do their work, and the fires of persecution were lighted up. Paris, in consequence, became the theatre of many bloody deeds, crowned at length, in 1572, during the reign of Charles IX., by the horrible massacre of St. Bartholomew. During these transactions the city could not prosper; and, though some new edifices were commenced, among others the palace of the Tuileries, it was not until the wars of religion ceased, at least, to be carried on openly, that the work of embellishment in good earnest again commenced. The Hotel de Ville was begun, the Pont Neuf finished, great additions made to the Tuileries, and many new streets and quays built. The works begun were completed, and many others undertaken, during the reigns of Louis XIII. and XIV., the latter of whom, notwithstanding his lavish expenditure at Versailles, was able to rival all that his predecessors had done for the embellishment of Paris. Louis XV. had contributed his share of improvements, and Louis XVI. was proceeding in a better spirit in the same course, when the Revolution commenced, and with it the work of demolition, which was carried on to such an extent that some of the finest edifices in the city were converted into ruins, and many of the most venerable monuments of art completely destroyed. A stop was put to this barbarism, first, by the Directory, and afterward by Bonaparte, by whom, in particular, many works, distinguished alike by utility and splendor, were undertaken and completed. During the restoration of the Bourbons the work of embellishment did not proceed with much rapidity; but from 1830, when Louis Philippe was called to the throne, to 1848, when the revolutionary spirit once more gained the ascendant and drove him into exile, Paris made wonderful advances both in magnificence and general prosperity. Since then it has been her lot more than ever to see bloody battles waged, and hear the thunder of artillery roaring in her streets. But all improvements of his predecessors sink into insignificance when compared with those of the present ruler; nor are they confined to Paris alone. The whole of France has become rejuvenated by his mighty mind and liberal policy. Among the many works completed, and in the course of completion by Napoleon III., is the magnificent Boulevard de Sevastopol, running from the right bank of the Seine to the Strasburg Railway terminus; he has also finished the extension of Rue Rivoli to Rue St. Antoine. The works of the Louvre and Place du Carrousel have also been finished. Some seven or eight new boulevards are in course of completion, and on every hand splendid residences are being constructed. As it may be of service to many, we will here give a chronological list of the different monarchs since Charlemagne down to the present time, with the date of their accession. Charlemagne..... Louis I. Charles II.. Louis II... Eudes... Lothaire. Hugh Capet.. Louis VI.. Louis VII... Louis IX.. Charles V.. ..... 1350 Republic. 1328 Louis Philippe.... 1830 1848 1364 Napoleon III..... 1852 The universal homage now paid by all Europe, and, we may say, the whole world, to Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, who has so rapidly risen to the very highest pinnacle of fame and glory, whose frown makes stocks to fall in every mart in Europe, demands of us a passing biographical notice. The present Emperor of the French was born at the palace of the Tuileries, April 20th, 1808. His father was Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte's third brother, and at that time King of Holland. He married at the age of 23 Hortense Beauharnais, daughter of the Empress Josephine by General Beauharnais, her first husband, descended from one of the most re spectable families of the old French no In 1800 bility. Hortense was married at the age his empire. He was baptized at Fontaineof 19, previous to which time the Duchess bleau in 1810, with all the splendid ceremod'Abrantes described her thus: "She was nies of the imperial court and Church of fresh as a rose, and though her fair com- Rome. After the restoration of the Bourplexion was not relieved by much color, bons he and his mother retired to Bavaria, she had enough to produce that freshness but were soon forced to leave that country and bloom which was her chief beauty. A and take refuge in Switzerland, from which profusion of light hair played in silky locks they were again compelled to fly, and around her soft and penetrating eyes; the eventually settled in Rome at the age of delicate roundness of her slender figure 22. When the French Revolution of 1830 was set off by the elegant carriage of her compelled the Bourbon Charles X. to leave head; her feet were small and pretty; her his throne and the home of his fathers, the hands very white, and pink, well-rounded prince assembled with all the members of nails. But what formed the chief attrac- the Bonaparte family at the house of his tion of Hortense was the grace and suavity mother to consider the course they should of her manners. She was gay, gentle, and adopt. There were present his grandamiable. She had wit, which, without the mother Letitia, his uncle Jerome, Cardinal smallest ill temper, had just malice enough Fesch, and his mother Hortense. Their to be amusing. A polished education had proceedings having come to the ears