Talisman of Charlemagne
The Emperor Napoleon III., when Prince Louis Napoleon, was stated to be in possession of the talisman of Charlemagne to which allusion is frequently made in traditional history. This curious object of vertu is mentioned in the Parisian journals as la plus belle relique de l’Europe, and it certainly has excited considerable interest in the archæological and religious circles on the continent. The talisman is of fine gold, of a round form, set with gems, and in the centre are two rough sapphires and a portion of the Holy Cross, besides other relics brought from the Holy Land. This was found round the neck of Charlemagne on the opening of his tomb, and given by the town of Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) to Bonaparte, and by him to his favorite Hortense, ci-devant Queen of Holland, at whose death it descended to her son Prince Louis, the late Emperor of the French.