NAPOLEON AND HIS GENERALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 244, 24 August 1864, Page 6

NAPOLEON AND HIS GENERALS.

SOME of the opinions cliclcd from Soult by Sir "William Napier in preparine for liis liistory arc very curious; those ielating to the I'r-poror, his brother, unci their generals, have peculiar interest. " GroucJiy," he said, " was not a traitor, lie was unequal to his situation—that is to say, ho could not command moio than a few thousand men. I calculated (said fcoult) the value of the French generals by the number of meit they wei e capable of commanding. 1 name nobody, but there were inen amongst them, men who were worth filtcen thousand, twenty thousand, iorty-livo thousand, or even, in case of necessity, sixty thousand. The art of commanding aimies becomes luoie difficult as tlxo numbers increase. It is very difieicnt to command eighty thousand and to command a hundred thousand. Pass a hundred thousand, and the human mind is scarcely equal to the task. Napoleon committed a great error in giving to many men to Grouchy. First—That the general was not equal to the command. Second—Ton thousand men would have been sufficient to impose on the Prussians. But tho Emperor seemed at times to be changed ; there were moments when his genins and activity seemed us powerful and fresh as ever; at other moments he seemed apathetic. For example he fought the battle of Waterloo without having himself examined the enemy's position. He trusted to General Haxo's report. In I'oimer days he would have examined and ie-examined it in person. Nov was tho evil genius of the campaign : .he neglected his orders at Quatre Bras, and again at Waterloo; ho attacked Wellington's position beyond La Hayc Sainto contraiy to oiders, and too scon. But he is dead ; he was unfortunate. Ido not like to speak oi his errors." lloche.—Soult knew him well. " I was with him (ho said) when he died. He w r as poisoned by the directory. I thought so at the time. I think so still." Napoleon.—" Marshal Was not Napoleon the greatest genius of all tho men France produced r" "Ah; bah! yes! there was no comparison." Was lie not a good and kind man also ?" Here Soult raised his Lend with gi eat eagerness, and exclaimed in an emphatic manner—"Napoleon n'a jamais peidupersonne, de son ] Topic mouvemcnt; jamais! jamais! It was necessary, when once you were known to him, to commit faults, nay, even ciimcs over and over again, twenty, lhii ty times, bcioro ho could bring himself to punish." Joseph.—"At the battle of Ocai a, Joseph was at iny side and so meek, so quiet, I could have put him in my pocket. After the battle was gained andihat ivc had supped, instead of conversing on the action and the war, he entered into a vehement allocution against the Emperor, and told me that he had written to him si letter which he would show me. It was menacing, urgent, insolent ; and his discourse went to .sounding me upon exciting the army to resist Napoleon. I rose from my chair and addressed him thus:—'tire—You speak' and ad in such a manner that jou give me the right to triat jou without reserve or ccicinony ; and tirst, it is fortunate for you tlmt 1 chose to speak to you (is a private person, and not as a Marshal of Frame. What ! you imagine that the rtint of such a victory as Ucana renders you so dear to the Fiencli soldiers that tin y will support your ra.-.li notions r Von ! von menace Napoleon Oil! Sire! joh shock me.' (Here toult put himself in the attitude, and used the same jestures lie did to Joseph, anil they were very striking; he covered his eyis with one oi his hands, and with the other scimed to repulse seme hoi rid image, and his color and looks were Aery animated.) 'Who arc 3011? what are you? who has made vou ? Your brother; and you menace him! Burn \our letter, She, and think again."

