Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-25

heard the guns of Waterloo. listened
10 the advice of his officers and hur.
ried 10 aid the emperor in crushing
Wellington. But speculation Is Idle
against storm facts. and the stern facts
are that Grouchy. negligently and stu
pidy. held his force of $4,000 men idle,
while IL was within his power to de-
eide the fate of Europe.
This was the man who that winter
night In 1915. In restaurant in tho
lower part of old New York was well
coined so bitterly by his fellow eNiles.
Stripped of his honors and his titles
by Louis XVIII. banished from France.
held accountable by most of the
Napolconic soldiers for the disaster
that ended the great emperor'S career.
ne sought haven In the New World
Sorrowful indeed. was the plight of
the soldier. He had to suffer be-
cause one of the greatest Judges ot
men the world ever has known was
utterly wrong in his Judgment of him.
Grouchy was magnificent In his own
branch of warfare, Forced to think
for himself and for others. he was
lost. The world is full of men like
him.
EXPLAINING. EVER EXPLAINING.
1t was not pleasant, perhaps, for
Grouchy in New York after that affair
OF the first night, so he went TO
Baltimore. He remained there u short
time and then he went to Philadelphia
Ills days were spent in writing and
many of the hours of the night he
employed In the same way. To his
son In France he wrote a multitude
of letters. charging him with seeing
this man and that one and urging
them to use their influence at court to
nave the writ OF prescription against
him withdrawn. Multitudes OF other
letters were written TO friends and
old comrades explaining his conduct
at Waterloo. To some he declared that
he acted absolutely in accordance with
the orders he received from the en-
peror. To others he set forth the
same explanation he gave at the din
ner the night OF his arrival in Ameri-
ca.
Every vessel that loft the United
States for France carried dozens OF
letters from him. Sometimes he would
go To New York or to Baltimore to
put the letters on board in person.
Sometimes he would travel from
Philadelphia to New York or Baltl-
moro and wait days and weeks for
the arrival Of a vessel from France.
Sometimes his hopes of being allow
ed to return to France would be rails
cd to high pitch. Then news would
arrive that would cast him into the
utItHS pl despair. lie uepenued a
great deal upon the influence of Mar
Shal Marmont. who was high in favor
with King Louis. Strange that Mar
mont and Grouchy, the two marshals
who were of noble birth, should havo
brought disaster to Napoleon Mar
mont surrendered Paris and Grouchy
caused the wreck at Waterloo. The
great emperor had better luck with his
marshals OF humble birth.
Whether Marmont had any sincere
desire TO help Grouchy is difficult to
learn. There is little evidence OF any
thing he did in his behalf. But IL
Grouchy had few friends in France
he had one earnest one in America,
and strange to say this one was
Napoleons brother Joseph. former
king of Spain. One of the few places
the marshal went to visit was the
home of Joseph Bonaparte at Borden
town. n. J.. and there the two men
spent many hours together Oc-
casionally. too. the former king
1ourneyed to Philadelphia to visit the
marshal and in one OF the letters the
marshal wrote to his son he tells OF
attending Gillie's concert at Washing
ton hall Philadelphia. early in May.
1917. in company with Joseph Bona