SINGULAR GOOD FORTUNE OF THE EMPEROR.

15th.—We asked permission to be admitted into the Emperor’s presence

this morning, and all entered his cabin at the same time. He was not

aware of the cause of this visit:—it was his birthday, which seemed to

have altogether escaped his recollection. We had been in the habit of

seeing him on that anniversary, on a much larger stage, and in the midst

of his power, but never were our wishes more sincere, or our hearts more

full of attachment, than on the present occasion.

The days now exactly resembled each other: at night we constantly played

at _vingt-et-un_; the Admiral and some of his officers being

occasionally of the party. The Emperor used to retire after losing,

according to custom his ten or twelve Napoleons; this happened to him

daily, because he would persist in leaving his stake on the table, until

it had produced a considerable number. To-day he had gained from eighty

to a hundred. The Admiral dealt the cards: the Emperor still wished to

leave his winnings, in order to see how far he could reach; but thought

he could perceive it would be quite as agreeable to the Admiral if he

stopped where he was. The Emperor had won sixteen times, and might have

won more than sixty thousand Napoleons. While all present were

expatiating on his being thus singularly favoured by fortune, an English

officer observed that it was the anniversary of his birth-day.

CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE.—OCCUPATIONS.—THE

EMPEROR’S ORIGIN AND FAMILY.—ANECDOTES.

16th—21st. We doubled Cape Finisterre on the 16th, passed Cape St.

Vincent on the 18th, and were off the Straits of Gibraltar next day.

Continuing our course along the coast of Africa towards Madeira, nothing

worthy of remark occurred, there being a perfect uniformity in our

habits and mode of passing the time; if there was any difference, it

could only arise from the subject of our conversation.

The Emperor usually remained in his cabin during the whole morning: so

excessive was the heat that he only wore a very slight dress. He could

not sleep, and frequently rose in the night. Reading was his chief

occupation. I was sent for almost every morning, and translated from the

“Encyclopædia Britannica,” and such other books as were on board,

whatever they contained relative to St. Helena, or the countries near

which we were sailing. This led to my Historical Atlas being brought

under review. Napoleon had merely glanced at it on board the

Bellerophon, and before that time he had but a very indistinct notion of

the work. I now had the satisfaction of seeing it in the Emperor’s hands

for several days, and of hearing him express the warmest approbation of

my labours. The quantity and arrangement of the matter seemed more

particularly to please him: he had, in fact, hitherto been but little

acquainted with the book. Passing over all the others, his chief

attention was attracted by the geographical charts; more especially the

map of the world, which seemed principally to excite his notice and

applause. I did not attempt to convince him that the geography was the

weakest part of the work, displaying far less labour and research than

other parts; the general tables could not easily be surpassed, either as

to their method, symmetry, or facility for use; while each of the

genealogical tables presented a miniature history of the country they

concerned and of which they were, in all respects, both a complete

analysis and a collection of elementary materials.

The Emperor asked me whether the work had been used in all our systems

of education; adding, that had it been better known to him, all the

schools and lyceums should have been furnished with it. He further

asked, why I had published it under the borrowed name of Le Sage? I

replied that a very imperfect sketch had been published in England, just

after my emigration, at a time when we could not acknowledge our names

as emigrants abroad, without danger to our relations in France; “and,

perhaps,” said I, laughing, “I was not then cured of the prejudices of

my youth; like the nobles of Bretagne, who deposited their swords with

the registrar of the Civil Court, while engaged in trade, that they

might not derogate from their family dignity.”

As already observed, the Emperor always rose from table long before the

rest of the company: the Grand Marshal and I always followed him to the

quarter-deck, where I was frequently left alone with him; as General

Bertrand had often to attend his wife, who suffered excessively from

sea-sickness.

After the preliminary remarks on the weather, the ship’s progress, and

the winds, Napoleon used to start a subject of conversation, or revive

that of the preceding or some other former, day; and when he had taken

eight or nine turns the whole length of the deck, he would seat himself

on the second gun from the gangway on the larboard side. The midshipmen

soon observed this habitual predilection, so that the cannon was

thenceforth called the _Emperor’s gun_.

It was there that Napoleon often conversed for hours together, and that

I learned for the first time a part of what I am about to relate: in

doing which, I wish to observe that I shall at the same time add

whatever I collected in a variety of subsequent conversations; thus

presenting at one view, all that I have heard worth noting on the

subject.

The name of Bonaparte may be spelt either _Bonaparte_ or _Buonaparte_;

as all Italians know. Napoleon’s father always introduced the _u_; and

his uncle, the Archdeacon Lucien (who survived Napoleon’s father and was

a parent to Napoleon and his brothers), at the same time, and under the

same roof, wrote it _Bonaparte_. During his youth, Napoleon followed the

example of his father. On attaining the command of the Army of Italy he

took good care not to alter the orthography, which agreed with the

spirit of the language; but at a later period, and when amongst the

French, he wished to adopt their orthography, and thenceforth wrote his

name Bonaparte.

This family for many years made a distinguished figure in the Bolognese

territory: it was very powerful at Treviso; and is to be found inscribed

in the Golden book of Bologna, as also amongst the patricians of

Florence. When Napoleon, as General in chief of the army of Italy,

entered Treviso, at the head of his victorious army, the principal

inhabitants came to meet him, bringing title deeds and records, which

proved that his family had once been one of the most eminent in their

city.

At the interview of Dresden, before the Russian campaign, the Emperor

Francis one day told Napoleon, then his son-in-law, that his family had

governed as sovereigns at Treviso: a fact of which there could be no

doubt, as Francis had caused all the documents proving it to be drawn up

and presented to him. Napoleon replied, with a smile, that he did not

wish to know anything about it, and that he preferred being the Rodolph

of Hapsburgh of his own family. Francis attached much more importance to

the matter: he said that it was of very little consequence to have

fallen from wealth to poverty; but that it was above all price to have

been of sovereign rank, and that the fact must be communicated to Maria

Louisa, to whom it would afford infinite pleasure.

When, during the campaign of Italy, Napoleon entered Bologna,

Marescalchi, Caprara, and Aldini, since so well known in France, and at

that time deputies in the senate of their native city, came of their own

accord to present the golden book, in which the name and arms of his

ancestors were inscribed.

There are several houses at Florence which attest the former existence

of the Buonaparte family there; many houses are even still seen bearing

the escutcheons of the family.

Cesari, a Corsican or Bolognese, residing in London, who was shocked at

the manner in which the British Government had received Napoleon’s

pacific letter on assuming the Consulate, published a genealogical

notice, wherein he established the Emperor’s alliance with the ancient

house of _Este_, _Welf_, or _Guelf_, supposed to be the parent stem of

the present royal family of England.[10]

Footnote 10:

This paragraph was in such a state in the manuscript as to excite

doubts; and I was on the point of suppressing it: I must therefore

state my reasons for its insertion. What is my object? chiefly to

leave materials behind me. When I indicate how these were collected,

and say that I obtained them from a mere conversation—that I may have

disfigured them in thus suddenly seizing their sense—when I admit

their probable inaccuracy, and place the reader in the way of

rectifying my errors—have I not sufficiently fulfilled my object and

duty?

The Duke de Feltre, French ambassador in Tuscany, brought to Paris, from

the Gallery de Medici, the portrait of a Buonaparte who had married a

princess of the Grand Duke’s family. The mother of Pope Nicholas V. or

Paul V., of Sarzana, was also a Buonaparte.

It was a Buonaparte who negotiated the treaty by which Leghorn was

exchanged for Sarzana. It is to a Buonaparte that we are indebted for

one of the oldest comedies written at the period of the revival of

letters intitled _The Widow_. It may still be seen in the Royal Library

at Paris.[11]

Footnote 11:

Verified at the Royal Library: the manuscript being really there, and

the play itself printed.

When Napoleon marched against Rome at the head of the French army, and

received the propositions of the Pope at Tolentino, one of the

negotiators of the enemy observed that he was the only Frenchman who had

marched against Rome since the Constable de Bourbon; but what rendered

this circumstance still more singular was that the history of the first

expedition was written by an ancestor of him who executed the second,

that is to say, Signor Niccolo Buonaparte, who has in reality left us a

work, called _The Sacking of Rome by the Constable de Bourbon_.[12]

Footnote 12:

Also verified at the Royal Library, where the account of the sacking

of Rome is deposited, but by _Jacopo Buonaparte_, and not _Niccolo_.

Jacopo was a contemporary and an eye-witness of the event: his

manuscript was printed for the first time at Cologne, in 1756; and the

volume actually contains a genealogy of the Buonapartes, which is

carried back to a very remote period, and describes them as one of the

most illustrious houses of Tuscany.

The above genealogy presents a fact which is certainly of a very

singular nature: it is that of the first Buonaparte having been exiled

from his country as a _Ghibeline_. Was it, then, the destiny of his

family, in all times, and at every epoch, that it must yield to the

influence of the _Guelfs_!

The Cologne editor sometimes writes _Buonaparte_, and at others,

_Bonaparte_.

This Signor Niccolo Buonaparte, named in the text as the historian, is

only the uncle; he is, however, mentioned in the genealogy as a very

distinguished man of letters, and as having founded the class of

jurisprudence in the University of Pisa.

Hence, perhaps, or from the Pope mentioned above, the name of Niccolo,

which the writers of certain pamphlets pretended to be that of the

Emperor, instead of Napoleon. This work is to be found in most

libraries; it is preceded by a history of the house of Buonaparte,

printed about forty or fifty years ago, and edited by Dr. Vaccha, a

professor of Pisa.

M. de Cetto, ambassador of Bavaria, has often told me that the archives

of Munich contained a great number of documents, in Italian, which

proved the antiquity and importance of the Buonaparte family.

During the continuance of his power, Napoleon always refused to take any

pains, or even to enter into conversation, on the subject. The first

attempt to turn his attention to this matter occurred in the time of his

Consulate, and was so much discouraged that no one ever sought to renew

the discussion. Some person published a genealogy, in which he contrived

to connect the family of Napoleon with certain northern kings. Napoleon

caused this specimen of flattery to be ridiculed in the public papers in

which the writers concluded by observing that the nobility of the First

Consul only dated from _Montenotte_, or from the 18th of Brumaire.

