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02 - Story of Napoleon by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall · Story of Napoleon

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  Speaker 1: Chapter two of the Story of Napoleon. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings on the public domain. For
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  Speaker 1: more information or a volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Recording by Patrick Seville, The Story of Napoleon, but Henrietta
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  Speaker 1: Elizabeth Marshall, Chapter two, Napoleon an Officer. There was still
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  Speaker 1: another year to pass in Brienne, Napoleon thought. But one
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  Speaker 1: day he was told that he had been admitted to
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  Speaker 1: the military school at Paris, and on the thirtieth of
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  Speaker 1: October seventeen eighty four, he set out for the capital
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  Speaker 1: with four other boys. At Paris, Napoleon was in his element.
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  Speaker 1: It seemed to him that he was no longer at school,
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  Speaker 1: but in a city under arms and in the state
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  Speaker 1: of war. All around him he saw men in uniform.
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  Speaker 1: He was no longer awakened from sleep or called to
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  Speaker 1: class for the son of a belle, but by the
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  Speaker 1: right attack of a sentinels marched to and fro. Every hour,
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  Speaker 1: by night or day, he heard the sharp word of command,
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  Speaker 1: the ring and thud of grounding muskets. All the talk
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  Speaker 1: was of war, and the boys discussed together the regiments
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  Speaker 1: to which they would belong their uniforms and arms. When
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  Speaker 1: Napoleon had been a year in Paris, he passed his
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  Speaker 1: examinations and received his commission as second lieutenant in the
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  Speaker 1: Artillery Regiment of La Fere, one of the finest in
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  Speaker 1: the army, and on the thirtieth of October seventeen eighty five,
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  Speaker 1: he and another boy set out to join the regiment
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  Speaker 1: at Valence. They were the only boys of sixteen and seventeen,
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  Speaker 1: but they felt very grand for now they were real officers.
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  Speaker 1: They wore swords and belts and silver collar clasps, but
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  Speaker 1: to their great grief, they were not yet allowed to
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  Speaker 1: wear the uniform of the regiment, but had to travel
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  Speaker 1: in their school uniforms. Still, it was a fine thing
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  Speaker 1: to wear a sword, so they climbed joyfully into the
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  Speaker 1: Lyons coach and were soon rolling away southwards behind spanking horses.
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  Speaker 1: The fair regiment, being one of the best, was one
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  Speaker 1: of the most hard working of the French artillery. The
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  Speaker 1: men got up early and worked hard at marching, drilling
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  Speaker 1: and shooting. Napoleon was in a way still a pupil.
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  Speaker 1: He had to begin at the bottom to serve first
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  Speaker 1: as a gunner, then as a corporal and sergeant, so
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  Speaker 1: that he might know his work in every detail. Then
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  Speaker 1: only was he considered fit to be an officer. Besides
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  Speaker 1: drilling and studying gunnery, he read everything he could about
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  Speaker 1: soldiers and about war. He learned too to draw maps
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  Speaker 1: and plans, and as he was one of the keenest,
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  Speaker 1: soon became one of the best of the officers of
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  Speaker 1: the regiment. But he did not spend all his time
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  Speaker 1: in work. He often went home on land leave. He
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  Speaker 1: had a share too, and all the fun and jokes
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  Speaker 1: of which his companions were fond He took part in dinners,
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  Speaker 1: balls and parties. Indeed, since he had become an officer,
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  Speaker 1: Napoleon was no longer the moody boy he had been,
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  Speaker 1: although at times he might have fits of passion. But meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: as the days and months went on, great changes were
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  Speaker 1: taking place in France. At this time, the position of
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  Speaker 1: king and the people in France was very different from
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  Speaker 1: what it was in Britain. The people of Britain, through
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  Speaker 1: long years of struggle, had gained freedom. There they lived
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  Speaker 1: under what is called a limited monarchy, that is, the
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  Speaker 1: power of the king was held in check by lords
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  Speaker 1: and commons. But in France. There was no check upon
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  Speaker 1: the king. He could do as he liked. Under him,
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  Speaker 1: there were the three estates, that is, the nobles, the clergy,
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  Speaker 1: and the people. The nobles and the clerk he paid
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  Speaker 1: no taxes. They were called the privileged classes. They and
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  Speaker 1: the king spent a great deal of money. So the
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  Speaker 1: third estate, that is the people, had to pay every year.
