The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1870-09-23
The Career Of Louis Napoleon.


afs ~ ~ 47-
It has often been tritely said that trut
Is stranger than fiction. No man ha
ever in his own life better illustrated thi
than Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparts
but few days since known rs Napolco
III. His father was Louis Bonaparte
(brother Of tho great Napoleon,) fourtl
son of the Corsican family. who was mad
king Of Holland by Napoleon In 1906. bu
fell with the great captain. His mothe
was the celebrated Hortense Beauhernais
daughter Of Josephine, Nnpolcon's frs
wife, by her first husband. This nephew
of the great Napoleon. whose fall Is nov
the topic OF tho world, was born Apri
goth. 1908 and Is consequently In his six
ty-third year. .cq-2
The fall of the Napoleonh dynasty Il
1915, made the whole family exiles from
France. Young Louis consequently spen
his childhood in Germany, Switzerland
and Italy. and among. other studies at
tended to military science. In 1880. .whcr
the Bourbon dynasty fell. Louis pctitionet
Louis PHILIPPE for permission to return Il
France, but leayo was refused. In 1881
Mt the age OF Is. Louis took an active parl
in an unsuccessful revolutionary move
ment In Italy, in consequence Of which h
was banished from the papal territory
and went to England for short time.
BY the death Of the first Napoleon's sor
in 1882, Louis Napoleon became the sue
cessor Of Napoleon I. to tho throne, or
fha eunv>ositi,,, ar tha rox,,x,oI of thu M
poleonio dynasty. From this time ht
seems to have set his heart on the attain
ment of impartial honors. He wrote sew
eral works advocating revival of Napo
leonio ideas In France, and In 1886 ht
went so far as.to plot q revolution In tha,
country; snd for that purpose he put him
self In communication with several Off.
GERS at Strasbourg, the city now besicged
by tho Prnssians. Having won over
somo OF the troops there to his cause. he
appeared in Strasbourg and proclaimed a
revolutioh. So many Of the soldiers
proved true, that this movement wa,
speedily put down and Louis captured
Louis Philippe, however, did not execute
Louis Napoleon, but at the earnest entrea.
tbs of his mother, Hortense. simply ban
ished him. r,
ABOUT tho first of Jan. 1887. Louis Ma
poledh made his appearance In New York
and temained In this country till the au.
tum1 Of the same year, when he returned
to Switzerland to be present at tho death
Of his mother. Hero Louis Napoleon
wrote book defending his attempts al
Strsbourg, In consequence Of which Louis
Philippe demanded his expulsion from
Switzerland. The result was that Loui.
fed to England where he busted himself
In writing book on "Napoleonic Ideas, v
and In plotting another revolutionary
movement, which resulted In 1910 in a
Quixotic expedition to Boulogne, with
about fifty followers. Hero he called up
on the soldiers to follow him. but after n
fow shots he wns captured and sentenced
for life to the castle of Ham, from which
fortress he managed to escape. In 1916,
with the assistance of his physician,
Louis fled to England, and in l84S when
the revolution broke out which dethroned
Louis Philippe and established u Repub-
lie, he repaired to Paris and was at once
chosen deputy to tho new national rs.
sembly of France. Lamartinc. then just
elevated to the Presidency Of the Repub-
lie, saw In Louis "a man of destiny" and
tried to have him banished. After n
stormy debate the effort failed, and Louis
Napoleon took tho oath of fidelity to the
Republic. In May, 1850. when tho elcc-
tion of a new President came of. he car.
rt< of t1,x.,
peasants generally looking upon him as
the great captain, revived.
In Dec. 1851. after long controversy
with the assembly, which opposed Napo.
looms schemes to further his own interests,
he declared Paris In state of siege, and.
with tho aid of the troops, dissolved that
assembly, proclaimed universal suffrage,
and declared himself President for ton
years. on:akc his usurpation less out
rlgeous, he appealed to tho leople and
they supported his acts; and In Nov. 1852,
he obtained another popular vote declar-
ing him Emperor. In JAM, 1853, he
married Eugcnie Marie dc Guznan. n
Spanish Countess remarkable for her
beauty-NapOleon Mt that time being 40
years of age, and his wifc "a. Their only
son, tho Little Louis" of Starbruck, was
born In 1856.
In March. 1854. Louis Napoleon, In con.
junction with England, declared war
against Russia, q war which resulted favor
ably To the allied arms, and closed In 1855.
The arbitrary and despotic measures
adopted by Napoleon to destroy the Re-
public and elevate himself to the imperial
position, raised up scores of enemies, who
went so far rs 10 attempt his assassination
in 1858. In 1859 he aided Piedmont In
expelling tho Austrians from Venice and
Austrian Italy, and after brief aud sue
ccssful war, secured the union of the vari-
Gus portions Of Italy under King Emanuel.
The grand victories of this war strength
encd Napoleon, and apparently established
his dynasty. ra ,
In tho last years of tho American Ro-
bcllion, he made his first great mistake
ly sending Maximillian To establish nm
empire In Mexico, evidently thinking that
America would be too weak to oppose
him. The Mexican failure injured Ma
polecn's prestige in France and Europe;
and Bismarck's outwitting of him In 1866
and ~ contributed largely to strengthen
tho opposition. This opposition reached
such q hight last year. that Napoleon re-
solved to grant certain liberal reforms.
Alter granting these reforms. he submitted
the question of their acceptance, coupled
with recognition of his dynasty. to
popular vote, and his majority was so
largo rs TO strengthen him. Tho feeling
of dissatisfaction, however, subsequently
increased, and it was, doubtless, with n
view Of quelling this and gaining such
glory in n war with "hated Germany"
that he consented. and perhaps ihvitcd tho
great contest In which he has fallen.
The step from the throne to "prison"
has been sudden. On the 10Th OF July,
Napoleon declared war against Prussia.
On the same day he sent his navy into the
Baltic to carry terror into tho North Ger
man ports. On the 10Th. hs announced
that his army would first enter the Ger
man State of Hcsse to neutr,lize South
Germany, and then sweep all the Prus-