The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-02-07
NAPOLBON'S MOTHER.
Sketch of the Woman Who
Made the Emperor
Kiss Her Hand.
HE NEVER DAZzLED HER
She Was Known as Madame Mere
Some Interesting Anecdotes.

When Napoleon the First was at
the height of his glory, it was by the
simple but still noble and suggestive,
title of Madame Mere that his mother
was known. She was in some respects
a singular woman, with original traits
of character, which proved that she
he'd a mind and will of her own.
Many things have been written of her,
but her career has never had SO full
Justice done 20 it as in a book just
published by Baron Larrey of the In
stitute of France. When the mother
of Napoleon was very old n bllnd
the Baron saw her ar the Rinucclnl
Palace at Rome, and b made on INN
such an ineffaceable impression that
he Determined to write her life. she
died in 1886, but Larrey has been at
work ever since, consulting all the
memoirs of her time, collecting anec-
dotes which related to her, searching
for her letters, of which by dinU oil
great labor he has got together one
hundred and fifty. intersogating the
members of the imperial family, until
he has produced two large volumes OF
more than 500 pages each.
MADE TO GOVERN.
Napoleon said of his mother that
she was made to govern a Kingdom.
1t is quite likely that she would have
been a very good and judicious queen,
on condition that her kingdom was
very small. for she had neither the
taste nor the genius for great politics.
Her true vocation was to govern a
home. to ana a household, to keep
order and peace in a family, to concil-
late opposing interests, to stop quar-
rels, to soften wounds to self love, to
make everybody listen to reason LII
Napoleon did not get from her his i'm
agination, to her he owed his spirit of
order, of discipline, and of government,
which enabled him to put to rights a
country disorganized by civil discord
and anarchy, and to give 1t institu-
tions which still exist.
In a moment of Impotence and i'll
humor, the Emperor said:-"Madame
Letizia is only a b~ourgeoise," and he
understood her well. He would have
liked her to change her manners. her
language, and her sentiments in ac-s
cordance with the change in her posi-
ton. She, however, remained what
she had always been; her fortunes had
changed, but she changed not a Iii
She preserved always her natural
of speaking, she never modl-
fled her accent in the least. 'Apropos
OF Mammal said tho First Consul to
his brothers." Joseph ought to coax
her not to call me Napolione any
more. Let her call me Bonaparte, not
Buonaparte, that would be worse than
Napolione, Let her say the First
Consul or the Consul. / should pre-
fer the latter. But Napolione. always
Napolione, that vexes me-
HIS GREATNESS NEVER DAzZLED HER.
All the same, Cesar was for heralways
Napolione. She admired him, but he
did not impose on her. He had be-
come the master of Europe, but in her
ewes he was always f1ch as he came
into the world, with d big head, cry
ing. restless, and sucking his thumb,
while waiting for the time when he
should suck the universe. Bourgeoise
she was born, and Bourgeoise she was
all her life. Neither glory nor great
prosperity was able to turn her head,
to dazzle her good sense She detest-
ed fiatterers and pomp and ostenta-
ton. She always refused to hold a
court.
During the six weeks which follow
ed the birth Of9the King OF Rome,
Madame Mere and the queens Sof
Spain and Holland were the only per-
sons admitted to the DOM of Marie
Louise, and for these visitors arm
chairs were provided around the bed
of the Empress. When the dayar-
rived for a~grand.. reception by her,
the Emperor. ordered the arln-chairs
10 be replaced by tabourets. When
they came to sit down, Madame Mere
was about to withdraw. When the
Empress wished to detain her she
said: Madame, if the Emperor had
wished me to be present, he would
have provided an armchair for me-"
On another day in the same year, at
a family gathering, Napoleon offered
Ter his hand to kiss. She pushed it
back, and it was he who kissed the
hand of his mother. She said to him:
You know, Sire, in public j treat
you with respect, because | am your
subject; but in private | am your
mother, and when you say:-1 will
answer:-I will mott
She was very parsimonious, almost