The mind is saddened as
it wanders amid the labyrinths of conscientiousness and of passion,
of pure motives and impure ambition. This is, indeed, a fallen
world. The drama of nations is a tragedy. Melancholy is the lot of
man.
England daily witnessed, with increasing alarm, the rapid and
enormous strides which France was making. The energy of the First
Consul seemed superhuman. His acts indicated the most profound
sagacity, the most far-reaching foresight. To-day the news reaches
London that Napoleon has been elected President of the Italian
Republic. Thus in an hour five millions of people are added to
his empire! To-morrow it is announced that he is establishing a
colony at Elba, that a vast expedition is sailing for St. Domingo,
to re-organize the colony there. England is bewildered. Again it
is proclaimed that Napoleon has purchased Louisiana of Spain, and
is preparing to fill the fertile valley of the Mississippi with
colonists. In the mean time, all France is in a state of activity.
Factories, roads, bridges, canals, fortifications are every where
springing into existence. The sound of the ship hammer reverberates
in all the harbors of France, and every month witnesses the increase
of the French fleet.
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