Blog archives: November 2021
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Was Napoleon religious?
November 26, 2021
Napoleon Bonaparte was religious in that he believed in God. However, he was not devoted to any particular religious doctrines or practices. Napoleon respected the power of religious belief and used religion to further his political goals.
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How to Make Small Talk in the 19th Century
November 12, 2021
In 1818, future first lady Louisa Adams wrote to her father-in-law, John Adams: “How much practice…is required to receive company well, and how much the greatest talents are obscured by that want of ease and small talk which, though in itself trifling, always produces the happy effect of socializing a company and by insensible degrees warming it into brilliancy and solidity. This is one of those arts that everybody feels, but few understand, and is altogether inexplicable.” As Louisa knew, small talk does not always come naturally. Here’s a guide to how it was done in the early 19th century.
We must confess that fate, which sports with man, makes merry work with the affairs of this world.
Napoleon Bonaparte