Amongst the many topics they spoke
of was the restoration of public worship in France by Napoleon. In his
reply to the German writer as to why religion was not more
philosophical and in harmony with the spirit of the times, Napoleon
replied, "My dear Wieland, religion is not meant for philosophers!
They have no faith either in me or my priests. As to those who do
believe, it would be difficult to give them, or leave them too much of
the marvellous. If I had to frame a religion for philosophers, it
would be just the reverse of that of the credulous part of mankind."
Wieland's testimony of Napoleon is quite as appreciative as that of
Mueller, and coming from him to the great conqueror of his native land
makes it an invaluable piece of impartial history which reverses the
loose and vindictive libels that were insidiously circulated by a gang
of paid scoundrels in order to prejudice public opinion against him.
Wieland, among other eulogies of him, says: "I have never beheld any
one more calm, more simple, more mild or less ostentatious in
appearance; nothing about him indicated the feeling of power in a
great monarch." He conversed with him for an hour and a half, "to the
great surprise of the whole assembly."

Here we have a brief but very high testimony from two men of literary
distinction, who had formed their impressions by personal contact. The
present writer's belief is that had members of the British Government
been guided by reason and sound judgment instead of blind, wicked
prejudice; had they accepted overtures made to them from time to time
by the head of the French nation during his rule, we should not have
been engaged during the last five years in a world-war watering the
earth with the blood of our race with reckless extravagance. The great
soldier-statesman foretold what would happen. What irony that we
should be in deadly conflict with the Power which, as an ally, helped
to destroy him and is now engaged in frantic efforts to destroy us!
Had Pitt and those who acted with him been endowed with human wisdom,
he would not have written the following lines, but would have held out
the olive-branch of peace and goodwill to men on earth:--

I see (says Pitt in a scrap of MS. found amongst his papers)
various and opposite qualities--all the great and all the little
passions unfavourable to public tranquillity united in the
breast of one man, and of that man, unhappily, whose personal
caprice