This family suffered, like many others, from the numerous revolutions

which desolated the cities of Italy. The troubles of Florence placed the

Buonapartes amongst the _fuorusciti_, or emigrants. One of the family

retired to Sarzana in the first instance, and thence went to Corsica,

from which island his descendants always continued to send their

children to Tuscany, where they were educated under the care of the

branch that remained at San Miniato. The second sons of this branch had

borne the name of Napoleon for several generations, which was derived

from an ancestor thus named, celebrated in the annals of Italy.

When on his way to Florence, after the expedition to Leghorn, Napoleon

slept at the house of an old Abbé Buonaparte, at San Miniato, who

treated the whole of his staff with great magnificence. Having exhausted

all the family recollections, the Abbé told the young General that he

was going to bring forth the most precious document of all. Napoleon

thought he was about to shew him a fine genealogical tree, well

calculated to gratify his vanity (said he, laughing); but it was a

memorial regularly drawn up in favour of father Buonaventura Buonaparte,

a Capuchin friar of Bologna, long since beatified, but who had not yet

been canonized owing to the enormous expense which it required. “The

Pope will not refuse you,” said the good Abbé, “if you ask him; and

should it be necessary to pay the sum now, it will be a mere trifle for

you.” Napoleon laughed heartily at this simplicity, so little in harmony

with the manners of the day: the old man never dreamt that the saints

were no longer in fashion.

On reaching Florence, Napoleon conceived it would be very satisfactory

to his namesake to send him the ribbon of the order of St. Stephen, of

which he was merely a knight; but the pious Abbé was much less anxious

about the favours of this world than the religious justice which he so

pertinaciously claimed: and, as it afterwards appeared, not without

reason. The Pope, when he came to Paris to crown the Emperor, also

recurred to the claims of Father Buonaventura. “It was doubtless he,”

said the Pope, “who, from his seat amongst the blessed, had led his

relative, as it were, by the hand through the glorious earthly career he

had traversed; and who had preserved Napoleon in the midst of so many

dangers and battles.” The Emperor, however, always turned a deaf ear to

these remarks; leaving it to the holy father’s own discretion to provide

for the glory of Buonaventura. As to the old Abbé of San Miniato, he

left his fortune to Napoleon, who presented it to one of the public

establishments in Tuscany.

It would, however, be very difficult to connect any genealogical data in

this place, from the conversations of the Emperor, who used often to say

he had never looked at one of his parchments: these having always

remained in the hands of his brother Joseph, whom he styled the

“genealogist of the family.” And, lest I may forget it, I will here

mention the fact of Napoleon’s having, when on the point of embarking,

delivered a packet to his brother, containing all the original letters

addressed to him by the sovereigns of Europe in their own hand-writing.

I frequently expressed my regret to the Emperor at his parting with such

a precious historical manuscript.[13]

Footnote 13:

On my return to Europe, I did not fail to inquire for the invaluable

deposit, and hastened to suggest the importance of making another copy

to Prince Joseph, in order to become still more sure of its existence.

What was my grief to hear that this historical monument had been

mislaid, and that no person knew what had become of it! Into whose

hands can it have fallen? May they know how to appreciate such a

collection, and preserve it for history!

Charles Buonaparte, the father of Napoleon, was extremely tall,

handsome, and well-made; his education had been well conducted at Rome

and Pisa, where he studied the law: he is said to have possessed great

spirit and energy. It was he who, on its being proposed to submit to

France, in the public assembly of Corsica, delivered a speech which

electrified the whole country: he was not more than twenty years of age

at this period. “If it only depended on the will to become free,” said

he, “all nations would be so; yet history teaches us that very few have

attained the blessings of liberty, because few have had energy, courage,

and virtue enough to deserve them.”

When the island was conquered, he wished to accompany Paoli in his

emigration; but an old uncle, the Archdeacon Lucien, who exercised the

authority of a parent over him, prevented his departure.

In 1779, Charles Buonaparte was elected deputy to represent the nobles

of Corsica at Paris, whither he brought young Napoleon with him, then

only ten years old. He passed through Florence on his way, and obtained

a letter of introduction from the Grand Duke Leopold to his sister the

Queen of France. It was to his known rank and the respectability of his

name and family in Tuscany, that he was indebted for this mark of

attention.

[Illustration:

_Charles Bonaparte._

_London. Published for Henry Colburn. January, 1836._

]

There were two French generals in Corsica, at the above period, so

inimical to each other that their quarrels formed two parties; one was

M. de Marbeuf, a mild and popular character, and the other, M. de

Narbonne Pellet, distinguished for haughtiness and violence. The latter,

from his birth and superior interest, must have been a dangerous man for

his rival: fortunately for M. de Marbeuf, he was much more beloved in

the island. When the deputation headed by Charles Buonaparte arrived at

Versailles, he was consulted on the dispute, and the warmth of his

testimony obtained a triumph for Marbeuf. The Archbishop of Lyons,

nephew to Marbeuf, thought it his duty to wait on the deputy, and thank

him for the service he had rendered. On young Napoleon’s being placed in

the military school of Brienne, the Archbishop gave him a special

recommendation to the family of Brienne, which lived there during the

greater part of the year: hence the friendly demeanour of the Marbeufs

and Briennes towards the children of the Buonaparte family. Calumny has

assigned another cause, but the simple examination of dates is fully

sufficient to prove its absurdity.

Old M. de Marbeuf, who commanded in Corsica, lived at Ajaccio, where the

family of Charles Buonaparte was one of the principal. Madame Buonaparte

being the most fascinating and beautiful woman in the town, it was very

natural for the General to frequent her house in preference to many

other places of resort.

Charles Buonaparte died at the age of thirty-eight, of an induration in

the glands of the stomach. He had experienced a temporary cure during

one of his visits to Paris, but became the victim of a second attack at

Montpellier, where he was interred in one of the convents of the city.

During the Consulate, the notables of Montpellier, through the medium of

their countryman Chaptal, minister of the interior, solicited the

permission of the First Consul to erect a monument to the memory of his

father. Napoleon thanked them for their good intentions, but declined

acceding to their solicitation. “Let us not disturb the repose of the

dead,” said he; “let their ashes remain in peace. I have also lost my

grandfather and great-grandfather; why not erect monuments to them? This

might lead too far. Had my father died yesterday, it would be proper and

natural that my grief should be accompanied by some signal mark of

respect. But his death took place twenty years ago: it is an event of no

public interest, and it is useless to revive the recollection of it.” At

a subsequent period Louis Buonaparte, without the knowledge of Napoleon,

had his father’s remains disinterred, and removed to St. Leu, where he

erected a monument to his memory.

Charles Buonaparte had been the very reverse of devout; he had even

written some anti-religious poems; and yet, at the period of his death,

said the Emperor, there were not priests enough for him in Montpellier.

In this respect he was very different from his brother Archdeacon

Lucien, a very pious and orthodox ecclesiastic, who died long after him,

at a very advanced age. On his death-bed, he took great umbrage at

Fesch, who, being by this time a priest, ran to him in his stole and

surplice to assist him in his last moments. Lucien begged that he would

suffer him to die in peace, and he breathed his last surrounded by the

members of his family, giving them philosophic counsel and patriarchal

benedictions.

The Emperor frequently spoke of his old uncle, who had been a second

father to him, and who was for a length of time the head of the family.

He was Archdeacon of Ajaccio, one of the principal dignitaries of the

island. His prudence and economy re-established the affairs of the

family, which had been much deranged by the extravagance of Charles. The

old uncle was much revered, and enjoyed considerable authority in the

district: the peasantry voluntarily submitted their disputes to his

decision, and he freely gave them his advice and his blessing.

[Illustration:

_Letizia Buonaparte_

_Published for Henry Colburn, Dec. 1835._

]

Charles Buonaparte married Mademoiselle Letitia Ramolini, whose mother,

after the death of her first husband, married Captain Fesch, an officer

in one of the Swiss regiments, which the Genoese usually maintained in

the island. Cardinal Fesch was the issue of this second marriage, and

was consequently step-brother to Madame and uncle to the Emperor.

Madame was one of the most beautiful women of her day, and she was

celebrated throughout Corsica. Paoli, in the time of his power, having

received an embassy from Algiers or Tunis, wished to give the Barbary

envoys some notion of the attractions of the island, and for this

purpose he assembled together all the most beautiful women in Corsica,

among whom Madame took the lead. Subsequently, when she travelled to

Brienne to see her son, her personal charms were remarked even in Paris.

During the war for Corsican liberty, Madame Buonaparte shared the

dangers of her husband, who was an enthusiast in the cause. In his

different expeditions she frequently followed him on horseback, while

she was pregnant with Napoleon. She was a woman of extraordinary vigour

of mind, joined to considerable pride and loftiness of spirit. She was

the mother of thirteen children, and she might have had many more, for

she was a widow at the age of thirty. Of these thirteen children, only

five boys and three girls lived, all of whom performed distinguished

parts in the reign of Napoleon.

Joseph, the eldest of the family, was originally intended for the

church, on account of the influence possessed by Marbeuf, archbishop of

Lyons, who had the patronage of numerous livings. He went through the

regular course of study; but when the moment arrived for taking orders,

he refused to enter the ecclesiastical profession. He was successively

King of Naples and Spain.

Louis was King of Holland, and Jerome King of Westphalia. Eliza was

Grand Duchess of Tuscany; Caroline, Queen of Naples; and Pauline,

Princess Borghese. Lucien, who through his marriage and a mistaken

direction of character, doubtless forfeited a crown, atoned for all his

past errors by throwing himself into the arms of the Emperor on his

return from Elba, at a moment when Napoleon was far from relying on the

certainty of his prospects. Lucien, the Emperor used to say, passed a

turbulent career in his youth: at the age of fifteen he was taken to

France by M. Semonville, who soon made him a zealous revolutionist and

an ardent clubist. On this subject the Emperor said that in the numerous

libels published against him were some addresses or letters, bearing,

among other signatures, that of Brutus Buonaparte, which were attributed

to him, Napoleon; he would not affirm, he added, that these addresses

were not written by some individual of the family, but he could declare

that they were not his production.

