till the ground being covered with snow put an end to his usual employment. Whenever he talked of his country he was more than commonly animated, and used frequently to say to those of his comrades: whom he conversed with, "I hope one day to be in a situation to free my country from the yoke of the French, and to restore her to her ancient liberty." He is said to have composed part of a poem on the deliverance of Corsica, in which while slumbering in one of her numerous caverns, the Genius of his country appeared to him in a dream, and putting a dagger in his hand called on him for vengeance. This was the commencement of the poem, and whenever he added any thing to it, he would go and dig up a short rusty sword which he called his dagger, and enthusiastically repeated to one of his companions the lines he had just written, after which he returned to bury his poignard.

Bonaparte's attachment to Corsica was almost proverbial. It was usual for the boys to receive the communion and be confirmed on the same day, and the ceremony was performed at the military school by the archbishop: when he came to Bonaparte, he asked him, like the rest, his Christian name: Bonaparte answered aloud. The name of Napoleon being uncommon, escaped the archbishop, who desired him to repeat it, which Bonaparte did with an appearance of impatience. The minister who assisted remarked to the prelate 'Napoleon! I do not know that saint.'-' Parbleau ! I believe it," observed Bonaparte; 'the saint is a Corsican.'

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His fellow pupils frequently irritated him by calling him a French vassal: he retorted eagerly, and with bitterness. He sometimes declared a belief that his destiny was to deliver Corsica from its dependence on France. The name of Paoli he never mentioned but with reverence, and he aspired to the honour of achieving the design which the plans of that officer could not accomplish. Genoa had added to the calamity of his country by surrendering it to France, and thus exposed it to a subjection which it gallantly resisted, but to which superior force compelled submission. To the Genoese his hatred

was inveterate and eternal; a young Corsican, on his arrival at the college, was presented to Bonaparte by the other stu dents as a Genoese; the gloom of his countenance instantly kindled into rage, he darted upon the lad with vehemence; twisted his hands in bis hair, and was only prevented using further violence by the immediate interference of the stronger boys, who dragged the lad away from his resentment. His anger rekindled against this youth for many weeks afterwards, as frequently as he came near him.

He never shewed a particular preference for any of his.comrades, but treated them all with the same gloomy reserve, and seemed like one who had lived in a desert remote from all human society; whenever he appeared among them it was to give them reproof and advice. He was often attacked by troops of the other boys whom he had provoked by his gibes and bis satire, but he always repelled or avoided their onset with the utmost coolness and composure.

During the time which Bonaparte continued at Brienne, a library was formed for the amusement and instruction of the: pupils, and which was to be under their entire direction, To give them proper notions of arrangement and order, their superiors left the distribution of the books and other affairs to the management of two of the boarders, chosen by their com rades. The calls of Bonaparte on one of these, who was ap pointed librarian, were so often and so much more frequent than the applications of his companions, that the young mani considered him tiresome, and sometimes lost his temper; Bonaparte was not less patient, nor less positive, and on these occasions extorted submission by blows.

The history of the little garden which he formed for himself while in this academy shews very strongly his originalpropensity. A piece of ground was allotted to the young men of the school, and each was to cultivate a certain portion for his amusement; but Bonaparte, not content with his own share, prevailed on two of his comrades to give up theirs to him, and adding them to it, (for they joined him on each

side) he enclosed the whole with a palisade and planted some trees in it, which served him in summer for a shade, and in two years it resembled the retreat of a hermit. On this spot he expended all the little allowance of pocket money which was sent him by his benefactor, the Marquis de Marbœuf, and was fond of retiring to walk and to meditate in this garden, where he passed almost all his hours of recreation, with a book of history or mathematics in his hand, seeming to disdain all lesser occupations. His savage and reserved temper frequently brought him into quarrels with the other boys, and he always shewed his resentment with the utmost excess of violence. The following anecdote, which has been awkwardly misrepresented, displays a strong trait of his character. -A very dangerous and improper custom prevailed in the school of Brienne of allowing the boys of a certain age, every year on the king's birth-day, a quantity of gunpowder to celebrate the anniversary in any way they pleased. The last year of his being at the school, Bonaparte came within the number of those to whom the indulgence was allowed, but not choosing to avail himself of it, either from republican pride or from a dislike to his companions, he shut himself up the whole day in his garden with his books and maps, which not a little excited both the laughter and indignation of his comrades, and they determined to be revenged on him, by disturbing his studies: about nine o'clock in the evening near twenty boys assembled in the garden adjoining to his, and prepared a pyramidal fire work, which they intended by its sudden blaze should annoy him; unfortuately a box, containing about two pounds of gunpowder, was left standing near, and while the youths were admiring the success of their pyramid, a spark fell into the box, and the consequences of the explosion were dreadful; arms, legs, and eyes were shattered by the blast, and a brick wall was overthrown; niany of the boys, to save themselves, burst through Bonaparte's palisade, and forced their way into his garden: irritated at seeing the effects of his labour and the source of his pleasure

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thus suddenly destroyed, he seized a spade and drove some of them back again through the fire, seeming rather to consider his own loss than their misfortune. The Belles Lettres were not any source of his entertainment; his sole and undivided attention was military acquirements, and a proficiency in the studies which form the habits of a warrior. Polite or liberal accomplishments, he appeared to consider that a soldier should disdain. He had, doubtless, heard of the achievements of Marlborough in the field, and perhaps that he had also studied the art of pleasing, that by it he gained whoever he had a mind to gain; and he had a mind to gain every body, because he knew every body was more or less worth gaining.' But it was not by gracefulness of demeanour that Bonaparte designed to win: what he could not gain by mere force, he never sought to attain by a display of any endeavour to please; what he could not possess by his power, he never relinquished the pursuit of, but acquired it by stratagem, in which there was no seeing of his influence. He scorned the arts of a courtier, nor even employed them where it might have been supposed that no other attempt would succeed. All other means, which power, and the ingenuity of an uncultivated mind would have devised, he used without hesitation. His comrades called him The Spartan, and he retained the name until he quitted Brienne,

CHAP. I.

NAPOLEON CHOSEN CAPTAIN BY THE BOYS-BROKE BY

THEIR COURT-MARTIAL FORMS

FORTIFICATIONS OF

SNOW-QUITS THE SCHOOL AT BRIENNE-ADMITTED INTO THE MILITARY COLLEGE OF PARIS.

THE boys of the school were gradually familiarized to the temper of Bonaparte; he would not bend to them, and they were contented to concede to him. He accepted this acknowledgement of his superiority, without any appearance of self-gratulation, and although they could not esteem him for any of the milder virtues, they feared his inflexible nature, and allowed him either to indulge in seclusion, or to associate with themselves as he might please. The insurrections of the scholars against the masters were frequent, and Bonaparte was either at the head of each rebellion, or was selected to advocate their complaints. He was therefore generally selected as the leader, and suffered severe chastisement. He often vindicated his conduct, but never entreated pardon. He listened to reproach and to reproof, to promises and to threats, without emotions of fear or surprise. He was never humiliated by these punishments that were intended to disgrace him, and the raillery of an ungenerous comrade, or a powerful superior, was equally received in sullen silence. He neither courted good will nor feared resentment.

The meetings of the boys were on the plan of a military establishment. They formed themselves into companies, each under the command of a captain and other officers, and the whole composed a battalion, with a colonel at its head. The officers were chosen by the boys, and decorated by the ornaments usually attached to the French uniform. These