His Majesty the Emperor passed the month of January, 1806, at Munich and
Stuttgard, during which, in the first of these two capitals, the marriage
of the vice-king and the Princess of Bavaria was celebrated. On this
occasion there was a succession of magnificent fetes, of which the
Emperor was always the hero, and at which his hosts tried, by every
variety of homage, to express to this great man the admiration with which
his military genius inspired them.
The vice-king and vice-queen had never met before their marriage, but
were soon as much attached to each other as if they had been acquainted
for years, for never were two persons more perfectly congenial. No
princess, and indeed no mother, could have manifested more affection and
care for her children than the vice-queen; and she might well serve as a
model for all women. I have been told an incident concerning this
admirable princess which I take pleasure in relating here. One of her
daughters, who was quite young, having spoken in a very harsh tone to her
maid, her most serene highness the vice-queen was informed of it, and in
order to give her daughter a lesson, forbade the servants to render the
young princess any service, or to reply to any of her demands, from that
time. The child at once complained to her mother, who told her gravely
that when any one received, like her, the care and attention of all
around them, it was necessary to merit this, and to show her appreciation
by consideration and an obliging politeness. Then she required her to
ask pardon of the 'femme de chambre', and henceforward to speak to her
politely, assuring her that by this means she would always obtain
compliance with all reasonable and just requests she might make.
The child obeyed; and the lesson was of such benefit to her that she
became, if general report is to be believed, one of the most accomplished
princesses of Europe. The report of her perfections spread abroad even
to the New World, which contended for her with the Old, and has been
fortunate enough to obtain her. She is at this time, I think, Empress of
Brazil.
His Majesty the King of Bavaria, Maximilian Joseph, then about fifty
years of age, was very tall, with a noble and attractive physiognomy and
fascinating manners. Before the Revolution he had been colonel of an
Alsatian regiment in the service of France, under the name of Prince
Maximilian, or Prince Max as the soldiers called him, and stationed at
Strasburg, where he left a reputation for elegance and chivalrous
gallantry. His subjects, his family, his servants, everybody, adored
him. He often took long walks through the city of Munich in the morning,
went to the market, inquired the price of grain, entered the shops, spoke
to every one, especially the children, whom he persuaded to go to school.
This excellent prince did not fear to compromise his dignity by the
simplicity of his manners; and he was right, for I do not think any one
ever failed to show him respect, and the love which he inspired lessened
in no wise the veneration which was felt for him. Such was his devotion
to the Emperor, that his kindly feelings extended even to the persons who
by their functions approached nearest to his Majesty, and were in the
best position to know his needs and wishes. Thus (I do not relate it out
of vanity, but in proof of what I have just said) his Majesty the King of
Bavaria never came to see the Emperor, that he did not take my hand and
inquire first after the health of his Imperial Majesty, then after my
own, adding many things which plainly showed his attachment for the
Emperor and his natural goodness.
His Majesty the King of Bavaria is now in the tomb, like him who gave him
a throne; but this tomb is still a royal tomb, and the loyal Bavarians
can come to kneel and weep over it. The Emperor, on the contrary--
[Constant wrote this before the return, in 1840, of the ashes of
Napoleon to rest on "the banks of the Seine, amid the French people
whom he loved so well," where in a massive urn of porphyry, and
beneath the gilded dome of the Invalides, in the most splendid tomb
of the centuries, sleeps now the soldier of Lodi, Marengo,
Austerlitz, Wagram, and Waterloo.--TRANS.]
The virtuous Maximilian was able to leave to a worthy son the scepter
which he had received from him who perished an exile at St. Helena.
Prince Louis, the present King of Bavaria, and to-day perhaps the best
king in Europe, was not so tall as his august father, neither was his
face so handsome; and, unfortunately, he was afflicted with an extreme
deafness, which made him raise his voice without knowing it, and in
addition to this his utterance was impeded by a slight stammering. This
prince was grave and studious; and the Emperor recognized his merit, but
did not rely upon his friendship. This was not because he thought him
wanting in loyalty, for the prince royal was above such suspicion; but
the Emperor was aware that he belonged to a party which feared the
subjection of Germany, and who suspected that the French, although they
had so far attacked only Austria, had ideas of conquest over all the
German powers.
