The Washington herald., 1914-03-15

About all there was to the village when
the battle immortalized its name was an
old roads de tavern. with its stables and
sheds and its ancient tower. which legend
Rscribes to q palace erected there by
Theodore some 400 years ago. Against
the stony sides OF those structures the
hail pelted as the contending armies took
and retook the sheltering walls
A Memorial Palace.
The tavern still stands by the road.
along which a rural trolley line now
makes its way. snc its sign. Aloerso
Marengo" is covered with the scars or
time II not Of battle. The Aloe-eo rs
unchanged by the years, and one mlSht
say unswept by the generations Una
have come and gone since Napoles4hh SS SiS
in its lee. beating up the dust with ms
riding whip But against its wall and
behind an iron fence. with golden tlpped
pixies and Iances and battle ayes on top
of it, there rises the NOM monunsssr llf,i1sn pAiaee
| passed within this fence to tnd my
self in the Court OF Honor and standlnS
beside a statue OF the young First hon Ion
OF red granite from the Alps which he
crossed TO write the name of Marengo
on the list of his victories. The palace
walls rising behind and on one SIDE oi
the Court of Honor are entirely covered
with most amazing frescOes. depicting
the spires and domes and arches, avenues
Palaces temples and belvldereS OF Ma
'poleons dream CITY OF NlctorIeS; a. li,', t,ies
true out OF this gorgeous fantasy. the
victor floats at full length while victory
crowns him with laurels. and besaT'
Eellermann and other generals are aIso
Back of the palace are the old tavern
stable and sheds, still echolnG 10 the nm
agination the noans of the poor MouhoSu
fellows who were carried there from the
battlefield A stage coach of the Enl-
press Marie Louise has been Drought
from somewhere and in all Its gaudlness
installed in a shabby barn.
Within the silent. untenanted palace II
self is a gorgeous Gallery of ApotheosiS,
and there are also chambers lined with
pistols muskets, swords, saoers, KNIVES,
and all manner OF rusty, murder9us
thing, raked- in from the battlefield. The
table on which Napoleon is said to have
written his letter TO the Emperor Of Aus
tria has been brought there. with the
veritable quill. the veritable tin INK morn
in which he dipped it. the veritaole SAND
with which he dried his letter and the
yeritable receptacle for water in which
he left the quill when he had hnished.
A high, slender-backed chair, ike piece
of pulp furniture, whereon he Is reputed
to have sat=and napped-is treasured in
a glass case. and above II are nobby
chapeau and a sword and scaooard
crossed. They belonged to Desaix. but
were not worn in the battle:
for Savary records that ghouls had
stolen everything on him and stripped him
naked before his body was cold.
Among the Dead.
Out in pretty park-there are go
acres in the reservation-is a marble bust
of the fallen general in the midst OF
a leafy solitude. his shoulders, chin.
cheeks, and brow black with the scrib-
bied Italian names of visitors A lovely
belvidere rises IN the shade OF great
trees. an altar against its inner wall.
an opening in the center OF the
floor. heap Of bones surprises the
gaze. ..
There inHhat pit are gathered the relics
of the slain In a common pile. where the
boys Of France and the boys Of Austria
are mingling their dust as they mingled
their blood In the creek out on the plain.
May that mute brotherhood of the grave
beneath the trees of Marengo be
prophecy OF the brotherhood Of man In