davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
The Despot and the Man

The man was not despot from van lty so much as from a redundance of power of mastery, with which his nature was endowed He protested in all good faith that he was not over-ambitious T have no ambition, or if l have any it is so natural, so innate that it is like the blood which flows in my veins and the atmosphere breathe' He was like a giant forest king which. with It's far running roots and wide-spreading branches dwarfs it's companions
 He never put down any man for honest ly standing up to him. But he grew in- creasingly intolerant of the timid and shifty who sought to come to their ends by stealth and intrigue, and he laid it down as a law for the whisperers behind his back that the ministers and the mo- bles whom he had created must stop ex- pressing their opinions and thoughts. be- cause their treason had already begun when they began to doubt"
 Duroc impatiently chided Dumas, You always commit the same fault; you will answer the Emperor" Yet Gohier says 'it was the one who had vexed him most in debate whom he generally asked to dinner" And Caulaincourt. whose candor the Emperor admired. and trusted. tes- tified: Once the first irritation was past he gensrously forgave ofrenses." General Rapp, the blunt Alsatian, never ceased to speak his mind to the Emperor or to command his regard How do your Germans like these little napoleonsr' the Emperor asked one day. as he was examining new vintage of 20 franc gold pieces. Better than the great one, sirs, 2
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09

white buttons. a white waistcoat and fresh pair of white knee brooches daily
 -because he would Wipe his quill on them--and silk stockings with gold buckles on his shoes. On his shoulder he wore the modest epaulets of mere colonel, and on his breast a silver dec- oration of the Legion of Honor. with the grand cordon of the order beneath his coat. His cravat was always black
 When he was complaining, "I have more crowns than I know what to do with" he still wore no other hat than the black three-cornered chapeau of Revolutionary days with its tri-color cockade Sober as that headgear was, he was particular about it's condition and quality, buying as many as a score of hats In a year-they are scattered throughout the museums of Europe-and paying SIP each for them. Moreover, Constant always had to break them in by wearing them for several days before they adorned the imperial head.
 Enameled snuff boxes were another of Napoleon's few extravagances. He never smoked and he took snuff rather as a nervous habit tban to satisfy any crav- ing for nicotine, shaking far more of the powder on the floor or ground than he ever inhaled. Cologne was still another of his indulgencies. His handkerchief was saturated with it. His hair reeked with it. He bathed in 1t and bottle of it was poured over his shoulders every morning.
 This Ina rd worked servant of inc world claimed only his board and clothes for his pay, and no prosperous tradesman lived on simpler fare dressed more plainly. He was shocked at one time to find that his dress was costing $12,0OO a year and he straightway reduced the amount to $4000. Still he insisted that he could be content if he had only s250 year and a horse.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09

the soldier frankly replied Marshal Lannes was another who persisted In freely speaking his mind in the impe- rial presence, and never lost anything by speaking it.
 The Emperor brooked the most gross insult from Talleyrand. He came back from Spain to learn of more plotting on the part of his grand chamberlain and he fell upon him furiously. When the imperial storm had spent itself Tal- leyrand turned to the watching cour- tiers and coldly observed "Is it not a pity that so great a man should have been so poorly brought up.'
 In the nature of things, a despotism never relaxes, but always tends to be- come more and more astrlngent, since 1t destroys independence and initiative. Tn camp and court alike the servitors of Napoleon ceased to argue with him, correct his mistakes or even to address him, except to reply to his questions.
 The nations stood hushed in the pres ence of his towering might. As many as 30 persons were forbidden to assem- ble anywhere in France without 0 license, and no book was permitted to be put on sale until 1t had been in the hands of the police seven days.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
The Mother First