I had the opportunity of rendering myself acquainted with the sentiments

of Prince Lucien, on the Emperor’s return from Elba, and am enabled to

say that it would have been difficult for any man to have been more

upright and steady in his political views, or to have evinced greater

attachment and good-will towards his brother.

MADEIRA, &c.—VIOLENT GALE.—CHESS.

22nd–26th. On the 22nd we came within sight of Madeira, and at night

arrived off the port. Only two of the vessels cast anchor, to take on

board supplies for the squadron. The wind blew very hard, and the sea

was exceedingly rough. The Emperor found himself indisposed, and I was

also ill. A sudden gale arose; the air was excessively hot, and seemed

to be impregnated with small particles of sand—we were now assailed by

the emanations of the terrible winds from the deserts of Africa. This

weather lasted throughout the whole of the following day. Our

communication with the shore became extremely difficult. The English

Consul came on board, and informed us that for many years there had not

been such a hurricane at Madeira; the vintage was entirely destroyed,

all the windows in the town were broken, and it had been found scarcely

possible to breathe in the streets. All this time we continued tacking

about before the town; which we continued to do throughout the whole of

the following night, and the 24th, when we took on board several oxen,

and stores of other provisions, such as unripe oranges, bad peaches, and

tasteless pears; the figs and grapes were however excellent. In the

evening we made way with great rapidity; the wind still blowing hard. On

the 25th and 26th we lay-to during a portion of each day, to distribute

provisions among the vessels composing the squadron; during the rest of

the time, we sailed on smoothly and rapidly.

Meanwhile nothing occurred to interrupt the uniformity of the scene.

Each day crept slowly on, and added to the past interval, which, as a

whole, seemed brief because it was void of interest, and not

characterized by any remarkable incident.

The Emperor had added to the number of his amusements by a game at

piquet, which he regularly played about three o’ clock. This was

succeeded by a few games at chess with the Grand Marshal, M. de

Montholon, or some other individual, until dinner-time. There was no

very good chess-player on board the vessel. The Emperor was but an

indifferent player; he gained with some and lost with others, a

circumstance which one evening led him to say, “How happens it that I

frequently lose with those who are never able to beat him whom I almost

always beat? Does not this seem contradictory? How is this problem to be

solved?” said he, winking his eye, to shew that he was not the dupe of

the constant politeness of him who was really the best player.

We no longer played at _vingt-et-un_ in the evening: we gave up this

game on account of our having played too high, at which the Emperor

appeared displeased, for he was a great enemy to gaming. On returning

from his afternoon walk on the deck. Napoleon played two or three games

at chess, and retired to rest early.

THE CANARIES.—PASSING THE TROPIC.—DETAILS OF THE EMPEROR’S

CHILDHOOD.—NAPOLEON AT BRIENNE.—PICHEGRU.—NAPOLEON AT THE MILITARY

SCHOOL IN PARIS.—IN THE ARTILLERY.—HIS COMPANIONS.—NAPOLEON AT THE

COMMENCEMENT OF THE REVOLUTION.

27th—31st. At daybreak on Sunday, 27th, we found ourselves among the

Canaries, which we passed in the course of the day, sailing at the rate

of ten or twelve knots an hour, without having perceived the famous Peak

of Teneriffe—a circumstance the more extraordinary, since in clear

weather it is visible at the distance of sixty leagues.

On the 29th we crossed the tropic, and observed many flying fish round

the ship. On the 31st, at eleven at night, one of the sailors threw

himself overboard; he was a negro who had got drunk, and was fearful of

the flogging that awaited him. He had several times, in the course of

the evening, attempted to jump overboard, and at last succeeded. He

however soon repented, and uttered loud cries. He swam very well; but

though a boat was immediately sent off, and every endeavour used to

rescue him, he was lost. The cries of this man in the sea excited a

powerful sensation on board the vessel. In a moment the crew were

hurrying about in every direction: the noise was very great, and the

agitation universal.

As I was descending from deck to the cabin, a midshipman, a youth

between ten and twelve years of age, of an interesting countenance,

thinking I was going to inform the Emperor of what had occurred, laid

hold of my coat, and in a tone expressive of the tenderest interest

exclaimed, “Ah, Sir, do not alarm him! Tell him the noise is nothing at

all; that it is only a man fallen overboard.” Amiable and innocent

youth! he expressed his sentiments rather than his thoughts!

In general the midshipmen, of whom there were several on board the ship,

behaved with marked respect and attention to the Emperor. They every

evening repeated a scene that made a deep impression on our feelings.

Early in the morning the sailors carried up their hammocks, and put them

in the large nettings at the sides of the ship; and about six in the

evening they carried them away at the signal of a whistle. Those who

were tardy in the performance of this duty received a certain

punishment. On the signal being given, a great bustle ensued; and it was

gratifying to see the midshipmen at this moment form a circle round the

Emperor, whether he might be standing in the middle of the deck, or

resting on his favourite gun. They watched his motions with an anxious

eye, and either by signs or words directed the sailors to avoid

incommoding him. The Emperor frequently observed this conduct, and

remarked that youthful hearts were always inclined to enthusiasm.

I will now proceed with the details, which I collected at various times,

respecting the early years of the Emperor’s life.

Napoleon was born about noon on the 15th of August (Assumption-day) in

the year 1769. His mother, who was possessed of great bodily as well as

mental vigour, and who had braved the dangers of war during her

pregnancy, wished to attend mass on account of the solemnity of the day:

she was, however, taken ill at church, and on her return home was

delivered before she could be conveyed to her chamber. The child, as

soon as it was born, was laid on the carpet, which was an old-fashioned

one, representing at full length the heroes of fable, or, perhaps, of

the Iliad. This child was Napoleon.

In his boyhood Napoleon was turbulent, adroit, lively and agile in the

extreme. He had gained, he used to say, the most complete ascendancy

over his elder brother Joseph. The latter was beaten and ill-treated;

complaints were carried to the mother, and she would begin to scold

before poor Joseph had even time to open his mouth.

At the age of ten, Napoleon was sent to the military school at Brienne.

His name, which in his Corsican accent he pronounced as if written

Napoilloné, from the similarity of the sound, procured for him, among

his youthful companions, the nick-name of _la paille au nez_ (straw in

his nose). At this period a great change took place in Napoleon’s

character. In contradiction to all the apocryphal histories, which

contain anecdotes of his life, he was when at Brienne mild, quiet, and

susceptible. One day the quarter master, who was a man of harsh

disposition, and who never took the trouble of considering the physical

and moral shades of character in each individual scholar, condemned

Napoleon, by way of punishment, to wear the serge coat, and to take his

dinner on his knees at the door of the refectory. Napoleon, who had a

vast share of pride and self-conceit, was so mortified by this disgrace,

that he was seized with a violent retching, and suffered a severe

nervous attack. The head master of the school happening accidentally to

pass by, relieved him from the punishment, reproving the quarter-master

for his want of discernment; and Father Patrault, the professor of

mathematics, was very indignant on finding that his first mathematician

had been treated with so little respect.

[14]“On attaining the age of puberty, Napoleon’s temper became morose

and reserved; his passion for reading was carried to excess; and he

eagerly devoured the contents of every book that fell in his way.

Pichegru was at this time his quarter-master and his tutor in the four

rules of arithmetic.

“Pichegru was a native of Franche-Comté, where his family were farmers.

The Minim monks of Champagne were appointed to superintend the military

school of Brienne. Owing to their poverty, however, so few individuals

were induced to enter their order that they found themselves inadequate

to the task imposed on them; and they solicited the assistance of the

Minim monks of Franche-Comté, of whom Father Patrault was one. An aunt

of Pichegru’s, a nun of La Charité, followed Patrault, for the purpose

of superintending the infirmary, and she was accompanied by her nephew,

a youth who was admitted to the school to receive his education

gratuitously. Pichegru, who was extremely clever, was, on his attaining

a suitable age, made quarter-master and tutor under Father Patrault, who

had taught him mathematics. He intended to become a monk, which was the

sole object of his ambition and of his aunt’s wishes. But Father

Patrault dissuaded him from this intention, assuring him that the

profession was not suited to the age; and that he ought to look forward

to something better: he prevailed on him to enlist in the artillery,

where the Revolution found him a sub-officer. His military career is

known:—he was the conqueror of Holland. Thus Father Patrault had the

honour of counting among his pupils the two greatest generals of modern

France.

“Father Patrault was subsequently secularized by M. de Brienne,

Archbishop of Sens and Cardinal de Lomenie, who made him one of his

grand vicars, and intrusted him with the management of his numerous

benefices.

“At the time of the Revolution, Father Patrault, though his opinions

were widely opposite to those of his patron, nevertheless exerted every

endeavour to save him, and with this view applied to Danton, who was a

native of the same part of France to which the Cardinal and himself

belonged. But all was unavailing; and it is supposed that Patrault,

after the manner of the ancients, rendered to the Cardinal the service

of procuring for him a poisoned draught to save him from the scaffold.

“Madame de Lomenie, the Cardinal’s niece, before her life was sacrificed

by the revolutionary tribunal, intrusted Father Patrault with the care

of her two daughters, who were yet in their childhood. The moment of

terror having passed away, their aunt Madame de Brienne, who had escaped

the storm and preserved a considerable portion of her fortune, applied

to Father Patrault for the children; but he refused to give them up, on

the ground that their mother had directed him to withdraw them from the

world and to devote them to the occupation of peasants. He had conceived

the design of literally executing these figurative commands, and was on

the point of uniting them to two of his own nephews. ‘I was then,’ said

Napoleon, ‘General of the Army of the Interior, and I became the

mediator for the restoration of the two children, an object which was

not accomplished without difficulty. Patrault employed every possible

means of resistance. These daughters of Madame de Lomenie were the two

ladies whom you have since known by the names of Madame de Marnesia, and

the beautiful Madame de Canisy, Duchess de Vicenza.’

