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BONAPARTE, LOUIS NAPOLEON. 



BONAPARTE, JER6ME. 



towards the pope. It has been surmised by some that Lucien acted 

 from a generous impulse, to tender to hia brother his advice in the 

 hour of danger, and to keep him also, if possible, within constitu- 

 tional limits. However this may be, he went to live at the palace of 

 the Orleans family, assumed the style of an imperial prince, and 

 claimed a seat of honour as such in the new House of Peers. This 

 was resisted by several peers, on the ground that he had never been 

 acknowledged as a prince of the empire, and had no diploma as such. 

 He then took his seat in the body of the house as a common peer. 

 In the privy councils that took place, he advised Napoleon to offer to 

 the Emperor of Austria, in order to detach him from the allies, to 

 abdicate in favour of his son. His advice after some hesitation was 

 rejected. Napoleon set off for the army, lost the battle of Waterloo, 

 and returned to Paris without an army. Lucien being appointed 

 extraordinary commissioner of the emperor, to communicate with the 

 representatives of the people, strove to revive in the Chamber of 

 Deputies a feeling of sympathy for his brother; he spoke eloquently, 

 he appealed to the gratitude of the nation, but was answered sternly 

 by La Fayette, "The nation has followed your brother over fifty 

 fields of battle, from the burning sands of Egypt to the frozen deserts 

 of Kuvna, through disasters as well as triumphs, and it is for this 

 that we mourn the loss of three millions of Frenchmen !" Lucien 

 advised his brother to dissolve the Chambers, since he could not 

 manage them, and to assume the dictatorship. Napoleon hesitated, 

 and at last refused ; he said that he would not kindle a civil war. 

 He most likely perceived what Lucien did not see, that the attempt 

 would only lead to a short protracted struggle, attended by additional 

 calamities to France and to himself. Lucien says that he was opposed 

 to Napoleon's abdication, but when he saw his brother determined 

 upon it, he insisted upon its being made at least in favour of young 

 Napoleon. Napoleon smiled and shook his head incredulously, but 

 at length inserted the clause in favour of his son. Lucien then pro- 

 ceeded to address the House of Peers to induce them to proclaim at 

 once Napoleon II., but in vain he cried out, according to the forms of 

 the old monarchy, " The emperor has abdicated, long live the empe- 

 ror!" the House remained mute, and as he went on speaking vehe- 

 mently, one of the peers, Ponte'coulant, taunted him with being an 

 alien, a foreign titulary, a Roman prince, and not even a citizen of 

 France. Soon after the allied armies made their appearance, Napo- 

 leon went to Rochefort, and Lucien set out to return to Italy. 



Lucien rejoined his family at Rome, where he afterwards spent 

 many years in peaceful retirement. In 1828 he began digging at a 

 place called La Cucumella on his estate of Canino, which is believed 

 to have been the site of the ancient Vetulonia, once an important 

 Ktruscan city, and he gathered an ample collection of Etruscan 

 antiquities, of which he published a description : ' Museum Etrusque 

 de Lucien Bonaparte, Prince de Canino.' During the insurrection in 

 the Papal States in 1831, Lucien kept himself and his family aloof 

 from that disorderly attempt. Some time after he revisited England, 

 where he published several of his works. He returned to Italy, where 

 he died in 1840. His eldest son, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, succeeded 

 to the title. Lucien had in all eleven children, of whom four sons 

 and five daughters are still living (1856). 



Lucien ranks as a French author in prose and in verse. His pub- 

 lished works are: 'Charlemagne, ou 1'Eglise ddlivree,' an epic poem 

 in 24 canto*, which has been translated into English by S. Butler, 

 D.D., and the Rev. F. Hodgson, 2 voK 4to, London, 1815; 'La 

 Cyrne'idp, ou la Corse sauve'e,' a poem in 12 cantos; 'M<5moires de 

 Lucien Bonaparte, Prince de Canino, Merits par luimcme,' 8vo, London, 

 1 886 ; and Rdponse de Lucien Bonaparte aux Mdmoires du General 

 Lamarque,' London, 1835. This is a sort of political confession, and 

 at the same time an apology for his own and Napoleon's political 

 conduct during the hundred days ; it contains some curious revelations 

 and frank avowals, though it is rather incoherent in its reasoning, 

 like all the attempted justifications of Napoleon's political morality. 

