The Sun.
London, England, 1859-01-18 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

Episodes of French _History, during the Consulute
and the First Empire. By Miss Pardoe, author
of the " Life of Marie de Medicis," &c. 2 vols.
Hurst and Blackett.
These volumes form a most interesting study,
alike from the attractive style in which they are
written, as from the information they convey regard-
ing events and persons of importance. All the
details of the wonderful events of the consulate and
empire of Napoleon, are well deserving of notice,
and those who are not admirers of that great man
cannot fail to consider such thenies of consequence
and interest. There is a great variety to be met
with in these pages, and the reader is alternately
impressed, with some of the:stormy scenes that took
place during the brilliant campaigns of the French
army, and by the striking manner in which the
management at home was conducted. The brief
and emphatic sentences which. the First Consul
uttered, effected, on the instant, changes of vital
importance, and this characteristic decision and
domination are exemplified as strongly in domestic
life as in public concerns. The determination in
speaking to Josephine, on the subject of the court
milliners, is an instance of this. One of the most
painful passages here recorded is that of the divorce,
an action which must ever cast a shade over the life
of Napoleon, and the sufferings of Josephine are
well depicted in the accounts here given. At first
she refused to credit the fatal news, clinging with
the tenacity of despair to every hope, however illu-
sory. When the truth could no longer be shut out
her state was an agonising one. She was unable
to deliver the address prepared for her, and some
one had to guide her hand as she .signed the docu-
ment of divorce. The description given of the Em-
peror is very different. " Napoleon gave no other
sign of emotion than the pertinacity with which he
averted his eyes from the face of his . almost con-
vulsed victim ; his voice was clear and steady, his
attitude firm. He was already looking beyond the
troubled present into the. brilliant future, which
was to behold him—the Corsican refugee, and the
military adventurer, the husband of a daughter of
the CMSB.I"Ei." " The Drama of War," is an effective
exposition of the chances and changes of the life of
the soldier ; its true interest. and .excitement are
shown to consist in the deeds of heroism with which
its annals are occasionally illuminated, and in the
ever-stirring and glorious career of Napoleon there
were many instances of personal bravery, and many
anecdotes of an attractive• kind are recorded, like
to those which are the grace of history, and the
glory of romance, and to which • the poet has
alluded in these lines :
"Oh war 1 thou hast thy fierce delight,
Thy gleams of joy intensely bright."
One of the most amusing of these, episodes is that
entitled " The General and the Emperor." It tells
of a certain lawyer, who, was a great friend of
Madame Beauharnais, and believed that he ren-
dered her a service in dissuading her from her in-
tended marriage with General Bonaparte. It
chanced that Josephine had riot closed the door
when she entered the private. apartment of her
friend, and therefore, the General, who was wait-
ing for her in the antechamber, overheard some
unpalateable remarks. Among the prophecies
o'f Raguideau were the following
A few days hence I shall be the wife of General Bona-
parte!' -
IN:hat 1 The widow of one soldier, .you are about to
marry mother. General Bonaparte, do you say? Ah, yes,
I rememb.7; the commandant .of the Interior; the young
fellow who cave a lesson to General Cartaux at Toulon."
cg The same, M. Ragukleau.". .
" Pshaw, Madame 1 . A,. soldier of fortune, who has his
way to make."
"He will make it, my good friend." .
"When, and how F But first, what. is he worth at
present ?"
" Nothing, save his house in the rue Chantereine."
" A shed—a— And se. you. are •really going to marry
this adventurer ?"
" I am."
" So much the worse for you,:Madame."
" And why ?"
" Why ? Because you had much better remain a widow
than marry a paltry general, without either name or pros-
pects. You must assuredly be mad 1 Will your Bonaparte
everlbe a Dumouriez or a Pichegru ? • Will he ever be the
equal of our great republican generals ? I have a right to
doubt it. Moreover, let me tell you that the profession of
arms is worthless now; ~ and .I would much rather know
that you were about to marry an army-contractor than any
military man in France." •
"Every one to his taste, Monsieur," said Josephine,
stung by the contemptuous tone in which he had spoken ;
" you, it would appear, regard marriage merely as an affair
of finance."
" And you, Madame," broke in the ex4ited and angry old
man, "you see in it only a matter of sentiment, and what
you no doubt call love ; is not that What you were about to
say ? Again, I repeat, all the viorso fer you, Madame ; all
the worse fcr you. I had given you more credit for good
sense than to suspect that yen would allow yourself to be
dazzled by a pair of gold, epatilettes. Reflect before you
make such a sacrifice ; for rest assured that, if you are rash
enough to persist in this fooliish scheme, you will repent
your folly .all the days of your life. Whoever heard of a
rational wo,nan throwing herself away upon a man whose
whole fortune consists in his sword and his great-coat 1"
Neither of the speakers was aware that their con-
versation waS overheard, until the day arrived when
the Pope was to crown the "mere general" with
'the Imperial diadem of France. Then Napoleon
caused Raguideau to be sent for, and impressively
related to him the substance of his former remarks.
