General Drouot, and a certain number of officers and soldiers, who
were on board the felucca Caroline, landed before the Emperor, who was
still at a considerable distance from the shore. At this moment they
perceived to the right a large vessel, which appeared to them (though
they were mistaken in this) to be steering with all sails towards the
brig. Suddenly they were seized with the greatest disquiet; they
walked backward and forward, testifying by their gestures and their
hurried steps, the emotion and fear with which they were agitated.
General Drouot ordered the Caroline to be unloaded, and to hasten to
meet the brig. In an instant cannons, carriages, chests, baggage,
every thing was thrown out upon the sand, and already the grenadiers
and brave sea officers of the guard were rowing away with all their
strength, when acclamations from the brig saluted their ears and their
affrighted eyes. It was the Emperor: whether from prudential motives
or impatience, he had got into a simple boat. Their alarms ceased;
and the grenadiers, stretching out their arms to him, received him
with the most affecting demonstrations of devotedness and joy. At five
o'clock he landed. I have heard him say, that he never felt an emotion
so profound.
""His quarters for the night were taken up in a field surrounded by
olive-trees. This, he exclaimed, is a happy omen: may it be
realized!""
A few peasants were seen: the Emperor ordered them to be called, and
interrogated them. One of them had formerly served under him: he knew
his old general, and would not quit him. Napoleon, turning to the
grand marshal, said to him, with a smile, "Well, Bertrand, you see we
have a reinforcement already." He spent the evening chatting and
laughing familiarly with his generals and the officers of his
household. "I see from this spot," said he, "the fright I shall give
the Bourbons, and the embarrassment of all those who have turned their
backs upon me." Then, continuing to joke on the same subject, he
defined, with his wonted sagacity, the characters of the marshals and
great personages, who had formerly served him; and was much amused
with the endeavours they would make ""to save appearances, and
prudently await the moment for declaring themselves for the strongest
party.""
The success of his enterprise appeared less to employ his thoughts,
than the dangers to which his friends and partisans, whom he no longer
called by any other name than that of patriots, were going to be
exposed. "What will become of the patriots before my arrival at
Paris?" he frequently exclaimed: "I tremble lest the Vendeans and
emigrants should massacre them. Wo betide those who touch them! I will
have no mercy on them."
Immediately after he landed, the Emperor had despatched a captain of
the guard with five and twenty men to Antibes: their instructions
were, to present themselves as deserters from the island of Elba; to
sound the disposition of the garrison; and, if this appeared
favourable, to seduce it: but, led away by their imprudent ardour,
they entered the city, shouting, "Long live the Emperor!" and the
commandant caused the drawbridge instantly to be raised, and detained
them as prisoners. Napoleon, finding they did not return, sent for a
civil officer of the guard, and said to him, ""You will immediately
repair to the walls of Antibes: you will deliver this despatch, or
cause it to be delivered to General Corsin: you will not enter the
place, as you might be detained: you will draw together the soldiers,
you will read to them my proclamations, and you will harangue them. Do
you not know, you will say to them, that your Emperor is here? that
the garrisons of Grenoble and Lyons have marched to join him with the
charge step? What do you wait for? Will you leave to others the honour
of joining him before you? the honour of marching at the head of his
advanced guard? Come, and salute our eagles and our tricoloured flags.
The Emperor and your country command it; then come.""
This officer, on his return, said, that the gates of the town and
harbour were closed, and that it was not possible for him to see
General Corsin, or to speak to the soldiers. Napoleon appeared
disappointed, though but little disturbed by the disappointment. At
eleven in the evening he began his march, with four small pieces of
artillery in his train. The Poles, though unable to embark their
horses, had brought with them their accoutrements, and gayly marched
in the advanced guard, bending beneath the weight of their enormous
luggage. Napoleon purchased for them every horse he met with, and thus
remounted his handful of cavalry one by one.
He proceeded to Cannes, thence to Grasses, and, in the evening of the
2d, arrived at the village of Cerenon, having marched twenty leagues
this first day. Every where he was received with sentiments, that
presaged the success of the enterprise.
