Simon Leys - The Death of Napoleon

1. The time factor

The heat wave which we are now experiencing does not, on the face of it, favor our campaign, since it makes the melons ripen quickly. In reality, it also contains an element that could benefit us, one we should exploit to the full, and that is the thirst it creates in the townspeople. If we act swiftly there is nothing to stop us from turning these weather conditions to our advantage. Indeed, swiftness of action will allow us to make use of the inherent advantages of the situation (i.e., the increased thirst of potential customers), and to avoid the harmful effects (progressive stock loss through spoilage) .

2. The terrain factor

I have no need to remind you that Paris covers a wide area and that we have only minimal forces at our disposal to sweep the field. An uncoordinated, haphazard effort would therefore be certain to fail. First, we must determine all the regions where the lie of the land could work against us: long, quiet streets in districts where our column would risk losing precious time and where the ardor of its initial impetus would be dulled without achieving any gain; les Halles, markets, the vicinity of greengrocers’ shops — all areas where the inhabitants show a stronger buyer resistance because there is so much stiff competition — these various points must be totally excluded from our itinerary [as he spoke, he seized a pencil and, with a decisive cross, eliminated les Halles from the map]. We shall therefore concentrate our strength exclusively in those regions that offer the least possibility of resistance and the best chance of gaining a prompt, significant advantage with the greatest economy of effort — i.e., the zones that present both a maximum concentration of population and a minimum supply level of fruit and vegetables. As regards the first aspect (population), from now on, we can concentrate on the central districts and mark the most frequently used access routes [the pencil authoritatively circled a wide area in the middle of the map, from which it drew out four or five main approaches]. As regards the second question (finding out the location of fruit shops), it will be imperative to send out scouts to effect a preliminary reconnaissance of the terrain. This reconnaissance will be carried out at dawn, and will hardly delay the launching of our offensive; it will subsequently even allow us to gain a considerable amount of time, since it will avoid useless counter-marches by immediately enabling us to take up the most favorable positions .

3. The human factor

A. The enemy. The extent of their resistance — as I have just pointed out — relies on a chain of redoubts placed at irregular intervals, which we must systematically avoid; concentrating all our forces in a charge on one of the breaks in this line, we can use this gap to head straight for the soft underbelly of the city. Once in that central position, we can deploy our forces more or less widely, depending on the conditions of the terrain, so that the area under our control may be progressively extended .

B. Our forces. First, the scouts: for this reconnaissance mission, a few children should be adequate — their lightness and mobility recommend them for this type of operation. As for the rest, we will form a single column with all the handcarts and even the wheelbarrows at our disposal. Headquarters will be installed in a café in the central zone, its exact location will be decided at the appropriate time. Liaison between headquarters and the various carts engaged in action will also be carried out by the band of children .

This plan of action was adopted to the applause of the assembled company, which, in spite of the rigors of the day just past and the prospect of an even more difficult day to come, felt a thrill of new hope pass through it.

That evening, the half-pay soldiers, instead of going back to their respective garrets, bivouacked at the Ostrich’s house, so that they could form their column at dawn without wasteful delays.

Napoleon’s words had awakened in them a mixture of excitement and confidence. They had the vague impression of being on the eve of an unknown adventure; at the same time, with glad surprise, they fell back again into old habits of obedience and readiness. For this night before combat, some bedded down under the table, some on benches, all wearing their boots and rolled in their overcoats, and soon the large room was filled with the sound of their snoring.

Napoleon was deep in thought, his chin in his hand. His eyes sometimes turned back to the map of Paris, still spread out in front of him.

But he was not the only person awake: seated in the dark corner of the hearth, silent, spellbound, drawing on a dead cigar, the medical officer was watching him.

IN SPITE OF all his perspicacity, the turn of events caught the medical officer unawares. Certainly the triumphal day of the melons had confirmed his suspicions: that brilliant, flawless plan of action was completely in line with a strategy which he had known for a long time to be stunningly effective. Once again, its outstanding success came as no surprise. The subsequent recovery of the Ostrich’s business was also predictable, even though it was brought about with staggering vigor and speed. But what really astounded and dismayed the medical officer was the upheaval which he now saw taking place in his own life.

The Other Man had taken charge of everything, with an energy and competence one had to admire. After all, it was normal that he should wish personally to supervise accounts, transport, correspondence, personnel, branch offices, advertising, marketing, stock-taking, legal matters, and public relations, since it was he who had succeeded in reviving, transforming, and developing the business; and besides, the medical officer, who was keen on his leisure time, would not for one moment have thought of disputing the Other’s right to rack his brains over those endless, boring tasks. Therefore, it was natural enough, in a sense, that the Other had become the undisputed master of the household.

The fact that the Ostrich now sat at the conquering hero’s feet was harder to accept for the medical officer; and yet, with considerable effort, he might even have been able to come to terms with this situation: he knew the affectionate nature and spontaneity of that simple, warmhearted woman, and besides, having none too high an opinion of himself, he had never dared to entertain too much hope for his own chances.

His indignation and distress came from a stranger source: what seemed excusable in the Ostrich became a shocking and unforgivable betrayal in the Other. Seeing him accept the widow’s favors and calmly settle into his newfound bourgeois prosperity, the medical officer felt as though he had just witnessed the collapse of everything that justified his own existence. He found himself in a position similar to that of a believer to whom God has just revealed the fact that He intends to retire.

And so, at first, in spite of all the signs, he had refused to believe such an outrage. But, living under the same roof, he could not persist indefinitely in ignoring the weight of evidence to the contrary.

To his great dismay, he found himself free all of a sudden. One morning, taking advantage of the Other’s absence, he announced to the Ostrich that he had decided to leave. The lack of concern, the seeming indifference with which she greeted the news, precipitated his determination; his decision, which until that moment was still uncertain, now became irrevocable. Seeing that the widow was not even going to ask him to delay his departure, he thereupon made up a story about an inheritance that urgently required his presence in the country.