NAPOLEON III

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 204, 24 January 1873, Page 5

NAPOLEON 111

The death of sucli a man.as Xnpoleon 111. cannot be considered except with mingled feelings of awe, regret, and commiseration : awe for the 'turmoils likelj to Boring up in Europe through reactionary feeling; regret tor the splendid talents of a long lite spent at whatever cost of hum;t:i life ; and eommiseraiion for the baffled, hunted man, dying of disease in exile. The following particulars of bis .life, will be of interest:—

Napoleon 111. (ex-Emveror of the 'French.) CCkarles-Loiiis-Nafoleon Bonaparte) was the third son of Louis Bonaparte, ex-King of Holland, his mother being PI or tense, the dauguter of the Empress -Josephine, by her first marriage. _ His birth, which took place at the Tuiieries, April 20, 180S, was an- • nounced through the Empire, and in Holland, by the roar of artillery, and he was baptised by Cardinal Fesch, November 4, 1810, the Emperor and the .Empress lYlai'ieLoiuse being Ms sponsors. After Napoleon's return from Elba, his young nephew accompanied him to the Champ de Mai, and was there presented to the deputies of the people and the army. The splendour of this scene left a deep impression on the mind of the boy, then .only seven years old. When Napoleon embi'aced him for the last time at Malmaison, he was much agitated; the child wished to follow his uncle, and was with difficulty pacified by his mother. Then commenced the banishment of the family. Thwarted in his expectations, Louis-Napoleon entertained hopes of another revolution in France, though at that time he had formed no definite plan of preferring liis own claims in opposition to those of the Bourbon dynasty. Sn the beginning of 1831 he and his brother left Switzerland and settled in Tuscany, and they took part in the insurrection at Home. His elder brother died at Forli, .March 17, 1831, and Louis escaped, through Italy and France, to England, where he remained a short time, and then retired to the castle of Ahrenenberg, in Thurgau, devoting a part of his leisure in 1832-5 to the preparation of several books. The first of these appeared under the title of " Reveries Polihiques," in which, he declared his belief that France could only be regenerated by one of Napoleon's descendants, as they alone could reconcile republican principles with, the military aspirations of the nation. A year or two afterwards he issued two others, "Considerations Politic; ues et Militaires sur la Suisse," and "Manuel snr I'Artillerie " The latter, a work, of considerable size, was- favorably reviewed in the military journals of the day. His designs upon the throne of France became evident in the early part o.f 1835, and in 1886 his plans were so far matured as to induce him to make an attempt to seize the fortress of Strasburg. In June, 1838, he left Ahrenenberg for BaclenBadsn, where he gained over Col. Vaudrey,commander of artillery in the garrison of Strasburg. The affair, however, . failedmiserably; the Prince himself was captured, and was detained prisoner in Strasburg from Oct. 30 till Nov. 9, when he was conducted to Paris. His life was spaied, on the condition that he should be sent to the United States. He protested against this, but in vain, and he was accordingly conveyed to that country. There, however, he did not long remain, but returned to Switzerland, where he found his mother on her death-bed. At the end of 1838 he took up his residence in London, and in 1839 published his celebrated work entitled " Dos Idees Napoleon - ienne3." In 18-10 he determined to make another attempt to secure the French crown; He hired in London a steamer, called the City of Klin burgh, and embarking with Count Montholon, Gen. Voisin, and fifty-three asso- ' ciates, landed with this party near Boulogne. '' Thursday, Aug. G, and summoned the troops ! to surrender or join them. The only man who ' did so was a young lieutenant of the 4.2nd regt., and he cried to induce the soldiers to follow his example. He,'however, failed hi the attempt; and as the National Guard beat !

