Evening star., 1934-09-02
VIEWS AND REVIEWS.
THE HUNDRED DAYS. BY Philip
Guedalla. New York: G. p. Put
mans Sons.

The dUNDhED LA 10. 6y FHllp
Guedalla. New York: G. p. Put
mans Sons.
BRIEF three-month period-a
~ little over-in the life of a
II man who has been the subject
4 \ of hundreds Of biographies is
taken by Mr. Guedalla as the
theme for this effectively written mar
rative. 1t is a fine addition to his
longer works on the Napoleonic epoch.
wellington" and "The Second EN-
pire." The hundred days were Ma
poleon's last fling before permanent
exile, oblivion, death. His escape from
Elba, too accessible and insufhciently
guarded q place Of Punishment; his
arrival on the shores Of France be-
tween Antilles and Cannes and his
triumphant march to Paris meant to
all Europe that the game was on again
Somewhere behind them IN the mist
q frantic English colonel had got back
to Elba and found an empty house" !"
Napoleon was not yet ready to accept
defeat. He believed France was still
his. "If half my men were captured" !"
he said, 81 should leave them there.
If all of them were captured, should
60 on alone" As far as Grenoble, his
journey had been a gallant masquerade
in which, a strolling player with a
doubtful company, he gave more or
less convincing. representation OF him
self. But after Grenoble it was royal
progress"
His enemies, the statesmen of the
cfilI of Wanna of
work on the reorganization of Europe.
He thought the Congress had ad-
journed. CONSERVATION interrupted
their schemes for control Of France.
Canny Metternich said that Napoleon
would make straight for Paris. We'll
lington, always skeptical of the the
atrical, could hardly take seriously the
affair which was to lead to the vic
torious climax Of his own career. At
Paris Napoleon met his first hint of
his loss of power and popularity. Some
of his old soldiers had transferred
their allegiance. His ministers were
doubtful about the whole enterprise
Fouche, whom he had elevated SO
high, was found to be in secret CORE
spondence with Vienna. But Louis
XVIII climbed into travelling car
riage and took to the road and Ma
poleon entered the Tuileries.
Then with rush the allies gathered
their forces in a final coalition AS
at other times in history, the attitude
of England was crucial Napoleon at
tempted to secure British acquiescence
in his restoration, but the Duke of
Wellington left for Brussels. Ma
poleon's problem was where to oppose
the allied armies, which now encircled
the French frontier from the Alps to
the North Sea. He chose an offensive
into Belgium. Mr.. Guedalla lucidly
explains the tactics of the campaign
from both the Napoleonic and the
allied sides. Napoleon's march toward
Brussels was swift and courageous,
but there were evidences, observed by
those close to him, that he had pre-
monition of failure. The last third of
the small book is taken up with de-
scription of the battle of Waterloo
and the events Immediately preceding
and following it. Thackeray in 'Van-
ity Fair" and Victor Hugo in lies
Miserables" have given dramatic pic
lures of that battle, but hardly more
dramatic, though they had the license
of fiction, than Mr.. Guedalla's picture.
After the battle came the final drop
of the curtain, at St. Helena.
FULL FAVOUR. BY Doris Leslie.
New York: The Macmillan Co.
MO HASTY, slack workmanship, no
slap-dash plot and sensational
characters cause this novel, as so
many others, to be Immediately classed
as very ephemeral. 1t is one of those
satisfying, slowly developed novels,
covering long period of time, with
characters growing to be old acquain-
tances or friends, such as lovers of
good fiction delight to have come into
their hands. Doris Leslie'S fair for
atmosphere becomes apparent during
the first few pages and she has created