“Father Patrault, having renewed his acquaintance with his old pupil,

followed him and joined the Army of Italy, where he proved himself

better able to calculate projectiles than to meet their effects. At

Montenotte, Millesimo, and Dego, he evinced the most puerile cowardice.

During the action he was occupied, not like Moses, in praying, but in

weeping. The General-in-chief appointed him administrator of domains at

Milan, from which he derived considerable profits. On Napoleon’s return

from Egypt, he presented himself to him: he was no longer the little

Minim monk of Champagne, but a corpulent financier, possessed of upwards

of a million. Two years afterwards he again sought an interview with the

First Consul at Malmaison: he now looked mean, dejected, and shabbily

dressed. ‘How is this?’ inquired the Consul. ‘You see before you a

ruined man,’ replied Patrault; ‘one who is reduced to beggary; the

victim of severe misfortune.’ The First Consul determined to investigate

the truth of this statement; he discovered that Father Patrault had

commenced the trade of an usurer. The great calculator had lost his

fortune through bankruptcies, in lending at great risk for a high

interest. ‘I have already paid my debt,’ said the First Consul, at his

next interview with him; ‘I can do no more for you; I cannot make a

man’s fortune twice.’ He contented himself with granting Patrault a

pension sufficient for his subsistence.

“Napoleon retained but a faint idea of Pichegru; he remembered that he

was a tall man, rather red in the face. Pichegru, on the contrary, seems

to have preserved a striking recollection of young Napoleon. When

Pichegru joined the royalist party, he was asked whether it would not be

possible to gain over the General-in-chief of the Army of Italy. ‘To

attempt that would only be wasting time,’ said he: ‘from my knowledge of

him when a boy, I am sure he must be a most inflexible character: he has

formed his resolutions, and he will not change them.’”

Footnote 14:

These lines were dictated by the Emperor himself:—how and when will be

hereafter explained.

The Emperor has often been much amused at the tales and anecdotes that

are related of his boyhood, in the numerous little publications to which

he had given rise: he acknowledges the accuracy of scarcely any of them.

There is one, relative to his confirmation at the military school of

Paris, which, however, he admitted to be true. It is as follows:—the

archbishop who confirmed him, manifesting his astonishment at the name

of Napoleon, said he did not know of any such saint, and that there was

no such name in the calendar; the boy quickly replied, that that could

be no rule, since there were an immense number of saints, and only 365

days.

Napoleon never observed his festival-day until after the Concordat: his

patron saint was a stranger to the French Calendar, and even where his

name is recorded the date of his festival is a matter of uncertainty.

The Pope, however, fixed it for the 15th of August, which was at once

the Emperor’s birth-day, and the day of the signing of the Concordat.

[15]“In 1783, Napoleon was one of the scholars who, at the usual

competition at Brienne, were fixed upon to be sent to the military

school at Paris, to finish their education. The choice was made annually

by an inspector, who visited the twelve military schools. This office

was filled by the Chevalier de Keralio, a general officer, and the

author of a work on military tactics. He was also the tutor of the

present [the late] King of Bavaria, who in his youth bore the title of

Duke of Deux-Ponts. Keralio was an amiable old man and well qualified to

discharge the duty of Inspector of the military schools. He was fond of

the boys, played with them when they had finished their examinations,

and permitted those who had acquitted themselves most to his

satisfaction to dine with him at the table of the monks. He was

particularly attached to young Napoleon, and took a pleasure in

stimulating him to exertion. He singled him out to be sent to Paris,

though it would appear he had not at that time attained the requisite

age. The lad was not very far advanced in any branch of education except

mathematics, and the monks suggested that it would be better to wait

till the following year, to afford time for further improvement. But

this the Chevalier de Keralio would by no means agree to; ‘I know what I

am about,’ said he, ‘and if I am transgressing the rules, it is not on

account of family influence:—I know nothing of the friends of this

youth. I am actuated only by my own opinion of his merit. I perceive in

him a spark of genius which cannot be too early fostered.’ The worthy

chevalier died suddenly, before he had time to carry his determination

into effect; but his successor, M. de Regnaud, who would not perhaps

have evinced half his penetration, nevertheless fulfilled his intention,

and young Napoleon was sent to Paris.”

Footnote 15:

Dictated by the Emperor.

At this period he began to develop qualities of a superior order:

decision of character, profound reflection, and vigorous conceptions. It

would appear, that from his earliest childhood his parents rested all

their hopes on him. His father, when on his death-bed at Montpellier,

though Joseph was beside him, spoke only of Napoleon, who was then at

the military school. In the delirium with which he was seized in his

last moments, he incessantly called Napoleon to come to his aid with his

_great sword_. The grand uncle, Lucien, who on his death-bed was

surrounded by all his relatives, said, addressing himself to Joseph,

“You are the eldest of the family; but there is the head of it (pointing

to Napoleon). Never lose sight of him.” The Emperor used to laugh and

say, “This was a true disinheritance: it was the scene of Jacob and

Esau.”

Having myself been educated at the military school of Paris, though at

an earlier period than that at which Napoleon attended it, I was

enabled, on returning from my emigration, to converse about the Emperor

with the masters who had been common to us both.

M. de l’Eguille, our teacher of history, used to boast that the records

of the military school contained proofs of his having foretold the great

career which his pupil was destined to fill; and that he had frequently,

in his notes, eulogised the depth of his reflection, and the shrewdness

of his judgment. He informed me that the First Consul used often to

invite him to breakfast at Malmaison, and that he always took pleasure

in conversing about his old lessons.—“That which made the deepest

impression on me,” said he, one day to M. de l’Eguille, “was the revolt

of the Constable de Bourbon, though you did not present it to us

precisely in its proper light. You made it appear that his great crime

was his having fought against his king; which certainly was but a

trifling fault, in those days of divided nobility and sovereignty;

particularly considering the scandalous injustice of which he was the

victim. His great, his real, his only crime, and that on which you did

not sufficiently dwell, was his having joined with foreigners to attack

his native country.”

M. Domairon, our professor of belles-lettres, informed me that he had

always been struck with the singularity of Napoleon’s amplifications,

which he said were like granite heated in a volcano.

Only one individual formed a mistaken idea of him; that was M. Bauer,

the dull heavy German master. Young Napoleon never made much progress in

the German language, which offended M. Bauer, who ranked German above

all things, and he in consequence formed a most contemptible opinion of

his pupil’s abilities. One day, Napoleon not being in his place, M.

Bauer inquired where he was, and was told that he was attending his

examination in the class of artillery. “What! does he know any thing?”

said M. Bauer ironically. “Why, Sir, he is the best mathematician in the

school,” was the reply. “Ah! I have always heard it remarked, and I have

always believed, that none but a fool could learn mathematics.” “It

would be curious,” said the Emperor, “to know whether M. Bauer lived

long enough to see me rise in the world, and to enjoy the confirmation

of his own judgment.”

Napoleon was scarcely eighteen years of age when the Abbé Raynal, struck

with the extent of his acquirements, appreciated his merit so highly as

to make him one of the ornaments of his scientific _déjeûners_. Finally,

the celebrated Paoli, who, after having long inspired Napoleon with a

sort of veneration, found the latter at the head of a party against him,

the moment he shewed himself favourable to the English, was accustomed

to say—“This young man is formed on the ancient model. He is one of

Plutarch’s men.”

In 1785, Napoleon, who was appointed at once a cadet and an officer of

artillery, quitted the military school to enter the regiment of la Fère

with the rank of second lieutenant; from which he was promoted to the

rank of first lieutenant in the regiment of Grenoble.

Napoleon, on quitting the military school, went to join his regiment at

Valence. The first winter he spent there, his comrades at the mess-table

were Lariboissière, whom, during the empire, he appointed

inspector-general of the artillery; Sorbier, who succeeded Lariboissière

in that post; d’Hedouville, junior, afterwards minister plenipotentiary

at Frankfort; Mallet, brother of him who headed the tumult in Paris in

1813; an officer named Mabille, whom, on his return from emigration, the

Emperor appointed to a situation in the post-office; Rolland de

Villarceaux, afterwards prefect of Nismes; Desmazzis, junior, his

companion at the military school, and the friend of his early years, who

after Napoleon ascended the throne, became keeper of the Imperial

wardrobe.

There were in the corps officers more or less easy in their

circumstances; Napoleon ranked among the former. He received from his

family 1200 francs a year, which was then the amount of an officer’s

full pay. There were two individuals in the regiment who could afford to

keep cabriolets, or carriages of some kind, and they were looked upon as

very great men. Sorbier was one of these two: his companions got him to

drive them about, and they repaid the obligation by jokes and puns.

Sorbier was the son of a physician at Moulins.

At Valence, Napoleon obtained an early introduction to Madame du

Columbier, a lady about fifty years of age, who was endowed with many

rare and estimable qualities, and who was the most distinguished person

in the town. She entertained a great regard for the young

artillery-officer, and through her acquaintance he mingled in all the

best company in Valence and its neighbourhood. She introduced him to the

Abbé de Saint Rufe, an elderly man of property, who was frequently

visited by the most distinguished persons in the country. Napoleon was

indebted for the favour he enjoyed to his extensive information, joined

to the facility and force with which he turned it to account. Madame du

Colombier often foretold that he would be a distinguished man. The death

of this lady happened about the time of the breaking out of the

Revolution: it was an event in which she took great interest, and in her

last moments was heard to say that, if no misfortune befel young

Napoleon, he would infallibly play a distinguished part in the events of

the time. The Emperor never spoke of Madame du Colombier but with

expressions of the tenderest gratitude; and he did not hesitate to

acknowledge that the valuable introductions and superior company in

society which she procured for him had great influence over his destiny.

