Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1894-11-08
MADE THEM MARRY.
NAPOLEON WAS A MATRl-
MONIAL DESPOT.

EMPEROR NAPOLEON WAS A MATRI-
MONIAL DESPOT.
He Compelled Women to Marry to Suit His
1 Interests or Whims-Some of the Disa-
greeabie. Alliances Brought About by
This TyrnnnicaI Matchmaker.
Among the numerous works to which
| the revival of the Napoleonic legend has
given birth is one called Napoleon and
the Ladies'" The writer exerts himself
to the utmost to transform the rough
soldier and despot into a hero Of ro-
nance, but without success. His rela-
ttion with his two wives were not re-
markable for either consideration or
delicacy, and he adopted coarse pleas
Rntryin his conversation with the ladies
Of his court which was not far removed
from downright yulgarity.
But what tended to make the very
name Of Napoleon hateful to all young
Frenchwomen was his famous conscrip-
tion of girls, whom he married offhand
to his generals without the slightest
ceremony. The Marquise de Corgny, on
her return to Paris, was ordered to
marry her daughter to General Sebas-
tiana. Both mother and daughter pro-
tested in vain Three days after the
order the marriage took place at the
Tuileries, Napoleon himself giving away
the bride. Mile Adele de la Rochefou-
cauld was renowned throughout the
whole department for her grace, beauty
and expectations, when shewas private
ly informed by the project that Napoleon
had decided to marry her to Count Al
dobrandini. The lady objected to the
count for the best of feminine reasons
namely, that he was neither young nor
handsome.
| The count, however, was the brother
Of Prince Borghese, the husband of
Pauline, the sister of. Bonaparte, and
the resistance Of father and daughter
was Of no moment, and they were
obliged to yield to the will of Napoleon.
Count d'Arbsrg, the descendant Of a
sovereign family, prefeet of the Bouches
du Weser, and one Of Napoleon's cham
berlains, had two daughters of mar
riageable age. Napoleon ordered that
one eshould marry General Klein, and
the sother General Mouton, count de
Lobau. The mother of the two young
ladies was Countess Stolberg, sister of
Countess Albany, widow of the last of
the Stuarts. Fanny Dillon. the daughter
Of Count Dillon, was ordered to raarry
General Bertrand. The young lady re-
fused even to see the general, objecting
that he was hideous, which unfortu-
nately happened to be the truth. Ma
poleon was irritated at this conduct and
ordered the young lady to be arrested
and confined in prison until she consent
ed to marry Bertrand, the monster, as
she called him.
The Due de Laureguais,g father Of the
Due d Arenberg, colonel of regiment
of cavalry and an unfortunate bachelor,
was ordered by Napoleon, under penalty
Of dismissal from the army, to marry
forthwith Mile. Stephanie Tascher de
la Pagerie, cousin german of the EN-
press Josephine. The young lady as
well as the duke objected to the mar
riage and the former had the audacity
to declare that she not only hated the
duke, but was over head and ears in
love with certain M. de Gentry. The
marriage between the cousin Of jose
phine and the duke nevertheless took
place, and at the marriage ceremony,
when the young lady, in reply to the
priests question. refused to say yes
Napoleon himself deigned to push her
head downward in token of assent.
After the marriage ceremony this
strangely married couple went to reside
at the Hotel de Chimay. But the duch-
ess refused to receive her husband, who,
like unreasonable being, posted after his
regiment, then serving in Spain. In
1911 he was made prisoner and sent to
England, where he remained until the
fall Of Napoleon in 1914. On his return
to Paris the duchess obtained dissolu-
ton of the marriage on the ground Of
restraint, and she finished by marrying
the happy NJ de Gentry.
The Prince of Hohenzollern, cousin of
the king of Prussia, was ordered to
marry Antoinette Murat, cousin of
the Beau Sabreur" and king of Ma
pies, and although both the prince and
Antoinette declared that they mutually
hated one another the marriage never
theless took place. Napoleon being of the
opinion, like Mrs. Malaprop, that mar
ried life had better commence with
little hatred One morning the Due de
Croy was informed by his friend, the
prefect Of Mans, that Napoleon had re-
solved that his daughter should be mar
ried at once to general, and that an
order to that effect would be delivered
to the Duo de Croy on the following
day. But the duke was man Of re-
source, and there being in the house an
amiable cousin, one Fernand de Croy,
marriage between the two cousins was
celebrated at midnight by the parish
priest When the formal order of Ma
poleon arrived the next morning, the
duke replied that he was .desolated, :"
but that his daughter had already mar
ried her Cousin Fernand But it was not
safe to try to outwit the powerful en-
peror, and few days afterward Cousin
Fernand, the married man, was drafted
into q regiment of cavalry and sent to
Russia, from which country he even
tually returned, minus an arm.
As late as 1912 the Minister of Police
SaEery issued circular to all the pre-
fects of departments, ordering them to
send to Paris list of all the heiresses
In their respective departments. with.
full particulars as to age, personal
charms and amount of property, either
in possession or in expectation. These
lists were sent to the emperor, who di-
vided his time impartially between their
perusal and the monthly returns Of the
positions of his regiments and their pre-
su1ned equipments. In. fact, the EN-
peror, whether from policy or freak, or
from both, was an inveterate match
maker and never troubled himself about
the conscientious scruplesp Of either
the ladies or gentlemen concerned. =