fact that he took part in March, 1814, in the military exploits of Vincennes, and not of the butte Chaumont, as almost all the historians of the siege of Paris declared. M. Chasles, one of Sadi's school-fellows, took pains to rectify this error at a seance of the Institute in 1869.
If the pupils of the Polytechnic School did not earlier enter into the campaign, it was not because they had not asked to do so. I find in my brother's papers the copy of an address to the Emperor, signed by them December 29, 1813:
"Sire: The country needs all its defenders. The pupils of the Polytechnic School, faithful to their motto, ask to be permitted to hasten to the frontiers to share the glory of the brave men who are consecrating themselves to the safety of France. The battalion, proud of having contributed to the defeat of the enemy, will return to the school to cultivate the sciences and prepare for new services."
General Carnot was at Anvers, which he had just been defending against the confederate English, Prussians, and Swedes, where the French flag yet floated, when he wrote to his son, April 12, 1814:
"My dear Sadi: I have learned with extreme pleasure that the battalion of the Polytechnic School has distinguished itself, and that you have performed your first military exploits with honor.
