The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1895-03-13
ALEXANDRIA La WEDNESDAY MARCH - 1895.

who bears thirteen children Is heroine;
bu. Madame de Buonaparte bad now
to go into the fields and plant mulberry
trees for liyiugi Marb9uf finally pre-
vailed with the authorities to make Jo-
seph Bonaparte also 1--WE will now drop
tho Italian form Buonaparte) a military
pensioner. But the fathers death and
Napoleon's protest countervailed the
project, and Joseph was doomed to re-
main cadet of the Church. For Julien,
who developed passion for polite stud
les and wished to be priest, scholar
ship was obtained for the school at Bri-
enne. Such is the perversity Of fate. AS
to Napoleon, 1t was agreed that instead
Of going into the navy, as Keralio had
recommended and as Marb1uf had wish
ed, he should become instead lieuten-
ant in the artillery. After his gradua-
ton, he should be assigned to the Regi-
ment La Fere, stationed at Valcnce, on
the left bank Of the Rhone, three hun
dsed miles away as the bird flies-far to
the south.
The final examination at l. Ecole Mill
taire was passed. Like many other IN
cipient military heroes-our own In.
cluded-Napoleon did not obtain q high
rank In his classes His papers gave him
only the forty second place from the
head. Louis Antoine Bourienne, his FL.
ture private secretary, had been far
above him at Brienne. Des Mazis, his
favorite classmate, was now graduated
far below him at l. 'Ecole Militaire But
the grade was sufficient; and be was en-
abled with his commission as lieutenant
to choose the artillery as hts arm Of the
service.
For two months (August to October.
1850 the restraints Of red tape held back
Lieutenant Bonaparte from going to bis
place. His means gave utterly out, At
last, late IN the fall Of 1888. he set out
by conveyance from Paris as far as
Lyons, but was then obliged. from sheer
inability to pay his fare. to walk the re.
mainder of the journey to ValenceI
There he arrived, and took his place in
the Regiment La Fere-doubtless so
called because it had no iron IN 1t!
Great was Napoleon's surprise ct the
character Of the discipline By the off,
GERS and mon almost everything was
practiced except those exercises which
tended to make them soldiers They
were gay, dissipated, frivolous The pay
was insufficient to support them in their
career Of pleasure and vice; but they
were nearly all scions Of the nobility
and knew not what 1t was to be limited
in the means Of qualification. Napo-
leon g poverty and ambition alike held
him back for moment from this man.
ner Of life; but, strange to say. he pres
entity threw himself into the swim, and
during the winter Of 1860 he dissi.
pated like the rest
Valence was small but important
city. The young military officers were
welcomed by ambitious families into
their drawing rooms. For the nonoe.
Bonaparte concluded that he must be-
come accomplished that he must be a
social lion and quaf the bowl Of pleas
ure with his fellows. He had social pass
ports from Marbeuf's nephew, who was
now the young Bishop Of Autun.
But to O nature such as Napoleon g
pleasure, however torrid, could not long
suffice. The lieutenant presently turned
upon himself in anger; and sudden re-
form was the immediate result. The
thoughtful brow and sullen manner re-
turned He went back gloomily to bis
books; recovered his vantage, and hence
forth to the end Of his life-though
many time be heard the Sirens sing
ing on nearby shores-he never post
poned his ambitions for the delirious
dreams and feeting Authorizations Of q
dissipated life.
During his career as student. Napo,
Icons general reading had been In the
nature Of excursions along tho coasts o.
political philosophy. The French man
ner caught his imagination. he talked
Of liberty, Of the virtues Of the elder
, Romans, Of humanity In q state Of ma
ture-as revealed by Jean jacques
Now, in the spring Of l7o0-recover
, ing himself from the winters revel-h'
, turned from the "Contrat Sociale, ,
{ which he had begun to distrust as
ground Of political life, to the "Histoir
. Philosophique" of the Able Raynal
Here he lost himself In the mysterie
land mists) of that science which Is SAT-
Q to teach by example.
Q The writings Of the Able Raynal
8 from being a conglomerate in whiol
several strong hands-notably that Q
8 Diderot--had a great part, we're now II
the ascendant The French mind caugh
8 them, embraced them, and adored. The
@ we're thought for the time to be the be
r all and the end-all Of political philoso
/ ply. Behold Napoleon, whose mind ba
I already been we'll stocked with the fas
b oinating but improbable stories Of he
! rodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, Plutaroh
8 Xenophon, ct i'd omne genus,-behol
9 him at his candle lighted, deal-board ta
j. BILE in the barracks Of Valence, rising !
thought somewhat from the particular
It of human story to the general laws
d conduct Be it remembered, however
o that at that epoch the human mind ha
d not yet gained the first glimpse OF thf
y. universal conference and consistency
all things which constitutes the bottol
]. principle of the New History. As for I'll
/. nnfedged Jaoobinism IN him, that WI
It sufficiently infamed with knowlede
:. that five years previously this sam