secure peace. He sincerely desired it. He had already won all the
laurels he could wish to win on the field of battle. The reconstruction
of society in France, and the consolidation of his power, demanded
all his energies. The consolidation of his power! That was just what
the government of England dreaded. The consolidation of democratic
power in France was dangerous to king and to noble. William Pits,
the soul of the aristocratic government of England, determined still
to prosecute the war. France could not harm England. But England,
with her invincible fleet, could sweep the commerce of France from
the seas. Fox and his coadjutors with great eloquence and energy
opposed the war. Their efforts were, however, unavailing. The
people of England, notwithstanding all the efforts of the government
to defame the character of the First Consul, still cherished the
conviction that, after all, Napoleon was their friend. Napoleon,
in subsequent years, while reviewing these scenes of his early
conflicts, with characteristic eloquence and magnanimity, gave
utterance to the following sentiments which, it is as certain as
destiny, that the verdict of the world will yet confirm.

"Pitt was the master of European policy. He held in his hands the
moral fate of nations. But he made an ill use of his power. He
kindled the fire of discord throughout the universe; and his name,
like that of Erostratus, will be inscribed in history, amidst
flames, lamentations, and tears. Twenty-five years of universal
conflagration; the numerous coalitions that added fuel to the
flame; the revolution and devastation of Europe; the bloodshed of
nations; the frightful debt of England, by which all these horrors
were maintained; the pestilential system of loans, by which the
people of Europe are oppressed; the general discontent that now
prevails--all must be attributed to Pitt. Posterity will brand him