Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-07-02
A Remarkable Career.
THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF
LOUIS NAPOLEON.

LOUIS NAPOLEON.
| The following remarkable sketch of
the career of Lieutenant De Rudio of
Clusters old Seventh Cavalry, now sta
toned at Bismarck, w. t., is told by a
Bismarck correspondent of the st. Paul
Pioneer Press. De Rudio is the man
who with Sergeant O'Neil had such a
marvellous two days. experience in the
midst of the hostile Sioux two years ago.
keeping them at bay from cover with a
repeating rifle for hours; then travel :
ing through their country for two days
without food or knowledge of their sit
uation. De Rudio was originally an Off
Ger in the Austrian army, but was ex-
PEELED and exiled sympathy with the
oppressed Italians. Louis Napoleon had
belonged to the italian association of
patriots. had proven traitor, and was
then, in 1858, in the way of sue
cessful political revolution. His death
would turn all Europe topsy-turvy, and
10th of January, 1858, De Rudio dropped
ment. He was fellow conspirator of
Felice Orsini. 1t was planned that the
Emperor should die at one of his grand
balls, at the hands of guests dagger.
De Eudio called that ignoble, assassina-
ton, criminal. He said :-"Kill him
when he is surrounded by his lancers in
the public streets, when he has every
guard thrown around his imperial per-
son ~ The plot was changed, and the
now historical scene OF January IA, 1858,
followed. De RudiQ's book gives a pic
ture of the drama in front of the Grand
Opera House that is remarkably distinct.
There were five hand-grenades, or
bombshells, to be thrown-three into.
the royal carriage and one some distance
in front and one in the rear, to keep
back the crowd until the conspirators
were sure of their work and escape
The EmperOr's carriage, with the EN-
peror and Empress Eugene in it, ap-
preached the grand stairway of the op-
era house through file of lancers on
either side. De Rudio says he was
standing Immediately behind the SOL
diers when the carriage came up, watch
ing the conspirator who was commits
stoned to throw the first grenade
When he saw his arm make curve
through the air. De Rudio dropped TO
the ground, quick as the explosion oc-
Cured he raised himself up and tossed
his grenade over the heads of the lancers.
and again dropped, waiting for Orsini
to throw the third one, but Orsini was
blinded by the smoke from De Rudio's
shell and wounded in the head; this
miss OF Orsini kept the conspirators
from throwing their grenades until it
was too late, one more was thrown out
OF its order. De Rudio's shell fell under
the front wheels, killing the horses, the
coachman, and tearing out the whole
Il
widest dismay. Itwas an attack in the
dark. The lancers fell back, the crowd
scattered, the horses plunged to the right
and left, and confusion confounded
reigned supreme. De Rudio's design was
to dash through the 1ancers and finish
his Majesty with dagger if the gre
nades failed. Orsini's blindness pre-
vented the execution of that part of the
plot. DE Rudio knew that his own life
was worth nothing if he broke for the
carriage before the thizd grenade was
thrown. He, therefore, waited until
the third explosion occurred. The de-
lay in delivering il, and the fact that it
was thrown by the fourth man instead
OF the third, demoralized the working of
the plot and gave the lancers time to
rally and surround the carriage. De
hudio saw that personal knowledge of
the Emperor's death was impossible
at that time. He withdrew from the
scene. There had been several killed.
and any amount of CONSERVATION crea
ted, and our cOnspirator was pretty well
satisfied that the object of his attack was
dead. He rapidly realized that all Paris
was startled, and before sunrise all
France would be. It was a night of
terror in the city. The extent of the
conspiracy was secret to all except the
conspirators. There was universal
dread of all the possibilities of a com
mune. During the night there were 54
killed and III wounded. The storm
passed, and the Emperor and Empress
remained unharmed. At 8 O'clock in
the morning De Rudio was arrested at
his lodgings. A roommate and fellow
cosplrator, Pieri, had been arrested, and.
upon his relations with De Rudio. the
latter was suspicioned and BROUGHT he
fore the Judge of Instructions for nre-
ilminary hearing. The plot covered
that contingency, and in few minutes
DE Rudio proved an alibi and was dis
charged. He was subsequently re-
arrested, sentenced to a guillotine. and
MS sentence was only committed on the
scaftold steps. He was then sentenced
70 the French penal settlements in
Guinea, Africa, frcn which he escaped
70 America, where he Joined the United
states regular arny.