New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-08-26

Empire, On1ce~
m the sS Jd s S's Me Ss n'
With Portraits and Autograph Letters VOL
III. PIP 5n y. Appleton & Co.
The bow Is overstretched" These are the
words which Meneval says that he heard Ma
poleon use over and over again. speaking to HIM
se,! in the silence Of his cabinet. They sum up
in a sentence the whole narrative comprised IN
the concluding volume Of these memoirs As here
depicted Napoleon. in the later years OF MS EN-
pire. was no longer the embodiment Of boundless
ambition While he was still capable OF tremen-
dous effort. while his intellect was as far reaching
as ever. he no longer had the elasticity OF an
earlier time The life which he had led no longer
contained any novelties for him. He often COM
nlalned that he was tired OF war Horseback rid
fnx weaned him. He reproached me-. remarks
Meneva.. 'ln Jest with having fine times. whist
he painfully dragged his plough-such was MS
expression; In one pord. he !elt that he was no
longer happy" From the outset OF the Russian
campaign ne could not but see what must be the
result Of all his efforts IT, like lucky games'er
he could have withdrawn in the hour OF victory
when Europe trembled at his name. and couid
have devoted himself to the task OF organizing
and consolidating the realm which he had won
his mind would have awakened to the new TASK
But he could not withdraw. The longer ne iought
the more numerous became the armies when ne
had to defeat and the generals OF these armies
inevitably became better and better fitted 10 OPP
nose him. In France the feeling grew that his
absolute power had already lasted too long, NO
one could have gagged the spread OF this thought
better than Napoleon himself. He knew Wen
enough that even as an absolute monarch he
could not reign for an indefinite length OF time
against the wishes Of the nation. He acknowl-
edged that there were faults In his system, and
he longed for peace that he might remedy them.
But he could not bring himself to concede new
liberties to France in the midst OF the struggle
against the armies Of the coalition He thought
the country not yet ready for the more hoerai
parliamentary institutions which he mad IN miho'
Meneval doubtless reflects the Emperor's own
opinions when ne says that 1.-The Introduction OF
these reforms into our institutions during such
troubled times would have been. as one may con-
ce.ve untimely 1t would have thrown the I'M
perial Government. constantly menaced by dan
gers abroad, into all kinds Of nextrcable emoar-
easements. under the weight OF which II would
have been doomed to succumb fatally and rap
idly"
The Russian campaign must be looked upon az
an effort to escape from dilemma either horn OF
which was fatal. Meneval puts In the form OF
question his belief that when a general peace had
from perturbations at home Napoleon. left free TO
destroy the barriers and restrictions imposed by
circumstances would himself have abdicated his
dictatorship restricted his rule TO Its natural
limits. and in this way have prepared for his son
a pacific reign protected by liberal institutions.
There seem TO have been others who thought TINS
possible John Adams Is said to have remarked
10 some distinguished French refugees Gentle
men, you did not understand the Emperor Ma
poleon." Even after the battle OF waterloo there
were men In Paris who saw how necessary Ma
poleon was to France. That famous pamphieteer'
the Able Sieyes. exclaimed Napoleon has at last
lost a battle. He stands In need OF u.s. he IS
coming Let us go TO his assistance 50 that ne
NAV drive the barbarians out. He alone can sue
coed in doing this with our help After that
II ne wants to become despot, once the danger
is past we will unite to hang him II that is con-
sidered Indispensable" 1t was then Impossible
however for Napoleon TO recover from the blow
which he had received but in 1872 there was sun
room to hope that a peace could be conquered and
that what Napoleon fondly called the CONT
mental System" could be maintained II the Rus-
SLAMS were driven back within their ancient
boundaries As he said many years afterward, 50
he must have felt at the time that the French
Empire which he had created with so many VIC
tories would be dsmembered At his death. and
the sceptre Of Europe might pass into the hands
OF the Car. unless he drove the Russians back
to the further side Of the Borysthenes ana re-
stablished the kingdom OF Poland, which. IN MS
opinion was the natural barrier OF western Eu-
rope He held that the war was not only neces-
sity from his personal point OF view. but that
a victory for France would have been an assur-
ance OF peace TO all Europe. He insisted that he
had never done more to deserve victory In any
campaign than in that OF Moscow. He confessed
to but one fault In diplomacy and war-that OF
leaving his TANKS. which soon became MS
rear. two Cabinets Of which he was not the mas
ter. and two allied armies which the slightest
reverse would transform into enemies. Meneval,
however, dwels at some length on the failure TO
enlist the enthusiastic support Of the Poles. He
defends Napoleon from the charge OF repelling
Polish sympathy by the coldness and the studied
ambiguity OF his assurances respecting the mon
archy which they hoped to restore His most
serious mistake in Poland was his choice OF an en-
yoy who. instead OF carrying out his wishes la
bored persistently to defeat them. The conduct OF
the Able de Pradt was such as to CONTRADICT
everything that Napoleon had said to the Poies.
II the Emperor misunderstood the character OF
the Poles ne was equally wrong In his estima'e
OF the Russians. He hoped for decisive oattle'
but the enemy kept just beyond his reach. Meme
val does not attribute this to generalship. lie
imagnes that It was due TO superstiiious Tear
of the great French commander. "One day. ne
eays. the Russian general eeemed full OF fire.
determined to retreat further without engag-
ing In a decisive encounter. The next DAY the
phantom Of Napoleons presence once more I'M
pressed itself on his mind. and all his resolutions
OF the day before vanished" 1t is curious TO OBJ
serve how closely the effects OF this alleged super
st,tion resembied those OF skilful warfare. Meme
val goes on 10 tell how Napoleon. on approaching
the city Of smolensk, hoped for conflict In
which victory would have no doubtful meaning.
fIe considered the place the key TO old Russia
Rus AfrafeHista did not agree