eers--Tronchet and
Target--Liberation of the Austrian prisoners--Longchamps and sacred
music.

The destruction of men and the construction of monuments were two things
perfectly in unison in the mind of Bonaparte. It may be said that his
passion for monuments almost equalled his passion for war;

--[Take pleasure, if you can, in reading your returns. The good
condition of my armies is owing to my devoting to them one or two
hours in every day. When the monthly returns of my armies and of my
fleets, which form twenty thick volumes, are sent to me. I give up
every other occupation in order to read them in detail and to
observe the difference between one monthly return and another.
No young girl enjoys her novel so much as I do these returns!
(Napoleon to Joseph, 20th August 1806--Du Casse, tome iii.
p. 145).]--

but as in all things he disliked what was little and mean, so he liked
vast constructions and great battles. The sight of the colossal ruins of
the monuments of Egypt had not a little contributed to augment his
natural taste for great structures. It was not so much the monuments
themselves that he admired, but the historical recollections they
perpetuate the great names they consecrate, the important events they
attest. What should he have cared for the column which we beheld on our
arrival in Alexandria had it not been Pompey's pillar? It is for artists
to admire or censure its proportions and ornaments, for men of learning
to explain its inscriptions; but the name of Pompey renders it an object
of interest to all.

When endeavouring to sketch the character of Bonaparte, I ought to have
noticed his taste for monuments, for without this characteristic trait
something essential is wanting to the completion of the portrait. This
taste, or, as it may more properly be called, this passion for monuments,
exercised no small influence on his thoughts and projects of glory; yet
it did not deter him from directing attention to public improvements; of
a less ostentatious kind. He wished for great monuments to perpetuate
the recollection of his glory; but at the same time he knew how to
appreciate all that was truly useful. He could very rarely be reproached
for rejecting any plan without examination; and this examination was a
speedy affair, for his natural tact enabled him immediately to see things
in their proper light.

Though most of the monuments and embellishments of Paris are ex