The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-07

Napoleon Achille Murat, son of the kihs of Naples, nephew of Napoleon Bona narte. rover. bon vivant and one-time resident of New Orleans.
 This prince, than whose life story there are few more interesting, once owned vast sugar estates in east Baton Rouge parish, and he practiced law for tune in Exchange alley, New Orleans, when that narrow thoroughfare pulsated With activity. It was at the time when thae neighborhood was in the heyday or lts glory. Murat also lived for time in Es- nlanade avenue, between Bourbon and Daunhine streets For some reason, how ever his life in this city remained in ob- scurity and time has left but faint traces of his memory. It is fact, neYertheiess' that for a short period he did maintain a law office in Exchange alley, but pecu- niary embarrassments, abetted by roV- ing disposition, compelled him to change his place of abode, and from Llere he went to his Florida estate, Econchattie, near Tallahassee. Both the prince ana ms Wlie are buried in the Episcopal cemetery In that city. Their resting place Is marked by two marble shafts in an obscure cor ner of the old burial ground.
 Prince in a Republic.
 The story of Prince Achille Murat is re- called by Albert Villars of No. 2,234 Con stance street. who has in his possession the original papers of arrest of the prince. who was indebted to the Ntllars family for the purchase of sugar estates in Baton Rouge parish for which, 1t is asserted, no settlement was ever made. Murat died intestate, an exiled prince In Tor eign land It was here in the south that ] he made his home. preferring 1t to any | other section of the United States, over
 which he had travelled extensively
 Prince Achile Murat was the eldest son l of Joachim king of Naples. and of Caro- i line, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte lie
 was therefore by blood the nephew of the ] great warrior emperor. His acqualnt- i ances said that in his mental makeup
 was some of the genius of his ilustrlous kinsman, which. had he been able 10 i make the proper use thereof, might have stamped his name on history's page. Yet 1 fate ordained otherwise, and, like many 1 others he directed his efforts in the wrong direction and accomplished noun i ing. His lineage became his only boast his memory of days agone his only pleas l ure
 i Joachim Murat was one of Napoleon marshals and a man of power. Through l throne of Italy, for he was the spouse of the emperors sister, Caroline. He was ! executed, however, after Napoleon i downfall. The young prince was educated in Austria to which country his mother
 took him and her four children after the death of their father.
 Prince Murat came to the United States
 in 1921. Here he found the atmosphere more in harmony with his tastes than the
 etiquette of the European courts, and de- cided to remain for time at least Vis-
 iting the south, he concluded to make it
 his home, and in Florida he bought a
 large tract of land. He took up his resi-
 dence in Tallahassee, taking out papers
 of citizenship 1t was shortly after this
 that he bought large sugar and cotton l plantation in east Baton Rouge parish
 from the Dubreuil-Vilars family.
 The act of sale was executed before Louis T. Care. a notary public, February | 13, 1S37 Murat, so the story goes, gave
 notes, taking the property over at once. He harvested the crops, pocketed the money and was about to make his adieus
 to his debtors when the writ. paragraph from which is quoted at the beginning of this narrative was served on him. Wheth- l CT or not he was ever arrested is not l stated It Is thought that 1t was about l this time that he opened law office in Exchange alley.
 He Loved the South.
 Though he lacked the stability of ds- l position to hold him to one place. he l seems to have had preference for Flor | ida, and after several trips abroad and i change of residence several times in this country he found himself gravitating back to the palmettoes of Tallahassee. i Here he met and married his wife. the faithful companion, and for whom he held 1 in took to the altar the beautiful young wid- ow, Catherine Gray, daughter of Colonel 1 Bird Willis of Willis Hall, Va, and the grandniece of George Washington short l ly after the death of her first husband she accompanied her father to Florida. where she met young Achille Murat. | Noted for her grace and beauty, the young widow Gray was of rare qualities 1 of mind fit to adorn the gilded chair of a throne. The hope of the princes life was to see the Bonapartes restored to 1 poWer for in that res estoration he discern- | ed his rising sun. Until that time he pre- 1 ferred to be master of Mis estate in Amer | ica, and it was for this reason that the
 pomp of the Old World held forth nothing
 but visions of greatness denied him. To l hold throne might have made him a l conspicuous figure in the history of his day: without 1t he preferred oblivion. 1 When the Florida Indian war broke out
 his martial spirit leJ him to the ranks, and 1t was not long afterward that he was commissioned colonel. He was fond of study, particularly scientific subjects. He died In 1S47, several years before the 1 restoration of the Bonapartes. He was l not destined to the glory of his name | rise again over Europe, His widow, how ever. was not forgotten by Louis Napo- l leon when he became emperor. Louis re-
 membered his cousin Achilles widow.
 whom he met in London on one of his | trips abroad, and he settled an independ-
 ent fortune upon her. At his urgent in-
 yitation she was present in Paris on the
 occasion of family reunion, where she
 was received by the emperor with honors
 befittng her rank. After short stay at l court she returned to Florida, where she | lived until her death. in 1867. Her body
 was laid beside that of the prince. her 1 husband. The inscription on the marble | reads:
 Departed this life April IS, 1S47, Charles Louis Napoleon Achile Murat. son of the King of Naples and Caroline Murat, aged A. Sacred to the memory of Princess C.. ! A. Murat, widow of Col. Charles Napoleon