her
solicitude about her son, and the belief that his glory could not
last, rendered her miserable. The divorce of Josephine, the retreat
from Russia, the exile to Elba, the final overthrow at Waterloo, and
the banishment to St. Helena, were heavy blows; but she was prepared
for them. While the sun of the Emperor's fortunes blazed in the
zenith, she shivered under the shadow of her fear; and her fear proved
prophetic. She witnessed the downfall of every one of her children;
but she bore her adversity with dignity and resignation, and died in
her eighty-seventh year.
Indeed not only were Napoleon and his mother superstitious, but the
whole Bonaparte family were believers in fate. Napoleon III. says in
his will, "With regard to my son" (the late Prince Imperial, who
perished at the hands of Zulus), "let him keep, as a talisman, the
seal attached to my watch." True to the traditions of his family, the
young Prince put trust in amulets. When the Prince's body was
discovered (here we have a double case of superstition), it lay
stripped of all its clothing, but there were left with the body a
locket and a gold amulet, admittedly the seal bequeathed to him by his
Imperial father, as the Zulus were afraid they were charms--articles
they stand in great dread of.
Thinking of Prince Napoleon's untimely death, brings the Zulu
character to remembrance. Among the Zulus a belief prevails that
kindly and angry spirits hover around them--the former endeavouring to
do them good; the latter trying to do them harm. Zulus also believe in
divine smoke, witchcraft, and dreams. Whenever a charge of witchcraft
is made against any one, no mercy is shown him. Such an accusation
affords a pretext to a king or chief for getting rid of an obnoxious
person and acquiring his substance. The Inyanga, like our witch-finder
of old, has no difficulty in bringing home guilt to the unfortunate
accused. A Zulu judge, before pronouncing sentence, pretends that he
consults the divine oracles of his nation. When a Zulu sneezes he
says, "I am blessed, and the ancestral spirit is with me." So he
praises the family manes, and ends by asking blessings, such as cattle
and wives.
In September 1879 official news came from Sir Garnet Wolseley that
King Cetewayo had been captured, that the Zulu war had come to an end,
and that the following were among the terms of peace, signed by the
chiefs of Zululand: "I will not tolerate the employment of witch
doctors, or th
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