Ver.10/04/01*END*
This etext was produced by David Widger
[NOTE: There is a short list of bookmarks, or pointers, at the end of the
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RECOLLECTIONS OF THE PRIVATE LIFE OF NAPOLEON, V5
By CONSTANT
PREMIER VALET DE CHAMBRE
TRANSLATED BY WALTER CLARK
1895
CHAPTER I.
I left the Emperor at Berlin, where each day, and each hour of the day,
he received news of some victory gained, or some success obtained by his
generals. General Beaumont presented to him eighty flags captured from
the enemy by his division, and Colonel Gerard also presented sixty taken
from Blucher at the battle of Wismar. Madgeburg had capitulated, and a
garrison of sixty thousand men had marched out under the eyes of General
Savary. Marshal Mortier occupied Hanover in the name of France, and
Prince Murat was on the point of entering Warsaw after driving out the
Russians.
War was about to recommence, or rather to be continued, against the
latter; and since the Prussian army could now be regarded as entirely
vanquished, the Emperor left Berlin in order to personally conduct
operations against the Russians.
We traveled in the little coaches of the country; and as was the rule
always on our journeys, the carriage of the grand marshal preceded that
of the Emperor. The season, and the passage of such large numbers of
artillery, had rendered the roads frightful; but notwithstanding this we
traveled very rapidly, until at last between Kutow and Warsaw, the grand
marshal's carriage was upset, and his collarbone broken. The Emperor
arrived a short time after this unfortunate accident, and had him borne
under his own eyes into the nearest post-house. We always carried with
us a portable medicine-chest in order that needed help might be promptly
given to the wounded. His Majesty placed him in the hands of the
surgeon, and did not leave him till he had seen the first bandage
applied.
At Warsaw, where his Majesty passed the entire month of January, 1807, he
occupied the grand palace. The Polish nobility, eager to pay their court
to him, gave in his honor magnificent fetes and brilliant balls, at which
were present all the wealthiest and most distinguished inhabitants of
Warsaw.
At one of these reunions the Emperor's attention was drawn to a young
Polish lady named Madame Valevska, twenty-two years of age, who had just
married an old noble of exacting temper and extremely harsh manners, more
in love with his titles than with his wife, whom, however, he loved
devotedly, and by whom he was more respected than loved. The Emperor
experienced much pleasure at the sight of this lady, who attracted his
attention at the first glance. She was a blonde, with blue eyes, and
skin of dazzling whiteness; of medium height, with a charming and
beautifully proportioned figure. The Emperor having approached her,
immediately began a conversation, which she sustained with much grace and
intelligence, showing that she had received a fine education, and the
slight shade of melancholy diffused over her whole person rendered her
still more seductive.
His Majesty thought he beheld in her a woman who had been sacrificed, and
was unhappy in her domestic relations; and the interest with which this
idea inspired him caused him to be more interested in her than he had
ever been in any woman, a fact of which she could not fail to be
conscious. The day after the ball, the Emperor seemed to me unusually
agitated; he rose from his chair, paced to and fro, took his seat and
rose again, until I thought I should never finish dressing him.
Immediately after breakfast he ordered a person, whose name I shall not
give, to pay a visit to Madame Valevska, and inform her of his
subjugation and his wishes. She proudly refused propositions which were
perhaps too brusque, or which perhaps the coquetry natural to all women
led her to repulse; and though the hero pleased her, and the idea of a
lover resplendent with power and glory revolved doubtless over and over
in her brain, she had no idea of surrendering thus without a struggle.
The great personage returned in confusion, much astonished that he had
not succeeded in his mission; and the next day when the Emperor rose I
found him still preoccupied, and he did not utter a word, although he was
in the habit of talking to me at this time. He had written to Madame
Valevska several times, but she had not replied; and his vanity was much
piqued by such unaccustomed indifference. At last his affecting appeals
having touched Madame Valevska's heart, she consented to an interview
between ten and eleven o'clock that evening, which took place at the
appointed time. She returned a few days after at the same hour, and her
visits continued until the Emperor's departure.
Two months after the Emperor sent for her; and she joined him at his
headquarters in Finkenstein, where she remained from this time, leaving
at Warsaw her old husband, who, deeply wounded both in his honor and his
affections, wished never to see again the wife who had abandoned him.
