The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1896-01-03

CARLO BoNAPARTE, FATHER OF NAPOLEON.
Jean jacques Rousseau was making his
way with his Confessions in his pocketl
A sick student at Leipsic, nearly twenty
years of age, who had recently written
drama called Die Mitschuldigen, was
about to be transferred to Strasburg: he
was Goethe, the World bard. In Russia
the daughter of Christian August, of An
halt Zerbst, having put seven years OBJ
livion between herself and her murdered
husband, was sitting in imperial robes
among the favorites of the corruptest
court ever known in Christendom
Letitia di Buonaparte was not quite nine
teen years OF age when her war-god was
born She was now for the fourth time
mother-a thing seemingly incredible in
our harsh northern cline. Incidents in the
first years of the Napoleonic childhood
there are none recorded. We are left TO
himself and to his schoolmate Bourienne
for our knowledge of the earliest charac-
teristics and events of his life.
The Corsican had a prodigious memory,
and il reached back well toward his infan-
cy. When in after years he spoke of him
self-as he was much given to doing-he
generally used eXaggeration; but we may
not doubt that there was always vein of
sterling truth undermining his dramatic
recitals. We know indeed, out of the ma
ture of the case, that his representations
of his own child character were in the
main correct.
The young BuoDaparte was from babe
abrupt and quarrelsome. His willfulness
was extreme. The likelihood is that he
never once in his life willingly obeyed
anybody Near his DEATH at Longwood,
he declared that he was never afraid. His
child passion was frequently excited
against Joseph, over whom he exercised a
censorious sway from the time when they
toddled together in the birth room or
fought In the yard. He appears to have
loved his mother, and to have obeyed her
in q morose and mathematical way; but in
his last talk he indicates that his conduct
as a child toward the mother was rather
prudential than affeotionate. He bears
witness that the Ramolino lioness was
tender In her treatment OF him, as we'll as
severe and Just. Certain il is that in and
about the maison di Buonaparte he made
the earliest possible reputation as tearer
of tapestries and soratcher of human
faces.
To their fourth child, Carlo Buonaparte
and his wife gave the name of Napoleon
At the first it was Napoleone. In this form
the possessor retained it until, flaring up
in Paris In the character of a young Jaco-
bin, he threw away the Italian and aristo-
cratic flctions in his name, to become plain
republican NAPOLEON BoNAPARTE. In
fact, there was never anything in his char
acter TO encourage the use of more letters
than were necessary his speed in writing
was unfavorable to the cultivation of dia-
critical marksl
The first teaching of the child Bonaparte
was given by his mother. Then he was
sent, in his sixth year, to a child's school
kept by a woman. He went from the pa
rental threshold I'm that same arbitrary and
belligerent mood which characterized him
ever Ho fought with his schoolmates,
among whom he appeared with no sign
of neatness in his clothing, and nothing
debonair in his manner.
AT this time, beside his parents, he had
two important relatives. One of these was
Lucien Buonaparte, brother Of his grand
father Joseph; and the other was Joseph
Fesch, afterwards the Cardinal Fesch,
halfbrother of his mother. The latter was
a studious lad Of twelve, who took an in