DEAR MR. PUNCH,--There are so many lives of the great NAPOLEON being
published nowadays that one might fancy the former ruler of France must
have been as many-careered as a cat. Still, it may be interesting to
your readers if I give a few particulars of the great man that have not
yet appeared in print, if I except the pages of your own immortal
volumes.
I had the pleasure of meeting the great NAPOLEON some forty or fifty
years ago; he was then in his prime.
In personal appearance he was not unlike the portraits so familiar to
the public. In spite of his enthusiastic devotion for France, he
invariably addressed his troops in the English language. This is a
characteristic that seemingly has escaped the attention of all his
biographers.
The numbers and quality of his army have been much exaggerated. Although
in his speeches he was accustomed to boast of the strength of his
troops, as a matter of fact they could be more easily counted by tens
than hundreds. His artillery was almost a myth, and the ammunition was
chiefly composed of crackers. As for his cavalry, the horses were showy
but unreliable, many of them had white spots, and not a few were
extremely intelligent. His favourite charger had been known on occasion
(when engaged in circus duty) to drink a glass of sherry with the clown.
But there is one point I particularly wish to set right. Although known
by the public as NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE, my hero in private life was
invariably called by his intimates "poor old GOMERSAL."
Yours respectfully,
_The Amphitheatre_ BOSWELL REDIVIVUS.
_Within Site of Astley's._
P.S.--I saw the latest actor's edition of NAPOLEON the other night at
the Gaiety. He wasn't "in it" with "GOMERSAL,"--but then GOMERSAL was
occasionally on horseback; still, there was the uniform and the
snuff-box.
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[Illustration: FANCY PORTRAIT.
_Lord Chief Justice_ . . . LORD RUSSELL OF KILLOWEN.
_King Henry the Fifth_ . . MR PUNCH.
"YOU ARE RIGHT, JUSTICE, AND YOU WEIGH THIS WELL; THEREFORE STILL BEAR
THE BALANCE, AND THE SWORD: AND I DO WISH YOUR HONOURS MAY INCREASE!"
_Second Part of King Henry the Fourth_, Act., V Sc. 2.]
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