In taking the command of the army in Italy, Napoleon, notwithstanding his extreme youth, inspired the soldiers, and even the old officers themselves, with absolute confidence.
The accompanying engraving is copied from a fresco painted by Andrea Appiani, who was commissioned to portray in the vice-regal palace at Milan the pageants of Napoleon. Thirty-five are there painted in oil, after the manner of Grisaille. This subject has been engraved by the best artists of Milan; it is rare and much sought after by amateurs.
ENTERING MILAN.
“WHAT A LESSON FOR MAN!”
In Italy, after the battle of Bassano, Napoleon, followed by his staff rode over the field. The moon shed her light upon that scene of horror, and the profound silence of the night was disturbed only by the sad cries of the wounded, and the dismal groans of the dying. All at once a dog that had been lying on a dead body, came forward whining, running back and forth, seemingly divided between the desire of avenging the death of his master, and the fear of allowing the body to become cold. Napoleon stopped; his soul was stirred by the faithful friendship of the animal compared to the neglect with which the other victims were treated, and he remained absorbed in profound meditation.
“What a lesson for man!” at last he cried.
The incident was so deeply impressed upon his mind that twenty-five years after, he spoke of it again on the rock of St. Helena.