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  Speaker 1: The king and his nobles spent more and more every year.
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  Speaker 1: The people had to pay more and more. As the
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  Speaker 1: years went on, the people grew more and more miserable,
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  Speaker 1: and more and more weary of their rulers. Many of
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  Speaker 1: them were very ignorant. They hardly knew what was wrong
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  Speaker 1: or how it might be put to right. They only
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  Speaker 1: knew that they were poor, miserable, and hungry. Riots grew frequent.
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  Speaker 1: The summer of seventeen eighty nine was stormy with them.
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  Speaker 1: At last, the people broke out fiercely. In Paris. They
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  Speaker 1: seized and pulled down the state prison. The king was powerless.
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  Speaker 1: This is revolt, he said when he heard of it.
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  Speaker 1: Nay sire, replied the minister, it is revolution. Soon France,
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  Speaker 1: revolution was blazing. The king was driven from the throne.
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  Speaker 1: Everything was turned topsy turvy and men knew not whom
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  Speaker 1: to follow. But Napoleon was no Frenchman. He was a Corsican.
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  Speaker 1: The troubles of France did not touch him, except that
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  Speaker 1: he thought perhaps out of them good might come to
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  Speaker 1: his dear island, and so, in this time of wild unrest,
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  Speaker 1: he asked for leave and went home. For the next
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  Speaker 1: four years, Napoleon divided his time between France and Corsica.
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  Speaker 1: Corsica liked France, was in a state of turmoil and anarchy. Paoli,
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  Speaker 1: the great Corsican hero, had returned from exile, and was
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  Speaker 1: everywhere greeted with cheers. When a boy, Napoleon had loved
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  Speaker 1: and honored Paoli. But soon these two, the gray old
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  Speaker 1: hero whose work was done, and the brown faced lad
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  Speaker 1: whose work was only beginning, quarreled. The story of these
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  Speaker 1: quarrels is hard to follow, but at last Napoleon, who
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  Speaker 1: had been a great patriot, took side of France. Then
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  Speaker 1: he and all his family were forced to flee from
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  Speaker 1: Corsica in secret, and after may adventures, they arrived safely
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  Speaker 1: in Marseilles. There Napoleon left his mother and sisters in
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  Speaker 1: great poverty and went to join his regiment which is
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  Speaker 1: now at Nice. From henceforth he was a Frenchman. When
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  Speaker 1: the French rebelled against their king, many of the princes
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  Speaker 1: and rulers of their countries of Europe joined together and
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  Speaker 1: threatened to make war against France unless the French people
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  Speaker 1: placed Louis upon the throne again. At first Britain did
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  Speaker 1: not openly join with the others, but in January seventeen
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  Speaker 1: ninety three, the French put their king to death, and
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  Speaker 1: a few weeks after Britain joined the Allies. Even some
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  Speaker 1: of the French themselves joined them, so that France had
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  Speaker 1: to fight a civil war as well as one against
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  Speaker 1: foreign enemies. Among the French who helped the Allies and
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  Speaker 1: who were helped by them, were the people of Toulon,
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  Speaker 1: and army of the Allies took possession of the fortress,
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  Speaker 1: and a squadron of British ships lay in the harbor
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  Speaker 1: while the French revolutionary army besieged the town. Napoleon now
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  Speaker 1: joined his army as commander of artillery, and it is
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  Speaker 1: from this siege of Toulon that his fame as a
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  Speaker 1: soldier dates. It is said by some, indeed, that the
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  Speaker 1: taking of the town was almost entirely due to him,
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  Speaker 1: but others think that his part in it was really
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  Speaker 1: very small, however that may be. When Napoleon arrived at Toulon,
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  Speaker 1: the army was badly officered, and there was hardly any
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  Speaker 1: artillery at all. He at once set eagerly to work,
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  Speaker 1: and in a few days he had forty cannon and
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  Speaker 1: everything needed for the building of new forts. He gathered
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  Speaker 1: shot and shell too, and built forts and batteries. He wrote, ordered,
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  Speaker 1: and fought unceasingly for weeks. The siege went on. There
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  Speaker 1: were attacks and counter attacks, assaults and sallies, and at
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  Speaker 1: last a fort called the Aegiete was taken. Tomorrow or
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  Speaker 1: the day after, we shall sup in Toulon, said Napoleon,
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  Speaker 1: and he was right. The British ships made ready to
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  Speaker 1: sail away. The people of Toulon were seas with panic.
