Life and battles of Napoleon Bonaparte. In words of one syllable

Front matter

Book T^6Z

Goiiyriglrt]^?_ coEmiGirr deposis

LIFE AND BATTLES

Chapter I. WHEN HE WAS A BOY . . . . . . . 5

Chapter H. HOW HE WENT TO WAR 17

Chapter HI. HOW HE PUT DOWN THE MOB . . •. . .27

Chapter IV. HOW HE TOOK THE BRIDGE AT LODI ... 36

Chapter V. THE SIEGE OF MANTUA .43

Chapter VI. "ON LINDEN, WHEN THE SUN WAS LOW," . . 51

Chapter VII. ONCE MORE THE CRY "TO ARMS." .... 67

Chapter VIII. ON THE ISLE OF LOBAU 78

Chapter IX. HE PARTS WITH JOSEPHINE . . . . . .88

Chapter X. ON TO MOSCOW 98

Chapter XL HIS STAR GROWS DIM .108

Chapter XII. "FATE MARKS THE FALL OF FRANCE." . .117

Chapter XIII. PARIS GIVES UP THE FIGHT 124

Chapter XIV. WATERLOO 133

Chapter XV. ST. HELENA .......... 145

FULL PAGE LLLUSTRATLONS.

I. NAPOLEON CROSSING THE ALPS.

II. THE BRIDGE OF LODI.

IV. THE ARAIY CROSSING THE ALPS.

V. CROWNED EMPEROR OF FRANCE.

VI. THE SUN OF AUSTERLITZ.

VII. THE CHARGE OF MURAT'S CAVALRY.

VIII. THE RAFT OF TILSIT.

IX. CROSSING THE BRIDGE AT LAUBAN.

X. BURNING OF MOSCOW.

XI. BLOWING UP THE BRIDGE AT LIEPSIC.

XII. THE RETURN TO PARIS. NAPOLEON MEETING THE TROOPS.

XIV. THE PRISON OF THE EMPEROR AT ST. HELENA.

XV. BRINGING THE REMAINS OF NAPOLEON TO PARIS.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

CHAPTER I.

WHEN HE WAS A BOY.

If you should set sail in a ship, on the sea that bathes the south shore of France, you could reach the Isle of Cor-si-ca, where Na-po-le-on first saw the light. If you should land on that shore, you could still find the house where he lived. You miorht walk on the lawn where he used to play, and you could see the place where the shrubs now run to wild waste, on the plot of ground where the boys and girls who were to be kings and queens, dug with their spades, and raked the earth on the seeds they sowed, and watched their plants grow. All who ioined in the gay sports there are gone now. Each voice that rang out from rock to rock in that wild place, is now hushed in death, but the tale of Na-po-leon's life from that birth-place, to his last days on the lone Isle of St. He-le-na, is what we will try to tell you in short words in this book.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

BIRTH-PLACE OF NA-PO-LE-ON.

Cor-si-ca was owned by the French when Na-pole-on was born. When he grew so old that he could learn just how they won it he had no love for them, and did not like to be called French. Ma-dame Bo-na-partewas left by the death of her spouse, to bring up her eight boys and girls with small means. But she had a strong mind and a firm will, and they learned that her will was law. They lived in a house near the sea-shore where they had all the sports to be found at such a place. They could wade in the pools with bare feet, pick up bright shells, find the strange hued sea-weed, ride on the back of a kind old dog that they owned, or play at feasts in a cave in the rock which still bears Na-po-le-on's name. It is said that he would steal off from their plays, to this cave with his book, and lie there for hours. He loved to gaze at the sea spread out in front of him, or the blue sky, and to dream his own dreams.

He was not so fond of play as the rest. He did not care for fun, he was not frank or kind ; his will was so

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

READ-ING IN THE CAVE.

strono^that he wished to rule in all the games, and the rest did not like it. They were not fond ol him, though they felt that he knew more '. than they did. Joseph, the first born, was a mild boy who had not much force of mind, and Na-po-le-on ruled him. He bore pain when a child, in a strange, firm way, for he shed no tears.

He liked to hear tales of war, and his toys were of the kind that stirred his heart. He would leave bat, or ball, or kite, to set his toy troops in rank, and sweep them away with his toy gun. He would sit for hours, while he played that the mock foe fled from him, and their mock dead lay on the ground.

