Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1806-10-22

politician.
Mang aii3 various have been the attempts
or di8erCr, ', f.,e's. Co dcacr!he the Q0aiii-
catiops, thc rropcnSities, ana PREVAILING
passions e This e,ctSao rdinary character;
but sorry we arc To perceive thatali oi then
are more or less tincturel with adulation or
recruitment, with envy or oNerweening
praisc.-F. Dashboard, in his Ratoire dc
Ia Re}in6Egue franchise, speaks of him as
follows =
"No general ever carried farther than
Napoleon Bonapartc, extreme valor, pre-
sence of mind, skill in maNocuvrc, and the
resources ofstratagem. The battles ofLo-
di and ArChola were won by the superiority
Of his talents. The soldier, persuaded CT
his superiority, boldly met dangers of which
he supposed the importance hai been lust
i" estimated; and this daring spirit, by ;id-
ding to the reputation Of the general, rem
ccred the army invncible.-AG shiiiu. rs
Frederick the Great in scheming ,hc plan
OF campaign, Bonaparte knew better than
that monarch how to lead on men To great
achievements. b. the influence of sentiment
Like Caesar. he wouid march at the head
OF ms army, and share the fatigue and feed
ct the soldier. Each might address him as
his ccmrade; and this afiabiiity, which soft
ened the harsl>ness o. command, gave him
they would have followed him every where
without hesitation. Hence the unlimited
authority which he enioyed in Italy, and
which 10 other general has possessed since
the Roman Emperors"
Difficult indeed is the task oc Gravinr
such portrait IN genuine colors, and oftra-
cling its features by the lincamcnts OF i'm
partially and truth. Few men exist, if a.
ny, without particular predictions and a.
versions, which, when applied to national
or personal competitions, render fair and
candidappreCiation sill more difficult. The
writer above referred to is in the interests
a the Emperor Napoleon. The next who
has ventuIed 10 pourtray his character is
an Engiishmau in Paris, Mr.. Thomas Hol-
crcft, who marricd French iadv, and resi-
ced g considerable time en- the spot. His
define tons, IL many respects, bcspeak the
j I'd OF . master; and where his colorir-
y oeiective, Ii may be attributed 10 TIC c.ll-
nov y or pouitra} ing so extraordinary
IrlnCe with e assical precision. Ec first
entrnerateS the vices, and then the virtues
o. hishcro.
1t is the turn and concurrence OF cir
cunstances that give the powers Of man
heiP direction, stamp his character, and
reconcile ann to courses Of action such,
even, as he may have once held in abhor-
renee. IN all tie arlor CT youth, when the
incorporate imagination knew nct where
to rest, before principles had been fixed BIZ
eXperienc yet not iii after q burning thirst
of fame had been excited in him, Ronaparie
found that dangerous engine, that imple-
ment OF human misery, IN army, IT his com
mand, and prompt to effect whatever pur-
pose his rapid genius shculdconeeivc He
soon discovered the necessity there was to
give that coiorlrg TO events that miwht pro
Cncerthc effects intended: to conceal, to de-
oc,vc, 20 Tx the attention CT false points, to
fiasser reasants, TO speak 70 princes in the
ioity to!2 of menace, to spur the soldier to
attack py the hopes oS plumber, to hang him
attel wards for tic crime, toprcmisc friend
ship 20 TIE yanquished, an, then to raise
constitutions, and strip them OF all they es-
teeIned most precious; these soon became
edGily occurrences Of his active warfare (,
Oh, had his genius received another d;.
rection, had nc been impciled with no less
force iE,o the paths Cf wisdom and benevo-
ience, what abiessing TO the world woulG he
have been
6 In Egypt nc found a race much more
iSacr. mt, more dcpraved and therefore still
mere addicted 10 TIC arts Of deceit, than in
ItEiy ana ne bent all his powers TO the
task O. overcoming them in every manner.
Gould they HghC! He conquered them rs
Wei III valor rs in sagacity.-Colild they
instead and wesr the mask Of hypocrisy :?
-tVcn ~ this they were not his EQUALS.
Still his mighty mind gave public proof OF
TIE warnings AID tire impulses it received
from truth to the man of discrimination,
there aIc passages in his state papers that
Show with that force, it stuck him, and
Prove ms momentaIy grandeur OF thought.
lotins hour, changed as lie gradually has
been, and caded as MS horizon is with the
CLOUD OF Sp!CnctIc ambition, 1t neycrthcless
occasionally eInits lum nous beam. Eut
the most fatal fall the circumstances which
nave united him for the task he he's assn
med to himself which is no less than that
OF governing Luropc, is, thet he hes been
infatuated TO the cofDmand OF armics.
81 have several tines" SAYS Mr.. Fol-
croft, "bccn close TO Napoleon: his stature
is diminntive, his Complexion saAow, and
rs Phi@ognomy bears those marks which
denote the labors OF his mind it is care.
WON; tGt it IS also susCerli5ie ofgre,.t Va
riCty. From his atrabilarious coieplexio,.
choier mlGh, be certainly predicted hut
IRON the se1ateness Of his eve, rot Of that
sudden ant inpc;uous kind to which, 10 :,
50 very s4ojcct. I;-Cre &c various traits,
p.doDc and private, that discover this mich,
" Ghetto have attempted to copy Alexan.
der while he was in Egypt, Caesar during
his Italian campaigns, and Char!cn, f.fie
since he assumed the Imperial purple