Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1879-04-24
MADAME BONAPARTE.
A Story of Real Life that Reads Like
Romance.

beth PdtterSOn'S marriage to the brother
of the great Napoleon, and the prOmi-
nent facts of ner subsequent career;
but there are many facts touching her
life as girl and woman that do not ap-
pear in the biographies. She first met
Capt Jerome Bonaparte at the Balti-
more races in the autumn of 1913. He
had left his ship, which was returning
from cruise II the West Indies, and
was on a brief visit to Capt. Barney, of
Baltimore 1t is said that Miss Patter-
son, the most beautiful and attractive
woman OF her time in Baltimore, ex-
pressed wish to 60 to the races,
with the hope of meeting the young
officer there. The old merchant, q
practical, plodding man Of business,
babe her put such nonsense out of her
head. He would not allow his daughter,
he said, to run after foreign upstairs"
But Miss Patterson appears to have had
q will of her own then, as she certainly
had in later years, and went out to the
race course In spite Of her fathers Op-
position. Mr.. Patterson was at that
time living at his country seat near
Baltimore-now embraced within the
limits of the city-and spent the day at
his business IN town, returning at night.
His daughter took advantage of this,
mounted one of the horses on the day
set for the races, and, accompanied by
her younger brother, gaIlOped out to the
meeting.
Jerome BOnaparte was already on
the grounds, surrounded by many dis
tinguished Americans and a bevy of
beautiful women from Washington,
New York, and Baltimore. When Miss
Patterson rode up his attention was at
once attracted to her, and us she dis
mounted, he asked one of the gentle
men near for an introduction. The
conquest begun by her beauty, was
soon completed by her wit. He seemed
in love with her from the first, and with
IN q very short time asked her hand In
marriage.
Mr.. Patterson belonged to that shrewd
Scotch Irish race, which has acted so
conspicuous a part in the commerce Of
this and other countries. He was not
daZzled by the prospect Of his daughter
marrying 4, first COnsufs brOther-especi-
ally as the young man was a minor, en-
tireiy dependent upon the brother who
had recently shown his displeasure to-
ward Lucien for marrying the widow of
Il merchant, when it was desired that he
should marry German princess. Mr..
Patterson knew that his daughter would
runagreatrisk in marrying & Frenchman
without the consent of his mother, and
without the consent of the government,
whose officer he was. So he opposed
the match vigorously from the first
But in spite of her fathers entreatles
and circumstances, Miss Patterson de-
termined to marry, saying she "woulu
rather be the wife of Jerome BOnaparte
for one hour than the wife of any other
man for life" Finding all his efforts to
prevent the marriage useless, Mr.. Pat
terson ut length gave reluctant con-
sent.
The marriage was celebrated on
Christmas eve, 1903, by the Right Rev.
John Carroll, Bishop OF Baltimore. who
was afterward the first Archbishop of
that see, and Primate Of the Catholic
Church In the United States. A gen.
tleman who was present on the occasion
said: "All the clothes worn by the bride
might have been put in my pocket
Her dress was of muslin, richly en-
broidered, of extremely fine texture
Beneath her dress she wore but q single
garment"
What followed is a matter of history
Young Mr.. Robert Patterson, brother
Of the bride, and then in Europe, visited
Mr.. Robert Livingstone, American
Minister to France, and through him
met the First Consul and other mem
bers of Jerome's family, but apparent
ly without at all reconciling them to the
marriage. Nine. Letitia Bonaparte,
Jerome's mother, entered a legal pro-
test against the marriage, and Napoleon
communicated to NJ. Pichon, Consul
General of France, at New York, an
order instructing him to withhold Je-
rome'S supplies, and prohibiting the
commanders of French vessels from re-
ceiving on board "the young person to
whom he has attached himself" Jerome
and his wife, after various attempts to
secure passage on other vessels, at last
sailed in one of Mr.. Pattersons own,
the Erin, for lisbon. Off the port they
were met by French man-Of-war,
whose commander forbade Nine. Bone
parte to land, but put no obstacle in
the way of Jerome's doing so. Jerome
decided to go ashore, with Ine hope
that personal interview with his
brother might result in reconciling him
to the marriage, and his young wife
proceeded to Amst erdam, where
another man-of-war covered the Erin
with Its guns, and the unhappy lady,
soon to become a mother, was landed
the next day at Dover, England being
at war with France.
She saw her husband only once again,
if ever-a story being current that he
met her for moment after in Florence.
Her child, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte,
was born at Camberwelle, England,
July z, 1905, and her husband, yielding
to his brothers. command, was
married to the Princess Catherine, of
Wurtemburg, in March, 1907, the
French Senate, Immediately alter the
Baltimore marriage, having passed de-
cree by which any registry was prohibit
ed IN France ''of the act of tbs celebra-
ton of a pretended marriage that Jer-
ONE Bonaparte had contracted in a
strange country during the age of mi
nority, without the consent of his
mother. and without previous publica-
ton In the land of his nativity. Napo-
leon declared the marriage null and
void and the offspring illegitimate Jer-
ONE was afterward made King of Wur-
temburg, and had three children by his
second Wlfe-one, the Well-known