New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-04-10

This is your doing ] said TO General Mont
richard Had your troops taken part IN the
action. this mschance would not have oeia,irn
NE and not an enemy could have escapeh haH
my combinations been carried out His excuse was
that on reaching Fort Urbino the regiment at the
head of his column had no cartridges that the
train of artillery at the end of both divisions
still at Bologna, and that they haa waited LOT IL
to come mp. -.. ........i..
without cartridges? Why Old YOU not discover
il sooner? Were they all without them"
! No: only the leading company
why did you not throw aside and let the
| others take the lead? A little more, and we
should have been driven back. | adde!: And
it would have been your fault entirely. as you
! could and SHOULD have made an important diver
lie dropped his eyes and male no reply.
| should have done we'll to withdraw his command
| from him then and there.
| Soon after this Macdonald was sent on a futile
mission to Denmark, and subsequcntly-he thinks
owing to 1alleyrand's intrigueS-he fell into dis
favor with the Emperor, and received no COM
mands 1t was not until 1909 that lie was
ordered again TO Italy, where lie fought through
the campaign which eliminated az Wagram, and
brought him his baton General Vandammc, who
resented not being made Marshal this oc
oasion was very violent in his invectivc saying
| TO Macdonald of Napoleon before a crowd of
general officers " He is n coward, n fOrgcr,
liar; and had it not been for me. Vandamme, he
would still be Keeping pigs in Corsica" But
worse was TO come. After Lcipsc, the Emperor
did appear to lose his head completely. Augereau.
who never minced matters. said to Macdonald
That idiot does not know what he is about.
Have you not already noticed that? Have you
| not observed that he has completely lost his head
i'll these recent events, and in the catastrophe by
which they have been followed?
The coward! He abandoned and wos pre-
pared to sacrifice us all; but do you imagine that
| am fool enough to let myself he killed made
prisoner for the sake Of Lcipsc suburb? You
should have done as did, and have gone away"
The proofs of Napolcon's decentralization given in
these rccolections ale numerous. For instance.
there bridge under repair, but no prccau-
lions had been taken to cover it. 1t was
visible from the slope of a range of mountains. at
the summit of which the enemy could place
artillery and blow it to pieces. and that, of
course. happened"
All through this retreat the Emperor seemed
dazcd and without energy. The Marshal re-
pcatedly made the most energetic representations
to him. but he would do nothing Then on one
occasion: On reaching the Emperor, spoke
TO him very theoretically about the position of
affair What can l DO ~ he said carclessly.
1 give orders. and no one hceds them. ] wished
TO assemble all the wagons at one point under q
cavalry escort. Well, nobody came 70 do it,
4 can quite believe it | returned these men
have experience and instinct, and rightly pre-
sumo that the road by which you wish them to
communicate is closed to us. But consider that
our situation is no ordinary one You must
force passage. sire, and send, without an
instant's delay, all the troops at your disposal
Why have not the Guards come up We
shall be utterly done for if they don't
come Immediately 1 can't help it, he answered
colby. Formerly at a sign. gesture, a word all
had trembled around him. or ne would have known
the reason Why II seems also that the de-
moralization affected his physical courage an
other statement Of the Marshas indicates. II
had become necessary to observe the enemy's posi-
ton. Napoleon asked Macdonald if this coull he
done without danger. Not without danger
we must risk it: | have already done
it once Very good come along And
away we went. Just as we were starting n
shell burst close to him without hurting any one
Straightway he stopped, dismounte1 from his
horse, and from that moment till the evening il
was impossible TO get him ont Of the wood"
Other evidences of perturbation, some almost
ludicrous, are furnished by the Marshal. who how
ever, is very discreet and delicate in his comments
But the tide had now turned and was running
strong ebb Napoleon could no longer make
head against the Allies. They crossed the Rhine
They advanced into France The Emperor who
completely after Leipsic could make no com
binations which were capable Of checking or
turning back the invasion. The Marshal Loyalty |
followed his distracted chief, doing all that was
possible TO carry out his orders. But the end lad
come The army and the generals too, were
weary Of war. Paris fell and the Allies entered
Macdonald was chosen by Napoleon one Of the
commissioners from the army 10 negotiate with
the Allies. Then followed the detection Of Mar
mont and his corps. Macdonald warmly defends
his old friend, whom he thinks guilty Of no more
than imprudcncc Speaking of the story that
Napoleon took poison at Fontaincbleau at this
time the Marshal though on what authority he
does not state airms that he had only taken an
excessively strong Opiatc" and that Icing reused
shortly after, he drowsy and confused Other |
witnesses, who had much better opportunities Of
knowing the truth, have testified that Napoleon
really did take drug with the intention Of kill |
ing himself.
Macdonald, after the abdicatOn and departure |
of Napoleon for EIba. gave in his adhesion 10 the
Bourbons, and when the Hundred DAYS arrived |
he set an excellent example of loyalty Almost
alone among the Marshals Of the Emperor he re-
manned with the King and Prince, and escorted |
the former TO Lille declining 10 cross the frontier
himself lest he should incur the odium Of being |
an emigrc. After the Hundred DAYS and the |
second Restoration the Marshal received many |
proofs of gratitude from the Bourbons. but they |
soon showed how incapable they of marching |
with the age, and the disasters which the shrewd |
Marshal had anticipated came TO pass We part |
company with him at his country seat Of Cour- |
cellcs writing his souvenirs for his children a |
dgnifed, honorable. straightforward old soldier, |
who can honestly say that he has never done any
thing 10 be ashamed OF in his life
The translation is not above par, but the il |
Illustrations very good IT, in the place Of lists |
of battles which scarcely anybody will desire TO |
read, the editor had furnished an index 10 these |
volumes he would have deserved "a need Of praise |
which must, in the absence of such a desideratum
be withheld.