The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-07 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, SEPT EMBER 7, 1841.

LITERATURE.
ALISOIV'S HISTORY OF EUROPE. Vol. IX.

" A great book is a great evil,"
says the old
adage,., and in nine out of ten cases the re-
/Mae/mod, Edinburgh, 1841.
re-
mark 4olds good. The present, however, is ant.
exception; for, though in his History o
Europe," Mr. Alison has undoubtedly writt€ a
" great book," yet when we take into considera-
tion;
the period of which hs: treats, and the al vful_
event She narrates that he discusses a per iod,
not only of change, but of almost universal 4.:on-
vulsiort ; when the hurricane of war swept
.far
and wide over Europe ; when (101;tical instatu-
dons that had lasted fur centuries, w,:ere thy.morris
down,: as though they were the Me:es flimsy
'structures of yesterday; when the hugt. 7
toit;
wide-
spreading fabric of monarchy was shaken ~,n
centre; and the thoughts, opinions, and fee. 11 gs
of civilized man underwent a change so st:2ll
ling and violent that the records of ancient his-
tory have nothing to compare with it ;—vvhen
take these things into consideration, we feel
every disposition to except Mr. Alison frohni the
number of those who, in producing. " a ccreat
book," ,have inflicted " a great evil" on. the
reading" community. Still, though we do not
quarrelk with his matter, his manner is liable to
objectioin. His language abounds in Scotticisn ;
is frequently diffuse and turgid; disfigured wi .th
tinsel Metaphors; and sometimes slovenly to e: t-
cess. It is but justice, however, to add, that ,it
possesSes many redeeming qualities; and that ii
some Of his descriptions Mr. Alison evinces elo• •
quence'of a high order; and generally through.
out big/work maintains a tone of moderation
highly creditable to him. It is evident indeed
that he is a Tory, but he is not a purblind or in-
corrigible one. He can afford to give fair play
to even the most determined opponents of his
political creed ; speaks justly and generously of
Mirabea.o ; and finds much to praise in the bold,
uncompromising energy of Danton.
The. present volume commences with an ac-
count of the resurrection of Germany in 1813—
the year after the disastrous Russian expedition—
and terminates with the proceedings of Welling-
ton in Spain at the commencement of 1814.
There is not much in Mr. Alison's details of this
memorable period that calls for particular notice
—for who has not got them by heart ?—but one
chapter in the volume deserves special consi-
deratiop—that, we mean, wherein our author
attempts an analysis of the character of Napo-
leon. His analysis is an elaborate one ; displays
wonderful attention to details; adduces the evi-
dence for and against the Emperor with temper
and impartiality; and is deficient only in the
summing up. In many of the opinions we cor-
dially concur. It is perfectly true that Bona-
parte " united to a degree, which perhaps was
never before equalled, the ardent and impassioned
templa.ment of southern, with the cool judge-.
anent aihd intellectual force of northern Europe."
His pa‘sionate ardour was only equalled by his
cool sagacity; but it is remarkable that he
•evinced most judgment in his youth, and most
headstrong impetuosity in his matured years.
'We do'Oot, however, agree with Mr. Alison, that
his judgment was characterized by profundity.
This is too exaggerated a term to -use. Most of
his serious reverses proceeded from his deficiency
in this respect—as when he tampered with the
affairs of Spain, invaded Russia, and refused the
terms of peace offered him by allied Europe at
Chatillon. His restoration of nobility in France,
too, was a decided error of judgment, for it
placed. a gulph between him and the revolution,
of which he was the self-elected champion, and
estrartged from him the hearts of such men as
Carns,t,,, Constant, and Lafayette, the want of
whose ii?fluential support he felt deeply when his
empire ',was tumbling in ruins about him. Mr.
Alison adds that he " was brave without being
chivalrous." His conduct to the Queen of Prus-
sia was certainly not marked by. much.. chivalry
of feeliri.!3• ; but nothing could surpass the grace
and detacacy of his behaviour towards the old
Austriab General Wurmser, whom he compelled
to capi-tulate. at Mantua. Out of respect to this
veteran's feelings, he purposely absented himself
when toe laid down his arms, lest the old man's
humiliation might have been aggravated at
finding himself vanquished by so young a soldier.
" Napoleon never forgave Moreau for the vic-
tory of. Hohenlinden,' says our historian. On
the contrary, lie was enraptured with his success,
says I3ourrienne, and paid him, the most marked
and flattering attentions. Air. Alison's remarks
on the restless and insat
possessed one peculiari',,
historyes tin
Able character of the
EmperOr's ambition arey
, forcibly urged; but he
in a still more marked
.:nstntegthoteistoiowfhtwelsitomi
hi teak
tahned intoten:,
degree-=namely, ego'..ism. He was without ex-
nter
makes mention. 'tie could never travel out of
men or things, except as they ad reference to
his own- personal fortunes. He loved France,
but he loved her only as identified with his ow
n
glory. He would fain have rendered
her happy
and proSperous, but only because the rendering
her so would have redounded to his own credit.
In the Whole wide range of creation he consi-
dered AC, individu-sl worthy of a serious thought