 Several of Lucien's speeches while a tribune have also been published ; 

 among others bis ' Rapport sur 1'Organisation des Cultes,' and ' Dis- 

 cours sur la Legion d'Honneur.' A defamatory book, entitled 'Me'mpires 

 de Lucien Bonaparte,' was published in France during the Restora- 

 tion, but is of no authority. 



(Thibaudean, Le Conm/at et V Empire; Biographic des Conlemporaint ; 

 and the works of Lucien already quoted.) 



I.oi-ts NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, the fourth son of Charles Bonaparte, 

 and father of Napoleon III., was born at Ajaccio in Corsica, on Sep- 

 tember 21, 1778. At an early age he entered the French army, and 

 accompanied his brother Napoleon to Italy and Egypt. In Italy he 

 distinguished himself at the passage of the bridge of Arcola, braving 

 the fire of the enemy, and shielding the body of his brother and com- 

 mander. When Napoleon became first consul, he was sent on a mission 

 to St. Petersburg; but on arriving at Berlin he learned the news of 

 the death *>( the Emperor Paul. He returned to Paris after remaining 

 at Berlin about a year, and became a general of brigade, a counsellor 

 of tate, and afterwards a general of division. In 1802 he married 

 Hortense Eugenie de Beauharnais, the daughter of the Empress 

 Josephine. When Napoleon became emperor, Louis was promoted to 

 higher honours, and was made governor of Piedmont, and afterwards 

 commanded the army of the north of Holland. After the Batavian 

 republic had been converted into a kingdom, the states of Holland in 



June 1806 sent an embassy to Napoleon, requesting that Louis might 

 be their king, which was granted, and he immediately assumed the 

 title. He strenuously exerted himself to better the condition of his 

 people, and distinguished himself on several occasions by his personal 

 humanity. His love for his people occasioned him to refuse without 

 hesitation the offer made him by his brother of the crown of Spain ; 

 but his opposition to Napoleon's plans, which he thought were preju- 

 dicial to their welfare, gave great dissatisfaction at Paris. His wife 

 was a most attached adherent of Napoleon's, and her inability to 

 control her husband, the death of her eldest son in 1807, and the state 

 of her health, induced her to repair to Paris, where a third son was 

 born. She was afterwards sent by Napoleon in 1809 to induce Louis 

 to comply with his wishes, but Louis refused. She then returned to 

 Paris, where she resided in state as Queen of Holland, and Napoleon 

 sent Oudinot with 20,000 men against Louis, who thereupon abdicated 

 in favour of his son, which abdication Napoleon rejected ; and on 

 July 9, 1810, Holland was united to the empire. Louis retired to Gratis 

 in Styria, where he lived three years under the title of Count de St. 

