The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-02-18
NAPOLEON AS HE WAS
A New Book Which Treats of the
Great EmperOr's Private Life.
Not the Monster He Has Been Pictured,
but q Man of M~iddle-Class Tastes
Ashamed of His Vices.

has caused the production Of much litera-
ture bearing on the subject. The most no.
table OF such works is one entitled The
Private Life Of Napoleon" by Arthur Levy,
q translation of which has recently been
brought out IN this country. This work is
carefully reviewed by NJ. W. Hazeltine,
literary critic Of the New York Sun, and
from his notes, printed in last Sundays
issue of the Sun, the following excerpts are
made:
The authors aim, Mr.. Hazeltine says, is
TO eiface the conception OF Napoleon's char
acter which Tame esSayed TO propagate;
the conception OF a monster or sel~1shenesS
entirely destitute of human ~sympathieS, a
lawlesS and goddess condottiere transplant
ed from the Italy of the fourteenth century
to the France Of a hundred years ago. NJ.
Levy, While not pretending TO possess a
1.-THE Of Taine'S literary SKILL, undertakes
to demolish his conclusions by a candid
and exhaustive exhibition OF evidence. He
undertakes TO prove by. unimpeachaole tes-
timOly, drawn alike from the beginning
and the close Of his subjects career. that
Napoleon, far from being a sort OF Frank
was, in fact, almost unique among generals
and statesmen in respect of magnanimity;
long SUFFERING generosity, sympathy and
humanity. The multitude OF witnesses
brought forward to sustain this plea will
render it extremely difficult even for polit-
teal opponents to withhold a favorable
judgment.
Constant. his valet, left memoirs behind
him. and we learn from these that he used
to enter the Emperor's room every morn
ing about z o'clock. There disorder reigned
supreme, proving that, on the previous
evening, the solemn etiquette associated
lected. His clothes were scattered in all
directions, his coat on the floor. his grand
His first question always referred to the
hour and the weather; The only luxury
the Emperor permitted himself when he
rose was a fire In his dressing room, but
this he insisted upon, even in the height of
summer. After a bath in very hot water,
he was always rubbed with eau de CO.
logne. During this operation the freest
conversation would take place between Ma
poleon and his valet "His Majesty" says
all 1 had done the previous day. He would
ask me If 1 had dined out. and with whom;
II had been kindly received, and h We
had had for dinner. He often. too. wished
to know the price OF portions of my dress.
/ told him and he would eXclaim at the
lieutenant elGtesn atu e yag than " Wes nS Tas ch a seG-
that he had often dined at Roses, a res
taurant OF that time. and that he dined
Sismondi notes that zone OF the things that
most astonished Nine. Walewski was hear
with his valet. and making him repeat to
hiTd all the gossip of the town,
even the speeches s E and guarrels of
verSation would be interrupted by the ar
rival of the court physician. whom the En-
peror would greet thus: well. you 4uack.
have you killed many people yet to-day?'
To which the physician, not in the least
abashed, would reply in a similar tone. The
Emperor prOfesSed, 1t seems, in regard to
doctors. a skepticism that is seldom disas-
ISOLATED from perfect health. 1t is sug-
geSted that a man endowed with his mar
velous mental equilibrium, a man who spent
as many days travelling along high roads
and nights in tents as he did days in his
palace ana nights in his bed, can scarcely
be conceived Of as delicate. For this ret-Son
NJ. Levy leaves to the inventors OF LEGENDS
the stories of the eczema contracted at the
Siege of TOlIlnn and 6riuan nur1r1 To fha
internal organs; the epilesy which served
TO render plausible and to explain medically
3 panie sieV with Of rol hmasi evss fT osmins u accom- end
kicks in the stomach OF those he disagreed
with; and lastly, even the illness with which
he Is said to have been affected at Borodi-
no and again at Waterloo.
OF SIMPLE TASTES.
The pleasures Of the table, in the gour-
NETS sense of the phrase. did not exist for
the Emperor. The simplest food pleased him
best, such as poached eggs. French beans
in salad. a little Parmesan cheese and a lit
tie chambertin mixed with water; these
things made up his favorite meal. I'm a
campaign or on the march, he wrote to
Duroc, grand marshal of the palace, '1et
all the tables. including mine. be served
with soup. boiled beef, a roasted joint and
some vegetables; no dessert" Twelve min
utes was the time allowed at Paris for din
ner. which. was served at 8 o'clock. Ma
JIG 0oCd W Q0AL liz ldDlcs leaving IIc
Empress and the other guests TO continue
their repast. His breakfast which he ate
alone at half past 8, never lasted more than
eight minutes. 1t was served on a little
round mahogany table without a napkin.
During the few minutes that his breakfast
and most man. 1t was then that he chatted
Familiarity with those that waited upon him,
askinS them numerous questions about what
bought? How much did this cost?' After
receiving answers he would add: Things
N~nPA V,Tnh Ia nDnn wrAa u
lieutenant. i will not pay more than other
people," Selhshness. however, had no place
mony. He did not, in the least, care to
save money for his personal use. Nobody
ever rewarded more generously services
done to the country. He distributed pen
sions amounting to fabulous sums. To
quote but one case. Davoust, the victor of
Auerstadt. received sSe0.OOO a year. Ma
spend as little as possible and not to be
cheated. They appear. at every stage of his
people was frequently expressed after he
had become Emperor. with regard not only
to considerable transactions. but even 10
trivial matters. Thus, on one occasion, he
gave orders TO the Minister of Justice to
proceed In the proper court against a dyer
at Lyons who had used an inferior dye
for some hangings ordered for st. Cloud.
{ another time he wrote to Duroc: II de-
sire to increase In my palaces the number
wooden materials OF Beauvais and La Sa-
~vonnerie. because they last well. Velvet
1Wt SApCA suns AdSl only a mOme0ti the
Gobeltns and the Savonnerie last four
times as long" To such an extent was his
supervision carried that once, CHANGING to
meet one OF the Empress's women with a
laundress's book in her hand he took II.
looked at the total. thought 1t too high.
and complained to Duroc. At another time
he tried 10 diminish the quantity of grocer
les used by issuing signed orders for sup
plies. on looking over the household ac-
counts he would stop at a given article,
sugar, for instance, calculate the consump-
ton and the number OF persons in the
house, and decide whether il was reasona-
bic or excessive. At other times he would
with his chief steward. Whether Napoleon
assumed all these middle-class cares DELHI
eIately or simply followed his natural in
c~linatiOn, the author of this book contends
that he established the fundamental proof
contained in the saying OF Carlyle that the
word rex means regulator. and not spend
thrift. That Napoleon at the summit OF
his splendor should. in his personal habits.
have remained a plain and simple man, is,
perhaps. scarcely less remarkable than the
most brilliant OF his military exploits.
LOVE FOR HIS FAMILY.
Let US pass to Napoleon's relations to his
family. Here again the facts bear witness
not 10 selfishness. but TO self-sacrifce. un-
stinted hberality. long suffering and the for
Siyeness OF injuries. It is true that his
brothers and sisters were necessarily COM
planning. but their state OF mind was per-
fectly summed up in an outburst of Ma
poleon, recorded by Bourrienne: Upon my
word. % listen TO them you would suppose
Inheritance" Their recriminations were so
persistent and they nut his forhsa 70