The Washington herald., 1914-01-25
CHRRyzNS orr wE BeoNzE
HORSES ar NNICE

privileged persons. by the mere force of
ancient prestige, held In q stupid and
sometimes cruel subjusation more than
e.ooo.0 600 people on the Italian mainland
As the moldy oligarchy tumbled down
n reyoiutiouar3, pcpuince set I'D a re-
public under French protection The
Golden Book was burned. and the Doge
never more plighted his troth with the
Adriatic and cast his ring in the lagoon
as q symbol of the marriage of Venice
with her bride. the sea
The Fatal Mistake.
As Napoleon stirred the emotions Of
the Italians with hopes of national in
dependence. he fired his army of French
Republicans with the zeal Of liberators
and made them play and laugh with
DEATH" as he said. while they marched
and battled for freedom and right. II
is true he no longer shared his soldiers
simple faith in the republic. "Vive la
Republique'' was now to him hardly more
than a phrase to conjure with. hardly
more than an element in the strategy of
the hour.
He had been behind the scenes in
Paris and the illusions of his youth
were gone. The nightmare of the
Reign of Terror had replaced the beau
tiful dreams of his barrack days and
a generous faith in humanity had
withered into a bitter cynicism.
He had mistaken the plotting poll
ticians of the capital for mankind. the
fatal mistake of his career.
What an idea" he exclaimed, "a
republic of 100000 men, Give the
French people rattle and they are
satisfied" He held no higher opinions
of the Italians: Good God, There are
100000 people in Italy and with diff
ficulty I have found only two men,"
No Ambition for Money.
II, however. his republicanism was now
only pretence, he was still as true as
any man in the ranks to what he re-
garded as the great original purpose of
the revolution. He had no use for the
Bourbons. He was intensely loyal to the
new France. Other commanders of the
armies Of the republic had sold out. But
his sword was without price.
/ Naples and Venice, and Austria offered
him rich brides in cash and honors- The
Bourbons were always trying to buy
their way back to the throne. but the
man who had landed on the throne of
France three years before, with nothing
but the clothes on his back, scorned their
bait: 81 be content with some millions
and with some dukedom or other!" Their
baffied emissary could only report that
"this man means to subjugate France.
and through France. Europe"
The Duke of Modena sent a gift of
four Golfers of gold, containing 100000
francs. Thank you." Napoleon replied.
for such a sum I am not going to put
myself in the power of the Duke of
Modena.''
Money never is the tempter of the
magnes and the Napoleons. II cannot buy
what they want. Great ambitions can
have no alloy Of avarice. The eagle
cannot soar with bags of gold tied to
its feet.
In time when war was an open sea-
son for plumber, Napoleon appears to
have kept his hands clean, although his
generals were freely invited by him to
stun their pockets with ill-gotten gains
and many of them waxed rich in a sum-
mer. He did not object to their rapac-
ity because 1t diverted them from a
higher ambition and supplied an excel
lent foil for his own integrity. My
supremacy" he said, afterward. when
reviewing that first campaign. could be
retained only by proving myself q bet
ter man than any other in the ARMY"
The Rape of Italy.
While Napoleon rified the strong
boxes of the Italian princes and his
foremost savants Of France were joy
ing in the robbery Of the galleries.
and her naturalists ravaged the gar
dens and museums of the country.
The Romans never exulted more
proudly or loudly at the triumph of q
returning conqueror in his chariot with
his long procession of human spells
than the Parisians as they watched
the parade Of carts piled high with the