The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-10-17
noNAPARTE.s YOUTH.
Peculiarly Received Notion of tho
first Cousui's Early Career Erronc-

Very much as certain cherished stories of
our childhood are being stamped Us myths Is the
chronicIer ~ to-day dealing with the character OF
Napoleon nonaparc, IMAM ana nS arp", ' omn
the cherry tree, provo to I've nothing more than cum
nlngIy.devscd tales to mislead conhdng youth. II
l. rs lad with the commonly rcccivcd notion OF the
ritst consul. Instead OF having head twenty-four
inches In circumference u required only q No ols
hat TO accommodate him vet he covered his twenty
one inches Of scui with mopstrous chapeau to lie.
ceIve people. That he was without moral control
Nine de RGnuen, has shown In her spicy memoirs,
aud tho Mcttcrnich memoirs and the Bogaslawski
papers have also contributed to tho literature OF DIS
more promiscd) from the pen Of NJ; Jung, In which
more Of the disguise Is rcmorc'cssly stripped away
ftcm the Napoiecnic legend; The Honara,e 'amy
There was so much deception on the part OF tho pa
rents that n Is even now uncertain when Nnpocon
s"utc E,uperor born ut Aiaccic on the 10Th OF
August, 1899, or ut Core on ,no ~" %, Janma'y,
i7Gs and was his name really Nabulllon Naroone or
Nopolcnc de Buonapar,og'' such are the questions
NJ Jung discusses at great icph'th Nugus' 10, l,"y
Is the date uniycrsay ace. ",, o nv" ccr,,nc",s
Of baptism preserved ut raris. 50 Napo'cone iona-
parc'' is tho name there glveW IN ce Sc, esn
Int thcro Is also In the archives " the War De-
parmcnt Latin ccrilncate o. nc ,rr.I ,a a.
pare and Ills Vito Ir,ia, born On the pr vlous day
and named Z" Nabulione, ~ while In tho f"co,YH oi
Aac,io there Is an Italian COPY {" nSe,,S
Against the gonu'neucss OF THIS last ccr',nce,o w
facts that It only pictcnds to he ncopy OF m %
original, that IL Is in handwriting diiefen, TIT" ~
that o the register, and that the name ''J'Seph
Frcuch, though ut the time the French angGage na u,
not made It's way Into Corsica. In tho 'mcm' 'r,cs y,
Joseph B,napaitcr he sets himself down ~ t,te
eldest horn at Corie In i7ds, hut In Ills mar "es
contract A%gns, ana :, I n nsH any %', sc
iorhood declare twice that he was born and baptized
At AIaccio. Napceon's own marriage certh.a,a says
he born February y 1858, " but there Is clearly
q clerical error rs to the month. Josephine repre-
scntcd herself as younger than She was at the san
Further, Napoleon in his letter TO rnoli, june ~
@ say, SC,n s as the r sS was
the cd'ous spectacle which tirst met my gaze. The
cries Of the diving tho slEhs OF TIE "PptsS,,S, 'ne
August H. i7sp he could mol have heard These signs
and cries. for the island had then been pacncd hut he
was born at Corie In January i'6s, his cradle was
enyironed by the last sttcs between the Corscans and
the French. solution is sought In the fact that a
child OF more than ten years OF aye not eligible
| for admission Mt Briennc. In December, 1878, when
Charles Bonaparte wished to place one OF his sons
there only the boy born in I1ea eligible. and that
Loy-,Jvsepl-was too quiet and gentle to make n
promising sailor, white the sencr-Napoleon-- was
quick. ardent, aud decided Accordingly The father
at Brlenne with Joseph's record. and JOSEPH,
at Autuni with NapoIecn's. When Louis, on
the 9Th Brnmaire, year Ill, was made lieuen-
ant OF artillery he credited himself with services
| he had never performed aud ''several wounds M
il, when he was made comlnissary, borrowed from
Napoleon the title of lieutenant colonel OF infantry
| qualify himself under n tufnW law, tnOugn he1'a'
never served. Ten years later Joseph Bonnparte drew
IN his own record when he was to he brcveted colonel
and set himself down artillery cadet In i16s stat
officer IN i792, adiutant In 1893, rs participant In tn
| campaigns OF 1913 and i7ai, and as having beef
slightly wounded ut Toulon, whereas he had neve
been cadet staff officer. or adiutint, had staye'
at Marsees throughout i793-'0i, and had not beeI
| wounded at Toulon.
| Bonaparte made very poor subordinate. Alinos
his first act to ash, for i've and half months leav
on prctence Illness, though In reality to settle hi
family affairs In Corsica and pursue his ltcrar
studies and, when 1t expired did not return to hi
regiment even ask fdr its extension till some v
| weeks had elapsed In September. lisa, he obtaine
six months leave and his conduct was such that 1t
surprising that lie not shot FOR muttny. Anothe
y leave Of four and half months was obtained on
false representation OF Illness, aud after expired
remained nearly -four months away from his regiment
II In effect desererbut succeeded In excusing himse
, on pretence that head winds had prevented his pas
i sage. When IN june, 1891, he left his regiment
. being promoted to lieutenancy in the Fourth Arti
lery, lie had been absent leave thirty-ve montl
, out sixty mine, and of the period of nnety-ni'
: months OF service which Napoleon Bonaparte passt
10 between his debut ensign and his reception ms
" general officer, Just fOrtyOne were passed With
10 corps on active duty. NJ. lungs researches III
1t made In prolific field, and he has brought maj
n facts to light which 1t the policy of Napoleon
keen from view. The Emperor himself declared TIL
- his public life began ut the siege OF Toulon, and mo
chronclers have touched very tenderly on thepeNlo
r. events OF his career.-Pht". Record.