that he seems either a monster of iniquity, or an object
of endless admiration. There are some characters which the eye of the
mind can survey at once, as the natural eye can take in the
proportions of a small but singular edifice; but Napoleon was a genius
and an actor of such wonderful greatness and majesty, both from his
natural talents and the great events which he controlled, that he
rises before us, when we contemplate him, like some vast pyramid or
some majestic cathedral, which the eye can survey only in details. Our
age is not sufficiently removed from the times in which he lived, we
are too near the object of vision, to pronounce upon the general
effect of his character, and only prejudiced or vain persons would
attempt to do so. He must remain for generations simply an object of
awe, of wonder, of dread, of admiration, of hatred, or of love.

Nor can we condense the events of his life any more than we can
analyze his character and motives. We do not yet know their relative
importance. In the progress of ages, some of them will stand out more
beautiful and more remarkable, and some will be entirely lost sight
of. Thousands of books will waste away as completely as if they were
burned, like the Alexandrian library; and a future age may know no
more of the details of Napoleon's battles than we now know of
Alexander's marches. But the main facts can never be lost; something
will remain, enough to "point a moral or adorn a tale." The object of
all historical knowledge is moral wisdom, and this we may learn from
narratives as brief as the stories of Joseph and Daniel, or the
accounts which Tacitus has left us of the lives of the Roman tyrants.

[Sidenote: Early Days of Napoleon.]

Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica, the 15th of August, 1769, of
respectable parents, and was early sent to a royal military school at
Brienne. He was not distinguished for any attainments, except in
mathematics; he was studious, reserved, and cold; he also exhibited an
inflexible will, the great distinguishing quality of his mind. At the
age of fourteen, in view of superior attainments, he was removed to
the military school at Paris, and, at the age of seventeen, received
his commission as second lieutenant in a regiment of artillery.

[Sidenote: Early Services to the Republic.]

When the Revolution broke out, Toulon, one of the arsenals of France,
took a more decided part in favor of the king and the constitution
than either Ma