When a year had passed since Marie Louise made her entry into the empire, the monstrous clapper of the great bell in the south tower of Notre Dame sound ed a summons to the devout, which was chimed by all the church bells of Paris, calling upon the people to give the night over to prayer for the Empress.
 Early in the morning while the Elm pe1or was restroting to his customary remedy for strained nerves in steaming bath, pr, Dubois, the foremost maternity specialist of Paris, excitedly burst in upon him to say that the event was at hand, and that he feared either the mother or the child must be sacrificed.
 Napoleon always was true in his simpler moments. In the presence of the problem presented to him by the physician, the monarch and his dynastic ambitions gave way to the man and the husband. Come! Come. M. Dubosr' he exclaimed. Do not lose your head! What would you do in the same circumstances if you were at tending the wife of a citizen?" Dr. Dubois replied that he would use instruments
 Well, then" the Emperor commanded him, do just as you would if you were in the house of a tradesman in the Rue St. Denis. Be careful of the mother and the child. but if you cannot save both, save the mother for me. Whatever hap pens, consider her first"
 No less than % persons of the court were crowded about the Empress, in her travail, including Cambaceres and Der thier and four physicians as well as the lady of honor. the governess, half dozen ladies in waiting, as many women in at tendance, the maids of the wardrobe and the nurse. But among them all the l9- year-oid girl saw none of her kindred and no face of an old friend. Perhaps the only one in the group upon whom she looked with trust was the widow of Lan- nes, the Duchess of Montebello, whose uprighteous and devotion as lady of honor had won the confidence of her mistress
 The spectacle of the Empress sufferings unieleved by anaesthetics, soon drove her husband pale and trembling from the scene to look out upon the great silent throng that had been gathered since dawn. Although he often stole back to her room, the victor in 100 battles could not find the courage to stand his ground. But go where he would he could not es- cape the outcries of his wife, which rang through the palace and followed him wherever he went.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
Napoleon and His Boy

Marie Louise enjoyed d speedy con valescence, leaving her Led when the baby was but 1T days old, and appear ing before the public on the terrace in the garden 10 days later. The infant was nursed for IA months at the breast of the wife of palace mechanic and the maternial instinct seems never to have been very deeply aroused in thes girl mother.
 The Emeperor and the public were surprised to have the Empress insist on accompanying him on Journey through the country only two months after the birth. when she was away from her child more than two weeks Probably the little fellow was oftener in the arms of his father than of his mother The Emperor proudly carrleu him to the palace windows to show him to the people. and he presented him before the imperial guard to receive his first salute When his infantile majesty tore to pieces a guardsmans plume one day while the veteran was holding him. Dnroc told the soldier to let the Prince have his fun and he gave him an oroef for two plumes to take it's place.
 But the governess, Mime. de Montes- ouieu-.Mama Que"-did not humor the King in his naughtiness. When she thought he was old enough to know bet ter she found a way to bring him out or a spasm of screaming rage She simply closed all the windows, and as the yell ing urchin lying on the floor saw her closing them, his curiosity was aroused. q did it." the governess soberly ex- plained. .'so that the people would not hear you. For the French never wouio have a King who behaved so badly as you are behaving"
 The governess, however, was alarmed many times by the, seemingly careiess and sometimes rough manner in wnlcn the eagle played with his tender fedge- ling. He tossed him about, boisterously rolled on the floor with him, weighted him down with big sword strapped around him, gave him things to eat that upset his stomach, and as the decorous daughter of the Hapsburgs wrote her father, was very childish about him If the child cried when he made awful faces at him. the Emperor rebuked him. What! King. and crying! Fie! Fie!'
 
 presence of Talma, the tragedian. but only for the fun of spanking King
 A favorite playtime was at the Elm peror's breakfast when he liked to hold his boy on his knee, perhaps dipping his own fingers into some sauce and smear ing the little face with it. In another scene that grew familiar to the court. the Emperor seated on his sofa. studied state papers with the child beside him, or, holding him in his lap. he sat at his desk scratching his signature on oI4iers and decrees for Europe to obey.
 As the Russian war clouds lowered the Emperor had wooden blocks of many kinds and colors made, representing the units of an army. and these he carefully arranged and moved about in various experimental operations. If the boy chanced to see his father lying on the floor, apparently playing with those pret- ty toys he naturally insisted on taking a hand In the game. Although he inevit- ably brought centurion upon the thought
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09

