The Washington herald., 1914-06-21

hardly knew whether to congratulate tn
author on his startling perspicacity or
have him shot and his book suppressed;
also penetrated the secret Of Frederick
the Greats art, he was glad to consult
him In the PrusBian Campaign.
Jomini himself said that the more man
his friend Ney had the worse on he was.
because he did not know what to do with
them. No more did the hero In dirty
his overcoat sleeves. ever learn what 10
do with his aristocrafie honorz, which
l,ss,, he ssrey on Eheasvss hs d.Fsd. as.
when. as he said Il esteemed myself
rich rich with two ioaEes Of bread On the
Stranger than Firtion.
While four narshals. Ney. 5erthier.
two, Murat and Bernadotte, became
kings Those royalties were both Cas-
cons. wearing in their dark faces such
livery Of the Furnished sun As to look
more Ike Moors than Frenchmen-
Although Mile. Lenormand. the proph-
etess Of Paris In the Empire promised
read the seas for him that he would
be king. with q kingdom beyond the
seas" his strange fortune never has
to overthrow the republic and become
dictator, but Director Sieyes. with whom
he plotted. turned from him in disEust
as "a blackbird who thinks he is an
When Napoleon instead became dicta-
tor, Bernadotte entered into a conspiracy
asainst his chief and was denounced by
Talleyrand as "a furious beast, a grena-
der capable Of all and everything" who
was equal even to hiring four cut
throats to make away with Napoleon"
put him at a safe distance and ordered
him to command the Louisiana expeCii-
ton, before the sale Of that territory.
but Bernadotte rejected the post and
afterward- when appointed Minister to
the United States. he eluded exile az
Washington by. missing three boats in
OPPOSING the establishment of the Le-
gion Of Honor. he received its highest
decoration Resisting the Empire. he
ing to scorn titles, he found himself a
prince In all the battles Of the Empire
he had only a short half-hour of glory
stadt. missing Eylau and being ordered
on the field of Wagram for a disastrous
folly. Yet Napoleon let him be chosen
to the throne of Sweden, and when this
ex-sergeant became King, he was NOR
oidly unhappy because he was not an
emperor.
The only explanation Of this other
wise inexplicable career Is offered by the
gossips Of history. who tell US that Ma
poleon = extraordinary indulgence was all
own one-time sweetheart. Desiree Clary.
Desiree would have become the bride OF
Joseph BonapaTte. and ultimately Queen
brother had not come upon the scene
at Marseilles. and In his superior wis
dom selected her sister. Julie, as better
suited to the elder Bonaparte and De-
stree as just the girl for himself. Julie
Is The one for Joseph" he announced,
because he has an undecided character,
while she knows what she wants and
will get IT"
But On the end poor little Desiree lost
both Bonaparstes and her chance to be
NJ -
French. and had to content herself with
Benadotte as the best opportunity in
sight Wherefore Napoleon's troubled
to Desiree for the two crowns which he
had snatched from her brow. ThuA
merely by way Of compensation, she be-
Pontecorvo. Princess Royal and Queen
of Sweden.
; 1t is not so in the story books! And
shals, his dukes and duchesses, princes
and prtncesses, kings and queens, all
stranger than fiction?
Kicking Over the Ladder.
The Emperor rejoiced in fulfilling his
promise to make the fortunes Of those
who have worked with me to found the
snt snf as the valiant 81 ,ons Of
Revolution gained the nights of imperial
grandeur, the ladder by which they had
climbed c from Soseority -,I, 70 distinction:
kicked over. The Emperor himself
vowed that henceforth II will never EN-
ploy any man who has not an income
of 5000 a year from land Of his own
am not rich enough to make the fortune
OF every, one in the world" No more
sergeants need apply for dukedoms and
He still stirred his soldiers with the
illusory hope that any one Of them might
find a marshars baton in his knapsack;
but alas, none Of them did. For the
batons were ali gone and no marshal OF
France emerged from the ranks of the
Grand Army. He continued to proclaim
the promise of a career open to every
talent but all those hereditary titles and
estates which he had created were mort
cages on posterity, perpetual entails.
each Of which forever closed a door to
talent and merit.