The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-07-02
NAPOLEON PAINTED BY HIMSELF.

other man so successfully as by its owner; in
other words that a man, when he fairly sets
about it, can "write himself down" faster aud
more effectually than any other man can 40
the work for him-was never more signally
shown than in the recent publication OF ma
poleon's Correspondence" by order OF Louis
Napoleon. -,
/ The object of the latter parsonage was, OF
course the glorifcation, generally, OF mon
Oncle;" though he may have thought that
the ravs of the halo thus evoked would eX-
tend to and include the great captains sue
oessor in office. At any rate, the faith OF the
nephew in the impeccability of the uncle was
exemplary, touching, and supreme-as Is
efGectually made obvious by the fact not only
of his ordering the publication, but OF his
directing the members OF the Commission
who superintend the publishing, to make
no alteration, suppression, or modification OF
the texts"
The thirteen originally appointed Commits
Bioners pursued their task with great dill
genoe. In the space of six years-from 1895
to 1S64-they published no less than fifteen
large, closely printed octave volumes. They
performed their task, also, with great fidelity
indeed, with too much fidelity; for, in 1854,
the master Of ceremonies found it necessary to
supersede them by new Commission OF six
members of whom Prince Napoleon was the
chief who were instructed to publish only
what the Emperor himself would have made
publisher.
On the subject of this change of editorship,
the Edinburgh ReUielC, in a masterly and-as
far as it gOes-an exhaustive article, of which
we make free use as we write, remarks
If any surprise was felt by the public, 1t was
caused not by the measure itself, but by the
fact of its having been SO long delayed. Had the
situation of the French press been different, had
there existed in France any of those sure and
prompt means for testing public opinion which
tree countries afford, there can be lltJle douoG
that the knowledge of the impression produced
by the publication of this corresponds ace
would have quickly dispelled the delu-
glory of The founder OF the Bonaparte dynasty.
No pampheteer however hostile, could have
produced a work half so damaging to the
reputation of the imperial hero; no ltbeller,
however unscrupulous, would nave dared to
invent some OF the lettefs Whlch nave mus
been given to the world in the blindness of
political idolatry. But it was long before the
eHecJ on the publc OUTSIDE Jhe lmperlAllsJ
atmosphere could be appreciated, and ia the
meantime fifteen volumes had been published.
Ine WORK was expensive aud quite beyond tue
reach of popular readers; it long and
filled up in great measure with administra-
tive ana military matters which deferred iudo.
lent minds accustomed to the light food of small
chronicles and lively ca,tserteS Newspapers
gerous ground, and withheld their criticism; in
"a word, the correspondence. all things con-
sldered, was little read and SttE less spoken Of.
Now and then political writer, bolder than the
rest, would quote some startling passage to
show the evils of uncontrolled power and the
dangers of excessive Capitalization, but with
out daring to add a com mentary. SO the work
proceeded rapidly and nOiselessiy. watched and
appreciated only by a select few. II was half
completed before its most Jealous promoters
had found out that their pious efforts had re.
suited ia the most complete and trrefragable
collection of accusing testimony that any one
man was ever made 10 furnish against himself.
Among the strange things connected with
NapOleOn's career, one of the most strange Is
the fact that, after legion of authors have
endeavored to set the world right a5 to the
IL
and, in their varied efforts, have represented
him in all the phases intermediate between
demon and deity; leaving the real question,
like the authorship of Junius, in such a con-
fused state that its solution seemed to be
hopeless; the hero of all these Olives" should
himself have dispelled the fog of uncertainty,
and, with his own hand, have rendered q
decision of the disputed point in such indis-
putable terms that dissent, on the part of any
intelligent man who will read what is written,
is simply impossible.
Hitherto, any man, according to his preju-
dices or his convictions, might adopt or reject
any of Napoleon's characters" as found in
the pages of the Emperor's selt-cOnsttuted
biographers, on the ground that ''that is the
English view of the case," or ''the Prus-
siap," or ''the French" and so on. As if
any one was necessarily less or more correct
than any other because its origin was known.
AS if an anonymous Life Of Napoleon might
De more Cr6ulOI6 because ltS origin was un-
known. But now we have a record which is
no mans "view;" which is neither history
nor biography as produced by third person,
but is pOsthumOus confession of the hero
himself. 1t is a photograph taken from the
living subject; and, whether flatterng or
damning, it is mathematically accurate in
every line and feature. The most abject and
devoted of Napoleon's worshippsrs must
admit that this picture is correct, or that the
god of their idolatry misrepresents himself:
for it is his own handiwork.
The period of time included in the fifteen
volumes of the first Commission is about six
teen years-from the latter part of October,
1898, to the end of August, 1909; that is, from
Napoleon's twenty fourth to his fortieth year.
AS one may say, from his majority to his ma
turity-frOm the commencement of his public
life to the highest flight of his imperial power.
The contents OF these fifteen volumes of
correspondence" are not, however, merely
letters. ProclamatiOns, messages TO the
Directory on public affairs, civil as well as
military; bulletins; a variety of official dOcu-
ments not necessarily written by Napoleon,
though bearing his signature and issued by
his authority; these, and mass of miscella-
MES OF less Importance, help to fill the books;
but OF letters there are enough. Enough Of
such as Napoleon "would not have made
public, had he lived long enough to be his
own publisher" to substantiate what his ad-
Versaries have alleged against him. and
also enough on matters purely military to
Justify the intensified praise of even Theirs
himself. This latter result was, indeed, hardly
needed. The world has long been divided
thP n - oh a. hrTf