Napoleon was destined to gain in every country the victory of Revolution, but, forgetful of this mission, he would fain glorify himself by his victory, and so, egoistically sublime, he placed his own image on the trophies conquered by the Revolution, or on the many melted cannon of the column of the Place Vendôme. And then the Germans had the mission to avenge the Revolution, and to tear down the Emperor from the usurped eminence on that pillar. Only the tricoloured flag is appropriate to this place, and since the days of July it floats there victorious and full of promise.[1] If after a time Napoleon should be replaced on the Vendôme column, he will no longer stand there as Emperor or as Cæsar, but as a representative of the Revolution, absolved by adversity and purified by death, or as an emblem of the all-conquering power of the people.
As I have spoken of the young Napoleon and the young Henri, I must also mention the young Duke of Orleans. In the printshops we generally see the three hung in a row, and our pamphleteers are ever busy in discussing these three strange
- ↑ French version—"Depuis la révolution de juillet le drapeau tricolore a pris provisoirement la place de l'empereur sur la colonne, et il y flotte victorieux et plein d'avenir." There is much of a strange spirit of unconscious prophecy and truth in these remarks.—Translator.