Ma-dame Bo-na-parte was quite poor. A kind old man, near kin to her, let them stay in the house where they lived, for they did not own it. They had food and clothes, but the boys knew what it was to want. There was no cash to spare in that house. When they asked their old friend for it he would say, "I have land, vines, beasts arid fowl, but I have no orold."

LIFE OF XA POLE ON.

PLAY-ING SOL-DIER.

Na-po-le-on one day made a great find, no less than a bag full of gold coins hid on a shelf

So the next time their old

friend said this he gave the

bag a sly tip, and out rolled

the bright coin to all parts of

the room. Oh ! what a shout

was set up, what loud laugh

rang out on all sides.

" It is not gold, of course, since you say you have

none" said Na-po-le-on, "so I am sure you will give us

these bright, round things which are of no use. They

will do to play with."

The old man was so choked that he could not speak. But Ma-dame Bo-na-parte came in just then and frowned on the sport. So the young folks had to pick up the gold and put it back in the bag.

When Na-po-le-on was ten years old, he left his home to go to school in Par-is. It was hard fur him to part from all he loved, and when Ma-dame Bo-na-parte held him in her arms, and gave him the last kiss he burst in tears. He was an odd child, and had not wept much

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

FIND-ING THE GOLD.

in his life, but now his heart was sore. He did not dream, as he gazed on the thronged streets, of Par-is, that one day they would ring with his name, and that the proud kings and queens of the world would bow to him.

He was in France at last, the land of the race he had learned to hate. He did not speak French, and he felt as though he had no friends. Oh ! how he longed for the dear isle by the sea, and the loved ones he had left.

He was poor too and proud, and the sons of the great Lords of France looked down on him. They wore rich clothes, and they had gold to spend. Na-po-le-on wore a plain suit and had no coin in his purse. They sneered at his dress, and at his want of gold, but his pride was as great as theirs. " I hate those French," he said with scorn one day, " and when I can, I will do them harm." You see he was by no means a meek boy, and his wrong roused him to long to pay back all he had borne. He worked hard at his books, while the rest drank and played games. He did not waste his time, but spent his

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

days and part of his nights with his books, so that he took high rank from the first. He was most fond of the books that taught men how to rule, or told of the past, and of each race that has lived, and worked, and fought, and passed out of sight. There was one book in verse, that told of old wars that he liked best of all. The man who wrote it was named Ho-mer. Na-po-le-on wrote home " With my sword by my side, and Ho-mer

with me, I hope to carve my way through the world."

The youths at the school found that he would not join in their games, and they left him to his books. He learned all he could of the lives of great men, and scenes in the tales of Greece and Rome. The bold deeds of brave men thrilled his heart. He thought a day lost in which he had not learned some new thing.

He was not loved by the rest of the boys in the school, for he was too stern and fond of his own way. The wish to rule was as strong in him then as when he

THE STU-DENT.

LIFE OF hAPOLEON, grew to be a man. He had a fine head, a clear, dark skin, and keen eyes, whose glance seemed to pierce one through. Each boy at this school, at Bri-enne, had a

small plot of ground for his own use. Na-po-le-on set out trees in his small field.

First, he threw up the ground, and made a sort of camp. In the midst of this, he made a sort of grot, where he could be screened from the gaze of all, and read, and think in peace.

All his thoughts at that time were of war. Young men were taught in those days, that the path of fame led through seas of blood. They did not care for the law of God, or the great law of " peace on earth, good will to men," that Chris '' In'd down. They did not think that one day the .^^d at the bar of God

and tell of their dee ^-,, y looked on death as a

long sleep from which no , should wake. This life was all, and death wis the end.

It was in such a school of thought that Na-po-le-on was reared. France had no God. It is not strange

MA-KING THE GAR-DEN.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

then that he did not care much for his own hfe. or for the hves of his men when he was at the head of his troops. He had not been taught the true worth of hfe. It was a small thing then to him that men should eat, drink, and sleep a few years more or less, when he thought he had a great work to do for the race.

When the cold months came, so much snow fell, that the walks were blocked up, and the boys did not know what to do in doors.

" Let us make a snow

fort," said Na-po-le-on ;

" that will pass the time."

He had learned the art

well, and he was put at

the head of the band.

The fort rose, and was

built in the strict rules of

art. The high white walls

v'ere so grand that the

lolks of Bri-enne came in

crowds to look at them.

