Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama Part 34

"This world, whose brightest day Seems to us so dreary, Nannie found all bright and gay, Love-alight and cheery, Stayed a little while to play And went home unweary."

Elizabeth Akers Allen, _Poems_ (1866).

=Nan'tolet=, father of Rosalura and Lillia-Bianca.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Wild-Goose Chase_ (1652).

=Napoleon I.=, called by the Germans "Kaiser Klas" (_q.v._).

"M" is curiously coupled with the history of Napoleon I. and III. (See M.)

The following is a curious play on the word Napoleon.

Napoleon apoleon poleon oleon leon eon on _Napoleon_ _Apollyon_ _cities_ _destroying_ _a lion_ _going_} _being._ _about_}

That is:

Napoleon Apollyon is [_being_] a lion going about destroying cities.

_Chauvinism_, Napoleon idolatry. Chauvvin[TN-28] is a blind idolater of Napoleon I., in Scribe's drama ent.i.tled _Soldat Laboureur_.

=Napoleon III.= _His nicknames._

ARENENBERG (_Comte d'_). So he called himself after his escape from the fortress of Ham.

BADINGUET, the name of the man he shot in his Boulogne escapade.

BOUSTRAPA, a compound of Bou[logne], Stra[sbourg] and Pa[ris], the places of his noted escapades.

GROSBEC. So called from the rather unusual size of his nose.

MAN OF DECEMBER. So called because December was his month of glory.

Thus, he was elected president December 11, 1848; made his _coup d'etat_ December 2, 1851; and was created emperor December 2, 1852.

MAN OF SEDAN. So called because at Sedan he surrendered his sword to the king of Prussia (September, 1870).

RATIPOLE, same as the west of England RANTIPOLE, a harum-scarum, half idiot, half madcap.

THE LITTLE. Victor Hugo gave him this t.i.tle; but the hatred of Hugo to Napoleon was monomania.

VERHUEL, the name of his supposed father.

_Number 2._ The second of the month was Louis Napoleon's day. It was also one of the days of his uncle, the other being the fifteenth.

The _coup d'etat_ was December 2; he was made emperor December 2, 1852; the Franco-Prussian war opened at Saarbruck, August 2, 1870; he surrendered his sword to William of Prussia, September 2, 1870.

Napoleon I. was crowned December 2, 1804; and the victory of Austerlitz was December 2, 1805.

_Numerical Curiosities._ 1. 1869, the last year of Napoleon's glory; the next year was that of his downfall. As a matter of curiosity, it may be observed that if the day of his birth, or the day of the empress's birth, or the date of the capitulation of Paris, be added to that of the coronation of Napoleon III., the result always points to 1869. Thus, he was crowned 1852; he was born 1808; the Empress Eugenie was born 1826: the capitulation of Paris was 1871. Whence:

1852 1852 1852 coronation 1 } 1 } 1 } 8 } birth of 8 } birth of 8 } capitulation 0 } Napoleon. 2 } Eugenie. 7 } of 8 } 6 } 1 } Paris.

____ ____ ____ 1869 1869 1869

2. 1870, the year of his downfall. By adding the numerical values of the birth date either of Napoleon or Eugenie to the date of the marriage, we get their fatal year of 1870. Thus, Napoleon was born 1808; Eugenie, 1826; married, 1853.

1853 1853 year of marriage.

1 } 1 } 8 } birth of 8 } birth of Eugenie.

0 } Napoleon. 2 } 8 } 6 } ____ ____ 1870 1870

2. _Empereur._ The votes for the president to be emperor were 7,119,791; those against him were 1,119,000. If now the numbers 711979r/[1][1][1][6]

be written on a piece of paper, and held up to the light, the reverse side will show the word _empereur_. (The dash is the dividing mark, and forms the long stroke of the "p.")

=Napoleon and Talleyrand.= Napoleon I. one day entered a roadside inn, and called for breakfast. There was nothing in the house but eggs and cider (which Napoleon detested). "What shall we do?" said the emperor to Talleyrand. In answer to this, the _grand chambellan_ improvised the rhymes following:--

Le bon roi Dagobert Aimait le bon vin au dessert.

Le grand St. Eloi Lui dit, "O mon roi, Le droit reuni L'a bien rencheri."

"Eh bien!" lui dit le roi ...

But he could get no further. Whereupon Napoleon himself instantly capped the line thus:

"Je boirai du cidre avec toi."

Chapus, _Dieppe, etc._ (1853).

Our royal master, Dagobert, Good wine loved at his dessert.

But St. Eloi Once said, "Mon roi, We here prepare No dainty fare."

"Well," cried the king, "so let it be, Cider to-day we'll drink with thee."

=Napoleon of the Drama.= Alfred Bunn, lessee of Drury Lane Theatre (1819-1826) was so called; and so was Robert William Elliston, his predecessor (1774-1826, died 1831).

=Napoleon of Mexico=, the emperor Augusto Iturbide (1784-1824).

=Napoleon of Oratory=, W. E. Gladstone (1809- ).

=Napoleon of Peace=, Louis Philippe of France (1773, reigned 1830-1848, died 1850).

=Narcissa=, meant for Elizabeth Lee, the step-daughter of Dr. Young. In Night ii. the poet says she was clandestinely buried at Montpelier, because she was a Protestant.--Dr. Young, _Night Thoughts_ (1742-6).

_Narcissa_, Mrs. Oldfield, the actress, who insisted on being rouged and dressed in Brussels lace when she was "laid out." (See NANCY.)

"Odious! In woolen? 'Twould a saint provoke!"

Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke.