Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1879-08-04
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.
Prince Napoleon's Ta,isman,

Prince NapOieOn'S Taiisman.
10 tee will Of Napoleon III. oc.us the I'll
lowing remarkable passage: with reearl to
my SOD, let hu keep as tslisman tic see
used to wesr attached to my watch. snd which
comes from my mottcl; lot him carefully pre-.
serve everything that ooucs to me from tho
emperor, my uuc!e; aud let him BE- c,nvioced
that my heart and my scul renal, With hiu." :"
The telegram from Cape Town which sououuu.
ed the 6oding OF the lats ex P,iocs Imperial
contains these words: The Prince body was
found stripped of all c!othiug, bu: bad not sut
fered any mutil,lion. aad the relquary which
he wore suspended by a chain from bis neck.
together with bis watch aod rings. WAS ftund
lying near the spot whtrs he fell. 4"
The "tasman" which the iato emperor 80
solemuly erj Iced his sen to wear. which he
did wear, aud which reurDs to lis mother
from that wild some beside tho Tombakala, is
almost certainly tic once fsmous charm of
Chariem ange. IL has a more lntert sling story
ltao auy gem in Europe, it DOT in the world.
lu the course of slulies for other purposes |
have recently come upon legendary traces Of
this curious object.
LA plus bale relqus de rEurupe," aI
French antiquarian desorb.d ID il 10 the last gen.
GRAFTON, Was by one myth said to hav, b:en
contriVed by oue of the Mag belonging to the
court Of Haroun al Raschid. W 30 came from the
f. ,st to pay homage to the great emperor Of
the Wess aloug with oArta!n ambassadors. Tho
wife Of Cnsrlemsgoe, Fastrada asked the Magi
for tslisman which would always oluIo her
husband to be fasc dated by It's wearlr, aud
this charm WAS framed at her Instance. Blu:
r.bJ ,b,J - ~ III
While Charlemagne had his seat at Zun
Looh, near z l1oh. administering ex,ut Justice
TO all, he had couuu fxsd at his gates with
bell and ropo. Ii was open to auy ous DE-
msnding ustioe to s9und this bell, aud wheo
the emp,rJr heard it, even though at bis meals
be would Instantly aoswer tho summons o.
ono OCCASION this bell Was repeatedly rung with
out auy person being tound near it. At length
an enormous serpent Was fund twned arouod
the rope. Tho emperor, hearing this. imme-
dlstey went forth tho serpent iuclioed r,'
soecttuily before him, and thea moved soS Sly
off; Charlemagne followed it 10 the river, where
he saw mouslrous toad sitliug upoo tho most
aud eggs Of the serpent. Resolved to adniois,er
juStice TO all creatures, the emperor ordered the
toad to bo Durocd
A f.W days after this serpent cropt into the
] Judgment ball, bowed low tu the emperor, ,ctept
upon the table, and hsving dropped precious
stone toto golden goblet, glded quietly away.
The emperor, impressed by this marvel, built
on the spot where the strpenr's pest had been
church called "Wass,rkelch. lie gave he
prsclous stone to his beloved spouse, Fasrada.
The stone 50 drew toward her the emperot's
love that b. could hardly suffer her out Of his
sight. /, ths hour Of her death the empress.
dreadiug lest another should sucoaed her 10 tho
elections CT the emperor, plac,d the gem be-
meath her tooguo and it Was buIl,d with her.
Charlemagne could not separate himself from
the body, aud for eighteeo yesr3 cirrlsd ii abCut
With him.
At length his coufcssor, by somo black art,
discovered the stOos aud its virtues; after which
Charlemaeus allowed the body to bs ioterred,
and transferred his ST, ,cion to tho oonfessor,
who became bis prime minister. Archbishop OF
Msi1z, and chauc,lor Of the empire. But
thaD, even 10 moment OF suspense or anger,
this individual threw the Stone toto lake near
Iogethum. Thoo tho affection OF CSart-
magoe was diverted from his former favoriic to
the luke, aud he built beside it q palace, for
whose decoration his other imperial residences
We're made bare. Bus when Chsriemsgpe oame
to die, his lhtoes were long and violent; aod
the archbishop, koowiug tho cause, hsd the
lako dragged for the gem be had thrOwo iotolt.
The talisman having been restored to ihs per
500 of the mouaroh, he died peacefully (ol4l
Tho tomb OF Charm.gne. at A'x-Ia-Cha-
pelle, Was opened By Otv Ill. iu 997, add it is
said that tho woadertul gem was touod su:'
pended from bis neck. However that may be,
the gem had been fer long ume tho mcsL
valued relic in A;x-la-Chsptle, when 1t was
presented by that city to Napoleon l. l.; ws5
at moment when he seemed to many, pre-
emineutIy to himself, an avalar Of Charlemange.
NapoIeoo presented it his fAv9tiso llortenss.
ci'deyaut Queen of Holland. Al her death 10
1887. it passed to her son, Napoleon Ill. j.
shared hia imolisoument at HIM, aod scIoni'
pauied him trough AL his Vlclistud 10.
In the curse ofits long history the precious
stooe has undergone evclu.lons. III" out Ike
stone constituting i's basis Is sur!culdcd by
antique fi'!igree ut fins gold, AID IS set with
various gems There arc several rehci about
it. 10 ,hs centre /, porliou OF the IDLY
Crocr. Possibly it gained ils .sarc:ity efter les
inp irs virtues - a iovo charm. Some OF lhs
variants Of its leg,nd look as it its virtues had
zone into the thermal waters Of A'x-la Chspelle.
whioh would account for the association OF tho
ssrDent With it-cf old the guardian of wells.
A. auy rate, Hortense had 40 experience OF its
attr,c,iys powers widely different from that OF
| E.strads. The Magiau amulet could DOT CO.
| oner,,e with the true cross, and lllrteu5s was
divorced from her husband 10 1910.
l. appears to have bad equally little CT the
mower oriaioally ascribed to it 10 thu clae OF
ibe late Z uperor. For while it Was worn "
him, and be Was wririog 80 solomnIV abou: 1t
in his will dated April "a. 1865 ho
wrote sadly 10 another clause OF TIE
,hs has ssme instrument that "contsm poraries sell
dom render [one] justice" and 1T is necessary
"a consider that from heaven on hiGn lnose
Wbom YOU have loved regard and pro.sc. you;
Il "a the soul Of my industrious uncso ihA nsS
aiwsvs inspired and sustained me-"
| Whether the late Emperor Woulo naso eA'
nrs,sed himself so strongly about me t.l'smsh
r. h;s will had been written after Sedsn' Is qae'.
Honng ex. prince was iralenced 6y this tsiis ah.
That which his father wore at bis wstcn cna.a
4 ,be son wore Suspended upon n!s breast, IS OAtn
oIics wear the most sacred rehquarles IN %noso
nro,ec.iye virtues they believe. The strange
mpvsticsl addresses to. the Deity found among
this veu.h's pspsrs reveal degree otaupers!i.;ion
shout himself which amounts TO psSchosog'ca
b nomenon. .e-;. ho a;s,Isrel 9
,eeke,snesg which mas led some to oelievo ta .na
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