We  can  explain  the  miracle  only  by  the  impetuous
energy  and  many-sided  ability  of  the  master-builder
and  his  unequalled  power  of  drawing  the  utmost  from
all  his  subordinates.  Working  often  twelve  to  sixteen
hours  a  day,  gulping  down  his  dinner  in  twenty  min-
utes, and  finding  as  much  rest  in  an  hour  spent  in  a
hot  bath  as  ordinary  men  did  in  three  or  four  hours
of  sleep,  he  toiled  with  the  intense  activity  and  con-
centrated will-power  nowadays  needed  by  the  con-
troller of  a  great  system  of  trusts.  He  loved  work.  As
his  secretary,  Meneval,  remarked:  "  The  devouring  ac-
tivity of  his  brain,  which  never  found  enough  material
on  which  to  work,  and  kept  growing  in  proportion  to

'  Chaptal,  "  Souvenirs,"  p.  360.
THE  EMPEROR  157

the  multiplicity  of  business,  used  to  suffice  for  every-
thing." Napoleon  said  to  Las  Cases  at  St.  Helena:
"  Work  is  my  element,  for  which  I  was  born  and  fitted.