The gaiety which Napoleon enjoyed at this period of his life, excited

great jealousy on the part of his fellow-officers. They were displeased

at seeing him absent himself so frequently from among them, though his

doing so could be no reasonable ground of offence to them. Fortunately

the commandant, M. d’Urtubie, had formed a just estimate of his

character: he shewed him great kindness, and afforded him the means of

fulfilling his military duties, and at the same time of mingling in the

pleasures of society.

Napoleon conceived an attachment for Mademoiselle du Colombier, who, on

her part, was not insensible to his merits. It was the first love of

both; and it was that kind of love which might be expected to arise at

their age and with their education. “We were the most innocent creatures

imaginable,” the Emperor used to say; “we contrived little meetings

together: I well remember one which took place on a Midsummer morning,

just as daylight began to dawn. It will scarcely be believed that all

our happiness consisted in eating cherries together.”

It has been said that the mother wished to bring about this marriage,

and that the father opposed it on the ground that they would ruin each

other by their union; while each was separately destined to a fortunate

career. But this story is untrue, as is likewise another anecdote

relative to a marriage with Mademoiselle Clary, afterwards Madame

Bernadotte, now Queen of Sweden.

In 1805, the Emperor, when about to be crowned King of Italy, on passing

through Lyons, again saw Mademoiselle du Colombier, who had now changed

her name to Madame de Bressieux. She gained access to him with some

difficulty, surrounded as he was by the etiquette of royalty. Napoleon

was happy to see her again; but he found her much altered for the worse.

He did for her husband what she solicited, and placed her in the

situation of lady of honour to one of his sisters.

Mademoiselles de Laurencin and Saint-Germain were at that time the

reigning toasts in Valence, where they divided the general admiration.

The latter married Monsieur de Montalivet, who was also known to the

Emperor at that time, and who was afterwards made Minister of the

Interior. “He was an honest fellow,” said Napoleon, “and one who, I

believe, remained firmly attached to me.”

When about eighteen or twenty years of age, the Emperor was

distinguished as a young man of extensive information, possessing a

reflective turn of mind and strong reasoning powers. His reading had

been very extensive, and he had profoundly meditated on the fund of

knowledge thus acquired, much of which, he used to say, he had probably

since lost. His sparkling and ready wit and energetic language

distinguished him wherever he went: he was a favourite with every one,

particularly with the fair sex, to whom he recommended himself by the

elegance and novelty of his ideas, and the boldness of his arguments. As

for the men, they were often afraid to engage with him in those

discussions into which he was led by a natural confidence in his own

powers.

Many individuals, who knew him at an early period of life, predicted his

extraordinary career; and they viewed the events of his life without

astonishment. At an early age he gained anonymously a prize at the

Academy of Lyons, on the following question, proposed by Raynal:—“_What

are the principles and institutions calculated to advance mankind to the

highest possible degree of happiness?_” The anonymous memorial excited

great attention: it was perfectly in unison with the ideas of the age.

It began by enquiring in what happiness consisted; and the answer was,

in the perfect enjoyment of life in the manner most conformable with our

moral and physical organization. After he became Emperor, Napoleon was

one day conversing on this subject with M. de Talleyrand: the latter,

like a skilful courtier, shortly after presented to him the famous

memorial, which he had procured from the archives of the Academy of

Lyons. The Emperor took it, and, after reading a few pages, threw into

the fire this first production of his youth. “We can never think of

every thing,” said Napoleon: and M. de Talleyrand had not taken the

precaution of having it copied.

The Prince de Condé one day visited the Artillery school at Auxonne; and

the cadets considered it a high honour to be examined by that military

prince. The commandant, in spite of the hierarchy, placed young Napoleon

at the head of the polygon, in preference to others of superior rank. It

happened that, on the day preceding the examination, all the cannons of

the polygon were spiked: but Napoleon was too much on the alert to be

caught by this trick of his comrades, or snare, perhaps, of the

illustrious traveller.

It is generally believed that Napoleon, in his boyhood, was taciturn,

sullen, and morose: on the contrary, he was of a very lively turn. He

never appeared more delighted than when relating to us the various

tricks he was accustomed to play when at the School of Artillery. In

describing the joyous moments of his early youth, he seems to forget the

misfortunes which hold him in captivity.

There was an old commandant, upwards of eighty years of age, for whom

the cadets entertained a very high respect, notwithstanding the many

jokes they played upon him. One day, while he was examining them in

their cannon exercise, and watching every discharge with his eye-glass,

he asserted they were far from hitting the mark, and asked those near

him if they had seen the ball strike. Nobody had observed the youths’

slipping aside the ball every time they loaded. The old general was

rather sharp; after five or six discharges, he took it into his head to

count the balls. The trick was discovered. The general thought it a very

good one; but nevertheless ordered all who had participated in it to be

put under arrest.

The cadets would occasionally take a pique at some of their captains, or

determine to revenge themselves on others to whom they owed a grudge.

They then resolved to banish them from society, and to reduce them to

the necessity of putting themselves under a sort of arrest. Four or five

of the cadets undertook to execute the design. They fastened on their

victim; pursued him into every company, and he was not suffered to open

his mouth without being methodically and logically contradicted, though

always with a strict regard to politeness: at length the poor fellow

found that retirement was his only alternative.

“On another occasion,” Napoleon used to relate, “one of my comrades who

lodged above me unluckily took a fancy to learn to play the horn, and

made such a hideous noise as completely disturbed the studies of those

who were within hearing. We met each other one day on the stairs; ‘Are

you not tired of practising the horn?’ said I. ‘Not at all,’ he replied.

‘At any rate, you tire other people.’ ‘I am sorry for it.’ ‘It would be

better if you went to practise elsewhere.’ ‘I am master of my own

apartment.’ ‘Perhaps you may be taught to entertain a doubt on that

point.’ ‘I scarcely think any one will be bold enough to attempt to

teach me that.’” A challenge ensued; but before the antagonists met, the

affair was submitted to the consideration of a council of the cadets,

and it was determined that the one should practise the horn at a greater

distance, and that the other should be more accommodating.

In the campaign of 1814, the Emperor again met his horn-player in the

neighbourhood of Soissons or Laon: he was residing on his estate, and

gave some important information respecting the enemy’s position. The

Emperor made him one of his aides-de-camp; this officer was Colonel

Bussy.

When attached to his artillery-regiment, Napoleon seized every

opportunity of mingling in company, where he invariably made an

agreeable impression. Women at that time attached a high value to wit in

the other sex; it was a quality which never failed to win their good

graces. Napoleon, at this period, performed what he termed his

Sentimental Journey from Valence to Mont-Cenis in Burgundy, and he

intended to write an account of it after the manner of Sterne. The

faithful Desmazzis was of the party: he was constantly with him, and his

narrative of Napoleon’s private life, if combined with the details of

his public career, would form a perfect history of the Emperor. It would

then be seen that, however extraordinary his life might be with respect

to its incidents, yet nothing could be more simple or natural than its

course.

Circumstances and reflection have considerably modified his character.

Even his style of expression, now so concise and laconic, was in his

youth diffuse and emphatic. At the time of the Legislative Assembly,

Napoleon assumed a serious and severe demeanour, and became less

communicative than before. The army of Italy also marked another epoch

in his character. His extreme youth, when he went to take the command of

the army, rendered it necessary that he should evince great reserve, and

the utmost strictness of morals. “This was indispensably necessary,”

said he, “to enable me to command men so much above me in point of age.

I pursued a line of conduct truly irreproachable and exemplary. I proved

myself a sort of Cato. I must have appeared such in the eyes of all. I

was a philosopher and a sage.” In this character he appeared on the

theatre of the world.

Napoleon was in garrison at Valence when the Revolution broke out. At

that time it was made a point of particular importance to induce the

artillery-officers to emigrate; and the officers, on their part, were

very much divided in opinion. Napoleon, who was thoroughly imbued with

the notions of the age, possessing a natural instinct for great actions

and a passion for national glory, espoused the cause of the Revolution;

and his example influenced the majority of the regiment. He was an

ardent patriot under the Constituent Assembly; but the Legislative

Assembly marked a new period in his ideas and opinions.

He was at Paris on the 21st of June, 1792, and witnessed the

insurrection of the people of the Faubourgs, who traversed the garden of

the Tuileries, and forced the palace. There were but 6000 men; a mere

disorderly mob, whose language and dress proved them to belong to the

very lowest class of society.

Napoleon was also a witness of the events of the 10th of August, in

which the assailants were neither higher in rank nor more formidable in

number.

In 1793, Napoleon was in Corsica, where he had a command in the National

Guards. He opposed Paoli, as soon as he was led to suspect that the

veteran, to whom he had hitherto been so much attached, entertained the

design of betraying the island to the English. Therefore it is not true,

as it has been generally reported, that Napoleon, or one of his family,

was at one time in England, proposing to raise a Corsican regiment for

the English service.

The English and Paoli subdued the Corsican patriots, and burnt Ajaccio.

The house of the Buonapartes was destroyed in the general conflagration,

and the family was obliged to fly to the Continent. They fixed their

abode at Marseilles, whence Napoleon proceeded to Paris. He arrived just

at the moment when the federalists of Marseilles had surrendered Toulon

to the English.

CAPE VERD ISLANDS.—NAPOLEON AT THE SIEGE OF TOULON.—RISE OF DUROC

AND JUNOT.—NAPOLEON QUARRELS WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF

THE PEOPLE.—QUARRELS WITH AUBRY.—ANECDOTES RELATIVE TO

VENDEMIAIRE.—NAPOLEON GENERAL OF THE ARMY OF ITALY.—INTEGRITY OF HIS

MILITARY ADMINISTRATION.—HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS.—NICK-NAMED

PETIT-CAPORAL.—DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SYSTEM OF THE DIRECTORY AND THAT

OF THE GENERAL OF THE ARMY OF ITALY.