Na-po-le-on made two

BuiLD-ixG THE FORT. bauds of thc boys, one to

hold the fort, and one to try and take it from them. For

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

weeks this war went on, for the cold held the fort fast and strono". In the heat of the fight, when the balls of snow flew thick and fast, boys on both sides were struck.

STORM-ING THE FORT.

One boy, who did not mind Na-po-le-on's call, was felled by him to the earth, and bore a scar through all his life. When years had passed, and Na-po-le-on sat on the throne of France, this boy sought to see him. He was a poor man, and life had been hard for him, so he hoped for help from the old school friend, who had climbed to such a high place. At first Na-po-le-on did not know the name.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

" Sir," said one, " he says he has a deep scar on his head that was made by your hand."

"Ah," said Na-po-le-on with a smile, "I know quite well what that scar means. It was made by an ice ball that I hurled at his head. Let him come in." The poor man came in, and Na-po-le-on granted all he asked.

Na-po-le-on stayed at the school in Bri-enne for five years. Once, when near the end of his life, he found that he was on that same plain of Bri-enne, where he had built his fort of snow. He sought out an old dame from whom the boys had been used to buy milk and fruits. " Did you know a boy named Bo-na-parte who used to

go to this school," he asked : " Oh, yes, quite well," she said.

" Did he pay you at all times for what he bought ?" "Yes," said the old dame, " he made the rest of the boys pay me too.

He would not let them cheat me." " Well, here is a purse of gold," said Na-po-le-on, " so that if there should be a debt left, this will make all right.""

He had a kind thought for

NA-PO-LE-ON AND THE OLD WO-MAN OF BRI-ENNE.

73'--

^3 7^

I.-NA-PO-LE-ON CROSS-ING THE ALPS.

all his old friends at the school of Bri-enne. The man who taught the boys to write could not make him learn to write a good hand. Na-po-le-on's thoughts came so fast that his pen could not keep up with them. One day, long years from that time, a poor old man in a worn coat was brought to him. " Who are you," asked Na-po-le-on. " I taught you to write at Bri-enne," said the old man.

"Taught me to write," laughed Na-po-le-on, "nice work you made of it, too," but he gave the old man what would keep him from want for the rest of his days.

The three boys who had done the best and stood in the first rank at Bri-enne were sent to a school in Par-is. It was a grand school where the sons of lords were sent. Each boy had a groom to tend to his horse, to brush his boots, and wait on him. Na-po-le-on did not think that this was the way to train men for war. He wrote to those at the head of the school and said, that the boys should groom their own steeds and clean their arms, and learn to know what it was to toil, if they were to fight for their land in the days that were to come. He was still more fond of books than of sport, and once at some feast he was joked at his want of life, as he did not join with the rest, in dance or song. " It is not by play that i6 a man is formed," he said. The gay youths thought him

stern, and left him to his books, and he soon stood first

in rank in the school.

When quite young, he was placed where he longed to be, in the troops of his land. He was a mere boy, and he had some pride in his dress, part of which was a pair of great boots. He was so small that a young girl burst in a laugh as she saw him, and said that he looked for all the world like " Puss in Boots." The joke was too just not to be felt, but Na-po-le-on did not keep a spite for the young girl who had made the jest. In a few days he gave her the book, " Puss in Boots," done up in great style. His pay was quite small, and he was poor, but he had

no wish to go to gay haunts or to waste what he had.

He was thought proud, by most, but there were a few

who loved him, and felt that there were great things in

store for him.

PUSS IN BOOTS.

L I /•• E U F XA P U L E O X

Chapter II. How He Went To War

The boy Na-po-le-on had grown now to man's age, when he went to spend a month on the Isle where he had played as a child. He chose a room where he would not hear the sounds of the house, and there with his books spread out, he spent his days and nights in toil. He seemed to know that "the heights by great men reached and kept," were gained but by toil while the rest slept. He wrote at that time a book of the lives of ereat men who had lived in Cor-si-ca. War broke out in France, and each day brought some fresh tale of woe. It was a war on the great. The poor folk, who had been ground down so long by the rich, had grown wild and were like miad men. They rose in crowds a vast mob, and with yells and hoarse cries made their way to the grand home of the King. They were most of them half drunk, and did not know what they did. They broke down the doors and swarmed through the rooms till they found the King. They put on his head a red cap which they used as a badge, and then they

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

THE KING AND THE RED CAP.

