LI. THE FRENCH ARMY CROSSING THE ALPS. A-ban'-doned, gave up. Be-num'bed, deprived of feeling. De-fi'les, narrow passages. Il-lus'-trates, explains, makes Muf'-filed, indistinct. Wi'nd-ing-sheet, a white cloth in [NAPOLEON BONAPARTE was born in Corsica in 1769. He became an officer in the French army, and so distinguished himself that, in 1804, he was crowned Emperor of France. His great ambition was to subdue all the nations of Europe, and at first success everywhere attended his armies. In 1812 he marched into Russia, and got as far as Moscow, but he was forced to retreat. From this time his course was downward. He was banished to Elba, a small island between Corsica and Italy; but he made his escape and raised a new army, which was utterly routed at Waterloo, near Brussels, in 1815, by the English under Wellington, and the Prussians under Blucher. Napoleon was then banished to St. Helena, a small rocky island in the South Atlantic Ocean, where he died in 1821. His remains were removed to Paris in 1840. In May 1800, Napoleon led his army across the Alps by the Pass of St. Bernard; and a few months later the incident occurred that is related in the following lesson.] WHEN Napoleon was carrying on war in Italy, he ordered one of his officers, Marshal Macdonald, to cross the Splügen with fifteen thousand soldiers, and join him on the plains below. It was about the end of November when Macdonald received the order, and the winter storms were raging among the mountain passes. It was a perilous undertaking, yet he must obey; and the men began their terrible march, through narrow defiles and past overhanging precipices, six thousand feet up, up among the gloomy solitudes of the Alps! The cannon were placed on sleds drawn by oxen, and the ammunition was packed on mules. First went the guides, sticking their long poles in the snow in order to find and mark the path; then came workmen to clear away the drifts; then the dragoons, mounted on powerful R. IV, war-horses, to beat down the track; and after them the main body of the army toiled up the rough and rugged road. They encountered severe storms and piercing cold. When they were halfway up the mountain the wind sud denly rose, and a rumbling noise was heard among the cliffs. The guides looked at each other in dismay, for too well did they know the meaning of that awful sound. It grew louder and louder; and the earth seemed to groan and tremble beneath their feet. "An avalanche! an avalanche!" they shrieked; and the next moment a field of ice and snow came leaping down the mountain, striking the line of march, and sweeping thirty dragoons into the yawning gulf below. The black forms of the horses and their riders were seen for an instant struggling for life, and then they disappeared for ever. The sight struck the soldiers with horror; they crouched and shivered in the blast. Their enemy was not now flesh and blood, but wild winter storms; swords and bayonets could not defend them from the desolating avalanche. Flight or retreat was hopeless; around, on every side, lay the drifted snow, like a vast windingsheet. The guides refused to proceed, and the soldiers abandoned themselves to despair; but their brave general hurried to the front, and revived the sinking spirit of the troops. "Soldiers!" he exclaimed, "you must overcome the Splügen. Glory calls you to the plains of Italy; your general needs you there. Advance and conquer, first the mountain and the snow, then the plains and the enemy!" Blinded by the winds, benumbed with the cold, and far beyond the reach of aid, Macdonald and his men. pressed on. Sometimes a whole company of soldiers was suddenly swept away by an avalanche. On one occasion a poor drummer, crawling out from a mass of snow that had torn him from his comrades, began to beat his drum for relief. The muffled sound came up from his gloomy resting-place, and was heard by his brother soldiers; but none could go to his rescue. For an hour he beat rapidly, then the strokes grew fainter, until they were heard no more, and the poor drummer laid himself down to die. Two weeks were occupied in this perilous march, and two hundred men perished in the undertaking. This passage of the Splügen is one of the bravest exploits in the history of Napoleon's generals, and illustrates the truth of the proverb, "Where there's a will there's a way." No one can read the heroic deeds of brave men grappling with danger and death, without a feeling of respect and admiration. But heroic deeds are always the fruit of toil and self-sacrifice. No one can accomplish great things, unless he aims at great things, and pursues that aim with unflinching courage and perseverance. The Splü'gen-one of the great roads, or passes, which cross the Alps from Switzerland to Italy. Ba'yonet a dagger fitted to the end of a rifle or musket. It is so called, because the first bayonets were made at Bayonne, in France. QUESTIONS. Who was Napoleon Bonaparte ? What did he wish to do? What disaster befell his army in 1812? Where was he totally defeated? By whom? To what island was he banished? When did he die? When were his remains removed to France? In what year did the incident narrated in the lesson occur? Where was Napoleon then? What orders had he given to Macdonald? What time of year was it? How were the cannon conveyed? and the ammunition? In what order did the army proceed? What disaster occurred? How did Macdonald address the army? Describe the drummerboy's fate. How long did the march occupy? How many men perished? What proverb does this exploit illustrate? What do heroic deeds always spring from? How only can great things be accomplished? Spell the present participle of carry, drum, draw, beat, pierce, rage, leap, strike, sweep, struggle, strip, come, drop, droop, hurry, crawl, grow, die, stay, dry, lie. DICTATION. The drummer boy perished among the snow. Do you see the buoy floating in the bay? The bell will ring at eight o'clock. Your sister is dressed like a belle. Did the woman wring the clothes? The stranger ate bread and cheese. Everybody loves well-bred children. My brothers sing in the choir. Twenty-four sheets make a quire of paper. This is his daughter's bridal day. Take hold of the pony's bridle. [NAPOLEON died at Longwood, in St. Helena, in 1821. "A dreadful tempest arose on the 4th of May, which preceded the day that was to close the mortal existence of this extraordinary man. A willow, which had been the exile's favourite, and under which he had often enjoyed the fresh breeze, was torn up by the hurricane; and almost all the trees about Longwood shared the same fate. The 5th of May came amid wind and rain. Napoleon's passing spirit was engaged in a strife more terrible than that of the elements around. The words 'Head of the Army,'-the last which escaped his lips-shewed that his thoughts were watching the current of a heady fight."] WILD was the night, yet a wilder night A few fond mourners were kneeling by, They knew, by his awful and kingly look, That he dreamed of days when the nations shook, He dreamed that the Frenchman's sword still slew, Like the hare before the beagle. The bearded Russian he scourged again, |