thing it was, too. In a speech that he made before the whole army at
Boulogne he said: "In France everybody is brave; so the civilian who
does a noble deed shall be the brother of the soldier, and they shall
stand together under the flag of honor." Then we who had been down in
Egypt came home and found everything changed. When Napoleon left us he
was only a general; but in no time at all he had become Emperor. France
had given herself to him as a pretty girl gives herself to a lancer.

Well, when everything had been settled to everybody's satisfaction,
there was a religious ceremony such as had never before been seen under
the canopy of heaven. The Pope and all his cardinals, in their robes of
scarlet and gold, came across the Alps to anoint him with holy oil, and
he was crowned Emperor, in the presence of the army and the people, with
great applause and clapping of hands.

But there is one thing that it would not be fair not to tell you; and
that is about the RED MAN. While Napoleon was still in Egypt, in a
desert not far from Syria, the Red Man appeared to him on the mountain
of Moses (Sinai), and said to him, "It's all right!" Then again, at
Marengo, on the evening of the victory, the same Red Man appeared to him
a second time, and said: "You shall see the world at your feet: you
shall be Emperor of France; King of Italy; master of Holland; sovereign
of Spain, Portugal, and the Illyrian provinces; protector of Germany;
savior of Poland; first eagle of the Legion of Honor--everything!"

This Red Man, you see, was his own idea; and was a sort of messenger
whom he used, many people said, as a means of communication with his
star. I've never believed that, myself, but that there was a Red Man is
a real fact. Napoleon himself spoke of him, and said that he lived up
under the roof in the palace of the Tuileries, and that he often used to
make his appearance in times of trouble. On the evening of his
coronation Napoleon saw him for the third time, and they consulted
together about a lot of things.

After that the Emperor went to Milan, where he was crowned King of
Italy; and then began a regular triumph for us soldiers. Every man who
knew how to read and write became an officer; it rained dukedoms;
pensions were distributed with both hands; there were fortunes for the
general staff which didn't cost France a penny; and even common soldiers
received annuities with their crosses of the Legion of Honor--I get
mine to this