Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-01-31

Mold, ana frOm def the Son Got His
Tremendous Physical Endurance-She
Was Mother Of . Large Family.
OF the father and mother of the en-
peror Professor W. NJ. Sloane writes
as follows in Century:
Certain undisruted facts throw .
strong light on Napoleon's father. His
people were proud and poor; he endured
the hardships of poverty with equanim-
ity. Strengthening what little influence
he could muster, he at first appears am
bilious and has himself described in his
diploma as patrician of Florence, San
Miniato and Ajaccio. On the other hand,
with no apparent regard for his person
al advancement by marriage, he follow
ed his own inclination, and in 1854. at
the age of is, rashly perhaps, but gal
lantly, welded a lowly and beautiful
child of Is, Letitia Ramolino.
Her descent was the reverse of her
husbands, although her fortune was
quite equal if not superior to his. She
was of peasant nature to the last day Of
her long life-hardy, unsentimental,
| frugal and sometimes unscrupulous.
Yet the hospitality of her little home in
Ajaccio was lavish, after the manner
of her kind. ard consequently. famous.
Among the many guests who availed
themselves of it was Marbeuf, COM
mander in Corsica of the first army of
occupation. There was long afterward
n malicious tradition that the French
general was NGpoleon's father. The
morals Of Letitia di Buonaparte, like
those of her conspicuous children, have
been bitterly assailed, but her own good
name, at least, has always been vindi-
Gated. The evident motive of the story
sufficiently rcfutes such an aspersion as
| it contains. Of the brides extraoriina-
~ beauty there never has been a doubt
| She was woman of heroic mold, like
Juno in her majesty, unmoved in pros
peritv, undaunted i'll adversely. 1t was
| probably to his mother, whom he strong
II resembled i'll childhood, that the IA
nous son owed his tremendous even gil
| gantic, physical endurance If in his
mother was reproduced the type of a
Roman matron, in the son would be re-
| called the virtues and vigor OF an i'm
| pcrator.
After their marriage the youthful
pair resided in Corte, waiting until
events should permit their return to
| Ajaccio. Naturally of an indolent tenn
permanent, the husband was at first
drawn into the daring enterprises Of
Paoli and displayed a temporary en-
thusiasm, but for more than a year be-
fore the end he wearied of them. As the
head of body of men of his own rank
he finally withdrew to Monte Rotondo,
and OH MAY %, 1863, a few weeks be-
| fore Paoli's flight, the band made form
al submission to the two French gen.
erals, Marbeuf and Vaux, explaining
| through Buonaparte that the national
leader had misled them by promises Of
| aid which never came, and that, recog-
nizing the impossibility of further re-
sistance, they were anxious to accept
the new government, to return to their
homes and to resume the peaceful con.
duct of their affairs. 1t was this pre-.
cipitate naturalization of the father as
q French citizen which made his great
son a Frenchman. Less than three
months afterward, ON Aug. Is, his
fourth child, Napoleone di Buonaparte,
was born in Ajaccio.
The resources of the Buonapartes, as
they still wrote themselves, were small,
although their family and expectation:
were large An only child, Letitia hat
inherited her fathers little home ant
his vineyards in the suburbs, for hel
mother had married second time. Hel
stepfather had been Swiss mercenary
in the pay of Genoa. In order to secure
the woman of his choice he became ;
Roman Catholic and was the father o
Nine. di Buonaparte's half brother. 10
scph Fesch. Charles himself was thu
owner of lands in the interior, but the,
were heavily mortgaged, and he coult
contribute little to the support of hi
family. His uncle, n wealthy landlord
had died childless, leaving his domain
to the Jesuits. and they had prompt.
entered into Possession. According 4
the terms of his grandfather will, tn
bequest was void. for the fortune wa
to fall in such a case to Charles mother
and on her death to Charles himself
Joseph, his father, had wasted man,
years and most of his fortune in wear,
litigation to recover the property. Moth
ing daunted, Charles settled down 4
pursue the same phantom, virtually de
pending for livelihood on his wife
small patrimony. He became an office
of the highest court rs assessor and wa
made in ls12 n member and later
deputy of the council of Corsican mobiles
The peasant mother was most prolific
Her eldest child, born in 1865, was
son. who died in infancy; in 1867 wa
born a daughter. Marie Anne, destine'
to the same fate: in 1868 son. know
later as Joseph. hut baptized as Nabu
lione; in 1869 the great son, Napoleone
Nine other children We're the fruit O
the same wedlock, and six of them
three sons, Lucien, Louis and Jerome
and three daughters, Elise, Pauline an
Caroline-survived TO share their broth
er's greatness. Charles himself, like hi
short lived ancestors-of whom five ha
died within a century-reached onl
early middle age. dying in his thirty
ninth year. Letitia, like the stout Cor
4