Chapter 34 Napoleon's Renaissance (1)

If I had started collecting "Tales of Napoleon" when I was young, I would now have a valuable collection at hand.It made me think that, when I first came to Chicago, that suburban property along the North Shore could be bought for five hundred dollars an acre, now it sells for two hundred dollars a square foot.If I had had the opportunity to buy a piece of land in that area forty years ago, I'd be a millionaire now. I think I regret ignoring "Napoleon's Tales" more than I miss the opportunity to buy real estate.After my collection contained less than two hundred volumes dealing with Napoleon and his time, I found myself curiously neglectful of one of the most amusing and rewarding fads of the bibliophile.When I witness a friend's extraordinary Napoleon collection, I am filled with mixed emotions of joy and envy.Both Judge Methuen and I lament the loss of such an opportunity, one that would eclipse all modern collections.

When I say "Napoleon's anecdote," I mean specifically the literature about Napoleon.However, the term is usually used in a broader sense, including everything from His Majesty the Emperor at Malmaison. The residence is now the Napoleon Memorial. ] From the used snuff bottle to the slippers he wore in St. Helena.My friend, Mr. Redding of California, has a set of silver cutlery which once belonged to Napoleon; my other friend, Mr. Mills, has a scarf which Napoleon wore at Waterloo.In a short essay on the art of tie-wearing, Le Blanc records that Napoleon usually wore a black silk cravat, which, as it has been noted, at Wagram, Lodi, Marengo and Austerlitz, That's all. "Except for Waterloo," said LeBlanc, "he is said to have worn, unconventionally, a white kerchief with a flowing bow, though he had worn a black tie the day before."

I remember seeing a ring once in the collection of Mr. Melville E. Stone, which was brought to New Orleans by a French veteran, and ended up in a pawn shop.This bauble is made of gold and has a Napoleon I-style "N" in two diagonal corners of its outer surface, made of black enamel: press this N and a secret mechanism is opened, The top cover of the ring jumped back, and a miniature gold "little corporal" stood up, to the amazement of all who saw it. Another eccentric Napoleon memento in Mr Stone's miscellaneous collection is a chintz handkerchief which records scenes from his majesty's career.The thing must have been made in England, because only the Brits could have devised such a vicious slur (inspired by the fear and hatred of Napoleon, which only the Brits could have).One has to read the popular literature of the first half of the century in order to get a correct idea of ​​what fears Napoleon's enemies were filled with him.There are so many such works that it is almost impossible to assemble a reasonably comprehensive collection; not to mention the histories, biographies, memoirs and critical essays covering the entire career of the little Corsican. : Napoleon's dream book, Napoleon's songbook, Napoleon's story collection, etc., etc., and so on.

The British were particularly active in spreading slander against Napoleon.In their books and pamphlets they accused him of murder, arson, incest, treason, treachery, cowardice, seduction, hypocrisy, avarice, plunder, ungratefulness, and envy.They say he poisoned his own sick soldiers. father of the children of ], who committed atrocities in Egypt and Italy, who married his mistress deserted by Barras, who fell ill with a hideous disease, who murdered Duke Enghein and himself The commander in the army whom he suspects is criminally illicit with his sister—in short, these detractors throw every crime they can think of, no matter how repulsive, into On the head of His Majesty the Emperor.

These same malicious hatreds were likewise passed on to all those who were connected with Napoleon's criminal activities at that time.Murat is a "beast and a thief"; Josephine, Hortense, Pauline and Madame Letitia are high-class courtesans; , robber and murderer; Fouche is the embodiment of all evil; Lucien Bonaparte is a libertine and troublemaker; Russ is—enough, all these stories about how evil they are have not been proven wrong so far.But you can tell from contemporary British publications that Napoleon and his companions were indeed demons from hell, wreaking havoc on the civilized world.These books are so eccentric that it is difficult to classify them: we cannot call them history, they are too crude and obscene to be regarded as humorous works; A unique and important location.

In William Hazlitt [William Hazlitt (1778-1830), an English essayist, is famous for his sharp literary criticism. ], no Englishman had treated Napoleon as justly as he did.Incidentally, Hazlitt's work is the only very interesting one I know of that gave Napoleon a will. For many years, I have not been very flattering about Napoleon's character.The reason is that Gein has very little respect for books.However, the facts recently revealed to me by Dr. Aurel (grandson of "Our Tom Burke") have dispelled this prejudice in me.I have no doubt that in time I will be transformed into an ardent admirer of this Corsican, like the doctor himself.Dr. Aurel told me—his statement was corroborated by Frédéric Masson and other authorities—that Napoleon was also a lover and collector of books, and that, by publishing with the highest artistic taste, he A large number of books, and thus contribute a great deal to the honor and glory of literature.