 Leu, and his wife became wholly separated from him, though not 

 divorced. In 1813, when the allies appeared about to fall upon France, 

 LouU offered his services to the emperor, by whom they were accepted, 

 and he proceeded to Switzerland, but he was not employed. On the 

 downfall of Napoleon, when the Dutch threw off the French yoke, Louis 

 addressed a letter to the provisional government from Soleure, asserting 

 his claims to the throne, but they were rejected. He then commenced 

 a suit at Paris for the restitution of his two sons, then living under 

 the care of their mother, who had obtained a grant of the domain of 

 St. Leu, with the title of Duchess, through the interest of the Emperor 

 Alexander. The return of Napoleou put a stop to the suit, and the 

 Duchess of St. Leu did the honours of Napoleon's court, and used her 

 interest in favour of the unfortunate of all parties. After the battle 

 of Waterloo she went to reside iu Switzerland with her sons, as stated 

 under BONAPARTE, NAPOLEOX III. Louis retired to the Papal States, 

 where others of his family had assembled, and devoted himself chiefly 

 to literature. He published ' Marie, ou Lea Hollandaises ;' 'Documens 

 Historiques sur la Hollande,' 5 vols. 8vo, 1820; 'Me'moires aur la 

 Versification ;' an opera, a tragedy, a collection of poems, and a reply 

 to Sir Walter Scott on his ' History of Napoleon.' He died at Leghorn, 

 June 15, 1846; and at his special desire, which after some delay was 

 acceded to, his body was buried at St. Leu in France, with those of his 

 father and his first sou, September 29, 1847. 



JEROME BONAPARTE, the youngest brother of Napoleon I., was 

 born at Ajaccio, the 15th of December 1784. With the rest of the 

 family, he went to France in 1793, and after some preparatory 

 instruction under Madame Campan at 1'aris he was sent to the college 

 of Juilly. When Napoleon became first consul he removed J<5r6me. 

 then fifteen years of age, from college, and placed him in the naval 

 service, which he was then endeavouring to re-organise and improve. 

 Jerome went as lieutenant in 1801 to St. Domingo, with the expedition 

 commanded by General Leclero ; but he did not stay long, being sent 

 home by Leclerc with his despatches. He was almost immediately 

 after appointed to command the frigate ' L'Epervier,'- bound for 

 Martinique. When hostilities broke out between France and England 

 in 1803, Je>6me cruised off the West India Islands; but he was soon 

 forced to quit that station, without having accomplished anything, 

 and take refuge in the port of New York. While in the United 

 States he became acquainted with Miss Elizabeth Paterson, the 

 daughter of a wealthy merchant at Baltimore, whom he married, 

 December 24, 1803. This marriage, contracted without his know- 

 ledge, gave great offence to Napoleon, who was now bent on forming 

 high alliances for all the members of his family. In spite of the 

 entreaties of Jerdme, Napoleon, as soon as he became emperor, caused 

 the marriage to be annulled by a decree of the council of state, on the 

 ground of his brother being a minor : the pope however, to whom 

 Napoleon applied, refused to ratify the divorce. Jerome, in returning 

 to Europe with his wife, was chased by some English cruisers, but suc- 

 ceeded in carrying his ship safely home. His wife having been ordered 

 not to enter France, went on to Holland, but not being allowed to land 

 there she proceeded to England, where a few weeks later, July 1805, 

 she gave birth to a son, Jer6me Napoleon Bonaparte. 



JdrSme remained for some time in disgrace with his brother, as well 

 on account of his want of success at sea as of his marriage ; but after 

 awhile he was sent as envoy to the Dey of Algiers, to obtain the 

 liberty of a number of Genoese slaves. Having succeeded in his 

 mission, he was appointed to the command of a vessel of 74 guns, 

 and afterwards of a squadron of eight vessels, with which he sailed in 

 1806 to Martinique". On his return he was created a prince of the 

 empire, and promoted to be rear-admiral; but the English navy had 

 now such an indisputable superiority, that Napoleon no longer desired 

 to have a member of his family attached to the maritime service, and, 

 without much ceremony, he transferred Jdrorne in 1807 to the army, 

 with the rank of general. In the campaign of 1807, Jerome received 

 the command of a body of Bavarian and Wiirtemberg troops, with 

 which he attacked the Prussians, and made himself master of Silesia. 

 On the 14th of March he was created a general of division. 



On the 12th of August 1807, Jerome married Frederique Catherine, 

 daughter of Frederic king of Wiirtemberg; and on the 18th of the 

 same mouth Napoleon erected Westphalia into a kingdom, and created 



