the working classes had never
dreamed of opposing the rulers there sprang up a new hope.

[Illustration: The Emperor Napoleon in 1814]

Bonaparte at last made a fatal mistake. With an army of half a million
men, he invaded Russia, and established his headquarters in Moscow.
The Russian people, however, set fire themselves to their beautiful
city, and the French had to retreat a thousand miles through snow and
ice, while bands of Russian Cossacks swooped down on them from the
rear and took a hundred thousand prisoners. Encouraged by this
terrible blow dealt the French, the allied kings of Europe again
united in one last effort to drive the little Corsican from the throne
of France.

For two years Napoleon held them at bay, making up for his lack of
soldiers by his marvelous military skill, and by the enthusiasm which
he never failed to arouse in his troops. In 1814, however, surrounded
by the troops of Austria, Prussia, Russia, and England, he had to
confess himself beaten. Even Bernadotte, his former general, led the
Swedish troops against him. The allied kings brought back in triumph
to Paris the brother of the king who had been executed there
twenty-two years before, and set him on the throne of France. Napoleon
was banished to the little island of Elba to the west of Italy, and
the monarchs flattered themselves that their troubles were ended.

[Illustration: The Retreat from Moscow]

In the spring of the following year, however, Napoleon escaped from
his island prison and landed on the southern coast of France. The king
ordered his soldiers to capture their former emperor. But the magic of
his presence was too much for them, and the men who had been sent to
put him into chains shed tears of joy at the sight of him, and threw
themselves at his feet. One week later, the king of France had fled a
second time from his country, and the man chosen by the people was
once more at the head of the government.

All the kingdoms of Europe declared war against France, and four large
armies were headed toward her borders. Napoleon did not wait for them
to come. Gathering a big force, he marched rapidly north into the low
countries, where he met and defeated an army of Prussians. Another
army of English was advancing from Brussels. On the field of Waterloo,
the French were defeated in one of the great battles of the world's
history. The defeated Prussians had made a wide circuit and returned
to the field to the aid of their