The Washington herald., 1914-01-25

he not have been a better man had he
been better loved?"
Napoleon at twenty-six or twenty-seven
not only found himself with q court, but
in the full exercise of nearly all the
powers of an absolute sovereign Under
his multitude of cares. he sent for Bour-
rienne. his old scfIooimate of Brienne and
companion of his poverty in Paris. Bour-
rienne, being a European, recognized that
since their last meeting his one-time
chum had been elevated far above him.
and therefore took care to enter his pres
ence as a humble courtier rather than as
a friend and equal
The new secretary found his desk
buried I'm neglected letters, but Napo-
leon told him to open only those that
came by special couriers and pitch all
the rest in a basket for three weeks. II
was discovered then that time had an
swered four-fifths Of them, and the m
ventor Of this labor-saving device laugh
ed heartily over its success.
Soldier and Statesman.
win high fame The sword was but a
single tool In the kit Of Alexander and
Caesar, Charlemagne. and Napoleon.
The combination is always and every
where irresistible. Happily the Ameri-
can Revolution found II in Washington.
and happily the American civil war did
not find 1t In any of Us generals
As soon as Napoleon arrived in Italy
he proceeded to act as soldier. diplomat.
and lawgiver. The directors at Paris
protested. but he replied with victories
IN war and craftsmanship. and dared
them to displace him.
He. found the nearly 3.0O0oo0 Italians
separated into a dozen nationalities, and
half of them under alien conquerors.
Patriotism was only a dream. and the
dreamers were in prison or exile. Napo-
leon aroused this long repressed passion,
and with a large and generous vision,
disregarding and defying his government,
he laid the corner stone OF united Italy.
In one short. crowded year Italy was
revolutionized and republicanized from
the summit of the Alps to the summit
Of the Apennines with only the kingdom
of Sardinia and the duchy OF Parma
standing as the spared monuments of the
old order Of things.
But everywhere Napoleon was the re-
public. He convoked the Italians in a
great assembly for the first time. He
brought the best minds and spirits Of
exiles to share in the upbuilding Of a
nation. the Cisalpine republic. But he
himself was the lawgiver. and constitu-
lions were drafted under his eyes
At the same time he stretched out his
arm to his fatherland, Corsica, and re-
established French rule there, the Eng
lish taking flight and carrying away with
them Paoh and Napoleon's nemesis, Poz-
70 di Borgo.
Rome and Venice.
In all his pulling down of thrones, there
was one that Napoleon shrank from lay
ing hands on, the venerable throne Of
Peter He invaded and dismembered the
papal states, but. although continually
urged by the directors to seize Rome. he
spared the eternal city, not even choos-
ing to step foot In IL.
He only postponed the fate Of Rome,
however, until a successor at the head OF
the army of Italy entered the city and
carried Off Pope Plus VI to die in cap
tivity at Valence.
No such compunction as the holy see
inspired in him restrained Napoleon In
dealing with Venice, which. notwith-
standing the virtuous outcry of many his
torians, was perhaps the least deserving
state in all Italy. The Venetian territory
lay between the French and the Austrian
frontier, and its rulers did not sufficiently
conceal their hostility to France.
At last, while Napoleon was away on
his campaign in Austria, bloody mas
sacre of the French. which did not spare
even the sick in the hospitals Of Verona,
took place on Venetian territory, and the
fate Of Venice was sealed. Il will be
an Attila to you," he stormed at the
Doge: ~the lion of st. Mark must bite
the dust"
Thus a despotism of thousand years
fell with as sudden a crash as we have
seen its campanile fall in our day. twas
full time. Venice had outlived her glory.
and In her dotage an oligarchy OF 1000
'DlSdifeFYanean. DodsinS Nelsoa fer y