"Who among you would fire upon his Emperor?" he cried.
Instantly the army, officers and men, lowered their weapons and tossed their caps high in air.
"Vive l'Empereur!" they shouted; and placing him at their head, they turned and marched back upon Paris.
IMPORTANT DATES IN NAPOLEON'S LIFE
1769. August 15. Napoleon Bonaparte born. 1779. Entered school at Brienne. 1784. Entered military school at Paris. 1786. Became junior lieutenant. 1791. Made lieutenant. 1792. Made captain. 1794. Made general of brigade for services against English at Toulon. 1795. Cleared the streets of Paris with his artillery, and was appointed to command of Army of Italy. 1796. Married Josephine de Beauharnais. 1797. Completed conquest of Italy. 1798. Egyptian campaign. 1799. Made First Consul of France. 1804. Crowned Emperor. 1807. Won Battle of Austerlitz. 1813. Russian campaign. 1814. Abdicated the throne, and was sent to Elba. 1815. Returned to France. 1815. Defeated at Waterloo, and sent to St. Helena. 1821. May 5. Died at St. Helena.
WELLINGTON
THE IRON DUKE
Of all the curious parallels of history, none is stranger than that of Napoleon and Wellington, who were to meet as rivals on the fatal field of Waterloo.
They were born in the same year, 1769, and in each case the exact date is somewhat uncertain. Wellington in later life always celebrated the first of May, but was not sure that it was his rightful birthday. Both were born upon islands—the one in Corsica, the other in Ireland—which islands, by the way, were constantly striving to achieve their independence.
Both were born into large families. Napoleon was a fourth child and Wellington a fourth son. The father of each is described as an easy-going, indulgent man, without force of character, while the mother was the moving genius of the family. But between Napoleon and his mother existed a lively affection; while Wellington's mother never seemed to care for this child, and constantly spoke of him in terms of reproach.