Napoleon: A Sketch of His Life, Character, Struggles, and Achievements

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Macmillan Company, 1902 - France - 719 pages
 

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Page 596 - Give them," said he in 1810, and in a far higher strain of eloquence, "a corrupt House of Lords; give them a venal House of Commons ; give them a tyrannical Prince ; give them a truckling Court, — and let me but have an unfettered press ; I will defy them to encroach a hair's-breadth upon the liberties of England...
Page 504 - They crowded round me to read in my face the impression of the nearly nine hours' conversation. I did not stop, and I do not think I satisfied their curiosity. Berthier accompanied me to my carriage. He seized a moment when no one was near to ask me whether I had been satisfied with the Emperor. "Yes...
Page 627 - He very seldom spoke, but when he did, smiled, in some sort, agreeably. He looked about him, not knitting but joining his eyebrows as if to see more minutely, and went through the whole tedious ceremony with an air of sedate impatience.
Page 502 - You are no soldier,' said he, 'and you do not know what goes on in the mind of a soldier. I was brought up in the field, and a man such us I am docs not concern himself much about the lives of a million of men.
Page 626 - His hair was of a dark dusky brown, scattered thinly over his temples ; the crown of his head was bald. One of the names of affection given him of late by his soldiers is 'notre petit tondu.
Page 684 - The grave at St. Helena was opened ; the perfectly preserved face, beautiful in death, uncovered amid sighs and tears ; and then the body, taken away to be entombed " upon the banks of the Seine in the midst of the people I have so much loved...
Page 703 - Watson has not only done a work that was worth the doing, but hr has done it, for the most part, exceedingly well. He has given us a highly interesting book upon one of the most fascinating themes of history. 'Jhe klo'y of France is the fruit of great research, and is a conscientious and thoroughly readable presentation of a great theme.
Page 389 - Another aide-de-camp is ordered to bring up the Guard. " Que le marechal avance vers la tour en defilant par sa gauche — et tout ce qui se trouve a sa droite est prisonnier." — Now the watch is consulted and the snuff is taken no more ; the battle is over ; the fortune of the day is decided ; the great Captain indulges in pleasantry ; nor doubts any more of the certainty and of the extent of his victory than if he had already seen its details in the bulletin. After all, the grand secret of both...
Page 18 - Lease, op. cit., p. 7. Thomas E. Watson wrote in 1902 a lengthy biography: Napoleon, a Sketch of His Life, Character, Struggles, and Achievements, in which Napoleon, "the moneyless lad from despised Corsica, who stormed the high places of the world, and by his own colossal strength of character, genius, and industry took them," is calmly described as "the great Democratic despot.
Page 132 - It is my design to lead you into the most fertile plains in the world. Rich provinces and great cities will be in your power : there you will find honour, glory, and wealth. Soldiers of Italy ! will you be wanting in courage or perseverance ? " This speech from a young general of six-and-twenty, already distinguished by well-earned success, was received with eager acclamations.

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