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THE FALL OF NAPOLEON.

On the 11th of April, 1814, Napoleon renounced for himself and for his children the1 thrones of France and of Italy, and received in exchange for his vast sovereignty, which but lately extended from Cadiz to the Baltic Sea, the little island of Elba. On the 20th, after an affecting farewell to his old soldiers, he departed for his new principality.

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Thus fell this man, who alone, for fourteen years, had filled the world. His enterprising and organizing genius, his power of life and will, his love of glory, and the immense available force which the revolution had placed in his hands, have made him the most gigantic being of modern times. That which would render the destiny of another man extraordinary, scarcely counts in his. Having risen from an obscure to the highest rank; from a simple artillery officer having become 5 the chief of the greatest of nations, he dared to conceive the idea of universal monarchy, and for a moment realized it. After having obtained the empire by his victories, he wished to subdue Europe by means of France, and reduce England by means of Europe; and he established the military system against the continent, the blockade against Great Britain. This design succeeded for some years; from Lisbon to Moscow he subjected people and potentates to his word of command as general, and to the vast sequestration which he had prescribed. But in this way he failed in discharging his restorative mission

1" To the "-2 for, de-3 but lately, naguère encore-1 have made him, ont fait de lui-5 having become, devenu-6 his word of command as general, son mot d'ordre de général-7 he failed in discharging, il a manqué à.

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of the 18th Brumaire. By exercising on his own account the power he had received, by attacking the liberty of the people by despotic institutions, the independence of states by war, he excited against himself the opinions and interests of the human race; he provoked universal hostility; the nation forsook him ;1 and, after having been long victorious, after having planted his standard. on every continental capital, after having during ten years augmented his power, and gained a kingdom with 2 every battle, a single reverse combined the whole world against him, proving by his fall how impossible in our days is despotism.

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Yet Napoleon, amidst all the disastrous results of his system, has given a prodigious impulse to the continent; his armies have carried with them the ideas, the customs, and the more advanced civilization of France. European societies were shaken on their old foundations; nations were mingled by frequent intercourse; bridges thrown across boundary rivers, high roads made over the Alps, Apennines, and the Pyrenees, brought territories nearer to each other;7 and Napoleon effected for the material condition of states what the revolution had done for the minds of men. The blockade completed the impulse of conquest: it brought continental industry to perfection, enabling it to take the place of that of England, and replaced colonial commerce by the produce of manufactures. Thus Napoleon, by agitating nations, contributed to civilization. His despotism rendered him counter-revolutionary with respect to France; but his spirit of conquest made him a regenerator with respect

1 Forsook him, s'est retirée de lui-2 with, à-3 in our days, de nos jours-on, de dessus-5 nations were mingled, les peuples se sont mêlés-6 made over, pratiquées au milieu de-7 brought......nearer to each other, ont rapproché......

to Europe, of which many nations, in torpor till he came, will live henceforth with the life he gave them. 2 But in this Napoleon obeyed the dictates of his nature. The child of war-war was his tendency, his pleasure; domination his object; he wanted to master the world, and circumstances placed it in his hand, in order that he might make use of it to fulfil his destiny.3

MIGNET," Histoire de la Révolution Française."

THE PROGRESS OF VIRTUE.

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God

In ages, happily far removed from us, sages deemed it sufficient that man should do no harm.4 They placed the height of virtue in the proud satisfaction of remaining free from impurity. They founded a school, the first precept of which was negative. It is Stoicism, as far removed from good as from evil, at once courageous, austere, and useless. It is liberty without fraternity, it is reason devoid of heart. did not form us for that barren innocence. He only lends what He gives. Riches, intelligence, feelings, powers, treasures of humanity that man holds in trust, it is in being liberally spread that you are sanctified.8 The era of charity came after the proud and fruitless wisdom of antiquity. The heart of man opened to pity under the gentle and powerful influence of Christianity. He sought the poor and the sick in the name of God; and gave bread, assistance,

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1 In torpor till he came, assoupies avant sa venue- with, de3 that he might, etc......destiny, afin qu'il s'en aidât à exister.

4 It sufficient, etc......harm, qu'il suffisait de ne pas nuire-5 from impurity, de toute souillure-6 negative, l'abstention-7 devoid of, sans-8 it is in being, etc......sanctified, c'est en vous répandant qu'on vous sanctifie-9 in the, au.

THE TRIAL OF CHARLOTTE CORDAY.

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and sympathy. At length the day arrived when1 religion was perfected by the more complete understanding of human greatness and human destiny. On that day, the happy, the powerful, the learned, the rich, each felt himself the brother of the ignorant and suffering.2 He understood that the first act of piety towards Heaven was to enlighten and to cultivate the understanding, and to help the progress of liberty in rendering labour easy. Already national animosities have become an obsolete prejudice; there is no longer any caste; intolerance henceforward is accounted folly; the spirit of peace everywhere succeeds the heroic madness of war; idleness is no longer but a fault and a misfortune. All those who know how to love and how to think, unite in a holy crusade against ignorance. Thy religion, O my God, is love, hope, reason, peace, liberty!

JULES SIMON, "La Religion Naturelle.”

THE TRIAL OF CHARLOTTE CORDAY.

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Charlotte Corday, conducted into the presence of the tribunal, preserved the same calmness. The act of accusation was read to her, after which they proIceeded to hear 4 witnesses. She interrupted the first witness; and not giving him time to commence his deposition, exclaimed-"It was I who killed 5 Marat.” "Who induced you to assassinate him ?" inquired

1 At length the day arrived when, enfin a lui le jour où-2 of the ignorant and suffering, de celui qui ignore et qui souffre.

3 The present tense to be used through the extract, down to "will come as it can "-4 to hear, à l'audition de-5 "it is I who have killed."

Marats ?"

the president. "His crimes." "What do you mean by his crimes?" "The miseries he has caused since the revolution. "Who are those who induced you to this deed?” "Myself alone," proudly replied the young girl; "I had for a long time resolved on it,1 and I would never have taken counsel from others for such a deed. I wished to give peace to my country." "But do you think you have killed all the "No," replied the accused, sadly. She then allowed the witnesses to proceed, and after each deposition she repeated-" It is true, the deponent is right." She only denied one thing, which was, that she was the accomplice of the Girondists. She only contradicted one witness, the woman who implicated Duperret and Fauchet in her cause. Afterwards she sat down and listened to the rest of the trial3 with perfect calmness. "You see," simply said her counsel Chauveau-Lagarde, in her defence, "the accused confesses all with unshaken boldness. This calmness, and this avowal, sublime in one point of view, can only be explained as the result of the greatest 5 political fanaticism. It is for you to judge what weight this moral consideration ought to have in the balance of justice."

Charlotte Corday was condemned to suffer death." Her beautiful countenance did not appear moved; she re-entered her prison with a smile upon her lips. She wrote to her father to ask his forgiveness for having disposed of her own life; she wrote to Barba

1 "Resolved it"-2 she only, etc.......accomplice of, elle ne se défend que d'une chose: c'est de sa prétendue complicité avec—3 trial, instruction-4 simply said......in her defence, dit pour toute défense

-5 can, etc......greatest......, ne peuvent s'expliquer que par le ......le plus exalté—6 to suffer death, à la peine de mort.

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