Marcefui—"Mnrccuu wns clever and good and of great pionii.-e ; but ]ic had little experience before lie Jell." Moreau—"No great tilings." Angcrean—Ditto. Junot—Ditto. Gouviou St. Cyr—"A clever man and a good ofliecr but deficient in enterprise and vigor." Maedonald—"Too regular, too methodical; an excellent man, but no great general." >cy—" Ko extent of capacity ; but lie was unfortunate ; lie is fiend." Yirlor—".An old woman, quite incapable." .1 iiui< lmi-—" Not capable ol' leading large armies." Ma^scra —"Excellent. in great danger: negligent and of no goodness out ol' danger; knew war well." Mannont —",Understands (he thtoryol' war perfectly. Jli.-lory will tell i.hat he ilid with his knowledge." tlhis vas accompanied with a sardonic smile.) Hcgnier—".An excellent ott'eer." (1 denied this, and gave iSinlt the history of his operations at- fc'abugal.) tuiilt ripliid that "he was considered to be a gnut ollicer in France ; but if what I had said could not be controverted as to l'act, he was not a great ollicer, his reputation was unmerited. (The facts were correctly stated, but Reghier was certainly disall'ected to Napoleon at the time ; his unskilful conduct might have been intentional.) Dcsaix—" Clever, indefatigable, always improving his mind, full ol information about his profession, a great soldier, a noble character ill all points of view, perhaps not amongst the greatest of generals by nature ; but likely to become so by studv and practice, when lie was killed." Klebtr—" Knew him perfectly; colossal in body, colossal in mind, lie was the god of war Mars in human shape. Ho knew moie than Hoehe, more than Dcsaix ; lie wns a greater general; but he was idle, indolent, lie would not work." Berther and Clarke-—"Old women—Catins. The Emperor knew them and their talents ; they were fit far tools, machines, good for writing down his orders and making arrangements according to rule ; he employed them lor nothing else. Uali! they were very poor. 1 could do their work as well or better than they could, but the Emperor was too wise to employ a man of my character at a desk ; lie knew 1 could control and tame wild men, anil he c.mployed me to do so." A petition has been presented to the French Senate praying that all existing newspapers may he sup-' pressed and replaced by a single journal, under the direction of an ollicer bearing the title of " Minister of the Press." The letters of the Emperor Napoleon I. during the latter years ol his life are said to be distigurcd by coarse personalities. It is this which has for a time led to the interruption of tho work, and it is now doubtful if -it will be resumed. Considerable progress has been made with the Monument iu course of ercetion near Stilling. Tho tower, which is to be 170 feet high, has leached a height of 110 lent. About £5,000 will be required to complete the work. The Danish cruisers appear to bo numerous an active in the Baltic, the Channel, and tho North Sea. '11 icy have succeeded in capturing a largo number of Prussian vessels, which have till been condemned by tho Danish Admiralty court as lawful prizes. A parliamentary return states that the total number of electors for cities and boroughs in England and Wales was 408,966 in 1802-3, and 487,001 in 1863-1. The total number of electors for counties was 534,055 in 1862-3, and 635,788 in 1803-4. A yoiuig wife in New York, Mrs. Michael Cooley, gently remonstrated with the partner of her joys and sorrows because he kept her waiting until nearly four o'clock on a recent Sunday morning, when he mildly interupted her with tho remark, " That's enough. Here, take the contents of thisthereupon discharging into the head of tho urifortunato woman tho contents of a revolver, and her complainings ceased for ever. A Bi.ack Bisiioi' of the Ciiuitcii of England. —The Kcv. Samuel Crowther, an African missionary, has been appointed, and is to be consecrated by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the course of a few weeks bishop of the native churches in pints of Western Africa beyond tho dominions of the British Crown. The cpiecopalc is to bo formed on their

