The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-02-07
THRILL OF LIFE,
HISTORIAN SAYS
OF LOVE NOTES
Human Drama of Love and
Tragedy UnfOlded in
Napoleon Letters.

~ Timcs Special
PARIS. FEB. Ito Charles de Ia
Ronciere the task OF writing the
commentary on the newly discOv-
cred love letters Of Napoleon 70
Marie Louise is the thrill Of a life
time he said when interviewed at
his de1k In the BlbliOtheque Ma
tionale.
NJ. Ia Ronciere's commentary,
giving the historical background Of
the period between 1910 and 1914.
when the letters were written, viii
accompany their publication Tor the
first time in the world in The Indi-
annapolis Times starting on Feb. b.
The writer. who IS principal Gus
t0dian Of the French National Ii
brarv. was specially chosen by the
French government because Of his
E-ev-Is authorship Of many stand
ard historical works.
His commentary is being written
while a corps Of eminent French
historians and photographers is hard
at work d~eciphering and translat-
ing the 318 letters written BY the
Little Corporal" TO MS empress
when at the zenith Of his amazing
career.
Thrill Of Lifetime
las a historian" said NJ. La Ron
ciere. these letters have given me
the thrill Of my life. Probably not
for a hundred years has there been
such an important contribution TO
history. Historians OF the past. like
the late Frederic Mason. bewailed
the loss Of those letters, fallen into
the hands OF no one knew whom.
Now that they have been found, we
shall have 10 revise many Of our
notions OF the N%apOleonic epoch.
As a man with a soul. I could not
help being profoundly moved as the
drama Of love aid the tragedy Of a
great mans destiny unfOlded them
selves for me in those 3l8 hastily
sc.lbbled notes. How madly Ma
pOleon loved his blond young wife
That ne really loved her was known
already. but the newly discovered
letters show that he loved with a
depth. an ardOr. a tenderness quite
unsupported.
But was Marie Louise in love
with NapOleOn2 That has always
been a subject Of disagreement
among historians. Well. the letters
settle the question definitely. The
emperor's references to her senti-
ments as expressed IN her letters
leave no room for doubt that Marie
Louise. even when her father. En-
peror Francis Joseph Of Austria was
at war with her husband. adOred the
Corsican 'upstart Of Europe as her
ideal Prince Charming.
Love Story Unfolded
The letters tell n of the most
passionate love stories Of the age.
They are thrilling. gripping, in the
intensity Of emotion they convey.
Remember, the emperor wrote al
most every day. In his tent. with
tine smoke Of battle still heavy all
around. cOnquering his frayed
nerves. he would dismiss his mar
shaLs and. I'm solitude. pour out his
heart on paper 10 his beloved. The
victorious general. before whom the
world trembled, became the anxious.
tender lover.
often the emperOr'S handwrit-
ing. always frightfully bad, became
quite nlegible, betraying the nervous
strain under which he was labor
ing. It is highly probable. indeed,
that Marie Louise was unable TO
read some Of the staccatO phrases
penned by Napoleon. As a matter
of fact. a few Of them have puz-
zled Our experts. But those cases
are. Of course, are.
Another interesting thing that
struck me about the letters was the
dual personality of the writer. OBJ
viOuSly. at times. Napoleon was
thin King Of posterity, and penned
his letters accordingly. He visual
lied hisrOriOns examining them with
cold professional interest. These
would he more formal, more digni-
fed. more respectful. In others,
Napoleon threw away all restraint,
declared his passionate love. call
ing his wife by little ~endearing
names. and using the intimate. af-
fectiOnate thou instead Of the
more cOurtly you
Signed Letters Nap"
And what a delightfully."- human
touch when the powerful emperor
signs himself in a homely, ocular
fashion. Just 'Nap.I
Can YOU wonder" asked NJ. La
ROnciere. that I have worked on
this commentary with an enthusi-
aSm such as I have not felt before
during all the 40 years Of my busy
career as a histOrian2
7 have found il an exciting task