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not the chief in command 257, and durst not have disobeyed 258 orders but 259 at 260 the sacrifice of his own life. It is on all sides 261 admitted that a family of royalists 262, being shipwrecked 263 on the coast near Toulon a few days after, were rescued from the hands of the ferocious 264 Republicans, solely 265 by his interference 266 and address.267 Putting 268 himself at the head of some of his gunners 269, he obtained possession of the unhappy prisoners, quieted 270 the mob 271 by assuring them that they should all be publicly executed the next morning, and meanwhile sent them off during the night in artillery waggons, supposed to be conveying 272 stores. The recovery 273 of Toulon was a service of the first 274 importance to the government. It suppressed all insurrectionary 275 spirit 276 in the south of France; and placed 277 a whole army at 278 their disposal 279 elsewhere. But he to whose genius the success was due, did not at first obtain the credit 280 of his important achievement 281 at Paris. The representatives of the people never made their appearance on the eventful 282 morning at the Little Gibraltar until three hours after the troops were in possession of the best part of the fortifications. Then, indeed, they were seen, sword in hand, in the trenches, blustering 28 and swaggering 284 in safety. Yet these men did not blush to represent 285 themselves as having headed 286 the assault, while, in their account of the conflict, even the name of Buonaparte did not find a place. The truth could not, however, be concealed effectually 287; and he was appointed

Hauptbefehlshaber.

257

then. Leiden.

268

sehen.

269

258 zuwider handeln, with Dat. 261 allerseits. 262 königlich gesinnt. 265 einzig.

271

259

say, it be 263 Schiffbruch

267 Klugheit.

272

260 mit. 61 wüthend. 266 Vermittelung. Kanonier, m. 270 beschwichtigen. Pöbel, m. fort= schaffen. 273 Wiedereinnahme. 274 of the highest. 275 276 Bewegung. 277 stillen. 278 zu. Anerkennung für. 281 Heldenthat.

284 lårmen.

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say,

15 aufrüherrisch. 279 Verfügung. 280 die gebührende 282 bedeutungsvoll. 285 vorgeben, followed by as if they had,

283 toben.

296 anführen.

to survey and arrange the whole line of fortifications on the Mediterranean coast of France.

It was during the siege of Toulon, that Napoleon, while constructing 288 a battery under the enemy's fire, had occasion to prepare 289 a despatch, and called out 290 for 291 some one who could use 292 a pen. A young sergeant, named Junot, leapt out 293, and, leaning on the breastwork, wrote as he dictated. As he finished, a shot struck 294 the ground by 295 his side, scattering 296 dust in abundance over him and everything near him. Good," said the soldier, laughing, "this time we shall spare our sand.” The cool gaiety 297 of this pleased Buonaparte: he kept 298 his eye on the man; and Junot came 299 in the sequel 300 to be marshal of France and duke of Abrantes.-Lockhart's Life of Napoleon.

66

XXIV. JOSEPHINE DE BEAUHARNOIS.

BUONAPARTE, holding1 the chief military command in the capital, and daily rising3 in importance5, from the zeal and firmness of his conduct in this high post, had now passed into the orders of marked and distinguished men. He continued, nevertheless, to lead in private 10 a quiet and modest life, studying as hard as ever, and but little seen in the circles of gaiety.11 An accident 12 which occurred 13 one morning at 14 his military levee 15, gave at once a new

288 errichten. vorspringen.

298 behalten.

289

295

296

293

297 Fröhlichkeit.

ausfertigen. 290 rufen. 291 nach. 292 führen. her= 24 schlagen in. an. streuen. 299 das Glück haben.

1in Hånden haben. 2Oberbefehl. 3 steigen. an.

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300 spåter.

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8 Reihe, f. bemerken.

12 Vorfall.

13 sich ereignen.

5 Bedeutung. 10 zu Hause. 14 während.

gay circles.

15 Aufwartung.

9

said he, " and in two days Toulon falls." His reasoning 137 at length forced 138 conviction 139, and he was permitted to follow his own plan. A month before nothing could have been more easy; but within that time the enemy had perceived the importance of the promontory, which commands 140 the narrow passage 141 between the port and the Mediterranean, and fortified it so strongly, that it passed by 142 the name of the Little Gibraltar. It was necessary, therefore, to form extensive 143 batteries in the rear .144 of La Grasse, before there could be a prospect 145 of seizing 146 it. Buonaparte laboured 147 hard 148 all day, and slept every night in his cloak by the guns, until his works approached perfection. He also formed a large battery behind Malbosquet; but this he carefully concealed from 149 the enemy. It was covered 150 by a plantation of olives, and he designed 151 to distract 152 their attention by opening its fire for the first time when he should be about to make his great effort 153 against Little Gibraltar. But the representatives of the people had nearly spoiled everything. These gentlemen walking 154 their rounds 155, discovered the battery behind the olives, and inquiring how long it had been ready, were told for eight days. Not guessing with 156 what view 157 so many guns had been kept158 so long idle 159, they ordered an immediate cannonade.160 The English made a vigorous sally 161, and spiked 162 the guns before Buonaparte could reach the spot. On his arrival at 163 the eminence 164 behind 165, he perceived a long deep ditch fringed 166 with brambles 167 and willows 168,

137 Ueberredung. 138 erzwingen. 139 Ueberzeugung. 140 beherrschen. 141 Engpaß, m. 142 2 gehen unter. 143 weitläufig. 144 Rücken, m. 145 Uussicht. 146 sich bemächtigen, with Gen. 147 arbeiten. 148 schwer. 150 decken. 151 beabsichtigen. 152 ablenken. 153 Hauptangriff. 154 machen.

