Chapter 2: Departure for France
Just as Joseph thought, he did find Napoleon inside that cave without any problems. When he found Napoleon, the troublemaker was sitting on a rock, staring out over the rain-shrouded sea.
"O my foolish brother, what are you staring at there?" Joseph shouted.
"Nothing." Napoleon stood up lazily, "I was thinking I should probably put a book inside this hole. So that when you run here later, you have something to do. Well, Joseph, I suppose that nothing serious is going to happen? I should be able to go home."
Napoleon's last sentence is not in the tone of a question but in the tone of a statement.
"Basically." Joseph said, "But how can you be so sure?"
"If it's not over and I can't go back yet, you should have come here with food, not empty-handed like this." Napoleon replied, then asked, "Joseph, how did it end then?"
"You just ran for no more than a few minutes before Paolo woke up." Joseph said, "Of course Carlo was still angry, and he told Giovanni that when he caught you, he would give you a good whipping for sure. But when Giovanni left, Pauline told him that you hit Paolo because you saw him pulling her braids. After Pauline said that, I see that our father, though he didn't say it explicitly, he is the one who seems less angry with you. He even said to me, 'Joseph', you're my oldest son, why aren't you the one who rushes to the front of the line when something happens? Alas, if only you could mediate with Napoleon."
Joseph said this while mimicking his father, causing Napoleon to giggle. He said, "So, I should be fine?"
"It's basically fine." Joseph said, "At most, you will be scolded for a few moments. If it weren't for Pauline this time, you'd be in trouble. My stupid brother, those methods of yours, there are some results, but there has always been a problem, that is, you can't control the measure, it's easy to overdo it."
"It's better to get over the top than to end up getting beat up by someone because you're shrinking." Napoleon said without concern.
"Well, come back with me. Everyone's hungry, but Mom and Pauline are insisting that we wait until you get back before we eat." Joseph said, "Go back to your father and he'll scold you for a few moments, and you'll admit you're wrong, and then we can all eat. Hurry up, I'm hungry already!"
The two men returned home, and just as Joseph had said, Carlo just scowled and berated Napoleon and didn't pull out his whip. Napoleon, who had already talked to Joseph, very meekly reflected on his mistake to his father and promised that, in the future, if such a thing happened again, he would control his emotions and would never lay his hand on it with such a heavy hand.
"As the man of the house, it is important to be proactive in protecting the woman. But it has to be in proportion." After Napoleon is done, Carlo says with satisfaction, "But it must be quick, and you, Joseph, are not as good as Napoleon at that. I know that you have been influenced in many ways by Bishop Myriel, who is a good man and a holy man, but neither your mother nor I want to see you become a clergyman."
"All right, Carlo." Letizia frowned slightly, "It's time for your speech to end, the children are hungry."
"All right." Carlo smiled. He put his hands together. Everyone then joined together to put their two hands as one and began the prayer before dinner: "Bless us, O God, and the food that we shall enjoy and all the favors we shall have. Through Christ our Lord. Amen."
With that, the meal was eaten, and Carlo led the group through the after-dinner prayers again. This is a common rule in almost all homes in this era. Joseph would always think, 'If I were the God of Heaven, I'd feel like I was going crazy from being harassed by so many people's messages every day.'
There wasn't much entertainment at this time, and now that it was winter, it got dark early. Usually, after dinner, Carlo would tell a passage from the Bible or something, and then it would be dark enough for everyone to say good night to each other.
However, this time, instead of pulling out the Bible, Carlo told the group, "Everyone hold your seats here for a moment; I have something to tell you."
Everyone then continued to sit in their chairs and listen.
"Joseph, Napoleon, you two are not too young to learn something. I have made a friend, Mr. Armand de Foix, who came to our house once last time. He's going back to France now, and he can take you all with him to France, to school in France, and learn about French. And then, based on your performance in your middle school, we'll decide what you're going to do next."
