XVI.
NAPOLEON.
The extracts I shall now take from Pasquier will mainly refer to Napoleon. It is in this part of the narrative that the faults of these Memoirs come out most prominently. Here was an official, brought into almost daily contact with the most interesting figure in all human history; and yet he hardly adds anything to our knowledge of Napoleon's temperament or character. Pasquier does certainly give us an excellent account of the official workings of the Napoleonic machine. In all such descriptions there is nothing left unrecorded; the narrative is lucid, tranquil, and complete. But after all, it is Napoleon we want to hear about—Napoleon the man, not Napoleon the Emperor and the official; and for that information we mostly ask in vain. However, I must do my best to piece together passages from the Memoirs which bear on Pasquier's great master, and see if I can manage to get some addition to our knowledge of that intensely absorbing personality.
We get a first and rather amusing glimpse of Napoleon at the moment of his return after his victories in Italy. In this picture also we see beside Napoleon a man, his relations to whom form one of the most striking portions of this narrative:
