The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-13
THE RED sPEoTER.
Did President carnot See It Before
His Assassination


Since the news of Carnots assassina-
ton flashed across the cable two weeks
ago, / have. often wondered if he was
warned of the coming terminate of his
career by the Little Red Man, "
.L'Homme Rouge, as the French call the
celebrated royal specter, which is said to
have first made its appearance in the time
of the first and only great Napoleon. Ac-
cording to the general belief, the Red
Specter'' of the French (which is a
familiar corresponding to the "Weisse
Dame" or White Lady, of the German
royalty, only makes his appearance at
the Tui1eries on the eve of some great
national disaster
Some accounts declare that the red APP
partition visited both Louis XVII. and
Marie Antoinette on several occasions,
making his last appearance to the latter
on the evening preceding the day upon
which she suaered death by the guillo-
tine, but have it on pretty good author
ity that he was unknown prior to the bat
tie of the Pyramids, July u, 179S, fact
which will be more clearly set forth be-
fore this note is finished.
The news of the Red Specter's periodi-
cal visits to the great Napoleon first be-
came the property of the general public
in 1914, no less a parsonage than Count
Mole being responsible forts publication.
Mole declared that he had been acting as
| a guard at the Tuileries, and that he had
received express demand from the
emperor to admit no one Hardly
had an hour passed when a queer
looking character, dressed in scarlet
from head to foot, made his appear
ance in the hallway, de was promptly
halted. but as promptly demanded to see
the emperor. Mole attempted to explain
| the situation, but the red man would not
hear to it. Tell your master" he per-
| sisted, THAT the red man is awaiting an
audience Mole obeyed the specter's
| command. Napoleon, the man of iron"
blanched and his arms dropped nerveless
to his sides when Mole made the au-
nouncement. Finally he regained his
| composure and gave orders for the unwel-
| come guest to be admitted Mole, at the
| risk of losing royal favor, listened at the
| chamber door, and afterward attested on
oath that he heard the following remark
| able conversation between the red man
| and the emperor:
| General, " said the specter, "this is
| the third time that I have appeared before
| you as a man The first time we met was
| in Egypt, on the eve of the battle of the
| Pyramids (sicD; the second after the bat
| tie of Wagram. AT the last named place
| gave youfour years in which to conquer
| all Europe or make peace with the allies.
| Now l come for the third and last time
| to warn you that you have but three short
months of power in three months from
this hour the allies will be in Paris. A
general conquest or a general peace must
| be had within ninety days, otherwise
| your power will be confined to a small,
bleak island of the sea-" Saying this the
specter left the room even while the en-
peror was trying to explain that either
| conquest or peace would be impossible
in such short space of time On March
81 (this meeting is said to have taken
! place on Jan. l, 1914 the aliens were IN
possession of Paris, and Napoleon was
soon after made sovereign" over the
miserable little island of Elba.
The red ghost is said to have once Wis
tied the little king of Rome (Napoleon's
SOM also Louis XVIII, in 1924, and to
have made his appearance in Paris in 1871,
| during the last days of the Commune
! He has never, to my knowledge, been
! spoken of in connection with the rulers of
| republican France. However, it was
| quite natural to one familiar with the
! above story aud others Of similar nature
! respecting this same red specter to won
! der if his warnings could not have been
extended so as TO give the late president
| some hint of the sudden termination of
his career