Monsieur Armand de Foix, as soon as he heard the name, an image popped into Joseph's head in the form of a large man with a freckled red face, probably about his own height but almost twice as wide. Especially with that beer belly, Joseph suspected there was more than likely no way for him to see his toes when he lowered his head. He is a relative of the Governor of Corsica, works in the judicial department of Corsica, and is Carlo's superior. Like all guys with a 'de' in their name, this guy's job is to get paid for doing nothing. And his day-to-day business is pretty much just wandering around with a fishing rod. Carlo had originally been an adjutant to Paoli, the leader of the Corsican Resistance, and such a man should reasonably have had difficulty gaining the French authorities' trust. But because of his good relations with Mr. Foix, not only was his status as an 'Italian nobleman' recognized, (of course, this recognition was only on paper, but in France, especially in Paris, his status as a count, not many people would take it seriously.) he also became a member of the French government in Corsica. Now that Monsieur Foix was leaving Corsica, Carlo entrusted him with the task of arranging for his two sons to be introduced to an aristocratic school in France. Carlo knew there wasn't much of a future for Corsicans in Corsica, and France really offered opportunities.
"Learn French for what? The French..." Napoleon said halfway through, then shut up when he looked Carlo in the eye.
"Remember, the future of the family depends on you." Carlo concluded, "Napoleon, when you get to France, don't talk nonsense."
Napoleon didn't speak, but any fool could see the reluctant look on his face.
"Joseph, you'll talk to Napoleon later about not getting into trouble when you get to France." Carlo added.
What exactly Joseph said to Napoleon that night is anyone's guess, but after dawn, Napoleon showed an entirely different interest in going to France to learn French.
"I want to go into the heart of the enemy, to see them at the closest distance, to know them. This will help Corsica to be free." In private, Napoleon said this to his sister Pauline.
It would be more than a month before Mr. Foix returned to France, and Carlo took advantage of the time to hire a youngster named Valentin to tutor his two sons so that they could master more or less French before they left for France.
Valentin, a young man not yet twenty years of age, was said to have studied at the University of Paris but did not graduate from there successfully. He later came to Corsica in order to make a living. Valentin was a typical Southerner with white skin, black hair, and blue eyes. He always smiles when he speaks and is generally a charming young man.
Only he had his own job, and teaching the two Bonaparte brothers to speak French could only be done after hours. In order to enable the two brothers to master the French language as much as possible, the ever-thrifty Carlo actually allowed the brothers to light an oil lamp at night to study.
Italian and French are actually very similar, and the Corsican dialect is even more of an in-between language. However, of course, the Corsican dialect is still a bit closer to Italian. As a result, it wasn't difficult for Joseph and Napoleon, who had mastered the Corsican dialect, to spend a month or so mastering French in general.
The month or so flew by, and in a flash, it was time to leave Corsica.
Early that morning, after breakfast, Carlo, with his family, went outside Mr. Foix's residence to join him. People in that era went to bed early and generally got up early as well. Mr. Foix's house was also busy, and a butler was directing a group of servants to put all sorts of things on the wagon. Mr. Foix, on the other hand, stood by himself with no sign of sadness about leaving the place he had lived in for several years nor any joy at the prospect of returning to his native land. It's as if it's completely irrelevant to him. Only when he saw Carlo's family did he smile and greet them, "Hi Carlo, for that matter, and Joseph and Napoleon, good morning to you."
"Good morning Mr. Foix." Joseph hurriedly replied in French. But Napoleon said nothing.
"Ah, Joseph, your pronunciation of French still has a bit of an Italian accent, but it doesn't matter too much, there are quite a few people with that accent over in Toulon. Ah, Napoleon is still shy. It's better to be generous and gracious. Hahahahaha ..."
Apparently, Foix took Napoleon's hostility to the French for his shyness. Little did he know that the dwarf was willing to go to France to study so that he could understand France and one day defeat it and win independence for Corsica. At least at this time, Napoleon was still a staunch Corsican dissident.
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