NAPOLEON AND THE GERMAN PRINCES.
The Emperor of France with his army had crossed the boundaries of
Germany. He had come to assist his ally, the Elector of Bavaria, against
the Austrians who had invaded Bavaria; not, however, in order to menace
Bavaria, but, as an autograph letter from the Emperor Francis to the
elector expressly stated, to secure a more extended and better protected
position.
The Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian Joseph, had declared, in a submissive
letter to the Austrian emperor, that he was perfectly willing to let the
Austrian regiments encamp within his dominions. “I pledge my word as a
sovereign to your majesty.” he had written to the Emperor of Germany,
“that I shall not hinder the operations of your army in any manner
whatever, and if, what is improbable, however, your majesty should be
obliged to retreat with your army, I promise and swear that I shall
remain quiet and support your projects in every respect. But I implore
your majesty on my knees to permit me graciously to maintain the
strictest neutrality. It is a father, driven to despair by anguish and
care, who implores your majesty’s mercy in favor of his child. My son is
just now travelling in southern France. If I should be obliged to send
my troops into the field against France my son would be lost, and the
fate of the Duke d’Enghien would be in store for him, too; if I should,
however, remain quietly and peaceably in my states, I should gain time
for my son to return from France.” [Footnote: “Memoires sur l’Intereor
du Palais de Napoleon,” by De Bausset, vol. i., p. 59.]
But on the same day, and with the same pen, on which the ink with which
he had written to the Emperor of Germany was not yet dry, the elector
had also written to the Emperor of France and informed him “that he was
ready to place himself under his protection, that he would be proud to
become the ally of France, and that he would thenceforward lay himself
and his army at the feet of the great and august Emperor of France.”
And the courier who was to deliver the letter with the sacred pledges
of neutrality to the Emperor of Germany, had not yet reached Vienna when
the Elector of Bavaria secretly fled from Munich to Wurzburg, where his
army of twenty-five thousand men was waiting for him.
He sent his army, commanded by General Deroy, to meet the Emperor of the
French; it was not to attack him as the enemy of Germany, but to hail
him as an ally and to place itself under his direction. He then issued a
proclamation.
“We have separated from Austria,” he said, “from Austria, who wanted to
ensnare and annihilate us by her perfidious schemes, and to compel us
to fight at her side for foreign interests; from Austria, the hereditary
foe of our house and of our independence, who is just now going to make
another attempt to devour Bavaria, and degrade her to the position of
an Austrian province. But the Emperor of the French, Bavaria’s natural
ally, hastened to the rescue with his brave warriors, in order to avenge
you; your sons will soon fight at the side of men accustomed to victory;
soon, soon the day of retribution will be at hand.” [Footnote: Hausser’s
“History of Germany,” vol. ii., p. 611.]
Thanks to the hatred of the Germans against their German brethren,
thanks to the hatred of the Bavarians against the Austrians, this
proclamation had been received with joyful acclamations throughout the
whole state, and Bavaria felt proud and happy that she should fight
under the Emperor of the French, her “natural ally,” against the Emperor
of Germany.
The French army was drawn up in line in the plain near Nordlingen, in
order to solemnly receive its German auxiliaries. They were the first
German troops that Napoleon had gained over to his side, and therefore
he wished to welcome them pompously and with all honors. Amidst
the jubilant notes of all the bands of the French army, amidst the
enthusiastic shouts of the French soldiers, the Bavarians marched into
the French camp. The emperor, in full uniform, surrounded by all his
generals, welcomed General Deroy and the Bavarian officers; accompanied
by a wave of his sword, he said to them:
“I have placed myself at the head of my army in order to deliver
your country, for the house of Austria intends to annihilate your
independence. You will follow the example of your ancestors, who
constantly preserved that independence and political existence which are
the first blessings of a nation. I know your valor, and am sure that I
shall be able after the first battle to say to your sovereign and to my
people, that you are worthy to fight in the ranks of the grand army.”
The Bavarian soldiers hailed this proud address with the same exultation
with which the Bavarian people had received the proclamation of the
elector; and never had the French soldiers manifested greater enthusiasm
for their chieftain and emperor than did these German soldiers, the
first German auxiliaries of the emperor.
Napoleon received their jubilant shouts with a gracious smile.
“Duroc,” he said, turning to his friend and comrade, who was riding at
his side--“Duroc, listen to what I am going to say to you. The Germans
are not good patriots; they are capable of loving the conqueror of their
country just as well as their legitimate sovereign. Even at the time of
Julius Caesar there was no harmony among the Germans; and while Arminius
opposed the Romans heroically, Segestes declared in favor of them. If,
as a modern Julius Caesar, I should wish to conquer Germany, I believe I
should find there no Arminius, but certainly many Segesteses.”