showed him to the crowd. Na-po-le-on, who had not been fond of kings, saw this sight and it made his blood boil. "The vile mob," he cried, "they should have been swept down with grape shot, that would soon have put them to flight." Na-po-le-on had not held with the rights of kings. He thought that men should vote for those they wished to rule them, but the sights he saw made him change his mind. He found out what mobs were like, when he saw this one drive the king and queen

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

forth with shouts, and vile jests, and shoot down the cruards that wished to save them. Then they marched through the streets, with the heads of those they had killed on the points of their pikes. France was full of

THE MOB IN THE STREETS OF PAR-IS.

scenes of woe. The rich and the great fell, and the streets were drenched in blood. This time was called the "Reign of Terror," and has been known by that name to this day. Those who did not think as the mob did, lost their heads. The king and aueen had their

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

heads cut off, and the mob ruled France. They said they fought for their rights for a free land like A-meri-ca, where each man had fair play, and could vote.

Na-po-le-on showed that he was a brave man from the first, and so he rose in rank. He shared all the toils of his men. He slept but a few hours at night, and then wrapped in his cloak would pace the camp to see that all was right. He would stand m the midst of a storm of shot and shell, and throw up works in the face of the foe. Once when the foe fired on his works, he called for some one who could write. A young man stepped out from the ranks, and wrote down what Na-po-le-on wished, when a ball from the foe struck the ground but a few

feet from them, and threw the earth on them both, and on the note. "Thank you," said the young man, with a laugh, " we shall need no more sand on this page." Na-po-leon liked the pluck of this young man, and

THE AID AND THE CAN-NON BALL. nXeQ niS KCCn CyC OU

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

him. "Young man," he said, "what can I do for you?" "All things," said the youth, "you can help me rise." Na-po-le-on did in time make this brave youth one of his chiefs in war. His name was Ju-not.

Na-po-le-on's first fight was at Tou-lon in 1793. It was in the midst of the night, and there was a cold storm of wind and rain. The Eng-lish held the place and shot and shell poured in on them. In the midst of the storm, the French marched up to the mouth of the Eng-lish guns, and were mown down like grass in the way of the scythe. But still they did not give up, and Na-po-le-on rode here and there to cheer them. He risked his own life, and his plans were found to be the true ones in the end, for he took Tou-lon. "It was," says Scott, " on this night of fear, and tears, and blood, that Na-po-le-on's star first rose in the sky."

Who can paint that scene? The hot shells set fire to the town, and as they fell, babes in their beds were torn limb from limb. There were cries and shrieks from those who sought to fly, and from those who drew their last breath in pain. And all the time the wind howled and a cold rain drenched the streets. When the sun rose a sad scene met the eye. The streets of Tou-lon were red with blood, and the dead lay in piles, the fires still blazed,

THE SIEGE OF TOU-LON.

and the shells still burst in their midst.

Na-po-le-on did not rest, but sought at once to send his balls in to the Eng-lish ships to drive them off. When Lord Howe saw the red, white and blue flag float from the heights of Tou-lon, he knew his cause was lost, and he made a sign for the fleet to move. The English had come there to help that part of the French folk who wished to have a king. Na-po-le-on led that part of the French who did not want a king. The men of rank who had sought to hide in the town of Tou-lon,

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

feared him and his troops when they saw that the Eng-Hsh would leave them to their fate. It was a sad scene. The Eng-lish took all the French boats they could get, and set a fire ship in the midst of them. At ten the torch was touched to it. The night was dark and still. The flames burst forth, and all the scene was bright as

BURN-ING THE FLEET.

the noon. There were the boats where the balls fell fast, the crowd on the quays that shrieked and cried in fright, and the troops that howled round the walls of the town like wolves who sought their prey. Men were torn from their loved ones, and wife or child ran to and fro on the beach with cries of fright. But at last the fleet sailed off with its maimed freight, and Na-po-le-on marched in to Tou-lon with the troops that had gained the day They were drunk with joy. He did what he could to keep them from acts of crime, but for days there were sad scenes in that doomed place. The troops turned to a wild mob that sacked the stores, and took all the gold they could find. One old man, deaf and blind, was hung so that they could get his wealth. "When I ; ^^ _ saw this," said Na-po-

le-on, 'T felt as if the end of the world was at hand." These men who fought to be free from the rule of kings, were more hard of heart than the kings that had ruled them.

They stopped at no crime, and Na-po-le-

SACK-ING THE TOWN.

on's heart erew sick as he saw their mad deeds.

He had shown that he was so brave in this fight, that he was sent to the coast of the south of France, to guard

He went to work with a it from the fleet of Eng-land.

