The Washington herald., 1912-09-21
FOREIGN GOSSIP.

ruthlessly with Napoleonic relics From
the house in which he was born. al
Ajaccio. In Corsica. nearly everything OF
interest has vanished. In Elba dispersal
| has gone on by fits and starts. and. as
took occasion to narrate the other day.
but little remains to be scattered.
Eiba, one of the almost forgotten isles
of the Mediterranean, is one of three
which played a part In Napoleon's life
story-Corsica. Elba. and ST. Helena In
a way, II was Elba, too. which saw the
greater tragedy than ST. Helena The
latter was grim: Elba was pitiful. To
the trifiing affairs of a little island, some
| sixteen miles long. a giant directed that
attention and method which built a
powerful empire. but which pride
wrecked. During ten months he aped
that royalty which be had lost, writing
needless DEGREES to Ibis people" begin
| ming with Napoleon, Emperor, Sover-
eign OF Elba-1 The master OF powerful
legions had an opera bouffe army.
The little island remains to-day just
as Napoleon saw It. save that iron mines
and forges blot more of the delightful
landscape. The town of Portoferralgo
QronporD. founded In 154s is too quaint.
too antiquated to change. 1t is built
upon rocky promontory in the north
white little town of fiat-roofed houses,
standing In tiers. encircled by a wall ris-
ing and bulging out here and there into
towers. Its streets. like those of Cor
sica, or Sardina, or the cities of Italy
proper, built in the Appenine Mountains.
are mostly stairs hewn out of the rock
Up the steepest OF such streets, or
stairs. in Eliza the Carsa di Napoleone,
the first of his five residences on the
island. can be found. 1t is a house with
green shutters and red tiles, like many
a villa on the Cote d'Azur" The ex-
traordinary charm Of the place and the
landscape Is the first thing that strikes
the tourist The garden Is very taste
fully laid out with flowers. bushes, and
trees, and beyond is the pure blue
C''aZureD of the Sea OF Toscana. set
with shining sequins of the sun. What
place for genuine repose, especially
after a life devoted to war!
Part Of the Mulini Palace as the resi-
dence was called, has for a long time
been occupied by the military authori-
ties. The rest is left deserted. The
rooms are in decay, save the large salon
on the first floor. All the furniture has
disappeared but II the story told of the
way in which Napoleon furnished his
palace be true. it would have been addi-
tionally interesting had il remained.
When the residence WIS ready he found
Piombino. the nearest point on the IatI-
ian mainland, there was a great deal of
il in the palace belonging to his sister
Elisa. Though II had been seized by
Austria. Napoleon sent a ship, the mas
ter OF which had instructions to carry
away as much as possible The free
booting expedition succeeded. though
scarcely enough furniture was brought
for the whole palace.
At that time Prince Borghese. the hus-
band of the Emperors sister Pauline.
was driven from Turin. and some of his
furniture was being sent part of the way
to Rome by sea Adverse weather drove
the ship nto an Elban port. When Napo-
leon heard what the vessel carried he
had the cargo seized, so that the furni-
ture might not go out Of the family"
Thus was the Mulini Palace furnished.
After leaving Elba. Napoleon presented
the palace to the city of Portoferraio as
a museum. and his library to the public
When, however, the Grand Duke of Tus-
cany once more entered into possession
of the island he carried of a large num-
Der of the books, and disposed of the
furniture. while come French officials.
in their hurried departure. went or with
many documents which would now have
been OF great interest and value. The
books which the duke did not care for
were placed in the Hotel de Vile. and
there they still remain. 1t is curious
to handle the books OF the Emperor to
run ones eye over their titles and dis
cover his literary tastes. There are
half a hundred volumes of Voltaire, a
complete Don Quixote." MOntaigne. La
Fontaine. historical works in great num-
ber. volumes on chemistry, archaeology,
history and military science: but the
peculiar feature of the remnant OF the
,ft~ L.. III
Nights" and numerous volumes of IA
bles and legends. which Napoleon pre-
ferred above all others. Strange but true.
The man of fierce and strenuous action
also was a dreamer.
The second of the Emperor's residences
in Elba was at San Martino. way up
among the hills, in the center of the
island. It was to be the summer palace,
and the best artists the Emperor could
procure We're given carte blanche to dec
crate the place. But their art was little
better than that of the pavement artist.
One room, as I have narrated before, is
decorated in Egyptian style. with col
umns, hieroglyphics, and Egyptian
scenes. The floor is tiled, and there is a
fountain in the center. The only thing
Napoleonic now in the house is the En-
peror's bath. San MARITIME should have
Deen rlCn IN souvenirs Napoleon gain
cred together there all those he pos
sessed of Marie Louise and of his son.
the King of Rome. They did not remain
there long. In 1851 the residence became
the property of Prince Demidoff. who
had married Mathilde, Jerome's daugh-
ter. Demidoff had a large private COL
lection of Napoleonic souvenirs, and these
he placed in San MARITIME. But thirty
years later Demidoff's heir disposed of
all these historic relics by sale.
San Martino. however, lying sheltered
too much by mountains from refreshing
winds, proved to be too uncomfortable
for hot summer days. and Napoleon
therefore fed to the cool heights of the
west of the island. There he found the
Chapel of the Madonna, and beside 1t
the dilapidated hovel of the lay hermit.
He had the later put in order; he added
to the accommodation by erecting tents,
and his orderlies used the chapel as a
dressing room. The rough place could
scarcely have been altogether pleasant
for the Emperor, but he stayed there a
few weeks, his mother being one of the
small party. 1t was the lovely scenery
that charmed them. for the place lies in
the most beautiful spot in the island, a
typically Corsican landscape. How IL
must have reminded the Emperor and
Mime. Mere of that island home they
could see clearly from the hermitage!
1t was only a short distance away, but
what a long Redeemed road theirs had
been from one island to the other. To
this lovely spot also came that exceed
ingly handsome Polish noblewoman who
had long charmed the EmperorAthe