“But, perhaps, a few Thusneldas, sire,” said Duroc, laughing; “and your
majesty knows full well that it was Thusnelda, after all, who filled her
husband with so undying a hatred against the Romans.”
“And the son of Thusnelda became a prisoner of the Romans!” exclaimed
Napoleon; “he became a miserable slave of the Romans, and preferred a
life of humiliation and disgrace to an honorable death. The Germans are
great talkers; they are always ready to fight with their tongues for the
honor of their country, but they do not like to die for it. But who
are the Thusneldas with whom you threatened me? Did you allude to Queen
Caroline of Naples, the daughter of Maria Theresa?”
“Oh, no, sire; she is no longer a German, but an Italian intriguer--a--”
“She is, as I told her own ambassador in Milan, a modern Athalia, a
daughter of Jezebel,” said Napoleon, interrupting him vehemently.
“But patience, patience, I shall punish her for her bitter hatred and
intrigues.”
“Sire, it was in your power to receive ardent love at the hands of
Queen Caroline, instead of her hatred, which is, perhaps, nothing but
concealed love. I suppose your majesty knows what the queen said only a
few years ago to the French minister?”
“No, I do not, or perhaps I have only forgotten it,” replied Napoleon,
carelessly. “Did she want to make a postillon d’amour of him?”
“Nearly so, sire. She told him she would willingly travel four hundred
leagues in order to see General Bonaparte. She added that you were the
only great man in the world, and none but idiots were seated at the
present time on all the thrones of Europe.” [Footnote: Queen Caroline
actually said this to the French minister.]
“A very flattering remark for her husband and for her nephew, the
Emperor of Austria,” said Napoleon. “She referred, however, only to
those who are seated on thrones, but the tender queen has been able
to discover a few real men by the side of her husband’s throne. I have
never hankered after becoming the rival of Acton and Nelson. I do not
like passionate and ambitious women. They must be gentle and charming
like Josephine if they are to please me.”
“I wish the empress were here and able to hear your words,” exclaimed
Duroc.
“Does she again doubt my constancy?” asked Napoleon, quickly. “Have
my brothers again frightened her by threats of a divorce? Let her
be reassured, I do not think of a separation from her, and all the
Thusneldas of Germany cannot become dangerous to me. But you have not
yet told me the names of those Thusneldas. Let me hear them.”
“Sire, first there is the beautiful Queen of Prussia. She is said to be
a bitter enemy of France.”
“Yes, a bitter enemy of MINE!” exclaimed Napoleon, with a gloomy and
threatening glance; “a short-sighted woman, who does not see that she
will ruin her good-natured, weak, and irresolute husband if she carries
him along with her on this path of hostility and hatred. She will repent
one day having scorned my friendship, for, if she succeeds in gaining
her husband over to an alliance with Russia, I shall be inexorable,
and mercilessly trample the whole vacillating and fickle Prussia in the
dust. And do you still know of another Thusnelda?”
“Yes, sire; it is the wife of the Elector Frederick of Wurtemberg,
who is also said to have filled her husband with ardent hatred against
France, and with fervent patriotism for Germany. The elector and
electress are reported to have taken a solemn oath in the presence of
their whole court never to bow or submit to France, and never to prove
recreant to the interests of Germany.”
“I shall compel them to believe that the interests of Germany require
them to bow to France and to become our allies!” exclaimed Napoleon,
proudly. “The electress of Wurtemberg is a daughter of George the Third
of England, a daughter of my mortal enemy; hence, she shall bow to me or
feel my power and my wrath. The time for hesitation and procrastination
is over. I want to have my friends at my side and my enemies opposite
me. Let the German princes choose whether they will go with France
against Austria, their common despot, or whether, like Austria, they
wished to be conquered by France! We shall see which side Wurtemberg
will espouse, for Ney is already with his corps on the road to
Stuttgart, and in the course of a few days I shall pay a visit to the
elector and electress at their own palace.”
And a few days later Napoleon really kept his word: he paid a visit
to the elector and electress at Louisburg, after Ney had compelled the
government of Wurtemberg to open the gates of Stuttgart to his troops.
The elector received the emperor at the foot of the palace staircase,
where only an hour ago he had assured his courtiers he would not receive
the upstart Napoleon as an equal and shake hands with him; but as
Napoleon now saluted him with a kind nod, and gave him his hand, the
elector bowed so deeply and respectfully that it almost looked as if he
wished to kiss the small, white, imperial hand which he had seized so
joyfully and reverentially. [Footnote: “Memoirs of General de Wolzogen,”
p. 24.]
The electress, who entered at the side of her husband, received the
emperor in the large and brilliant throne-room of the palace. Her face
was pale and gloomy when she bowed ceremoniously to the hereditary foe
of her house, and not the faintest tinge of a smile was to be seen on
her lips when she replied to the emperor’s address.
