entirely without reserve, which,
however, occurred here, whether in consequence of treason or not I cannot
say. These were the two principal causes of the loss of the battle of
Waterloo."

"If Lord Wellington had intrenched himself," continued Napoleon, "I would
not have attacked him. As a general, his plan did not show talent.
He certainly displayed great courage and obstinacy; but a little must
be taken away even from that when you consider that he had no means of
retreat, and that had he made the attempt not a man of his army would
have escaped. First, to the firmness and bravery of his troops, for the
English fought with the greatest courage and obstinacy, he is principally
indebted for the victory, and not to his own conduct as a general; and
next, to the arrival of Blucher, to whom the victory is more to be
attributed than to Wellington, and more credit is due as a general;
because he, although beaten the day before, assembled his troops, and
brought them into action in the evening. I believe, however," continued
Napoleon, "that Wellington is a man of great firmness. The glory of such
a victory is a great thing; but in the eye of the historian his military
reputation will gain nothing by it."

"I always had a high opinion of your seamen," said Napoleon one day to
O'Meara, in a conversation arising out of the expedition to Algiers.
"When I was returning from Holland along with the Empress Maria Louisa we
stopped to rest at Givet. During the night a violent storm of wind and
rain came on, which swelled the Meuse so much that the bridge of boats
over it was carried away. I was very anxious to depart, and ordered all
the boatmen in the place to be assembled that I might be enabled to cross
the river. They said that the waters were so high that it would be
impossible to pass before two or three days. I questioned some of them,
and soon discovered that they were fresh-water seamen. I then
recollected that there were English prisoners in the barracks, and
ordered that some of the oldest and best seamen among them should be
brought before me to the banks of the river. The waters were very high,
and the current rapid and dangerous. I asked them if they could join a
number of boats together so that I might pass over. They answered that
it was possible, but hazardous. I desired them to set about it
instantly. In the course of a few hours they succeeded in effecting what
the others had pronounced to be impossible, and I cros