1815, he gave over to me the manuscript narrative of his voyage to the
Isle of Elba. "To you," added he, "I deliver my history, which is also
that of the revolution of the 20th of March. As the Emperor, when
regaining his throne, did not think fit to speak of me, I was
therefore bound to be silent; but I am as eager to live in the memory
of after-ages as he can possibly be[30]. It is my wish that posterity
may learn, that I too shared in the glorious enterprise of subverting
the Bourbon government, and of bringing back the Emperor. My mind
misgives me. I have a presentiment that I shall die in this campaign.
Keep my manuscript, and promise to publish it when the time shall
arrive." I gave my word accordingly; and the forebodings of my friend
were realised, for he was killed at Waterloo.
[Footnote 30: At Malmaison the Emperor asked me
what had become of M. Z***. I answered that he had
been killed on Mount St. Jean: "Well," answered the
Emperor, "he is happy. But pray did he tell you
that he had been at Elba?"--"Yes, Sire; he even
entrusted me with the narrative of his voyage, and
of the conversations which he had with your
Majesty."--"You must give me this narrative: I will
take it with me: it will help me in the composition
of my memoirs."--"Sire, it is no longer in my
possession."--"What have you done with it? you must
get it back, and let me have it to-morrow."--"I
have deposited it with a friend, who happens to be
absent from Paris."--"So the narrative will be
handed about at the mercy of the world."--"No,
Sire. It is inclosed in an envelope, and deposited
in a box of which I keep the key; but if I should
not be able to deliver it to your Majesty, before
your Majesty's departure, it will yet come to your
knowledge, for I intend to publish it according to
the last wishes of M. Z***, unless your Majesty
forbids me."--"No; I allow you to print it, only
leave out whatever may tend to compromise those who
have displayed their attachment towards me. If Z***
has made a faithful report of all that passed, the
people will know that I sacrificed myself for their
good; and that it was not the love of power which
brought me again into France, but that I yielded to
the desire of restoring to the French those gifts
which are dearest to great nations--independence
and glory. Take care lest they should get hold of
your manuscript--they will falsify it. Send it to
England to *****; he will print it; he is devoted
to me, and he may be very useful to you. M. ***
will give you a letter for him: do you understand
me?"--"Yes, Sire."--"But do your utmost to recover
your manuscript before my departure. I see that you
are anxious to keep it, and I will leave it with
you. I only wish to read it." The Emperor read the
manuscript, and he returned it to me, saying, "Z***
has told the truth, and nothing but the truth; keep
his manuscript for future generations."]
I now fulfil my promise. I have not dared to make any alterations in
the narrative: if I had, I should have felt that I was betraying the
wishes of my friend. But I have suppressed the names of the parties
concerned, and I have expunged some passages, in which the Bourbon
family were treated with disrespect.
HISTORY OF THE REVOLUTION OF THE 20th OF MARCH.
When Napoleon resigned his crown, I broke my sword. I swore that I
never more would use it in the service of France, or of the new
Sovereign of the nation. But the generous farewell of the Emperor
could not fail to affect me; and, conquered by the irresistible
influence which the love of glory and of our native land exercises
upon a French soldier, I soon awoke to more praiseworthy and more
tempered feelings. My recollections faded, my regrets were softened,
and I aspired most sincerely to the honour of being again useful to my
country, and to my country's King.
At first the character which I had earned, procured for me the most
gratifying reception. Dazzling prospects were held out to me. I
believed that I was treated with sincerity. This error was of short
duration. Deceived and baffled, I now understood that they were
cheating the army and myself. They affected to honour us in the
aggregate, because they were afraid of us; and they insulted us
individually, in conformity to their systematic hated. My character
was too proud to allow me to bear with the insults and the contempt
which they wished to pour out upon me. I resigned my commission.
France and her government sickened me; but my military enthusiasm had
not abated. I thought that I should be recollected by the Emperor, who
had distinguished me in the field of battle; and that he would deign
to grant that boon which was dearest to my heart; that he would allow
me to live and die in his service. I therefore made up my mind to
visit the isle of Elba.
Just, however, as I was on the point of departing, I was stopped by a
sudden thought. Abandoned, betrayed, and denied, by men whom he has
heaped with rewards and honours, will the Emperor really believe that
I am really attached to him? Perhaps he will even suspect that I am a
spy, and that the Bourbons have sent me to watch his words and
actions. I was still in relation with those persons who had formerly
enjoyed the confidence of the Emperor. Since the restoration, their
conduct had been marked by frankness and honesty. Their feelings led
them to be faithful to the person of Napoleon; their patriotism and
their principles led them to be devoted to his cause; and they had not
sought to conceal either their fidelity or their devotion. Many
efforts had been made to gain them over to the royal party, but they
had continued immoveable. I therefore thought, that whatever
recommendation I could obtain from any one of the persons in question,
would protect me from the suspicions of the Emperor; and to them I
therefore confided my plans and the causes of my uneasiness, without
hesitation or reserve.
