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BLACK mVEB DEMOCRAT*LAKE BONAPARTEContinued from page 1)•at* Point Breeze was, the arrival 'of the* Mexican, delegation; who offered Joseph. the crown of Mexico, After entertaining them royally for three days the exiled monarch gave them a finalanswer: “I have worn two crowns. Iwould not take a step to wear athird-.’* (Finally the Princess and her husband returned to Europe and Point Breeze was deserted by the exiled, king, who took-up Ms residence bn a farm just below the city of Philadelphia and installed as mistress of-the villa which he built there the daughter of a prominent and highly respected Philadelphia family, Annette Savage, whom he always spoke of with affectionate respect and accent as the “beautiful Quaker -girl.” Here a daughter was born whp died in early infancy from injuries caused by a flower pot falling on her head. He returned for a brief period to the estate at Point Breeze when the second daughter was born. She grew Up a credit to her parents and of so lovely a person and captivating a disposition that all who met her were charmed by her grace of conversation and bythe accomplishments which her mother and the good sisters of the convent where she was educated taught her. Loving his “American wife” as fondly as he did, he could not brook ,to see the doors of Philadelphia's blue-blooded aristocracy shut upon himself and her. About this time, too, Prince Murat, the son of Joseph’s sister, and the famous cavalry leader Murat had settled on a farm in Burlington county, where he succeeded in -raising more disturbance than crops with horse-racing, gambling and duelling, so Joseph decided to emigrate from a locality which had grown distasteful, and bethought himself of the estate in Jefferson county, New York, purchased seven years before at Bordeaux of* James Leray of Chaumont. So the; Bordentown establishment was aban-; doned again and was no more the: home of royalty. ’In June, 1882, they arrived at the; “natural bridge,” at the head waters of the Indian rivers in the then unbroken wilderness of the town of Wi!-:. ■na, Jefferson county, N. Y,, a iproces-: sion of coaches and a small army of woodsmen and laborers. In one coach rode Joseph Bonaparte with Annnette; Savage, and their young daughter, Charlotte; in another Joseph’s secretary, valet and Ms wife’s French maid, while the third bore eight small iron-: hooped oaken kegs,,and four old grenadiers. Jacob, the giant Hungarian bodyguard, had, a few months before, been laid to rest beneath a clump of Norway pines at Pt. Breeze. The royal family had come through the forest •from Kouseville, Lewis county, (where Joseph drank New England rum with everybody) preceded by a gang of woodsmen, who chopped roads and built log bridges for them as they proceeded.•At Natural Bridge, Joseph laid out a village on paper, handling the compass himself and chaining out the streets 100 feet wide. Here he builtAas a residence a strong blockhouse, which, with its massive walls and concealed portholes, is still standing. The lower floow was occupied by the old French grenadiers to guard him against Bourbon or Spanish emissaries, whom he always fancied to be on his track. French refugees who had followed Leray de Chaumont to this section flocked around him, among them Count Peter Francisiof polieecmfwyp shrdlu vbgkj xzfiflff R. Beal, the Jacobin and Napoleon’s chief of police Marshal Brouchy and Gaulin court, Joachin, Murat and others. Hunting lodges were built on the lakes in the town of Diana* (so-called by Joseph because he imrnag-ined that the ancient Goddess of therchase hovered over the wilds), and soon the ex-king built ther.e an imposing villa, which was called the White House, where lavish hospitality was dispensed. Broad. highways wereAbuilt to Antwerp where the grandees had their residences, and from the colony of French exiles established at Cape Vincent came the Due de ViVn-cent, M, Hasler, Capt. Louis Forgent and other devoted adherents .of the Little Corporal. Many and deep laid were the plots hatched with a view to rescuing the Man of Destiny from St. Helena and establishing him in a forest empire in those northern wilds until another blow could be ventured in France,But the revolution of July, 1830, came, and the hated Bourbon was tumbled from the throne of France. The Bonapartes summoned Joseph back, and, leaving his American possession, he