to arms, and osgaii to-imistsr-in force, Prince Louis retreated- with Ms followers out of tlie town, towards tlis pillar on the heights above Boulogne, ana there planted a flag, with a golden eagle at.the top of the staff". Being pressed by superior numbers, he retreated tothe beach, and was captured, with, his followers, in attempting to escape to the steamer. The Prince, Count Montholon, Gen. Voisin,. and others, were conveyed prisoners to Paris, where they were tried before the Chamber of Peers, on the charge of high treason. M. Berryer appeared as counsel for the Prince and Count Montholon, and ma.de a skilful defence, but in vain. The former was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment in a fortress in x 1 ranee; the latter, with three subordinates, to twenty years' confinement; and the rest to various terms of imprisonment. The lieutenant. who had proved traitor at Boulogne was condemned to transportation. The Prince was conveyed as a piisoner to the citadel of Ham, where, after the revolution of the members of the Polignac administration had been immured, and after having been confined here six .years, made his escape, May 25, 1848, having effected his exit from the castle by assuming/as a disguise the dress of a workman, thereby" deceiving the vigilance of the guards. Me crossed the frontier into Belgium, and for the third time took refuge in .diiigiand, -where he resided until the revolution of J.B4S, an event which speedily led to his being elected a representative in the. National Assembly, and afterwards President of the French Republic. The French nation, by a majority of five or six millions, voted the restoration of the Empire, which was accordingly proclaimed December 2, 1852. The Prince assumed the style and title of " Napoleon 111., Emperor of the French, by the grace of God and the will of the People." He was recognized by the English Government, afterwards- by other powers, and eventually by the Emperor of Russia and the German sovereigns, in 1554- war broke out between, cassia and France and England, and was brought to a close in 1858, shortly after the capture of Sebastopol. The Emperor of the .trench induced, the English Government, although fully prepared to continue the contest to a satisfactory issue, to listen to his view-of a pacific solution of the dispute. The Emperor married Eugenie-Marie de Guzman, Countess de Teba, Jan. 29, 1853, and the only issue of this marriage is the Prince Imperial, Napoleon Eugene Louis Jean Joseph,, born March 16, 1856. On the 16th of April,' ] 855, the Emperor, accompanied by the" impress,' once more landed in England, on a visit to the British Court. The Queen invested his Imperial .Majesty with, the insignia of a L-nighu Ox tne vjrarfcer, April 18. Earlv in Id So an unsuccessful attempt was made on the .Emperor's life by Orsini, who had concocted his plans in England, aided by Dr. Bernard",;; a Frenchman residing in London. In 1859-60 the Emperor proceeded to Italy,, at the head of his army, for the purpose of aiding Victor Emmanuel against" the Austrians, whom he defeated at Magenta and Solferino, and to whom he dictated°the Peace of Yillafranca, by which Lombardy and the Duchies were ceded to Sardinia, and Venetia was left under Austrian sway. In return for

S6i Vlu8 ? OHjVO y Rlicl SOiHO HGulijl'cVi fc> vVISS territory were ceded to France, much against che views of che iiinglish and other I.ji iro poan Caomets. In 18dl the Jimperor recognized the_ claim of Victor Emmanuel to the title of •' iv ing of Italy.' - In iB6O, joint expeditions, fitted out by France and England, sailed -to China to punish the Government for acta of treacnei-y to the European Powers with whom it had entered into treaties of commerce. The operations of the Allies were ultimately at'centied with complete success; and, after the capture of Pekin and the destruction of the Emperor's summer palace, Oct. 6," the Chinese Government made reparation. In Oct., 1867, the invasion of the States of the Church by a band of volunteers under -Garibaldi was promptly followed by the arrival of • the French troops, who entered Some, under the command of General Dumont, on the 30th ot mat month, and who, in conjunction with the Papal army, signally defeated the Garibaldians at Meat ana , on iSTov. 4. It may here be mentioned that the French troops remained at Rome to protect the Sovereign Pontiff until Aug., 1870, when, owing to the exigencies of the war with Germany, they were again recalled. The events which led to the downfall of the Empire are of such' recent occurrence, that it is only necessary to allude to them very briefly. ■ On August 2, i-oj 0, otiensive operations were commenced by uhe 1- r6iic.ii. Saarbruck being snelled and taken, on which memorable occasion the youthful Prince Imperial received his "baptism of Ore." This victory was quickly followed by the disastrous defeats ox Weissenburg, Vv oerth, and Uorbach, che news of which caused the, most intense excitement in Paris, which' was declared in a state of on August 7. Two days later the Oliver Ministry fell; and Marshal Bazaine was made sole oomni ander-in-Chief of the Army. On Sept. 1, the Erench, after a severe .conflict were driven back into Sedan; on the following day the Emperor gave-himself, up to/the Emg of Prussia; and the garrison, numbering 4000 officers, ,14,000 wounded, and 83 000 righting men; daid down their arms. The King had an interview with the rmperor at a chiu-eau on a wooded knoll lookinc>- 0 - v ->-> to the Meuae. at Erenoy, and, on the folio™ pnnng, tue departed, underguarf, for Wilhelmsoohe, Cassel, which had been assigned by the Iling as his place of captivity, hero m Jan., 1871, he published a "Note sur 1 Organisation Mi'itaire He 3a tion d'Aiismagne du. KordJL His Majesty was set at liberty, after tffe conclusion of peace between France and Germany, and on A.aich 20, lb/1, rejoined the Empress and tho Piince Imperial at (Jamden. House, L-hislehur.-it, rient, -. where he latterly resided.