(Vol. viii., pp. 386. 502.)
The question as to Napoleon's spelling may seem, at first sight, to be one
of little importance; and yet, if we will look at it aright, we shall find
that it involves many points of interest for the philosopher and the
historian. During a residence of some years in France, I had heard it
remarked, more than once, by persons who appeared hostile to the Napoleon
dynasty, that its great founder had, in his bulletins and other public
documents, shown an unaccountable ignorance of the common rules of
orthography: but I had never seen the assertion put forth by any competent
writer until I met with the remarks of Macaulay, already quoted by me, Vol.
viii., p. 386.
In reply to my inquiry as to the authority for this statement, your
correspondent C. has readily and kindly furnished a passable from
Bourrienne's _Mémoires_, in which it is alleged that Napoleon's
"orthographe est en général _extraordinairement estropiée_."
From all this it must be taken for granted, as, indeed, it has never been
denied, that Napoleon's spelling is defective; but the question to be
considered is, whether that defectiveness was the effect of ignorance or of
design. That it did not arise from ignorance would seem probable for the
following reasons.
Napoleon received his education chiefly in France; and it is to be presumed
that the degree of instruction in grammar, orthography, &c., _ordinarily_
bestowed on educated Frenchmen, was not withheld from him.
To say the least of it, he was endued with sufficient intelligence to
acquire an _ordinary_ knowledge of such matters.
Nay more: he was a man of the highest order of genius. Between the
possession of genius, and a knowledge of orthography, there is, I admit, no
necessary connexion. The humblest pedagogue may be able to spell more
correctly than the greatest philosopher. But neither, on the other hand,
does genius of any kind necessarily preclude a knowledge of spelling.
While still a young man, Napoleon wrote several works in French, such as
the _Souper de Beaucaire_, the _Mémoire sur la Culture du Mûrier_, &c. Some
of the manuscripts of these writings must be still extant; and a comparison
of the spelling of his unpretending youth, with that of his aspiring {204}
manhood, would show at once whether the "_orthographe extraordinairement
estropiée_" of his later productions was the result of habit or design.
The orthography of the French language is peculiarly intricate; and it is
no uncommon thing to meet with educated men in that country who are unable
to spell with accuracy. That Napoleon may have been in a similar
predicament, would not be surprising; but that it should be said of the
most _extraordinary_ man of the age, that his spelling is
_extraordinairement estropiée_, seems inexplicable upon any fair
supposition, except that he accounted the rules of spelling unworthy the
attention of any but copyists and office drudges; or (which is more
probable) that he wished this extraordinary spelling to be received as an
indication of the great rapidity with which he could commit his thoughts to
paper.