lol1. II IL SnOuiu De oniy ehi, -i oeAS were to be fired, but If a boy, 101 thun- derous slaves we erto proclaim the birth of an heir to the sovereignty of the earth.
 In the Tuileries, two gorgeous little cribs stood side by side, one pink, the other blue Nearby them rose the gift of the city of Paris, a magnificent cradle, de- signed by the famous artist, Prudhon. It was overlaid with mother of pearl and golden bees and at it's head a winged figure of Glory held crown high above the pillow, while young eagle perched at the foot with wings outspread ready for flight A great heap of lacy, tiny garments had been made at a cost of $6o,- GOO, and a governess from the highest mo- bility was in readiness to take her ap- pointed place of honor in the imperial nur- sery.
 As early as December, 1910, on the sixth anniversary of his coronation, Napoleon received the congratulations of the Sen ate on his expectations of paternity, and F brides, with generous doweries from the Empress, marched to the altar Of Notre Dame. Under the spell of sympa- thetic emotions. the Emperor organized 1000 of the great ladies of France in a society for the aid of needy young mothers and the Impress became its patron
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
Let my son bring in- to'bloom all that l have SOWn.

per1al order, Napoleon said, Why do bridges always have parapets? Simply to keep fools from jumping into the rIversl Out of 100000 persons who cross perhaps there may not be one who has a fancy to go and see what is at the bottom of the river and yet parapets are built on all bridges. and without justice, for few instances of persons throwing themselves over would be enough to make bridges the regular resort of suicides. My checks on my treasury are my para. pets. I must have parapsts; for my confidence is more se- curely founded on severity of rule than of the character of men,"
 Every movement of a regiment among his million troops. every ap- po:ntment of second class clerk must have his sanction while he took unto himself the choice of all the municipal councillors of France. Duroc only put the truth in the form of irony when he wrote to Prince Eugene, viceroy of Italy: "If you wish orders or advice from His Majesty in the alteration of the ceiling of your room. you should fSit dAitti JOd 6C thNii W VI -'AiA'NAN burning and you asked orders for put ting out the fire. you should let Milan burn until you got. them!'
 As Taine said, My armies. my fleets, my councils. my Senate, my popula- tioEs, my Empire" had come to be Ma poleon's proprietary tone. For while he kept the name of the republic in the Empire. but since 1907 he had boldly proclaimed himself Napoleon by grace of God and the constitution. Emperor of the French, King Of Italy and Pro- tector of the Confederation of the Rhine.'
 A language of humble adulation had been invented for the expression of the reverence and dred inspried by the favor of destiny. Your imperial and royal majesty will judge in your sub limity." the Prince Primate of the Con federation of the Rhine so addressed him in submitting a proposal
 catecism was issued for the youth of the Empire. which drilled them to avow that the Emperor was the min is:er of the power of God the divine image on earth. To disobey the Elm paror was to disobey God and there fore disobedience of the Emperors com r,ands would place the guilty in peril of eternal damnation. All that. of course was put out for political purposes and when one of his cabinet emulated 1t in a public document Napoleon dryly noti- fled him: T will dispense with your comparing me to God
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
The King of Rome

It was not far from o'clock in the morning when man child came feet fore most into the world which was to be his 6rthright But the little eagle was si- lent blue and apparently lifeless and all interest was centered upon the mother. Napoleon gave his whole attention to her and no more than glanced at the tiny figure as 1t lay neglected on the floor.
 Only when the Empress had rallied, did the governess turn to the all-but-for- gotten and supposedly dead child. Fore ing between it's dumb lips a drop of brandy, she slapped it's still body and wrapped it in hot cloths It was seven minutes after the birth when a faint cry startled the company. At that feeble wall wild joy leaped into the heart of Napoleon and he bent and kissed the inheritor of his throne, the perpetuator of his dynasty, the King of Rome.
 Fastening away with eager steps to the assembled dignitaries of the empire, he shouted to them Well. gentlemen, we have fine. healthy boy'-the little King weighed nine pounds He had to be urged q little, but he is here at last" Now the imperial brow clouded in a .momen- tary reaction and he feelingly exclaimed, My dear wifel want no more children at the cost of such suffering!' Dr. Dubois received the title of baron and gift of s2O.09O for his successful services, but the physicians agreed in warning the Emperor that the Empress could hardly survive the or6eal again.
 Paris and France and all the sub- feet nations still waited and watched for the news until the signal battery of the Hotel des Invalides began to boom. The city stopped and hearkened; the people in the streets stood still; the tradesmen in the shops came to their
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
LlAQlZEOYA YA1No AzJ 0QU