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  Speaker 1: The British ships were a last and only hope. Nothing
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  Speaker 1: else could save them from falling into the hands of
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  Speaker 1: the terrible of Leochnists, so they made ready to go
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  Speaker 1: with them. Soon the sea was crowded with boats carrying
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  Speaker 1: terror stricken men, women and children to the fleet. In
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  Speaker 1: their haste, many were drowned, sometimes whole bolt loads being
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  Speaker 1: overturned by the two eager crowds all day. The flight lasted.
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  Speaker 1: Then about nine o'clock in the evening, a terrible explosion
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  Speaker 1: shook the earth. The sea seemed to belch forth fire.
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  Speaker 1: The dark night was suddenly bright as day and horrible,
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  Speaker 1: with noise and smoke. Fierce red flames licked the sky
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  Speaker 1: in black. Against the lurid light showed the shattered hulks
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  Speaker 1: of ships. It was the British commander who, before leaving,
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  Speaker 1: had set fire to a great part of the arsenal
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  Speaker 1: and blown up about a dozen French ships of war.
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  Speaker 1: The siege was over, and next day the victorious troops
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  Speaker 1: marched into the now almost silent and deserted town. Napoleon
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  Speaker 1: by this time had many good friends among the men
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  Speaker 1: who were ruling France, and it seemed as if his
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  Speaker 1: fortune was made. But these were very wild in uncertain times,
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  Speaker 1: his friends fell into disgrace. Napoleon himself was put into
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  Speaker 1: prison for a short time, and at last we find
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  Speaker 1: him once more, poor and lonely, wandering the streets of
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  Speaker 1: Paris with nothing to do. But it was now when
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  Speaker 1: he seemed forgotten and cast aside, that his great chance
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  Speaker 1: came to him. France, besides having to fight outside enemies,
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  Speaker 1: was full of unrest and discontent within its borders. The
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  Speaker 1: people were tired of the conviction as the government was
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  Speaker 1: now called, and wished to overthrow its power. At last,
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  Speaker 1: the citizens of Paris took arms and resolved to attack
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  Speaker 1: the Palace of Twillery. The members of the Convention then
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  Speaker 1: gathered to a consult. They knew their danger was great.
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  Speaker 1: They must do something quickly if they were not to
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  Speaker 1: be overthrown. But who was to lead their soldiers. Suddenly
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  Speaker 1: one of their number called Barhras Rose, I know the
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  Speaker 1: men whom you want, He said, he has little Corsican
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  Speaker 1: officer who will not stand on ceremony. So Napoleon was
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  Speaker 1: sent for It was by this time late at night,
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  Speaker 1: but Napoleon began to work at once, and by six
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  Speaker 1: o'clock the next morning, every street leading to the Tileries
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  Speaker 1: was guarded with cannon. The rioters had no canon, but
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  Speaker 1: they were well armed with muskets, and thirty thousand of
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  Speaker 1: them came crowding along their narrow streets to besiege the palace.
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  Speaker 1: For many hours, the two forces stood facing each other,
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  Speaker 1: neither exchanging a shot, but at last, about half past four,
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  Speaker 1: someone fired. It was a signal for all to begin.
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  Speaker 1: Napoleon's canyon swept the streets. The rioters fled before the
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  Speaker 1: hail of grape shot, leaving their dead upon the ground.
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  Speaker 1: By six in the evening, all was quiet again. Thanks
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  Speaker 1: to that the le Corsican, the convention had won, and
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  Speaker 1: Napoleon had gained from himself the post a commander in
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  Speaker 1: chief of the Army of the Interior. One day, very
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  Speaker 1: soon after this, a boy of about twelve asked to
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  Speaker 1: see Napoleon. The boy's name was Urgin Boarnai, and with
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  Speaker 1: tears in his eyes, he told Napoleon that his father
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  Speaker 1: had been a soldier. He had fought for the Republic,
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  Speaker 1: but had been killed. Now Urgin came to beg for
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  Speaker 1: his father's sword. Napoleon was sorry for the boy and
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  Speaker 1: ordered at once that the sword should be given to him.
