NAPOLEON I 



4062 



NAPOLEON I 



center for the manufacture of ships, locomo- 

 . glass and machinery. Its 



commerce, in times of peace, is extensive, both 

 as regards exports and imports; nearly 9,500 

 - a year entered its harbor before the out- 

 break of the War of the Nations. 



Napl :nded by a Greek colony from 



Cumat vnturies before Christ. In the 



Middle Apes it was made the capital of the 

 Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (see SICILIES, 

 KINGDOM OF THE Two). The tomb of Vergil, 

 the ruins of the ancient cities of Herculaneum 

 and Pompeii, destroyed by an eruption of Ve- 

 suvius in A. D. 79, and the remains of Roman 

 temples, palaces and tombs make the surround- 

 ing region unusually interesting. The city is 

 now the capital of the province of Naples; in 

 1915 its estimated population (including sub- 

 B 697,917. 



Bay of Naples, an inlet of the Mediter- 

 ranean Sea, famous for the beautiful scenery 

 along its shores and the deep blue color of its 



It indents the southwest coast of Italy, 

 and is twenty miles wide between its northwest- 

 ern and southeastern points, Cape Miseno and 

 Point Campanella. On its shores are the city 



of Naples and many towns and villages, and 

 near by towers the celebrated Mount Vesuvius. 

 Two charming islands, Ischia and Capri, lie at 

 the entrance of the bay. 



Consult Button's Naples and Southern Italy. 



Retreat from Moscow En Route to St. Helena 



IAPOLEON I (1769-1821), or NAPOLEON 

 BONAPARTE, emperor of the French, the most 

 dominating individuality and the greatest mili- 

 tary genius of his day. At his frown the kings 

 of Europe were ill at ease; against him the 

 whole of Europe was in a perpetual state of 

 war for nearly a score of years. In view of his 

 remarkable career, it is surprising to learn from 

 the French historian and critic, Taine, that 

 Napoleon was disappointing in appearance. In 

 height he was dwarfed by all who surrounded 

 him, for he was only five feet one inch tall. 

 Lowering brows accorded ill with his weak 

 mouth; his personality lay in his eyes. He 

 was called insignificant by those who had never 

 looked into those eyes. 



Born at Ajaccio in Corsica on August 15, 

 1769, he was the fourth child and second son of 

 Carlo Maria de Buonaparte, as the name was 

 then spelled, and Letizia Ramolino. Both his 

 parents were of aristocratic descent. At the 

 time of his birth the island of Corsica was pass- 

 ing through a troublous period, and his father 



had shown ability as a schemer and intriguer 

 in following the policy most likely to benefit 

 himself and his family. On the acquirement of 

 the island by France, the elder Buonaparte se- 

 cured a nomination for his son Napoleon to 

 the military school of Brienne. After a few 

 months spent in learning the French language 

 and having already expressed his determination 

 to become a soldier, Napoleon entered the 

 military school at the age of ten. From Bri- 

 enne, after a course of education to which he 

 later always referred with contempt, he was 

 transferred to the military school at Paris, 

 where discipline was stern and education of a 

 higher order. His scholastic career was not 

 brilliant, and he received his commission in the 

 artillery in 1785 without having given evidence 

 of any marked ability, except perhaps that of 

 holding his own counsel and of carrying through 

 to the end any attitude adopted. These traits, 

 which afterwards made him feared equally in 

 the council chamber and on the battlefield, he 

 inherited from his mother. 



