The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1901-01-19
EXTRAORDINARY ROMANCE
-,-- OF The FIRST NAP0L E0N

IA, les connected with Napoleon
~ ~ !. has just come to light.
VI 1t is. a melodrama of real
VI Hfe-compact of the essential
elements Of tragedy, comedy and romance
such as no playwright has ever put upon
the stage. 1t places Napoleon in a novel
and extraordinary 1ight-so novel, so ex-
traordinaSy, that at first one doubts
whether it really be history or fiction.
The doubt is unjus tifiable. Everything
points to the truth of the story. 1t is
given to the world in book entitled
Memoirs of Baroness Cecile de Courtot,'
by Moritz of Kaisenburg. The original
was in German. A translation is issued
simultaneously in this country by Henry
Holt & Co.
Moritz Won kaiserburg, member of 8
distinguished Prussian family, found the
documents, here arranged in consecutive
form, in an attic Of his fathers house
in Halberstadt. They consist of certain
diaries and journals kept by Frau. Won
Alvenslebeh, his maternal greatgrand-
mother, and a bundle of fifteen letters
written by the Baroness Cecile de Courtot
to the same lady.
Now Cecile was n bosom friend of Frau
Won Alvensleben, and for many years a
guest at her home, the castle Of Kalbe,
in Altmark, Prussia. The very manner
in which the acquaintance was formed is
full of dramatic interest and SURPRISE
In August, 1893, shortly after the Reign
of Terror had eliminated in the execu-
ton Of Marie Antoinette, Frau Won Alven-
sleben had received a letter from a cousin,
who was fighting the French on the
Franco-German frontier, in which he in.
trusted to her care 4 young French wonl-
an. He explained that she was a re-
fugee who had escaped by a miracle or
her very way to the guillotinc, whereor
many of her relatives and friends ha(
been sacrificed.
On September 49, the good frau's diary
records the advent of the stranger. "Her
whole appearance she notes, ais so in.
expressibly affecting that I can scarce
restrain my tears whenever / look a
her"
Her story is recorded in three chapter:
of this book, taken from the frau's diary
She Rad written it down while tn
impression was still warm in her memory
Cecile had told it with simple tirectnes
and passionate force. It is too long
however, to be quoted entire. I can onl!
present the baldest outline.
The Baroness Cecile de Courtot wa
born on Sept. 20, 1763. Her parents wer,
connected with the court of France. TIL.
girl herself had made her debut in SO
ciety during the first years Of the reigr
of Louis XVI. At the age of twent.
she had become a lady in waiting to Ia,
Princess de Lamballe, who herself wa
first lady in waiting and mistress of tn
o,,in no
Cecle one Of the maids of honor to tn
queen. For some years she shared in al
the amusernents of the court. She be
came engaged to Hector de Trellissak,
young officer in the service of the king.
Then calne the Revolution. The Prin-
cess Gle Lambellc was guillotined So was
Cecile's father. She herself mounted the
death cart July o. 1893. Hector, how
ever, had heard the news. He managed
to place a small bomb along the route
OF the gruesome procession. It exploded
ut the 0pportune moment, the horses
were thrown into disorder and in the
confusion Hector escaped with Cecile. He
was hurrying to an open doorway when a
gendarme caught sight of the fugitives,
and with cry Of halt" rushed at them
with a drawn sword. At the same mo-
tors side
Take her, Tancred!'' said Hector. IL
will cover your retreat" He hurled him.
self upon his pursuer, while the stranger
escaped with the lady, but not before he
had seen Hector fall covered with blood,
to be trampled into shapelessness under
the feet of the mob. 1t was through Hec-
tors friend Tancred d'Aubignac that
L \
escape to the German frontier.
Such is the story which Frau Won AL
lersleben wrote down in her diary from
Cecile''s lips. = " :,
The next few years were spent by the
two ladies happily enough at the castle
of Kalbe. Meanwhile Kaleidoscope events
had followed one another in Paris until
Napoleon I. had become first consul and
practically dictator to thirty million
Frenchmen. 1t was generally believed
that he intended to make himself emper-
or AS first step to his ambition he
sought to conciliate such of the old no.
bility as had survived the Reign Of Ter
ror. He invited them to his court, he
offered them positions in his household,
he sought to show his good will in every
way save that of assisting in the restora-
ton of the monarchy. -
1t was at this PERIOD. e.. in the early
part of 1sO2-that Cecile determined to
make journey to Paris and petition for
the restoration of her family estates. She
wrote long letters describing her expert.
ences to Frau Won Allersleben.
Through the influence of Talleyrand and
Josephine, who had been friends of her
family, Cecile was at last ushered into the
ir
all the world.
She had not, to her knowledge. ever seen
him before, save at the theater in box
and at a parade. In both instances she
had been tco far of to distinguish his
features. So, when at last she came to
have a personal interview with him hel
curiosity as well as her awe was excited
Resting his clear gaze upon the sup
plant lady before him the demi-god said
brusquely enough:
''Well, what have you come about2'
Now, Talleyrand had warned Cecile that
she should be as succinct as possible in
her answers ITO Napoleon. Therefore
gathering up her courage, she made the
laconic response:
THE restoration Of my family prop,
erty" "
Though he desired brevity he never ex.
ipected it, at least from woman. Some
thing also in the expression that sud.
denly came over this particular woman
as she liked her eyes upon him nettled and
annoyed him.
Of truth, madame" lie replied "I
cannot complain that you are too prolix,
put, and here he raised his voice to an
angry pitch and threw up his head with
G peculiar movement sy-i,1, . re roi1 srar-