He remained at
the Duchess of Richmond's ball till about three o'clock on the morning
of the 16th of June, 1815, "showing himself very cheerful," although he
knew that a desperate battle was awaiting him. On the field of
Waterloo he gave his orders at the most critical moments without the
slightest excitement.

Napoleon, having made his arrangements for the terrible conflict of the
next day (Jena and Auerstadt), retired to his tent about midnight, and
calmly sat down to draw up a plan of study and discipline for Madame
Campan's female school. "Keep cool, and you command everybody," says
St. Just.

"He that would govern others first should be
The master of himself,"

says Massinger.

He who has mastered himself, who is his own Caesar, will be stronger
than his passion, superior to circumstances, higher than his calling,
greater than his speech. Self-control is the generalship which turns a
mob of raw recruits into a disciplined army. The rough man has become
the polished and dignified soldier, in other words, the man has got
control of himself, and knows how to use himself. The human race is
under constant drill. Our occupations, difficulties, obstacles,
disappointments, if used aright, are the great schoolmasters which help
us to possess ourselves. The man who is master of himself will not be
a slave to drudgery, but will keep in advance of his work. He will not
rob his family of that which is worth more than money or position; he
will not be the slave of his occupation, not at the mercy of
circumstances. His methods and system will enable him to accomplish
wonders, and yet give him leisure for self-culture. The man who
controls himself works to live rather than lives for work.

The man of great self-control, the man who thinks a great deal and says
little, who is self-centred, well balanced, carries a thousand times
more weight than the man of weak will, always wavering and undecided.

If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he
can have no patience, no power to govern himself, he can have no
self-reliance, for he will always be at the mercy of his strongest
passion. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone, pith, and nerve
of character are lacking also.

The discipline which is the main end in education is simply control
acquired over one's mental faculties; without this discipline no man is
a strong and accurate thinker. "Prove to me," says Mrs. Oliphant,
"that