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Dodge's Viterary Wluscum.
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[weitten for Dodge's Literary Museum.) : ..
~ “PLYMOUTH ROCK, |.
BY AUGUSTINE DUGANSE.
| Rock of Freedom! old and hoary,’
Footstool of the Pilgrim band, ,
Emblem of their toil and glory, | * ~
Altar where their children stand:
‘Lo! we keep thy name immortal, -
We, who own the Pilgrim stock;
For they marched through Freedom's portal,
O'er her threshold—Vlymouth Rock!
Bethel thou of wandering nations, 1") «" /.
‘ : Pharos through the gloom of time; dats
. Patriots mark their long probations,
Ended at thy base sublim t
“There the tyrants sink, adori ing,
There the slaves their chains unlock,
“|. There the freemen’s flag, upsoaring, «+
» Points to mankind—Vlymouth Rock!,
Rock of Freedom! ‘Proud and lonely,
Once it braved Atlautic’s roar, .
Once its bosom bulwarked only _
| “"Massachusetts’ stormy shore;
" Now, where’er on coast or border’
' Danger threats her angry shock,
~ ‘There, be sure—for watch and warder— *
, Stands for aye a Pilgrim Rock. ‘
ryt Df
J i
LOUIS NAPOLEON'S MOTHER.
—_—— I
MONG ‘other “ : Memoirs of the Bona:
. f ‘parte Family,” those, of : ‘Queen! Hor-
‘tense, by Malle. Cochelet, who was . reader
to the Queen, (and who afterwards became
Mme. Parquin,) are: worthy of: attention.
They are written in,a light, unpretending,
and agrecable style, ; and were. first publish-
ed by Ladvocate, some one or twvo-and-
twenty years ago. ©
. On the youth of Hortense, Malle. Coche-
let i is altogether silent. The memoirs com-
mence with the ‘memorable year of 1813,
when Hortense had attained the age of thir-
ty, but was yet in the full grace of woman-
hood.‘ At this period, and for several years
before, she had ‘been separated: from ° her
husband, with whose “quiet and- simple ‘na-
ture her ideas did not harmonize. - On the
scandals attached to the name of. Iortense
this is not the place to dwell. We ‘may,
howeyer, state in passing, that the daughter
of Josephine as much ‘admired and revered
Napoleon as she ‘was indifferent ito her bus-
band; King Louis.* In fact, Louis Bona-
parte was “far ‘too honest, simple, and well-
meaning a a young man to_ please the taste of
a@ young woman ‘ofa wayward nature, as-
sailed by the’ adulations of Parisian society.
While Louis was making, the ‘Dutch hap-
Dy ‘and mitigating as far asin him lay, the
heavy yoke imposed on them by Napoleon,
his wife was heading a French party; ‘and
traversing in every manner the intentions
of her: husband.', Such a menage was ‘not
likely to be a happy one, and a speedy sep-
aration was the consequence.
Hortense was ‘only too’ glad to quit the
vather dull and taciturn Court of Holland,
and to return to that of Paris, in which she
had passed her‘earlier years.’ The Empe-
ror encouraged -her in’ these’ projects, and
while he remained in! the ‘capital, she no
doubt formed one of the principal httractions
of his. court. A cleyer, and accomplished
musiciait, she ‘not. only composed :several
populat airs and pieces, but sang them with
grace and expression. ue
From all that, we have | read ‘of Hort S|
in these: Memoirs,” and from all ‘that we
have heard of her from those’ who knew her
intimately, she mist havé been’ not merely |
an interesting ‘and accomplished, buta fasci-
nating’ person, however frail and: fitful in
many respects. > She is described toj us as
fair and golden-haired,’ with a good’ figure
and graceful features, rendered more inter-
esting by a tinge of melancholy, and ‘deli,
282
“Ter salons “were the ‘head-quarters’ of
many of the’ most distinguished young men
of Paris. There might be found the Laba-
doyeres, the Lewensteins, the Philippe de
Segurs, the Lavalettes, the De Broghes, the
Flahauts, the De Canouvilles, the De‘ Las-
cours, the Nesselrodes, the Boutikims, &e.
