24 Le Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène, by Comte Emmanuel de Las Cases, was the author's recounting of Napoleon's life in exile and the deposed emperor's oral history of his extraordinary career. Las Cases, Napoleon's chamberlain, followed his master to Saint-Helena and lived with him until, in November 1816, the British ordered him to leave. Le Mémorial appeared in 1822 and 1823 and contributed greatly to the already growing Napoleonic legend.
The Red and the Black
live, or if he did that he'd be a burden on his family. Everyone in the house despised him; he hated his brothers and his father; when the children played in the public square, on Sunday, he was always beaten up. He was barely a year old when his beautiful face began to make friends for him, among the little girls. Looked down on by the entire world as a feeble creature, Julien was adored by the old surgeon, he who had had the nerve, one day, to speak to His Honor the Mayor about the butchered plane trees. Sometimes the surgeon paid Père Sorel for a day's working time, and taught his youngest son Latin and history, or what he himself knew of history: Napoleon's Italian campaign of 1798. When he died, he'd left his Legion of Honor medal to Julien, as well as whatever was owing from his half-pay military pension,25 plus thirty or forty books, the most precious of which had just leaped into the public stream, diverted into new channels by the influence of His Honor the Mayor. They'd hardly gotten into the house when Julien felt his father's powerful hand take hold of his shoulder; he trembled, waiting for the blows to follow. "Answer me and without any lying," the old peasant's rough voice cried in his ears, while his hand turned the young man around as a child turns a toy soldier. Julien's large black eyes, flowing with tears, found themselves staring straight into the small, gray, rascally eyes of the old carpenter, who seemed determined to read his son's soul, straight down into its depths. Chapter Five: A Negotiation Taking it slowly fixes everything. —ENNIUS26 "Answer me without lying, if you're able to, you son of a lizart: Where did you meet Madame de Rênal? When have you spoken to her?" "I've never spoken to her," Julien answered. "The only time I've ever seen the lady is at church." "But you've stared at her, you barefaced rascal?" "Never! As you know, at church, all I ever see is God," Julien added, a bit hypocritically, yet a fair and decent maneuver, as far as he was concerned, for warding off his father's blows. "Anyway, there's something behind this," replied the sly peasant, and then he was silent for a moment. "But I'll never learn anything from you, you damned hypocrite. But I'm going to be rid of you, and that's a good thing for my sawmill. Somebody, the parish priest or someone else, has gotten you a good job. Go and get yourself packed, and I'll take you to Monsieur de Rênal's house, where you're going to be his children's tutor." "And what would I be paid?" "Food and board, clothing, and three hundred francs a year." "I'm not interested in being a servant." "Pig, why are you jabbering about being a servant? Would I want my son to be a servant?" "But who will I be eating with?"27