Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-09-08
Napoleon IIId'S Mother.

Queen Hortense has left seven or eight
compact volumes Of memoirs, which, in
their entirety, are never to be published
They were designed for the reading of her
own family, and were intended to explain
the complicated, unhappy. and not blame
less life of the writer. They are full of
exaggcrations and iuliscretions. of high
flown sentiments and hasty verdicts on
men and women. Though there is evil
dence Of IA generous spirit, a warm heart
and of Il penetrating mind. The intimate
descriptions of Napoleon are. in many
passages, admirable, and would be valu-
able to history as showing the warmer side
of his character. When the queen touches
on her welded life, she represents her
husband as /; domestic tyrant, with whom
it was impossible to live .but then it is
easy to see by tine context that what she
called tyranny was the endeavOr of 4 scri
Ons and solitary man to curb the wild eX-
uberance of a worldly, society-loving, even
frivolous woman, who found most of her
pleasure away from the fireside, and who
had been spoiled bv the alteration of a
brilliant court 1t is to be remarked that,
although she resented King Louis's tyranny
and gloom, she never ceased to respect him.
She knew that She had not been a good wife
to him. and in her will she acknOw lodged
it. Her frailties were beyond question,
nor does she deny them in the final record
of her life. She explains. idealizes. and
moralzcs, seeking to bewitch. rather than
to satisfy. the judgment of the reader.
And, to some extent, she succeeds.
For there was in the daughter "labonne
Josephine y heroic virtue, scorn of danger.
intensity of maternal love, and charity
which, covering the calumny OF the migrate
and the trcacherv of the friend. WAS nc
tive to the last in kind offices among the
humblest Of her neighbor>. The good
overbears and almost hides the bad Yet it
cannot be denied that the effect exercised
bv Queen Hortense on the character of her
son Louis was enervating. She was a
lover and seeker of pleasure to the last.
All her friends were delightful and cultiva-
ted companions. She loved letters and
the arts. The learned man WAS ever well
come to her board. But she was no strict
mistress of morals There WAS much of
what we understand as the Bohemian in
her nature. Cottrau, the artist was allowed
about the chateau in a costume that would
have charmed the grisettes of the Quarter
Latin. She liked expeditions a In bonnie
franuuettc to use 4 Paris vulgarism. In
Rome her parties were of the llveliest, and
in these days strict morals made no part
of the estimate when the values or dcsira-
billity of :, lady's society WAS under con-
sderttion. Prince Louis could but become
kindly and charitable under the guidance
and with the example of his mother; but
he could hardly fail also to feel the influence
of the very thin moral atmosphere of her
little court. The basis of the Arenenberg
society was democratic. and. rs We have
observed. the Bernese ari>tocrat was not
more welcome than the rough radical of
Thurigau In this bracing political COM
pany the gay queens son contracted that
democratic tone which his mind kept I'M
impaired to the last hour of his life. But
the pleasures. the conversation, the south
ern brio. that threw a rosy tint about slips
in morals, were oncrvatin- surroundings
to the Young man whose single hand was
to hold sway and mastery over an empire.
In after-lifc Prince Louis showed decl
traces of both the good and the evil of his
mothers teaching and the society in which
she brought him up. The good blossomed
/ in thousand acts of kindness, and the
/ evil appeared in many weaknesses-all
those of Il tender heart-for which 4 bitter
penalty was paid in the end.