His Majesty was accustomed to say that one could always tell an honorable
man by his conduct to his wife, his children, and his servants; and I
hope it will appear from these memoirs that the Emperor conducted himself
as an honorable man, according to his own definition. He said, moreover,
that immorality was the most dangerous vice of a sovereign, because of
the evil example it set to his subjects. What he meant by immorality was
doubtless a scandalous publicity given to liaisons which might otherwise
have remained secret; for, as regards these liaisons themselves, he
withstood women no more than any other man when they threw themselves at
his head. Perhaps another man, surrounded by seductions, attacks, and
advances of all kinds, would have resisted these temptations still less.
Nevertheless, please God, I do not propose to defend his Majesty in this
respect. I will even admit, if you wish, that his conduct did not offer
an example in the most perfect accord with the morality of his
discourses; but it must be admitted also that it was somewhat to the
credit of a sovereign that he concealed, with the most scrupulous care,
his frailties from the public, lest they should be a subject of scandal,
or, what is worse, of imitation; and from his wife, to whom it would have
been a source of the deepest grief.
On this delicate subject I recall two or three occurrences which took
place, I think, about the period which my narrative has now reached.
The Empress Josephine was jealous, and, notwithstanding the prudence
which the Emperor exercised in his secret liaisons, could not remain in
entire ignorance of what was passing.
The Emperor had known at Genoa Madame Gazani, the daughter of an Italian
dancer, whom he continued to receive at Paris; and one day, having an
appointment with her in his private apartments, ordered me to remain in
his room, and to reply to whoever asked for him, even if it was her
Majesty the Empress herself, that he was engaged in his cabinet with a
minister.
The place of the interview was the apartment formerly occupied by
Bourrienne, communicating by a staircase which opened on his Majesty's
bedroom. This room had been arranged and decorated very plainly, and had
a second exit on the staircase called the black staircase, because it was
dark and badly lighted, and it was through this that Madame Gazani
entered, while the Emperor came in by the other door. They had been
together only a few moments when the Empress entered the Emperor's room,
and asked me what her husband was doing. "Madame, the Emperor is very
busy just now; he is working in his cabinet with a minister."--"Constant,
I wish to enter."--"That is impossible, Madame. I have received a formal
order not to disturb his Majesty, not even for her Majesty the Empress;"
whereupon she went away dissatisfied and somewhat irritated, and at the
end of half an hour returned; and, renewing her demand, I was obliged to
repeat my reply, and, though much distressed in witnessing the chagrin of
her Majesty the Empress, I could not disobey my orders. That evening on
retiring the Emperor said to me, in a very severe tone, that the Empress
had informed him she had learned from me, that, at the time she came to
question me in regard to him, he was closeted with a lady. Not at all
disturbed, I replied to the Emperor, that of course he could not believe
that. "No," replied the Emperor, returning to the friendly tone with
which he habitually honored me, "I know you well enough to be assured of
your discretion; but woe to the idiots who are gossiping, if I can get
hold of them." The next night the Empress entered, as the Emperor was
retiring, and his Majesty said to her in my presence, "It is very bad to
impute falsehood to poor Monsieur Constant; he is not the man to make up
such a tale as that you told me." The Empress, seated on the edge of the
bed, began to laugh, and put her pretty little hand over her husband's
mouth; and, as it was a matter concerning myself, I withdrew. For a few
days the Empress was cool and distant to me; but, as this was foreign to
her nature, she soon resumed the gracious manner which attached all
hearts to her.
The Emperor's liaison with Madame Gazani lasted nearly a year, but they
met only at long intervals.
The following instance of jealousy is not as personal to me as that which
I have just related.
Madame de Remusat, [Authoress of the well-known Memoirs. Born in Paris,
1780, died 1821. Her husband was first chamberlain to the Emperor.]
wife of one of the prefects of the palace, and one of the ladies of honor
to whom the Empress was most attached, found her one evening in tears and
despair, and waited in silence till her Majesty should condescend to tell
her the cause of this deep trouble. She had not long to wait, however;
for hardly had she entered the apartment than her Majesty exclaimed, "I
am sure that he is now with some woman. My dear friend," added she,
continuing to weep, "take this candle and let us go and listen at his
door. We will hear much." Madame de Remusat did all in her power to
dissuade her from this project, representing to her the lateness of the
hour, the darkness of the passage, and the danger they would run of being
surprised; but all in vain, her Majesty put the candle in her hand,
saying, "It is absolutely necessary that you should go with me, but, if
you are afraid, I will go in front." Madame de Remusat obeyed; and
behold the two ladies advancing on their tiptoes along the corridor, by
the light of a single candle flickering in the air. Having reached the
door of the Emperor's antechamber, they stopped, hardly daring to
breathe, and the Empress softly turned the knob; but, just as she put her
foot into the apartment, Roustan, who slept there and was then sleeping
soundly, gave a formidable and prolonged snore. These ladies had not
apparently remembered that they would find him there; and Madame de
Remusat, imagining that she already saw him leaping out of bed saber and
pistol in hand, turned and ran as fast as she could, still holding the
candle in her hand, and leaving the Empress in complete darkness, and did
not stop to take breath until she reached the Empress's bedroom, when she
remembered that the latter had been left in the corridor with no light.
