Colonel H. A. Dillon says that for what the French call _le moral d’une armée_ he can find no equivalent in the English language, and must explain his thought by paraphrase. He defines this _moral_ to be the liveliest courage produced by the purest patriotism. _Commentary on the Military Establishments and Defences of the British Empire_, vol. i. This _moral_ the French lost by their repeated defeats in the Peninsula, and by the conviction forced on them that even the Pyrenees were no longer a barrier. Napoléon placed in _le moral_ three fourths of the power of an army. Celerity of movement was the principal secret of the early French successes, and of this the rapid marching of the French soldier and his wonderful power of sustaining fatigue were the main elements. The French soldier is small of stature, as General Foy himself confesses, but he marches quick and long, and this the General in great part attributes to the French eating much more bread than any other European troops: “Les soldats qui mangent le plus de pain et le moins de viande sont en général plus musculeux, et marchent plus vite et plus long temps que les autres. * * Le Français a besoin en campagne de deux livres de pain par jour.”--Foy, _Hist. Guerre Pénins._ liv. i. The astonishing developement which Napoléon gave to the infantry service has been dwelt on by more than one writer. “L’infanterie française, cette nation des camps,” says De Barante, _Des Communes et de l’Aristocratie_. Napoléon gave to this arm a power and vigour to which it was before a stranger. “Napoléon augmenta le bataillon d’infanterie d’une autre compagnie d’élite, les voltigeurs. Ce fut une idée heureuse que de rehausser dans l’estime publique les hommes de petite taille, qui en général sont les plus intelligens et les plus alertes.” (Foy, _Hist. Guerre Pénins._) The consummation of the Emperor’s gigantic views was found in the Imperial Guard. “La garde impériale représentait la gloire de l’armée et la majesté de l’empire. On choisissait les officiers et les soldats parmi ceux que les braves avaient signalés comme les plus braves: tous étaient couverts de cicatrices.”--(Foy, _Hist. Guerre Pénins._ liv. i.) Napoléon after the battle of Marengo called them his “granite column.” At the height of his power his Imperial Guard consisted of 68 battalions, 31 squadrons, and 80 pieces of artillery--in itself a powerful army. Never will the exclamation of these devoted men on the field of Waterloo be forgotten: “_La garde meurt et ne se rend pas!_”