10/21 I appealed to the courage of the army, and the heart of the French people; I obtained all that I had asked. The National Guard reorganized with renewed zeal; legions were formed upon the Rhine, on the Moselle. Battalions of veterans took the place of old regiments to reinforce the troops that were guarding our frontiers; to-day our cavalry is recruited by a remount of forty thousand horses, and one hundred thousand conscripts, armed and equipped, have received with cries of 'Vive la Republique!' the flags under which they will fight and conquer--" "But," interrupted Bonaparte bitterly, "this is an apology you are making for yourself." "Be it so. I will divide my discourse into two parts. The first will be a contestable apology; the second an array of incontestable facts. |