September 1st—6th. On the 1st of September we found from our latitude

that we should see the Cape Verd Islands in the course of the day. The

sky was, however, overcast, and at night we could see nothing. The

Admiral, convinced that there was a mistake in the reckoning of our

longitude, was preparing to bear westward to the right, in order to fall

in with the islands, when a brig, which was ahead of us, intimated by a

signal that she had discovered them on the left. During the night the

wind blew violently from the south-east, and if our mistake had been the

reverse of what it was, and the Admiral had really borne to the right,

it is not improbable that we should have been thrown out of our course;

a proof that, notwithstanding the improvements in science, mistakes are

very apt to take place, and that the chances of navigation are very

great. As the wind continued to blow strong, and the sea was boisterous,

the Admiral preferred continuing his course, rather than waiting to take

in water, of which he believed he had already a sufficient store. Every

thing now promised a prosperous passage; we were already very far

advanced on our course. Every circumstance continued favourable; the

weather was mild, and we might even have thought our voyage agreeable,

had it been undertaken in the pursuit of our own plans and in conformity

with our own inclinations: but how could we forget our past misfortunes,

or close our eyes on the future?——

Occupation alone could enable us to support the languor and tedium of

our days. I had undertaken to teach my son English; and the Emperor, to

whom I mentioned the progress he was making, expressed a wish to learn

also. I endeavoured to form a very simple plan for his instruction, in

order to save him trouble. This did very well for two or three days; but

the _ennui_ occasioned by the study was at least equal to that which it

was intended to counteract, and the English was laid aside. The Emperor

occasionally reproached me with having discontinued my lessons: I

replied that I had the medicine ready, if he had the courage to take it.

In other respects, particularly before the English, his manners and

habits were always the same: never did a murmur or a wish escape his

lips; he invariably appeared contented, patient, and good-humoured.

The admiral, who, on account of our reputation, I suppose, had assumed

great stiffness, on our departure from England, gradually laid aside his

reserve, and every day took greater interest in his captive. He

represented the danger incurred by coming on deck after dinner, owing to

the damp of the evening; the Emperor would then sometimes take his arm

and prolong the conversation, which never failed to gratify him

exceedingly. I have been assured that the Admiral carefully noted down

every particular that he could collect. If this be true, the remarks

which the Emperor one day made, during dinner, on naval affairs—on the

French resources in the south; those which he had already created, and

those which he contemplated; and on the ports and harbours of the

Mediterranean: to all of which the Admiral listened with deep attention,

and as if fearful of interruption—will compose a chapter truly valuable

to a seaman.

I will now return to the details collected during our ordinary

conversation. The following relate to the siege of Toulon.

In September 1793, Napoleon Buonaparte, then in his twenty-fourth year,

was yet unknown to the world which was destined to resound with his

name. He was a lieutenant-colonel of artillery, and had been only a few

weeks in Paris; having left Corsica, where political events had forced

him to yield to the faction of Paoli. The English had taken possession

of Toulon; an experienced artillery-officer was wanting to direct the

operations of the siege, and Napoleon was fixed on. There will history

take him up, never more to leave him;—there commences his immortality.

I refer to the Memoirs of the Campaign of Italy for the plan of attack

which he adopted, and the manner in which that plan was carried into

effect. It will there be seen that it was he, and he alone, who took the

fortress. This was a great triumph, no doubt: but to appreciate it

justly, it would be necessary to compare the plan of the attack with the

account of the evacuation; the one is the literal prediction, and the

other is the fulfilment word for word. From this moment the young

commander of artillery enjoyed the highest reputation. The Emperor never

looks back to this period without pleasure, and always mentions it as

the happiest portion of his life. The taking of Toulon was his first

successful achievement, and it naturally excites the fondest

recollections. The history of the campaign of Italy will present a

faithful picture of the three generals-in-chief who succeeded each other

during the siege: the inconceivable ignorance of Cartaux, the gloomy

brutality of Doppet, and the honest courage of Dugommier. Of them I

shall here say nothing.

At the first breaking out of the Revolution, there was nothing but

disorder in the _matériel_ and ignorance in the _personnel_ of the

French army, which was owing both to the confusion of the times and the

rapidity and irregularity with which the promotions had been made. The

following story will afford an idea of the state of affairs and of the

manners of the time:—

On his arrival at head-quarters, Napoleon waited on General Cartaux, a

fine figure, covered with gold lace from head to foot, who asked him

what duty he had been sent upon. The young officer modestly presented

the letter which directed him to superintend, under the general’s

command, the operations of the artillery. “This was quite unnecessary,”

said the fine-looking man, twirling his whiskers; “we want no assistance

to retake Toulon: however, you are welcome, and you may share the glory

of burning the town to-morrow, without having experienced any of the

fatigue.” And he made him stay to sup with him.

A party of thirty sat down to table; the general alone was served like a

prince, while every one else was dying of hunger; a circumstance which,

in those days of equality, strangely shocked the new guest. The next

morning, at break of day, the general took him out in his cabriolet, to

admire, as he said, the preparations for attack. As soon as he had

crossed the height, and come within sight of the roads, they got out of

the carriage, and entered some vineyards by the road side. The

commandant of artillery then perceived some pieces of ordnance, and some

digging, for which it was literally impossible for him in the slightest

degree to account. “Dupas,” said the general haughtily, turning to his

aide-de-camp, his confidential man, “are those our batteries?”—“Yes,

general.”—“And our park?” “There, close at hand.”—“And our red-hot

balls?”—“In yonder houses, where two companies have been employed all

the morning in heating them.”—“But how shall we be able to carry these

red-hot balls?” This consideration seemed to puzzle them both

completely, and they turned to the officer of artillery, and begged to

know whether, through his scientific knowledge, he could not explain how

the thing was to be managed. Napoleon, who would have been very much

tempted to take the whole for a hoax, had his interrogators evinced less

simplicity, for they were more than a league and a half from the object

of attack, summoned to his aid all the gravity he was master of, and

endeavoured to persuade them, before they troubled themselves about

red-hot balls, to try the range of the shot with cold ones. After a

great deal of trouble, he at length prevailed on them to follow his

advice, but not till he had very luckily made use of the technical term

_coup d’épreuve_, (proof-shot,) which took their fancy, and brought them

over to his opinion. They then made the experiment, but the shot did not

reach to a third of the distance required: and the general and Dupas

began to abuse the Marseillais and the Aristocrats who had, they said,

maliciously spoiled the powder. In the mean time the representative of

the people came up on horseback: this was Gasparin, an intelligent man,

who had served in the army.—Napoleon, perceiving how things were going

on, and boldly deciding on the course he meant to pursue, immediately

assumed great confidence of manner, and urged the representative to

intrust him with the whole direction of the affair. He exposed, without

hesitation, the unparalleled ignorance of all who were about him, and

from that moment took upon himself the entire direction of the siege.

Cartaux was a man of such limited intellect that it was impossible to

make him understand that, to facilitate the taking of Toulon, it would

be necessary to make the attack at the outlet of the road. When the

commandant of artillery sometimes pointed to this outlet on the map, and

told him _there was Toulon_, Cartaux suspected he knew very little of

geography; and when, in spite of his opposition, the authority of the

representative decided on the adoption of this distant point of attack,

the general was haunted by the idea of treasonable designs, and he would

often remark, with great uneasiness, that Toulon did not lie in that

direction.

Cartaux wanted one day to oblige the commandant to erect a battery, with

the rear of the guns so close against the front of a house as to leave

no room for the recoil. On another occasion, on his return from the

morning parade, he sent for the commandant to tell him that he had just

discovered a position, from which a battery of from six to twelve pieces

would infallibly carry Toulon in a few days: it was a little hillock

which would command three or four forts and several points of the town.

He was enraged at the refusal of the commandant of artillery, who

observed to him that, although the battery commanded every point, it was

itself commanded by every point; that the twelve guns would have one

hundred and fifty to oppose them; and that simple subtraction would

suffice to show him his disadvantage. The commandant of the engineer

department was called on for his opinion, and, as he concurred without

hesitation in that of the commandant of artillery, Cartaux said that it

was impossible to do any thing with those learned corps, as they all

went hand-in-hand. At length, to put a stop to difficulties which were

continually recurring, the representative decided that Cartaux should

communicate to the commandant of artillery his general plan of attack,

and that the latter should execute the details, according to the rules

of his department. The following was Cartaux’s memorable plan:—“The

general of artillery shall batter Toulon during three days, at the

expiration of which time I will attack it with three columns, and carry

it.”

At Paris, however, the engineer committee found this summary measure

much more humorous than wise, and it was one of the causes which led to

Cartaux’s recal. There was indeed no want of plans; for, the retaking of

Toulon having been proposed as a subject for competition in the popular

societies, plans poured in from all quarters. Napoleon says he must have

received at least six hundred during the siege. It was to the

representative Gasparin that Napoleon was indebted for the triumph of

his plan (that which took Toulon) over the objections of the Committees

of the Convention. He preserved a grateful recollection of this

circumstance: it was Gasparin, he used to say, who had first opened his

career.[16]

Footnote 16:

The Emperor has, in his will, paid a tribute of gratitude to the

representative Gasparin, for the special protection he received from

him.

He has honoured with a similar tribute General Duteil, the head of his

School of Artillery, and General Dugommier, for the attention and

kindness he had experienced from them.

In all the disputes between Cartaux and the commandant of artillery,

which usually took place in the presence of the general’s wife, the

latter uniformly took the part of the officer of artillery, saying, with

great _naïveté_ to her husband, “Let the young man alone, he knows more

about it than you do, for he never asks your advice; besides, it is you

who are to give the account: the glory will be yours.”

This woman was not without some share of good sense. On her return to

Paris, after the recal of her husband, the jacobins of Marseilles gave a

splendid fête in honour of the disgraced family. In the course of the

evening the conversation happened to fall on the commandant of

artillery, who was enthusiastically praised. “Do not reckon on him,”

said she; “that young man has too much understanding to remain long a

_sans-culotte_.” On which the general exclaimed, with the voice of a

Stentor, “Wife Cartaux, would you make us all out to be fools then?”

