Title: Arrangements

The Bonaparte family was a very traditional Corsican family. That also meant the women in the household had little say. Letizia was a good wife and a good mother. Even in the hardest times, she always endured in silence. But she was also a very traditional Corsican woman, and when it came time to make decisions, she kept quiet.

So after Carlo died, Joseph had to make almost all the decisions in the family. Whenever his younger siblings had something to ask their mother, she always said, "Go ask your brother and see what he says." Just as, when Carlo was still alive, she had told them, "Go ask your father."

Joseph was suddenly busy. First, he arranged his father's funeral, then he dealt with the inheritance and debts. Fortunately, his uncle helped with these matters, and Bishop Minier's presence gave anyone hoping to take advantage of a household without an adult man plenty to think twice about. So everything went quite smoothly.

By the third day after the funeral, they had taken care of almost all the matters left behind. That evening, Joseph gathered his mother, his uncle, and his younger siblings together.

"Mother, Uncle, and my brothers and sisters, my father's funeral and the matters related to it are more or less behind us now," Joseph began. "Since we lost Father, our family's circumstances have changed greatly. The way we lived before will certainly have to change, too. We must adapt and prepare in advance. I'll explain the changes our family may face."

Everyone listened quietly as Joseph spoke.

"Now that Father has died, his salary is gone. You all know our family has very little land, and it doesn't yield much. Without Father's salary from the governor's office, our income will shrink to a third of what it was, relying on the produce from the little land we have left. That means we'll barely have enough to live on. Our pocket money—and even the money for your education—will be in trouble.

"Napoleon, you're at military school, and naturally you'll serve in the army after you graduate. Military school doesn't cost much. But I'm afraid you'll have to give up your pocket money."

"That's no problem," Napoleon said.

"I've looked into your grades over the last few years," Joseph continued. "You're good at mathematics, geography, and history. But your language grades have been a great disappointment."

"Mathematics, geography, and history are all useful in war. But languages..." Napoleon said, sounding unconvinced.

"My foolish brother, language is a weapon, too!" Joseph glanced at Napoleon. "How do you think Octavian defeated Brutus? Don't you know? The ability to wield language has always been indispensable to a good general."

When Joseph brought up Emperor Octavian as an example, Napoleon stopped arguing.

But Joseph wasn't willing to let him off so easily. He kept his eyes on Napoleon and continued, "For example, our family is temporarily in trouble. To earn more money to support our other brothers' education, someone has to step up and take Father's place.

"You know I have one year left before I graduate. But now we've run into difficulties. If I quit school now, I could find some work, of course, but I'd earn far less than Father did. If we can hold out for another year, I can find a job after I graduate, and my income will probably double. It still won't match what Father earned, but it should just about be enough to support the family.

"Clearly, in the long run, quitting school now would be the worst choice for both me and the family. But we can't ignore our immediate needs, either. So I've come up with a compromise. I have a classmate named Armand, who's Mr. Lavoisier's nephew. Napoleon, I mentioned him in my letters to you. He has a lot of translated plays and poems he can pass on to me. That way, I can keep studying while earning some money. My classmate Lucien can lend me a little, too. If the family is frugal, we should be able to get by for a year.

"Of course, if your language grades were a little better, Napoleon, perhaps you could help with some of the work you're capable of doing. That would be your way of helping the family, and it would make things a little easier for me. But with grades like yours, I wouldn't dare entrust you with this kind of work."

"I understand. I'll work harder at it from now on," Napoleon said, lowering his head.

Then Joseph turned to his other younger brothers.

"Lucien, you're still young, but you should know that you're one of the men of this family, too. You have to study hard. Our family may have a noble title, but we're not like those French nobles who can lie around doing nothing and live off their estates. The men in our family must have real skills. Lucien, do you know where exceptional people get their abilities? From studying and overcoming difficulties. You're old enough to start receiving an education now. I'll do my best to make sure financial troubles don't affect your education, but you must work hard, too.

"Louis, the same goes for you. Next year, after I graduate and find a good job, I'll take you and Lucien to Paris for your education if I can. Paris has a much better educational environment than Corsica."

"Joseph, I'll graduate at the end of this year. But now I have a chance to be selected for the Paris Military Academy. After graduating from there, I could get a higher rank and better prospects. I don't know..." Napoleon began.

"My foolish brother, what's there to hesitate about? Are you questioning your brother's ability to support the family with that meager wisdom of yours? Just go to the Paris Military Academy. Leave the current situation to me," Joseph replied.

"Joseph, how am I foolish? I just..." For once, Napoleon protested Joseph calling him "foolish."

"Oh?" Joseph immediately said. "Napoleon, geometry is your strongest subject. Do you need me to give you a problem so you can get a proper sense of your own abilities?"

Napoleon was taken aback. After a while, he said resentfully, "Joseph, you're not a good person."

After spending a few days getting the family's affairs more or less in order, Joseph set off for Paris again. During those days, and throughout the journey, whenever he had a spare moment—even if it was only ten minutes—he worked on translating the material he had in hand. Early on his second morning back in Paris, he first went to the school to report that his leave was over, then found Armand and handed him a bundle of pages.

"This is my translation of Timon of Athens. Take a look and tell me what needs changing, and I'll revise it," Joseph said to Armand.

"Joseph, you've already finished it?" Armand exclaimed in surprise. "I couldn't have done this in less than six months."

"You're slow because you're meticulous. I'm fast, but my work is much rougher," Joseph said.

"Joseph, I like hearing you say that. But I know perfectly well that I'm slow not because I'm meticulous, but because I'm lazy and don't want to work—just like the do-nothing kings of history, that line of Frankish rulers in the seventh century who neglected affairs of state. You, on the other hand, are hardworking. And when translating a literary work, it's best to finish it in one go. That way, the emotion and momentum stay consistent. Well, I'll look it over when I have time. As for the payment, I'll give it to you in a few days."

Armand was always slow to get things done. When he said he'd pay in a few days, Joseph prepared himself to wait half a month. But to his surprise, only three days later, Armand handed him the fee for translating the work: fifty francs in all.

"Joseph, the quality of the manuscript is good. If you can keep up this quality and speed, you could earn six hundred francs a year. Add your scholarship to that. By the way, how many younger brothers do you have?"

"Four, and three of them are old enough to receive an education. But the eldest is at military school, like me, so he doesn't cost anything," Joseph replied.

"Ah, so you only have two brothers you need to spend money on..." Armand calculated silently. "Oh dear, this money won't be nearly enough. With that little, you'll have to give up beer, Joseph. And foie gras? You'll have to say goodbye to that, too. You can't even spread butter on your bread. You'll be allowed one lamb chop a month, and you'll have to make it last three days: on the first day, you eat the meat; on the second, the fat; and on the third, you gnaw the bone. When you work, you can't smoke to stay alert or drink black tea, either. You'll have to make do with the cheapest coffee, and even that will be rationed... Good heavens, couldn't you have one fewer brother?"

Joseph replied, "In Corsica, we have a saying: 'When the time comes to hunt foxes, you find you have too few hounds; when the time comes to fight your enemies, you find you have too few brothers.' So we Corsicans never complain about having too many brothers or too many friends."

"That's an interesting saying," Armand said. "It's just too long-winded. It could be much more concise. Ah, perhaps it lost something when you translated it from Corsican into French. I think the same is true of your translation: it's very precise, but in many places it's a little long-winded. If it were me, I'd translate that line this way: 'When you need a dog, you'll wish you had more.'"