Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1879-05-07
[From Our Regular Correspondent
Our European Letter.
LONDON, Eng, April II, /


The season here has fairly begun, an,
one by one the old familiar faces are ap
pearing in the park. The Row is film;
up fast. Nothing like the great institution
of the Row have we in America, or proba
bly, ever will have, for we have no leisure
class sufficiently large and wealthy to fur
nish the immaculate riders who gladder
the eyes of the British public. Their get
up-I refer to the riders and not to thu
public-is irreproaehable, and as for WON
en-, if woman cannot look we'll in an
English habit and on an English horse
there is no hope for her. But with all thi:
assistance, and though they are graded on
horseback, while our Yankee women, will
few exceptions, mount perhaps but doz
en- times year, the fair sex. in my opin.
ion, do not ride so gracefully in England
rs in America. And in the walk in The
Row, if you meet Il beautiful. delicate face
and perfect get.up, joined with slight,
lissonie figure. you may safely bet you
last shilling that their possessor is an
American. In the far famed English CON-
plexion l am much disappointed; if a
healthy, very healthy color constitute; Il
beautiful complexion, the London women
possess it. but to me it singularly resem.
bles the roast beef of old England. One
sees all ages on horseback. Lean old mer
and fat old women of seventy winters Dol
up and down alongside of the little girl Of
few summers, and, one ought almost say
OF the baby of a few months, for last season
dame was repeatedly seen on II prancine
steed with baby tucked under her arm
while this year, the b,be having been
weaned or having gone to a happier land
black nosed pug has taken its place.
Mdme. Patterson, whose death in Amer
lea at ripe old age is just recorded. was
the innocent cause of one of the sharpest
tournaments which took place between
the First Napoleon and Plus VII. The
pope had gone to Paris, and, in spite of
the reprobation of sincere Catholics and
the scruples Of his own conscience, had
crowned the newCharlemagne and covered
with the prestige of religion the murderer
of the Due d Enghicn and the despoiler
of the pontifical states. Plus VII. was
actuated partly by fear and partly by the
hope that Napoleon. whose power was
then unbounded, would protect the holy
see; and, in fact, he obtained from the
emperor that which his majesty never in
tended to fulfil. The pope promised to
avenge himself for the humiliations he
had undergone in Paris and subsequent
deceptions; and he had not to wait long.
Soon after his return to Rome he received
a request from Napoleon to annu the
marriage of his brother Jerome with Miss
Patterson. There was no difficulty about
the civil contract being annulled; the
council of state agreed to that; the relig-
ious tie still existed, and this could only
be undone by the ecclesiastical authority.
Napoleon did not hesitate 10 ask the pope
to dissolve the marriage in question; he
was perfectly certain that Plus VII, after
having swallowed several camels, would
not strain at a gnat. The court of Rome
had been too accommodating in other mat
tiers to permit of doubt.
Again, Napoleon had joined to his de.
mand the opinion of some of the most eel
ebrated casuits of the day and of the pope S
own theologian. showing, according to
ecclesiastical precedent, the nulity of the
union in question. Great, therefore, was the
wrath of Napoleon when he encountered
an invlncible resistance on the part of the
timid Plus, who wrote himself to the
emperor letter which, though couched
in .affectionate terms, and filled with as.
surances of friendship, declared that GER
tainly, according to a special decree of the
council of Trent there was Il canonical
clause for invaldating the marriage, which
had been concluded clandestinely, but
unfortunately, after the most minute
search he had been unable to discover
that the decree in question had ever been
published in the city of Baltimore. He
was greved to say he could not annul the
marriage; for in acting otherwise he would
render himself guilty of an abominabe
abuse before the tribunal of Almighty. -
Perhaps the occupation of Ancc ma by
French troops was the real motive of this
reply. Napoleon took no notice of the
pope's letter until after the battle of Aus
terlitz, when he threatened to send II
senator to govern Rome in his name, to
send a Protestant ambassador to the holy
see, and to reduce the pope to be bishop
of Rome. Plus VII. replied expressing
his sincere regret that he hal been unable
to find anything in divine law permitting
him to follow the natural inclination of
his heart. The emperor lost all patience,
and informed Plus that " If your holiness
is sovereign of Rome, | am its emperor.
. am accountable to God,
who has chosen my arm to rc-establish
1t was not in sleep
ing that l re organized religion in France,
so that it is now the country in which it is
most respected" The end Of this quarrel
was that the pope was carried off from
Rome by General Miollis and taken to
Fontainebleau. When Jerome returned
to Europe with his wife she WAS not al.
lowed to enter France; she came to Eng
land, and gave birth TO son. The prince,
after serving at sea as II rear-admiral, was
made first general of division, then king
of Westphala. He died in 1861 at the
palais royal; and on his death Jerome
Bonaparte, born at Camberwell and issue
of the marriage with Miss Patterson, en-
deavored to establish his legitimacy. but,
in spite of the eloquence of Berryer, who
pleaded his case. the French courts refused
to set aside the imperial decree of 1905.
ALPHA.
The House democratic caucus took
thorough for their motto, Friday. The
CORES OOn1pnt of tha Rnston JTornJJ e,,.,