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The last bulletin... for the Summer!
It's holidaytime!
For many of you, it's going to be days of dolce farniente on the beach, time in the mountains, walks in the country, or simply being at home. We hope you have a good rest... with plenty to read. And for those who've already been, the internet will not be silent.
Of course, the 'internet goblin' also wanted to say goodbye before leaving. That's why last week's letter left our interface... but never reached yours. Please accept our apologies.
This week's missive therefore contains the essentials of last week's as well - that's why it's a little longer than usual.
We'll be back in September, but don't forget to keep half an eye the home page. Any updates or events during August will be posted there!
THIS MONTH'S OBJECT
The First Consul's glaive
A prestigious weapon of pomp and circumstance, the First Consul's glaive was made by Boutet, the director of the Versailles Arms Manufactory, in 1800. It is a masterpiece of the swordmaker's art.
IF YOU'RE IN THE DORDOGNE THIS SUMMER....
Don't forget La Pommerie, near Cendrieux, a most remarkable Musée Napoléon comprising the collection of the Comte de Witt, grandson of Prince Victor (the grandson of Napoleon's brother Jerome, Prince Victor had two children from his marriage to Princess Clémentine of Belgium: Louis, Prince Napoléon, and the Princess Marie-Clotilde, mother of the current Comte de Witt).
The La Pommerie Musée Napoléon thus has on show a part of the collection belonging to the imperial family, notably: unique paintings, objets d'art, arms and uniforms, all of which once belonged to Napoleon 1, to Jerome, to the Aiglon, to Napoleon III, to the Prince Impérial and to the Empress Eugénie, etc.
The Museum is open everyday during the summer months, from 10-30am to 12-30pm and from 2-30pm to 6-30pm. All visits are guided, sometimes by the Comte de Witt himself. Entrance is 5,50 euros (free for under twelves).
The museum is situated at Cendrieux, between Bergerac, Sarlat and Périgueux.
From Périgueux, take the N 89, direction Brive, then the D 710 and finally the D 32, direction Saint-Alvère. Four kilometres before that village you will see signs for the "Musée Napoléon".
From Le Bugue, take the D 70, direction Périgueux, then turn left onto the D 32, direction Saint-Alvère, instructions thereafter, as above.
Museum telephone number: ++33 (0)5 53 03 24 03
BIBLIOTHEQUE M. LAPEYRE - FONDATION NAPOLEON
During the month of August, the Fondation Napoléon's library, the Bibliothèque Martial Lapeyre will have reduced openings times, namely Mondays and Wednesdays, 1-6pm.
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO
22 July 1802 (3 Thermidor, An X), François-Xavier Bichat, the man who was deeply to mark the history of medicine, died at the very young age of thirty-one. Surgeon, psychologist, doctor, pathologist, physiologist, anatomist, histologist and therapist, Bichat was interested in every field of medicine and became the father of modern histology and tissue pathology.
23 July, 1802 (4 Thermidor, An X), Toussaint Louverture was imprisoned in the Fort de Joux near Grenoble.
25 July, 1802 (6 Thermidor, An X), the Moniteur published a detailed report on the state of the hospices in Paris: in terms of organisation and management, food and furniture ("every individual has a bed to himself", "straw mattresses have been replaced and bedcovers have been cleaned of grease marks and repaired", "refectories have been built so that the smell of food will not gather in the wards".)
Various improvements had been made regarding treatment, but there also been an attempt to define and classify mental illnesses, under the encouragement of Professor Pinel. The definitions and classification were related to certain treatments and organisation of the space. The Hospice national des femmes (Salpêtrière women's hospital) was considering 5 divisions of patient: sick nurses or assistants, known as the 'Repentantes' (then about 240 in number); 500 paralytics, blind, octogenarian women, known as the 'Grandes infirmes'; 1,900 septuagenarian women; 360 sick women; 200 women with cancer, scrofula or gale; 200 epileptic women not mad; 600 mad women.
Since the month of Floréal, "incurable mad women have been separated from those curable. These two divisions have been subdivided into imbecillic mad women, calm mad women, constantly agitated mad women, suddenly agitated mad women, wild mad women. Grills demarcate the paths, courts and buildings relating to these different states of madness."
During the month of July 1802, in France the price of bread dropped; the quality of the harvests forecast for the Départements of the Somme, the Oise, the Aisne and Seine-et-Oise gave hopes of a further drop in bread prices, particularly in the capital.
Le Publiciste, 8 Thermidor, An X
29 July, 1802, Cardinal Fesch, the First Consul's uncle, was appointed Archbishop of Lyons; the official ceremony of investiture was planned for 26 Thermidor / 16 August at Notre-Dame.
The perfect remedy for holiday illnesses!
Citizen Malingre, of the Bibliothèque Nationale (National Library), indicated an illness remedy for all those either going to, or who live in, Saint-Domingue and the Antilles. […] The remedy consists of tar water. Onto a pint of liquid tar pour four pints of cold water. Stir the mixture for five to six minutes and then skim off any foam; tightly seal your receptacle and leave to rest for 24 to 48 hours, until the liquid is as clear as champagne; […] Drink two to three glasses before breakfast and before going to bed. If it seems too strong or too unpleasant to drink, you may drink it water mixed with sugar, followed by two to three mouthfuls of unmixed liquid. […] This drink is specifically efficacious with respect to contagion and scurvy. […] The odour of the water is very similar to that of ether.
The Moniteur universel, 7 Thermidor, An X
31 July, 1802 (12 Thermidor, An X), a supplement to the Moniteur universel listed the nominations for the Légion d'honneur and the constitution of the 16 cohorts: "1st cohort; Département of the Aube; Godin (Pierre-Louis); 20e Cavalry / cavalier ; received the reward of a sabre; date of the letters patent: 9 Prairial, An X; reasons mentioned in the letters patent: for having captured enemy colours at Marengo."
AUGUST 1802
At the beginning of the month of August, the discussions concerning the Code civil began: articles were to be discussed every Thursday at the house of Consul Cambacérès.
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THIS WEEK:
BON APPETIT!
Looking for something to liven up your summer dining?
Why not try our new recipes, a First Empire omelette 'à la Brillat-Savarin' and a Second Empire dessert, the Prince-Jérôme.
Details in Bon appetit!
Snippets
Canons stolen from Austerlitz
Journal news
- The Journal - The Research Paper of the Napoleonic Association - Spring 2002, Vol. 1, issue 1
- The Nelson Dispatch, vol. 7, part 11, July 2002
What's on
- Conference: Napoleonic Association - Autumn Conference
- Commemoration: Monmouth Nelson week
- Fair: 10th International Napoleonic Fair
- Talk: Nelson and the Hamiltons
The monthly titles
- Book of the Month: Napoleon and Wellington, by Andrew Roberts
- This month's picture, Costume ball at the Tuileries Palace, by Carpeaux
- Article of the Month, Napoleon and Saint Helena, 1815-1816, by Roger Morriss
- In the Collectors Corner, the First Consul's glaive, by Boutet
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