LIFE OF KAPOLEOX will. He climbed each high point of land, and stopped not to rest, though cold storms of wind and rain swept the bleak hills. Drenched with rain, wrapt in his cloak, he lived on the same coarse fair that the poor ate, and gave but few hours to sleep. He grew pale and wan with his work. When it was done he joined the troops at Nice. He wore a grey great coat, a plain round hat, and great boots, that did not fit his feet. His form was slight, and his hands as small as a girl's. His eye was bright, and he had a smile that won him friends. Some one said to his chief, " where did you pick up that bit of a man, and what is his name." " I picked him up at the siege of Tou-lon, where he helped us win the da)'," said the chief " His name is Bo-na-parte, and one day

you will see that this bit of a man is great, in the true sense of the word."

The French in Nice had the Aus-tri-ans for foes on all sides of them. As soon as Na-po-le-on came, he formed a plan that made them fly. Ere long the French held each pass, and

NA-PO-LE-ON AT MCE.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

their flags waved in the breeze, from the tops of three of the Alps.

Though Na-po-le-on was not at the head of the troops yet, his mind ruled. Just at this time he was called back to Par-is, on a false charge. The court set him free, but took his rank from him. This was such a blow to his pride that he would not serve at all, but joined Mad-ame Bo-na-parte who lived at Mar-seil-les. He soon tired of a life like this. The troops in the Alps had met with hard luck, and at last some one thought of the young man who had shown so much sense and skill. Par-is was in a bad state, and things grew worse each day. Mob rule was more hard to bear than king rule. The mob split in parts and each wished to rule. There was no trust in

THE CEM-E-TE-RY GATE.

God, no church, no priest.

On the gates of the grave yards, they wrote these words, " Death is a long sleep." They had no hope of a world to come, and there seemed no hope for them here.

The rich did not know what it was to starve for

.LIFE OF AAPOLEON lack of bread, or freeze in the cold nights with no bed but a heap of straw. "What do they want," asked a fair maid of high rank, when she heard the hoarse cries of the mob. "They want bread" said some one near. "Dear me," she cried "if they can't get bread why do they not eat cake."

CHAPTER III. HOW HE PUT DOWN THE ivIOB

The folks of France who had got rid of their King and Queen, did not know what sort of rule they wished. At last, part of them met and said they would have five chiefs, whom they would call Di-rect-ors. This was the best plan that had yet been formed. They had Par-is set off in wards, as in our own town, and let the folks go to the polls, and vote on this plan. They gained it by but two votes, but the mob, that was at all times glad of a chance to break out, rose in a mass to fight it out. The troops on their side were not slow to do their part. They were well drilled, and when the first gun was fired by the mob, a huge crowd surged through the streets.

The men who had formed the plan for " Di-rect-ors," were in a state of great fright. They had but a small band to meet the mob, and they could not feel sure of them. It was an hour of great gloom. A mild, good man was put at the head of the troops, but he had not the strength or nerve for such a work, and his men fell back when they saw the size of the mob. This made the mob bold, for they thought the troops would not dare to fire on them. The chief at the head of the troops was changed, but all felt that the one who lead them must face death. Then some one spoke of Na-po-le-on. " I know the one who can help us if there is help in man," was said. Na-po-le-on was there at the time, and the eye of him who spoke chanced to light on him. He called him out and showed him to the House. Na-po-le-on looked so small and young that beseemed a mere youth, and those who looked at him could not help some doubts.

'* Will you take the charge" they asked.

" I will" said Na-po-le-on.

"Do you know all the risks?"

Na-po-le-on fixed his keen eye on him who spoke, with a glance that few could meet and not quail. " I know them" he said, "and I can do the task."

His tone stirred the House.

NA-PO-LE-ON GIV-IN COM-MAND OF THE TROOPS.

"But I must do all in my own way," he went on to say, "I must not be bound down with rules."

There was no time to pause, and they gave in to him at once.

He was prompt to act. He seized the guns that were in a place five miles from Par-is, and put them in place, so that they could sweep, with grape-shot, all the streets that led to the House,

He knew that there were great odds in his way, but he showed ere long that his plan was a good one. When the light of morn dawned, the place was like a camp. He had posted his guns, so that each street and bridge was guarded, in a way that none could march through them; he was so calm and bold that his troops felt the same. The few words he spoke fired their hearts, and they felt that they must do or die.