principles which he had laid down at this early period.

This letter, together with his spirit of observation, his active and inquisitive character, and his censorious frankness, appears to have attracted the attention of the superiors of the school, and to have excited their apprehension. Accordingly, they hastened the period of his examination, as if anxious to get rid of a troublesome guest. He appears, at this period, to have been remarked for a wild energy of speech, attended with strange amplifications, as if his mind were crowded with an exuberance of thoughts and associations.

In 1785, he left the Paris school, receiving a commission as sub-lieutenant in a regiment of artillery. He was soon promoted to a lieutenancy, being stationed at Valence. His father had just died, and a rich old uncle, who had taken charge of the family, made a provision by which he received twelve hundred francs a year. This, with his pay, enabled him to live comfortably and go into company. He now entered cheerfully into the sports and amusements of his brother officers; at the same time, he sedulously pursued the studies connected with his profession. While at Valence, he wrote an essay upon the question, "What are the principles and institutions by which mankind can obtain the greatest possible happiness?" This was sent anonymously to the Academy of Lyons, which adjudged to him the prize attached to the best essay on the subject. Many years after, when at the height of his power, he happened to mention the circumstance; Talleyrand, hav

ing found the forgotten manuscript, among the archives of the academy, presented it to him one morning. Napoleon, after reading a few pages of it, threw it into the fire, and no copy having been taken of it, we do not know what his early ideas might have been, as to the happiness of mankind.

At this period, Bonaparte's manners and person appear to have been very engaging. He was small of stature and very thin, but his movements were graceful, and his countenance very striking. His hair was jet black, and worn long; his eyes were hazel, deep and expressive; his countenance was pale, but marked with thought and tinged with melancholy. His society was much sought after, and he appears to have exercised a good deal of influence over his companions.

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The French Revolution had now broken out. The officers of his regiment, like those of the army general, were divided into royalists and democrats. Bonaparte took the popular side, and his example and arguments influenced many of his brother officers. In 1792, he became a captain, and soon after went to Paris. Being there in June, he witnessed the attack of the mob upon the Tuilleries, and saw them break into the palace, while the king appeared at one of the windows, wearing the red cap, which he had adopted to please the rabble. The scene affected Napoleon greatly, and he remarked to Bourienne, who was with him at the time, “It is all over, henceforth, with that man" He returned to the coffee-house, and remained extremely grave and thoughtful the rest of the day. The sight had made a deep impression

and, with a sagacity beyond his years, he appeared to foresee the mighty events that were speedily to follow.

Soon after this, he went to Corsica, and engaged, for a short space, in a struggle going on there, taking the side of France. In 1793, he established himself, with his mother and sisters, at Marseilles. During his short residence here, he wrote and published a pamphlet, entitled the "Supper of Beaucaire," a dialogue between men of different parties. The purpose of it was to recommend union and obedience to the French convention, against which the people of Marseilles were then in a state of revolt. The language of this remarkable pamphlet is strongly republican, though much less extravagant than was common at that day.

In September, 1793, Bonaparte was at Paris, and went to join the besieging army before Toulon, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel of artillery. This place had declared for the king, and was aided by the English, Spanish, and Neapolitan fleets, together with foreign land forces. Bonaparte devised a scheme of operations, which, though at first rejected, was finally adopted, and resulted in the surrender of the place. The fleets sailed away, carrying fourteen thousand of the inhabitants with them. Many, however, were left behind, and four hundred of them, being collected in a public square, by order of the deputies of the convention, were cut in pieces by discharges of cannon, loaded with grape-shot.

Bonaparte was wounded by a bayonet, in the attack upon Toulon, which, with his services in the siege,

led to his promotion, and he was made a brigadiergeneral of artillery, in February, 1794. In this capacity, he served in the campaign against the Piedmontese, and subsequently visited Genoa, under a commission of inquiry into the state of things there. About this time the revolution of 27th and 28th July took place at Paris, and Robespierre, with his fiendish associates, became the victims of the guillotine, which they had used so freely against all who stood in their way. On Napoleon's return to head quarters, he was placed under arrest for some unknown cause, and it was with some difficulty that he obtained his release. He appears, at this moment, to have come near to that fate, which put an end to the career of so many of the leading actors in the fearful scenes of this sanguinary period.

In 1795, Bonaparte was at Paris, where he led a retired life, and appeared to be in a state of considerable depression. He was, however, studying the shifting signs of the political sky, and holding himself ready to take advantage of any event propitious to his fortunes. The convention had now formed a third constitution, since the outbreak of the revolution, and were seeking to perpetuate their power under it. Being unpopular in Paris, and little respected by any portion of the people, it was necessary to sustain their power by military force. Through the recommendation of Barras, who had known Napoleon at Toulon, the latter was appointed to the command of the troops in Paris. He immediately encompassed the garden of the Tuilleries, where the convention held its sittings, and in a fierce attack, made by thirty thousand