The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1895-08-03

pal governments. A fine road was built from
tho capital to Porto Longonc. The traveller in
Elba finds to-day the Napoleonic museum of
San MARITIME, and notes with kcenest interest
the relics relating to the brief asceudcncy of
the Emperor. His reign in the island extend
ed from the 4th of May, 1914, to the Goth o'
February in the following year; then the Man
of Destiny went suddenly away.
The temporary settlement made by the allies
in Paris was carried to Vienna, in October,
1914, to be there completed and confirmed bya
congress of the Powers. Prince Mcttcrnich
presided. Tho discussions were in the ancient
manner, orthodox and dull-moro platitule'
and precedents. The winter months were con
sumed in debates about technicalitics. The
real issue was how the Past might be set up
again in Europe and the Future prevented
This profound business, so medieval and in
ano, was still on at the end OF February, 1915,
when the startling news was borne to the Con
gress that Napoleon Bonaparte, quitting Elba,
had landed at Cannes.
The intelligence flashed north, south, east
and west. The cowardly and pallid Past en-
throncd in Paris smiled u CHASTITY smile. The
Court newspaper chroniclcd the landing at
Cannes thus: ''The information comes to us
that that miserable advcnturcr and brigand
Bonaparte has left the island Of Elba and again
polluted the soil of France with his bloody
feet Thu next notice Of news from the south
was given in the same organ thus: ''Our intel.
ligence is that the man Bonaparto has set out
from NdlltS W II OILS, anu tlllb certain lurDu-
lent adventures have joined him on the way
On the following day the same paper said: at
is now certain that General Bonaparte at the
head of a great and enthusiastic force is up.
preaching the city, on the Lyons road" On
the next morning the paragraph read thus:
His Majesty the Emperor Napoleon entered
the city last night, and slept ut the Tuilcrics!"
This journalistic transcript of events, alb
surd as it seems, was in striking conformity
to the facts. On the LIST of March the oman
Bonaparto" did land at Cannes. On tho way
out from Elba the ship Zephyr, on which he
sailed, had been accostcd by the Darquo In
constant, whose officer called out through his
speaking trumpet, saying, "How is General
Bonaparte?" Napoleon, being on deck and
hearing the call, himself took the trumpet of
the Zephyr and answered, 'The Emperor is
quite well, thank you'll" AT the landing, when
an enthusiastic peasant came up in salutation,
Napoleon said to Bertrand: Here is one re
cruit Already"
The spectacle that ensued has no parallel in
history. The old soldiers of the Republic and
the Empire rose as it from tho earth to greet
their commander. His progress en- route to
Paris became "a triumph. At Grcnoble the Off
GERS and soldiers of the King joined him. AT
Lyons the forces OF the Duke of Orleans went
over to the Emperor. Ncy, who had accepted
the Restoration and become II peer Of France,
had promised the King to put Napoleon in an
iron cage and bring him to Paris. With n di-
vision of tho army he met his old commander
at AuXerre, forgot all his hateful oaths of al
legiance to the Bourbons, and rushed into the
Emperor's arms.
For eighteen days the gathering tumult
swclled and broke into II tempest of enthu
siasm. On the 10Th of March, Napoleon enter
ed Paris, and the Restoration was blown like
a thistle-down out OF the city. Louis fed t,
Belgium, and his Royalist followers returned
to England. The Congress of Vienna rose sud
denly from the consideration of court etiquett,
and regalia to find that their cardboard hous,
in Paris was gone, and that the Imperial Re
ality was there again with the gray coat, ant
three-corncred hat, and marble face, just n
of old.
From the LIST of March to Waterloo was a pc
Rod of a hundred and ten days. History call
it the Hundred Days. The iron purpose of Ma
poleon, his tireless energy, and omniscien
perception, Were never seen in such prodigiou
eruption and glare as in this period of hi
fate. The allies had become desperate. TIL
whole world perceived that the Imperial re
publicanism of France, impersonatod III Bona
parte and springing in the wind of his sword
must now triumph to the borders of Europ
or perish miserably under the heels of bande'
kings. The two ideas which the parties of tn
past and the future represented were irrecon
cilable; they could no longer coeXist. EithC
must Napoleon and his dynasty be stampe
into the earth, or the old system of politica
society in Europe disappear forever.
The French people sprang to the call. In
~" WI wv I siNA "
scripts, We're thrown into the field. 1t was tn
last call to arms, and France was draine
from her mountains to the sea-draincd nc
only of men and horses, but of that mora
force and enthusiasm which constitute IN
soul of war. Napoleon declared that with
few additional weeks in April and May of Isl
he would have drawn around his Empire
rim of brass and fire that no human powc
could penetrate.
But he was obliged to take the field with il
complete preparation. Tho allied armies c
England and Prussia, under Wellington an
Butcher, came on, the one from Flanders, an
the other from the Rhine. 1t was the polio
OF Napoleon to prevent the union of his ent
mics. The 18th of June found him on the Be
gian frontier with l2i,0 men. On the mex
day he defeated Butcher at ligny. The attac
of Ney on the English at Quatre Bras was III
successful. The impetuous marshal, who wa
now the Emperor's right arm, fell back on tn
village of Waterloo. The place was about min
miles from Brussels. 1t was skirted by til
forest of Soigncs. There the allied commanC
ers had agreed to form a Junction Napoleo
ordered Marshal Grouchy with his division
81, 600 to follow up Butcher on his retreat fro,
Ligny to Waterloo. The plain purpose va
that if Butcher should join Wellington, the
Grouchy should unite his division with tn.
of Ney. The failure of Grouchy to do this
hang upon Blucher's rear-was IA fatal CT
cumstance of the final catastrophe.
On the night of June 18th the British al
French armies encamped only a short distan,
apart. A modern field piece could easily thro
q shell from La Belle Alliance over La Ha
Sainte to Mont st. Jean and far beyond in