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Curious Customs and Beliefs in Modern: Napoleon

On the other hand, the sudden settling of bees upon the weapons of Duke Leopold III. of Austria, on the day before the battle of Sempach, was considered an evil omen. In Woodward and Burnett's "Heraldry" we read the following interesting account of the origin of the well-known "bees of Napoleon." "Bees are often used in armory as an emblem of industry and perseverance as well as in allusion to the name of the bearer. "The Emperor Napoleon replaced the proscribed fleurde-lis by golden bees, which he used as decorations for his coronation robes, and also employed in the heraldic augmentations hereafter to be described. "The origin of the assumption of the bees by Napoleon as an imperial badge is curious. In the year 1653, there was discovered at Tournay a tomb supposed to be that of Childeric (died 480), father of Clovis. "Among the precious articles enclosed therein, or found in proximity to it, were about three hundred small objects of gold and fine stones, which somewhat resembled in shape an insect, to which the name of 'bees' was given. These and the other contents of the tomb were presented by the Archbishop of Mentz to Louis XIV., and were long preserved in the Bibliothèque Royale at Paris. These socalled bees were stolen in 1832, and only two remain at the present day.