, 1911-12-28
NAPCLEoM's FALL,
The Modern AttiIa Crushed by His
Streak of Insanity.
A VICTIM OF MEGALOMANIA,
tnvious of Alexander the Great, He
Aimed to Rule the Whole World. and
france Sacrificed a Million Men on
the Altar of His Monomania.

III u
oeen most prominent in making the
history of the world there could prob
ably be great diversity OF opinion as
to two of such %personages. but as To
the third the general agreement could
probably point to Napoleon Bonaparte.
L. +. OConnor, who for many wears
has made IA study of the modern AT
tia as he was called by his contem
poraries. presents in his London maya
zine an article entitled THE INSANITY
OF Napoleon's Genius" In which h.
shows him to be a victim of megalo
mania. that form of mental alienation
In which the patient Is possessed of
gradiose hallucinations.
Mr.. OConnor discards the idea that
Napoleon because of his gigantic pow
er for work had a perfect physique
and invulnerable health. He suffered
as a child from extreme
later from facial neuralgia. He had n
nervous twitching at the mouth and
the right shoulder. After Touion he
long suffered from a painful and vast
ing %cutaneous disease, and at times he
nav ~ VI an tblltDlN CLuTdtltT. 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 memoirs, the emperor had called
him into his room. There Talleyrand
found him gasping for breath. 81
fnra off hfo 70 -ot for ho uaarnn1 IlFn
to choke He did o vomit. but sigh
ed and foamed. NJ. de Remusat, first
gentleman in waiting, who had also
come into the room, handed him wa.
ter. and l sprinkled him with eau de
cologne. He was suffering from some
sort Of cramp. which passed off in a
quarter of nm hour. We laid him in
an armchair He began to speak. put
his dress right. commanded US to oh
serve the strictest secrecy, and half
an hour later he was on his way to
Carlsruhe."
Another sign of the abnormal in M
poleon was his intense i~rritability. and
often there came a nervous breakdown
that reduced him to the condition of a
hysterical woman. This irritability
sometimes took the form of fits of
weeping He would fly into a passion
on the slightest p~rovocation. In his
Impotence he tore many a garment to
pieces because 1t Inconvenience 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 n 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 infict pain. For
instance. he would say to a lady after
asking her name. Dear me. | was told
you were pretty or to an elderly rem
tleman. You have not much longer TO
live"
1t 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 m~egalomania
He himself caused his downfall. Ma
poleon alone could have conquered Ma
poleon. and It was this megalomanin
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 n i of
Bayaria. one landman of Switzerland.
another stakeholder OF Holland and
giving them all official posts In the i'm
pertal 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 MS
education at Brienne at the expense
Of his sovereign He might have re
mnined the king of kings In Europe
had he been satisfied with that awful
height. But he was not satisfied; he
never WAS NutlSutu NV
there was Asia
On the day he was crowned emperor
in December. 1904. he said to his min
lister of marine: 81 grant you my
career has been brilliant and ! have
risen high. But what a difference
from ancient timesl Look Mt 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 Athenian
pedants, the east believed him. Nova
days II I were to declare myself the
son of the Everlasting Father there
Isn't a nshwife but would hiss me!
The nations are much too enlightened
IL ...lInn rrnnt Ia loft To do