The Washington herald., 1906-12-23
DYING DYNASTIES
ROYAL and Imperial Houses of Europe that
are Doomed to Early Extinction.

Each age has witnessed the disap-
pearance of a certain number of the
dynasties of the Old World, and the
twentieth century will apparently
prove no exception TO the rule Many
of these fIlustrious families seem
doomed to early extinction; and while
this is an eventuality which Ameri-
cans can afford to contemplate with
considerable degree OF equanimity, yet
the fact that in one notable instance
the responsibility for the perpetuation
Of a great name depends upon a we'll
known American family is calculated
to arouse a certain amount Of popular
interest In the matter on this side OF
the Atlantic. The house in question is
that Of Bonaparte, which has played
such a phenomenally large part in the
history OF the last hundred years, hav-
ing contributed more than any other
dynasty 20 the radical Transformation
of the face of Europe; and when one
calls TO mind the manner in which the
first Napoleon set the laws Of the
church and Of conventionality at
defiance for the sake of perpetuating
his line, and the heartlessness with
which he strOve 10 exclude his young
est brothers American wife and son
from legal membership in his family,
ii certainly seems an act Of poetical ret
TibutiOn that the latter should ap-
parently be destined to be saved from
extinction by the grandson and great
grandson of this transatlantic sister
v.hoUs he had so cruelty spurned.
At the present moment the house Of
BOnaparte is represented in Europe by
Prince Victor Napoleon, the titular
head of the BOnaDartist party, He is
man Of fifty, who has been living for
a number of years at Brussels with an
actress of the name of Marie Blot, by
whom he has a number Of illegitimate
children. She occupies with them a
house adjoining his own, and while he
has never yet attempted to legalize
after a fashion his relations with her
by means of any ecclesiastical mar
riage, yet the intimacy has been suf-
fc!ent to constitute an apparently in
superable obstacle to any matrimonial
alliance with woman Of his own rank.
Some time ago, in difference to the.
urgent eutreatfes of his relatives and of
the leaders of the Bonapartist party. he
presented himself as a sutton for the
hand Of Princess CIementine Of Belgium
a melancholy lady Of mature years and
celebrated for the possession of the long
est nose of any princess in ChristendOm
But while she was willing enough 10
overlook the actress the family Of lie
climate children and the lack of en-
thus.asm on the part Of Victor Napoleon.
King Leopold peremptoriIy forbade the
match, being unwilling to incur the i'll
viii OF the French government by allying
his daughter 10 a party whose avOwed
object IL is to overthrow the republic.
Prince Victor's only brother. Prince
Louis since he was Tilted by the Grand
Duchess Helen of Russia, with Whom he
was deeply infatuated, has become a con-
frmed machelor. and will not hear of
marriage. The only other male member
of the house Of BOnaparte in Europe is
Roland. son of that Prince Peter Bona
parte whose killing of Victor Noir may
be said 10 have precipitated the downfall
of the empire IN 1870. Roland was a lad
in his teens before any legal marriage
Of his father to his mother, a plumber
daughter, took place. and so little did
Prince Peter regard him as his lawful
issue that no mention appeared of the
boys existence IN the pages Of the Al
manaCh de Gotha until after the death
of his father. Were it not. in fact, for
the vast wealth which Roland derives
from the public gambling establishment
of Monte Carlo. Of which he is part
owner through his marriage 10 the late
Marie Blanc. daughter of the founder of
that wOrld-famed resort il is doubtful
whether he would be accorded the title
Of prince, which he has assumed without
any known authority. He has an only
daughter but no son. and was on the
point some years ago of marrying Le-
titia Bonaparte the widowed Duchess Of
AOsta, when the late King Humbert her
uncle and brother-in-law, interviewed and
made use of his authority as chief Of the
house Of Savoy, TO which she belongs by
her marriage. to forbid such a mesal-
lance as would have been constituted by
union to a man of doubtful title. and
whose principal claim 70 consideration
was his tainted wealth. From this it
VIII be seen that there are in Europe but
two Bonapartes of imperial standing, and
q third Of questionable origin and rank
And all of them seem destined to die
without leaving any legitimate son TO
perpetuate their line.
The only other Bonapartes in existence
are those in America, namely, Jerome
Bonaparte, of Washington. and his uncle,
Charles Bonaparte, who has just ex-
changed the portfolio Of Secretary of the
Navy for that Of Attorney General Of the
United States. They are the great-grand-
son and grandson, respectively. of the
first NapOleOn's youngest brother. King
Jerome Bonaparte of Westphalia, and Of
his American wife, Miss Elizabeth Pat
tersOn, Of Baltimore. The marriage was
in every sense Of the word a love match,
was solemnized by Bishop Carroll OF Bal
timore in the face Of a good deal Of sop-
position on the part Of Miss Patterson's
father, who seems to have failed to an
preciate the honor of any such alliance
for his daughter For there are letters Of
his in existence in which he depIores the
infatuati0n of his daughter for jerome.
whom he describes as an adventurer, and
unworthy by his rank and parentage to
enter a family so blue-blooded and enjoy
ing such universal respect and cOnsidera-
ton as that Of Patterson.
1t Is unnecessary to recall here the de-
sertion by jerome of his wife and little
boy or the refusal of Emperor Napoleon
to permit them 10 land in France, and his
denial Of the validity of the marriage on
the ground that IL had been contracted
without his consent More than half a
century later this son Of Jerome visited
Paris, with his own son, the late Col