us between dishonor and war. The choice cannot for an instant be doubtful. Let us march forward, then, and, crossing the Niemen, carry the war into her territories. Poland will be to the French army as The second war of glorious as the first. it its own guaranty But our next peace must carry with and put an end to that arrogant influence which for the last fifty years Russia has exercised over the affairs of Europe. FAREWELL TO THE OLD GUARD Soldiers of my Old Guard: I bid you farewell. For twenty years I have constantly accompanied you on the road to honor and glory. In these latter times, as in the days of our prosperity, you have invariably been models of courage and fidelity. With men such as you our cause could not be lost; but the war would have been interminable; it would have been civil war, and that would have entailed deeper misfortunes on France. I have sacrificed all my interests, to those of the country. I go, but you, my friends, will continue to serve France. Her happiness was my only thought. It will still be the object of my wishes. Do not regret my fate; if I have consented to survive, it is to serve your glory. I intend to write the history of the great achievements we have performed together. Adieu, my friends. Would I could press you all to my heart. [Napoleon then ordered the eagles to be brought, and, having embraced them he added:] I embrace you all in the person of your general. Adieu, soldiers. Be always gallant and good. JOHN CABELL BRECKINRIDGE ADDRESS PRECEDING REMOVAL OF SENATE [John Cabell Breckinridge, an American soldier and statesman, who spoke in public with much effect, was born in Kentucky in 1821. He was engaged in the practice of law in his native state when elected to Congress. Later he was Vice-President of the United States, and in 1860 was made the Presidential candidate of the southern wing of the Democratic party, carrying a number of states. When the Civil War came he had been chosen to the United States Senate, but he went with Kentucky into the Confederacy and rose to high command in the Southern army. He was also for a time the Confederate Secretary of War. He died in 1875. The occasion on which the following speech was delivered, in 1858, was the last gathering of the United States Senate in the old senate chamber.] ΟΝ N the sixth of December 1819 the Senate assembled for the first time in this chamber, which has been the theater of their deliberations for more than thirty-nine years. And now the strife and uncertainties of the past are finished. We see around us on every side the proofs of stability and improvement. The capitol is worthy of the republic. Noble public buildings meet the view on every hand. Treasures of science and the arts begin to accumulate. As this flourishing city enlarges it testifies to the wisdom and forecast that dictated the plan of it. Future generations will not be disturbed with questions concerning the center of population, or of territory, since the steamboat, the railroad, and the telegraph have made communication almost instantaneous. The spot is sacred by a thousand memories, which are so many pledges that the city of Washington, founded by him and bearing his revered name, with its beautiful site, bounded by picturesque eminences, and the broad Potomac, and lying within view |