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  Speaker 1: As soon as Ergin saw it, he seized it, kissed it,
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  Speaker 1: and carried it away happy. The next day, Ergin's mother,
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  Speaker 1: who was a very bad lady, came to thank Napoleon
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  Speaker 1: for having been so kind to her boy. Soon Napoleon
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  Speaker 1: began to love this beautiful lady. Although she was many
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  Speaker 1: years older than he, she loved him too, and in
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  Speaker 1: a short time they were married. So in a few months,
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  Speaker 1: from being almost penniless to unknown, Napoleon had become famous
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  Speaker 1: and well off, and he had married a fine lady
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  Speaker 1: who was able to make friends for him among the
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  Speaker 1: rulers of the land. But Josephine that Baronae had married
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  Speaker 1: a great man, or rather a man who was going
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  Speaker 1: to be great, and a few days after the wedding
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  Speaker 1: they had to say good bye to each other, for
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  Speaker 1: among the Alps there was still fighting, and Napoleon was
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  Speaker 1: ordered off to take command of the army of Italy.
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  Speaker 1: It will not be possible to follow Napoleon through all
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  Speaker 1: his battles. He had to fight two armies, one Austrian
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  Speaker 1: and one Sardinian against so strong an enemy. He knew
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  Speaker 1: that his only hope was in quick marches and surprises.
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  Speaker 1: He must surround and astonish the foe, and take him
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  Speaker 1: at a disadvantage. To do this, his own army must
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  Speaker 1: travel without baggage so as to be able to move quickly,
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  Speaker 1: and must trust to finding all they needed for food
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  Speaker 1: and clothes in the country to which they went. Napoleon
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  Speaker 1: knew that if the two armies of his enemies joined
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  Speaker 1: and attacked him together, they would be too strong for him.
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  Speaker 1: So he tried to keep them apart, and to fight
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  Speaker 1: first one and then the other. This he succeeded in doing.
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  Speaker 1: He led his soldiers with splendid skill. He beat every
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  Speaker 1: enemy who came against him, both in the plains of
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  Speaker 1: Italy and in the mountains of Austria. Nearly the whole
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  Speaker 1: of Italy was in his hands when at last peace
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  Speaker 1: was made. First, a treaty called the Treaty of Leobin,
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  Speaker 1: from the name of the town in Austria where it
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  Speaker 1: was signed, was agreed upon. Later came together called the
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  Speaker 1: Treaty of Campo Formio. By this treaty much Lin was
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  Speaker 1: added to France, and Napoleon made the first of those
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  Speaker 1: changes in the map of Europe for which he was
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  Speaker 1: soon to be famous. Napoleon, in all his fighting in Italy,
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  Speaker 1: did not act merely as a commander and soldier. He
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  Speaker 1: acted more like a conqueror and ruler. It seemed as
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  Speaker 1: if he were not working for the Republic of France
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  Speaker 1: but for himself. He did as he liked. Do you
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  Speaker 1: suppose he said? That I triumph in Italy for the
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  Speaker 1: glory of the lawyers of the directory. Do you suppose
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  Speaker 1: I mean to found a republic? What an idea? The
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  Speaker 1: nation wants a chief, a chief covered with glory. He
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  Speaker 1: had covered himself with glory. His soldiers, whom he led
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  Speaker 1: with such splendid success, with such skill and daring, loved him.
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  Speaker 1: They called him the Little Corporal, this name that gave him.
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  Speaker 1: After crossing the River Ada at the bridge of Lodi,
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  Speaker 1: the Austrian were on one side of the river, the
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  Speaker 1: French on the other, shouting long Live the Republic. And
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  Speaker 1: the French charged the bridge, but such a terrible fire
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  Speaker 1: met them that they wavered. Then Napoleon himself seized a
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  Speaker 1: standard and urged them onward. The bridge was passed right
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  Speaker 1: up to the enemy's guns. They charged, The gunners died
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  Speaker 1: at their posts, but the Austrians were scattered and fled
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  Speaker 1: in utter confusion, chased by the French until darkness ended
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  Speaker 1: the flight and slaughter. Napoleon himself called it the Terrible
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  Speaker 1: Passage of Lodi. And it was after this battle that
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  Speaker 1: the French delighted and their clever leader, and called him
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  Speaker 1: the Little Corporal, which for many a day was his
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  Speaker 1: name among his soldiers. End of chapter two,