Hi.t tory of the Consulate and the Empire of France
under Napoleon. By Louis Adolphe Thieve. Translated by D. Forbes Campbell and john Stubbing. Vol. I. (Chatto and Windus.)—We have here the first volume of a proposed reissue (in twelve volumes) of Thiers's great work. Great it certainly is ; the literary quality is maintained throughout, not seriously depressed by any mass of detail through which the writer has to struggle. Of its character as a history one has to speak with more reserve, It is the "case for the French," put, indeed, with admirable force and even eloquence, but with no more scruples than an advocate is accustomed to observe. The history begins with " 18th of Brumaire, year viii„" or, in the language of ordinary mortals, November 9th, 1799, when the three Consuls, Bonaparte, Siearis, and Roger-Ducas, took up the task of government, It ands with the battle of Copenhagen and the death of the Emperor Paul, an event which Napoleon attributed in the Moniteur, in almost so many words, to the English Cabinet. We sincerely hope that the enterprise of the publishers in bringing out anew this important book will meet with the success that it deserves.
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