I
1.Napoleon Bonaparte was for many years known among his soldiers as the Little Corporal.It was their “pet name “for their general；and Napoleon liked the name，for he knew that it was a sign of their friendship anddevotion.It was given him during his first campaignasleader of a French army.He was very young for the post，being only in his twenty-seventh year；but the old soldiers liked him all the better for that.As his army won victory after victory，the veterans used to discuss，in a playful manner round the camp-fires，whether he should not be promoted for his services.So，after one battle they made him a corporal，after another a sergeant，and so on，through all the military ranks.But the title of Corporal，the lowest rank of officer，was the one that pleased them most；and for many years，when Napoleon made his nightly round of his camp，he was sure to be greeted by shouts of “Vive le petit caporal！”
2.Never did soldiers love their general as those of the French army loved Napoleon.They admired hisexceptional courage and coolness.Every one of themhad seen him do some act of conspicuousbravery.
Some had seen him gallop to the head of a wavering regiment and lead it to a glorious charge；others had seen him seize the colours from an ensign，dash forward almost alone，and plant them in the very face of the enemy；others had seen him coolly turn over a block of stone sent whizzing past his head by the explosion of a shell，and had perhaps heard him remark，“A few inches more，and that would have done its work.”
3.Napoleon knew how to speak to his soldiers，just a few words at a time，but words that went to their hearts.He recalled their past victories，he praised their courage，he stirred their patriotism and their devotion to himself，while at the same time he did not hesitate to reprimandthem for any want of bravery.At Marengo he galloped tothe front of a retreating squadron，and with the words，“Soldiers，remember that it is my custom to sleep uponthe battle-field，”he ralliedthem for a charge.
4.In marching from Egypt to Syria，a detachment of his army lost its way in the desert.Napoleon himself set off in search of his lost troops，and eventually found them nearly dying of hunger and thirst.The very sightof the general revived them，and when he told them that food was at hand they took heart again.“But，”continued Napoleon，“even if supplies had been longer delayed，would that have excused murmuring and despair？No，soldiers；learn to die with honour.”
5.The slightest reprimand from Napoleon had a wonderful effect on officers and privates alike.Many a fine young fellow exposed himself to certain death from his feeling of shame at a word of rebuke.Such was Croisier，who mounted an exposed battery before the walls of Acre，and quietly stood there till he met his death.
6.On one occasion Napoleon addressed a regiment which had shown signs of cowardice in battle.“You have shown，”he said，“neither discipline nor courage.You have allowed yourselves to be defeated where a few resolute men might have withstood an army.It should be written on your colours，’They are no longer French soldiers.‘“Cries，groans，and shouts showed how much the regiment felt the rebuke.Napoleon then changed his tone，alluding to their bravery on former occasions，and never afterwards had he any reason to complain of their behaviour.
7.The most striking illustration of Napoleon’s power over his soldiers occurred after his escape from Elba.Marching through the south of France with a few followers，he met a body of troops sent to arrest him.The two parties quietly advanced till within a few yardsof each other，then halted.Napoleon threw open hiscloak，showing the star of the Legion of Honour.“Ifthere is a man among you who will kill his emperor，”he cried，“let him do it now.Here I am.”Shouts of “Vive l‘Empereur ！”were the only reply.Napoleon threw himself among the leaders.Taking a veteran by the whiskers，he said，“Speak honestly，old fellow，could you have the heart to kill your emperor？”The man dropped his ramrod into the barrel of his gun；the sound showed that it was empty.“Judge，”said he，“if I have done thee much harm；the others are all the same.”And with that all the soldiers fell into line，Napoleon gave the word，and the united party marched forward.
8.Another cause of the devotion shown to Napoleon by his soldiers was the rough，friendly way in which he treated them.He would himself lend a hand in any hard work，whether in pulling guns up an Alpine pass，or in digging in the trenches.He talked of the soldiers as his children，he joked with them，playfully boxed their ears，or pulled their noses.He was careful of their comfort.On parade in winter he would suddenly pinch a soldier.“What，”he would cry，“no woollen clothes under your uniforms at this time of year！-See，colonel，that every man in this regiment has them by to-morrow.”After a hard-fought battle，Napoleon andhis staff would sometimes spend the whole night on the field caring for the wounded.
9.No one was ever sterner with his soldiers atbreaches of discipline；yet the soldiers knew thatNapoleon could sometimes overlook a fault.One night，it is said，after a hard day’s fighting，he found a sentry asleep at his post.The punishment for such an offence in every army is death.Yet Napoleon，instead of waking the soldier and putting him under arrest，shouldered his musket and mounted guard till the man awoke，to receive a full pardon from his emperor.