The first, and the second, to whom I thus applied, severally assured
me that they took the most lively interest in the undertaking, and
they betrayed the most tender anxiety for its result. They desired me
to express to the Emperor the grief which his loss had occasioned to
them, and their hopes of seeing him once more; but both were afraid to
compromise themselves by writing to him, and I quitted them without
having obtained my wishes. Then I proceeded to the third, whom I shall
call Monsieur X. We had known each other in those eventful periods
when men are put to the test, and he had kindly formed and retained a
favourable opinion of my character and courage. I unveiled my projects
and my fears. "Your fears," answered he, "are well founded. The
Emperor will distrust you, and probably he will not allow you to
continue with him. My recommendation would, without doubt, be of great
utility to you, but I cannot give it without danger. Not that I should
be in danger, for my affection towards the Emperor is well known to
all the world, but we might put the Emperor himself in jeopardy; for,
if they were to take my letter from you, they might give it over to a
spy, nay, even to an assassin."
This argument appeared conclusive to me, but I answered, "A lucky
thought flashes across my mind. You have acted so long and so often in
connexion with the Emperor, that surely you must be able to recollect
some circumstances, some disclosures known only to yourselves, which,
if I relate them to his Majesty, will prove to him that you trust me,
and that I am worthy of his trust."--"Your idea is excellent; yet,"
added he, "I must either give you insignificant details, and then the
Emperor will have forgotten them, or I must reveal important secrets
to you, and I am forbidden by my duty to do so; yet I will turn the
matter over in my mind. Call here again to-morrow morning."
I called again. "I have ransacked my memory," said M. X*** as he
accosted me, "and here is the very thing which you want." He then
delivered a note to me. "I had only considered your expedition to
Elba," continued M. X***, "in relation to your own concerns; but it is
of much greater importance than you imagine, or than I myself thought
it would be. It may produce tremendous consequences. It is impossible
that the Emperor can be indifferent to what is going on in France. If
he was to put any questions to you on that head, how would you answer
him? You must be fully aware how very dangerous it might be if you
were to give him an erroneous idea of our political situation."--"Though
I am a soldier by profession, yet I am not an utter novice in
politics. I have often reflected on the present position of France. I
really think that I understand enough of the matter to be able to
satisfy the curiosity of Napoleon."--"I don't doubt it: but, come,
what is your opinion of affairs?"
In answer to this interrogatory, I entered into an illustrative
analysis of the faults of government, and of the consequences ensuing
therefrom. Our conversation became warmer, and when, after having
discussed the time present, we began to contemplate futurity, our
thoughts were evolved with so much rapidity; we were carried so much
further than we intended, that we ourselves were astonished, and we
then both continued during a short interval in a kind of reverie. I
was the first who broke silence. "Well," said I, "suppose the Emperor,
after having questioned me, were to ask, Do you think the time of my
re-appearance in France is arrived, what must I answer?"--"You will
tell his Majesty that I could not dare to decide so important a
question; but that he may consider it as a positive and incontestible
fact that our present government (as you have well observed) has
wholly lost the confidence of the people and of the army; that
discontent has increased to the highest pitch; and that it is
impossible to believe that the government can stand much longer
against the universal dislike. You will add, that the Emperor is the
only object of the regret and hope of the nation. He, in his wisdom,
will decide what he ought to do."--"If he asks me whether this opinion
is only yours, or whether Messrs. ******* all share in it, what shall
I answer?"--"Tell him that since his abdication those persons have
ceased to be in communication with each other, but that my opinion is
conformable to the general opinion."--"I am now able to answer all
the questions which the Emperor may ask. Adieu."
We embraced each other repeatedly, and we parted.
As soon as I had quitted M. X*** all that had passed between us filled
my mind again. I now contemplated at leisure the mission which I was
called upon to fulfil. I measured its extent, and weighed its
consequences, and I could not help feeling astonished, and in some
measure alarmed, by the result of this self-examination. So long as I
merely intended to go to Elba for the sole purpose of offering my
services to the Emperor, my journey appeared to be nothing out of the
common course of things, and I thought that I should not have
hesitated to declare to the government that I was going to rejoin my
former benefactor, the Sovereign of my choice; but since the object of
my journey had become so much more important; since, to use the words
of M. X***, it might produce tremendous consequences, it seemed that
the government would not fail to watch me; that it would dog me in my
path, and endeavour to spy out all my words and actions.
Hence I became suspicious and uneasy. The note of M. X*** appeared an
immense burthen. I got it by heart, and then I threw it in the fire.