The confusion of the old lawyer. may be imagined,
and the Emperor allowed him . to depart on con-
dition that he proceeded to; Notre Dame, there to
witness the ceremony of the coronation. " A
Company of Grenadiers" ' i.e a touching record of
constancy and courage exercised under the most
painful circumstances: This faithful band, whose
sufferings are here related, had been entrusted with
the care of a wounded Pole during the retreat of
the French• army in Russia. Their Marshal had
exhorted them to guard his body as sacredly as
they would their colours, and not to allow him to
fallinto the hands of his bitterest enemies. They
nobly performed their task, but it was at the
expense Of their lives; for, as they approached the
town where they were. to attain their goal, " the
revulsion of feeling was too violent for the weakened
frames of these military martyrs." Four of the
five remaining survivors sunk lifeless to the ground.
The veteran who remained sent to request an in-
terview with the Marshal, who instantly ap-
peared :
" Where is Colonel Kobilinski I" asked Davoust.
"He it here, Monsieur le Marechal."
"And the Company 2"
" Present, mon Marechal
" I ask for the Company."
" I have answered : Present."
" But your comrades ?"
" Ha—my comrades—Buried, Monsieur le Marechal—
in the snow.
. Davoust could not utter a word, but he opened his arms,
and Jacques Dufour flung himself into them.
He was pressed to the heart of a Marshal of France—he
was repaid, amply repaid, he th,thight, for weeks of cruel
and almost unparelleled suffering; but, ere the eyes of
Kobilinski closed for ever, they rested upon a red ribbon
proudly displayed on the breast of Jacques Dufour.
Some of the stories related in the different parts of
these volumes are exciting, as, for instance, in the
" Evening with Fouch,' which: is a: pecUliar tale,
most vividly narrated. This work is well calcu-
lated t, extend the fame of its• authoress, and to
prove an attraction to the reading community. It
is a difficult task that .has :been most efficiently
performed, and it presents . a series of sketches
that is striking as regards both . the men, and the
times in which they lived. The episodes of French
history, here mentioned belong -to a period that
will for ever be famous, and which 'by the future
annalists of empires may be .regarded as an epoch
in the history of the world. .

A Manual of the Philosophy of Toice and Speech.
By J. Hunt, P.H.D.,, F.S;A. : Author of "The
Cure of Stammering,"•&c., &c.. Longman.
This is a very able and useful work, which has
evidently cost the author much labour and study.
He explains succinctly, the organs that are em-
ployed in the exercise of the voice, and their
peculiar qualities and powers.. He. then takes a
survey of language in general, and of the origin
and developement of the; English language in par-
ticular. In this departnienthe gives an interesting
analysis of the component parts of our noble
tongue, and of the relatiite proportions of the Teu-
tonic and Latin elements. He then discusses the
disorders of the voice, and. thelreatment of deaf
mutes. Having studied 'the best' mode 'of cure for
stammering, he is able to speak With authority on
'this point. His last two chapters are devoted to
good practical advice on the cultivation and ma-
nagement of the voice, and 'on the requisite quali-
fications for public speaking.' All who are
ambitious of distinguishing.. themselves by their
i oratory should peruse this portion of the work. It
gives encouragement to those who find their phy-
sical powers unequal to their mental ones, and adds
interesting anecdotes of :some of our great
orators.. The following passage, . entitled " Break-
ing down," recalls some well-known instances of
temporary failure : •
Every speaker feels now and then, from some unexpected
idea crossing his mind, that he is about losing the thread of
his discourse. The practised orator is prepared for such
contingencies. He either calls the rarely failing expedient
of tautology (see style) to his aid; or he follows out the
fresh idea, and incorporates it in his disoourse, until he sees
his path clear before him. An inexperienced speaker, on
the contrary, becomes 'distracted by -the slightest incidents,
such as persons coughing, or leaving the room, and fre-
quently breaks down.
Aspirants to oratory should, however, not, be discouraged
at failing at first; as most orators, from Demosthenes down
to the present time, have done so; The first appearance of
Sheridan in Parliament was such a completefiaseo, that his
friends dissuaded him from Making another attempt ; but
Sheridan replied—" I will—for by Heaven it is in me, and
it shall come out;" and out it came with a vengeance.
The shouts of laughter . with which • Mr. Disraeli's
maiden-speech was received by an assembly generally in-
dulgent to first attempts, did not crush the aspirant for
power. He, like Sheridan, felt that there was something