History of Napoleon the Third

The career of the great Napoleonic dynasty is without a parallel either in ancient or modern times. The universal judgment of mankind has long since decided, that its founder, Napoleon I., was in every respect as great a hero, and probably a greater, than Alexander, Caesar, or Charlemagne, the three most renowned representatives of ambitious and martial daring in the world's history. It has been conceded that the variety and extent of Napoleon's abilities, both as a commander, a legislator, and a ruler, place him above all his rivals. It is also granted that the splendor of his victories, the extent of his conquests, and the grandeur of his elevation, exceeded theirs in an eminent degree. It must be admitted, also, that the present Emperor of the French is the second personage in point of consequence, celebrity, and interest, among all that illustrious company who bear the name and share the glory of the Bonapartes; and that his career possesses an importance and splendor, inferior only to that of the great head of the family himself.Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was born at Paris on the 20th of April, 1808. He was the third and only surviving son of Louis Napoleon, the King of Holland, and Hortense, the daughter of the Empress Josephine, by her first husband, the Viscount de Beauharnois. The infant prince first saw the light at one o’clock, and the Chancellor of the Empire immediately wrote to the Emperor, the Empress, and to Louis Napoleon, informing them of the happy event. At five o’clock in the evening the act of birth was received by the Arch-Chancellor, assisted by his eminence, Regnault de St. Jean d’Angely, the minister of state, and secretary of the imperial family. Salvos of artillery announced the happy event along the whole line of the grande armée, throughout the entire extent of the empire, from Hamburg to Genoa, from the Danube to the Atlantic. This was an honor which fell to the lot of only two members of the imperial family, Louis Napoleon, and the King of Rome; for they only were born under the imperial regime...