The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-21
TITLE OF "NAPOLEON III"
Story of How the Little Emperor Got
His AppeIIatiOn.
From The London Post.


Whatever may be the immediate chances
of Bonapartist restoration in France,
there is no doubt that the present repre-
sentative of the Napoleons is taking the
situation seriously. 1t is even reported
that proclamation to the French people,
signed Napoleon w." is in print, ready
to be posted in Paris at the psychological
moment and the very name suggests
strange recollections, especially on the
twenty-sixth anniversary of the death of
Napoleon III. There has always been some
mystery as to why that particular Napo-
leon was caleld the third" for it was by
the merest fiction that the Due de Reich
stadt, son of the great Bonaparte, can be
considered TO have reigned The tradi-
tionaI story of how the numeral first came
to be thought of was originally related,
within a month after Louis Napoleon ha0
become Emperor by Lord Cowley, our
ambassador in Paris, to Lord MaImesbu
our foreign secretary. 1t was that the
project of Bourges, where the prince
president slept the first night of his prog
ress in provincial France in the autumn of
1852, had given Instructions that the people
were to shout "Vive Napoleonr but he
wrote 'Vive Napoleonll" and the crowd
took the three marks of exclamation as
the Roman mineral III, and shouted ac-
cordingly.
One of the band of consiprators who sur
rounded Louis Napoleon at and after the
coup d'etat wanted in later days, however.
to have the glory of inventing the mineral
and in his posthumously published ME
moirs" the once-notorious Due de Per-
signy declared that it was he who on his
own account gave the DpoaeSarxr or5oy -
the project.
There is a train" he began, leaving
Paris for Bourges in an hour. Take care
to catch 1t. Resume your duties without
seeing any one here and without letting a
soul know your secret Instructions These
instructions are L'empire! Vive Temper
curl! and let us not make a mistake The
Due de Reichstadt never reigned, but he
was proclaimed Emperor by his father
Render, then, this homage to the memory
of a great man; announce the nephew as
Napoleon III. l have already told you to
summon all the municipalities of your de-
partment. Set in hand, without losing a
moment, flags inscribed 'Vive FEmpereurr
on one side and 'Vive Napoleon III on
the other. Place the same inscription on
the triumphant arches under which the
prince will pass. Preserve the utmost Sc
crecy in these preparations and when the
day comes telegraph to me from hour TO
hour all that occurs"
Persignys story, however, is little more
than a turgid amplification of the post
script of a letter written to Malmesbury
during the prince presidents progress by
Walewski, then French ambassador in
London in which it was said: 1.-THE
prince proceeds from triumph to triumph
At his departure from Paris they cried,
'Vive Napoleon! and few 'Vive rEmper-
eur! On his return there will be a unan-
imous chorus of 'Vive rEmpereurn and
'Viye Napoleon IIIn" Persgny admitted
in his Memoirs indeed, that when il
served him he was an INSCRIPTIONS liar,
and it is far easier to believe the story
told by Lord CoWley
In view of the possibility of the arrival
of a Napoleon w." and especially if, as
is limited, with the sympathy of the Rus
sian court IL is striking to recall that the
French official opinion of 1852 was that
Russia was attempting to persuade Great
Britain TO object to the numeral, in order
TO SOW dissension between the two western
nations. But there was more substantial
reason for the annoyance telt by the Brit
ish Government at the assumption of the
numeral. in which was thought 10 lurk a
tbrear Of revenge for Waterloo and which
uas not removed until Louis Napoleon
himself. after some heated negotiations.
consented TO insert in his speech to the
Great bodies Of the state at St. Cloud. on
Dee 1852. accepting the imperial crown.
he following explanatory paragraph:
a take from his day. with the crown,
tho name of Napoleon III, because tho
logic OF the people bestowed II upon me in
their oceIamations, because The Senate has
legally proposed 49, ana because me whole
r9fion has ratified IT, Thus, then, because
.t.---r N-eaefaru III rs NOT one ~ those