Madame de Remusat went back to meet her, and saw her returning, holding
her sides with laughter, and forgetting her chagrin in the amusement
caused by this adventure. Madame de Remusat attempted to excuse herself.
"My dear friend," said her Majesty, "you only anticipated me, for that
pigheaded Roustan frightened me so that I should have run first, if you
had not been a greater coward than I."
I do not know what these ladies would have discovered if their courage
had not failed them before reaching the end of their expedition, but
probably nothing at all, for the Emperor rarely received at the Tuileries
any one for whom he had a temporary fancy. I have already stated that,
under the consulate, he had his meetings in a small house in the allee
des Veuves; and after he became Emperor, such meetings still took place
outside the chateau; and to these rendezvous he went incognito at night,
exposing himself to all the chances that a man runs in such adventures.
One evening, between eleven o'clock and midnight, the Emperor called me,
asked for a black frock coat and round hat, and ordered me to follow him;
and with Prince Murat as the third party, we entered a close carriage
with Caesar as driver, and only a single footman, both without livery.
After a short ride, the Emperor stopped in the rue de ---, alighted, went
a few steps farther, and entered a house alone, while the prince and I
remained in the carriage. Some hours passed, and we began to be uneasy;
for the life of the Emperor had been so often menaced, that it was very
natural to fear some snare or surprise, and imagination takes the reins
when beset by such fears. Prince Murat swore and cursed with all his
might, sometimes the imprudence of his Majesty, then his gallantry, then
the lady and her complaisance. I was not any better satisfied than he,
but being calmer I tried to quiet him; and at last, unable longer to
restrain his impatience, the prince sprang out of the carriage, and I
followed; but, just as his hand was on the knocker of the door, the
Emperor came out. It was then already broad daylight, and the Prince
informed him of our anxiety, and the reflections we had made upon his
rashness. "What childishness!" said his Majesty; "what is there to
fear? Wherever I am, am I not in my own house?"
It was as volunteers that any courtiers mentioned to the Emperor any
young and pretty persons who wished to make his acquaintance, for it was
in no wise in keeping with his character to give such commissions. I was
not enough of a courtier to think such an employment honorable, and never
voluntarily took part in any business of the kind.
It was not, however, for want of having been indirectly sounded, or even
openly solicited, by certain ladies who were ambitious of the title of
favorites, although this title would have given very few rights and
privileges with the Emperor; but I would never enter into such bargains,
restricting myself to the duties which my position imposed on me, and not
going beyond them; and, although his Majesty took pleasure in reviving
the usages of the old monarchy, the secret duties of the first valet de
chambre were not re-established, and I took care not to claim them.
Many others (not valets de chambre) were less scrupulous than I. General
L---- spoke to the Emperor one day of a very pretty girl whose mother
kept a gambling-house, and who desired to be presented to him; but the
Emperor received her once only, and a few days afterwards she was
married. Some time later his Majesty wished to see her again, and asked
for her; but the young woman replied that she did not belong to herself
any longer, and refused all the invitations and offers made to her. The
Emperor seemed in no wise dissatisfied, but on the contrary praised
Madame D---- for her fidelity to duty, and approved her conduct highly.
In 1804 her imperial highness Princess Murat had in her household a young
reader named Mademoiselle E----, seventeen or eighteen years of age,
tall, slender, well made, a brunette, with beautiful black eyes,
sprightly, and very coquettish. Some persons who thought it to their
interest to create differences between his Majesty and the Empress, his
wife, noticed with pleasure the inclination of this young reader to try
the power of her glances upon the Emperor, and his disposition to
encourage her; so they stirred up the fire adroitly, and one of them took
upon himself all the diplomacy of this affair. Propositions made through
a third party were at once accepted; and the beautiful E---- came to the
chateau secretly, but rarely, and remained there only two or three,
hours. When she became enceinte, the Emperor had a house rented for her
in the Rue Chantereine, where she bore a fine boy, upon whom was settled
at his birth an income of thirty thousand francs. He was confided at
first to the care of Madame I----, nurse of Prince Achille Murat, who
kept him three or four years, and then Monsieur de Meneval, his Majesty's
secretary, was ordered to provide for the education of this child; and
when the Emperor returned from the Island of Elba; the son of
Mademoiselle E---- was placed in the care of her Majesty, the
Empress-mother. The liaison of the Emperor with Mademoiselle E---- did
not last long. She came one day with her mother to Fontainebleau, where
the court then happened to be, went up to his Majesty's apartment, and
asked me to announce her; and the Emperor, being exceedingly displeased
by this step, directed me to say to Mademoiselle E---- that he forbade
her to present herself before him again without his permission, and not
to remain a moment longer at Fontainebleau. In spite of this harshness
to the mother, the Emperor loved the son tenderly; and I brought him to
him often, on which occasions he caressed the child, gave him a great
many dainties, and was much amused by his vivacity and repartees, which
showed remarkable intelligence for his age.