Napoleon’s face, however, was strangely mild and winning to-day, and yet
radiant with dignity and grandeur. It was the face of a conqueror who
does not intend to treat those whom he has subjugated with arrogance and
rigor, but desires to win their affection by gentleness and love. Hence,
his eyes had only mild and kind glances, and on his finely-formed lips
there was playing that smile which the Empress Josephine said was the
sunbeam of his face, and irresistible to any woman.
Nor was the electress able to withstand this smile and this kind bearing
of Napoleon. She had expected to find in the emperor an ardent enemy of
her native England, and he now paid a glowing and eloquent tribute to
the English, to their country, to their institutions and character.
Napoleon had been described to her as a barbarian, taking interest only
in warfare and every thing connected with it; and now she found him
to be an admirer of the English poets, and heard him expatiate
enthusiastically on Ossian, some of whose most magnificent verses he
recited to her in a French translation.
The stern features of the electress gradually began to relax; the
smile gradually returned to her lips, and she bent her proud head more
graciously to the “upstart” Napoleon.
“Oh, sire!” she exclaimed, joyfully, and for the first time she did not
avoid addressing him with the title due to his rank--“oh, sire, he who
admires the English poets so enthusiastically cannot possibly be an
enemy of England!”
“I am not by any means,” said Napoleon, smiling; “I know no enmity
whatever; peace is the sole aim of my efforts, and I believe Fate has
sent me to mankind for the purpose of establishing eternal peace. It
is true, I have to conquer peace by wars and commotions, but I shall
conquer it, and you, princess, you and your husband must help me to
do so. I intrust to your hands a noble task, which the high-minded and
proud daughter of England is worthy of, and the German elector will
not hinder the noble endeavors of his wife, especially as the honor and
welfare of Germany are at stake.”
“I am ready and willing to do for Germany what I can, and whatever your
majesty may command me to do,” exclaimed the elector. “Will your majesty
now tell me what I must do?”
“You must conclude an alliance with France, in order to save Germany,”
said the emperor, almost sternly.
“Sire, I have not the power to conclude such an alliance--I am unable to
do so,” said the elector, sighing.
“Your state can if you cannot,” said Napoleon, quickly.
“But the representatives of my people will not consent.”
“I shall protect you against these representatives of your people. You
will tell them, besides, that you have saved Wurtemberg by becoming my
ally. For he who is not for me is against me, and I shall annihilate
those who are against me, and their states shall fall to ruin. Those,
however, who are for me I shall elevate, and it seems to me I see
already a royal crown on the noble brow of the electress. I suppose,”
asked Napoleon, turning again with a smile toward the electress, “your
royal highness would not be dissatisfied if you should become the
queen of your people; it would be agreeable to you to be called ‘your
majesty,’ and if it were only because it would remind you in so pleasant
a manner of your royal parents who are addressed with the same title?”
“Oh, sire,” exclaimed the electress, with radiant eyes, and unable
to conceal her joy--“oh, sire, you are right, it would remind me most
pleasantly of my paternal home and of England.”
“But would not a royal crown crush my state which is too small for it?”
asked the elector.
“Well, we shall enlarge it so as to render it able and worthy to support
a royal crown,” exclaimed Napoleon, hastily. “I believe I shall have the
power and opportunity to bestow on my ally, the elector of Wurtemberg,
some aggrandizements in Germany to compensate and reward him for the
auxiliaries which he is to furnish to me. Besides, your task is a
truly grand one. You shall assist me in subduing Austria, that arrogant
Austria which would like to treat all Germany as her property, and who
considers all German princes as her servants and vassals.”
“You are right,” said the elector, vehemently; “Austria constantly
endeavors to meddle with my prerogatives in an unbecoming and arrogant
manner. She would like to degrade us to the position of vassals who must
always be ready to obey their emperor, but who, when they are themselves
in danger, never can count on the assistance and support of their
emperor.”
“Let us, then, dispel Austria’s illusion as though she were your
master,” said Napoleon, smiling. “Become my ally, and believe me, we
shall have the power to teach the Emperor of Austria to respect the KING
of Wurtemberg, my ally. Will you be my ally for that purpose? Will
you assist me, as a German prince, in delivering Germany from the yoke
Austria has laid around her neck?”
“Sire, I am ready to save Germany with my life-blood!” exclaimed the
elector, “and as your majesty has come to deliver Germany from Austria,
it would be a crime for any German prince to withhold his assistance
from you. Hence, I accept your alliance. Here is my hand! I shall stand
by you with my troops and with my honor!” [Footnote: The whole account
of this interview is strictly historical. Vide “Memoirs of General de
Wolzogen,” and Hausser’s “History of Germany,” vol. ii. p. 613. The
Elector of Wurtemberg became the third German ally of the French
emperor, the Electors of Bavaria and Baden having preceded him. He
furnished ten thousand German troops to Napoleon.]