OF

January.

THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON THE

THIRD.

It would be foreign to the purpose of this work to enter upon a long and detailed history of the great life which ended at Camden Place, Chiselhurst, on the 9th January, 1873. Prince Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (to record merely the leading dates in his career), born at the Tuileries April 20, 1808, was the second son of Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland from 1806 to 1810, by his Queen Hortense, daughter of the Empress Josephine, Napoleon I.'s first wife, whose first husband was the Viscomte de Beauharnais. After the overthrow of Napoleon I., in 1815, Hortense, then called Duchess de St. Leu, resided with her two sons in Switzerland and Germany; and in 1831, Prince Louis Napoleon and his elder brother having joined the Italian conspiracy of the Carbonari against the Papal Government, took part in the insurrection of Romagna, when the elder Prince died of a fever. By this and the death of his cousin, the Duke of Reichstadt, Prince Louis Napoleon became heir to the Bonapartist Imperial pretensions; and attempted, first, at Strasburg, in 1836, and secondly, at Boulogne, in 1840 (living, meanwhile, chiefly in London), to excite a mutiny of French soldiers in his favour, and was punished upon the former occasion by exile to America, and upon the latter by six years' imprisonment at Ham. In December, 1848, he was elected by universal suffrage President of the French Republic, which he converted,

after three years, into an absolute personal dictatorship-a despotism based on democracy-by his coup d'état and fresh appeal to the popular vote. His consort, the now widowed Empress, was a gentlewoman of mixed Spanish and Scottish descent, Mdlle. Eugénie de Montijo, created in Spain Countess de Teba, daughter of the Count de Montijo, a grandee of that kingdom, by a lady of the Kirkpatrick family. The marriage of the Emperor and Empress in Notre Dame Cathedral took place Jan. 30, 1853, and their only child, the Prince Imperial, was born March 16, 1856.

The Emperor's death was caused by the painful illness of stone, which had been undermining his constitution for years. But during the last few weeks the operation of lithotrity had been more than once performed with apparent success, and the general progress of the case had not only been satisfactory on the night preceding and on the morning of the Emperor's death, but even more so than on any previous day. Rest had been uninterrupted and sleep peaceful and natural. In the morning the Emperor awoke refreshed and apparently strong; he was able to rise from his bed, and was hopeful and well satisfied. The prospect of relief was at hand, and seemed more sure and nearer than there had on previous days been reason to anticipate. The Emperor was visited by his medical attendants during the morning, and there was nothing in his condition to excite any sort of apprehension. Arrangements were in progress for the administration of chloroform at noon, in order to complete by what might, it was hoped, prove a final proceeding, the removal of the last particles

of that which had been the cause of so much distress. The Empress had paid her morning visit to the Emperor, and throughout the whole illness her attention had been constant and her solicitude unceasing. Just before half-past ten Sir Henry Thompson and Mr. Clover passed into the chamber to pay a visit to the Emperor, when a sudden change was apparent. The pulse, which had been at eighty-four, rapidly fell; the action of the heart failed; there were signs of entire prostration. The Empress was instantly summoned, and came to the Emperor's bedside; but he did not appear to recog nize her he was fast sinking, notwithstanding the small doses of brandy which were ordered to be given him, and which had produced a momentary reaction. The Empress at once ordered a telegraphic despatch to be sent to M. Fallon, at Woolwich, begging him to bring the young Prince Imperial to Chiselhurst at once; and then sent for Abbé Goddard, the parish priest of Chiselhurst.

The priest arrived a few moments afterwards, and administered the last sacrament to his Majesty. The Empress, the Duke de Bassano, Viscount Clary, Count Davillier, M. Piétri, and Madame Lebreton were kneeling by the bedside, and nothing could be heard in the room but the prayers of the priest and the sobbing of those present. The religious ceremony terminated, during which the Emperor appeared to give some signs of consciousness, the Empress approached the bedside and embraced the Emperor. The patient then made signs that he wished to give his last kiss to his wife, after which he made a slight movement, heaved two sighs, and expired. It wanted a quarter to eleven.

MISS BLAGDEN.

This month died at Florence a lady well known in the world of letters, Miss Isa Blagden, the authoress of " Agnes Tremorne, ""The Cost of a Secret," "The Crown of a Life," and many brilliant papers in Fraser, the Cornhill, and All the Year Round. She was linked to Mr. Browning and his illustrious wife by the ties of the closest friendship. She nursed the poetess in her final illness, and performed the same loving office for Theodosia Trollope, to whose memory, as to that of Mrs. Browning, Florence has erected a commemorative tablet.

MISS DURANT.

Miss Durant, one of our best known

female sculptors, died this month in Paris. Deceased, who was of a respectable Devonshire family, was at first an amateur only, but afterwards adopted sculpture as a profession. One of her latest works was the carving of medallion portraits of the royal family on the Prince Consort's shrine in Wolsey's Chapel. Miss Durant was the instructress of the Princess Louise in sculpture.

MR. GRAVES, M.P.