doors; the women in the homes opened their windows. When they had counted 21, it seemed as if the salute had ceased, so tense was the curiosity. so impatient were the counters with the pause. But as another salvo rolled over the city. the roar of the guns was drowned in the cheers of the people. and Napoleon. with tears in his eyes looked out upon their rejoicing.
 Mime. Blanchard sailed away in q balloon to scatter printed bulletins in her path and carry the tidlngs beyond the reverberations of the cannon. The semaphore telegraph flashed the mes- sage through the sunshine that2suffused the natal day; and by moon the cheers were rolling over the empire from burg.
 A courier raced to Vienna with jubi- lant note from the father to the grand father, and another sped to the chateau of Navarro, where the next day the door of Josephines appartment was noisely thrown open by an usher, who cried: "A message from the Emperor" The divorced Empress read; My son is a big. healthy boy He has my chest my mouth, my eyes. l hope he will full fill his destiny
 Josephine disclosed no twinge or envy, but said to a friend in simple sim cerity, T am happy to see that the sacrifice I have made for France has been of use. and that the country s future is assured. How happy the Elm peror must ber' But alas. the gift her intuition had chosen was a pin for girl baby, One day she was to receive a clandestine visit from the child in the little chateau of Bagatelle. at the edge of the Bois de Boulogne, and press to her bosom the son of Napolieon
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
Behind the Scenes

7 Although the Emperor had abolished tie name of the republic and covered the French people with the gold braid of his imperial livery, he reserved for himself the privilege of dressing in the republican simplicity of the Revolution. Be parsimonious at home and magni- ficent abroad" was the keynote of this corlsummate master of stage effects. Except when he put on the purple and pli.med toggery of the throne, no one dared to appear at court as plainly ap- paralled as he.
 He had only two styles of clothing. a blue coat for Sundays, and for everyday wear a green coat with single row of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
Again Fast

Already the Emperor who had left home at and been a man ever since was yawning, 'the world is very old,'' and was vetoing experiments. "OId prac- tices are worth more than new theories.'' he said. Yet 1t was only dozen years since he burst upon Europe and ovss. whelmed her with the power of a usw idea.
 In an autocracy the state ages with the autocrat. Napoleon and his mar shals and ministers were asam rast, and. by reason of the peace they had gone they were prematurely old Tho Emperor. calculating that they would all be 50 at the same time, lamented to his council of state that younger men could never fill their shoes. They were all children of the revolution" he said, tempered in its waters, and they rose from them with vigor that will not be repeated'
 The lean and Hungry little corporal. with his wagon hitched t, his star and cashing forth to meet victory. had now left the stage to the sated and corpu- lent Emperor who was only fully aroused at the approach of diversity. His arteries were the empires as well, and they hardened together The lux uries of royalty" he confessed. proved a heavy charge.' As his paunch deve- oped. the body polite became obese and municated to the extremities or nis realm.
 His work was done or as nearly so as he could do 1t. He had carried the revo- lution to the borders of Russia. He had swept aside the rubbish of the middles ages and opened the way for a new era He had struck feudalism dead beyond resurrection and crippled class rrivilege beyond repair. Even in setting up throne for himself. he had disclosed as he said, that thrones arc "only few deal planks. and thus he stripped kingcraft of its divinity forever.
 Copyright, 19is-l4 by James Morgan)
 Next Sunday-"How the Prov Of the Yankee Schooner Became the Wedge That Forced Apart Napoleon and the Car, and How All Christendom Went tc War In 1872"
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
In the Path Of Napoleon 100 Years After His DoOfan

