The Boy Life of Napoleon, Afterwards Emperor of the French

by Eugénie Foa

The name of Madame Eugenie Foa has been a familiar one in French homes for more than a generation. Forty years ago she was the most popular writer of historical stories and sketches, especially designed for the boys and girls of France. Her tone is pure, her morals are high, her teachings are direct and effective. She has, besides, historical accuracy and dramatic action; and her twenty books for children have found welcome and entrance into the most exclusive of French homes. The publishers of this American adaptation take pleasure in introducing Madame Foa's work to American boys and girls, and in this Napoleonic renaissance are particularly favored in being able to reproduce her excellent story of the boy Napoleon.

The French original has been adapted and enlarged in the light of recent research, and all possible sources have been drawn upon to make a complete and rounded story of Napoleon's boyhood upon the basis furnished by Madame Foa's sketch. If this glimpse of the boy Napoleon shall lead young readers to the study of the later career of this marvellous man, unbiased by partisanship, and swayed neither by hatred nor hero worship, the publishers will feel that this presentation of the opening chapters of his life will not have been in vain.

CONTENTS.

[CHAPTER ONE.] In Napoleon's Grotto [CHAPTER TWO.] The Canon's Pears [CHAPTER THREE.] The Accusation [CHAPTER FOUR.] Bread and Water [CHAPTER FIVE.] A Wrong Righted [CHAPTER SIX.] The Battle with the Shepherd Boys [CHAPTER SEVEN.] Good-bye to Corsica [CHAPTER EIGHT.] At the Preparatory School [CHAPTER NINE.] The Lonely School-Boy [CHAPTER TEN.] In Napoleon's Garden

[CHAPTER ELEVEN.] Friends and Foes [CHAPTER TWELVE.] The Great Snow-ball Fight [CHAPTER THIRTEEN.] Recommended for Promotion [CHAPTER FOURTEEN.] Napoleon goes to Parts [CHAPTER FIFTEEN.] A Trouble over Pocket Money [CHAPTER SIXTEEN.] Lieutenant Puss-in-Boots [CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.] Dark Days [CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.] By the Wall of the Soldiers' Home [CHAPTER NINETEEN.] The Little Corporal [CHAPTER TWENTY.] "Long Live the Emperor!"

ILLUSTRATIONS

[Napoleon's Grotto] [House In Which Napoleon Was Born] [The Mother of Napoleon] [The Father of Napoleon] [Room In Which Napoleon Was Born] ["'I never lie uncle, you know I never lie!' said Napoleon"] ["What! Stubborn still?"] ["He tossed his dry bread to the shepherd boys"] ["What' you will not ask Monsieur the Count's pardon?"] [Napoleon writing to his father] ["'Get down from my hedge' cried Napoleon"] [Napoleon at the School of Brienne (From the Painting by M R Dumas)] ["As leader of the storming-party he would direct the attack"] [Napoleon sends his Challenge] ["'And you have fought a duel, my General'? inquired Napoleon"] ["'Come, Eliza! What is the matter?' demanded Napoleon."] ["Like—like Lieutenant Puss-in-Boots!"] ["'I dreamed that I was a king,' said Louis"] [Lieutenant Napoleon Bonaparte Aged 22 (from the portrait by Jean Baptiste Greuse, in the Museum at Versailles)] ["Beneath the great dome he rests"—The Hotel des Invalides (The 'Soldiers' Home' in Paris, containing the Tomb of Napoleon)] ["Pif! paf! pouf! That is the way I read"—Napoleon at the Battle of Jena. (From the Painting by Horace Vernet.)] ["'The Emperor was—the Emperor' cried old Nonesuch"] [I know not if I know,' said I."] ["What fates, my comrades!"—A Review Day under the First Empire (From the Painting by H. Bellange)] ["Your Emperor was banished to a rock"—The Exiled Emperor (From the Painting by W Q Orchardson, entitled "Napoleon on board the Bellerophon.")] [Napoleon (1. The General 2. The Consul 3. The Conqueror 4. The Emperor.)]

THE BOY LIFE OF NAPOLEON.

CHAPTER ONE.

IN NAPOLEON'S GROTTO.