The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1911-12-21
NAPOLEON'S FALL.
The Modern Attila Crushed by His
Streak of Insanity.

have been most prominent in making
the history of the world there could
probably be great diversity of opinion
as to two of such personages, but as
to the third, the general. agreement
could probably point to Napoleon
Boneparte. T. P. O'Connor, who fol
many years has made a study of the
modern Attila, as he was called by his
contemporaries, presents in his Lon
don magazine an article entitled 'The
Insanity of Napoleon's Genius" IN
which he shows him to be victim Of
megalomania, that form of menta
alienation in which the patient is pos
sessed of grandiose hallucinations.
Mr.. O'Connor discards the idea
that Napoleon because of his gigantic
power for work had a perfect phys
ique and invulnerable health. He
suffered as child from extreme ner.
| vousness, later from facial neuralgia
He had a nervous twitching at. the
| mouth and the right shoulder. After
Toulon he long suffered from pain
full and wasting cutaneous disease,
| and at times he had fits of an epilep-
tic character. AS he was about to
leave Strassburg in 1905 on the way
to the mighty victory over General
Mack at Ulm he had one of these
spasms. After dinner on the day he
was leaving, says Talleyrand in his
memories, the emperor had called
him into his room. There Talleyrand
found him gasping for breath. Il
tore off his cravat, for he seemed like
to choke. He did not vomit, but
sighed and foamed. M. de Remusat,
first gentleman in waiting, who had
also come into the room, handed him
water, and 1 sprinkled him with eau
de cologne. He was suffering from
scme sort of cramp, which passed off
in a quarter of an hour. We laid him
in an armchair. He began to speak,
put his dress right, commanded us to
observe the strictest secrecy, and
half an hour later he was on his way
to Carlsruhe.'
Another sign of the abnormal IN
Napoleon was his intense irritability,
and often there came a 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
a passion on the slightest provoca-
ton. In his impatience he tore many
a garment to pieces because it in
convenienced him in some trifing
way. He had an 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 the
dreamer more cheerful. He had
strange moments of bitterness and
hatred and a desire to infict pain.
For instance he would say to lady
after asking her name, Dear me, I
was told you were pretty" or to an
elderly. gentleman, '*you have not
much longer to live"
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 mega
lomania. He himself caused his
downfall. Napoleon alone could have
conquered Napoleon, 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
consul, "be no peace in Europe till it
is under the command of a single
leader, under one emperor, with
kings for his officers, who will dis
tribute 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 imperial
household, such as grand cupbearer'
grand chamberlain, grand master OF
the hounds, etc.
Napoleon did place kings in sever
a, countries and controlled the policy
of nearly every country of Europe
wonderful achievement for the
poverty-stricken charity boy who got
his education at Brienne at the ex-
pense of his sovereign. He might
have remained the king of kings IN
Europe had he been satisfied with