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Jumble - Houston Chronicle

August 23, 2013 Word Jumble answers.

Gripe.
Mourn.
Weaken.
Bottom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bonaparte

Napoleon I made him the King of Holland on 5 June 1806. Napoleon had intended for the younger brother to be little more than a French governor of Holland. However, Louis had his own mind, and tried to be a responsible and independent ruler. In an effort to endear himself to his adopted country, he tried to learn the Dutch language; he called himself Lodewijk I (adopting the Dutch form of his name) and declared himself Dutch rather than French. Allegedly, his Dutch was initially so poor that he told the people he was the "Konijn van 'Olland" ("Rabbit of 'Olland"), rather than "Koning van Holland" ("King of Holland"). However, his sincere effort to learn Dutch earned him some respect from his subjects.

Having declared himself Dutch, Louis tried to make his court Dutch as well. He forced his court and ministers (mostly provided by Napoleon) to speak only Dutch, and also to renounce their French citizenships. This latter was too much for his wife Hortense who, in France at the time of his demands, refused his request.

Louis could never settle on the location for his capital city while he was in Holland. He changed capitals over a dozen times, trying Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, and other places. On one occasion, after visiting the home of a wealthy Dutch merchant, he liked the place so much that he had the owner evicted so he could take up residence there. Then, Louis moved again after seven weeks. His constant moving kept the court in upheaval since they had to follow him everywhere. The European diplomatic corps went so far as to petition Bonaparte to remain in one place so they could keep up with him. This restlessness was later attributed to his alleged "lunacy".

The Dutch mourned their French King Louis when he was forced to abdicate by his brother Napoleon. Before this happened there was other drama in the extended family of Napoleon Bonaparte as Louis wanted to become Dutch. This caused Louis' wife to gripe about having to try to learn Dutch which probably caused a bottom to their marriage with her moving back to France and him trying to find a suitable place for his court. Family strife often caused the Napoleon family bonds to weaken.