Napoleonic Literature
The Court and Camp of Buonaparte
Napoleon's Sisters:  Eliza

THE oldest of the imperial sisters, was born at Ajaccio, January 8th, 1777.

In 1797 this young lady was married to Felix Bacciochi, a Corsican of noble family; that is of one which contained neither peasants nor shopkeepers. When his pretensions to her hand were first made known to Buonaparte, who was then in Italy, he flatly refused his consent to the match; and well he might. Bacciochi was moneyless, powerless, and though he had entered the service at a very early age, (he was born in 1762) he had attained no higher grade than that of Captain of Artillery. Old Madame Buonaparte, however, was anxious to conclude the marriage, for what reason it is not easy to conjecture, unless she considered the happiness of her daughter dependant on the match. To conclude it in open opposition to her son's wishes she dared not. She used deception; she wrote to say that as she had received no reply from her dear Napoleon, and as she was sure he could have no possible objection to his sister's union with the man, she had permitted it to be celebrated. Napoleon was dissatisfied, but there was no remedy, and he had wisdom enough to make the most of a bad connexion. He promoted his brother-in-law first to the rank of colonel, and subsequently of general.

Madame Bacciochi imbibed from her brother Lucien a taste both for the fine arts and for general literature. She was fond of literary society, but nature had not given her either much compass or acuteness of mind. What little knowledge she did attain was ill-digested, and she never ceased to be what the French call une etourdie. To her praise, however it must be recorded that she fostered talent; and where she herself had not the ability to reward, she seldom failed to use her interest with one who had. In other respects her conduct was indifferent enough. Her husband she regarded with supreme contempt: he might, and probably did, deserve it, but that formed no justification for the insults she daily offered him. He was, in fact, little better than her chief domestic. Besides she had numerous admirers whom, if report be true, she did not suffer to sigh in vain *. [Footnote]

In 1805, Eliza received the investiture of Lucca, a sovereign principality, and soon after that of Piombino. In July, both she and her husband were crowned. But poor Bacciochi had little to do with government: he was but a puppet in the splendid pageantry. In public ceremonies his place was always after hers; and at reviews he was but her aide-de-camp. Her pride was still further gratified, by a grant of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and by the adulation which a set of worthless, needy flatterers were continually pouring into her ear. The woman's head was absolutely turned: she had heard of Semiramis, whom she wished to rival, and nothing pleased her so much as to be called the Semiramis of Lucca.

At length adversity came, and away went the sycophants -- not a friend remained. Her states were occupied by the allied troops, and she was compelled to flee. She wished to take up her abode at Bologna, but was sent to join her sister Caroline, in Bohemia. Some time afterwards she obtained permission to settle at Trieste, where she died in August 1820.


* An anecdote is related of one lover which we are unwilling to suppress, since it is almost the only one that would not shock the ears of modesty. She had taken a fancy to a strolling player, named C------, and, when tired of him , had procured him the dignity of baron, and the prefecture of Leman. He had not long enjoyed his new honours before the manager of a company, to which he had belonged, arrived at Geneva to exhibit the merits of his troop. But the permission of the prefect was previously necessary, and to the prefect he accordingly went. He was refused admission into the presence of that august personage. This did not daunt him: see the prefect he would; he ascended the staircase in despite of the police agents, and bounced on the baron, who was surrounded by several distinguished friends. "What! do I meet with thee, my dear C------? Hast thou forsaken the stage and obtained employment here? Canst thou introduce me to the prefect?" The baron, as may be readily supposed, was on thorns; he hurried his quondam friend into his cabinet, professed the utmost desire to serve him, and dismissed him in raptures. In an hour afterwards, however, he received orders to leave the place; an order which he was compelled to obey. Return to paragraph text.

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