There was no hope of safety but in a hasty retreat. On the 18th of October, the French army quitted Moscow. The history of this retreat is a relation of the most dreadful and protracted calamities. Compelled to keep in the most direct route, the army became a prey to famine. The winter coming on at an unusually early period, added greatly to their sufferings.

The Cossacks, a species of wild troops mounted on swift horses, hung upon their flanks, and continually harassed them, cutting off all who straggled from the ranks. Men and horses perished by thousands in the most miserable manner. But the confidence of the troops in the genius and good fortune of their emperor remained unshaken. So long as they had him with them, they did not entirely lose courage. On the 4th of December, however, Napoleon set out on a sledge for Paris, where he arrived on the 18th. As soon as the departure of the emperor was known to the troops, they gave themselves up to despair. All order and discipline were abandoned. Each one thought only of his own preservation. On the 12th of December, the remnant of the army arrived at Kowno, the same place where they had crossed the Niemen, six months before.

How different now was the state of the grand army! Of the four hundred thousand men who engaged in this disastrous expedition, less than fifty thousand remained :-their uniforms replaced by women's pelisses, or what rags they could pick up; their feet bare and bleeding, or protected by bundles of filthy clothes instead of shoes!

Napoleon made gigantic efforts to repair his fearful losses. He raised new armies; faced the enemy, and gained new victories. But Europe was now in battle array against him, and after a series of bloody conflicts, in the vicinity of Leipsic, he was forced to retreat, in October, 1812.

But the power of Napoleon was not yet at an end. He levied a force of three hundred thousand men. For the first time since the revolution, France was to become the theatre of war. She was at once threatened from all quarters. Russians were advancing from Switzerland to the number of one hundred and fifty thousand; Blucher led one hundred and thirty thousand Prussians from Germany.

Bernadotte, the old companion of Napoleon, led an army of one hundred thousand Swedes by the way of Holland. The English, under Wellington, advanced from Spain. With these fearful odds against him, Napoleon did not lose his courage or his military genius. Europe was filled with wonder at the fertility of his resources. He disconcerted the plans of his enemies, and his brilliant successes seemed to make it appear possible that he would yet prevail.

Negotiations for peace were renewed, but without any good result. At length, a battle was fought on the heights near Montmartre, the result of which left Paris exposed to the enemy. On the 31st of March, 1814, Alexander and Frederick took possession of that capital. The sovereigns immediately issued a proclamation making known their determination to replace the Bourbons on the throne. Napoleon had yet an army at Fontainbleau. The soldiers were

devotedly attached to him, and would, with joy, have followed him once more to battle. But the marshals and officers of the highest rank considered the contest as hopeless, and would not listen to the proposal.

The allies had declared that they would not negotiate with Napoleon. He hoped that by his abdication he might secure the throne to his son. On the 4th of April, 1814, he formally abdicated in his favor; but this was of no avail. The allies decided that he should be confined to the island of Elba. He was to retain the title of emperor; was allowed all the honors usually belonging to that dignity; was to have his army and his navy; but all upon a scale proportionate to the size of his empire. This island was about sixty miles in extent, and contained about twelve thousand inhabitants.

Resigned to his fate, Napoleon prepared to depart for his new dominions. But first he had the sad task of bidding adieu to those who, of all the world, were most devoted to him, and to whom he was sincerely attached, the celebrated Imperial Guard. On the 20th of April, 1814, the remnant of this chosen band were assembled in the yard of the palace of Fontainbleau. He embraced the general, and the eagle which was their standard, made a short address, and then departed, amidst the sighs and tears of the whole assembly. The scene is represented to have been touching in the extreme.

Bonaparte retired to Elba; Louis XVIII., brother of the murdered Louis XVI., being proclaimed king of France. But the mighty drama was not yet closed. On the first of March, 1815, Napoleon landed in

France, was enthusiastically received by the army, and in a few weeks was once more in Paris, at the head of the nation. The armies of Europe, which were about marching to their several homes, soon rallied, and Bonaparte met them again for a final struggle, in the field of Waterloo.

Though Napoleon had triumphed over all others, he had never been successful against the English. All Europe had submitted to him, save England alone. While he was master of the land, she was mistress

of the sea. Never, in any case, had he obtained a decisive victory over English forces in any great battle. And now, for the first time, the most renowned general of England, Wellington, was to meet Bonaparte in action.

career.

They met on the 18th of June, 1815, and after one of the most bloody of modern battles, fate decided against Napoleon, and thus put an end to his splendid From this time forward, his life was but a series of humiliations. On the 7th of July, the allied army re-entered Paris; on the 15th, Napoleon, a fugitive, went on board an English vessel, asking for an asylum in England. This was refused, and, agreeably to the decision of the allied powers, he was sent to St. Helena, a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Here he arrived on the 6th of August, 1815. For a time, Napoleon was cheered with the hope of escape from exile and restoration to France. But as years wore away, this hope vanished. He then became restive, and being irritated by the petty tyranny of his keepers, his life was rendered unhappy. He spent much of his time in conversing with some