of the improved her natural talents; she drew short-sighted papal government, Louis Naexcellently, sang harmoniously, and per-poleon was requested to retire from the formed admirably in comedy. Pontifical States. Having disregarded the she was a charming young girl; she after- request, he was arrested in the house of his ward became one of the most excellent mother, and compelled to retire beyond the and amiable princesses of Europe. I have frontier. seen many, both in their own courts and in Paris, but I never knew any one who had any pretensions to equal talents. Her brother loved her tenderly, and the First Consul looked upon her as his child." She excelled in music, in dancing, in painting, and in dress; was a strong promoter of social amusements. She was passionately attached to her only surviving son, the present emperor, his brother having died while fighting for the freedom of the Italians at Pesaro, both having joined that campaign with her hearty approval. She died at her residence on the banks of Lake Constance in 1837. She was author of that universal favorite piece of music, "Partant pour la Syrie;" also her memoirs, "La Reine Hortense en Italie, en France, et en Angleterre, pendant l'Année 1831," The present emperor was the first prince of the Napoleon dynasty born under the imperial régime who received military and public honors at his birth, and his son Prince Eugene is the last. It is a remarkable circumstance that Louis Napoleon should have been the only prince besides the King of Rome of whom this can be said. The death of the King of Rome, Napoleon the Second, Duke of Reichstadt, left Louis Napoleon the legitimate representative of the emperor, and the heir to When the revolution broke out early in the spring of the following year, in conjunction with his elder brother and General Sercognami he raised the tri-color at Ferrara, Urbino, and other places. His personal popularity caused numbers to gather around his standard. They gained several victories, and sent consternation to the gates of Rome. But an Austrian army having marched to the assistance of the Pope, and a French fleet having landed on the coast of Italy, the patriots were obliged to succumb. An edict was then published banishing the nephews of Napoleon from Italy. Hortense and her son made their escape from Italy, and reached Paris. As Hortense had been instrumental in procuring the leniency of Napoleon toward Louis Philippe's relations, and had obtained for them an allowance of $120,000 per annum, that they might maintain a dignity becoming to their rank, she thought she could ask with some confidence for a little toleration. They threw themselves at the king's feet; it was of no avail: he either did not wish, or did not dare to reciprocate the favors shown to his family, and ordered them to quit the country immediately. He never made a more cardinal mistake than when he thought he could banish Napoleonism from France; it had and has taken too deep root in the hearts of the French people. Louis Napoleon, who loved his country dearly, begged even the privilege of becoming a common soldier; but even this boon was denied him, and he was obliged to seek an asylum on the shores of England. The same year he and his mother returned to Switzerland: here he devoted his attention so assiduously to the study of military affairs, and the political principles of his uncle, that, having published a work on artillery, which displayed such proficiency, the Council of Berne appointed him Captain of Artillery; and the Canton of Thurgau, by a unanimous vote, conferred on him the honor of citizenship. To show his gratitude for the honor conferred, the prince founded a free school at Lallenstein, and presented the canton with two elegant field-pieces with complete equipage. He was invited at this time to take possession of the crown of Portugal, and the hand of Donna Maria as its queen, both of which he declined; and concluded his refusal with the following patriotic sentence: This hope of one day serving France as a citizen and as a soldier fortifies my soul, and is worth, in my estimation, all the thrones in the world." About this time he published his "Reveries Politiques," and his " Considerations Politiques et Militaires sur la Suisse," both of which displayed great ability. As the eldest of Napoleon's nephews, he always considered himself the representative of the popular choice. The people not having been consulted since the hereditary title of the emperor's family was recognized by over four millions of votes, he wished therefore to establish a government founded on popular election. He accordingly organized the affair against the government known as the Strasburg insurrection; and, had this grand and noble enterprise not been nipped in the bud by superior forces, France might have enjoyed twelve years more of his glorious rule. When asked after his defeat what drove him to the act, he replied, "My political opinions, and my desire again to see my country 'free, which I have been prevented from by foreign invaders. In 1830 I demanded to be treated as a simple citizen; they treated me as a pretender: well, I have since conducted myself as a pretender." After his arrest he was conveyed to the citadel of Port Louis, near L'Orient, where he remained ten days, until