At an early age Lucien imbibed the revolutionary doctrines with enthusiasm; and the elevation of his brother prepared his way to honours and riches. For some time he was employed in the Commissariat. In 1797 he launched into the sea of politics, and was returned to the Council of Five Hundred. In the tribune he exhibited both fluency of language, and occasionally, at least, sound and even elevated views; but what most distinguished him was the energy of his manner, and his apparent devotion to the existing government. In 1798 his zeal induced him to propose that every deputy should swear to die rather than suffer the constitution of the year Three to be overturned. But this was sheer hypocrisy; for at that very time he was privy to his brother's views, which he not only approved, but had engaged to support.

During Napoleon's absence in Egypt, Lucien acted the useful part of a spy on the proceedings of the directors. Powerless in ability, and still more so in public opinion -- despised by the bold for their weakness, and by the good for their undisguised rapacity -- he saw that the moment was arrived when a daring hand might hurl them from the seat they so ill filled, and seize on the supreme authority. He probably hastened the return of Napoleon, and was certainly the chief instrument of the revolution which followed. It was he who, when the general entered unarmed into the Council, firmly opposed the sentence of outlawry about to be pronounced against him. It was he who, when he perceived that remonstrances were of no avail, threw down the ensigns of his dignity as president, mounted a horse, harangued the troops, and prevailed on them to clear the hall of its members. It was he, in short, who not only secured the consular authority for his brother, but in all probability saved him from the guillotine. The portfolio of the interior was the reward of his successful exertion; and in its administration he was not unpopular.

But great as were the services which Lucien had performed for the First Consul, the two brothers were not long on brotherly terms. Both were, perhaps, equally ambitious. Lucien's aim was to share with the other the supreme power of the state -- an aim which Napoleon easily penetrated and thwarted. The one could bear no superior, the other no equal. Coolness followed; and the breach was carefully widened by the Beauharnois, whose interest it was to support their relative, and who always regarded with distrust the artful proceedings and daring character of Lucien. His mission to Madrid was no better than a brilliant disgrace.

In his capacity of ambassador, he zealously promoted the all-grasping designs of his brother. His conduct was firm, haughty, and corrupt. He doubtless despised the contemptible court of Charles IV. -- a court equally remarkable for imbecility and profligacy. That traitor and fool, the Prince of the Peace, he flattered or bullied as best suited the purpose of the day, and thereby gained whatever he wanted. Of those wants money was not the least important: he drew immense sums from his mission; and is said to have compelled the Portuguese government to pay five millions of francs to preserve that country from a French invasion. He insisted on the creation of the kingdom of Etruria, and on the cession to France of the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla. In 1802 he returned to Paris, and was outwardly reconciled with the First Consul.

Lucien was soon invested with the senatorship of Treves, and endowed with the estates of Soppelsdorf, which had belonged to the ancient electors. He was next employed on a mission to the Belgic and Rhenish provinces; but on his return he took a step which highly displeased the First Consul. He married one Madame Jouberton, a woman distinguished for her gallantries, with whom, if common report be true, he had previously cohabited. This was a blow to the system of Napoleon, who had long contemplated royal alliances for his relatives. A quarrel ensued, and he was ordered to quit the French territory. It was in April 1804, one month previous to the change of government from consular to imperial, that he hastened to Italy. The conjuncture was in one respect fortunate for him. It gave rise to an impression, which he was not backward to confirm, that the cause of his disgrace was his opposition to the ambitious policy of his brother. Nothing, however, is more certain than that he was as indifferent to popular liberty as the other, and that like him he was on nearly all occasions guided by views of personal interest.

