Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-04-16

the mathemnJlclan; Lnlande, the u.s. ,
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 |
poleon had banished, but he got the
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
ed at Capri. What did you do with
him." asked Napoleon. 1.-THE king Of
Naples had him exchanged for Nea-
politan general who was prisoner in
Sicily" Every well; there is no harm
in letting this English colonel so. He
is not dangerous" 1t seems not un-
likely that Sir Hudson Lowe remem-
bered this sarcasm when he was Ma
poleon's jailer few years afterward.
After Napoleon's downfall the ques-
ton of suppressing the Legion Of Hon.
or arose. Chateaubriand, whom Napo-
leon had not decorated, strongly urged
uOOhllOhs NJ uiu uALO 0l oOl6Os
Marshals Victor. Marmont and Mac
donald opposed. After debate it 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 Will
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 a
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 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 n 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 l'Exposition Univer-
selle, which really covered n traffic in
decorations. The whole story came
out In state trial toward the end Of
1887. 1t was proved that Wilson had
made regular practice of selling the
Legion of Honor. or. rather, of invit-
ing people who wanted 1t to bride him
to use his influence to obtain 1t, for
them. His overtures were presented
through his jackals, Generals d'Aud-
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
ly 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
himself elected conseiller general one
must suppose that he succeeded in this
object.-Pall Mall Gazette.