The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1873-03-08
FOUR RIVALS.

Napoleon 1t thl-clhUrSt and the maBncr IN which
it is received in the different courts Of Europe. 1t
Is clear that the rulers Of the old world feel in
clined at las: to admit the Bonapartes. whom they
had 80 long regarded as upstairs and usdrpers, in
10 the divine society OF those families set apart by
heaven to control the destinies of nations. Atlast,
even under the shadow OF their darkest misfortunes,
the representatives, Of the Corsican adventurer
have won a recognition Of fellowship from the
proudest courts Of Europe; and the Bonapartes
are finally admitted into companiouship with the
Hapsburgs. Guelphs, Stuarts. Bourbons and Ho-
henzollerns.
The fact that the corpse Of the dead emperor re-
ceives from his followers regal honors is a matter
Of little Significance for it is appropriate, per
haps. that the man. who for so long a time swayed
the destiny Of France, should take his departure
surrounded with some poor remnant, at least, OF
the pomp that adorned his life. But one trifing
incident, related in regard to the house Of mourn
at Chiselkurst. is fun Of meaning. 1t is that the
Prince Imperial is now addressed rs " Sire - by tie
attendants, and in accordance with the terms of his
fathers will, takes bis place as the head of the Bona
parte family and formally appears as 4 claimant
for the throne OF France. As we understand the
matter, there are three rivals to dispute with him
for the rich inheritance. Let us glance at the four
aspirants.
nv HA9tb TX sotiS pIlICt- II q uRlIc VIII NDlC0
the public is familiar-in fact be has never been
concealed from the gaze of the world during his
short career. 1t is known just how be looked in
his cradle, how many rows OF lace decorated his
baby clothes, what sort of education he received,
and what boyish sports he took most pleasure in.
Popular prints and illustrated papers have made
us acquainted with his slender youthful figure and
his gentle face. He has been reared under the care
Of a mother. qualified above most of her sex, for
endOwiug him with taste, refinement, cultivated
manners and delicate sentiment. His father has
trained him TO govern a great but dangerous peo-
pie. What his character may be, the world as yet
cannot know. The probabilities are against his
being a great man, and in favor of bis being a good
one for the Bonapartists have already contributed
moIe than their share of the forller to the world,
and perhaps less than their proportion of the latter.
1t is hard to say what the student OF Woolwich may
develop into. The prince is yet a mere boy, in his
seventeenth year, a season too early for the dawn
Of the most precocious political genius. He has
behind him thousands of able and selfish partisans
in the church, in civil life and in the army, an
ambitious and much esteemed woman for his guide,
and Tie memory of two empires. whose radiant
glory was quenched in disaster, overshadowing
him.
As the next claimant for the throne of France
vi Oinoih' II a. III Ne pItSeIllS. II
son Of a workman of Marseillps, born at the close
of the last century, he has borne gallantly the buff
etings Of more than seventy-fve years. He has
seen the nation under the first Napoleon, the Bour-
bOns, Orleans. the republic and the second empire.
lie has seen the Frenchman in Berlin and the Prus-
sian in Paris. Ills plump little figure and shrill
voice woke laughter and contempt on bis FIRST pub
lie appearance. and almost justified the vile epithet
which the bluff soldier Soult once hurled at him.
ret that contemplate figure is the casket of one of
the clearest minds. and, we almost feel tempted to
say. staunchest hearts in Europe. President Theirs
is the representative of the respectable middle class
men OF France. He has been the advocate of linn
tied monarchy and of the Orleans family through
out his political career, and only a few days ago
acknowledged his preference for a kingdom. 1t is
certain. too, that he plotted against Napoleon, to
bring in a king, after the revolution of fortyeight;
but, perhaps, after all, he has a secret inclination
to q republic, especially if his own hand is to guide
the helm. lie has preserved his bodily vitality and
youth of mind to a wonderful degree, yet his age
Is one element against him. His knowledge of
France in the past, and his understanding of her
present needs and capabilities are, perhaps, I'M
riyaled, and no better evidence of his political fore
cast could be required than his warning declara-
ton of impending ruin on the eve of the Prussian
wal. ALL uc has Ueeu u true patriot. Ills .
many public measures carried out while in the min
istry of Louis Philippe attest it; his resignation
when opportunity to do good was taken away proves
it. In and out of place, it is legible all through his
life. But his party is fatally weak in one respect.
lie Is supported b. moderate men-and in a strug-
gle one of the extremes must come out uppermost.
The third aspirant for the great task is the last of
the BOurbons, one who, ~ffty-two years ago, was
regarded aS n Child miraculOuslv horn 70 raa;nto;, .
the hOnors of that noble house. This is the champion
of legitimacy and the divine right of kings, the Count
de ChambOrd. He is more remarkable for his child
hood than for his manhood. He has borne himself
like an ordinary wealthy noble, spending his time
alternately on his estates and at the celebrated baths
Of EurOpe-fOnd of field sports and notable fer
The rejoicings and representations which
hailed his birth seven months after it was supposed
the line had been extinguished by the assassin
alton of his father, have never yet been justified in
his career. We have ever felt a sort of reverence
for him as the boy in whose behalf Chateaubriand
made his wonderful speech, on the abdication of
Charles y. after the revolution Of 1880. The orator
fOretold the overthrow of Louis Philippe and the
vanity of a republic in France, but spoke of the
Bourbons as going into exile " for the third and last
Chambord is the last of his race, and all the
royalist element are gathering to his support. If
the exertiOns of others can put him on the throne, he
yet WELD the sceptre of ST. Louis.
His last opponent is perhaps his most formidable
antagonist. 1t is a figure that comes with a red cap
set above its lowering brows and flashing eyes, and
bearing a torch in its hand. Its genealogy no man
IAN trace. Robespierre, Rousseau, Tom Paine,
and Lycurgus, we think, are among its
ancestry. 1t has gone by many names and appeared
in many lands, but France has been its chosen home.
In the middle ages it was the Jacquerie; in the great
Revolution it was Jacobinism; to-day it is Commu-
nism. 1t is something that acknowledges no defeat
md admits no compromise. As the Mohamedan
marched through slaughter with heir