The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-12-24
NAPOLEON NOT DEAD
His Body May Be Dust, but the
Spirit Is Enjoying Good Health.
Curious Revival i'm Paris of Popular
Admiration for the First Bonaparte
and His Great Epoch.
Paris Letter in New York Herald.


those who think they know her thoroughly
If there was one thing which every one
thought was dead and buried forever IL
was the popular love for the first Napoleon.
The second empire had destroyed the legend
of the first empire, the nephew deprived the
uncle of his last admirers, and the defeats
of 1870 had, and very justly, effaced the
souvenirs of the victories of the commence
ment of the century.
Napoleon III is dead; the Prince Imperial
was killed in Africa; Prince Napoleon will
fully destroyed the gifts with which nature
had so richly endowed him and died in exile
after having lost consideration even among
his few partisans; Prince Louis Bonaparte,
a colonel in the Russian army, refused to
have anything to do with politics; Prince
Victor lives in Brussels and has committed
certain acts which have estranged from him
his fathers friends, and possesses neither
the seriousness of purpose nor the personal
charms that are requisite TO make a pre-
tender. 1t seemed that the Napoleonic
legend had come to an end, and that what
had been called the Napoleonc condition of
mind. which consists in asking for nothing
but glory from chief had disappeared.
Well all this is not all the state of the
case. The Napoleonic legend Is awakening
into life. L do not know whether the same
phenomenon is TO be noticed in the
provinces, but in Paris it exists and the
provinces always in the end follow Paris,
it is only a question of time and oppor-
tunity.
do not mean to assert that the popula-
ton of Paris has ceased TO be republican,
but l do say that this need to pronounce
in favor of a man, for idea-the same
need which made Parisians throw them
lis now bringing them back to Napoleon.
The political men OF the day do not in the
least interest the Parisians. and for this
they have plenty of excellent reasons.
If this enthusiasm spreads, or rather If
II lasts, 1t will not be taking a very great
step to proceed from enthusiasm for the
man to the acceptance of the idea which
he represents. IL this return TO a love
for Napoleon should be followed by a re-
vival of Napoleonic ideas there will be no
reason TO be more than slightly surprised.
At heart this country is more Caesarian
than people think.
HOW THE CHANGE CAME ABOUT.
This transformation, or rather this inno-
walton in IDEAS did not take place all at
once. The Napoleonic tendency first mani
tested itself some ten years ago, in the
matter of furniture People began to col
lect furniture dating from the epoch of the
first empire, just as they previously had
been collecting furniture of the Louis XVI
and Renaissance periods. AS most of the
articles Of furniture Of the Napoleonic
epoch are ornamented with warlil1e attr;-
butes, the result that those who pos
sesSed them, that Is TO say, the wealthiest
classes of the population-had before their
eyes constant evocation of the glories of
the NapoleOnic epoch.
Then came the revival of the Napoleonic
fashion in female dress. During two win
ters our wives, our sisters and our daugh-
ters attred themselves in dresses with
waists that came under their armpits and
with sleeves that stood up like crowns
Iii. L. Nit. f,-I
caused them to interest themselves in those
who formerly wore the same style of toilets
and under the pretext of making them I'M
derstand what they were wearing their
heads were crammed with the history of
the Emperor and of the empire, and thus
the Partisan women became NapoleoniZed
At this juncture was published the Me
moirs' of General Marriott This came like
a thunderbOlt. 1t was in three big volumes
ard 10000 copies were sold Everybody read
the work and everybody talked about it,
AS it happened that just then our internal
were most unworthy Of great country.
there was around among all the readers
of Marbots Memoirs" a disgust for the
present and retrospective hopes
Other memoirs of those who had played a
part in he Napoleonic epoch made their
appearance, but If they did not meet with
the same success they were eagerly read by
the bourgeois class
Thus, in about four years, the wealthy
classes, the women and the middle class
were more or less won over to the Napol-
comic idea.
This year the masters are taking part in
this movement by means of that aStound-
Ing means or propaganda known as the
stage. and which is all powerful in a coun-
try where such popular movement
Boulanglsm was started by means of cafe
concert songs. Sardou's Madame Sans
Gene only owes its prodigious success to
the o9tllne OF Napoleon which appears in
1t and which con pletely overshadows the
trivial plot of the piece. In order to under
stand this 1T is necessary to see and feel
the thrill which runs through the audience
performance
the stage of the actor who personates Ma
| poleon.
pendent on the populace for its patronage.
at the Porte st. Martin. a piece is now be-
ing played which is merely gigantic album
of animated pictures In the cafe concerts
| Napoleon is sung about and he is even
made fun of because we here in France
have lost our respect for everything but
| the masses, the humble workingman is on
| the whole pleased to see the prsonifcation
| in flesh and blood Of the man who bestowed
| on the France of his grandfather a glory
| such as this country and no other country
| has ever known.
| NAPOLEON A POPULAR HERO.
Now that the masses have fallen into line
there is no denying the fact that Napoleon
| is popular. For anyone who knows Paris
the signs are indisputable. Street fakirs are
| crying on all the great boulevards: DE
mandez la chanson de Napoleon. Dix CEN
| times. Deux sous" On all the exterior
Il
| of the Great Emperor" and on all the
| bOardiEgS there are posters, between bills
| of the serpentine dance and those of a
| chocolate manufacturer, which advertise a
| new edition OF the Memorial of ST. Hell
| ena-"
| Such are the facts. 1 state them without
| trying to give an explanation. In order to
| draw from them a practical conclusion it
| would, in the first place, be necessary to
| find out whether the same movement eX-
| lists in the provinces. and in order to find
! this out 1T is necessary TO wait a few
| outside OF Paris moves slowly. In the sec
| ond place ii is necessary to find some way
| of making them agree with the result of
| the elections that took place in France
| some three months ago which were all alb
| soIutely republican and liberal, with move
| ment of public opinion which tends toward
the most despotic regime France has ever
| had.
| 1t will also be necessary to understand
| how Il comes that the population of Paris
| who are essentially pacific, ave commenced
| tive of military glory. There are people. ana
| they are by no means people of the least
| Importance. who say that this condition OF
the popular mind Is the homage paid 10
! an epoch TO q glory which France has
| given up all idea of yain possessing.
| This is possible, but it is also certain that
the condition of public sentiment which l
| have pointed out exists
II is probable that it will not be n Ma
poleon who will profit by this condition OF
public sentiment, but this nation, this
| French peOple. which has more than once
astonished the world by it's sudden changes
of opinion. by its sudden resolves. by its
headlong action. may still have some sur
do not mean that this will happen to-
morrow. 1t will be useless for years to
come, TO seek in the newspapers the an
nouncement that revolution has broken
the popular mind works recognizes the
fact that that mind is now stirred up. that