The Cecil Whig., 1880-03-06
IT. Lords Fourth - e-tGTc.

IT. Lords Fourth Le-tlrc
~Aort., after - 2'c.o,,f, Or i.:.,ia. even
iag Last, Or. Lord began his lecture nrol
/ Napoleon Eoranlrtr The temperature OF
lie atmosphere, which was ~ mild anr
htIr.Iy rs that q. !he merry IAorth Of May.
bad induced the All. Ilance Of i l:iY-e ana
intelligent audience, which listened to th'
distinguished orator with rart attention.
DIR. Lord commenced b. saving that Nc
other man, except Julius Cesar, had payr'
Sucha conspicuous part ii! the history Of III.
world as Eal the great Napoleon: none hat
been more hated: none had been more eulo
giIel. Never was I nation more iutox-
"atc,i than was France at his victories. He
WAS rs great rs Cesar OF CEaremagn", ant
!rigncd with as much pomp as Louis NV.
His character and career are both Mysteries
and il will take perhaps another century 70
solve intricacirs o.: the former 10 full,
understand the latter. He wa. the imprr
>onafiGn of ambition aHh au6acity. Who
has not followed his career after the siege
of Tnulon' who has no5 watched his Vie
and Sympalliiz"d With his efforts tn make
his country rs great in tn" arts and in iitera-
tuTr rs il WAS in arms . His military genius
inspired his soldiers. lie cut ."rIlian knots.
He was never deceived by philosophers Tor
ptdantS. What were his claims to the ld-
l:i-atun uf the world" What shall he the
standard by which to .tldg, him? Was lie
really great man, OF was he i sc0urga i'll
the hand of OmnipotrIce" |; is the ma iesty
OF great r,,H$r that gives dignity 10 hist"r-
iral characters. The cause of our Rev clu-
tion WAS greater than Washington: the
Constitution WAS greater than Webster; S;,-
tan was great, but he fell. 10 the tribunal
Of human rights, let us summon the great
Napoleon, and Judged by this he was guilty
of great crimes, was guilty of shedding in
noccut blood, and Of divo!cng the woman
who was the author of his Suc"e,s-and the
only one he ever loved for more than Il
month At 4 time, that he might have an
heir. in whose veins flowed the blood of the
illlstrious Charlcmagne. True, lie gave lib
erty to the enslavcd people Of Fr.nce and
tried to establish modern civilization among
Inc effcte HlonarclieS OF the oriental coun-
tries. In the carly part Of his career, he
rendered great service 10 lis country, and
showed marvellous tact in repressing an
archy among the people: but he was not
then a uSurper, hut Il soldier. He was then
Il Republican, but would have joined the
,I;:cobin<. for he did not care how he climbed.
- !
the Parisian mob, for which the lecturer
applauled hin. France was ut that time
brave and impetuoll>, and ready to fight the
world for liberty.
The lecturer then traced the career Of Ma
poleon in Italy, and excused the invasion of
that country Oil the ground that, if France
had not invaded Italy, Italy would have
invaded France and closed brilliant pero-
ration by stating that, had Napoleon been
shot at the bridge OF Lodi, he would have
gone down TO future, ages with Il brilliant
record as Il soldier, for up to this time there
was nothing to blame in his military his
tory. The more You kill and get killed, the
greater is military glory, ard Ii" scrupled
not TO sacrifice human life He aspircd
from the first 10 reign some where, and
thought it better to rule i'll hell than serve
in heaven. He aimed to rise to supreme
power by some mastery stroke of genius.
Soon after the Italian campaign was over.
he began to show signs OF Il desire for mill
tarv power: but the time had not come, and
he could afford TO wait. The great can al
ways afford to do So The Directory, to get
rid Of linn, sent him 10. Egypt. The lee
turer, ut this point, controverted the theory /
Of Abbott, that he sought command in
Egypt in order to study republican institu-
tipnS, and said it was an Insult to human
reason. In Egypt, though he performed
prndigieS OF v;tIor, Il" reSorted 10 lying bull
letinS to spread his fame, and though he.
lost his fleet ne returned to France covered
with glory. After his return, he destroyed
the ariStocracy, under the plea of a military
necessity. He argued that the people Were
not tit to govern themselves, and so he gave
them strong government. Had he stopped
there, it would have been well. As first
consul, he was actuated hy desire for the
welfare of France. He sought peace, and
tried to develop the resources of his coun-
try. He established the Banl: of France
upon Il sound financial basis. He abolished
the old ftuda customs that had diSgraced
the liourbonS. While eXtrci>in. supreme
power, he ruled by means Of the laws, which
-
ian campaign gave dignity to his glory, and
France again hecame happy ut home and
respected abroad. He sought to plant colo ,
nieS, and turned his attention 10 literature:
and the popular ido!atry, which had been
called out by his victories, was augmented .
by his glory. Had somebody shot him then,
lie would haze gone down to history untar-
nishe:l, but he grew proud and arrogant,
like \ebuclla,lncZZar.
The lecturer then Sketchel with Il master
hand his early career as emperor, and his
etterts 10 found Il new dynasty, and con-
clHded by saying, that when Omnipotence
had no further Use for him, cgotiSm and
pride took possession of his mind, and III
his efforts To agsrandiZc himself ana his
family, he iilu the foundation OF his down .
fall. No man ever had such an opportunity
to benefit his country, and it is hard to inn /
asine what he might have accomplished.
Ii is hard to understand why he invaded
Prussia, or why his resources failed, or why
he was confused At Waterloo. Some will
say it was because GrouShy did not come to
his assistance: bat that word il, though 4
little one, cannot be explained, except by
the recognition of the existence of the first
great cause. The close of his career is a
sad commentary upon UnllliiUWed ambi- .
ton. When he sought to set the opinions .
of christen,lom AT defiance, the nations con-
fined him Oh Il barren rock. where the vul- .
turc of despair pr-yed upon his rifalS I
The effort to raise the means to detray the
expense incident to another lecture not be-
ing successful, the course closed with the .
one on Friday evening last
Voices from the Long Aro.