Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1870-10-25

was in France, but every jurist, states
man, diplomatist, and marshal he en-
ployed felt that he was their master,
all were more or less afraid of him.
Yet on these terms he had, in war,
not only such vigorous lieutenants as
Murat, Lannes, Ney, Victor, Mortier,
Macdonald, and Marmont, but thor
oughly accomplished generals, cap
able Of wisely exercising large inde
pendent commands, like Massena,
DavouSt, Soult, and Suchet,-men
compared with whom Bazaine and
MacMahon are but brilliant guerrilla
captains. During the first empire
the stimulants applied to the avarice,
the ambition, or the imagination of
men of capacity were so strong, that
Napoleon never failed of able subor-
dinates. When that honest friend of
the Bourbons, NJ. de Feletz, was
pressed by his friends to suspend his
opposition to the empire after such
royalists as NJ. de Bonald and NJ. de
Chateaubriand had given in, he could
only despairingly say: 81 have too
much honor to be bought; and am
not sufficiently a metaphysician or
a poet to be innocently seduced by
victory and glory" The third Nap
oleon, on the contrary, could never
bribe, intimidate, or cajole first class
men into his service, and, from first
to last, nearly all the unpurchasable
intelligence of the country he ruled
was in deadly opposition to him.
This is the more significant, as his
power lasted longer than that of any
government which France has had
since 1889.
In courage, physical, intellectual,
and moral, the first Napoleon proved
himself equal to all emergencies. The
third Napoleon, unexcelled for the
steadineSs with which be can mentally
face an intended adventure or crime,
has physical shrinking from palpa-
bic danger, and heSitates or trembles
in just those crises in which his uncle
showed himself specially intrepid.
As to lying, it would of course be
difficult to find the first Napoleon S
match, bat there was something
grGndjose even in his falsehoods, and
his worst nickname is "Jupiter-Sca-
pin" In the third Napoleon's ex.
perimentS on public credulity we
have enough Of the Scapin, but moth
ing Of the Jupiter. The despotic
temper, the Unsuitable greed for do
minion, the Indifference to the rights
of others, the colossal egotism, the
/ self-deiication, which characterized
the first Napoleon, are detestable
/ qualities, but they were still in him
the qualities of a gigantic personality.
Of a nature imperial as we'll as i'm.
perious, destitute, it is true, of con.
science, but abundantly gifted with
genius and will. The third Napoleon
is incapable even of great vices, and
when in power was able to ape them
only by the accident of his imperial
/ position. The first Napoleon was
so constituted that his very successes
entailed his rnrprses, for they so in
famed his pride and selr-will as tc
deprive him, as statesman, of ordin
airy prudence and good sense. The
third Napoleon, with his Dutch phlegn
and Illuminating understanding, hi;
cold heart and vulpine intelligence
prided himself on his superiority tt
his uncle in practical sagacity as {
politician. To let well enough alone
to move stealthily towards moderate
ends, to crib a few thousand squar;
miles of territory instead of attempt
ing to take possession of Europe, tt
be" glorious" without running an,
risks, to keep in view the maxims o
Poor Richard in schemes to extend ;
stolen empire,-these seemed to b,
the guiding rules Of the Fox of Nap
oleonism. 1t gives US a new conf
dence in the moral government of The
world to know that the Fox has fail
ed as completely as the Lion
-Ereyy .S0turd0u.