The New York herald., 1879-07-06
LITER A TURE.
Nine. Bonaparte's Life and
Letters.
ECONOMY AND AMBITION.
She Hates America and
Adores Europe.

The obituaries of the late Nine. Patterson Bona
parte were full. and incidents of her have
from time to time obtained much publicity, that
there very little left for the bogrspher to te II
there is any man, however, who could give us any
new facts regard to this remarkable ladys career
that man is Mr. Eugene L. Ddier of Baltimore, who
has had peculiar facilities for the work. The volume
OF ''Eifc and Letters of Nine. Bonaparte.,' which
Charles Scribner's Sons will publish during the
week, will find large circle of interested
readers, as much for the sake Of tho letters
as for the biography in its new and compact form.
Mr. Charles Bonnparte has read the proofs of this
volume. that all of its statements regarding his
family may be taken authoritative. Tho letters
form the chief object of attention. and held to-
gether by connecting thread of biography furnished
by Mr.. D.dier. Nine. Bonaparte q clever and ut
times brilliant letter writer selections from her
CORRESPONDENCE published in .Scrsb1ers Monthly tes
tify. These were merely the appetizer, the raw
oysters, in fact, Of the feast to 1t will be
long time before are permitted to read the diary
of this interesting woman, which, are told. is
quite as piquant and caustic as our Imagination
would lead us to expect That important manu-
script is in the hands of Mr.. Charles Bonaparte.
who has come to the conclusion that the times are
hardly ready for his grandmother 8 diary
Of an Irish farmer and came to America in 1866
where he rose to be one of the wealthies and most
honored merchants in the country. is well known
He was q strict methodical man. and the career of
his daughter "Betsy" o source of great annoy
ance to him. He opposed her marriage with jerome
as bitterly in the beginning Napoleon did in the
end and he not at all surprised by the of
events. There is question but that Jerome loved
his beautiful American wife, but he feared his
brother more.
Nine. Bonaparte accepted her fate inevitable.
She was too thorough woman of the world to be
deceived by Jerome's honeyed words. and she knew
his weak nature. That she became hard, cold,
cynical woman is hardly to be wondered at. She
found that wealth and rank the levers that
the world, and devoted her life to the acquisition
Of the after she had lost the other. She was
clever enough to get divorce from her husband by
special act of the Maryland Legislature for she had
poor opinion of his sense of honor that she
dotermined to foresta him in any attempt he might
make to enrich himself with her He- father
will be by the following letter. written to
her at London evidently thought her grief had
made her mad:--
DECEMBER, 13, 1875
DEAR BETsEY-Since wrote you on the 10th ult..
in answer to yours OF I'd of September
have received two letters OF 22d August and 23d
September, with all the notes aud tickets accom-
p.nying the last. They have been heard of
you, would have been ashamed to expose them
to any one else. From those letters we'll rs the
former, ! am persuaded you are pursuing wrong
course for happiness; but l hope and pray
you may soon perceive your mistake aud that
you will look q to your mother country as
the only place where you be really respected
what will the world think of u woman who had re-
Gently followed her mother and her last sister to the
grave had Quit her fathers house. where duty and
necessity called for her attentions the only female
of the family left, and thought proper to abandon
all to seek tor admiration in foreign Countries;
a n thnf ha
given to such conduct In to suppose that it must
1t cannot be supposed that rational being could
act part so very inconsistent and improper
During the winter of 1915 Nine. Bonaparte visited
Paris. where she enjoyed greater than was
reached by any American woman. Louis
XVIII. expressed wish to her ut Court but sho
declined to be presented. saying that she had re-
ceved pension from the Emperor she would not
appear at the Court of his ngrattude not
being OF her vices. The Duke of Wellington
among her admirers. Talleyrand praised her
w.t. Mme dc Stsel extolled her beauty and the lead
ing men of the time sought her acquaintance She
met Chateaubriand who had returned from his SEN
timental pilgrimage to the East; sismondi Hum
boldt Canova, tho Duchess de Duras and other cele
brated and women. who hastened to Paris after
the restoration.
The greater part Of Nine. Bonaparte's correspond
during the spring and early summer Of 1870
related to the invitation to Jerome her son. to visit
his fathers family in Rome. While she seriously
objected to interrupting his education she did not
wish to lose the opportunity of his becoming &C.
quanted with his relatives, from whom she hoped
he might gain pecuniary and social advantages
Nine. Donaparte limited her expenses while in Gem
sva to $4,000 year. She had lodgings in boarding
house and paid $50 per month. An extract from
etter from Jerome to his grandfather gives us an
ccurate description Of her style OF living ut this
liner
Mamma lives in town. in the cheapest way
possible. on account OF the troubles in Baltimore.
She has servant, but single woman, who
does the business OF waiter and femme de chanibre.
Az for tho cleaning Of the apartment which consists
of four rooms-a parlor bedroom for mamma, an.
other for myself and fourth for the maid-thst is
very trihing Her meals are furnished by q woman
tor certain price per month
Notwithstanding her plain and economical mode
Of life her personal attractions made her courted,
and she was invited everywhere In letter from
Jerome to his grandfather. dated Geneva. November
]. 1870. he writes:-
Mamma goes out nearly every night to party
ball. She says shc looks full ten years younger
than she is. and IL she had not 30 large she
could pass for i've and twenty years old. She has %
dancing master, and takes regularly three lessons q
week, and has done so for the laat six months; "
every day atonished at the progress she makes and
is fully determined to dance next winter. She con-
stanty regrets that she had not danced Paris She
is not fully satisfied with Geneva for the laws arc
very severe. Among others, It is positively for
hidden to dance after midnight to go of town
after eleven O'Clock at night without o particular
permission from tho chic magistrate.
Jerome did not appreciate European life highly
rs his mother In of his letters he ys:-'sinco
l have been IN Europe have dincd with princes and
princcsscs aud all the great people In Europe but
have not found dish as much TO my taste the
rosst.beef and bsefsteaks ate in South street lat
the house of his grandfather "a.
Jerome. Bo. az his mother more frequently
called him. America and she really felt very
lonely without him, for she writes;--
/ love him 80 entirely that perhaps seeing him
may render my feelings less disagrceabe. hate tho
sou,of America, and the climate destroys the little
health when has been left me. but any incon-
vcncnocs ere supportable than being separated
from ones children. How much more we love our
children than our husbandsl The latter some
times selfish and cruel and children cannot separ
ate their mothers from their affection.