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Show JEROME BONAPARTE'S MAR-i MAR-i R1ACE. Jerome Bonaparte, afterwards King of Westphalia, during the Napoleonic ascendency, was uudnub'edly sincerely sin-cerely attached to his wife. But Napoleon, who waa in tho eyes of court circle in Europe a parvdnue emperor, although the only really im-poding im-poding royal figure of his time, was j naturally careful of all the properties of sovereignty, and one of the first of these is that the head of the reigning house must appiove the marriage of the members. He consequently condemned con-demned Jerome's marriuge ; and alter a little contest with hia brother's imperial will, Jerome yielded and abandoned his wife, aud was rewarded , and the throne of Westphalia. Madame Mad-ame l'atterson herself sought a divorce, di-vorce, and her action has been always thought strange, aa she was a lawful wife of unsullied character, and the Pope bad refused to annul her marriage, mar-riage, which was strictly canonical. It ia not impossible, however, that her admiration cf Napoleon and her con Hciousuesa of the impoibility of shaking his will, joined with an indomitable in-domitable pride which made her scorn to be a deserted but passivo wife, may havo determined hor resolution, reso-lution, it waa better to be wholly and lawfully free better, e-vorj if ehe bad no other counsellor counsel-lor than ambition. When Jerome complained that alio was willing to roceivo aid from his brother Napoleon, Napo-leon, but not Irom him, she is said to have replied that she preferred shelter beneath the wing of an eagle to suspension from the pinion ol a gooBe. Once, after the separation, she met Jerome. It wb in the gallery gal-lery of the Pitti Palace, in Florence, and hia royal wife was with him. Jerome Baid to the princess. "That lady was my former wife." Madame Patterson said only, "It ia Jerome." Harper's Magazine. |