“No, I do not say that, my dear; but ... I must tell you, he is not one

of your sort.”

One day, at head quarters, a superb carriage arrived from the Paris

road; it was followed by a second, and a third; and at length no fewer

than fifteen appeared. It may be imagined how great was the astonishment

and curiosity occasioned by such a circumstance in those times of

republican simplicity. The _grand monarque_ himself could not have

travelled with greater pomp. The whole cavalcade had been procured by a

requisition in the capital; several of the carriages had belonged to the

Court. About sixty soldiers, of fine appearance, alighted from them, and

inquired for the General-in-chief; they marched up to him with the

important air of ambassadors:—“Citizen General,” said the orator of the

party, “we come from Paris; the patriots are indignant at your

inactivity and delay. The soil of the Republic has long been violated;

she is enraged to think that the insult still remains unavenged: she

asks, why is Toulon not yet retaken? Why is the English fleet not yet

destroyed? In her indignation, she has appealed to her brave sons; we

have obeyed her summons, and burn with impatience to fulfil her

expectation. We are volunteer gunners from Paris: furnish us with arms,

to-morrow we will march upon the enemy.” The General, disconcerted at

this address, turned to the commandant of artillery, who promised, in a

whisper, to rid him of these heroes next morning. They were well

received, and at day-break the commandant of artillery led them to the

sea-shore, and put some guns at their disposal. Astonished to find

themselves exposed from head to foot, they asked whether there was no

shelter or epaulement. They were told that all those things were out of

fashion; that patriotism had abolished them. Meanwhile, an English

frigate fired a broadside, and put all the braggadocios to flight. There

was but one cry throughout the camp; some openly fled, and the rest

quietly mingled with the besiegers.

Disorder and anarchy now prevailed. Dupas, the factotum of the

General-in-chief, a man of no ability, made himself busy, and was

continually meddling with the artillery-men in the arrangement of their

field-train and batteries. A plan was formed to get rid of him. They

turned him into ridicule, and urged each other on till they became very

vehement in their jokes. On a sudden Dupas appeared among them with all

his usual confidence, giving orders and making inquiries about every

thing he saw. He received uncivil answers, and high words arose. The

tumult spread on every side; cries of _l’aristocrate_ and _la lanterne_

were echoed from every mouth; and Dupas clapped both spurs to his horse,

and never returned to annoy them.

The commandant of artillery was to be seen every where. His activity and

knowledge gave him a decided influence over the rest of the army.

Whenever the enemy attempted to make a sortie, or compelled the

besiegers to have recourse to rapid and unexpected movements, the heads

of columns and detachments were always sure to exclaim, “Run to the

commandant of artillery, and ask him what we are to do; he understands

the localities better than any one.” This advice was uniformly adopted

without a murmur. He did not spare himself; he had several horses killed

under him, and received from an Englishman a bayonet-wound in his left

thigh, which for a short time, threatened to require amputation.

Being one day in a battery where one of the gunners was killed, he

seized the rammer, and, with his own hands, loaded ten or twelve times.

A few days afterwards he was attacked with a violent cutaneous disease.

No one could conceive where he had caught it, until Muiron, his

adjutant, discovered that the dead gunner had been infected with it. In

the ardour of youth and the activity of service, the commandant of

artillery was satisfied with slight remedies, and the disorder

disappeared; but the poison had only entered the deeper into his system,

it long affected his health, and well nigh cost him his life. From this

disorder proceeded the meagreness, the feebleness of body, and sickly

complexion, which characterized the General-in-chief of the army of

Italy and of the army of Egypt.

It was not till a much later period, at the Tuileries, that Corvisart

succeeded, by the application of numerous blisters on his chest, in

restoring him to perfect health; and it was then that he acquired the

corpulence for which he has since been remarked.

From being the commandant of artillery in the army of Toulon, Napoleon

might have become general-in-chief before the close of the siege. The

very day of the attack on _Little Gibraltar_, General Dugommier, who had

delayed it for some days, wished to delay it still longer; about three

or four o’clock in the afternoon, the Representatives sent for Napoleon:

they were dissatisfied with Dugommier, particularly on account of his

delay; they wished to deprive him of the command, and to transfer it to

the chief of the artillery, who declined accepting it. Napoleon went to

the General, whom he esteemed and loved, informed him of what had

occurred, and persuaded him to decide on the attack. About eight or nine

in the evening, when all the preparations were completed, and just as

the attack was about to commence, a change took place in the state of

affairs, and the Representatives countermanded the attack. Dugommier,

however, still influenced by the commandant of artillery, persisted: had

he failed, he must have forfeited his head. Such was the course of

affairs and the justice of the times.

The notes which the committees of Paris found in the office of the

artillery department, respecting Napoleon, first called their attention

to his conduct at the siege of Toulon. They saw that, in spite of his

youth and the inferiority of his rank, as soon as he appeared there, he

was master.—This was the natural effect of the ascendancy of knowledge,

activity, and energy, over the ignorance and confusion of the moment. He

was, in fact, the conqueror of Toulon, and yet he is scarcely named in

the official despatches. He was in possession of the town before the

army had scarcely dreamt of it. After taking Little Gibraltar, which he

always looked upon as the key of the whole enterprise, he said to old

Dugommier, who was worn out with fatigue,—“Go and rest yourself—we have

taken Toulon—you may sleep there the day after to-morrow.” When

Dugommier found the thing actually accomplished—when he reflected that

the young commandant of artillery had always foretold exactly what would

happen, he became all enthusiasm and admiration; he was never tired of

praising him. It is perfectly true, as some of the publications of the

period relate, that Dugommier informed the Committees of Paris that he

had with him a young man who merited particular notice; for that,

whichever side he might adopt, he was certainly destined to throw great

weight into the balance. When Dugommier joined the Army of the Eastern

Pyrenees, he wished to take with him the young commandant of artillery;

but this he was unable to do. He, however, spoke of him incessantly:

and, at a subsequent period, when this same army was, on the conclusion

of peace with Spain, sent to re-inforce the army of Italy, of which

Napoleon soon after became general-in-chief, he found on his arrival,

that in consequence of all Dugommier had said of him, the officers had,

to use his own expression, scarcely eyes enough to look at him.

With regard to Napoleon, his success at Toulon did not much astonish

him; he enjoyed it, he says, with a lively satisfaction, unmingled with

surprise. He was equally happy the following year at Saorgio, where his

operations were admirable: he accomplished in a few days what had been

attempted in vain for two years. “Vendemiaire, and even Montenotte,”

said the Emperor, “never induced me to look upon myself as a man of a

superior class; it was not till after Lodi that I was struck with the

possibility of my becoming a decisive actor on the scene of political

events. It was then that the first spark of my ambition was kindled.”

He, however, mentioned that, subsequently to Vendemiaire, during his

command of the Army of the Interior, he drew up the plan of a campaign

which was to terminate by a treaty of peace on the summit of the

Simmering, which plan he shortly afterwards carried into execution at

Leoben. It is, perhaps, still to be found in the official archives. The

well-known fury of the times was still farther increased under the walls

of Toulon, by the assembling of two hundred deputies from the

neighbouring popular associations, who had proceeded thither for the

purpose of instigating the most atrocious measures. To them must be

attributed the excesses which were then committed, and of which the

whole army complained. When Napoleon afterwards rose to distinction,

attempts were made to throw the odium of these atrocities on him. “It

would be a degradation,” said the Emperor, “to think of replying to such

calumnies.”

As soon as Napoleon took the command of the artillery at Toulon, he

availed himself of the necessity of circumstances to procure the return

of many of his old companions, who had, at first, left the service on

account of their birth or political principles. He obtained the

appointment of Col. Gassendi to the command of the arsenal of

Marseilles. The obstinacy and severity of this man are well known: they

frequently placed him in danger: it more than once required all

Napoleon’s vigilance and care to save him from the effects of the

irritation which his conduct excited.

The ascendancy which Napoleon had acquired, through his services, in the

port and arsenal of Toulon, afforded him the means of saving several

unfortunate members of the emigrant family of Chabriant, or Chabrillan,

who had been overtaken by storms at sea, and driven on the French shore.

They were about to be put to death, for the law was decisive against

emigrants who might return to France. They urged, in their defence, that

their return had been purely the effect of accident, and was contrary to

their own wishes; the only favour they solicited was to be permitted to

depart; but all was vain: they would have perished, had not the

Commandant of the Artillery hazarded his own safety, and procured for

them a covered boat, which he sent off from the French coast under the

pretence of business relative to his department. During the reign of

Napoleon, these individuals took an opportunity of expressing their

gratitude to him, and informing him that they had carefully preserved

the order which saved their lives.

Napoleon was himself, at various times, exposed to the fury of

revolutionary assassins.—Whenever he established a new battery, the

numerous patriotic deputations, who were at the camp, solicited the

honour of having it named after them. Napoleon named one ‘the battery of

the Patriots of the South:’ this was a sufficient ground for his being

denounced and accused of federalism; and had he been a less useful

person, he would have been put under arrest, or, in other words, he

would have been sacrificed. In short, language is inadequate to describe

the frenzy and horror of the times. For instance, the Emperor told us

that, while engaged in fortifying the coasts at Marseilles, he was a

witness to the horrible condemnation of the merchant Hugues, a man of

eighty-four years of age, deaf and nearly blind. In spite of his age and

infirmities, his atrocious executioners pronounced him guilty of

conspiracy: his real crime was his being worth eighteen millions. This

he was himself aware of, and he offered to surrender his wealth to the

tribunal, provided he might be allowed to retain five hundred thousand

francs, which, he said, he should not live long to enjoy. But this

proposition was rejected, and his head was cut off. “At this sight,”

said Napoleon, “I thought the world was at an end!” an expression he was

accustomed to employ on any extraordinary occasion. Barras and Fréron

were the authors of these atrocities. The Emperor did Robespierre the

justice to say that he had seen long letters written by him to his

brother, Robespierre the younger, who was then a representative with the

army of the South, in which he warmly opposed and disclaimed these

excesses, declaring that they would disgrace and ruin the Revolution.

