The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-23
A RARE INDIANA BOOK.

An article in another part of this issue
of the Journal describes an interesting
literary discovery recently made by State
Librarian Henry, viz, a copy of Life
Of Bonaparte," published at Salem, Ind,
in 1918. AS stated in the article the book
was doubtless the first literary work pub
lished in the State, and in all probability
it was the first life of Napoleon published
in the United States. 1t was published
three years after Napoleon was sent to the
island of st. Helena, in 1915, and three
years before his death in 1921. The con-
tents Of the book are as remarkable as
it's excellent mechanical features, and the
mystery of it's authorship lends additional
interest. 1t is not easy to write contem-
poraneous history calmly or with an APP
proach to impartiality, yet this author,
whoever he was, writing while Napoleon
was still alive and while Europe had
scarcely ceased to tremble from the march
of his armies, traces the course of his
civil and military career as coolly and with
as much apparent care for fidelity of de-
tail as could a writer of the present day
The book is written not only in good mar
rative style but in excellent English, and
besides thorough knowledge of Napoleon S
different campaigns shows intimate ac-
quaintance with the political combinations
in Europe at that period If it were not
written in so good English one might sus-
pect the author was a French refugee who
left the country after Napoleons down.
fal. But why should French refugee be
in Salem, Ind, in 1918? Besides a chance
expression or two in the text indicates that
the author was a loyal and patriotic Amer
lean citizen. If not a Frenchman he
was certainly an admirer of Napoleon. In
his introduction ne says:
AS a soldier Napoleon Bonaparte stands
pre-eminent. He is not only the greatest
captain of the present, but of any former
age. Did he possess no other title to the
appellation of a great commander than
the first Italian campaign, he would be
equal to any general of the present day.
TO compare Wellington with Napoleon
would be to reduce the powerful genius
which could conceive and invent to a
level with the humble faculty of initial
ing or adopting the plans OF others. In
the battles of Ligny or Waterloo the praise
of superior generalShip is due to Napoleon,
who attacked and beat the allies with in
feTior forces, and on the very ground
chosen by themselves. He was defeated
eventually, it is true; but such defeat
1t never was pretended that Hannibal, the
first captain of antiquity, inferior to
Scipio Africanus because he was defeated
at Zama.
This anticipates the verdict of posterity
that in respect of military genius, real
generalship and fertility of resources, Ma
poleon was far superior to Wellington.
That the author of this book was not a
blind admirer of Napoleon is shown by a
further extract from the introduction:
Towards the United States Napoleons
general policy was equivOcal frequently
unjust. His DEGREES of Bayonne, Ram
bouillett, etc, were unprinciped in the eX
IRENE, and nothing but the still more
atrocious injuries of Great Britain could
have deferred the American government
from an appeal to arms to redress their
wrongs.
The work contains some original docu-
ments not found in more modern lives of
Napoleon, showing that the writer had
access to every source of information
available at that period, some of which
seem to have been overlooked by later
writer's. The book is interesting for
many reasons and it's authorship will
doubtless remain an unsolved mystery.