| James and Mary Ford, eds. Every Day in the Year. 1902. | | | | July 22 | | Napoleon II., Duke of Reichstadt | | By Francis Saltus Saltus (1849–1889) |
| | | | Napoleon II., the son of Napoleon I., better known as the Duke of Reichstadt, died at Vienna on July 22nd, 1832. |
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DOVE that found birth within an eagle’s nest, | |
| Bauble of circumstance and shifting fate, | |
| Thou wast too young to know thy imperial state, | |
| Before thy marvelous father, foe-oppressed, | |
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| Fell like a hero! And thou hadst not guessed, | 5 |
| In thy sweet, guileless play, that thou wast great, | |
| And that his name, with its gigantic weight, | |
| Upon thy weakness was ordained to rest. | |
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| When thou in after years, with tears and pain, | |
| The dazzling records of his deeds supreme, | 10 |
| With all their pomp and splendor, didst peruse, | |
| How must have passed in thy bewildered brain | |
| Fantastic visions, fugitive as a dream, | |
| Of glorious Jenas and dire Waterloos! | | | |
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