sailed for Europe, never, to return. His possessions were sold out, 30,000 acres situated around Lake Bonaparte eventually falling into the hands of Col. Z. H. Benton.After the ex-king - returned to France, his “American wife,” Annette Savage, married Joseph de la Foille, a young Frenchman of good family, who had come among the refugees to northern New York. The family resided for a time in Watertown. Two other daughters were born to her, and she assisted in the support of the family by keeping a small store.Charlotte de la Foille, as the daughter of. Joseph was called, had grown up to* be a handsome and accomplished young woman, a-nd about 1835 she met Col. Zebulon Hoyle Benton. He was the son of Dr. Abner Benton and was a singularly ambitious, vain and daring character. - He had the face and bearing of a French marquis of the old school, was a fine horseman, a charming talker, neat in dress and always courteous in manner. He had been a slave dealer in Louisville, Ky., a military officer in a western territory and wm then the owner of the gigantic Rossie lead mines. The roman f?c origin of Charlotte de la Foille charmed' him as much as the winsome girl herself. They were marriad, and with him she saw many vicissitudes, for he was a daring speculator and mining promoter, and one day was rich aitd the next day without a cent Four children were bdru to them, of whom two reside in Philadelphia, Pa., ohe in Honolulu and the other in Italy.The manner in which these scions of royalty came tQ be received at the court of Napoleon as kinsmen is of unusual interest and, has never been• • M ^ f 0 • . , ' ■ * * ’ *.before'published, it.is £id.Dr. Charles Benton, who practiced medicine at pgdeMsourg, N. Y(, and whose son,*Dr. John Benton, .has succeeded him there was a college mate at Jefferson College, Philadelphia, Pa., with the world. famoufe, dentist, Dr. John de Haven White, of Philadelphia, Pa., and the preceptor .of Dr. Thomas W. Evans, of Paris, It so happened that Josiah Randall, the father of Representative Randall, went at onetime to Dr, Evans in Paris with a letter of introduction from Dr. White and was presented by Dr. Evans to the Emperor. Mr. Randall told the Emperor that he had known Joseph Bonaparte intimately, in the course of the conversation Mr. Randall happened to mention that Joseph had a* affection of the gums for which he visited a Philadelphia dentist twice a week to be treated. Napoleon III appeared greatly pleased at this. Benton on his return toldlt; the episode to Dr. White. By correspondence with Dr. Evans the former learned that Napoleon III had a similar affection of the gums, for which the Emperor had been unmercifully harpooned by the Continental and English press, which ascribed it to a disreputable origin. These facts were told by Dr. White to Mrs. Benton, who at that time lived at Philadelphia and who was being treated by the doctor. She solicited a letter of introduction -to Dr. Evans, -the Emperor’s dentist. The letter was cheerfully given by Dr. White.Armed with the letter Col. and Mrs. Benton sold out all their belongings and in the winter of 1869-70 went with their children to Paris. They were kindly received by Dr. Evans and made guests of the. family. Be pre sented Mrs. Benton’s claim for recognition as a Bonaparte to the Emperor who made an appointment to receive her at the Tuilleries, Immediately upon seeing her Napoleon III said: “I recognize you as a Napoleon.” A decree was recorded by the Emperor legitimizing the union of Joseph and the little Quaker girl, Annette Savage, and feted as the first cousin of the daughter’s honor. She was received and feted as the firstc ousin of the Emperor, Her youngest son was placed in the French military academy. The daughter, Josephine, was a maid of honor to the Empress. But the Franco-Prussian war came, After sharing the emperor’s exile at Willi-shof Castle and ministering to him at Chislehurst until his death, she re-turned to Watertown, N. Y. After supporting herself by teaching music in Watertown and Utica, N, Y., Mrs. Benton died in humble lodgings at Richfield Springs, ten years ago, and in the midst of a driving snow storm on- Christmas day, 1891 was laid to rest in the Presbyterian church at Oxbow, N. Y., only four persons standing beside the grave of this daughter of a king.RAINY MOOR STORIES(Continued from page 5)For the princess. Katuru was placed bound, in the hut