National Republican., 1873-01-30
THE FOREIGN PRESS on NAPOLEON

THE FOREIGN PRESS on NAPOLEON.
Since the death Of the ex-Emperor his sim
gular career, the brilliant successes and
ridiculous failures Ii developed, has been thor
oughly canvassed and searchingly criticized
by the press on this eide Of the Atlantic.
Whether that career, rs whole, was q sue
cess or a failure, whether 1t wrought good
or III to the people Of France, are questions
the answer a which can best be given by
those who will be aided In their judgments by
a knowledge which only the history Of the
present republic for the next twenty years
can furnish. The biographor, deslrous OF
presenting his character In favorable light,
will nnd much TO contend with. The time Of
his death was unfortunate, following us Il
did upon the downfall Of the empire that his
ability and the power Of the name he bore
had created. His forced exile from a land
devastated by war occasionod partly by his
vanity and that Of his people, short as 1t was
gave him no opportunity to set himself right
before the world. Indeed, he scarcely had
time to recover from the terrible shock which
his sudden downfall must have produced and
which probably hastened The close Of life
for years before one Of severe physical pain.
At best, his life and character will receive
u rather harsh judgment at the hands OF
Americans, 10 whose Government he was
never a friend, and to whose principles he
was ever an opponent. 1t Is strange that the
co rlsst and safest judgment OF his merits and
demerits-the best balanee-sheet OF his ac-
count with the world--comes from those who
are nearest the scenes Of his triumphs and
nj I. III II
more or less affected by them. The last Eu-
ropean mail, with It's usual budget of news,
brings to us the details Of his death, Its asso-
ciate incidents, and the comments Of the
London aud the Parislan press. Taken to-
gether the reviews published In the journals
Oi the two great political centres are, all
things considered, much more temperate than
those which appeared In the American papers
after his deccase. Certainly they are Us
critical, but less passionate, than our own.
Speaking Of Napoleon's character, tn.
Daily Press, Qlberal,) after an alusion to
the idea that the enterprise of the Imperial
Government was an application Of an un-
tested personal theory thought out In the
dark, says;
"The late Emperor was hardly what would be
called IN the Ordlrary sense q thoughtful man;
S21 mch ne % was Gneh given a. e G breeding over ideas
faculty, were usually evolved merely from his
own CONSEQUENCES. lie was always In his exile
thinking OF now ne should play the part Of En-
peror when the fated day should come. lie Gre
ated In his mind France Of his own, and paTt
for himself 70 enact In ruling and serving her.
He had no chance Of ever submitting his notions
to the test OF practical utility and Of light. He
cOnsOrted mostly with cOnspirators His pecu-
liar position cut him on from any intimate aSsO-
clatOn and genuine Interchange Of political ldeas
with the statesmen Of other countries and he
saw few Frenchmen but those who might he
called his colleagues In projected enterprise
The impression made upon his mind when, as
return from Elba, seemed to have given him his
one central idea as TO the art Of obtaining q
throne. The magic Of name and the effect OF q
suTprlse-these were the spells he worked with
He tried them Valnly at strasbouTg and Bou-
lOgne.
The Times (lndependcnD contains a
thoughtful article on Napoleon; It says
"An enormous name has passed out OF the
living world into history. II seems as II huge
mass OF the worlds annals had reCeded further
into the past, aud the future itself was descend
ing more swiftly upon US. We all Of us feel
older IN having survived the man who repre-
sented, not, lndeeI, the ardent youth, but the
busy middle age Of this wonderful century. As
one looks around TO consider the various inter
ests aeeum9lated % round mat one llte, and having
Is not TO he found there7 What hope, what fear
what sentiment, what cause, what race What
tradition, what anticipation, what part Of mate.
rial or mental prOgress-what that men can ap-
prehend or care about Il absent from the IDEAL
pOmp gathering round the dcad7 We cannot
look around without seeing the shadow OF
great memory everywhere, Even II In all things
we seem 10 detect lower leyel-sOmethng less
than the JOYe-bOrn-neither the prodigy OF
genius nor the paragon Of yirtue-a cause not
sacred and devotion not absOlute-interested
loyalty and OstentatOus splendOr-ln all things
a descent-it IL still open TO ask whether the
individual man made out Of all these secondary
materials does not even exceed the puTer
and nOber creations. Louis Napoleon
BOnalaTte has not, Ike his uncle,
risen from the small gentry OF remote island to
triumph In every battlefield Of the Old World,
and To execute vengeance upon dynasties and
ariBtOcraciCs, I'll beaten only by the elements
and eyer-groWlng numbers; he has not iulllled
an ancient dream Of conquest; he has not con-
summated long design On the liberties aud In
dependence Of seml-bAi baTUus nations; he has
moi delivered his country from hated thTal-
dTOm or welded race into on empire; he has not
spread talth Or established principle. The
struggling pretendeT, tue fayOrite Of fortune the
nnAl TeCOyerer OF bis Just Inheritance, the patrl-
Otlc bGqueAthlng 70 the world with his last breath
u legacy VI tfpih and h0nor--these are the theme