. In the footsteps of Napoleon, his life and its famous scenes. of Paris he hadonly 2300 men, a much smaller force than was employed topreserve the peace in London herself. Nor did his enemies know that while his phantom army atDijon was contributing to the gaiety of nations, a regimentwas quietly forming here, a brigade there in various parts ofFrance and stealthily marching by itself toward Switzer-land. Its own officers had no idea of its real the minister of war was not in the secret. As those mysterious and mystified commands, coming bymany roads, met on the banks of Lake
. In the footsteps of Napoleon, his life and its famous scenes. of Paris he hadonly 2300 men, a much smaller force than was employed topreserve the peace in London herself. Nor did his enemies know that while his phantom army atDijon was contributing to the gaiety of nations, a regimentwas quietly forming here, a brigade there in various parts ofFrance and stealthily marching by itself toward Switzer-land. Its own officers had no idea of its real the minister of war was not in the secret. As those mysterious and mystified commands, coming bymany roads, met on the banks of Lake Geneva at Lausannethey were amazed to find themselves an army—the real Armyof the Reserve—under the command of Napoleon himself,who marched them squarely against the Alps at was going to steal up the Alpine wall and jump down onthe unsuspecting Austrians! Magnificent highways run over the Alps to-day and luxuri-ous express trains run under them—it is hardly more thanan hour from Martigny itself to Italy by the great Simplon ^ mS nmsi mmwsg. CROSSING THE ALPS 121 tunnel. But there was not a wagon track for the mere foot trails over the steep passes, he chose thesteepest of all, the Great St. Bernard, because it was theshortest and would take him closest to the rear of the Aus-trians. As another youth with the same sad brow and flashing blueeye, who bore mid snow and ice a banner with a strange de-vice, was warned by the prudent against the roaring torrentand the awful avalanche of the St. Bernard, the army engi-neers, returning from their inspection, shook their cautiousheads at the young First Consul and echoed, Try not thepass! Difficult, granted, he replied to the engineers; but is itpossible? They admitted the possibility. Then let usstart! He did not cry Excelsior! But no doubt he hadhis secret watchword—^Empire! If Charlemagne had led an army over the St. Bernard 1000years before, and Hannibal had crossed the Alps 2000 yearsbefore with t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectnapoleo, bookyear1915
