A metrical history of the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte

Front matter

Class.

Book.

KAROW COLLECTION

Preface

I HAVE no apology to offer for placing before the public the following collection of poems. If my scheme possesses no other merit than that of being unique, perhaps it will not be wholly condemned. The collection is by no means complete ; neither have I sought to make it so. From the vast number of poems published, hid away, and forgotten, I have dug out and retained only such as suited my fancy, and which go to make up a sort of poetical history of the life and times of the Great Emperor ; leaving behind me far more in number than I have used.

Some years ago, and long before the present Napoleonic fever had taken hold of the people, I had occasion to use a certain little poem relating to the death of the illustrious exile at St. Helena. Much to my surprise, when I came to look for it, I could not find it. My friends were in the same quandary ; they knew the poem, but could not locate the author, and no dictionary of writers or of subjects seemed able to help me out of my difificulty. In my search for the poem wanted, and ultimately unearthed, I found so many others relating to the French Revolution, the Consulate, and the Empire, which were before unknown to me, that I determined to persevere

IV PREFACE.

in my hunt for these fugitive verses, and to make a collection of those found, for the purpose of adding the volume, in manuscript, to my own private library, consisting mainly of works concerning the wonderful Corsican and his most remarkable career. When my collection was as complete as I could make it, I discovered I had a poem for nearly every incident of note in the life and history of Napoleon, from his birth to his second funeral, and the idea struck me that, by arranging the poems in chronological order as to the dates of the incidents portrayed, and by introducing each with a brief recital of the facts upon which the poem was based, I might make for myself a novel, if not a perfectly reliable, history. I had then no intention of putting my work into book form, and it was only at the earnest solicitation of a friend, in whose judgment I had the utmost confidence, that I consented to do so. Some of the poems will be familiar to the general reader ; the greater number, however, I believe, will be new. In my selection I have disregarded the fact of whether the poem chosen was written in favour of or against the subject of it, and I have endeavoured, as much as possible, to use only the poetry of contemporary writers. How far I have succeeded in making a creditable selection, and how near I have come to compiling a poetical history of the " Man of Destiny," the public must be the judge. Taking advantage of the work of others, I have merely filled in the gaps and made the proper connections. For so much of the work, and for the taste and judgment displayed in the choice of matter used, I am responsible.

PREFACE. V

The illustrations are reproductions from my own collection, and from those of my friend, Mr. Carlos Wilson of Boston, to whom I am greatly indebted for the valuable aid he has so cheerfully given me in allowing me the free use of his very extensive library and print collection.

Contents

Corsica ....

Napoleon's Cradle Song

The School-Boy King .