However, what I have just stated in regard to the prince royal relates
only to the years subsequent to 1806; for I am certain that at that epoch
his sentiments did not differ from those of the good Maximilian, who was,
as I have said, full of gratitude to the Emperor. Prince Louis came to
Paris at the beginning of this year; and I saw him many times at the
court theater in the box of the prince arch-chancellor, where they both
slept in company and very profoundly. This was also such a habit with
Cambaceres, that when the Emperor asked for him, and was told that
monseigneur was at the theater, he replied, "Very well, very well; he is
taking his siesta; let us not disturb him!"
The King of Wurtemburg was large, and so fat that it was said of him God
had put him in the world to prove how far the skin of a man could be
stretched. His stomach was of such dimensions that it was found
necessary to make a broad, round incision in front of his seat at the
table; and yet, notwithstanding this precaution, he was obliged to hold
his plate on a level with his chin to drink his soup. He was very fond
of hunting, either on horseback, or in a little Russian carriage drawn by
four horses, which he often drove himself. He was fond of horseback
riding, but it was no easy task to find a mount of size and strength
sufficient to carry so heavy a burden. It was necessary that the poor
animal should be progressively trained; and in order to accomplish this
the king's equerry fastened round the horse a girth loaded with pieces of
lead, increasing the weight daily till it equalled that of his Majesty.
The king was despotic, hard, and even cruel, ever ready to sign the
sentence of the condemned, and in almost all cases, if what is said at
Stuttgart be true, increased the penalty inflicted by the judges. Hard
to please, and brutal, he often struck the people of his household; and
it is even said that he did not spare her Majesty the queen, his wife,
who was a sister of the present King of England. Notwithstanding all
this, he was a prince whose knowledge and brilliant mind the Emperor
esteemed; for they had a mutual affection for each other, and he found
him faithful to his alliance to the very end. King Frederic of
Wurtemburg had a brilliant and numerous court, at which he displayed
great magnificence.
The hereditary prince was much beloved; he was less haughty and more
humane than his father, and was said to be just and liberal.
Besides those crowned by his hand, the Emperor, while in Bavaria,
received a great number of the princes of the Confederation; and they
usually dined with his Majesty. In this crowd of royal courtiers the
prince primate was noticeable, who differed in nothing as to manners,
bearing, and dress from the most fashionable gentlemen of Paris. The
Emperor paid him special attention. I cannot pay the same eulogy to the
toilet of the princesses, duchesses, and other noble ladies; for most of
them dressed in exceedingly bad taste, and, displaying neither art nor
grace, covered their heads with plumes, bits of gold, and silver gauze,
fastened with a great quantity of diamond-headed pins.
The equipages the German nobility used were all very large coaches, which
were a necessity from the enormous hoops still worn by those ladies; and
this adherence to antiquated fashions was all the more surprising,
because at that time Germany enjoyed the great advantage of possessing
two fashion journals. One was the translation of the magazine published
by Mesangere; and the other, also edited at Paris, was translated and
printed at Mannheim. These ridiculous carriages, which much resembled
our ancient diligences, were drawn by very inferior horses, harnessed
with ropes, and placed so far apart that an immense space was needed to
turn the carriage.
The Prince of Saxe-Gotha was long and thin. In spite of his great age,
he was enough of a dandy to order at Paris, from our hairdresser
Michalon, some pretty little wigs of youthful blonde, curled like the
hair of Cupid; but, apart from this, he was an excellent man. I
recollect, a propos of the noble German ladies, to have seen at the court
theater at Fontainebleau a princess of the Confederation who was being
presented to their Majesties. The toilet of her Highness announced an
immense progress in the elegance of civilization beyond the Rhine; for,
renouncing the Gothic hoops, the princess had adopted the very latest
fashions, and, though nearly seventy years of age, wore a dress of black
lace over red satin, and her coiffure consisted of a white muslin veil,
fastened by a wreath of roses, in the style of the vestals of the opera.
She had with her a granddaughter, brilliant with the charm of youth, and
admired by the whole court, although her costume was less stylish than
that of her grandmother.
