Page:Entertaining history of the early years of General Bonaparte (2).pdf/13

 came battles ; by turns Romans and Cat* haginians Greeks and Persians, we be- lieved ourselves called upon to imitate the enthusiastic fury of those ancient warriors, stones were weapons and often productive of wounds so that our superiors found them- selves obliged to repress our courage The games were forbidden, ' and our General severely reprimanded. Bonaparte with- drew himself into his favourite garden re- sumed his former occupations, and appear- ed no more among us till the snow covering the ground, and concealing the stones, furnished him with a pretext to open a new campaign.

The hostilities became, necessarily, of another sort, and the modern art of war succeeded to that of the ancient. Being seriously occupied by the study of fortifica- tion, he wished to put his theory in prac- tice ; and soon entrenchment, forts, basti- ons and redouts were erected of snow, in the great court of the school. We all la- boured at these works with an activity and pleasure which can be easily imagined the young Bonaparte directing our operations. the whole was executed with so much art and exactness as to excite the curiosity of the people of the town and even of strang- ers who came in crowds, during the winter, to admire our fortifications of snow ! As soon as these works were finished, we had