On the 3d the Emperor slept at Bareme, and on the 4th at Digne. The
report of his landing, which preceded him from place to place, excited
every where a mingled feeling of joy, surprise, and anxiety. The
peasants blessed his return, and expressed their good wishes to him in
their simple language; but when they saw his little troop, they looked
on him with tender pity, and had no hope of his being triumphant with
such feeble means.
On the 5th Napoleon slept at Gap, and retained with him only six
horsemen, and forty grenadiers.
In this city he printed, for the first time, his proclamations: they
were diffused with the rapidity of lightning, and inflamed every head
and every heart with such violent and prompt devotedness, that the
whole population of the country was desirous of rising in a body, and
marching as his advanced guard.
In these proclamations he did not borrow, as has been asserted, the
title of general in chief, or of lieutenant general of his son.
Before he quitted the island of Elba, he had determined to resume the
style of Emperor of the French as soon as he landed.
He was aware, that any other title would diminish his strength, and
his ascendancy over the people and the army; would render his
intentions doubtful; would give rise to scruples and hesitation; and
besides, would place him in a state of hostility against France. In
short, he was aware, that it would always be in his power to give
legitimacy to his title of Emperor of the French, should the suffrages
of the nation prove necessary, to restore to him in the eyes of
Europe, and even of France, those rights, which might have been
temporarily lost by his abdication.
The superior authorities of Gap had retired at his approach: he had to
receive the congratulations only of the mayor, the municipal council,
and the half-pay officers. He discoursed with them on the benefits of
the revolution, the sovereignty of the people, liberty, equality, and
particularly of the emigrants and the Bourbons. Before he left them,
he addressed his public thanks to the inhabitants of the Upper and
Lower Alps, in the following words:
Citizens,
I have been strongly touched by all the sentiments that you have
testified towards me: your prayers will be heard; the cause of the
nation will still triumph. You have reason to call me your father; I
live only for the honour and happiness of France. My return dissipates
your disquietudes; it guarantees the preservation of every one's
property, the equality of all classes; and those rights, which you
have enjoyed for twenty-five years, and for which our forefathers so
frequently sighed, now form a part of your existence.
In whatever circumstances I may be placed, I shall always remember,
with a lively interest, what I have seen in traversing your country.
[45]""On the 6th, at two o'clock in the afternoon, the Emperor left
Gap, and the whole city went out to see him set off.
[Footnote 45: The passages marked with two sets of
inverted commas continue to be extracts from the
official account.]
""At St. Bonnel the inhabitants, seeing the small number of his
soldiers, were full of fears, and proposed to him to sound the
alarm-bell, in order to collect the neighbouring villagers, and
accompany him in a body. 'No,' said the Emperor, 'your sentiments
convince me, that I have not deceived myself; they are a sure
guarantee of the sentiments of my soldiers; those whom I meet will
range themselves on my side; and the more they are, the more certain
will be my success. Remain, therefore, tranquil at home.'""
The same day the Emperor came to sleep at Gorp; General Cambronne and
forty men, forming the advanced guard, pushed on as far as Mure.
Cambronne most commonly proceeded alone before his grenadiers to
explore the road, and cause quarters and subsistence to be provided
for them. Scarcely had he pronounced the name of the Emperor, when
every one was eager to testify to him the most lively and tender
solicitude. One mayor alone, the Marquis de ***, mayor of Sisteron,
tried to raise the inhabitants of that _commune_, describing to them
the soldiers of Napoleon as robbers and incendiaries. Confounded by
the sudden appearance of General Cambronne alone, and with no other
weapon than his sword, he changed his language, and pretended to have
had no fear but that of being paid[46]. Cambronne coolly threw him his
purse, and said, "Pay yourself!" The indignant people were eager to
furnish more provision than was demanded; and when the battalion of
Elba appeared, they offered it a tricoloured flag, as a sign of their
esteem and devotedness.
[Footnote 46: The public papers, since the second
restoration, have not failed to assert, that the
troops of the Emperor disgracefully pillaged the
_communes_ through which they passed. This
imputation, like many others, is a cowardly
slander. The Emperor had recommended to his
grenadiers, and it is well known that they never
disobeyed him, to exact nothing from the
inhabitants; and in order to prevent the least
irregularity, he took care himself to arrange the
means of ascertaining every thing that was
furnished, and paying for it. He had given this in
charge to an inspector in chief of reviews, M.
