Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-03-30


 NAPOLEON AT THIRTY
 suit of recent agitationS; and tho insti- tuition was at this timc well fitted to lc the finishing ground for a young mili- tary aspirant. L'Ecolo Militairr de Paris nCld tho relation to that of Brivnnr and sho others of college to academy The curriculum was moro ample and the methods moro rational in the first than those pursued ill the provincial institu- tiOns. Hero tho academic training of Napoleon Bonapartc- as that of his younger brother Lucirn afterwards was completed. From this school he was to Do delivered, as if by n second birth, to tho world.
 The social character of Napoleon now began to show itself moro distinctly Back at Bricnno ho had been introduced by General MarbTuf to somo private families of distinction. Them ho inn pressed as n peculiar, fOrcoful and soli- tary genius, moro capable of heroic dreams and bOyiSh mOnOlOgue than of polite conversation or social amenities. Going to Paris. his acquaintance was somewhat enlarged MarbUuf' $ nephew, tho Bishop of Autun. now lived at Yer sailles: and that worthy was glad. after the lapse of fiv" years, tu receive his for mcr pupil, greatly grown in intellect and person. hut virtually tho samo in demeanor. Elise, tho siStVr of Bona partc, had meanwhile been brought out from Corsica, and Was now q member of tho Royal School for Girls at Saint Cyr. So that the young man had now n few friends and somo social advantages.
 For the rest, hc pursued in Paris tho same sclf-ccntercd life as at Bricnnc. He was a hard student-in his way. He still disprized the polite branches of edu cation ill favor of tho exact sciences and geography. In humane inquiry. his sole endeavor was to master History. His study, however. in this field did not reach historical generalization or q broad philosophy. He stopped with the individual. He dwelt with interest and enthusiasm upon the lives of great men. PlutarCh ho knew almost by heart. The wollknown stories which i'll that age passed for history he ConnCd with the passion of n zealot
 In after life, tho peculiar effect of this discipline was manifested ill all of Ma polcOn's work and policy. Out of his history proper ho hranched in only ono lireCtion-politics He became rather expert in tho political platitudcs and pcrsitlago of tho times. To tho end of his lifo he was never capable of high and abstract views; but he know all special things as if hy intuition. His mind flashed out, lightning like, ill this direction and ill that; the blaze of it il- luminrd many q dark and dblOud-splashed place; but from that prodiSiOns intellect thcrc was never diffusCd n broad and universal light. Much of this must bo attributed t0 his inbUrn character; and something tn the manner of his ctluca- tiOn.
 The year l1S5 was in all respects crit ical to BolNparte. His course at the Mil- tary School ended with August of that year. He was admitted to his final ex- animation almost precisely at his six tocnth birthday. Nearly six months be- fore this time his father, who had found a temporary residence at Montpelier, came to the final scene. The visionary and unsuccessful Buonaparte had dis covered a refuge for himself at tho chateau of Madame Pcrmon. mother of the Duchess d Abrantts uf great fame. There, on the 24th of February. he ex- pired, of chronic malady, perhaps can cer of the stomach-mOstf fatal premoni- tion of what should happen to his famous son thirty-siX years afterwards.
 Hard was this stroke of death on the members of Buonararte's family. From eI oe I, = molino-a period of twenty years-thir teen children had been born. Eight of these wero living: three were in France, and five with the mother in Ajaccio. All wero at the door of ponury. It is law of nature and of man that every mother who bears thirt, cn children is a heroine; but Madame dc Duoualurto had now to go into tho fields and plant mulberry trees for livinSl MarbGuf finally pre- vailed with the authorities to make Jo- seph Bonaparte also (we will now drop the Italian form Buonapartel a military pensioner. But the fathers death and NapoleOn's protest cnuntervailed the project, and Joseph was doomed to re- main a cadet of the Church. For Julien, who developed a passion for polite stud ies and wished to be n priest, a scholar ship was obtained for the school at Bri- enne. Such is tho perversity of fate. As to Napoleon, it was agreed that instead of going into the navy, as Keralio had recommended and as MarbGuf had wish ed, he should become instead lieuten- ant in the artillery. After his gradua- tion, he should be assigned to the Regi- ment La Fere, stationed at Ealence, on tho left bank of the Rhone, three hun- dred miles away as the bird fiies-far to \ tho south.
 The final examination at L Ecole Mili- tairo was passed. Like many other in cipient military heroes-our own in- cluded-N Napoleon did not obtain high rank in his classes. His papers gave him only tho forty ty-second placo from the head. Louis Antoine Bourienne, his flu ture private secretary, had been far | Nove him at Brienne. Des Mazis, bis