Martinsburg weekly independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1873-1875, 1874-01-24
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE AND
MADAME DE STALL.


Nine. De stael never liked Bona
parte. He inspired her with In
stinetiye dread ia feeling which
was uniqae III her Being an ear
nest lover Of true liberty, she
carly OWNED Ills ambitious pro-
iee!s, aisE forcsaW the despotism
g. s Z.
'ssFYg7sFaf WlfeIi CIiar5cfpTiZes Bonn
par e government she says, sis
4 profound contempt for al the
intellectual ficbes Of liuman n8~
turc, virtue, dignity Of soul, reli-
gi0n. enthusiasm. lie would de-
sire 10 reduce man to mere force
and cunning, and TO designate
everything else as mere folly and
Stiffness. The English irrilate him
above ali because they have found
the means Of combining success
with honesty; combination
which Napoleon would have as to
consider to be impossible The
dislike was reciprocal "She pre-
tends q speak neither ofme nor Of
politics." said Napoleon; "yet /
d. rot know how Il happens, but
people love me less who have been
with her. She gives them fancitul
notiaus, and Of the opposite kind
t. mine At another time he
said. mime. De Stael has shafts
that would hit man We're he
seated OH a rainbow In the year
1900 lie established himself at the
'rullerips, where he held Il SOW
efgign court, which in gorgeous
ness would not have shaned the
ancient regime. In the same year,
French society, though still mixed
with base alloy had resumed much
OF lis old brilliance, and gathered
as usual around different nuclei.
Nine. Recamier was then in all the
delicate flower Of her youth and
exquisite grace /; Nine. De Wis
CONT in all the blossom of her ma
.jestic beauty; Nine. Josephine
Bonaparte gave splendid reunions,
and the Princess De Polk smalland
exclusive parties. In such salons
gathered whatever of beauty, wit,
and birth the guillotine had spa ed
But most notable and most brill
liant of all these gatherings were
those of Nine. De Stael, whose ge-
MUS and celebrity attracted the
finest inteilects ofali nations. Bril-
liant as are her works, her CONVEX.
sation is said to have been infin-
itely more so. HYou will find
that she writes well; hear her
talk, and you will find that she
writes badly" said contempor-
airy. She lived above all by con-
versation and in conversation it
was in that her genius was most
thoroughly aroused and was most
thoroughly original. ut was in
that" says Saint-Beuve, "that
she instructed, and, as it were, re,
newed herself increasingly, rather
than by prolonged meditation.
Conversation was her inspiration
and her muse" The night before
Benjamin Constant, her most in
innate friend, made his speech in
the Assembly against the growing
power of the First Consul, he
drew her aside. off / make this
speech,O he said, Tomorrow
night, your drawing-room will be
deserted 81 know it. But
YOU must do what is
right" she answered in
trepidly. Their representations
were correct. A party had been
arranged for that night /; by five
O'Clock she had received letters of
excuse from every person invited,
not one of whom came. What
could more eloquently describe
the slavish adulation of the Pa
risiaus to their Moloch? But
Fouche waited upon her and told
her plainly that Napoleon suspect
ed her of having composed that
speech. A short time afterward
she was commanded to quit Paris
and not to reside within forty
leagues Of it. In vain did Joseph
Bonaparte, whom she frequently
visited, and with whom she pass
ed the last few days her Partisan
residence, intercede for her. The
Consul waslimmovable. No great
er punishment could be imposed
upon her than Punishment from
her beloved Paris, and within the
prescribed limits she wandered
from village to village her
thoughts ever turned to the one
spot with the same melancholy
longing that Adam might have
felt when looking back on Para
disc. Temple Bar,
"POor Kossuth - exclaims the