cr own readers

122 TH E LITTLE CORPORAL.
advancement did not depend on hi s wealt h or SOCIal
position, but entirely on his own conduct as a soldier.
The way in which he promoted hi s men made every
(me of them anxious to distinguish himself before
the emperor. After an engagement, Napoleon would
~ather his captains arou nd him, an d ask them to select
the bravest fr om among them for promotion. A brave
action seldom went un rewarded ; sometimes it was by
n pleasan t word-that was enoug h for his soldiers
-but more often the word was accompanied by somet
hing more substantial.
2. Sometimes a quick retort, or a clever speech,
was the first step in the promotion of a ga llant young
fellow. Marsh al Junot owed his advance to a quiet,
cool exclamation. Wh en a private at Toulon, he was
writing to Napoleon's dictation. The letter was j ust
finished, wh en the explosion of one of the enemy's
shells covered it with earth. " Thanks," said J unot,
nodding towards the battery; " we shall not need sand
to dry the let ter this tim e."
3. The devotion of the soldiers was so intense
that no risks were too great when undertaken in his
serv ice. Napoleon seldom ordered. anyone to do a
particularly da ngerou s piece of work ; he preferred
to ask for volunteers, and he never failed to find
them. Du ring his ad van ce on Vienna in 18 09, a
large body of the Austrian s had form ed their camp
on the opposite bank of the Danube. A strong
division had also been posted in fr ont of his line of
march, but it was reported that this div ision had
crossed the river, leaving his way open. The real
posit ion of the enemy could only be determined by
capturing and quest ioning some of the Austrians on