The birth-cry that was heard round the earth is the subject of MT. Nor gan's story today, and he sketches the excitement attending the arrival of the most richly lowered baby that ever came into the world, of the heir to the broadest estates to which child ever was born. It is but the beginning Of the pathetic tale of PAiglon.
 That the birth of the King of Rome, the realization of Napoleon's longing for successor to perpetuate his dy- nasty, should definitely mark the be- ginning of the end of the empire, IS among the ironies of history. Nov open the tragic chapters in the Napoi- comic drama.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09

its check somewhere. The fear of tho ballot in free government is replaeeo with the fear of the bullet in despot- ism. The apparent absolutism of the '.au- tocrat of all the Russias" ever has been tempered by assassination. The Czar Alexander, hemmed in by nobility of assassins, naively expressed his aston ishment that Napoleon should have been so foolish to create and surround him- self with an aristocracy.
 As the Emperor repressed the freedom of speech and printing he took increasing precautions against explosions. He shut in his palace grounds more and more and burrowed in subterranean passages. When he set out upon an imperial prog ress among the people three parties Of trusted functionarles preceded him at in- tervals to inspect and clear a safe way for him. The grand marshal of the pal- ace always attended and guarded him: and "a weasel could not get by Duroc.'' He even carried his own supply of can dles in order that the Emperor should not be exposed to a loaded candle. As A protection against poison on the Journey the grand marshal delayed the buying Of provisions for the imperial table until just before meal time, when his agents scat tered and made their purchases in as many places as were available.
 At home and abroad Roustan, the mameluke, always slept on a pallet out side the door of the Emperor whose let ter of instructions to his brother King Joseph expressed the uneasiness of a head that wears a crown; Your door should be fastened on the inside Cat night) and you should not open it even to your aide until you have recognized his voice He ought not to knock at your door until he has taken the precaution of locking the door of his own room, so that he can be sure that no one can follow him. These precautions are of importance. They may save your lifer'
 That his throat might not be cut. Na- poleon learned to shave himself In the consulate when Constant first came to barber him, he rose and shot an anxious searching gaze through the new valet. Detecting no sign of a guilty conscience. proceed But he ever afterward refused to lay bare his jugular to any other hand and Constant taught him to shave hjm- self. Even then he required the assist ance of no less than thre servants one ance of no less than thre servants one have a towel in hand, another to bear the strop and the brush and the soap. and the third big silver wash basin and the indispensable eau de cologne.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-09
Press and Pulpit

Although the Emperor had suppressed all but eight newspapers in Paris, whose combined circulation was only 1S,632 copies, the few survivors con tinued to annow him. Even while he revised them with his sword he com plained that the newspapers are ex- tremely badly editer." He scornfully held the journalist ito be "a grumbler. a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns a tutor of nations Four newspapers are more dangerous than 100000 soldiers in arms"
 When one of the spared monuments of the press printed speech by Can ming. the English statesman the Elm peror complained of the aditor to Fouehe That young man is either an so for me. If he does not change his ways, I shall change the editor" As to another he directed, Keep the editor in prison for month and appoint some one in his place.
 The list of subjects forbidden to the types increased as time went forward until the poor editors had nothing with which to All their columns. But the Emperor came to the resc and told them they were free to l sprint the news published in the Moniteur." his own paper. where he displayed talents that assure us if he had not been an Emperor he might have been a very Napoleon of Journalism.
 No less closely did he watch the pull pit than the press. When confronting an enemy in arms he marshaled the bishops and priests to pray and preach against the. foe. Here Is characteristic command to the police: You must have a great fuss made. especially in the pa pers of Brittany and the vendee and Belgium, over the persecution of the Irish Catholics by the Anglican church. sss Make secret arrangements with certain bishops so that when the articles have produced an impression, prayers may be offered. You must always say Anglican church., in- stead of Protestant for We have Protestants in France. but no Angli- can."