The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1879-07-31
PRINCE NAPOLEON.S TALISMAN..
History of the Iseliquary that the Zulus
Left Reside his Body.


Left Bea;de his Body.
In the will of Napoleon III. occurs the
following remarkable passage: With
regard to my son, let him keep as tails
man the seal | used to wear attached to
my watch, and which comes from my
neither; let him carefully preserve
everything that comes to M from the
Emperor, my uncle; and let him be con-
vinced that my heart and my soul re-
main with him" The telegram from
Cape Town which hIannounced the finding
of the late ex-Prince Imperial contains
these words: "The princes body was
found stripped of all clothing, but had
notsuflered any mutilation, and the re-
liquary which he wore suspended By II
chain from his neck, together with his
watch and rings, which was found lying
near the spot where he fell"
The "talsman" which the late En-
peror so solemnly enjoined 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. Ib-has 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 relique de Europe" us
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 Haroun-al-
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 II 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 q column
fixed Mt his gates with bell and IL rope.
1t was open to any one demanding jus
tice to sound this bell; 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 an
enormous serpent was found twined
around the rope. The emperor hearing
this Immediately went forth; the SER
pent inclined respectfully before him,
magne followed it to the river, where
nest and eggs of the serpent. Resolved
to administer justice to all creatures,
the emperor ordered 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 a precious stone into a
golden goblet, glided quietly away. The
emperor, impressed by this marvel, built
on the spot where the serpent's nest
had been Il church called Wasser-
kelch." He gave the precious stone to
his beloved spouse. Fastrada. The stone
SO drew toward her the emperor's love
that he could hardlysutfer her 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 with her. Charlemagn6
could not Aepardte himself from the
body, and for eighteen years carried il
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 tC
the confessor, who became his prime
minister, archbishop of Mainz, and
chancellor of the empire. But then
either in moment of repentance OIL
anger. this individual threw the ston'
into lake near Ingethum. Then tht
affection of Charlemagne was diverted
from his former favOrite to the lake, anC
he built beside it palace, for who's,
decoration his other imperial residences
were made bare. But when Charemagn,
came to die his throes were long anC
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. at AiX-la
Chapelle, was opened by Otto III. il
997, and it is said that the wonderful
gem was found suspended from his neck
However that may be, the gem haC
been for a long time the most valued re
lie in Aix-la. Chapelle when il was pre-
sented by that city to Napoleon |. I
was at a moment when he seemed t.
many. pre-eminently to. himself, an ava
tar of Charlemagne. Napoleon presented
it to his favorite Hortpnse, ci-deUan
Queen of Holland. At her death, ii
1887, it passed to her son, Napoleon III
1T shared his Imprisonment at Ham anC
accompanied him through all his vicissi
tudes.s
In the course of its long history the
precious stone has undergone evolutions
The nut like stone constituting its basi
is surrounded by antique filigree of fin,
gold, and is set with various gems
There are several relics about it.
1t is open to speculation how far til,
young eX-prince was influenced by thi
talisman. That which his father wor
at his watch chain the son wore sus
pended upon his breast, rs Catholic
wear the most sacred reliquaries il
whose protective virtues they believe
The strange mystical addresses to th
Deity found among this youths paper
reveal a degree of superstition abou
himself which amounts to a psycholoei
cal phenomenon. At the seat of war. il
Africa, he displayed a recklessness whicl
has led some to believe that his desire t,
do something to get himself talked
about (words reported from him by hi
intimate friend M. Amigues) amounted
to insanity, while others believe that h
sought death. But it is possible that
natural rashness of disposition, and th
tradition that Napoleon must begil
with military halo, were turned t,
fatal forces by secret faith in the potenc
of this talisman.-MoncatreD ID. Conway, a
Harper's Weekly.