The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-26 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

HISTORY OF THE CONSULATE AND THE
EMPIRE; or FRANCE UNDER NAPO-

LEON. By M. Thiers. Vol. 11.
This volume possesses more interest and variety
than the first, though that furnished ample and
graphic details of the passage of the Alps and the
battle cof Marengo—one reckoned the most remark-
able military movement in modern times, and the
other the great step by which Napoleon mounted the
imperial throne. It made him First Consul, and from
the consulate to the empire the transition was easy.
M. Thiers has devoted a considerable portion of the
second part to the state of Egypt after the departure
of General Bonaparte, the discontent of the army and
its leader, General Kleber ; his victories over the
Turks; his defeat at El-Ariseh, and his assassination
at Cairo. Though not disposed to go out of his way
to pay compliments to the English, and least of all
English naval officers, the author does justice
to Sir Sidney Smith, whom he describes as a
man of generous feelings, and to Colonel Douglas,
who did everything in his power to save
the wreck of the garrison from the fury of the
Turks. " Some of these unfortunate men," says
he, " obtained quarter, thanks to Colonel Douglas,
and owed their lives to the interference of that hu-
mane, gallant, and distinguished officer." lie de-
scribes also at considerable length the famous battle
of Hohenlinden •' attributes, though reluctantly, praise
to Moreau, and modifies it with the imputation of
great faults committed in several movements, and en-
deavours to lessen his glory on that occasion by an-
ticipation of events which, unfortunately, cast a
shade on his early career. lie cannot, however,
deny him the merit of, prudence, vigour, and suc-
cess. "Moreau had proved himself capable of cm-

manding 100,000 men with prudence and vigour ;
no man, excepting Napoleon, had manmuvred such
a force so well in the present century ; and though
the plan of the conqueror of Hohenlinden be at
an immense distance from that of the conqueror of
Rivoli, of Marengo, and Austerlitz, that plan is, never-
theless, glorious, and would have remained glorious,
if criminal misconduct, the fatal effects of jealousy,
had not subsequently sullied a life till then noble and
pure." The celebrated passage of tl-e Splugen by
Macdonald is described in a few lines, though it
riva's, perhaps eclipses, the passage of the Alps by
Bonaparte. The leading features, however, of this
section of the work are the domestic policy of the
First Consul, the negotiations with foreign powers,
and the vast schemes he formed for uniting the whole
of Europe against the great barrier to universal
dominion, England. In all these Bonaparte displayed
the greatest ability, and, with perhaps some excep-
tions, is entitled to the highest praise. He arranged
the discordant elements of a great nation, put an end
to anarchy by moderation, justice, and humane plans;
was lenient to the errors, or rather the prepossessions
of the unfortunate royalists and the priests ; and was
only the bitter enemy of that unprincipled portion of
the community who delighted in endless revolution
from selfish motives, and would have sacrificed the
honour, the glory, and safety of their country for
even the chance of temporary power. To these men
for a long time he attributed all the attempts on his
life, and nothing but the most indubitable evidence
could convince him that Georges and other royalists
were the real authors of the infernal machine. We
regret to find that M. Thiers here forgets the im-
partiality of a great historian, gives as facts what he
cannot prove, nay, what are fully denied by as good
Frenchmen as himself, and ministers to vulgar preju-
dices and national antipathies in language, though
not direct, yet not to be mistaken, by leaving the
impression on the minds of his readers that the assas-
sins were the tools of the English Cabinet, and that
they were furnished with English gold to carry their
diabolical schemes into effect. This it is true was
the belief of the First Consul, but we believe he was
afterwards disabused by the earnest and indignant
asseverations of Mr. Fox, independent of other proofs ;
yet M. Thiers still sticks to the original calumny
and uses such expressions as these :—" Georges,
having returned from London to the Morbihan, was
full of money, thanks to the English, and secretly
directed the plunder of the diligences. He had sent
iome of his cut-throats to Paris, for the purpose of
murdering the First Consul." And elsewhere—" In

a lower sphere conspired other wise than by words
the intriguers in the service of the Bourbons, and
lower still, but more dangerously, the arints of
Georges, with their hands full of money, supplied by
England." These and some other national pre-
judices are unworthy of M. Thiers' high rank, ability,
and acquirements—they only injure his own charac-
ter, and detract from the value of a work of great
merit. But this littleness, to apply the gentlest term,
is not unfrequently an accompaniment of the brightest
genius, and latterly diminished that halo of glory
which surrounded the head of Napoleon himself.
lie has been admired by, the vulgar chiefly
for his great victories. These, however, entitle
him to the least praise. They were obtained
at enormous sacrifices ; human beings were treated
as mere machines; the best blood of France was shed
to gratify his lust of dominion, and at last, in the
utter recklessness of despair, he sacrificed himself
and his country. his highest merit consists in his
domestic administration, in composing civil broils;
improving the civil code, retrieving the finances, and
carrying out vast and national works. From No-
vember, 1799, to September, 1800, the face of France
was changed ; the public funds had risen from 12 to
40, and the public creditors, to their astonishment and
delight, received a half-year's dividend in money—a
thing which had not occurred since the commence-
ment of the revolution. " This financial phenomenon,"
says M. Thiers, " produced a great effect, and it ap-
peared to be not one of the least of the victories of the
First Consul. This was an enigma which the mass
of the public explained by that extraordinary power,
which he was already said to possess, of doing what-
ever he pleased. But there is no miracle in this
world. There is no other cause for real successes
but sound sense, seconded by a strong will." M.
Thiers thus sums up the labours in which this won-
derful man was engaged during the winter of 1800-
1801 :
All things were being organised at the same time,
with the harmony which a comprehensive mind is
capable of introducing into its works, with the rapidity
which a resolute energy, an authority already punctually
obeyed, is capable of imparting to them. The genius
which accomplished these things was without doubt ex-
traordinary ; but, it must be confessed, the situation was
as extraordinary as the genius. General Bonaparte had
France and Europe to move, and victory for a lever ; he
had to digest all the codes of the French nation, but
then at the same time all ranks were disposed to submit
to his laws with implicit obedience; he had roads, canals,
bridges to construct, and the necessary relources for
these objects at his undisputed disposal ; he had even
nations ready to furnish him with their treasures—the
Italians, for example, who cheerfully contributed to the
expense of opening the Simplon, and to the endowment
of the Hospices raised on the summits of the Alps. Pro-
vidence does nothing by halves. For every mighty task
she furnishes a great genius, and to every great genius
she assigns a mighty task.
For details of these useful and noble undertaking=,
we refer to the work itself, which, we may add, im-
proves on acquaintance. The style is simple, and, at
at times, highly eloquent. The narrative flows natu-
rally, and without effort. The interest never flags,
and the writer, unlike some who claim the character
of historians, never obtrudes himself, and rarely his
individual opinions, on the notice of the reader. Hts