I heard her Majesty, the Empress Josephine, relate one day that she had
much difficulty in repressing a smile when, among a number of German
princesses presented to her, one was announced under the name of
Cunegonde [Cunegonde was the mistress of Candide in Voltaire's novel of
Candide.] Her Majesty added that, when she saw the princess take her
seat, she imagined she saw her lean to one side. Assuredly the Empress
had read the adventures of Candide and the daughter of the very noble
baron of Thunder-Ten-Trunck.
At Paris, in the spring of 1806, I saw almost as many members of the
Confederation as I had seen in the capitals of Bavaria and Wurtemburg.
A French name had the precedence among these names of foreign princes.
It was that of Prince Murat, who in the month of March was made
Grand-duke of Berg and Cleves. After Prince Louis of Bavaria, arrived
the hereditary prince of Baden, who came to Paris to marry a niece of
the Empress.
At the beginning this union was not happy. The Princess Stephanie (de
Beauharnais) was a very pretty woman, graceful and witty; and the Emperor
had wished to make a great lady of her, and had married her without
consulting her wishes. Prince Charles-Louis-Frederic was then twenty
years of age, and though exceedingly good, brave, and generous, and
possessing many admirable traits, was heavy and phlegmatic, ever
maintaining an icy gravity, and entirely destitute of the qualities which
would attract a young princess accustomed to the brilliant elegance of
the imperial court.
The marriage took place in April, to the great satisfaction of the
prince, who that day appeared to do violence to his usual gravity, and
even allowed a smile to approach his lips. The day passed off very well;
but, when the time came for retiring, the princess refused to let him
share her room, and for eight days was inexorable.
He was told that the princess did not like the arrangement of his hair,
and that nothing inspired her with more aversion than a queue; upon which
the good prince hastened to have his hair cut close, but when she saw him
thus shorn, she laughed immoderately, and exclaimed that he was more ugly
a la Titus than he was before. It was impossible that the intelligence
and the kind heart of the princess could fail to appreciate the good and
solid qualities of her husband; she learned to love him as tenderly as
she was loved, and I am assured that the august couple lived on excellent
terms.
Three months after this marriage, the prince left his wife to follow the
Emperor, first on the campaign in Prussia, and afterwards in Poland. The
death of his grandfather, which happened some time after the Austrian
campaign of 1809, put him in possession of the grand duchy, whereupon he
resigned the command of his troops to his uncle the Count of Hochberg,
and returned to his government, never more to leave it.
I saw him again with the princess at Erfurt, where they told me he had
become jealous of the Emperor Alexander, who paid assiduous court to his
wife; at which the prince took alarm and abruptly left Erfurt, carrying
with him the princess, of whom it must in justice be said that there had
been on her part not the slightest imprudence to arouse this jealousy,
which seems very pardonable, however, in the husband of so charming a
woman.
The prince's health was always delicate, and from his earliest youth
alarming symptoms had been noticed in him; and this physical condition
was no doubt, in a great measure, the main source of the melancholy which
marked his character. He died in 1818, after a very long and painful
illness, during which his wife nursed him with the most affectionate
care, leaving four children, two sons and two daughters. The two sons
died young, and would have left the grand duchy of Baden without heirs,
if the Counts Hochberg had not been recognized as members of the
ducal family. The grand-duchess is to-day devoting her life to the
education of her daughters, who promise to equal her in graces and
virtues. The nuptials of the Prince and Princess of Baden were
celebrated by brilliant fetes; at Rambouillet took place a great
hunting-party, in which their Majesties, with many members of their
family, and all the princes of Baden, Cleves, etc., traversed on foot
the forests of Rambouillet.
I recollect another hunting-party, which took place about the same time
in the forest of Saint-Germain, to which the Emperor invited the
ambassador of the Sublime Porte, then just arrived at Paris. His Turkish
Excellency followed the chase with ardor, but without moving a muscle of
his austere countenance. The animal having been brought to bay, his
Majesty had a gun handed to the Turkish ambassador, that he might have,
the honor of firing the first shot; but he refused, not conceiving,
doubtless, that any pleasure could be found in slaying at short range a
poor, exhausted animal, who no longer had the power to protect itself,
even by flight.