Mr. S. R. Graves, the senior member of Parliament for Liverpool, expired suddenly at the Euston Hotel, shortly after four a.m. on January 18. He had dined the previous evening with the Duke of Sutherland at Stafford House, returned to his hotel shortly after midnight in apparent good health, and went to bed. At half-past three o'clock he rang up the night porter and complained of being unwell. Medical aid was summoned, and no serious consequences were at first apprehended. But while appliances were being prepared a paroxysm of faintness supervened, and Mr. Graves died suddenly, in the presence of his friend, Mr. Beazley, of Liverpool, who had been summoned to his bedside. Mr. Graves, who was only in his 54th year, had filled all the public offices in Liverpool which are usually bestowed on prosperous and popular citizens. He was a large shipowner, and a director of various public companies. In private life he was universally esteemed. Mr. Graves was a native of New Ross, in Ireland. He was first elected for Liverpool in 1865. In politics he was a Conservative. He was a somewhat strong Protestant, and warmly opposed to secular education. Death was caused by fatty degeneration of the heart, producing syncope, probably accelerated by a slight attack of indigestion.

DR. LUSHINGTON.

On the 19th of this month died the Right Hon. Stephen Lushington, D.C.L., formerly Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, and one of the Judicial Committee of Privy Council. He was in the 91st year of his age. He was born in 1782, being the second son of Sir Stephen Lushington, Bart., by a daughter of Mr. John Boldero, of Aspenden Hall, Herts. He was educated at Eton, and at All Souls' College, Oxford, where he gained a fellowship. He took his degree of M.A. in 1806, and that of D.C.L. in 1808. Having been called to the bar in

He

the Inner Temple, he then entered Doctors' Commons and devoted himself to practice in the courts of civil and ecclesiastical law. But he soon obtained a seat in Parliament as M.P. for Yarmouth, having a private fortune of his own. was attached to the Whig party, and earnestly advocated the abolition of the slave-trade, as well as other Liberal measures. As one of the counsel for Queen Caroline, with Brougham and Denman, his forensic efforts gained him much renown. He was a zealous and consistent political reformer while in Parliament, where he represented, at different times, Yarmouth, Ilchester, Winchelsea, and other boroughs, previous to the passing of the Reform Bill, when, in acknowledgment of his signal services, he was returned by the new constituency of the Tower Hamlets. He represented the Tower Hamlets for several years, until an Act was passed by which the Judge of the High Court of Admiralty (this appointment had been conferred on him in 1838) was disqualified, like the other judges, from sitting in the House of Commons. His first judicial promotion had been to the Consistory Court, in 1838; he was likewise Chancellor of the dioceses of London and Rochester, and held other minor appointments. The judicial character of Dr. Lushington will stand high amongst the standard authorities in his distinctive sphere.

LORD LYTTON.

Lord Lytton died unexpectedly, on January 18, at Torquay, his usual winter residence, having been seriously ill but for three days. Only a day or two before he had finished his last novel, " Kenelm Chillingley," and appeared as well as usual. An ailment of the ear, which had often given him trouble, suddenly became acute, and he died of the inflammation.

The late Right Hon. Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, Baron Lytton of Knebworth, county Hertford, in the peerage of the United Kingdom, and a baronet (creation 1838), was the third and youngest son of General William Earle Bulwer, of Woodalling and Heydon Hall, Norfolk, by Elizabeth Barbara Lytton, only daughter and heir of Mr. Richard Warburton Lytton, of Knebworth, Hertfordshire, who by royal licence in 1811 resumed her paternal surname of Lytton, and died in 1843. He was born in May, 1805, and, after his elementary education at several private schools, entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1826, and M.A. in 1835,

and while at that university he carried off the Chancellor's Prize Medal for his English poem on "Sculpture." He entered Parliament in 1831 for the borough of St. Ives, as a supporter of the Whigs, his brother Henry, the late Lord Dalling, representing Coventry in the same Parliament. At the general election in 1832 (the first Reform Parliament) he was elected, in conjunction with Mr. G. F. Heneage, for Lincoln, defeating Colonel Sibthorp by a majority of ninety-six. He continued member for that city up to the general election in 1841, when Colonel Sibthorp and Mr. W. Rickford Collett both headed the poll, the latter gentleman defeating Sir E. Bulwer-Lytton by a majority of thirty-eight. In July, 1852, he again entered the House of Commons as one of the members for Hertfordshire, and represented that county in successive Parliaments till his elevation to the peerage in 1866. During his early parliamentary career in the House of Commons he voted for the Reform Bill, and at the celebrated contest for Speaker he recorded his vote for the Right Hon. James Abercromby, and also voted in favour of the Irish Tithe Bill. On the formation of Lord Derby's Administration in 1858, Sir Edward was selected as Secretary of State for the Colonies, and was created a Privy Councillor; he remained in office till June, 1859. He continued to support the Conservative party in the House of Lords. As a parliamentary speaker Lord Lytton may be classed as one of the most finished orators of the day rather than as a frequent debater; he never rose to address either House of Parliament without gaining earnest and respectful attention from all political parties. The late Lord Lytton received the honorary degree of D.C.L. from Oxford in 1853, and he also received the same distinction from the University of Cambridge. He was twice elected Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow — namely, in 1856, and in November, 1858-an honour never bestowed on any other Englishman; only one Scotchman had received a similar distinction, namely, Thomas Campbell, the poet.

The late Lord Lytton married, August 29, 1827, Rosina, only surviving daughter of Mr. Francis Massey Wheeler, of Lizzard Connell, county Limerick, by whom he leaves issue an only son (who succeeds as second baron), Hon. Edward Robert, born November 8, 1831, and married in October, 1864, to Edith, second danghter of the late Hon. Edward Villiers, brother of the late Earl of Clarendon.