Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-12-25

Of these spasms. After dinner ON the
day he was leaving. says Talleyrand
in his memoirs, the emperor had called
him into his room. There Talleyrand
found him gasping for breath 81
tore of his cravat, for he seemed like
to choke. He did not vomit. but sigh
ed snd foamed. M. de Remusat, first
gentleman in waiting, who had also
come into the room, handed him wa
ter. and 1 sprinkled him with eau de
cologne. He was suffering from some
sort Of eramp, which passed OFF in
quarter Of an hour. We laid him In
an armchair. He began to speak, put
his dress right, commanded us to OBJ
serve the strictest secrecy. and half
an hour later he was on his way to
Carlsruhe."
Another sign Of the abnormal In Ma
poleon was his intense irritabflity, and
often there came nervous breakdown
that reduced him to the condition Of
hysterical woman. This irritability
sometimes took the form Of fits Of
weeping. He would fly into q passion
on the slightest provocation. In his
impatience he tore many q garment to
pieces because It inconventenced him
In some trffiing way. He had IN inner
melancholy that never left him. While
he talked Of death, Napoleon never
had any serious intention OF taking his
own life. he never lost his grasp of
life. While a man Of dreams, he was
a man of action. Success did not make
this dreamer more cheerful. He had
strange moments Of bitterness and
hatred and a desire to infiict pain. For
instance, he would say to lady after
asking her name, Dear me, was told
you were pretty!" or to an elderly gen.
tleman, "You have not much longer to
i've"
It was comparatively early IN his
career that his insane desire to rule
not France, not even Europe. but all
the world, took possession Of him The
real reason for his crushing downfall
is to be found in this megalomania-
He himself caused his downfall. Ma
poleon alone could have conquered Ma
poleon, and it was this megalomania
that undid him.
There was his dream Of the control
of Europe. There WILL" he said to his
intimates while he was still first con-
sui, "be no peace in Europe till 1t is
under the command Of a single leader,
under one emperor, with kings for his
officers, who will distribute kingdoms
to his generals, making one king of
Bavaria, one landman Of Switzerland,
another stakeholder Of Holland and
giving them all official posts In the i'm
perial household. such as grand cup
bearer, grand chamberlain, grand mas
ter Of the hounds, ETC."
Napoleon did place kings in several
countries and controlled the policy of
nearly every country of Europe-a
wonderful achievement for the pow.
erty stricken charity boy who got his
education at Brienne at the expense
Of his sovereign. He might have re
manned the king Of kings in Europe
had he been satisfied with that awful
height. But he was not satisfied; be
never was satisfied. After Europe
there was Asia.
On the day he was crowned emperor
in December, 1904, he said to his min
lister of marine: ST grant you my
career has been brilliant and / have
risen high. But what a difference
from ancient times! Look at Alexander
the Great! After he had conquered
Asia he declared himself the son OF
Jupiter, and. except his mother Olym
pias, Aristotle and a few Atheniar
pedants, the east believed him. Nova
days If 1 were to declare myself the
son Of the Everlasting Father there
isn't a fishwife but would hiss me
The nations are much too enlightened
now, and nothing great is left to do"
"And France" says Mr.. O'Connor, IN
conclusion, sacrificed a million lives
to the monomania of a megalomaniac
What tragedy in history is 80 gigantic
so appalling, so pitiful, in sense 50
| a.