“if i were not convinced that his family is as old and as good as my own,” said the emperor of austria when he married marie louise to napoleon bonaparte, “i would not give him my daughter.” the remark is sufficient recognition of the nobility of the father of napoleon, charles marie de bonaparte, a gentleman of ajaccio, corsica, whose family, of tuscan origin, had settled there in the sixteenth century, and who, in 1765, had married a young girl of the island, l?titia ramolino.
monsieur bonaparte gave his wife a noble name, but little else. he was an indolent, pleasure-loving, chimerical man, who had inherited a lawsuit, and whose time was absorbed in the hopeless task of recovering an estate of which the church had taken possession. madame bonaparte 18brought her husband no great name, but she did bring him health, beauty, and remarkable qualities. tall and imposing, mademoiselle l?titia ramolino had a superb carriage, which she never lost, and a face which attracted attention particularly by the accentuation and perfection of its features. she was reserved, but of ceaseless energy and will, and though but fifteen when married, she conducted her family affairs with such good sense and firmness that she was able to bring up decently the eight children spared her from the thirteen she bore. the habits of order and economy formed in her years of struggle became so firmly rooted in her character that later, when she became mater regum, the “madame mère” of an imperial court, she could not put them aside, but saved from the generous income at her disposal, “for those of my children who are not yet settled,” she said. throughout her life she showed the truth of her son’s characterization: “a man’s head on a woman’s body.”
the first years after their marriage were stormy ones for the bonapartes. the corsicans, led by the patriot pascal paoli, were in revolt against the french, at that time masters of the island. among paoli’s followers was charles bonaparte. he shared the fortunes of his chief to the end of the struggle of 1769, and when, finally, paoli was hopelessly defeated, took to the mountains. in all the dangers and miseries of this war and flight, charles bonaparte was accompanied by his wife, who, vigorous of body and brave of heart, suffered privations, dangers, and fatigue without complaint. when the corsicans submitted, the bonapartes went back to ajaccio. six weeks later madame bonaparte gave birth to her fourth child, napoleon.
“i was born,” said napoleon, “when my country was perishing. thirty thousand frenchmen were vomited upon our soil. cries of the wounded, sighs of the oppressed, and tears of despair surrounded my cradle at my birth.”
19young bonaparte learned to hate with the fierceness peculiar to corsican blood the idea of oppression, to revere paoli, and, with a boy’s contempt of necessity, even to despise his father’s submission. it was not strange. his mother had little time for her children’s training. his father gave them no attention; and napoleon, “obstinate and curious,” domineering over his brothers and companions, fearing no one, ran wild on the beach with the sailors or over the mountains with the herdsmen, listening to their tales of the corsican rebellion and of fights, on sea and land, imbibing their contempt for submission, their love for liberty.
at nine years of age he was a shy, proud, wilful child, unkempt and untrained, little, pale, and nervous, almost without instruction, and yet already enamored of a soldier’s life and conscious of a certain superiority over his comrades. then it was that he was suddenly transplanted from his free life to an environment foreign in its language, artificial in its etiquette, and severe in its regulations.
it was as a dependent, a species of charity pupil, that he went into this new atmosphere. charles bonaparte had become, in the nine years since he had abandoned the cause of paoli, a thorough parasite. like all the poor nobility of the country to which he had attached himself, and even like many of the rich in that day, he begged favors of every description from the government in return for his support. to aid in securing them, he humbled himself before the french governor-general of corsica, the count de marb?uf, and made frequent trips, which he could ill afford, back and forth to versailles. the free education of his children, a good office with its salary and honors, the maintenance of his claims against the jesuits, were among the favors which he sought.
by dint of solicitation he had secured a place among the free pupils of the college at autun for his son joseph, the oldest of the family, and one for napoleon at the military school at brienne.
20
l?titia ramolino, napoleon’s mother. born 1750, died 1836.
21to enter the school at brienne, it was necessary to be able to read and write french, and to pass a preliminary examination in that language. this young napoleon could not do; indeed, he could scarcely have done as much in his native italian. a preparatory school was necessary, then, for a time. the place settled on was autun, where joseph was to enter college, and there in january, 1779, charles bonaparte arrived with the two boys.
napoleon was nine and a half years old when he entered the school at autun. he remained three months, and in that time made sufficient progress to fulfil the requirements at brienne. the principal record of the boy’s conduct at autun comes from abbé chardon, who was at the head of the primary department. he says of his pupil:
“napoleon brought to autun a sombre, thoughtful character. he was interested in no one, and found his amusements by himself. he rarely had a companion in his walks. he was quick to learn, and quick of apprehension in all ways. when i gave him a lesson, he fixed his eyes upon me with parted lips; but if i recapitulated anything i had said, his interest was gone, as he plainly showed by his manner. when reproved for this, he would answer coldly, i might almost say with an imperious air, ‘i know it already, sir.’”
when he went to brienne, napoleon left his brother joseph behind at autun. the boy had not now one familiar feature in his life. the school at brienne was made up of about one hundred and twenty pupils, half of whom were supported by the government. they were sons of nobles, who, generally, had little but their great names, and whose rule for getting on in the world was the rule of the old régime—secure a powerful patron, and, by flattery and servile attentions, continue in his train. young bonaparte heard little but boasting, and saw little but vanity. his first lessons in french society were the doubtful ones of the parasite 22and courtier. the motto which he saw everywhere practised was, “the end justifies the means.” his teachers were not strong enough men to counteract this influence. the military schools of france were at this time in the hands of religious orders, and the minim brothers, who had charge of brienne, were principally celebrated for their ignorance. they certainly could not change the arrogant and false notions of their aristocratic young pupils.
