New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-04-05
PRINCE JEROME NAPOLEON
HIS POLITICAL. IDEAS-HIs LEARNlNG-
MANNER OF HIS DEATH
Paris, March 20.

|
The coup d'etat Of S5l almost coihclueu WIN
| the LAYING of the first submarine Hlesraph Wi'o"
! connected Calais and Dover Inc greaO DuAc
! of Wellington and party oil .huleS "ehC uo"n
| from Walmar Castle to see the exchange OF open
! ing messages Prince jerome Napoieoh mas uleo
a. Rene this week. Just as Paris and London were
abont 20 sneol, TO each other by telephone for
the first time The death of the Prince has aroused
ro+rosnoctive interest. He was q man of eXtraor-
dinory Gifts. but n failure because in some things
bo wanted moral sense. could not sacrifice his
| Aosblv lusts and had despOtic will which gener-
alv showed itself in an offensive, Overbearing man.
nor He inherited this will and his rude, tyrannlcaI
| temner from the Bonapartes on the one size
| and from the Guelphs Brandenburgs and WUrtem-
burps on the other. for he was in an equal degree
| descended on his mothers side from George III OIL
Great Britain. and from the eccentric King OF
Prussia. who used to cane his courtiers, ana even
| his wife and daughters. Queen Catherine vi
| Westphalia wife of jerome Bonaparte' was
| dougbter of the Princess Charlotte Augusta OF
Brunswick whose mother was the Princess augusta
of Wales sister Of George ILL., and whose sister was
| Queen Caroline, wife Of George w. queen
| GATHERINGS father, the King OF Wurtempur3'
| married, after the death of his first wlle' tne
| Princess Royal of Great Britain, Klhdly' uh-
| affected soul. who tried to counteract his sorud
| and harsh character. He was said TO be the
| latest man in Europe, he was certainly the
| strongest. A semicirce was cut into the part
| of the dinner table before which he habitnally
SAT. TO enable him to get conveniently near the
viands lie had a despotic temper, ana was
famous for his plain speech. The Brunswick
temper showed itself in Prince Napoleon His
greatgrandfather, the Duke of Brunswick. who
| was shot at Jena, was personally one of the
| bravest men that ever lived, and never in war
avoided a bullet he having preSentiment that he
| was TO be killed by musket-ball. He was when
| commanded leonine But when in command and
| the onus of starting out on course of his own
| fell upon him, he was hestating and when the
! time came for him TO act he did not do so.
| Prince Napoleon posed as an advanced
| Democrat from 1s4S to December. 1851. He be-
| onged to the extreme Democratic opposition, was
| the intimate friend of Victor Hugo and his sons,
visited the latter when they were in prison for
given offence offered to go himself and sit behind
| n table on the most public of the boulevards to
offer their prohibited paper for sale. and on the
| night of the fateful December 3 called on Victor
| Hugo to urge him to make a counter coup detat
and TO save Louis Napoleon and the name of
Bonaparte from being eventually eXecrated ana
nut TO shame. lie knew Republican police COIL
! missary and two generals. They would carry IL
| Victor Hugo told them TO do so, the war into the
Palace of the Elysee which was only thinking
how n attack. and not anticipating invasion OF
the paace had not made ready to defend IT, rriiice
Nanolcon talked also of issuing a manifesto and
oettinc himself arrested But all his purpose oozed
ont. and he became general of division, pnvy
oourc Ior accented a pension of 100000 francs
n wear of the Emperor. Had he had the con-
stancv to 90 into exile and stay there in poverty,
no mqbt have died in the Tuileries instead of in
hotel at Rome.
Prince Napoleon received a military training
in the school of Ludwigsburg, near Stuttgart.
When he was eighteen his cousin, Sophy OF
Wurtemburg was married to the Prince of Orange
later William III of the Netherlands. sermon
followed the nuptal ceremony. The preacher
dwelt upon the services of the House OF
Orange to Europe in her struggle against
Bonaparte and of the noble example Oh
military bravery which the royal bridegroom
father gave in fighting the hordes of France al
Waterloo prince Napoleon as nephew OF tie
King, was in q foremost pldCe' lic SO't'N" "P
Is it possible that the Minister of France sits
here quietly when such things are sald. Since he
does not get up and leave, go away. -,
As he afterIyard confessed himself in love with
the bride. he was perhaps glad of this opportunity
TO burst out She remained his irlehu 70 Une emu
n
which she did not write TO him. NJ Rcnan saw
part of her correspondence, and thinks that should
It be published it will form one of the most In
tnresting books ever published
The King of Wurtemburg forgaYe ms nephew
and made him an allowance of $4,000 francs
year But in 1s49 the Prince wrote to nm nm
uarte" This so scandaliZcd the Court OF Wurtcm-
burg that the pension was withdrawn. Inc Ming
wrote to his Democratic relative that cltlZen
ought to live by the sweat OF his brow, and should
be ashamed TO live the life of parasite. Possibly
had the 10000 francs been continued CltlZen
Bonaparte might have followed Victor Hugo into
exile But he had not cent that he could call
his own and in future depended on his father,
sister and cousin. The father was named Gov
rrnor of the Invades. custodian of the grave OF
Napoleon, marshal of France, and received after
the coup d'etat a pension of 100000 francs
before the coup d'etat the Gar insisted on the
Princess AIathilde allowing him $4,000 francs a
wear out OF the pension which the Gar ordered
Prince Demdof to pay her--an order coupled with
the condition that he never to go within 200
miles Of the place where she lived.
Prince Napoleon had some fine virtues. lie had
young on women he was never known to come by
money dishonesty. His opportunities to rob on
n gigantic scale under the Empire were endless.
Ii is certain that he did not profit by them. and
he was fercely the enemy of any public servant
whose hands the money of the State struck. lie
was a kind obligng friend, and constantly used
his influence 10 save from prison men who wrote
too freely for the papers. Another virtue was
the love Of material order. He was physically
brave and had the kind of courage which shows
itself in plain frank speech. His political ideal
was democratic repuhlcanism. His two sons were
taught by him that they had no right to any
public distinctions, but because Of their name
many duties. There never was more perse
veringy studious man. His knowledge was
cncycOpSsdic a masterpiece of literature
his repor = on the Universal Exhibition of 1855, of
which he was the president. and it was he who
planned the Exhibition of 1867. an oval CON
struction in which nationalites were classed at
the circumference, and exhibits according to the
radius. His speeches were powerful and closely
reasoned His mind was snguIarly original and
modern in its conceptions. Nobody hated war
more than this nephew Of the great Napoleon
who was at once his image and his worshipper
He was not irreligious, for he firmly believed
in God, in Gods Over-ruling Providence, and in
the absolute need OF truth and honesty both in
the relations of individuals and nations But he
had no patience with clericalism. anything
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