Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-04-24
THE LEGION OF HONOR.
Anecdotes Concerning the Famous Or
der Founded by Napoleon.
Pail Mall Gazette.
T--sA- - IL


France owes the Legion Of Honor to Ma
poleon. All orders Of chivalry had been abol-
ished by the revolution and had left a. gap
which IL was not easy to MI. They are mere
gewgaws said Monge the chemist who had
taught the revolutionists how to make gun
YOU WILL the first consul answered, but peo-
ple like them. Let US approach the question
frankly All men are enamoTeu q cecors s.1ss,
hunger for them, and they have always done
This was at Malmaison in 1sOa. In May the
Consul d'Ftat was invited to consider the
project OF the institution Of the Legion OF
H Honor v Sas as Tietor ot Hohsnlnden was
bitterly jealous of the victor OF Marengo. AZ
a dinner party he sent for his COOK anq sal la
I am pleased with your dinner; you have in
deed distinguished yourself; will award ypu
q saucepan OF honor" Nine. de Stael was also
satiricai upon the subject. 'Ahi one Of the
decorated2 ?" she used TO ask as each guest
was shown into her salon But NaDoleon had
Honor did meet a felt want, and Il was den-
nitely inaugurated on July 4 1904
NJ Letters on whom II was then bestowed were
included Laplace the mathematician; LalanQe.
the astro13mer Tbs ast nofabls nsrns
omitted was that of Barnardin de Saint Pierre.
just then in disgrace for enampionlnsd NINE h,,, Ss
got the decoration later on the entreaty OF
Queen Hortense after, Jena Goethe was deco
rated. A little later high promotion IN the
order was given to General Lamarque. to
whom sir Hudson Lowe had surrendered az
Capri What did you do with him?" asked
NAPOLEON. THE king Of Naples mad him ex-
changed for NaPolitan general VINO vas 2
prisoner in Sicily" ..Very wen, there Z no
not DANGEROUS" II seems not unlikely that Sir
Hudson Lowe remembered this sarcasm when
ne was Napoleon's jailer a few years AFTER
After Napoleon's downfall the question Of
suppressing the Legion OF Honor arose. Sn as
strongly urged fits abolition. So did Pozzo al
Rorgo Marshals Victor. Marmont and Macoon-
aid opposed. After debate 1t was decided 10 rec
oznize and retain the order, not on any high
moral patriotic grounds, but because Louis
XVIII could not AFFORD to make himself more
11nnon,,Iar than he was already BY stripping
people Of their decorations. .ChateauorianQ ana
Lemartine consented to accept the req riooon,
of worthless personages and so brought into
contempt When the nationalists complain that
Honor II Is gratifying TO be able to remind
them that the example Of degrading II was sex
There have been many Legion of Honor scan
dals since those days, but one OF them sur
passes all the others In MAGNITUDE. This y:
OF course, the Wilson scandal, the history
Of which, though intricate, is worth recalling
The trouble may be said 70 have begun on
the day on which Mile. Alice Greyy fell IN love
with an opera singer, who need not be adver-
fised here He wanted to marry her ana she
wanted to marry him and the papers were be-
ginning to couple the two names in manner
most embarrassing TO the president Of the re-
public. The president. however, sent the opeta
ter another husband-not very good husband.
but the best husband he could procure on the
spur of the moment. His choice fell upon "a
Daniel Wilson, who had long been one OF
NJ. Grevy's political supporters and was q
hnancier Of some mark. No sooner was n
Wilson established at the Elysee than ne pro-
ceeded TO enrich himself by various means
Among other things he founded a paper called
Ie Moniteur de rExposition Uniyersele, which
really covered a traffic in decorations. The
whole story came out in state trial toward
the end of 1887. It proved that Wilson had
made a regular practice of selling the Legion
OF Honor or rather of inviting people who
wanted to bride him TO use his influence TO
obtain IL for them. His overtures were pre-
sented through his jackals. Generals d Audlan
and Canarel and Mines. Limousin and Ratazz,
and the whole party had TO stand In the dock
together. Wilson was sentenced to two years
imprisonment a fine Of 5000 francs and hve
wears deprivation of civil rights. He appealed
and the court OF cessation annulled the Judg-
ment The accused, said the judges, was OBJ
viously guilty OF everything that he was
charged with. but his offenses were not an
ticipated by any punitive law, he could not be
punished. So he retired to the country ana
tried to live down his bad name. As he ult-
mately got himself elected COUNSELLOR general
one must suppose that he succeeded in this OBJ
ject.