but hitnself. 17r,e was jealous of any one who
called off publ'Ac attention—though it were only
for a passing• moment—from his own claims to
unrivalled
homage. Even the comparatively in-
ferior cele..ority of Madame de Stael was worm-
wood to him ; and he did his best to extinguish
it_ by 'banishing her from the saloons of Paris.
Tho-agh he was capable of generous actions, yet
the highest generosity was a stranger to his na-
t
tire. He rarely forgave, and laughed at disin-
terestednesii, as the fond dream
of enthusiasts.
This utter want of a kindly and ennobling faith • '
in humr,nit.--
y was one of the chief causes of his '
fall, f, • •
Jr it alienated his subjects at a time when
he s.i of their hearty ood most in need support.
In. i• •
ange of capacity he was unrivalled. He Corn-
Jailed the imagination of the poet with the cool,
calculating qualities of the mathematician—the
sagacity of the statesman with the ready fore-
sight of the soldier. •We may add that his
sunh. shone brightest at its rising and its setting,
ias.naost wonderful campaigns being his first in
it. IY add his last in France, both of which are
with
_ without a parallel in history. All things consi-
d..enred,
may justly be called the most extraor-
w Man of an age fertile in great men but
vast as ,were his resources, and tremendous the
power 'vhich he wielded, he lived to see all pass
away 1i e a dream; his empire vanished like an
exhalation ; his vassal kings. from being his
slaves, became his masters and the arbiters of his
destiny;; and all that remained to the once
might?, Emperor of France at the-close of his
meteoric career, was a mean, half-furnished dwel-
ling on is barren rock in the Atlantic! As every
anecdote is interesting that relates to Napoleon,
we quote the following details of some of his per-
sonal habits, which Mr. Alison has gleaned from
a great variety of sources :
His restlessness of disposition was such that he could
not sit Still, even when carried at the gallop on horse-
back. Thin officers who rode before had come by long habit
to know so well what he wanted, that he had rarely to
direct their course, but his own horse followed mechani-
cally the direction they took. He was passionately fond
of riding across the country, through fields or woods,
and over heaths; and in a difficult path where riding was
hazardoui; and the whole party was obliged to"dismoant
and lead their horses, the Emperor was always in spirits.
If he car 4 to any place where a disaster had .btten in-
curred, on which was associated with painful n ;collec-
tions, he tvushed on at the gallop, and fell into a perfect
fury if a.ittything then checked his progress. On one
occasion,in the autumn of 1813, he had occasion to pass
a place 4 ere seventy caissons, of great import: ince to
the armyi, had been blown up the day before by tl ie Cos-
sacks. On seeing the ground covered with tile fra:;ments,
he immediately set off at a gallop, to get over it as fast
as possibly ; and a little dog having followed his horse
barking, ie was seized with such a fit of fury, that he
drew onepf his pistols, fired at the animal, and, h aving
missed, dashed the pistol itself at it, still hastenit mg on
With breathless speed, while Rustan, who was no str anger
to such scenes,_ quietly fell behind and picked i ip the
weapon thus thrown away by his infuriated master
The unceasing restlessness and indefatigable a 2tivity
of his disposition were strongly e'vinced in the irregular
hours during which different things were done, at id the
rigorous manner in which, nevertheless, instant ()be dience
was enforced to his commands. Often the i naxch of
head-quarters was delayed for some hours, or ha If a day
beyond the time fixed, while the Emperor was eictating
or reading despatches ; and at the laSt word h e would
call out---4 The carriage—to horse !" These words acted
like an electric shock• to his attendants, who straightway
mounted, the carriage was instantly at the door, and the
whole set off at the gallop. Caulaincourt generally rode
on the, fight the carriage, General Gliyot on tl he left ;
and theofficers on sersiee,,pages,attendants,and grooms,
with the led' horses, rattled on as hard as they could
drive, followed by a
,squadron of the guards on horse-
back. The whole pushed on at a quick trot. or the gal-
lop, often for a' day or a night without halting ; and
where the road was!ntirrow, or a defile or copse was to
be traversed, the vehemence with which fiey rode drove
them against each other, at the imminent hazard of their
legs and necks. If the Emperor halted to make an ob-
servation,
.h(i immediately mounted one of the led horses,
and four chasseurs, with fixed bayonets on their carbines,
formed a square round him, which advanced, always
keeping hiin in its centre. If a distant object was to be
examined,i a page brought up the telescope, a very fine
one being always at hand ; the maps were frequently
called for, and spa ead out on the ground, and the Em-
peror, lying down upon them, was soon as completely
absorbed in his plans as if he had been in his cabinet at
St. Cloud. _

When the Emil« -Tor passed through a divis ion of the
guards, all the ban Els of the regiments came tc the front,
the troops.fell back , and formed line on either side, and
great pomp WAS obi ;erved ; the cortege passing' through
slowly, and salutini the officers. But no such wremony
was observed in t caversing the ord;nary corps of the
army ; and the put sago through them was oiler/ forced