155 Runde, f.

160 Kanonade, f.

156 in.
157 Absicht.
158 halten.
161 Ausfall. 162 vernageln.

149 vor.

159 unbeschäftigt. 163 auf. 164 Anhöhe. 165 von der Rückseite. 166 bewachsen. 167 Brombeerstrauch, m.

168 Weide, f.

which he 169 thought might be turned to advantage. 170 He ordered a regiment of foot 171 to creep along the ditch, which they did without being discovered until they were close 172 upon 173 the enemy. General O'Hara, the English commander, mistook 174 them for 175 some of his own allies 176, and, rushing out 177 to give them some directions 178, was wounded and made prisoner. 179 The English were dispirited 180 when they lost their general; they retreated 181, and the French were at liberty 182 to set about 183 the repair 184 of their battery. In this affair 185 much blood was shed. Napoleon himself received a bayonet thrust 186 in his thigh 187, and fell into the arms of Muiron, who carried him off188 the field. Such was the commencement of their brotherly friendship. His wound, however, did not prevent him from continuing his labours behind Little Gibraltar.

That fort had very nearly been seized 189 by a sort of accident 190 some time before his preparations were completed; a casual 191 insult 192 excited a sudden quarrel between the men in Buonaparte's trenches 193 and the Spaniards in Little Gibraltar. The French soldiers, without waiting for 194 orders, seized their arms, and rushed 195 to the assault 196 with fury, Napoleon coming up 197 perceived that the moment was favourable, and persuaded Doppet to support the troops with more regiments; but the doctor, marching at the head of his columns, was seized with 198 a panic 199 on seeing a man killed by his side, and

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178 Anweisung.

179

175 als.

171 Fußvolk, n. 172 dicht. 176 Verbündet. 177 hervoreilen.

93u, with the Def. Art.; gefangen, treated as a Substantive. 180 entmuthigen. 181 sich zurückziehen. 182 ungehindert. 183 sich machen an. 184 Ausbesserung.

stid).

188 187 Schenkel, m.

185 Gefecht, n. 186 Bayonett=

189

say, from the. nehmen. 191 gelegentlich. 192 Beleidigung. 193 Schanzgraben, m. 197 herankommen. von.

195 eilen. Schreck.

196 Sturm, m.

198

190

90 Zufall.

194 abwarten.

199 panischer

:

ordered a retreat, before anything could be effected. A few days after, this poltroon 200 was in his turn 201 superseded 202 by a brave veteran 203, General Dugommier, and Napoleon could at last count on having his efforts backed.204 But, for the second time, the representatives did their best to ruin 205 his undertaking. The siege had now lasted four months provisions were scarce in the camp; and these civilians 206, never being able to comprehend what was meant by bestowing 207 all this care 208 on a place so far below the city as Little Gibraltar, wrote to Paris that they saw no chance 209 of success 210, and hoped the government would agree with them that the siege ought to be abandoned.211 Two days before this letter reached Paris, Toulon had fallen, and the representatives gave out that the despatch 212 was a forgery.213 The moment had at last come when Buonaparte judged 214 it right 215 to make his grand attempt. During the night of the 17th of December, he threw 8,000 bombs 216 and shells 217 into Little Gibraltar, and the works being thus shattered 218, at daybreak, Dugommier commanded the assault. The French, headed 219 by the brave Muiron, rushed with impetuous 220 valour through the embrazures 221, and put 222 the whole garrison to the sword. The day was spent in arranging 223 the batteries, so as to command 224 the shipping 225, and next morning, so true had been Buonaparte's prophecy, when the French stood to 226 their posts 227, the English fleet was discovered to be already under weigh.228

200 Memme, f. unterstüßen.

204

215

205

201

01 feinerseits.

202

2 ersehen.

203

say, old soldier. 5zu Schanden machen. 206 der bürgerliche Beamte.

208 Sorgfalt. 209 Aussicht. 210 ein glücklicher Erfolg.

214 halten für.

erschüttern.

207 verwenden.
211 aufgeben. 212 Botschaft. 213. say, forged verfälschen.
218
say, the right time. 216 Bombe, f. 217 Feuerkugel, f.
ungestům. 221 Schießscharte, f.
sword über die Klinge springen lassen.
an. 227 Posten, m.

219 anführen.

220

225

226 Rhederei.

222 to put to the

223 ordnen. 224 'beherrschen.

228 unter Segel gehen.

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