Madame Valevska remained with the Emperor until his departure, and then
returned to her family, constantly evincing the most devoted and, at the
same time, disinterested affection. The Emperor seemed to appreciate
perfectly the charms of this angelic woman, whose gentle and self-
abnegating character made a profound impression on me. As they took
their meals together, and I served them alone, I was thus in a position
to enjoy their conversation, which was always amiable, gay, and animated
on the Emperor's part; tender, impassioned, and melancholy on that of
Madame Valevska. When his Majesty was absent, Madame Valevska passed all
her time, either in reading, or viewing through the lattice blinds of the
Emperor's rooms the parades and evolutions which took place in the court
of honor of the chateau, and which he often commanded in person. Such
was her life, like her disposition, ever calm and equable; and this
loveliness of character charmed the Emperor, and made him each day more
and more her slave.
After the battle of Wagram, in 1809, the Emperor took up his residence at
the palace of Schoenbrunn, and sent immediately for Madame Valevska, for
whom a charming house had been rented and furnished in one of the
faubourgs of Vienna, a short distance from Schoenbrunn. I went
mysteriously to bring her every evening in a close carriage, with a
single servant, without livery; she entered by a secret door, and was
introduced into the Emperor's apartments. The road, although very short,
was not without danger, especially in rainy weather, on account of ruts
and holes which were encountered at every step; and the Emperor said to
me almost every day, "Be very careful, Constant, it has rained to-day;
the road will be bad. Are you sure you have a good driver? Is the
carriage in good condition?" and other questions of the same kind, which
evidenced the deep and sincere affection he felt for Madame Valevska.
The Emperor was not wrong, besides, in urging me to be careful; for one
evening, when we had left Madame Valevska's residence a little later than
usual, the coachman upset us, and in trying to avoid a rut, drove the
carriage over the edge of the road. I was on the right of Madame
Valevska and the carriage fell on that side, in such a position that I
alone felt the shock of the fall, since Madame Valevska falling on me,
received no injury. I was glad to be the means of saving her, and when I
said this she expressed her gratitude with a grace peculiarly her own.
My injuries were slight; and I began to laugh the first, in which Madame
Valevska soon joined, and she related our accident to his Majesty
immediately on our arrival.
I could not undertake to describe all the care and attentions which the
Emperor lavished upon her. He had her brought to Paris, accompanied by
her brother, a very distinguished officer, and her maid, and gave the
grand marshal orders to purchase for her a pretty residence in the
Chaussee-d'Antin. Madame Valevska was very happy, and often said to me,
"All my thoughts, all my inspirations, come from him, and return to him;
he is all my happiness, my future, my life! "She never left her house
except to come to the private apartments at the Tuileries, and when this
happiness could not be granted, went neither to the theater, the
promenade, nor in society, but remained at home, seeing only very few
persons, and writing to the Emperor every day. At length she gave birth
to a son, [Count Walewski, born 1810; minister to England, 1852;
minister of foreign affairs, 1855-1860; died 1868.] who bore a striking
resemblance to the Emperor, to whom this event was a source of great joy;
and he hastened to her as soon as it was possible to escape from the
chateau, and taking the child in his arms, and caressing him, as he had
just caressed the mother, said to him, "I make you a count." Later we
shall see this son receiving at Fontainebleau a final proof of affection.
Madame Valevska reared her son at her residence, never leaving him, and
carried him often to the chateau, where I admitted them by the dark
staircase, and when either was sick the Emperor sent to them Monsieur
Corvisart. This skillful physician had on one occasion the happiness of
saving the life of the young count in a dangerous illness.
Madame Valevska had a gold ring made for the Emperor, around which she
twined her beautiful blonde hair, and on the inside of the ring were
engraved these words:
"When you cease to love me, do not forget that I love you."
The Emperor gave her no other name but Marie.
I have perhaps devoted too much space to this liaison of the Emperor: but
Madame Valevska was entirely different from the other women whose favor
his Majesty obtained; and she was worthy to be named the La Valliere of
the Emperor, who, however, did not show himself ungrateful towards her,
as did Louis XIV. towards the only woman by whom he was beloved. Those
who had, like myself, the happiness of knowing and seeing her intimately
must have preserved memories of her which will enable them to comprehend
why in my opinion there exists so great a distance between Madame
Valevska, the tender and modest woman, rearing in retirement the son she
bore to the Emperor, and the favorites of the conqueror of Austerlitz.