Malle. Cochelot gives us a very distinct
view of the state of society in the capital in
|| the years 1813-14, and of the mode of life
in the watering-places. ,
In the summer of 1813, ‘Hortense was
ordered to’ Dieppe for the sca-baths, when
the mode of bathing’ was exactly the same
resorted to fourteen years ‘afterwards by the
Duchess of Berri. A pavilion was erected
on the beach, with two apartments, in which
the ex-Queen of Holland undressed, clothed
herself in a long camlet gown, fitting rather
closely to the person, and was then carried
into the water in the arms of. two stalwart
sailors. While taking her bath, hundreds
of spectators were on the beach, raising
their opera-glasses and telescopes to have a
better view of the immersion. ‘In the year
1827, the Duchess of Berri followed a simi-
lar course to the letter, so that we have little
doubt that the then prefect or sub-prefect of
Dieppe had studied the: precedent of his
predecessor which he found in the archives
of his office in}1813. 4; .',
In the prosperity’ of the Bonaparte family,
Hortense, notwithstanding the lightness of
her character, exerted herself deeply for the
unfortunate and persecuted, and thus won
golden opinions from men of all classes. :
When reverses came on the Emperor,
protectors, if not admirers, in the Emperor
Alexander, in: Prince Leopold, (now King
of the Belgians,) and. in. other: high and
mighty. personages, whose names it is not
necessary to mention. Malle. Cochelot gives
us a full, true, and particular account of the
efforts of Alexander and Nesselrode to pro-
cure for ‘Tlortense a dignified position and
subsistence, and the. means of enjoying that
social ‘station which. in . France, any” more
than in’ England, cannot .be accomplished
without money: » The assiduities of the: Cos-
sack. Emperor savor of more than the pro-
ceedings of the preux chevalier, and may be
described, indeed, as: the ardent. attentions
and gallantry of a personal admirer. .Prince
Leopold, too, was earnest and assiduous, but
not altogether so empresse as the sovereign
in’ whose army he then held a commission.
(‘The present King of the Belgians was then
(1814) in the Russian service.]
‘In justification of Alexander, it ought,
however, to be, stated that he always pro-
fessed somewhat of an esteem for the Beau-
harnois family, for the: Empress Josephine,
and for her son Eugene, the latter of whom
he had known long .previous to this date.
With Josephine, Hortense, and Eugene; we
learn from Mdlle. Cochelet that he spent
many happy days and evenings, not only at
Malmaison, but at the Chateau of Navarre,
wheré the’ ox-Empréss ‘habitually resided
after her divorce.’ Hortense and ‘Alexander
visited the waters of Marly together, and it
was on this occasion that ‘the’ young Empe:
ror of all" the“ Russias narrowly. escaped a
fatal accident, from the skirt of his Goat Tiav-
ing canght t in the machinery of the celebrat-
ed’ machine hydrauliqué which éatised' the
Waters to play; that had so’often amused the
sated, worn out, and inamusablé (tot use the
word of: Madame de Maintenon) old age of
Lotis XIV.
«Josephine was s sensible of the’ kindness
and civility of Alexander, and gave him the
cate health.
original music, in Hortense’s handwriting,
the.ex-Queen of Holland found friends and |
of all the airs which the ex-Queen had com-
posed, and among the rest the air. of Par-
tant pour la Syrie, the words of whieh were
composed by Alexander de Laborde. The
demeanor of Hortense” towards Alexander
was perfectly dignified ‘and proper, and‘ at
the same ‘time respectful. ' She ‘gave the
Emperor, who was solicitous to serve her at
the Congress of Allied Sovereigns, fully to
understand that she would not be'a party to
any compliances * unworthy -of ‘the’ name
which she bore, or of the nation which had
so elevated the family to which she! be-
‘Tn his secret soul, Alexander must have
‘respected this proof of independence and
self-respect. ’ We learn from the Emperor's
letters to Malle. Cochelet—a fact that’ has
since transpired through many other sources
—of the sovereign contempt which the Au-
tocrat entertained for the elder branch of
the Bourbons. ' During the years ‘1816 and
1817 the Minister of Police, Decazes, who
had been an early protege of the mother of
Napoleon, (he’ was her 'reader,) knowing,
through his myrmidons, that Malle. Coche-
let possessed several letters’ from ‘the Czar,
in which the Bourbons were contemptuous-
ly spoken of, caused them to be seized in
the possession of a lady to whose safe custo-
dy ‘Malle.’ Cochelet had’ entrusted : them.
This | unworthy proceeding failed ‘of the
effect contemplated, for Mdlle Cochelet had
‘safely carried out of France more létters of
the Czar than she had left within the king-
dom, and some of these she publishes in her
“ Memoirs.” ’
We have stated that i in ‘the palmy days of
the empire many royalists ° owed not only
their pardon but their lives to the intercess-
ion of - Ilortense, % among ‘the rest,’ ‘Polignac;
yet at the hands’ of this royalist party she
met with harsh and unkindly' treatment.
There i As a good deal in the volumes as to
Hortense’s children, for whom ‘the ‘mother
enteriained a dey oied affection! : Mention
is made of ‘Louis Charles (now the - Empe-
ror Louis 4 Napoleon) asa person of a’ soft,
timid, and’ reserve: “character, ' as one ‘shy
and silent.’ Yet, says ‘Mdlle. Cochelet} his
mind is penetrating, and full of ‘finesse, and
hé is of such’ sensibility’ that he fell ill of the
jaundice when his"elder brother left.” Bat-
ing the finesse, this dear and interesting boy
must have greatly ¢ changed since “October,
1815, when he’ was seven: Sand a halt’ years
old. That he had, even’ at’ that early age,
an’ admiration’ for ‘autocracy, or the great
professor of autocracy, appears from this—
that he gavé the Emperor ‘Alexander aring
which was presented ” to im by his | own
brother.'