.model of tho Jerusalem and : Central: Americas Bishoprics Act. The bishop nominate, -who is a "black .infiii, was once a slave boy, and being lescued by a> British cruiser became a missionary teacher in Sierra Leone. Novfi. Banks —Tho other day, a young couple, just returned frcin tho honeytnocn at Studley, near Trowbridge, decided upon having "the old aim chair"' replenished and re-stuffed. Ihe difficulty was hew to send this chair away, for grandma seldom vacated it. One day, whilo the old dame was out of thetyaj-, the chair was sent off to'tho upholsterer. On grandina'a return she immediately missed her chair, and eagerly inquired for it. " Oh,-I've sent it away to be cleaned," said dutiful Dorothy. "What!" shrieked the horrified old lady—" there was four hundred pounds in bank notes in the stating!" A messenger was immediately despatched to the upholsterer's for the chair, and it was returned, with tho treasure trove safely deposited in the seating. Soon after an old petticoat was foraged out and consigned to the rag bag, but tho old dame rescued it in time, and displayed to her astonished grand-daughter a large number of sovereigns sewed in the waistband. —Bristol I'ost. Faith in a Leg of Mutton-. —A governess, -who taught in a school that stood on the banks of a small river, once wished to communicate to her pupils an idea of faith. While she was trying to explain the | meaning of the word, a small covered boat hove in sight. Seizing upon the incident for an illustration, she exclaimed, "3f I were to tell you that there was i a leg of mttton in that boat, you would believe me, ! would you not, without even seeing it yourselves " Yes, ma'am," replied the scholars# " Well, that is faith," said the schoolmistress. The next day, in Older to test their recollection of the lesson, she inquired, " What is faith?" " A leg of mutton in a boat," was the answer, shouted from all parts of the school-room. Si'Y ami Spy.—The special correspondent at Chattanooga of the C/iinijo Jtumal writes:—"Women— not invariably any ' letter tlian they, should be/ — have always been employed to pcisuadc information out of unsuspecting but not unsuspected persons. A subordinate Federal cflicer, in a certain city within this department, had been long suspected of disloyalty, but no proof to warrant his arrest could be obtained, and so as a rh ritier resort a woman was set at him. She uniled her way into his confidence, and becanio his ' next best friend,' but finding that ears were of no use, for ho could not be induced to say one word of matters pertaining to his office, she changed her plan of attack, and turned a couple of curious and, I am told, beautiful eyes upon him. Not he would ride out of town in the eountiy, and bo absent three or four hours and return. For all tlio hours of the twenty-four but just these she could account. Within them, then, lay the mischief, if mischief there was, and she began to watch if he made any preparation for these excursions. None. He loaded his old-fashioned pistol, drew on his gloves, lighted a cigar, bade her a loving good-by—' only that and nothing more.' Was he deej), and she dull 'r All at once she grew curious in pistols. Would he show her some day how to charce' a pistol, how to be a dead shot ? and just at that minute she was thirsty, and would he bring her st lemonade ? She was toying with the weapon, ani he went. The instant the door closed behind him she drew tho charge, for she knew quite as much o{ pistols as he, and substituted another. She was not a minute too soon, for back he came, took the pistol, and lode away. No sooner hat he gone than she set about an examination of the charge, and it proved to be plans and details of Federal i'oiccs and movements snugly rolled together. Ihe officer returned, but his 'next best, friend' had vanished like an Arab, or a vision, and he had hardly time to turn about before he was under arrest." All old gentleman who used to frequent a certain coilce-liouse, being unwell, thought he might make so tree as to steal an opinion concerning h'scase; and one day look an opportunity of asking one of tl<o faculty, who tat in tho same box with him, what he should take for such a complaint. " I'll tell yon," said the doctor, saicastieaUy, "you should" tukc advice." liowland Hill, when at college, was remarkable for the vivacity of his mauneis and the humour of his observations. In a conversation on the powers of the letter 11, ill which it was contended that itiva» not a letter, but a simple aspiration, or breathing, Howlund look the opposite side of the question, and insisted 011 its being, to all and purposes, a letter; and concluded by observing that, if it was not, it wat a very serious aflair to him, as it would occasion his being ill all the days of his life. The lU'ssian Eastek CrsioM.