the frigate destined to carry him to America was ready: he was conveyed to Rio Janeiro, in South America, from thence he went to New York. He was just on the point of starting on a long tour to visit the western portions of the continent of America when he received a letter from his mother, whom he dearly loved, that she was about having an operation performed that might not terminate successfully: he at once set out for Europe, and reached his mother's dying bed just in time to administer such consolation as a dearly-beloved son can give, also to receive her blessing and close her eyes in death. As he had broken no engagement in returning to Switzerland, he determined to reside there; but a pamphlet having been published by Lieutenant Laity, one of the participants in the Strasburg affair, justifying Louis Napoleon in the course he had taken, Laity was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and Louis Philippe demanded the expulsion of the prince from Switzerland. The republic refused to comply, and the king immediately marched an army to the Swiss frontier, thinking the Confederation would be intimidated. The Swiss, however, determined to maintain their position, and prepared to meet the enemy. Prince Napoleon, seeing that if the demands of the French government were not complied with, it would be the signal of a conflagration, determined to leave Switzerland at once. The announcement was accordingly made to the Federal Directory, and the French army were ordered back to their garrisons. The prince filed once more to London, where he remained nearly two years. While there an insurrection took place at a town in France, causing much bloodshed. The agents of Louis Philippe attributed the rising to the Prince Louis Napoleon. He indignantly denied it in a letter to the Times, saying, "If I were the soul of a conspiracy, I should also be the leader of it in the day of danger; I should not deny it after a defeat." In August, 1840, Louis Napoleon, true to his destiny, invaded France a second time, in company with General Voisin, 151386 move the inflexible will of Louis Philippe, although he declared to the French government that if he were allowed to go to Florence to discharge a sacred duty, he promised on his honor to return and place himself at the disposal of the government whenever it desired him, at length determined to take the matter into his own hands. As he was not on parole, he had the right to break his chains-innocent or guilty. By the aid of De Couveau, and his faithful valet, Charles Thelin, he procured a smock-frock and a pair of wooden shoes, and, having shaved off his mustaches, took a plank on his shoulder, and, keeping it before his face, in broad daylight he passed through a garrison of four hundred soldiers, with sixty of the number on guard as sentries, and escaped to London. In escaping from his prison, his only object was to be near his aged father at his death; but the Austrian embassador who represented the Court of Tuscany at London refused to visé his passport, and King Louis died exactly two months after his son's escape from the prison of Ham without being able to see him. His remains were interred by the side of his two elder sons at Florence. When brought before his judges in Paris, September, 1840, he delivered one of the most eloquent addresses ever listened to, explanatory of his conduct. Its firmness and boldness produced such an effect on the people of France that Louis Philippe dared not execute the full rigor of the law. All his friends were condemned to imprisonment, with three exceptions, while Louis Napoleon was sentenced to perpetual incarceration in the castle of Ham, one of the strongest and gloomiest prisons in Europe. Every irritation and petty annoyance that could be called into requisition was employed to embitter his existence. He remonstrated in a letter to the government, and it was compelled by public opinion to relax somewhat its severity. He was allowed to pursue his literary pursuits, and many of his productions were published during his incarceration. He also corresponded with Count d'Orsay, Lady Blessington, Lord Aberdeen, and others. says in a letter to the Countess of Blessington, "I have no desire to quit the spot in which I now am, for here I am in my prop-sidered more politic by his friends that he er place. With the name which I bear, I must either be in the seclusion of the dungeon or in the brightness of power." When the Revolution of '48 broke out, and Louis Philippe fled from the shores of France, Louis Napoleon began to see the fulfillment of his destiny. He immediateHely set out for Paris, and was one of the first who gave his adhesion to the provisional government. It was, however, con Toward the close of 1845 the prince's father, ex-king of Holland, finding his life was going, sent a touching appeal to Louis Philippe for privilege to embrace his son once more before his death. Louis Philippe agreed to give him his liberty on certain conditions, knowing full well they were such as the prince never would accept, namely, that he would renounce all claims to the throne of France; that he never would molest the Orleans family; and acknowledge that he had perpetrated certain crimes to create an insurrection. The prince refused emphatically to subscribe to