It is impossible for any one who has ob:
served the career of Leopold of Belgitim as
a king, to have any other idea than that this
prince is a man of consummate ‘address, tact,
and wisdom. But, from.” the “Memoirs” of
Malle. Cochelet, it appears that, asa good
natured * young’ ‘prince, he yexhibited, in
1815, ‘the’ sense,’ tact,‘and ' ‘feeling’ which
have since “distinguished him in so eminént
a degree: ® "phat hi hie was’ thoroughly ? bon en-
fant, as well-as'a ‘sensible man, s appears from
this: that’ when’ lie was About’ to marry ‘the
Princess- Charlotte,’ Malle? Cochelet wrote
him a congratulatory’ letter, rethindinig him,
en badinant,’ that though'ihe was al prince,
about to become the son-in-law ‘of a mighty
monarch, he: had’ yet, as‘a soldier of the
Coalition, made war on the swectméats of
Madame Harville, in { Champagne, and eaten, th
when quartered i in her house, a pot of ‘com
fitures; which he found i in his beit or sitting:
room. 1/0 680: of
Prince Leopold himself had told the story 4
to Malle. Cochelet, as an innocent truth, en
badinant. ‘It speaks much for his character,
and for Malle. Cochelet’s appreciation of it,
that he took her rallying in good part ata
time that he was about to become the son-
in-law of the Prince Regent of England.
‘Malle. Cochelet continued to reside with
Hortense during her sojourn at Constance,
and, indeed, till she retired to Arnenberg;
and it was at this period she occupied her-
self in- preparing her “Memoirs” for the
press.' ‘When the ex-Queen purchased the }
chateau at Arnenberg, Malle. Cochelet, who
had become Madame Charles Pasquin, also
purchased a pied & terre near to it, called
the Chateau of Sandegy.’: There, or at
Wolferg, she continued to reside till 1835,
when she expired, after a long and linger-
ing; illness, leaving her “ Memoirs ” unfin-
ished at the end of the fourth volume.
Iortense did not long survive. her. «She
died at Virey, on the 5th of October, 1837,
at the house of the Duchess: of Ragusa, j in
the 54th year of her age...) YS
Malle. Cochelet knew her ex-Queen well,
for she had lived the greater portion’ of her
life in Tlortense’s society. «They had been
brought up together at the famous establish-
ment of Madame Campan, at St. Germain,
a lady who had educated ‘some of : the. first
women in France, and who commenced life
as lectrice de’ Mesdames' filles du Roi. | At
this establishmient; Bonaparte, when: First
Consul, placed ‘his younger sister, Caroline, -
afterwards Queen of Naples, and his adopt-
ed daughter, Stephanie, afterwards, Grand
Duchess of Baden. :) : i
We learn from Malle. Cochelet's “Me-
moirs ” that Hortense left Memoirs of her-
self;’ but, these» have not as yét seen the
light, and in their absence we’ have no such
authentic details as ‘are given: usin the vol-
umes of which we: have been speaking at
some length. .
are ———
| “The ‘Human Race. '!
Bayarp- Taynor, ‘i in’ a’ new work re-
cently” issued, descriptive ‘of ‘a Journey up
the ‘river Nile)” discredits the story’ of a
white civilized race i ‘the interior of ‘Africa,
and declares’ his’ opinion that, it’ originated
in the reports carried 'from’one tribe of ne-
groes to another across the Continent, about
the Portuguese ’ séttléments “on the’ coast of
the Indian ocean. * Hé also affirms’ his con-
currence with the’ disciples of Proféssor Ag- 2
assiz in doubting the trath of the doctrine
of the unity’ of origin of thé human’ race.
Iles says ‘that i in’ the great temple of Abon-
Simbel, ‘below. the’ second cataract’ of the
Nile, there ‘is ‘a colossal bas-relief,’ repre-
senting Remeses,'a an Egy ptian, & god, ‘slaying
a group of captive kings, among whom the
negro features are’ plainly’ fistingnished
‘Theretipon he remarks :
«Tse no reason to doubt that’ the pecu-
liar characteristics of the different: races of
men. were as strongly marked in the days of y?
Remeses-as at resent... Admitting the dif’
ferent : craces of men to. have had originally
one origin, the date of’ the ‘first appearance
of Man':upon ‘the ' carth ‘must ‘have’ been
nearer fifty thousand than five . thousand
ears ago... If climate; customs, and the like
have’ been the only, agents in producing
that‘ variety “of “race which’‘we ‘find 80}
strongly marked nearly four thousand years |
ago, surely’ these agents: must: have been at!
work fora: vastly longer: period than, that
usually aceepted as the age of man. '; We
are older than we know; but ‘our begin-
g, like ‘our end, i is darkness and mystery.” ”
oe bene dite baw ye
v
Fea Work. whe Criminals éxecuted here !
with neatness and dispatch,” as the sherif? ]
‘| said when he hung his last man.