Boinot, and a commissary at war, M. Ch. Vauthier,
for whose zeal and integrity he had the highest
esteem. Whatever was furnished was paid for on
delivery by the treasurer, M. Peyruse, on an
account authenticated by M. Vauthier, and at the
prices fixed by the mayors themselves.]
On quitting the mayor, General Cambronne and his forty grenadiers met
a battalion sent from Grenoble to block up their passage. Cambronne
wished to parley with them, but they would not listen to him. The
Emperor, informed of this resistance, immediately went forward: his
guard, exhausted by a long march through the snow and rough roads, had
not all been able to follow him; but when it heard of the affront
offered to Cambronne, and the dangers the Emperor might run, it forgot
its fatigues, and hastened after him. Those soldiers, who could no
longer support themselves on their galled or wounded feet, were
assisted by their comrades, or carried by them on litters formed with
their musquets: all swore, like the soldiers of Fabius, not to conquer
or die, but to be victors. When the Emperor perceived them, he held
out his hand to them, and said, "With you, my brave soldiers, I should
not be afraid of ten thousand men."
Meantime the troops come from Grenoble had retreated, and taken a
position three leagues from Gorp, between the lakes, and near a
village. The Emperor went to reconnoitre them. He found in the line
opposed to him a battalion of the fifth regiment, a company of
sappers, and a company of miners; in all seven or eight hundred men.
He sent to them _chef d'escadron_ Roul: they refused to listen to him.
On this, Napoleon, turning to Marshal Bertrand, said, "_Z. has
deceived me; no matter, forwards_!" Immediately, alighting from his
horse, he marched straight to the detachment, followed by his guard,
with arms secured (_l'arme baissee_): "What, my friends!" said he to
them, "do you not know me? I am your Emperor: if there be a soldier
among you, who is willing to kill his general, his Emperor, he may do
it: here I am!" and he placed his hand upon his breast....
The unanimous shout of "Long live the Emperor!" was the answer.
""Immediately they requested permission, to be the first to march
against the division, that covered Grenoble. The march commenced amid
a crowd of the inhabitants, which increased every instant. Vizille
distinguished itself by its enthusiasm: "It is here the revolution is
born," said these brave fellows: "we are the first who have dared to
claim the privileges of men: it is here, too, that French liberty
revives, and that France recovers its honour and independence."
""Between Vizille and Grenoble, an adjutant-major of the seventh of
the line came to announce, that Colonel Labedoyere, deeply wounded by
the dishonour that affected all France, and governed by the noblest
sentiments, had separated from the division of Grenoble, and with his
regiment was hastening with all speed to meet the Emperor.""
Soon after, numerous acclamations were heard at a distance: they were
from Labedoyere, and the seventh. The two troops, impatient to join,
broke their ranks: embraces, and shouts a thousand times repeated, of
"The guard for ever! the seventh for ever! long live the Emperor!"
became the pledge of their union, and of their sentiments.
Napoleon, who saw his forces and the public enthusiasm increase at
every step, resolved to enter Grenoble that very evening.
Before he reached the city he was stopped by a young merchant, an
officer of the national guard. "Sire," said he, "I come to offer your
Majesty a hundred thousand francs, and my sword."--"I accept both:
remain with us." Farther on he was joined by a party of officers, who
confirmed to him what he had learned from Labedoyere, that General
Marchand and the prefect had declared against him, and that neither
the garrison, nor the national guard, had yet displayed any favourable
disposition.
""In fact, General Marchand had caused the troops to re-enter
Grenoble, and closed the gates: the ramparts were covered by the third
regiment of engineers, composed of two thousand sappers, all veterans,
covered with honourable scars; by the fourth of artillery of the line,
the very regiment in which the Emperor had been made a captain five
and twenty years before; then the two battalions of the fifth of the
line, and the faithful hussars of the fourth.""
