Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-12-15
NAPoLEoN's FALL.

Il
! NAPoLEoN's FALL.
The Modern AttiIa Crushed by His
| Streak Of Insanity.
Were readers Of history asked to-
day what three human characters
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
Bonaparte. T. P. O'Connor, who for
many years has made 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 a victim of
megalomania, that form Of mental
alienation in which the patient is pos
sessed of grandiose hallucinations.
Mr.. O'Connor 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 nervousness,
later from facial neuralgia. He had a
nervous twitching at the mouth and
the right shoulder. After Toulon ne
long suffered from painful and vast
ling cutaneous disease, and at times ne
had fits of an epileptic character. AS
he was about to leave Strassburg In
1906 on the way to the mighty VIC
tory over General Mack at Ulm he had
one Of these spasms. After dinner on
/ the day he was leaving, says Talley-
rand in his memoirs, the emperor had
called him into his room. There Tai
leyrand found him gasping for breath.
"I tore off his crayat, 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 I sprinkled him with eau
de cologne. He was suffering from
some sort of cramp, which passed on
| in d 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 ny into
a passion on the slightest provocation.
In his impatience he tore many
garment to pieces because It incon-
venienced him In some trihing 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 q
man of dreams, he was man OF ac-
ton. Success did not make the dream
er more cheerful. He had strange
moments Of bitterness and hatred and
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 gentle
man, "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 1t 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 lead
er, under one emperor, with kings for
his officers, who will distribute king
doms 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 chamber
lain, grand master Of the hounds,
ETC."
Napoleon did place kings in several
countries and controlled the policy OF
nearly every country Of Europe
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; he
never was satisfied. After Europe
there was Asia.
On the day he was crowned emper-
or, in December. 1904, he said to his
minister of marine: II grant you my
career has been brilliant and have
risen high But what a difference
from ancient times! Look at Alexan-
der the Great! After he had con-
quered Asia he declared himself the
son of Jupiter. and, except his own
mother. Olympias, Aristotle and a
few Athenian pedants, the east be-
lieved him. Nowadays, IL / were to
declare myself the son Of the Ever
lasting Father there isn't fishwife
but would hiss me! The nations are
much too enlightened now, and moth
ing great is left to do"
"And France" says Mr.. O'Connor,
in conclusion. sacrificed a million
lives to the monomania Of megalo-
maniac. What tragedy in history Is
so gigantic, so appalling, so pitiful, In
sense so ironic?"