He found himself, also, thrown into contact with a group of youngsters
who were by no means disposed to put up with his overbearing ways.
Many of them were the sons of wealthy parents, while he at times was in
straitened circumstances. They were fastidious in dress, while he had
inclined to the slovenly. Small wonder that they derided him, or that
he withdrew within the shell of his pride--and stayed there. He had no
intimates. One schoolmate who perhaps came nearest to making a friend
of this stand-offish chap from the South, and who was to enjoy a large
measure of his confidence in after life was Bourrienne. The latter
wrote his famous "Memoirs of Napoleon," which give us many interesting
personal glimpses. Here is one of the earliest:
"At Brienne, Bonaparte was remarkable for the dark color of his
complexion, which the climate of France afterwards very much changed,
as well as for his piercing and scrutinising glance, and for the style
of his conversation, both with his masters and companions. His
conversation almost always gave one the idea of ill-humor, and he was
certainly not very sociable. This, I think, may be attributed to the
misfortunes of his family during his childhood, and the impressions
made on his mind by the subjugation of his country.
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