Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-03-08
BIRTH OF NAPOLEON.
Charges That His Father FalsIfiod the
Record OF the Date.

Record OF the Date.
Abe trials of poverty made the Buona-
parties most clever and adroit. Suspicious
of stiffness in small matters were devel-
oped later on and led to an overdose scru-
tiny of their acts. The opinion has not yet
disappeared among reputable authorities
that Nabulione and Napoleon were one
and the same, born on Jan. z, 1853, while
Joseph was really the younger, born on
the date assigned to his distinguished
brother. The earliest documentary evil
dence consists Of two papers, one in the
archives of the French war department,
one in those of Aiaccio. The former Is
dated 1889 and testifics to the birth of Ma
bulione on Jan. z, 1868, and his baptism
on Jan. 8. The latter is the copy of an
original which declares the birth on Jan.
7of Joseph NabulioD. Neither is decisive
but the addition of Joseph, with the use
of the two French forms for the name in
the second, destroys much Of its value and
leaves the weight of authority with the
former. The reasonableness of the suspi-
cions is further heightened by the fact that
Napoleon's certificate of marriage gives
the date of his birth as Feb. s, 1868.
Moreover in the marriage contract of Jo-
seph witnesses speak of him as born at
Ajaccio, not at Corte.
But there are facts of greater weight on
the other side. In the first place, the doc
umentary evidence is itself of equal
weight for the archives of the French war
department also contain an extract dated
July 81 1771, from the one original bap-
tismal certificate, and this extract gives
the dates of Napolerns birth as Aug. 10,
fnT, fhn
pointment of his two eldest boys to Brenne
has also been found, and it contains, &C
cording to regulation, still another copy
from the original certificate. 1t is dated
June 23, 1776, and also gives what is now
generally accepted as the correct date.
This quite explodes the old story that Ma
polcon's age was falsifled by his father in
order to obtain admittance for him to the
military school. The application was made
in 1776 for both boys in order to secure adj
mission for each before the end of his
tenth year. 1t was the delay of the au-
thorities in granting the request which,
after the lapse of three years or moro,
made Joseph ineligible. The father could
have had no motive in l776 to perpetrate
fraud, and after that date it was impossi-
bic, for the papers were not in his hands.
The charge was made during Napoleon's
lifetime. His brother positively asserted
the fact, as it is now substantially
proved to be, and Bourrienne, who had
known his emperor as a child of 8, was Of
the same opinion. In the walk of life to
which the Buonapartes belonged the 1iXity
of names was not as rigid as it later be-
came. There were three Marie Annes in
the family first and last, one of whom was
later called Elise.
AS to the given name, Napoleon, there is
a curious though unimportant confusion.
We have already seen the forms Nabuli
one, Nabulion, Napoleone, Napoleon.
Contemporary documents give also the
form NapoloeOne, and his marriage certitl-
Gates use Napolione. On the Vendome
column stands NapoliO. Imp, as if to re-
call NeOpOlus a sainted martyr. The iT
reverent schOolboys Of Autun and BricnnG
gave the nickname straw nose''-paille-
aunez-to the brothers. The pronuncia-
ton, therefore, was probably as uncertain
as the form paille-au-nCz, being proba-
bly, a distortion of Napouillone. The chamc
leonlikG character Of the name corresponds
exactly to the chameleonlike character Of
the times, the man and the lands of his
birth and his adoption. The Corsican no
bic and French rOyalist was Napoleone di
-Buonaparte; the COrsican republican and
patriot, who was always present under the
mask, was Napoleone Buonaparte; the
French republican, Napoleon Buonaparte;
the victorious general, Bonaparte; the en-
peror, Napoleon. There was likewise a
change in his handwriting analogous tC
the change in his nationality and opinions.
1t was probably to conceal a most defective
knowledge of French that the adaptive
Frenchman, republican, consul and en-
perOr abandoned the fairly legible hand o.
his youth and required to the atrocious one
of his childhood, continuing always to use
it after his definite choice of a country.
Stormy indeed were his nation and his
birthtime. He himself said: Il was born
while my country was dying. Thirty
thousand French, vomited on our shores,
drowning the throne of liberty in waves
of blood-such was the horrid sight which
first met my view. The cries of the dying,
the groans Of the oppressed, tears of de,
spair, surrounded my cradle at my birth.
Professor Sloane in Century.
Unnecessary.