in 1782, when Napoleon announced he wanted to devote his life to
science - either producing a general theory of electricity or inventing a
model of the cosmos to replace the Newtonian system.
By 1782 Napoleon had decided that he wanted to join the Navy. It was
conceivable that, the following year, he could have been sent either to the
naval training school in Paris or to the Ecole Militaire in Paris, but the
royal Inspector-General decided he had not yet spent enough time at
Brienne to be transferred. In 1783 the Inspector-General, M. de Keralio,
kept the boy's options open. 'M. de Bonaparte (Napoleon), born 15
August 1769. Height 5'3". Constitution: excellent health, docile expres
sion, mild, straightforward, thoughtful. Conduct most satisfactory; has
always been distinguished for his application in mathematics. He is fairly
well acquainted with history and geography. He is weak in all
accomplishments - drawing, dancing, music and the like. This boy would
make an excellent sailor; deserves to be admitted to the school in Paris.'
What decided Napoleon's fate was a downturn in his family's fortunes.
Since Napoleon last saw his father, Carlo had not fared well. Once in
Paris in 1779, he tried to press to have the Odone estate returned to him
or at least to be compensated for it, but in vain. With a letter of
introduction from Marbeuf he was granted audience with Louis XVI
who, impressed by the Governor of Corsica's patronage of the supplicant,
granted him his secondary request: a subsidy for the planting of mulberry
trees which, it was hoped, would eventually make Corsica a silk
producing centre. But Carlo claimed all this money was absorbed by his
expenses in Paris and the costs of lobbying. In his accounts book he
noted: 'In Paris I received 4,000 francs from the King and a fee of r,ooo
crowns from the government, but I came back without a penny.'
Meanwhile his family continued to grow. When Napoleon went to
Brienne he was already the second child in a family of five but by the time
he next saw his father there had been two additions to the brood (Marie
Pauline, born in 1780 and Maria Annunciata Caroline in 1782). At the
same time Carlo had declined in health and lost weight - clearly the first
signs of the stomach cancer that would carry him off in 1785. This
reduced his earning power at the very time his financial resources were
declining, for in 1784 Marbeuf ceased to be the generous patron of old. A
man of exceptional sexual vigour, he married an eighteen-year-old and
began keeping Letizia at arm's length. Carlo had hoped Napoleon would
be promoted either to Toulon or Paris in 1783 and, with this in mind,
had had Lucien brought over from Corsica to slot into Napoleon's vacant
cadetship. Keralio's report ended his hopes, but he decided to visit
marcin
(Marcin)
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