The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-20
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s~ntsttioe q, tllalon newf nos deeain We
lnNa lsrafns sas diaplssssf, NJ pretended
"a h. dtspicaas,l, ~ ~EtisHhwth's apine Nv
Fnaiapd, and c%nrupiaiued N the %rpesrdInH
IN tss fa,hrf, ~ though Napoiruu had MOI
fendeeeI n lmnupaibie Tor Tho young woman
ts land on tho Continent NJ FufUrv. In
soythes H,,er Nv HE father. In. IN Jefutns
etptraarl the sish that Elislbeth should
~, TURN Nv Amsrics and wnt IN her former
home until ho should have ohsained her
rrctll from tho Emperor Throughout
Tho a,rntner ~ isps he kept On assuring
HE dear lIt,is wife" that all his iove and
hia lfe werc hers, and h~caeech,ng her,
after iheir aon's birth. 10 believe that he
would never entertain the thought ~ ahan .
doning her A. late ~ October, isO5. he
declared 10 her Il love my country, and
love glory, hut I love them ~ n man ac-
c,isiomed 10 Hfenr nothing, who will never
forget tina, he Ia the father ~ Jerome Ma
prlaon, and the husband ~ Ell7c,
Not c~,ntentinR himself with separating
husband and wife and declaring their union
illegal, the Emperor Napoleon had In May,
1896, despatched Cardinal Fcsch TO Rome
with a letter requesting Pope Plus VII
t. annul Jerome's marriage. The Pope
felt himself conat rained To say that no
found no reason for annullilg n marriage
duly performed by tho Catholic Bishop
Of Baltimore, aud that az fort he point about
the Young wonan hring a Protestant, the
Church, though disappearing Of such mar
riages, acknowledged them a. valid. OBJ
tanning no help fiom the Vatican. Napoleon
had recourse 10 the Gsllican Church, on
which he could count. and in October. 1905,
the American marriage was declared null by
an ecclesiastical court in Paris.
Jerome, though he continued 20 write to
Elizabeth down to the year 1912. ceased to
speak OF the possibility OF n reunion after
he had been declared free Of his marriage,
and interested himself in his son rather
than in his wife. After july II, 1905, when
he wrote very briefly to say that he was well,
he remained silent for almost two years. In
iS0s, however, after he had been made
King Of Westphalia he proposed to have his
son sent to him, but Elizabeth and her
! family declined the proposal. In Novem-
Der Of the same year Jerome wrote to offer
her the prinoipality OF Smalkalden in West
phalia, with a pension Of 200, 900 francs a
wear. Elizabeth replied that "Westphalia
was q large kingdom. but not large enough
for two queens. Moreover, she preferred
being sheltered under the wing OF an eagle
| to hanging from the bill Of a goose" The
eagle, of course. was Napoleon, who kept
his promise of allowing her 10000 francs a
wear up to the date of his fall. The rebuff
kept Jerome silent for three years, after
which he wrote to her for the last time,
signing the letter your afTectionate and
good friend"
lfta, tolr;or loo ,a ~ aanh nthar on tho
vessel in the harbor Of Lisbon they never
met but once and that was under remarkable
circumstances Not long after the death
OF the Emperor Napoleon at st. Helena a
dramatic accident brought Jerome face to
face with his past. Walking with his second
wife. Catherine of Wdrtemberg, in the
gallery of the Pitt Palace at Florence, he
suddenly saw before him his former wife.
With an agitated whisper to Catherine as
to the reason. he led her from the gallery,
and they left Florence. Not a word was
exchanged between Jerome and Elizabeth
and they never saw each other again. She
had procured a divorce from him in Mary
land after the empires downfall, possibly
for the purpose of guarding herself against
any financial claims that Jerome might
try to make. Although, however. she was
never to meet Jerome after the encounter
in Florence, his first wife's story and his
| continued to touch. The connecting link
was the son whom he had tried to have
brought to Westphalia in 1908. Elizabeth
had reasonably refused to part with her
child at that time, but after the social tri-
umphs which she enjoyed in Europe on her
second visit she brought the young Jerome
NAPOLEON from Baltimore and cent him to
school at Geneva, whence he came to join
his mother in Italy at the age OF six
teen. During his ~sojourn in Italy hi
grandmother (Mme, MereN, his uncles Lucien
and Louis and his aunt Pauline all received
the boy with affection, and recognized him
as Jerome's eldest son. A project was even
formed Of a marriage between him and
| Charlotte, daughter Of Joseph Bonaparte,
who was living in the United States under
the name of the Comte de Survilllers, In a
letter written to her father in November,
1921, Elizabeth Patterson says: Mime. Mere,
knowing the state Of Jerome's finances and
the impossibility Of his ever doing anything
for any one, wishes Joseph to provide for
this child by a marriage. l have given my
consent" Pauline ~Bonaparte, whose hus-
band, Prince Borghese, allowed her a hand
some income, in spite Of her unfaithfulness,
promised to leave so 900 francs to her
nephew and niece if they married. The
plan was never carried out, 3D." as mis-
mother called him, ultimately marrying
some one else. In 1s2l-23, however, the
idea was cherished by both sides Of the
family.
It is true that Jerome, senior, had not
spoken yet, and at this time did not ever see
his eldest son. who presently went home
to study for three year at Harvard. The
meeting came about In 1925, when Jerome
and Catherine were living at Rome and
Elizabeth at Florence. 1t was arranged
that the young man should visit his fathers
home. He did 30, and wrote to his maternal
grandfather at Baltimore: From my father
I have had the most cordial reception, and
am treated with all possible kindness and
affection. have not seen mamma
for four months; she is still at Florence.
| The young man. although gratifed at the
welcome given to him by his grandmother
and the other Bona pa rites, desired, as he told
his grandfather, to return to America
"to whose government, MANNER and GUS
toms | am so much attached" His desire
was satisfied. His maria &c in Baltimore
in 1929, though il was a great blow to his