The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1879-08-14
PRINCE NAPOLEGN..S TALISMAN.
History or the Reliquary that the Zulu>
Left Beside his IlOdy.

In the will of Napoleon ILL., occurs the
following remarkable passage: With
regard to my son, let him keep us tails
man the seal used 70 wear attached to
my watch, and which comes from my
mother; let him carefully preserve
everything that comes to m from the
Emperor. my uncle; and ct linn hc con-
vinccd that my heart ard my soul rr-
main with him. The telegram from
Cape Town which'announccd the finding
of the late cx-Princc Imperial contains
these words: "Thr princes body was
found stripped of all clothing, but had
not suffered any mutlation, and the re-
liquary which he Wore suspended by Il
chain from his neck, together with his
watch and rings, which WAS found lying
near the spot where he fell.n
The talisman" whicl the late En-
peror so solomnly cnjoincd to his son TO
wear, which he did wear, and which re-
turned to his mother from that wild
scene beside the Tombakala, is almost
certainly the once famous charm of the
Charlemagne. 1t has Il more interesting
story than any gem in Europe, if not in
the world. In the course of studies for
other purposes | have recently come
upon legendary traces of this curious OBJ
ject.
LA plus belle rclique de lEurope," Us
n French antiquarian described it in the
last generation, was by one myth said to
have been contrived by one of the Magi
belonging to the court of Ilarounal
Raschid, who came from the east to pay
homage to the great emperor of the west
along with certain ambassadors. The
wife Of Charlemagne, Fastrada, asked
the Magi for 4 talisman which would
always cause her husband to be faScin-
ated by its wearer, and this charm was
framed at her instance. But another
fable ascribed to it the following origin:
While Charlemagne had his seat ut
Zum Loeb, near Zurich, administering
exact Justice to all, he had a column
fixed at his gates with bell and II rope.
1t was open to any one demanding JUS
tice to sound this hell; and when the
emperor heard it, even though at his
meals, he would instantly answer the
summons. On one occasion this bell
was repeatedly rung without any per-
son being found near it. At length IN
enormous serpent was found twined
around the rope. The EN- peror hearing
this Immediately went forth; the SER
pent inclined respectfully before him,
and then moved slowly off. Charlie
magne fol )wed it to the river, where
he saw amo Strous toad sitting upon the
nest and eg.s of the serpent. Resolved
to administer justice to all creatures,
the cmpeo. olc 'ed the toad to be
burned.
A few days after this serpent crept
into the judgment hall, bowed low to
the emperor, crept upon the table, and
having dropped Il precious stone into n
golden goblet, glided quietly away. The
emperor, impressed by this marvel, built
on the spot where the serpcnt's nest
had been church called Wasser-
kelch." He gave the precious stone to
his beloved spouse, Fastraia. The stone
so drew toward her the emperor's love
that he could hardlysutler ner out Of his
sight. In the hour of her death the en-
press, dreading lest another should sue
ceed her in the affections Of the emperor,
placed the gem beneath her tongue, and
it was buried W th her. CLarlemagne
codld not separate himself from the
body, and for eighteen years carried it
about with him. At length his confes-
sor, by some black art, discovered the
stone and its virtues; after which Char
lemagne allowed the body to be in.
tered, and transferred his affection TO
the confessor, who became his prime
minister, archbishop of Mainz, and
chancellor of the empire. But then,
anger. this individual threw the stone
into 4 lake near Ingethum. Then the
affection Of Char,emagne was diverted
from his former favorite to the lake, and
he built beside it a palace. for whose
decoration his other imperial residences
were made bare. But when Charlemagne
came to die his throes were long and
violent; and the archbishop, knowing
the cause, had the lake dragged for the
gem he had thrown into it. The tails
man having been restored to the person
of the monarch, he died peacefully (8lD.
The tomb of Charlemagne, ut AiX-la-
Chapelle, was opened by Otto III. in
997, and it is said that the wonderful
gem was found suspended from his neck.
However that may be, the gem had
been for a long time the most valued re-
lie in Aix-la Chapelle when it was pre-
~
was ut 4 moment when he seemed to
many, pre-cminently to himself, an ava
tar of Charlemagne. Napoleon presented
it to his favorite IIortcnse, ci-derant
Queen of Holland. At her death, in
1887, it passed to her son, Napoleon III.
1t shared his Imprisonment Mt Ham and
accompanied him through all his vicissi-
tudes.
In the course OF its long history the
precious stone has undergone evolutions.
The nut like stone constituting its basis
is surrounded by antique tiligree of fine
gold, and is set with various gems.
There are several relics about it.
1t is open to speculation how far The
young cX-prince was Influenced by this
talisman. That which his father wore
ut his watch chain the son wore srs-
pended upon his breast, as Catholics
wear the most sacred reliquaries in
whose protective virtues they believe.
The strange mystical addresses to the
Di.y found among this youths papers
veal degree of superstition about
himself which amounts to psycholooi-
cal phenomenon. At the seat Of war. in
Africa. he diSplayeda q rccklcsSness which
has led some to believe that his desire to
do something to get himself talked
about" (words reported from him by his
intimate friend NJ. Amigues) amounted
to insanity. while others believe that he
sought death. But it is possible that n
natural rashness of disposition, and the
tradition that a Napoleon must begin
with q military halo, were turned to
fatal forces by secret faith in the potency
of this observation-disclosures d. C0n,UGy, in
HaTpcr'S Weekly.
American Physique.