to lower the flag—we and all the powers on the continent. America perhaps some day——; but I'll not talk of that. The English navy is and long will be too dominant; we shall not equal it.'"
So it appears that the First Consul was entirely of Jefferson's opinion. And that Jefferson was quite right in his violent determination not to have him as a neighbour, that is, if bland contempt for parliaments and constitutions was one sign of a citizen undesirable in Montana, then as now.
Napoleon had one kind of intelligence seldom granted to those of intrenched authority—whether political or financial. He could see the storm coming, and could yield in time with grace and enthusiasm. Talk had no interest for him.
So he called in the Marquis de Barbé-Marbois, one-time Minister to the United States and jerked out some of his pithy phrases at him:
"I know the worth of Louisiana. * * * I
