Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1878 — Napoleon’s Prophecies. [ARTICLE]

Napoleon’s Prophecies.

The rapid march of events during the past year in Eastern Europe recalls to mind the prophecy of Napoleon, that in fifty years Europe would be Cossack or republican, and supplies some enrious verification. The conversations which he held with the Englishman o‘Meara, as' he paced back and forth in his restricted quarters at St. Helena, have been preserved by the latter and recorded in book form. We cite a few of them, as showing how closely the great Emperor looked into futurity. Upon one occasion he said to O’Meara : “In the course of a few years. Russia will have Constantinople, the greatest Eart of Turkey, and all Greece. This I old to be as certain as if it had already taken place. Almost all the cajoling and flattering which Alexander practiced toward me was to gain my consent to effect this object. I would not consent, seeing that the equilibrium of Europe would be destroyed. In the natural course of things, in a few years Turkey must fall to Russia. ‘ The greatest part of her population are Greeks who, you may say, are Russians. The powers it would injure, and who could oppose it, are England, France, Prussia and Austria. Now, as to Austria, it will be very easy for Russia to engage her assistance by giving her Servia and other provinces bordering on the Austrian dominions, reaching near Constantinople. The only hypothesis upon which England and France will ever form an alliance with sincerity will be in order to prevent this. But even this alliance would not avail. France, England and Prussia united cannot prevent it. Russia and Austria can at any time effect it Once mistress of Constantinople, Russia gets all the commerce of the Mediterranean, becomes a great naval power, and God knows what may happen. She quarrels with you, marches off to India an army of 70,000 good soldiers, which is nothing, and 100,000 canaille, Cossacks, and others, and England loses India.” In another conversation O’Meara asked Napoleon if it was true that Alexander once intended to seize Turkey, to which Napoleon replied : “ All his thoughts are directed to the conquest of lurkey. We have had many discussions about it. At first I was pleased with his proposals, because I thought it would enlighten the world to drive those brutes, the Turks, out of Europe. But, when I reflected upon the consequences and saw what a tremendous weight of power it would give to Russia, in consequence of the numbers of Greeks in the Turkish dominions, who would virtually join the Russians, I refused to consent to it, especially as Alexander wanted to get Constantinople, which I would not allow, ass it would have destroyed the equilibrium of power iu Europe.”