these conditions; and discovering that no feeling of humanity or generosity could should return to England until after the constitution had been adopted, and some show of order reigned throughout the new state. After his departure, the National Assembly, influenced by parties greedy for power, and knowing how popular the prince was with the people, passed an act continuing in force the edict of exile against him. He protested in the most solemn manner against this injustice. In his absence he was elected representative from three different departments of France; but, learning that this election would be made a pretext for diplomatic disturbance, in a letter to the President of the Assembly he declined the honor of representing his constituents. He wrote that, as his name was the symbol of order, glory, and nationality, he was ready to make any sacrifice for France rather than augment her troubles and dissensions, and that he should prefer to remain in exile for the happiness of his country. He was again not only elected a member of the National Assembly from three departments of France, but also from Paris; he was likewise chosen unanimously by the electors of Corsica. All of these honors he again declined. On the ensuing election, General Pyot wrote him to know, if re-elected, "if he would accept the post of representative?" He replied, "Yes; that, having demonstrated that his election in four different departments was not the result of any intrigue on his part, he should feel himself wanting in duty did he not respond to the call of his fellow-citizens." He was again returned as representative to the National Assembly, not only by four different departments, but by the Department of the Seine-which is Paris-by over 60,000 majority. He chose to represent his native city of Paris. In October of the same year he was solicited to accept the candidature of presidency. He accepted; but there was a strong body in the Chamber who were determined, if possible, to effect his ruin. Scenes of the wildest excitement occurred in the Assembly, and the session broke up in confusion. The next day he defined his position in a most eloquent speech, which brought down the repeated cheers of the Assembly. The 10th of December, 1848, was fixed on by the Assembly for the election of President. Louis Napoleon published an address to the French people. The day of election arrived, and out of 7,350,000 votes, Louis Napoleon secured 5,434,226, and the five other candidates, consisting of General Cavaignac, Ledru Rollin, Raspail, Lamartine, and General Changarnier, received the balance, amounting to 1,915,774, being a majority for the prince over all others of three and a half millions of votes! On the day of his inauguration the members of the cabinet resigned, and from that day order, political tranquillity, and national progress has been the signal. knows the particulars. Agitators, repealers, and socialists were paralyzed by one bold stroke, such as Cæsar and Cromwell had struck before him. He appealed to the people, and all France again was with him. Out of eight million votes, seven and a half were cast for Napoleon; he proclaimed his new Constitution in January, 1852, avowing "the direct responsibility of the chief of the government to the sovereign people of France." Having restored order and security to France, he became convinced that the empire should be restored; he had carefully studied, through a long life of exile, the institutions and government of nearly every civilized state; he came to the wise determination that, for the good of his country, his actions must be free and without hinderance. He again appealed to the nation; there was no opposition: nearly nine millions of electors declared for the restoration of the empire. We know the sequel. France, in her palmiest days, never was so rich, her people never were so happy and prosperous as now. On January 29, 1853, Napoleon espoused Eugenie, Malle. de Montijo, Countess de Teba, one of the noblest maidens of Spain. The ceremony was performed at the Cathedral of Nôtre Dame, with all the pomp and splendor of the days of the first empire. The scene was one never to be forgotten; the emotion of thousands within that vast cathedral was intense, and melted the heart of the young Empress of France to tears. We have not space to speak of the many kind and generous things which the empress is daily and hourly doing for the poor of France. As Victoria is cherished by all who speak the English language, so is Eugenie, not only by her hus band, but by the entire French nation. Of Napoleon's protection to Turkey, his sacrifices for down-trodden Italy, his victories at Magenta, Solferino, etc., the undying reputation he has established on the battle-field, are they not daily read in ev ery paper published on our continent? The Bonaparte family originated in Italy, and is traceable back to the twelfth Unexpectedly, on the 2d of December, century, at which time its members stood when all Europe was on the eve of revolu- high in power as senators, consuls, and emtion, Napoleon's "coup d'état" fell upon bassadors. Jean Bonaparte was one of the the astonished world. The affair is of first knights of the Order of St. James of such a recent occurrence that every reader | Spain, instituted in 1170. Persons only |