The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-29 00:00:00

CHARACTER OF NAPOLEON.

We quote the following from Sir WALTER
SCOTT'S forthcoming " Life of Napoleon."
" The external appearance of Napoleon was not impos-
ing at the first glance, his stature being only five feet six
inches English. His person, thin in youth, and somewhat
corpulent in age, was rather delicate than robust i❑
outward appearance, but cast in the mould most capable of
enduring privation and fatigue. Ire rode ungracefully,
and without the command of his horse which distinguishes
a perfect cavalier ; so that he showed to disadvantage when
riding beside such a horseman as Murat. But he was
fearless, sat firm in his seat, rode with rapidity, and Was
capable of enduring the exercise for a longer time than
most men. We have already mentioned his indifference to
the quality of his food, and his power of enduring absti-
nence. A morsel of food, and his flask of wine hung at
his saddle-bow, used, in his earlier campaigns, to support
him for days.
" The countenance of Napoleon is familiar to almost
every one from description, and the portraits which are
found everywhere. The (lark brown hair bore little
marks of the attentions of the toilet. The shape of the
countenance approached, more than is usual in the hu-
man race, to a square. His eyes were grey, and full of
expression, the pupils rather large, and the eye-brows
not very strongly marked. The brow and upper part
of the countenance was rather of a stern character.
His nose and mouth were beautifully formed. The
upper lip was very short. The teeth were indifferent,
but were little shown in speaking. His smile possessed
uncommon sweetness, and. is stated to have been kre-
sistible. The complexion was a clear olive, otherwise,
in general, colourless. The prevailing character of his
countenance was grave, even to melancholy, but without
any signs of severity or violence.
" Such was Napoleon's exterior. His personal arid pri-
vate character was decidedly amiable, excepting in due
particular. His temper, when he received, or thought he
received, provocation, especially if of a personal character,
was warm and vindictive. He was an excellent husband, a
kind relation, and, sinless when state policy intervened, a
most affectionate brother.

" There was gentleness, and even softness, in his cha.
racter. He was affected when lie rode over the fields of
battle, which his ambition had strewed with the dead and
the dying, and seemed not only desirous to relieve the
victims, but showed himself subject to the influence of
that snore acute and imaginative species of sympathy
which is termed sensibility. He mentions a circum-
stance which indicates a deep sense of feeling. As he
passed over a field of battle in Italy, with some of his
Generals, he saw a houseless dog lying on the body of
his slain master. The creature came towards them,
then returned to the dead body, moaned over it pitifully,
and seemed to ask their assistance. ' Whether it were
the feeling of the moment,' continued Napoleon, the
scene, the hour, or the circumstance itself, I was never so
deeply affected by any thing which I have seen upon a
field of battle. That man, I thought, has perhaps had a
house, friends, comrades, and here he lies deserted by every
one but his dog. How mysterious are the impressions to
which we are subject ! I was in the habit, without emotion,
of ordering battles which must decide the fate of a cam-
paign, and could look with a dry eye on the execution of
manoeuvres which must be attended with much loss; and
here I was moved—nay, painfully affected—by the cries
and grief of a dog. It is certain that at that moment I
should have been more accessible to a suppliant enemy, and
could better understand the conduct of Achilles in restoring
the body of Hector to the tears of Priam.'

" A calculator by nature and by habit, Napoleon was
fond of order, and a friend to that moral conduct by which
order is best exemplified. The libels of the day have made
some scandalous averments to the contrary, but without
adequate foundation. Napoleon respected himself too much,
and understood the value of public opinion too well, to have
plunged into general er vague debauchery.
" Considering his natural disposition, then, it may b.
assumed, that if Napoleon had continued in the vale of pri-
vate life, and no strong temptation of passion or revenge
had crossed his path, he must have been generally regarded
as one whose friendship was every way desirable, and whose
enmity it was not safe to incur.