The true northerner., 1896-01-10

NAPOLEON AT TWENTY-FIVE.
the monumental traces remained when
Napoleon, in his tenth year, arrived at the
gates He was put under charge of the
Able Chardon, nephew of the General
Marbpuf. The latter devoted himself to
the interests of the Buonaparte family,
and paid part of the expenses.
The plan of Carlo Buonaparte and his
friend the general was to give to both the
boys a military education. 1t was deemed
expedient that they should first learn
French in the school of the Able, at Au-
tun. To this work they were put, on their
arrival and in about three months they
were reckoned sufficiently advanced to be-
gin regular course of instruction in some
military establishment.
Meanwhile the father and Marbnuf had
gone to Versailles and were assiduous in
their efforts to get the boys established as
pensioners. The solicitation was that the
young fellows should he educated at the
expense of the state. Marbouf invented
fiction, flecked with fact, about the no.
bility of his wards; and the petition was
granted finally as 70 Napoleon But Jo-
seph had now passed the limit of his elev-
enth year, and was no longer eligible
unless by violation of law He must there
fore he diverted to the priesthood, while
the younger brother was assigned, at the
public charge, to the military academy at
Brienne la -Chapelle, on the right bank Of
the Aubo, in the department of the same
name, hundred and eighteen miles from
Paris Thither he was transferred in the
latter part of April, 1879, and was admit
ted as a cadet
At Autun, the chief business had been
TO teach him French. He applied himself
closely TO this task, but not very success
fully He learned to speak French, bro
kenly, with an italian accent. To the end
of his life he never acquired nice knowl-
edge of the adopted tongue His gram
mar was broken, his composition thun-
dorstruck, and his spelling heretical. His
practical knowledge of the language which
he was destined To use for forty two years
in his intercourse with men was sufficient;
but his mind was never tolerant of techni-
calities These he slurred over with i'm
pctuous impatience as though they were
insignificant details fit for children.
This trait of neglecting the exactitudes
was strongly manifested from Napoleon $
childhood. He went as far as the practi i
in whatever subject he touched; but hi ~
ing seized thus much, he cared for moth
ing else. He desired correctness in others,
for that was useful to him; but as for
himself, he wanted only aggregate results
and "a knowledge of their practical advan-
tage. All authors have commented on the
inaccuracies and lapses in the Napoleonic
correspondence and manuscripts 1t be-
came his habit TO slur over, in his RAPID
way, the errors in his writing; and his
arrogance seemed to convince him that,
while correc spelling was an accomplish
ment in pedagogues, it was rather fault
in great men.
His teacher, the Able, has left sketch
of the lad, as he was at Autun entirely
consistent with what we know of his an
tecedent and subsequent character. The
young Bonaparte is described by his mas
ter as being or solemn demeanor; rarely
laughing; never happy or mirthful; nc
disposition for playing; proud and solitary;
easily wounded; always resentful; learning
with lightning like rapidity but stopping
short of correctness; vain of his faculties;
patriotism almost morbid; disliking the
powerful foreign race with which his LOT
had been cast; looking back regretfully to
Corsica, and (most unboylike) thinking
more of his country than he did Of his
Already, before leaving Autun, the pale
little Bonaparte fell into frequent quarrels
with his French schoolmates about The
Corsican revolutionl They insulted him
with the charge that his countrymen had
been cowards-else they would have won
their Independence. To this he answered
angrily that If the French had outnum.
bered his people only four to one, the in.
vaders would have been defeated. Mill.
tary calculation already In his childhood
he had made Paoli a god; and it is record
eel of him that he said in one Of his play
ground disputes: "Paoli was great gen.
eral, and / should much like TO emulate
him!"
The military academy at Brienne was
one of ten of like kind recently established
in the Kingdom. Besides these, there were
two higher schools, one at Paris and the
other at La Fleche. This system had su.
perseded another which had failed on &C.
count Of its unpopularity. The military
education and the right thereto was a
plum for the mobiles. Boys Of the Third
Estate had therein no part or lot. In the
schools were gathered the weakened repro
ductions of moribund nobility. The
governors Of the schools were even as the
cadets The institutions degenerated, un-