Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-03-28
SOME FAMOUS FACES
CHARACTER STUDIES OF DEATH
MASKS AT PARIS.
A Collector of the Post-Mortem Casts
of Napoleon, Marat and
Mirabeau.


have been to the CarnavaIe Museum to
pass an hour or so among the post-mortem
casts of some famous men. That of Napo-
leon. made almost Immediately after his
yexed spirit had taken its departure, is a
bequest TO the museum of the late Baron de
Larrey. son of the surgeon general of his
armies. He received it as a gift from the
COrsican doctor. Antomairchi who executed
1t at st. Helena At first / mstook it for
old carved ivory. The general effect is dis
appointing and hardly comes in with the
impression We form from authentic por-
traits, This may be because the eyes are
yelled by the closed lids or perhaps because
Napoleon had been more dead than alive
for weeks before he drew his last breath
One is not prepared. by his portraits, to
see the nose approach strong, masterful
aQuiline. and | cannot find trace Of the
peculiarltieS of outline that Lord John
Russell set down in his account of his in
teryiew at Eiba. The French say lie can
Ger decOmpOse ct denature Ia figure no
matter in what part of the body it fixes
itself. Napoleon's face is worn and drawn;
the cheek bones are prominent, the upper
lip is thick and if swollen and it does
not cover the upper teeth. 1t suggests the
idea that he had, when dying. suffered from
shortness of breath and angering thoughts
That repOSeful, ineffable ma jesty that often
follows death and proclaims that the grave
has had no victory is not there. Napoleon
TUNED and fretted about absurd protocol
o.
ping patience or fortitude. He was at the
mercy of every one who wanted to snub or
otherwise vex him. Death does not seem
TO have delivered him. In his case if it be
sleep from which there is no awakening
1t is perchance troubled with bad dreams.
Due de Reichstadt
And now we come again to the cast of
the Due de Reichstadt which we saw at
the Pavilion of the City of Paris in 1900
Its authenticity cannot be doubted. This
sad relic was made for Marie Louise but
she did not want to have it, and it re-
manned in the hands of the dukes doctor
On his death it passed into the possession
OF a NJ Rosenberg. who presented it to
the city of Paris. which displayed it for
the hrst time at the great 1900 show II
gives the lie TO LAiglon as personated by
Sarah Bernhardt. One sees the face of
young man so consumed by pthiss as to
be reduced to the merest skin and hone
He must have lost all his back teeth and
not been at the pains to have them re-
placed | hope nobody will take ii amiss
II 1 point out in the cheeks. which seem to
meet within the mouth, a resemblance to
what was most Characteristic In the late
Duke OF Westminster The sunken eyes
one might almost fancy at the back of
the head and lie like small marbles under
the lids. which are a close fit. a glObular
forehead surmounts them. Either genius
or hydrOcephaluS is lodged there. A nose
originally perhaps well shaped. is pinched
and peaky. and has no more flesh than
that OF a mummy. The cara very large
one-ts reduced to the mereSt griStle, and
with the long. narrow and somewhat prom
inent and fat chin. points to degeneration |
Yes, the poor AiglOn was un degenere and
I'm de race His under lip is Enthusiastically
Austrian: there Is a curve in the nose
that comes to him from Lorraine and
marks him the great nephew of Marie An !
toinette- LAiglon's ducal coronet and ell |
pher are represented on the napkin that is
tied round his head.
Historical Lessons.
These casts-or as the French call them. |
masks-force some historical lessons on the |
mind In the case of Napoleon retribution
followed quickly on wrongdoing. The rev.
olution called him out of obscurity and
pushed him and up. 1t was an impulse
of the free spirit of GauI against the grind
ing tyranny of the Roman empire which
the Franks took over and worked for 100
years From selfish and binding ambition
Napoleon. when he found himself at the
top as first consul, aimed at reyerting TO
the Roman despotism. He aspired to de-
ecend." The fruits of this policy are mani
Tested in the casts of himself and his luck
less SON In the age Of Washington this
sham Caesar was out of place. The trend
Of the time being against him, he was
crushed like an earthworr.
Marat's cast is frightful, but the ugliness
is different from that represented in the
portrait of David. who sought to make him
out the benevolent phiianthropist and rami
du peuple which he may have imagined
himself and may really have been in GER
tain moods and lenses of his life. The up
per part Of the face reminds me of one Of
the best men. the late Victor SchOelcher
the negrophile. What is disgustingly ugly
Is the twisted mOuth-a mouth only made
TO say hOrrid things and to SAVIOR luXu-
TiOuS food. Lombroso would be interested 10
know that the face is uusymmetricaI One
cheek is fuller and longer than the other
And the sides Of the forehead and ewes do
dot quite match. This is a sign of degeu-
Grafton often found in criminals. 1t is an
evidence that they are the product of bad
1ocial state and not free-win agents Be
fore Furnishing them society should beg
their pardon for having made them what
they are. Marat had a head and so has a
pin. 1t is too small 70 enable him TO sit IN
judgment on his propensities and control
his emotions. Both would have been strong
and the emotions might often have been
fine The full lips show too much mucous
men brane. He could not have been an
idealist, but may have been capable of
righteous Indignation at the sufferings of
the poor and of working himself into
th'opy
Face of Mirabeau.
Nor is Mirabeau. either. a bit the ldealist
He is, however. a force Of nature and his
nerves are well balanced. He is made for
the business of diplomacy and government,
and if strong TO rudeness. is shrewd and
has singularly keen mind. Though the
eyes are yelled, his mask is full of sugges-
ton Death has not robbed him of the
self complacent air of who believes in
himself 1t Is not too much to surmise
that vanity as much as love moved him to
run away with another mans wife and to
look on Marie Antoinette easy con-
quest His bull head and neck roughly
bi0cked-out nose and cheeks expressive
of Overpowering energy and the wel-fin-
ished mouth Of irony One wonders how,
after death, the ironical expression con-
tiBued to play around the lips. Mirabeau.
as revealed by this cast, the speak
Ing trumpet of the revolution and audible
everywhere.