The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1901-04-25

- sequestered island capital is
91ME not rich In points Of inter
" - est'-its one attraction being
the boyhood home OF the greatest man Of
modern times. The guidebook says II
is IN the Rue san Carlo. Place de Letitia,
and on seeking the locality you are sur
prised to find a dirty alley. barely eight
feed wide faced BY a square the size
Of a bedblanket. but brilliant with low
ers. The celebrated house is ia no way
distinguished from it's neighbors Of equal
ly unprepossessing exterior. except BY
narbei tablet above its closed door, in
scribed in weather-dimmed letters Casa
de Bonaparte." Yet It was evidently one
OF the best houses Of its day IA Corsica
a four-storied. plain-fronted structure.
succeed yellowish-gray with tiled. fiat
roof. topped BY a square observatory and
many windows shaded By the everlasting
gray jalOusies that cover every easement
In A1accio. Both square and street are
entirely deserted. and your knocks upon
the heavily timbered door bring no re-
sponse; until at last a female voice be-
hind the shutters OF an adjacent house
informs you that the concierge lives in
the cottage at the end Of the place.
Thither you HE. with the result that the
Bonaparte door is finally unlocked By a
dilatory old woman Of voluable tongue,
whose strange patois Of mingled French,
Spanish and Italian renders the lnforma-
ton she pours forth well night null and
void.
AS in an the older houses OF the Latin
world, there Is little TO be seen on the
first floor Of the historic home-even The
kitchen being on the second. A short
flight OF stone STAIRS goes straight up
from the front entrance, without the pre-
liminary Of lobby or hail. Under the
stairs are closed doors. suggesting offices.
The house runs back a long way and
all this ground space once answered the
manifold purpose Of stable. barnyard and
woodshed. sheltering the family COW.
horses pigs and fowls. according 10 the
universal Cors.san custom. Beneath this
ground hoor-ao says the concierge-are
extensive wine vaults and storage cellars.
having side doors opening into the streets
that surround the place on three sides.
Like flash. q long-forgotten incident Of
history recurs TO your mind-how the
young officer Napoleon. who had not yet
won his spurs. escaped this way after his
quarrel with the patriot general Paoli
The latter was sent to arrest him as
traitor TO the Corsican cause. By a trap
door IN the floor OF his room the future
emperor descended 10 the wine vaults
and thence made his way 10 a vessel
lying IN port already hosting her sails
Had he been taken he would Furely have
hanr. ah afT tha bfot1r.r ~ rft,r,r.. -.
the next quarter of century would have
made very different reading from that OF
to-day.
Following the guide up the stairs-your
hand on the same rusty iron rail which
the hands OF all the Bonapartes have
pressed. and your feet in hollows OF the
stones which their feet have woni-you
come 20 a broad landing at the second
floor On either side are sllghtly-orna-
mented, double folding doors; and. look
Ing up. you observe the same arrange
ment at the third and fourth floors. OF
shallow steps doubling back upon them.
selves to landings. After much fumbiinR
with her keys-nowadays seldom used
the woman throws open the right-hand
door and you enter a great square draw
ingroom. There Is but one window. and
that Is curtainless. Dingy tapestry
adorns the walls. on which are several
mirrors anud small pictures 81 frames OF
tarnished gilt The floor is inlald with
hexagonal red flags. in the corsican fash
ion. In the center. under crystal chan
I deller. stands a table Of dark wood. with
white marble top that looks ike a iomb
stone, and around the sour sides Of the
+ room. ranged IN straight rows. as for q
I funeral. are at least twenty chairs and
I two high-backed sofas. sli upholstered IN
T faded green silk brocade and with slender.
( olaw-footed legs Nothing here looks the
least bit homelike-though aid TO have
been restored to precisely its former state
I by the Ex-Empress Eugenie.. who owns
the house. It having been willed % her
By Napoleon III.
Adjoining this is the study. o. pris a te
office. Of Napoleon's father. N. Carlo
Maria Buonaparte, who. as you know, was
a solicitor without much practice, and
proud as he was poor. If this wss Is
furniture. he must have been rather cx.
travagant for an impecunious notary.
Even the dressing case is gem "of pur-
est ray serene" It Is very large and
T NAAANAANts NAtAH VI fltAAlNFN AN4AAtA WHNA1I
an the borders and pigeon holes jewcled
With elegant little quaques Of lapls lazull
and other costly stones How one earns
10 run away with that bureau. whose
counterpart. aside from historical assoc
Citations. probably does not exist. The
several mirrors-thow fond those Bona
parties must have been OF looking 1t them
selves. for there are at least hundred In
the housel-are In delicate frames of lace
work flagree the gliding long since dark
ened like the fortunes Of the family The
exqulslteiy carved mantlepiece Of white
marble represents Venus and Cupid at
play. and the ioor is tiled. like he ter
race outside. upon one end 81 which the
long window opens.
This terrace. by the way. is an inn
poriant feature Of the place. II runs
back. at right angles 70 the study. along
the whole length Of the house. serving
as an outdoor means OF communicable
with an the rooms on that side No
doubt 4 was a safe and favorite play
ground for all the little Bonapartes. being
screened on to the height Of six feet.
By a trellis overgrown with greenery.
1t Is stlll a charming place. compared
to the gloom inside. though overlooked
BY the backs o. tall dilapidated old