Democratic messenger., 1894-12-15
Eminent PEOPLE.
THE BoNAPARTt FAMILY.
It Was Probably of Italian Origin and
Was patriciun.

lt Was Probably of Italian Origin and
Was Patrician.
In the new life of Napoleon by Pro-
fessor w. NJ. Sloan of Princeton i'll The
Century the professor. after describing
the efforts of the Corsicans under the
lead of one of the national heroes, Pas
cal Paoli, to resist Genoese encroach
ments and tyranny, says: Curiously
longing in his exile for second SAM
piero to have welded the physical pow
er while he himself should have be-
come the Lycurgus, Paoli's wish was
to be half way fulfilled i'll that n war
rior greater than Sampiero was about
to be born in Corsica, one who should,
| by the very union so long resisted, come,
as the master of France, to WELD n pow
er strong enough to shatter both tyran-
nies and dynastics, thus clearing the
ground for law giving closely related
to Paoli's own just and wise concep-
tions of legislation.
This scion was to come from the stock
which bore the name of Bonaparte. or,
as the heraldic etymology later spelled
| il, Buonaparte. There We're branches of
the same stock, or mt least of the same
name, i'll many other parts of Italy.
Whatever the origin of the Corsican
Buonapartes, it was neither royal from
the twin brother of Louis XIV, thought
to be- the Iron Mask. nor imperial from
the Julian gems, nor Greek. nor Saracen,
nor, in short, anything which some lat
er invented and lying genealogies de-
clared it to be. But it was really Ital-
ian and probably patrician, for i'll l7SO
Tuscan gentleman of a side line de-
vised scanty estate to his Corsican
kinsman. The earliest home of the fam
lily was probably at Sarzana, in Tus-
cany, where for generations men of that
name had exercised the profession of
advocates.
Moreover, they were persons of local
consequence in their latest seats partly
because of their Italian connections,
partly in their substantial possessions of
land and partly through the official po-
sitions which they held III the city of
Ajaccio. Their Sympathies as lowland-
ers and townspeoplc Were with the coun-
try of their origin and with Genoa
During the last years of the sixteenth
century that republic authorized Jer-
ome, then head of the family, To prefix
the distinguishing particle 'di' to his
name, but the Italian custom was averse
to its use, which was not revived until
later, and then only for short time
Nearly two centuries fled before the
grand duke of Tuscany issued formal
Z rt. l.
ity. 1t was Joseph. the grandsire of Ma
poleon, who received them. Soon after
ward he announced that the coat of
arms of the family was a counts coro-
net, or two chevrons and two mullets,
with the two letters B p, signifying
Buona Parte, the tincture gules, the
charges azure, etc.
Such heraldic cant shows that either
the sovereign or the receiver was a poo:
herald. This was in 1857. In 1859 the
same sovereign granted further the title
of patrician. Charles, the son of Joseph,
received similar grant from the arch
bishop of Pisa in 1869. These facts have
q substantial historical value, since by
reason of them the family was recogniZ-
ed as noble i'll I'LL by the French au
thorities, and rs u consequence the most
illustrious scion of the stem became
eight years later the ward of France,
which was still monarchic2l. Reading
between the lines of such narrative, it
appears as if the short lived family of
! Corsican lawyers had some difficulty in
preserving an influence proportionate to
their descent, and therefore sought to
draw all the strength they could from n
bygone grandeur, easily forgotten by
their neighbors i'll the moderate circum.
stances of the later day.
No task had lain nearer to Paoli )
heart than TO unite i'll one nation the
two factions into which he found his
people divided. Accordingly, when ut
his request Carlo de Buonaparte. tho
single slender stem on which the con-
sequential lowland family depended for
continuance. appeared at Corte, tho
stranger was received with flattering
kindness and probably, as one account
has it, was appointed TO q post of emol
ument and honor AS Paoli's private sec
retary. Tho new patrician, according
to q custom common among Corsicians
of his class, had already studied at both
Rome and Pisa, and III 1863 he was
made doctor Of laws by the latter uni
versity. There are many pleasant anec-
dotes told to illustrate the good fellow
ship of the young advocate among mis-
comrades while student OH the main
land. There are likewise mythical mar
ratives of his persuasive eloquence at
home and of his influence as patriot.
In short, an organized effort of syco
phantic admirers. who would, if posi-
BILE, illuminate the whole family in or
der TO heighten Napoleon's renown, has
invented fables and distorted facts SO
that the truth as to Charles character
is almost unrecognizable.
How Suffrage Is Restricted In Canada.
The Canadian restrictions OH suffrage
are peculiar. In order to be entitled TO
vote, not only must one be a male Brit
ish subject 81 years of age and have
lived in the Dominion ut least year,
but he must also have been the owner