Napoleon, when at Toulon, formed friendships with many individuals, who

subsequently became very celebrated. He distinguished in the train a

young officer, whose talents he had at first much difficulty in

cultivating, but from whom he afterwards derived the greatest services:

this was Duroc, who, with a very unprepossessing person, was endowed

with talent of the most solid and useful kind: he loved the Emperor for

himself, was devoted to his interests, and at the same time knew how to

tell him the truth at proper seasons. He was afterwards created Duke de

Frioul and Grand Marshal of the Palace. He placed the Imperial household

on an excellent footing, and preserved the most perfect order. At his

death, the Emperor thought he had sustained an irreparable loss, and

many other persons were of the same opinion. The Emperor told me that

Duroc was the only man who had possessed his intimacy and entire

confidence.

During the erection of one of the first batteries which Napoleon, on his

arrival at Toulon, directed against the English, he asked whether there

was a serjeant, or corporal, present who could write. A man advanced

from the ranks, and wrote by his dictation on the epaulement. The note

was scarcely ended, when a cannon ball which had been fired in the

direction of the battery, fell near the spot, and the paper was

immediately covered by the loose earth thrown up by the ball. “Well,”

said the writer, “I shall have no need of sand.” This remark, together

with the coolness with which it was made, fixed the attention of

Napoleon, and made the fortune of the serjeant. This man was Junot,

afterwards Duke of Abrantes, colonel-general of the Hussars, commandant

in Portugal, and governor-general in Illyria, where he evinced signs of

mental alienation, which increased on his return to France, where he

wounded himself in a horrible way. He died the victim of the

intemperance which destroyed both his health and his reason.

Napoleon, on being created General of Artillery, and Commandant of that

department in the Army of Italy, carried thither all the superiority and

influence which he had acquired before Toulon; still, however, he

experienced reverses, and even dangers. He was put under arrest for a

short time at Nice, by the representative Laporte, because he refused to

crouch to his authority. Another representative pronounced sentence of

outlawry upon him, because he would not suffer him to employ all his

artillery-horses for the posting service. Finally, a decree, which was

never executed, summoned him to the bar of the Convention, for having

proposed certain military measures relative to the fortifications at

Marseilles.

When attached to the Army of Nice or of Italy, he became a great

favourite with the representative Robespierre the younger, whom he

described as possessing qualities very different from his brother: the

latter Napoleon never saw. Robespierre the younger, on being recalled to

Paris by his brother, some time before the 9th of Thermidor, exerted

every endeavour to prevail on Napoleon to accompany him. “If I had not

firmly resisted,” observed the Emperor, “who knows whither this first

step might have led me, and for what a different destiny I might have

been reserved?”

At the Army of Nice, there was another Representative, an insignificant

man. His wife, who was an extremely pretty and fascinating woman, shared

and even usurped his authority; she was a native of Versailles. Both

husband and wife paid great attention to the General of artillery; they

became extremely fond of him, and treated him in the handsomest manner.

This was a great advantage to the young General, for, at that time,

during the absence or the inefficiency of the laws, a representative of

the people was a man of immense power.

The individual here alluded to was one of those who, in the Convention,

most contributed to bring Napoleon into notice, at the crisis of

Vendemiaire: this was the natural consequence of the deep impressions

produced by the character and capacity of the young General.

The Emperor relates that, after he had ascended the throne, he again saw

his old acquaintance the fair representative of Nice. She was so much

altered as to be scarcely recognisable; her husband was dead, and she

was reduced to extreme indigence. The Emperor readily granted every

thing she solicited: “He realized,” he said, “all her dreams, and even

went beyond them.” Although she lived at Versailles, many years had

elapsed before she succeeded in gaining access to him. Letters,

petitions, solicitations of every description had proved unavailing: “So

difficult it is,” said the Emperor, “to reach the sovereign, even when

he does not wish to deny himself.” At length, one day when he was on a

hunting excursion at Versailles, Napoleon happened to mention this lady

to Berthier, who was also a native of that place, and had known her in

her youth; and he, who had never yet deigned to mention her, and still

less to regard her petitions, on the following day presented her to the

sovereign. “But why did you not get introduced to me through our mutual

acquaintances in the Army of Nice?” inquired the Emperor: “many of them

are now great men, and are on a constant footing of intimacy with me.”

“Alas! sire,” replied she, “our acquaintance ceased when they became

great, and I was overtaken by misfortune.”

The Emperor one day communicated to me some details respecting this old

friendship:—“I was,” said he, “very young when I first knew this lady; I

was proud of the favourable impression I had made on her, and seized

every opportunity of shewing her all the attention in my power. I will

mention one circumstance, to shew how authority is sometimes abused, and

on what men’s fate may depend: for I am no worse than the rest. I was

walking one day with the Representative’s wife, inspecting our positions

in the vicinity of the Col di Tende, when I suddenly took it into my

head to give her an idea of an engagement, and, for this purpose,

ordered the attack of an advanced post. We were conquerors, it is true;

but the affair could be attended by no advantage. The attack was a mere

whim, and yet it cost the lives of several men. I have never failed to

reproach myself whenever I look back on this affair.”

The events of Thermidor having produced a change in the Committees of

the Convention, Aubry, formerly a captain of artillery, was appointed to

direct the Committee of War, and he re-modelled the army. He did not

forget himself; he promoted himself to the rank of general of artillery,

and favoured several of his old comrades, to the injury of the inferior

officers, whom he dismissed. Napoleon, who was at this time scarcely

twenty-five years of age, became a general of infantry, and he was

chosen for the service of La Vendée. This circumstance induced him to

quit the Army of Italy, in order to protest earnestly against the

change, which, on every account, was unsatisfactory to him. Finding

Aubry inflexible, and even offended at his just representations, he gave

in his resignation. Only a short time elapsed before he was again

employed in the Topographical Committee, by which the movements of the

army and the plans of the campaigns were arranged: he was thus engaged

at the period of the 13th of Vendemiaire.

Napoleon’s expostulation with Aubry on the subject of his new

appointment formed a perfect scene: he insisted vehemently, because he

had facts to bear him out; Aubry was obstinate and bitter, because he

had power in his hands. He told Napoleon that he was too young, and that

he must let older men go before him; Napoleon replied that a soldier

soon grew old on the field of battle, and that _he_ had just come from

it. Aubry had never been in any engagement. They came to very high

words.

I informed the Emperor that, on returning from my emigration, I occupied

for a considerable time, in the Rue Saint Florentin, the identical

apartment in which this scene took place. I had frequently heard it

spoken of; and though it was described by unfriendly tongues, each,

nevertheless, took great interest in relating the details, and in trying

to guess the part of the room in which any particular gesture was made,

or any remarkable word spoken.

The history of the famous day of Vendemiaire, which had so important an

influence on the fate of the Revolution and of Napoleon, will shew that

he hesitated for some time before he undertook the defence of the

Convention.

On the night succeeding that day, Napoleon presented himself to the

Committee of Forty, which was established at the Tuileries. He wanted to

procure mortars and ammunition from Meudon; but such was the

circumspection of the President (Cambacéres) that, in spite of the

dangers which had marked the day, he refused to sign the order; and

merely, by way of accommodating the matter, requested that the guns and

ammunition might be placed at the disposal of the General.

During his command of Paris, subsequently to the 13th of Vendemiaire,

Napoleon had to encounter a great scarcity, which occasioned several

popular commotions. One day when the usual distribution had not taken

place, crowds of people collected round the bakers’ shops. Napoleon was

parading about the city with a party of his staff to preserve public

tranquillity. A crowd of persons, chiefly women, assembled round him,

loudly calling for bread. The crowd augmented, the outcries increased,

and the situation of Napoleon and his officers became critical. A woman,

of monstrous size and corpulence, was particularly conspicuous by her

gestures and exclamations. “Those fine epauletted fellows,” said she,

pointing to the officers, “laugh at our distress: so long as they can

eat and grow fat, they care not if the poor people die of hunger.”

Napoleon turned to her, and said, “Good woman, look at me; which is

fatter, you or I?” Napoleon was at that time extremely thin: “I was a

mere slip of parchment,” said he. A general burst of laughter disarmed

the fury of the populace, and the staff-officers continued their round.

The narrative of the thirteenth of Vendemiaire shews how Napoleon became

acquainted with Madame de Beauharnais, and how he contracted the

marriage which has been so greatly misrepresented in the accounts of the

time. As soon as he got introduced to Madame de Beauharnais, he spent

almost every evening at her house, which was frequented by the most

agreeable company in Paris. When the majority of the party retired,

there usually remained M. de Montesquiou, the father of the Grand

Chamberlain; the Duke de Nivernois, so celebrated for the graces of his

wit; and a few others. They used to look round to see that the doors

were all shut, and they would then say, “Let us sit down and chat about

the old court; let us make a tour to Versailles.”

The poverty of the treasury and the scarcity of specie were so great,

during the Republic, that, on the departure of General Buonaparte for

the army of Italy, all his efforts, joined to those of the Directory,

could only succeed in raising 2000 louis, which he carried with him in

his carriage. With this sum he set out to conquer Italy, and to march

towards the empire of the world. The following is a curious fact: an

order of the day was published, signed Berthier, directing the

General-in-chief, on his arrival at the head-quarters at Nice, to

distribute to the different generals, to enable them to enter on the

campaign, the sum of four louis in specie. For a considerable time no

such thing as specie had been seen. This order of the day displays the

circumstances of the times more truly and faithfully than whole volumes

written on the subject.

As soon as Napoleon joined the army, he proved himself to be a man born

for command. From that moment he filled the theatre of the world;[17] he

occupied all Europe; he was a meteor blazing in the firmament; he

concentrated all attention, riveted all thoughts, and formed the subject

of all conversations. From that time every Gazette, every publication,

every monument, became the record of his deeds. His name was inscribed

in every page and in every line, and echoed from every mouth.

Footnote 17: