The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-03
Napoleon as a Colonel in 1892,
from a painting by PhilippOteau.

rate he once more sought a furlough
and left FOR Corsica the following Sep
TENDER. And henceforth. from the age
Of 20. we see Napoleon as a man OF
action.
l'p to this time the young corsiCan
had been a dreamer in large part. AS a
child of !, 6, :, he had listened to stories
Of Corsican valor. he had heard songs
Of heroes who had led the islanders in
lighting again and again those foreign
enemies who had sought To subdue
them. From the years OF his earliest
| understanding Of words he had brcath"d
an atmosphere throbhing with ideals of
I national liberty. Endowed from birth
with rich Imagination mentally far
ahead Of other children of his age We
can see him wandering alone through
fields or woods. repeating the stories
and songs he heard, picturng 10 himself
the Victories OF his countrymen, hoping
for the day to come when he could
| lead others in defence of the island
! kingdom.
II he had been child of sunny tenn
permanent and joyous. Napoleon would
not have cherished these dreams so
constantly. But instead of playing
with other boys he preferred 10 go
about alone; perhaps the other boys
would not permit him to join in their
games and sports. for he himself has
I left record that he was cruel, even
mean, 10 his brother Joseph: that he
| feared no one, and was a terror to
| everybody.
Napoleon, il will be remembered. had
three brothers and three sisters who
| lived to see his greatness. Why was
| it that only one Of the four brothers
| should be under The spell of temper
| which sometimes made him act as II
he were insane? Why should he, of all
the four, be absolutely fearless in the
| face of numbers of other lads? What
was it that gave him the most eNtraor-
binary energy of any man in history
that made him work and study and
reach out In every direction from tn,
time he was little child?
1t is usual to say that such things
are caused by ambition" Well, wha
is ambition ? How is IL bestowed
fostered, increased until it accomplishe'
mighty victories I'm war, craftsmanship
literature, science, music, painting. act
ing? Why should one lad have over
whclming ambition and achieve fam'
and fortune, while a million other boy
have no ambition, or almost none. an
lead humdrum, quiet existence?
We know no answer to this question
but we do know that ambition showe'
, itself in Napoleon, the young author
, and this phase Of his activity was con
tnued through life. There is littl
doubt that his reading as a lad abou
, Arabia, Turkey, Tartary and the In
, dies fired his imagination with desir
to conquer those lands and to contrc
, their vast riches Of silks. gold, ivory
Z lea and spices.
Early he saw that England's wealt
and power rested on her foreign pos
, sessions, and that was one reason VIII
he devoured every book he could la
, his hands on which treated of the Brit
a ish possessions oversee. lie continue
to read necessarily and to write pro
dgiously long after Napoleon the youn
y author, who had become Napoleon IN
! conqueror, and even at st. Helena
. ! when he was Napoleon Bonapart
i again. the Emperor dethroned, shor
Of his power, guarded like bea'
whose ferocity was 50 great that 1t wa
a dangerous to have him at large.
n II would be impossible to present
= brief form even sketch Of Napoleon
;. writings. so many they were and q
@ so many varied subjects All that ma
y he done at present Is To glance at
n few here and there, selected almost
4 random from the available total
y At the age Of 81 or ~ he wrote