1906.] 



JORDAN— THE HUMAN HARVEST. 67 



of Europe." " Napoleon," says Otto Seeck, '' in a series of years 

 seized all the youth of high stature and left them scattered over many 

 battle fields, so that the French people who followed them are mostly 

 men of smaller stature. More than once in France since Napoleon's 

 time has the military limit been lowered." 



I need not tell again the story of Napoleon's campaigns. It 

 began with the United States, the justice and helpfulness of the Code 

 Napoleon, the prowess of the brave lieutenant whose military skill 

 and intrepidity had caused him to deserve well of his nation. 



The spirit of freedom gave way to the spirit of domination. The 

 path of glory is one which descends easily. Campaign followed 

 campaign, against enemies, against neutrals, against friends. The 

 trail of glory crossed the Alps to Italy and to Egypt, crossed Swit- 

 zerland to Austria, crossed Germany to Russia. Conscription fol- 

 lowed victory and victory and conscription debased the human spe- 

 cies. " The human harvest zms bad." The first consul became the 

 emperor. The servant of the people became the founder of the 

 dynasty. Again conscription after conscription. " Let them die 

 with arms in their hands. Their death is glorious, and it will be 

 avenged. You can always fill the places of soldiers." These were 

 Napoleon's words when Dupont surrendered his army in Spain to 

 save the lives of a doomed battalion. 



More conscription. After the battle of Wagram, we are told, 

 the French began to feel their weakness, the Grand Army was not 

 the army which fought at Ulm and Jena. '' Raw conscripts raised 

 before their time and hurriedly drafted into the line had impaired 

 its steadiness." 



On to Moscow,^ " amidst ever-deepening misery they struggled 

 on, until of the 600,000 men who had proudly crossed the Niemen for 

 the conquest of Russia, only 20,000 famished, frost-bitten, unarmed 

 spectres staggered across the bridge of Korno in the middle of 

 December." 



" Despite the loss of the most splendid army marshalled by man. 

 Napoleon abated no whit of his resolve to dominate Germany and 

 discipline Russia. "... He strained every effort to call the youth 



^ These quotations are from the " History of Napoleon," I, by J. H. Rose. 



