The States and Union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1868-1872, 1870-09-21
IFrom the New York Times-
Fall of the First Napoleon.

The accidents that attended the final
descent from the French throne of Ma.
poieon / are endowed with fresh in
terest at the moment of the downfall
of his nephew. It is fair to remem-
Der, in estimating the comparative diff
culties by which the two men were
surrounded, that Napoleon III ascend
ed the throne at about the same age at
whIch Napoleon / was finally over
thrown, and that the reign of the for,
mer as Emperor was about double in
years as that of the latter. Napoleon
Ill welded the scepter about as long
as his predecessor, Louis Phillip
that is to say, a few months short OF
eighteen years. So far as credit is
due for maintaining control during a
long period, owe an exceptionally tur-
bulent and excitable people, Napoleon
III deserves q large share of 1t.
Unlike his uncle, who alb Heated,
he was dethroned in his absence by
the act of the people. Paris never
turned upon him while present; and
although his imputed saying that he
will return thitber, "nOt to give a reck-
oning, but to exact ore" may be the
utterancs of ~resentful despair. We
must not forget that from 1852 he
was only in Paris as q reigning sever
eign.
Napoleon thoroughly expected to
have won the battle of Waterloo. His
exulting exclamation on seeing the
English army On the morning of the
18th CT June, drawn up On the heights
opposite the eminence of La Belle Al
lance, "At last, then, L have these
English in my grasp" entirely repre-
sented his anticipations of triumph
OF his subsequent observations on the
subject, those made to O'Neara at st.
Helena, are among the clearest and
most decisive:
al told him." said O'Meara, "that
Lord Wellington had determined new
er to quit the field of battle alive.
"He could not leave it" replied Ma
poleon che could not retreat He
would have been destroyed, with his
whole army. He said SO himself to
that cavalry officer who was wounded,
If Grouchy had come up at that time
instead of the Prussians, not a man
would have escaped"
O'Meara asked him if he had not
believed for a long time that the Prus-
slams who advanced on his right were
GrS uchy's division. He replied
sTo be surc l did; and can even
new scarcely account for the reason
why it was not Grouchy's division in
stead of them."e
O,Meara then asked him what he
----- -r-ll I.rr1 h4an thu ounnf
if neither Grouchy nor the RUSSIANS
had come up that day-if it would
not have been a drawn battle-wheth-
er both armies would not have kept
their ground? mo-" was his reply, |
1.-THE English army would have been
DESTROYED. 1t was defeated before
midday. j should have gained every
thing. / had gained every thing L
beat the Prussiens, but accident, or
more likely destiny, decided that
Lord Wellington should gain it, and
he did so. He was fortunate -acci-
dent and destiny favored him. I
could scarcely have believed he would
have given me battle, because, if he
had retreated, as he ought TO have
done, to Antwerp, / must have been
overwhelmed by-armies of three or
four hundred thousand men coming
against me whom / could not possibly
resist. Besides, if they intended
to give battle, it was the greatest cog
Aioneria in the world to separate the
Prussians and English armies; they
ought to have been united, and / can
not conceive the rcason of their sepa-
ration. 1t was also eoglioncria In him
to hazard a battle in, plac, where,
if defeated, all must have been lost,
for he could not retreat! He would
have been-altogether destroyed. He
suffered himself to be surprised by me.
lie ought to have had all thisarmy en-
camped from the beginning of June,
rs he must have known that / had III
tended to attack him /; he might have
lost everything by it; it was a g tatfa
on his part; but he has been fortunate,
and every thing he did will meet with
applause. My intentions were to de-
stFoy the English army. This / knew
would produce an immediate change
of Ministry. The indignation against
the Ministry for having caused the
loss of 40, 900 of the flower of the
English army, of the SONS of first fam
lilies and others who would have per-
ished there, would have excited such
e popular commotiun that they would
have been turned out The people
would have said: What is it to rs
who is on the throne of France, Louis
or Napoleon! x The English
would have made peace < x The
Saxens, Bayarians, Be'gians, Wur-
~tembergers and others would have
joined me. The Russians would have
made peace. 1 should have been
quietly seated on the throne"
The effect of the loss of Waterloo
ON Napoleon was almost maddening.
He raved alternate paroxysms of grief
and anger although he did not, as, ac-
cording to Caulincourt, he tried to do
after his abdication in 1914, attempt
to commit suicide by taking poison at
Fountaineleau. He returned after
Waterloo, as it is known, Immediately
to the Elysee. "He endeavored, says
Caulincourt, 'eto give vent to the emo.
lions of his heart, but his oppressed
respiration permitted him to articu-
late only broken sentences" sTbe
army" he said, 'thas performed prod
igies of valor in~conceiYable
efforts. = x What troops Ney
behaved like a mailman. x X He
caused my cavalry to be cut to pieces.
X = All has been sacrificed. X =
I am ill and exhausted. = 1