Never did a besieged town exhibit a similar spectacle; the besiegers,
with arms reversed, and marching in joyful irregularity, approached
the walls singing. No noise of arms, no warlike shouts from the
soldiers, rose to affright the air: nothing was heard but repeated
acclamations of "Grenoble for ever! France for ever! Napoleon for
ever!" no cries but those of the most unrestrained gaiety, and the
purest enthusiasm. The garrison, the national guard, the
town's-people, spread over the ramparts, beheld at first with
surprise, with emotion, these transports of joy and attachment. It was
not long before they shared them; and the besiegers and besieged,
united by the same thoughts, the same sentiments, uttered at once the
rallying words, "Long live the Emperor!" The people and the soldiers
repaired to the gates, which were in an instant beaten down, and
Napoleon, surrounded, thronged by an idolizing crowd, made his
triumphant entry into Grenoble. A few moments after, the people came
and brought him the fragments of the gates with trumpets sounding, and
said, "For want of the keys of the good town of Grenoble, here are
the gates for you."
The possession of this place was of the highest importance to
Napoleon: it afforded him a point of support, ammunition, arms, and
artillery. He could not conceal his extreme satisfaction, and said
repeatedly to his officers, "All is now decided; we are sure of
getting to Paris." He questioned Labedoyere at large on the state of
Paris, and the situation of France in general. This young colonel,
full of the noblest sentiments, expressed himself with a frankness
that sometimes staggered Napoleon. "Sire," he said, "the French will
do every thing for your Majesty; but then your Majesty must do every
thing for them: _no more ambition, no more despotism: we are
determined to be free and happy_. It is necessary, Sire, to renounce
that system of conquest and power which occasioned the misfortunes of
France, and of yourself."--"If I succeed," answered Napoleon, "I will
do every thing requisite to fulfil the expectations of the nation: its
happiness is dearer to me than my own: it is to render it free and
happy, that I have embarked in an undertaking, which might not
succeed, and might cost me my life; but we shall have the consolation
of dying in our native land."--"And of dying," added Labedoyere, "for
its honour and its liberty."
The Emperor gave orders to have his proclamations printed in the
course of the night, and despatched emissaries in every direction to
announce his having entered Grenoble; that Austria was for him; that
the king of Naples was following him with eighty thousand men; ...
and, in short, to discourage, intimidate, and curb, by false alarms
and false confidences, the partisans and agents of the regal
government.
The proclamations, posted up in abundance, produced the most lively
sensation, as at Gap. In fact, never had the national pride,
patriotism, and the noblest passions of the mind, been addressed with
more fascination, strength, and eloquence. The soldiers and citizens
were never tired of reading and admiring them. Every person was
desirous of having them. Travellers, and the inhabitants of the
neighbouring country, received an immense quantity, which they took
upon themselves to spread abroad on their road, and to send to all
parts.
The next day, the 8th, the clergy, the staff-officers, the imperial
court, the tribunals, and the civil and military authorities, came to
acknowledge Napoleon, and to offer him their congratulations. He
conversed familiarly with the judges on the administration of justice;
with the clergy on what was necessary to public worship; with the
soldiery on the armies; with the municipal officers on the sufferings
of the people, the towns, and the country places; and delighted them
all by the variety of his knowledge, and the benevolence of his
intentions. He then said to them: "I knew that France was unhappy; I
heard its groans and its reproaches; I am come with the faithful
companions of my exile, to deliver her from the yoke of the Bourbons
... their throne is illegitimate ... my rights were conferred on me by
the nation, by the unanimous will of the French people: they are no
other rights than theirs.... I am come to resume them; not to reign,
the throne is nothing to me: not to revenge myself, for I shall forget
every thing that has been said, done, or written, since the
capitulation of Paris; but to restore to you the rights, which the
Bourbons have taken from you, and to emancipate you from the
subscription to the glebe, the vassalage, and the feudal system, with
which you are threatened by them.... I have been too fond of war; I
will make war no more: I will leave my neighbours at rest: we must
forget, that we have been masters of the world.... I wish to reign,
in order to render our lovely France free, happy, and independent; and
to place its happiness on foundations not to be shaken; _I wish to be
less its sovereign than the first and best of its citizens._ I might
have come to attack the Bourbons with ships and numerous fleets; but I
would have no assistance from Murat or from Austria. I know my fellow
citizens, and the defenders of my country, and I reckon on their
patriotism."