it was a dangerous experiment to place in such surroundings a boy like the young napoleon, proud, ambitious, jealous; lacking any healthful moral training; possessing an italian indifference to truth and the rights of others; already conscious that he had his own way to make in the world, and inspired by a determination to do it.
from the first the atmosphere at brienne was hateful to the boy. his comrades were french, and it was the french who had subdued corsica. they taunted him with it sometimes, and he told them that had there been but four to one, corsica would never have been conquered, but that the french came ten to one. when they said: “but your father submitted,” he said bitterly: “i shall never forgive him for it.” as for paoli, he told them, proudly, “he is a good man. i wish i could be like him.”
he had trouble with the new language. they jeered at him because of it. his name was strange; la paille au nez was the nickname they made from napoleon.
he was poor; they were rich. the contemptuous treatment he received because of his poverty was such that he begged to be taken home.
“my father [he wrote], if you or my protectors cannot give me the means of sustaining myself more honorably in the house where i am, please let me return home as soon as possible. i am tired of poverty and of the jeers of insolent scholars who are superior to me only in their fortune, for there is not one among them who feels one hundredth part of the noble sentiment which animates me. must your son, sir, 23continually be the butt of these boobies, who, vain of the luxuries which they enjoy, insult me by their laughter at the privations which i am forced to endure? no, father, no! if fortune refuses to smile upon me, take me from brienne, and make me, if you will, a mechanic. from these words you may judge of my despair. this letter, sir, please believe, is not dictated by a vain desire to enjoy extravagant amusements. i have no such wish. i feel simply that it is necessary to show my companions that i can procure them as well as they, if i wish to do so.
“your respectful and affectionate son,
“bonaparte.”
charles bonaparte, always in pursuit of pleasure and his inheritance, could not help his son. napoleon made other attempts to escape, even offering himself, it is said, to the british admiralty as a sailor, and once, at least, begging monsieur de marb?uf, the governor-general of corsica, who had aided charles bonaparte in securing places for both boys, to withdraw his protection. the incident which led to this was characteristic of the school. the supercilious young nobles taunted him with his father’s position; it was nothing but that of a poor tipstaff, they said. young bonaparte, stung by what he thought an insult, attacked his tormentors, and, being caught in the act, was shut up. he immediately wrote to the count de marb?uf a letter of remarkable qualities in so young a boy and in such circumstances. after explaining the incident he said:
“now, monsieur le comte, if i am guilty, if my liberty has been taken from me justly, have the goodness to add to the kindnesses which you have shown me one thing more—take me from brienne and withdraw your protection: it would be robbery on my part to keep it any longer from one who deserves it more than i do. i shall never, sir, be worthier of it than i am now. i shall never cure myself of an impetuosity which is all the more dangerous because i believe its motive is sacred. whatever idea of self-interest influences me, i shall never have control enough to see my father, an honorable man, dragged in the mud. i shall always, monsieur le comte, feel too deeply in these circumstances to limit myself to complaining to my superior. i shall always feel that a good son ought not to allow another to avenge such an outrage. as for the benefits which you have rained upon me, they will never be forgotten. i shall say i had gained an honorable protection, but heaven denied me the virtues which were necessary in order to profit by it.”
24
bonaparte at brienne.
the original of this statue is in the gallery of versailles. it dates from 1851, and is by louis rochet, one of the pupils of david d’angers.
25in the end napoleon saw that there was no way for him but to remain at brienne, galled by poverty and formalism.
it would be unreasonable to suppose that there was no relief to this sombre life. the boy won recognition more than once from his companions by his bravery and skill in defending his rights. he was not only valorous; he was generous, and, “preferred going to prison himself to denouncing his comrades who had done wrong.” young napoleon found, soon, that if there were things for which he was ridiculed, there were others for which he was applauded.
he made friends, particularly among his teachers; and to one of his comrades, bourrienne, he remained attached for years. “you never laugh at me; you like me,” he said to his friend. those who found him morose and surly, did not realize that beneath the reserved, sullen exterior of the little corsican boy there was a proud and passionate heart aching for love and recognition; that it was sensitiveness rather than arrogance which drove him away from his mates.
at the end of five and one-half years napoleon was promoted to the military school at paris. the choice of pupils for this school was made by an inspector, at this time one chevalier de kéralio, an amiable old man, who was fond of mingling with the boys as well as examining them. he was particularly pleased with napoleon, and named him for promotion in spite of his being strong in nothing but mathematics, and not yet being of the age required by the regulations. the teachers protested, but de kéralio insisted.
“i know what i am doing,” he said. “if i put the rules aside in this case, it is not to do his family a favor—i do 26not know them. it is because of the child himself. i have seen a spark here which cannot be too carefully cultivated.”
de kéralio died before the nominations were made, but his wishes in regard to young bonaparte were carried out. the recommendation which sent him up is curious. the notes read:
“monsieur de bonaparte; height four feet, ten inches and ten lines; he has passed his fourth examination; good constitution, excellent health; submissive character, frank and grateful; regular in conduct; has distinguished himself by his application to mathematics; is passably well up in history and geography; is behindhand in his latin. will make an excellent sailor. deserves to be sent to the school in paris.”