Instead of asking at once for a passport to Genoa or Leghorn, as I had
at first intended, I asked for a passport to Milan. There was a
General officer then residing in that city whom I knew; and I thought
that if the Police were to question me, I might then declare that I
was going to Milan in order to settle my accounts with my friend the
General, he being in my debt for money which I had advanced to him.
Having thus settled my plan, I went on to the "prefecture de police."
Whilst I was stepping across the threshold of the door, my heart began
to beat so violently that I could hardly move or breathe. If at that
instant any body had cried out to me, "Rascal, what are you about?" I
think I should have dropped, and that I should have let out the whole
secret. It must not be thought that my confusion arose from cowardly
fear; no, it was the impression which every honest man ought to feel,
when, for the first time in his life, he commits an action which he is
under the necessity of concealing.
In a few minutes I came to myself again. In I went, and presented
myself boldly to Monsieur Riviere, the Prefect of Police. He
cross-questioned me at full length, but my answers were clear and
firm. My countenance was unabashed, and appeared to preclude all
suspicion, and he granted my passport. Yet, at all events, I thought
it prudent to ascertain whether I was watched, and to my great
surprise I found that during two days I was closely followed. I did
not give any token by which my spy could ascertain that I was aware of
his company, and, in order to mislead him, I went to the
_messageries_, where I took and paid for a place in the Lyons
diligence. But when night came I hired post-horses under a feigned
name, and set off as fast as possible, and in a few days I was at
Milan.
My friend the General was absent: I wrote to him, and he hastened to
meet me. I confessed that I intended to try to obtain employment under
Napoleon.--"You won't get it," said he; "Napoleon has not ready money
enough to pay his body guard. A good many of my old officers have
joined him, and for themselves and their families they only receive
fifty, or perhaps sixty francs a month. They are in a state of
starvation and despair."--"No matter; I love the Emperor, and come
what may, I will join him. Do tell me how I can soonest put to
sea."--"The thing is not easy; there is no place from whence you can
sail, except only from Leghorn or from Genoa; and those two points are
under such close inspection, that you will be sure to be taken up, if
you are known to be a Bonapartist. You might slip through with greater
ease if you could pass for a tradesman of this town. I will try to get
you a passport, but I am afraid it will be a difficult job."--"Besides,
there is another difficulty, which is still greater; _ma foi_! I can't
speak a dozen words of Italian."--"Is it possible?"--"Yes, I am in
earnest."--"And you would venture on such a scheme! are you
crazy?"--"Crazy or not, I will venture; but can I really embark no
where but at Leghorn or Genoa?"--"There are very many small ports on
the coast of Tuscany, but if you go to any of them you must stop till
there is an opportunity of getting out; and in the mean time you would
be under the _surveillance_ of the authorities, who are, one and all,
exceedingly ill-disposed towards the Emperor and his people. Perhaps
you might be able to embark immediately in the gulf of Spezzia at
Lerici; but, in order to get there, you must go through Genoa, and
along the shore; and then there is great reason to fear that you may
be snapped either by the Piedmontese carabineers, or by the new consul
at Genoa, who, according to what I hear, is quite outrageous. There is
another road through the mountains of Spezzia, but it has not been
used for a long time, and you would run the risk either of breaking
your neck, or of being knocked on the head."--"No matter, if there is
no danger in the victory there is no glory in the triumph. That road
suits me; and to-morrow I will set out on my expedition."--"Is your
passport all right?"--"I will go and get it marked for Lerici."--"Another
piece of stupidity; don't you know that here you have to deal with our
implacable enemies, the Austrians, who will raise all kinds of
difficulties; but I know a Tedesco Colonel (in Italy an Austrian is
called a Tedesco), who will probably be able to do the needful for us:
we will ask him to come and dine with us. Business or quarrels can all
be settled with these gentry when they are feeding."
Our Tedesco Colonel really got my passport through the office. I left
my "caleche" and my baggage at Milan, and the next day I started in a
"seggiola," a kind of a little cabriolet, in which you drive along at
an infernal rate. I travelled through cross roads till I came to the
foot of the mountains. As it was impossible to ascend them in a
wheeled carriage, I was compelled, though reluctantly, to separate
myself from my "conducteur." I bought two horses, one for myself, and
the other for my new guide; this new guide could not speak a word of
French. I had taken care to provide myself with a pocket dictionary,
French and Italian; but I was completely ignorant, or at least very
nearly so, of the way either of pronouncing Italian words, or of
arranging them; and thus our conversation was reduced on both sides to
a few detached phrases, which were often mutually unintelligible.
