Catoctin clarion., 1902-01-30
NAPOLEON'S ORDER.
THE LEGION OF HONOR AND HOW
" WAS FOUNDED.

Despite the I,idicuIe the Project At
First Invited Its Inauguration
Proved That Napoleon Knew
French Human Nature.
France owes the Legion Of Honor to
Napoleon. All orders Of chivalry had
been abolished by the revolution and
had left a gap which 1t was not easy to
fill. "rhey are mere geegaws," said
Monge, the chemist, who had taught
the revolutionlsts how to make gun.
powder out of plaster of paris. Gee
gaws, II you WILL" the first consul an
swered, but people like them. Let us
approach the question frankly. All
men are enamored of decorations
the French more than any. They posi-.
lively hunger for them. and they have
always done so"
This was at Malmaison In 1902. In
May the conseil d'etat was invited to
consider the project Of the institution
of the Legion Of Honor. 1t was ridi-
culed by many, notably by Moreau,
who as victor of Hohenlinden was bit
terly Jealous Of the victor Of Marengo.
At dinner party he sent for his cook
and said to him In the presence Of his
guests: "Michel. am pleased with
your dinner. You have indeed distin-
guished yourself. ! will award you
saucepan of honor" Nine. de Stael
was also satirical upon the subject.
"Ah, one Of the decoratcdT' she used
to ask each guest who was shown into
her salon.
But Napoleon had gauged human na.
ture correctly. His Legion of Honor
did meet a felt want, and 1t was def
nitely inaugurated ON July IA, 1904.
Among the eminent men Of science
and men of letters on whom 1t was
then bestowed were included Laplace.
the mathematician; Lalande. the as
tronomer: Cuvier. the naturalist. and
Legouve. the poet. The most notable
name omitted was that Of Bernardin
de st. Pierre. just then In disgrace for
championing Nine. de Stael. whom Ma.
polcon had banshed. but he got the
decoration later on the entreaty Of
Queen Hortense.
After Jena Goethe was decorated. A
little later high promotion in the order
was given to General Lamarque, to
whom Sir Hudson Lowe had surrender
cd at Capri. What did you do with
him." asked Napoleon. "The king of
Naples had him exchanged for n Nea-
politan general who was a prisoner In
Sicily" VERY well; there is no harm
In letting this English colonel go. He
is not dangerous" 1t seems not un-
likely that Sir Hudson Lowe remem-
bered this sarcasm when he was Ma
poleon's jniler few years afterward.
After Napoleon's downfall the ques.
tIon Of suppresslng the Legion OF Hon.
or arose. Chateaubriand. whom Napo-
leon had not decorated. strongly urged
Its abolition. So did Puzzo di Borgo.
Marshals Victor. Marmont and Mac.
donald opposed. After debate 1t was
decided to recognize and retain the or
der, not on any high moral or patriotic
grounds, but because Louis XVIII.
could not afford to make himself more
unpopular than he was already by
stripping people of their decorations.
Chateaubriand and Lamartine consent
ed to accept the red ribbon. but 1t was
also conferred upon great number Of
worthless personages and SO brought
into contempt.
There have been many Legion OF
Honor scandals since those days, but
one Of them surpasses all the others In
magnitude This Is. Of course, the VII
son scandal. the history Of which.
though intricate. is worth recalling.
The trouble may be said to have be.
gun on the day on which Mile. Alice
Grevy fell In love with an opera singer
who need not be mentioned here. He
wanted to marry her. and she wanted
to marry him. and the papers were be-
ginning to couple the two names In
manner most embarrassing to the pres
ident of the republic. The president.
however, sent the opera singer about
his business and found his daughter
another husband, not n very good hus-
band, but the best husband he could
procure on the spur Of the moment.
His choice fell upon NJ. Daniel Wilson,
who had long been one Of NJ. Grevy's
political supporters and was financier
of some mark.
No sooner was NJ. Wilson established
at the Elysee than he proceeded to en-
rich himself by various means. Among
other things. he founded a paper called
LIE Moniteur de rExposition Univer'
selle, which really covered a traffic In
decorations. The whole story came
out In a state trial toward the end OF
1887. 1t was proved that Wilson had
made a regular practice Of selling the
Legion of Honor, or, rather. OF invit-
ing people who wanted 1t to bribe him
to use his influence to obtain It Tor
them. His overtures were presented
through his jackals, Generals dAud"
Ian and Cafferel and Mines. Limousin
and Ratazzi, and the whole party had
to stand In the dock together.
Wilson was sentenced to two years
Imprisonment, fine of 5000 francs
and five years. deprivation Of civil
rights. He appealed. and the court OF
cessation annulled the judgment The
accused, said the judges, was obvious
" guilty Of everything that he was
charged with, but as his offenses were
not anticipated by any punitive law he
could not be punished. So he retired
to the country and tried to live down
his bad name. As he ultimately got
S...oye oIootod copcofllor oonpral one