of the engineer. All weapons were put in Horonado’s hut. Next day the fugitives constructed a small open hut between the two as a shelter when cooking food. In the three weeks following no storms came, the air on the hill at Lake Sil-ico was invigorating and the spot most beautiful. The sukia gave no trouble; he was never left alone, one of the party being always on guard over himv during the day. and each night he was taken to Drummond’s hut, where he lay bound hand and foot, a stake being driven at his feet to which he was tied.CHAPTER XII.Four weeks had passed since the little party arrived at the lake. .The subject of leaving for the seaport town had been discussed several times by the two white men. They were quite, comfortable where they were and might have remained indefinitely. Their huts had withstood 'he test of a heavy storm a few days before, remaining as dry inside as the most expensive house. But Horonado, with whom the longing for his native land became more* intensified by the inactivity under which he labored, was impatient to depart at the earliest possible moment.“I think it will be safe to start from here in three days,” he said, addressing the engineer, with whom he sat apart, some distance from Azeala and the captive. “How about the gold up the lost creek?” asked the engineer., “I was thinking of that,” replied the chief. “The best way will be to take what we have to the town, and either secrete it or turn it over to the United States consul for safe keeping. Also Katuru, against whom you can make some minor charge to lodge him in jail for a short time. You, no. doubt, made some friends while you were .there did you not?” “Yes—,” hesitatingly answered Drummond, thinking suddenly of his love affair with the dark-eyed Spanish girl EM vira, he had left behind when he and Delaney started for the “Mount of the Dead.” “I know the consul there well, and can get the sukia placed safely, I am sure.” “Azeala shall remain, also,” Horonado said. I will, leave her in care of thee onsul at terfinding lodging for her in some fam-»ily. Were there any American fam-, ilies in town when you came up?” inquired the chief. “Yes, several—the best place.for her will be with the British consul, who keeps a hotel there,” “Either will do,” said Horonado, so that they speak English, Azeala knows nothing of Spanish, speaking .English only, besides her native Aztec tongue. You and I can then set out in the night, reaching the creek in the morning, waiting over day, after .digging up the gold. We will bring up some new canvass sacks as the others have no doubt rotted by now; 25 years is a long time. In the night, •we will return to San Juan, no one being the wiser. We could not take the gold on now anyway, as it weighs 1,000 pound's, overweighting -the ca-«made our escape, was to take two lt;ia-noes; as it turned out it was well we came in one, or would have been overtaken. In three# days then,, we will, leave ,the, lake.. “Azeala,” he said, calling to, the princess, “yqu can go now7, it is my turn to watch.”Katuru’s hands orily t were bound during the day, allowing him a length .of about a foot between the wrists, onwhich a'thick jute rope was .fastened, strong as steel handcuffs. This was done to make him comfortable, but. necessitated his being guarded. “Let us go down to the lake and bathe, Ar-bonon,” said the Indian girl; “bring our spears if you are coming!” The young man and girl went down to the landing where there was a fine sandy bottom; after playing in the water for a while, they sat in the sunlight to dry. Often they had come to the spot where they lay, a ledge of rock ran into the lake which was covered with fine sand; there was nothing to nourish vegetation, so none grew. This little oasi« of sand in thick jungle was about 50 feet long; a dozen feet back of it was the high wall of the everlasting forest.The young people were never happier than when they lay thus, outstretched upon the sand to dry their thin grey garments. Afterwards they sat in the shade of the overhanging branches of the lofty trees, with arms around each other, gazing out over the greenish waters of the lake, supremely happy. Around them was the eternal greenness, rare orchids clung to the branches of trees overhead, and the falleii' ones on the ground; every, where were thousands of these rare plants. Heavy leaved vines trailed from the treetops to the ground, again climbing