Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-02-23

been admitted to Napoleon's apart
ment. the little king of Rome was
brought to him. Says Nine. de Rcmu-
sat:
"The emperor took the child on his
knee and, far from caressing, amused
himself by slapping him. though not so
as to hurt him; then. turning to Talma.
he said, 'Talma, tell me what l am do
ing Talma. as may be supposed. did
not know what to say. You do not see
It, continued the emperor; 4 am slap
ping king"
At that date Napoleon had become an
adept at slapping kings Of his own
stature-that is. threatening then
humbling them and making or unmak-
ing them ut will. And his opinion Of
the divine right sovereigns around him
was far from complimentary. rs may
he judged from his own words.
Asked at st. Helena II his old enemy,
the king Of Prussia, was q man of tai
ent, Napoleon burst into fit of laugh
ter and exclaimed: "Who? The king
Of Prussia? He man Of talent! The
ramus without talent or knowledge.
He cannot hold conversation for five
minutes.
when" continued Napoleon. II was
at Tilsit with the Emperor Alexander
and the king of Prussia was the most
ignorant Of the three in military af-
fairs. These two sovereigns. especially
the king of Prussia. were completely
au fait as 70 the number of buttons
there ought to be in front Of Il jacket,
how many behind and the manner in
which the skirts ought to be cut. Not
n tailor in the army knew better than
King Frederick how many measures of
cloth 1t took to make Il jacket. In
fact" continued he, laughing, Il was
nobody in comparison with them.
When l went to see the king Of Prus-
sa, instead Of Il library found he had
with shelves and pegs, in which We're
placed fifty or sixty jackets Of various
modes. Every day he changed his
fashion and put on different one.
AT Jena his army performed the
finest and most snowy maneuvers pos
sible. but l soon put a stop TO their
coglonerie (silliness) and taught them
that to fight and to execute dazzling
maneuvers and wear splendid uniforms
were very different affairs. IT," added
he, "the French army had been COM
manded by tailor the king of Prussia
would cert0lly have gained the day
from his superior knowledge in that
art.
There. at Tilsit. made a grave mis-
take. l should have removed the king
of Prussia from the throne. / hest
tated an instant, feeling sure that tho
Car Alexander would not oppose II
provided l did not take full possession
of the Kingdom Of Prussia. should
have decreed that the house Of Hohen
z0llern had ceased to reign. because at
the time of the definitive treaty (Which
surrendered half the Prussian domain
to Francc) that would have been per,
fectly simple
"A little Hohenzollern on the staff OF
Berthier asked me to seat him on the
throne. should certainly have put
him there IL he bad been descendant
Of Frederick. but his branch had been
separated for 800 years from the elder
one. and l believed in the protostations
lavished upon me by the Prussiau
king"
With the same nonchalnnce he dis
cussed the fate Of Francis Of Austria
whom he also had Mt his mercy after
| Austerlitz.
ut only rested with me-" said he. etc
have deposed both the king Of Prussia
and the emperor of Austria. When
was at SchOenbrunn the Duke Of
Wurzburg frequently insinuated to
me that the only means to secure the
good faith Of Austria would be to de-
pose his brother Francis and place the
crown on his head. These offers were
repeated to me afterward through q
minister. with an offer OF his son az
hostage, who should be placed as my
aid.de-camp. with every other possible
guarantee. reflected upon It fol
some time. but the marriage with Ma,
ria Louisa put n stop to any further
consideration on the subject. wal