We set out at break of day. About noon the snow began to fall, and we
had the greatest difficulty imaginable in reaching a hamlet, the name
whereof I have forgotten. The next day the weather became still more
wretched; my guide's horse foundered in the snow, and we lost two
hours in hauling him out again. My guide was an Italian, and, like all
Italians, he was full of superstition, and easily discouraged. He
considered this accident as a bad omen, and he wanted to turn back; I
could only conquer his repugnance by means of a double Napoleon d'or.
Scarcely had I given it to him when I felt the extent of my
imprudence; I was exciting his avarice, and perhaps exposing myself to
become his victim. As we advanced, the road became worse and worse; at
every step we encountered pits and holes, or the road was stopped by
rocks which had fallen in, and which forced us to scramble through new
paths. So much snow had fallen in the north of Italy, and particularly
in the district which we were then crossing, that even the muleteers
had deserted the mountains: and my guide, unable to discern the beaten
road, was compelled to make a survey at every step, lest we should
either lose ourselves, or else tumble down the precipices which
bordered our road of danger. The next day we arrived at Borcetto; the
perils which I had escaped taught me caution: I hired two more horses,
and another guide; and for this addition to my train, I paid out of
all reason. I then met with a custom-house officer, who either out of
kindness, or for the purpose of alarming me, I know not which, warned
me to be particularly on my guard in crossing "la Size," a very lofty
and dangerous mountain, for he told me that it swarmed with robbers. I
put fresh priming in my pistols; I turned up my eyes toward Heaven to
implore its protection, and I set out. When we had proceeded half
way up the mountain, I was accosted by a soldier, who compelled me to
enter the guard-house, and to produce my passport. This post, which
had been lately established for the security of travellers, was
occupied by a subaltern and by six soldiers, who had all served in the
imperial army. They guessed by my looks that I had seen some service,
and, after a short conversation, they asked me to come in and warm
myself by drinking the health of the Emperor Napoleon. I refused at
first, lest I should be entrapped, but they insisted so frankly that I
was compelled to yield. On taking leave I gave them a twenty-franc
piece, in order to drink the health of Napoleon, and mine too; and I
begged them to recommend my guides to take care of me. The commandant
called the guides, and at the same time that he fired a volley of
oaths and curses, he declared that if any accident happened to me, he
would shoot them both on their return. My worthy military friends also
escorted me during a considerable distance, and we separated with
feelings which no one but a soldier can appreciate or understand.
We were to sleep at Pontremoli. Our halt retarded us, and night
overtook us. In order to shorten the distance, my guides led me by a
broad path which wound round the side of the mountain. The descent
was so steep that our horses came down every moment, and we ourselves
were obliged to slide along. I found myself at the foot of the
mountain in a spot which was so dark and dreary, that I fancied my
guides had conducted me thither in order to dispatch me. After having
groped along for some time, my guides stopped. The darkness and the
snow concealed the face of the country to such a degree, that they did
not know where they were, nor which way they ought to turn: their fear
became excessive; they prayed to all the Saints in heaven in their
turn: they shook each other by the hand, and embraced each other like
sailors on the point of being shipwrecked. My _sang froid_ did not
desert me; I took one of the horses which looked like an old roadster;
I dropped the bridle on his neck, and gave him a sound cut with my
whip; he started, I followed, and a few minutes afterwards, to the
inexpressible surprise, and also to the inexpressible satisfaction of
my guides, we found ourselves in the right road, and within half an
hour's ride of Pontremoli, where we arrived towards midnight.
From Pontremoli to Spezzia there was yet a journey of four-and-twenty
hours; and four-and-twenty hours on such roads as I had gone over
are equal to four-and-twenty centuries. But how great was my delight
on quitting Pontremoli, when, instead of the frozen rocks and deserts,
which I had crossed the eve before, I saw nothing as I looked around,
but valleys clothed with verdure, and enamelled with flowers; and
hills surrounded and crowned by evergreens and olive-trees. On the day
before, winter reigned with all his severity; the day after exhibited
spring with all her charms. This pleasing transition beguiled my
impatience; and the agitations which had become habitual to my soul
were succeeded by that happy tranquillity, which is inspired by the
contemplation of the beauties and the gifts of nature.
A few leagues beyond Pontremoli the road is interrupted by a deep and
rapid stream. There is a ford across this torrent. It had scarcely
been indicated to me by my guides, beyond whom I had advanced, when I
dashed into the water; but instead of guiding my horse to the right
(as I ought to have done), I took the opposite direction. My guides,
who saw my mistake, screamed out in Italian, "fermate, fermate!" which
means, "stop, stop!" I thought it meant "firm, firm!" so I whipped and
spurred my horse with all my might; he lost his footing, and I
narrowly escaped drowning. When I reached the opposite shore my
guides treated me with a sermon, which I dare say was very energetic,
and in which the "Devil and the Frenchman" appeared to be the leading
actors.