upward. No less were the gifts* of nature lavish to the two lovers, than to the virgin forest behind, for each was a perfect specimen of human kind. Well mated they were; the vigor of health shone resplendent fr.om .their limbs-; youth and beauty was theirs,- while love filled the cup.The girl unadorned by costly jewels, or the garb of fashion, in her simple garment^ of grey, with her wonderful wealth of dark gold hair, now dry and fluffed' by the gentle winds from across the lake, was a model1 of what nature can do, without the aid of art. As she formed the dazzling1 blue of the sky overhead, the beautiful jaguar, puma, springing deer, the myriads of brilliantly plumaged birds in the forest behind, so she formed~ ithe girl leaning against the powerful chest of the young American. With the wild animals around, they shared in that joy found -only in the king-; dom of health the most complete. The American.drew7 the Indian maiden -to■ him, imprinting a lingering kiss upon her red lipped mouth. “Azeala, sweetest of women, will you always love me like now?” “Yes,” she answered, “for I love you with both my Indian and white love.” “Why do you say that?” eagerly asked her lover. “When I was younger.” replied Azeala, “my father told me tales of his life before he came to Haynaccna; he told me many of love—many there were in which the love did not last—the stronger the love was before the young white brave took the woman to his lodge, the weaker it grew in a time that was not long. So I say Ar-bonon, my love for you is like the white, in intensity, and like the Indian to stay for you—but you, you know no Indian love! You are white altogether, like my father.”- “Do not speak so, dearest Azeala. Forever may a curse rest upon me if for a moment I forget my love for you. Crushing her to his brea-st. kissing her silken hair, he trembled at the very thought. He feasted his eyes on the beautiful smoothness of her skin, her swelling bosom, the delicate curving of her lips, the velvety darkness of her eyes, through which shone her soul. He poured words of passion in-* to her shell-like ear. Long he held her to him in close embrace, as though fearing to lose her.“That is the white man’s love my father told me of, Arbonon. Better had it some of the. Indian like mine, but I have no fear. No harm can come to Azeala!” she exclaimed proudly. “None shall ever come from, me! which I swear like the white man on my knees, before the .white man’s: Cod! And standing with my face to the sun,- to the great spirit of the* Indian,” he quickly said. “I trust you fully,” said she, “and shall forever trust you in the great white world where, we are to go, of wMch my father has told me, but of which even In my dreams I cannot have eoneep-tion of. See, far over the lake, Arbonon. where the salt water is, a cloud' is in the sky. soon a storm will come; let us go back to our lodges. Returning to their camp, they found Horonado and the sukia in friendly converse. • The .squall from the sea soon blew in,, the clouds soon emptying their burden. “It is but the forerunner of another,” said the chief. Stand -guard over Katuru while I prepare our lodges for the night.”(To be concluded.)'C£Jc]]■I1lt;111111Here to Make Big Contracts.New York, Nov. 9.—Five members of the French Industrial and Commercial Commission landed here today from the steamship Lafayette and stated they came here to arrange for the purchase at the conclusion of the war of at least $160,000,000 worth of structural iron and steel machinery and industrial supplies.All supplies of this character, the commissioners said formerly were imported from Germany. The commissioners stated that while they are here primarily to purchase supplies necessary to reconstruct and modernize French industries when the war is over, they will endeavor* to establish reciprocal trade relations between the United States and France.Real Estate Sold. *Henry F. Weber has sold for the A. M. Lanpher estate a lot on Lan-pher street to Frank M. Galloway, who has broken ground for the erection of a house on the same.Apples for Sale.Choice winter apples for sale by the barrel or bushel.hoe. My first Intention When w£ 17-2-wA. W. DAVENPORT,
Newspaper Details
Lowville Black River Democrat
Lowville, New York, US
Thu, Nov 11, 1915
Page 8
Full Page
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USA 05 Oct 2022
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