigh-
tened face Of her uncle--then, panic-
struck, descending quickly from her chair
Of state, she rushes through the group of
attendants and the guard outside her, and
never stops till, through a private passage
communicating from the palace 10 the the
atre, she reaches her own apartment.
Then the multitude, contented with the
judgment it had passed, and the sentence
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