This child and that of the Polish beauty, of whom I will speak later,
[This son of Countess Walewska became Count Walewski, a leading
statesman of the Second Empire, ambassador to London, 1852, minister
of foreign affairs, 1855, minister of state, 1860, president of
Corps Legislatif, 1865. Born 1810, died 1868.--TRANS.]
and the King of Rome, were the only children of the Emperor. He never
had a daughter, and I believe he desired none.
I have seen it stated, I know not where, that the Emperor, during the
long stay we made at Boulogne, indemnified himself at night for the
labors of the day with a beautiful Italian, and I will now relate what I
know of this adventure. His Majesty complained one morning, while I was
dressing him, in the presence of Prince Murat, that he saw none but
moustached faces, which he said was very tiresome; and the prince, ever
ready on occasions of this kind to offer his services to his
brother-in-law, spoke to him of a handsome and attractive Genoese lady,
who had the greatest desire to see his Majesty. The Emperor laughingly
granted a tete-a-tete, the prince himself offering to send the message;
and two days later, by his kind assistance, the lady arrived, and was
installed in the upper town. The Emperor, who lodged at Pont des
Briques, ordered me one evening to take a carriage, and find this
protegee of Prince Murat. I obeyed, and brought the beautiful Genoese,
who, to avoid scandal, although it was a dark night, was introduced
through a little garden behind his Majesty's apartments. The poor woman
was much excited, and shed tears, but controlled herself quickly on
finding that she was kindly received, and the interview was prolonged
until three o'clock in the morning, when I was called to carry her back.
She returned afterwards four or five times, and was with the Emperor
afterwards at Rambouillet. She was gentle, simple, credulous, and not
at all intriguing, and did not try to draw any benefit from a liaison
which at best was only temporary.
Another of these favorites of the moment, who threw themselves so to
speak into the arms of the Emperor without giving him time to make his
court to them, was Mademoiselle L. B----, a very pretty girl. She was
intelligent, and possessed a kind heart, and, had she received a less
frivolous education, would doubtless have been an estimable woman; but I
have reason to believe that her mother had from the first the design of
acquiring a protector for her second husband, by utilizing the youth and
attractions of the daughter of her first. I do not now recall her name,
but she was of a noble family, of which fact the mother and daughter were
very proud, and the young girl was a good musician, and sang agreeably;
but, which appeared to me as ridiculous as indecent, she danced the
ballet before a large company in her mother's house, in a costume almost
as light as those of the opera, with castanets or tambourines, and ended
her dance with a multiplicity of attitudes and graces. With such an
education she naturally thought her position not at all unusual, and was
very much chagrined at the short duration of her liaison with the
Emperor; while the mother was in despair, and said to me with disgusting
simplicity, "See my poor Lise, how she has ruined her complexion in her
vexation at seeing herself neglected, poor child. How good you will be,
if you can manage to have her sent for." To secure an interview for
which the mother and daughter were both so desirous, they came together
to the chapel at Saint-Cloud, and during mass the poor Lise threw glances
at the Emperor which made the young ladies blush who witnessed them, and
were, nevertheless, all in vain, for the Emperor remained unmoved.
Colonel L. B---- was aide-de-camp to General L----, the governor of
Saint-Cloud; and the general was a widower, which facts alone furnish an
excuse for the intimacy of his only daughter with the family of L. B----,
which astonished me greatly. One day, when I was dining at the house of
the colonel, with his wife, his step-daughter, and Mademoiselle L----,
the general sent for his aides-de-camp, and I was left alone, with the
ladies; who so earnestly begged me to accompany them on a visit to
Mademoiselle le Normand, that it would have been impolite to refuse,
consequently we ordered a carriage and went to the Rue de Tournon.
Mademoiselle L. B---- was first to enter the Sybil's cave, where she
remained a long while, but on her return was very reserved as to any
communications made to her, though Mademoiselle L---- told us very
frankly that she had good news, and would soon marry the man she loved,
which event soon occurred. These ladies having urged me to consult the
prophetess in my turn, I perceived plainly that I was recognized; for
Mademoiselle le Normand at once discovered in my hand that I had the
happiness of being near a great man and being highly esteemed by him,
adding much other nonsense of the same kind, which was so tiresome that I
thanked her, and made my adieux as quickly as possible.