The audience ended, the Emperor reviewed the garrison, consisting of
five or six thousand men. As soon as he appeared, the sky was darkened
by the multitude of sabres, bayonets, grenadier-caps, _chacos_, &c.,
which the people and the soldiers raised in the air, amid the most
lively demonstrations of attachment and love.
He said a few words to the people, which could not be heard, and
repaired to the front of the fourth of artillery. "It was among you,"
said he, "that I began my career in arms. I love you all as old
comrades; I have observed you in the field of battle, and I have
always been satisfied with your conduct. But I hope, that we shall
have no occasion for your guns: France has need of moderation and
repose. The army will enjoy, in the bosom of peace, the benefits I
have already conferred on it, and those I shall yet bestow. In me the
soldiers have found again their father: they may reckon upon the
rewards they have deserved."
After this review, the garrison set out on its march to Lyons.
In the evening Napoleon wrote to the Empress and Prince Joseph. He
directed him to make known at Rome, at Naples, and at Porto Ferrajo,
that his enterprise had every appearance of being crowned with the
most speedy and brilliant success. The couriers departed with great
noise; and care was taken to make known, that they were carrying to
the Empress the news of the Emperor's return, with orders to come
immediately, with her son, and join him.
On the 9th the Emperor declared the establishment of the imperial
power by three decrees.
The first directed all public acts, and the administration of justice,
to be executed in his name from the 15th of March.
The two others organized the national guards of the five departments
of the Upper and Lower Alps, la Drome, Mont Blanc, and the Izere, and
entrusted to the honour and patriotism of the inhabitants of the
seventh division the fortified towns of Briancon, Grenoble, Fort
Barreaux, Colmar, &c.
The moment he set off, he addressed to the inhabitants of the
department of the Izere the following proclamation:
Citizens,
When in my exile I learned all the misfortunes, that oppressed the
nation; that all the rights of the people were disregarded, and that I
was reproached with the state of repose in which I lived: I lost not a
moment: I embarked on board a slight vessel, crossed the sea in the
midst of ships of war belonging to various nations, landed alone on
the shores of our country, and thought of nothing but of arriving with
the rapidity of an eagle in this good city of Grenoble, of the
patriotism of which, and its personal attachment to me, I was well
aware. Men of Dauphiny, you have answered my expectation.
I have endured, not without a wounded heart, but without being
dejected, the misfortunes to which for a twelvemonth I have been a
prey. The spectacle displayed to my eyes by the people on my journey
has inspired me with the most lively emotions. Though a few clouds
have altered the high opinion I entertained of the French people,
what I have seen has convinced me, that they are still worthy of the
name of the Great People, which I gave them twenty years ago.
Men of Dauphiny, about to quit your country, to repair to my good city
of Lyons, I could not refrain from expressing to you all the esteem,
with which your lofty sentiments have inspired me. My heart is filled
with the emotions, that you have excited in it, and I shall never
forget them.
The news of the Emperor's landing did not reach Paris till the 5th of
March, at night. It transpired on the 6th; and on the 7th a royal
proclamation appeared in the Moniteur, convoking the chambers
immediately; and a decree, that placed Napoleon, and all who should
join or assist him, out of the protection of the law[47]; without any
farther particulars.
[Footnote 47: This mode of proceeding, worthy of
the barbarous ages, was a new infraction of the law
of nations, and of the constitutional laws of
France, on the part of the ministry. No article of
the charter conferred on the monarch the right of
life and death over his subjects; and consequently
he had no authority to proscribe those who
accompanied and assisted Napoleon. If they were
considered as robbers, it was the office of the
tribunals to judge and to punish them.
Neither was he authorized, to order Napoleon to be
murdered. He had preserved the title of Emperor,
legally enjoyed the prerogative of sovereignty, and
might make war or peace as he pleased.
The title of Emperor of the French, which he
arrogated to himself, could not be a title to
proscription. George III., previous to the treaty
of Amiens, styled himself King of France and
Navarre. Had he made a descent in arms on our
territory, would any one have had a right, to
proclaim him out of the pale of the law, and order
the French people to murder him?]