National Republican., 1873-01-10
NAPnLEnN ILL.

About forty years ago an Italian university
offered prize for an essay upon the subject,
"Who had most occupied the attention Of the
world ?" during certain period. The prize
was awarded to him who maintained the
claims Of the First Napoleon, although the
decision was not unanimously approved. II
similar offer were made now, we have no
doubt that TO him who should accord the dis
tlnetlon TO the Third Napoleon the premium
would he given with hardly o dissenting
voice. The ex-Emperor, who now lies dead
in England, an exile from his country, wac
in many rospccts great and most remark
able man. Gifted With great talents, pos
sessed Of tue most unbounded ambition, stern,
releutless-a courtier when 1t suited his pur-
poses TO be a corrtier tyrant and despot
when tyranny and despotlsm subserved his
aims a scholar, u statesman and something
of q military captain; a strict ehurchman
when devotion to the Church seemed likely
TO prop his throne and perpetuate his
dynasty-his contemporaries and historians
will be divided In opinion as to his merits and
dement's. There are some who will sec In
him only the hero and the worthy successor
Of his great uncle. There are others who
will see In him only the mere actor and lmi-
tator, playing part far above his abilities.
Some will write him down and think OF him
as coward and poltroon, remembering
only a portion, and that the last, Of his tragi-
cally romantic life while another class viii
look at him as cunning political adven-
6ieace u n" riinfnspTqAA l,asG5VQpIQps @ % .-
France aud to leave throne TO his child,
even before he had q child. To that end he
planned and plotted when he was mere boy,
studying military science, striving after and
winning Distinction as q young soldier, writ.
Ing pamphlets, attracting attention In every
way that II was possible to attract /. At ar
early age he found himself In the world with
almost nothing but name, and to his credit
1t must be said he made the most Of II. II
exile, In the most abject poverty, wanderel
In this country, leading an apparently aim.
less, purposeless life, he still dreamed Of the
French throne firm believer in destiny thai
the world scoled at and derided. We have al
heard Of him at Hoboken and at Ham. Ho.
boken and Ham were only preparations
preparations for that Infamous I'd Of Decem.
Der, 1851. The coup detdt Is one Of the two
great blots on the career Of this dead Napo-
leon. The other was the Austro- Mexican
plot OF 1853 when In the time Of our national
weakness he attempted to slay liberty In lib
crty's lost stronghold. From his standpoint
1t was all right, but from our point Of view II
was oil wrong. The ex-Emperor, believing
iu the traditions Of his family. hated repub,
llcanism, and saw no merit In II. He believed
in the divine right of the Bonapartes, and
therein lay the great mistake Of his life.
Tho ex-emperor had II In his power at one
time to be to France what Washington is tc
the United States-to win In history greater
name aud u greater place than that Of his
meteoric uncle. II he had only seen his op-
portunlty, or chosen to avail himself Of IL, he
might have won more undying fame than
that OF the "Corsican adventurer." But the
Corsican adycnturer, and not Washington,
was his model; and 1t Is only human nature
that II should be so. From the standpoint OF
European and medieval civilization, Ma
poleon III. will be condemned because he
failed; from our higher and more advanced
one be will be condemned because he failed
10 appreciate the magnificent possibilities OF
the present and Of the future. The mistake
Of his life was that he endeavored To
follow in the footsteps Of his un-
Gle In his uucles way, to hold Europe
tributary TO him, to make the Bonapartes
France and France the Bonapartes. For
time he succeeded and enjoyed great
triumphs and great NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF
peace rather than Of war. One thing can be
said in his favor that he left France physi-
cally and materially better than he found
her. He built railroads, opened exhibitions
fostered commerce. ENCOURAGED art made
Paris the capital Of the world, but he stran-
glcd liberty. 1t was a hollow, treacherous
prosperity, and when the crash came the
utter rottenness Of the fabric which hs had
reared became painfully apparent 1t was
In him to give France an idea that would
have been worth 1t all. It seems absurd, and
II is absurd, to expect republlcanism from
Bonaparte, and yet this Bonaparts seemed at
one time as II he could have given 1t. The
monarchy on which he hoped to base an i'm
mortal line has, in the order Of events, be-
come his greatest disgrace.