The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1895-03-02

ure of the revolutionary movement and
the loss of his country's independence, he
was twenty-five years Of age. Meanwhile,
In his eighteenth year, he had fallen in
love with Letitia Ramolino, daughter Of a
well-to-do Corsican peasant. With her,
nature had been prodigal of all gifts. She
was beautiful to a degree; strongly marked
In feature and person with the excellen-
cies of the Italian race.
OF the Ramolino family, not much is
known. Suffice 1t that Carlo di Buona-
pa~rte-though a noble-recklessly took
Letitia in marriage when she was but fif-
teen years of age. She brought him her
beauty and a portion of properties, but no
additional rank. She is said to have been
a girl of heroic qualities, queenly in her
bearing, rather silent in manner, healthy
as to her bodily life, and ignorant of sen
timcnt. Her face, preserved in a hundred
forms of art, shows Enthusiastically the
origin of that Napoleonic visage with
which the whole world will be familiar to
the end of human records.
The character of Carlo di Buonaparte,
though discoverable only in fragments,
shows a mixture of courage and adven-
ture. He was a protector of many things
"a visionary. His education was obtained
in Italy. He had been a student at Rome,
and afterwards at Pisa, where he prepared
himself to be an advocate, and obtained a
reputation for youthful eloquence. The
| University of Pisa conferred on him,
about the time of the birth of Napoleon,
the degree of Doctor OF Laws.
The collapse of the patriot cause bad in
duced Carlo B~uonaparte, as a measure of
prudence, to leave Ajaccio and retire to
Corte. The latter, being an inland town
and having a mountainous situation, was
more deeply pervaded with the patriotic
spirit than was the lowland region about
Ajaccio, The coast country gave itself up
freely to the French domination. During
the first five years of the married life Of
Carlo, he oscillated with his young family
back and forth between the two towns,
inally-when safety came with peace
fixing himself at Ajaccio. This was in
the early part Of 1859.
Meanwhile, before this removal, three
children had appeared, in rapid success.
sion, at the hearthstone of Carlo Buona-
parte. All of these were born at Corte.
The first was a daughter, Elise, whose
birth was in 1865. This child died in in
fancy, as did also the next, Marie Anne,
who was born about two years later.
Then, on January 18th, 1868, came the first
c'b1 tbNt w iiihi NV S"'c Az itiiiN
of Joseph Nabulionc, or, as a secondary
spelling would nave it, Joseph Napoleone,
or, Napoleon. The latter name, though
appearing in the birth-record of the fam
lily, was dropped in the case of the Oldest
son, Joseph only being retained. 1t was
the custom of the age, in the case of the
death of children, to repeat their names
for those born afterward. Nor was there
anything exact, as in the customs of the
nineteenth century, in the spelling en-
ploycd.
The surname, as we'll as the given
names, in the family of Buonaparte luc
tuated into many forms, and gave rise tc
some discussion and confusion afterwards
One story ran to the effect hat Napoleon
~Bonaparte was born January 18th, 1868
and Joseph about nineteen months after
wards, that is, August 18th, 1869. 1t wa
believed at one time that the father inter
changed the dates of the birth of his tw'
eldest sons, in order to get Napoleon int
the military academy before his tenth yea
"a thing necessary under the law. Blu
it is now known that no such thing oc
Cured. The only ground for the inven
ton of the fiction was the fact that 10
scph's middle name was originally Nabr
lone, and hat this name, in a modified
form, was afterwards conferred on tn
| younger son. True, the Corsican Jaco
was destined from birth to clutch the hee
of Esau, and to supplant him in history
The elder was to serve the younger; bu
this was to DO effected, not by u trick G
. the father, but by the eternal law of tn
. strongest!
The estate of Carlo di B~uonaparte
T though augmented by his intermarriag
J with the Ran,nlinn family NnS 1lnpnlls
= to his tastes and desires. Ho possessed
property at Cortc, and another in A%jaccit
To the latter he came back in the earl
part of 1869, and established himself !
:, the house where Napoleon was born. Th
u homestead di BuOnaparte was favorabl
, situated. The house is still in excellcI
i preservation. 1t is four stories in heigh
. From the upper windows ono may see til
ocean. The building is succeed, is re-
u tangular, and has Il fiat roof, with a snla
. cupola, from which the flag of France Va
dying at the time when the first empert
of the French came into the world.
About the birth of great men cycles
. fiction grow. Friends and enemies alil
u invent significant circumstances. I'll
. traducers of Napoleon have said that
II was illegitimate-that his father was tt
French marshal Marbmuf. They also sa.
; on better grounds, that the marriage
D. Letitia Ramolino to Carlo Buonaparte W,
. not solemnized until l767-that the fir
two children were therefore born out
70 wedlock. On the other hand, the id
u worshipers would fain have Napoleo
II born as "a god or Titan. Premature panl
10 seize the mother at church. She hurriu
10 home, barely reaching her apartment whe
10 the heroic babe is delivered, without q
~ ~accoucher, on a piece of tapestry inwrougl
. with an eiligy of Achilles! This probab
occurred. 1t was the 18th Of August, l76
! AS a matter of fact, there was no omen
~ heaven or earth-no sign that a beautif1
peasant had been delivered of a %onquero
S JOHN CLARK RIDPATH.
', Two Kinds of Feminine Thumbs.
Women MAJ be ranged into two ditfe
ent classes, the ono having a large al
tl. otln, - e,,n1l l,- INIa fr-t 10