Lucien was received with open arms by the Pope, whose gratitude he had merited by zealously supporting the Concordat. He remained at Rome until the peace of Tilsit, when he and his brother were persuaded to meet at Mantua. A reconciliation was expected, but none took place, He was willing enough to comply with certain conditions proposed by the emperor, among which was the marriage of his elder daughter with the prince of the Asturias; but to his honour, it must be added, that he refused to sacrifice his wife; he would not consent to the dissolution of his marriage, the only condition on which he could hope to enjoy the favour of the imperial despot. For that favour, indeed, he was not very solicitous; he had no wish to be again subjected to the galling fetters from which he had escaped; he found his condition in Rome -- adorned as it was by a splendid fortune, and ennobled by the friendship of the pontiff -- far happier than any he could expect to enjoy under the iron rule of the emperor. That the crown of Spain was held out to tempt him, there can be little doubt; but he scorned to reign as the vassal of France; and he was unwilling to take on himself the odium of the measures about to be executed in relation to the royal family of the country. Besides, he knew too much of the Spanish nation, to expect that an usurped throne would either be a happy or a secure one. Angry words passed between the two; Napoleon upbraided him with contumacy; he complained of the persecutions sustained by the Pope; so that both separated more incensed than before they met.

Lucien being no longer permitted to remain in the Eternal City, retired to an estate which he had purchased at Canino. The Pope raised it into a principality, and the Prince of Canino was inscribed among the Roman nobles. But he soon learned enough to be convinced that Italy would not long remain a very safe asylum for him. He fled secretly to Civita Vecchia, and, in a vessel furnished him by his brother-in-law Murat, embarked in August 1810, with the intention of proceeding to the United States. A storm threw him on the coast of Cagliari; but the King of Sardinia refused him permission to land; nor could he obtain a safe-conduct from the British naval commander on that station. He was forced to put out to sea, was captured by two English frigates, and conveyed to Malta, to await the orders of our government respecting him. In conformity with these orders, he was transferred to England. He landed at Plymouth, Dec. 18th, and was soon conveyed to Ludlow in Shropshire.

The three years which the prince passed in England were among the happiest of his life. He was permitted to purchase a beautiful estate about fifteen miles from Ludlow, and to settle on it with his family. His time was chiefly passed in the composition of an epic poem, by which he hoped to gain as much immortality as his imperial brother: it is entitled "Charlemagne, or the Church Delivered." His style of living was most frugal -- a circumstance that, considering his immense riches, occasioned some surprise. A friend one day ventured to ask him the cause, and his answer is remarkable for its prophetic spirit: "How do you know that I may not ere long have four or five kings to support?" The peace of 1814 having opened his way to the Continent, he returned to his old friend and protector, Pius VII.

Unfriendly as were the terms on which the two brothers had lived for so many years, there can be no doubt that Lucien opened a correspondence with Napoleon at Elba, through the medium of their sister Pauline. Whether he had any share in the plot which brought about the revolution of March 1815, is not so clear. All that is certainly known is, that he soon hastened to join the emperor at Paris. The ostensible object of his journey, was to procure the evacuation of the Roman States, which were invaded by Murat. It is said, that after the fulfilment of his mission, he prepared to return to Italy, but was prevented from leaving France by Napoleon. However this be, he took his seat in the Chamber of Peers, and exhibited more devotion to the imperial cause, than he had ever done during its most prosperous days. After the disaster of Waterloo, he urged the emperor to make a desperate stand for the throne ; but he could not infuse his own energy into one whose spirits were damped by misfortune. The second abdication forced him to retire to Neuilly, where he prepared to leave France. At Turin, however, he was arrested, and detained some time; but at the intercession of the Pope, he was released, on the condition of his being subjected to the surveillance of the Holy Father. Fortunately he had left his family at Rome, which he immediately rejoined. In the Roman States he still remains.

During the sway of Buonaparte, the talents of Lucien were preposterously lauded by the French savans. He was admitted member of the Institute, from which he was excluded by a royal ordinance of March 21st, 1816. His Charlemagne, the greatest of his productions, and dedicated to Pius VII. was first published in London, in 2 vols. 4to. 1814. The year following, a translation in verse appeared, by Messrs. Butler and Hodgson. Its success both in England and France was very indifferent.

Besides this heavy epic, Lucien has published two other works: Stellina, a novel, in 1799; and the Cyrneide, or Corsica Saved, a poem, 2 vols. 8vo. 1819. All these productions are forgotten.

The Prince of Canino has some talents, but more vanity; and considerable moral courage, but more rashness. In private life he is respected, but he is not very accessible to strangers. His fidelity to his wife, and his rejection of the unprincipled offers of Napoleon, greatly redound to his praise. His insatiable desire of wealth, and infamous mode of procuring it, must, however, more than counterbalance any good qualities he can lay claim to.