—The following custom prevails among the Russians. From the feast of Easter until the day of our Lord's glorious a?eeiision, when they meet one another, 110 matter where, even in the public places and streets, 111 ev salute with the exclamation, " Christ is risen 1" When men and women are thus saluted, they immediately reply, "Be has risen indeed," take the egg which the person usually offers at the same time, and are bound to givethe kiss of pi ace and receive it. The tirst who taughJ us this custom was Major Menzies (jLhmzin*), sou of the late General Menzies. 'Ibis custom of saltilhig. and kissing admits of 110 distinction of rank or lot irj life, of 110 remcinbranie of quarrels. If the red egg he offered, 110 magnate will refuse the solicited kiss to the vilest, of the populace, 110 matron will excuse herself thiough modesty, 110 maiden out of laslifitllie.ss : it would be held a sin oither to reject the proffcncel egg or rejci t the kiss. Moreover, they celebrate with continual drunken orgies the festival of Easter, which is preceded by 11 long period of austere (a.-tiue. Nor are (lie women mote abstemious llian llie men. 1 liey are often the fiist to bt come raving mad with immoderate ill alights of brandy : and are to le seen pallid, half-naked, and shameless in idwo.-t all the streets.-—The Coin t oj' Czar J'tftr the Grtt'-f. ])>/ on >■( t rr ttn y of Ler/atiou. It is told of a well known American map agent out here, that, 011 a recent trip, he was attacked by highway robbers, who clem anded liis money. Heingnuirc prudent than to carry money in the country, tliey failed in making a haul. "But" said our Yankee, " 1 have some splendid maps of tho country along with me. which I should like to show vou ;" and io

a twinkling 'je was oil his horse, had a map stuck up on a pole, and explained it so cilectually that lie sold each of (lie banditti a map, pocketed the money.anrf resumed his journey Letter lor the encounter.— p<-'f 6 _T/i7guZi'HC. Two little girlf were recently drowned at Harpswell, Maine, 'lliey had been to gather shells to put on their mother's grave, and while returning across the stream the tide came in and svrept them under. hell found they were clasped in eaeli other's arms. Buck Swallow Tails. —A noxious and ridiculous custom has already attained the age of sixty years. Need 1 say I allude to the swallow-tailed coat and the evening dress suit ? Was ever such » a grim, ugly, undertaker's costume ever devised? But no ! it was not devised by any one ; it grew by degrees into a custom. No one introduced it, no one invented it, it is merely the old George the Ihird coat sloped away until no front is left and then dyed black. In the Walpole days vlio would have dreamed of abolishing colour; a thing that all humanity delights iu, or limiting the material ol dress coats "to cloth ? The modish people who went then to masquerades, and to IJanelagh, and the I'imtlieoii, wore silk and velvet coats, maroon, cinnamon colour, claret, olive green, and such hues, and their waistcoats were silver laced or tambour-worked. Ido not say that these garments should be revived ; but I do say that in light of their cheerful contrasts and varieties of hues, the people who wore theiu were in better taste than we, their self-satislied descendents areWhat use are the swallow-tails ? Are they beautiful-" 1 Do they help us to steer ourselves! They renderthe coat lighter and less in the way when we arc danciag or when we are in a crowd, and that is the most that can be said for them. Black, too, is good for the complexion, and wears well; it levels us all to one broad even class, and admits of no vulgar assertion of wealth and rank.—All the Year Hound. The best mivs poh mant a day.—The combined tlotilla of the Emperor of Austria and the King of Prussia has been defeated. So have the troops of the King of Dahomey. Customer : A slight mourning hatband if you please.—Hatter: What relation, sir.—Customer: Wife's uncle.—Hatter: Favourite uncle, sir? —Customer: 'Um —well, yes. —Hatter: May I ask, sir, are you mentioned in the will?— Customer: No such luck.—Hatter (to his assistant, briskly,) : Couple o'iuclies, John! Coi;jit Mourning.—The King of Dahomey, who had set out upon a murdering and plundering expedition into the country of an uuolfendiug neighbour, has been defeated, and one thousand of his soldier? have been killed and many wounded. The courts o Berlin and Vienna have in consequence, gone i" to mourning, out of compliment to ilieir royt.l brother. Fashion able Intelligence.—A new club eomposed entirely of aristocrat is literary ladies course of formation. It is to be called i'he l>hi? -Lights."