Page:Helen Leah Reed - Napoleons young neighbour.djvu/284

254 himself in war. He encourages literature, art, and music, and makes Paris so beautiful that its citizens are justified in their pride.

He surrounds himself with capable men. In no way does he more clearly show his own superiority than by letting it be seen that he is free from jealousy. He is always ready to reward publicly those who help him in any of his undertakings. Not all Napoleon's plans are carried out during his Consulship, but they are begun with such vigor that no one doubts that they will be completed. The country is the better for his firm hand. Yet in some ways we admired him more in his earlier years. His ambition now casts a shadow that should warn him that the middle way is the best.

In one way at least Napoleon's ambitions do not get the better of him. As he advances in power he does not forget old friends. They share his prosperity, these schoolmates and associates of his earlier years. They are given honors that some of them find it hard to wear gracefully.

"Here we are at the Tuileries," he exclaims to an old friend, when made Consul for life. "We must remain here."