Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-07-03
PLON-PLON!
Character )f the Man Who Now Stands
at the Had of the B0naparte Fam
iIy
wv York Evening Post.

oe eiC THU VI tuC DoudpdTle 4 dul-
lily.
Nv York Evening Post.
Prince Napoleon, the second son of
Jerome Bnaparte, by his second wife,
the Princes Frederick of Wurtem-
berg, is tn senior living representative
of his faulty. He is now 81 ears of
age. He las been noted for years as
an extreme democrat, although more
recently b was a qualified supporter of
the empir, and may now be described
rs a conservative republican. After
the revolution of 184S he was the lead
er OF the Mountain" a fact forever
held up against him by the De Mornys,
the Persiglys, and the Rouhers, who
wrought, AID vaxed fat on the subse-
quent coup d'etat." Prince Napo-
leon does not like to fight. 1t is true
that he commanded an infantry re-
serve at Anna and Inkermann. But
he threw I'D his command in great
haste, saying he was i'll; and for this
the nickname Of Plon-plon" was be-
slowed upon hin by his admiring coun
trymen. But he cid not attack the
Russians he attacked the Orleans fam
lily with great spirit in the French SEN
ate in 1861. a fierce debate ensued.
and the Duke dAumale sent Prince
Napoleon a challenge The invitation
was declined, and since then the prince
can scarcely be said to have been a fav-
Orite with the French army. There
may be two opinions about his courage
CT about the construction to be placed
on his conduct N the cases described !;
but there can be no doubt that he is the
kind of man TO whom Napoleon the
First would have written insulting let
tiers and whom he would have assigned
to numilating Offices. He is scarcely a
man, in other words, to stir up the mill
itary enthusiasm of the French people.
Prince Napoleon has been cordially
detested by tie party of the empire.
The late empror always thought him
half-hearted, although he was reconcil-
of alienation. A memorable instance
of this FOLLOWED the delivery by the
prince of speech on the unwilling of a
statue of Napoleon the First in Corsica
In 1865. Thee things are of course re-
membered. 5ut it may be possible, If
not to forget, D put them aside. Stran-
ger things haze happened even in the
history OF thi strange dynasty. Time
was when thefirst Napoleon was as wild
republicans the best or the worst of
them. Eachof his steps toward the
throne was inidious and plausible. 1t
always appeaed that he, like Richard
the Third, hid greatness thrust upon
him. 1t was, S Hazlitt says, the repeat
ed attempts made against the life of the
first consul Which gave a handle "for
following up he design which had been
for some timeagitated of raising him to
the imperial hrone and making the
dignity Hereditary in his family. Not
that indeed tbs would secure him from
personal DANCE, though it is true that
there's a divinity doth hedge king
but it lessened he temptation to the en-
terprise and alayed part of the pub
lie disquietEde by providing success
sor." The democratic stains on the es-
cutcheOn of ''Hon-plon" may then be
effaced. "The interests of France"
may obiiterateas often again as before
what 1t Is convenientto have forgotten.
Even the dislike of the army might be
softened or dissipated. A brilliant mil
itary stroke carefully Planned and unat-
tended 6y personal risk, has before
now at the right moment made hero
out of poorer stuff thsn even Prince
"Plon pom"
But een waving these expedients
an eligible Bonaparte might hope to be
president of the Frenchrepublic in 1880
no less than in 1913. Admitting the
difference of the situations, including
the sharpest Of the lessons of expert
ence, the more democratic a Bona.
parte candidate the better the chance
of mis- election Again, when glory is
not even mentioned by French chief
magistrate in his inaugural address,
military success Or popularity is plain
ly of less consequence than usual, and
herein fnrtherhOpes are suggested for
the future Prince Napoleon. If,
however, afte all said and done he is
to be put asid, the i'm perialists have a
manifest alternative. In his son, and
the grandsonof Victor Napoleon, now
seventeen yers of age, there remains
a Napoleon tie Fifth quite as available
as Henry the Fifth for the BourbonS,
and who, in iefault of his father, could
be worked iLo an effective substitute.