The life of the cadet differed little from that of the schoolboy. The
same routine of study, the same daily round of occupation and duty,
were his. Until drafted to the particular corps to which he might be
appointed, he only could absent himself from the college by special
leave; and the most rigid of all military discipline prevailed during
the brief interval which was to fit him for the arduous life of a
soldier. The evenings, however, were at our disposal; and what a
pleasure it was, the fatigue of the day over, to wander forth into the
city,--that brilliant Paris, near which I had lived so long, and yet
had seen so little of!
At first the splendor of the shops, the unceasing flow of population,
the might and grandeur of the public buildings, attracted all my
attention; and when these wore off in novelty, I could still wander
with delight through the gay gardens of the Tuileries, and watch the
sparkling fountains as they splashed in the pale moonlight, and look
upon the happy children who played about them, their merry laughter
ringing through the water's plash. What a fairy scene it was to
watch the groups as they passed and repassed--came and went and
disappeared--amid those dark alleys where the silent footstep did not
mar the sounds of happy voices! and then, how have I turned from
these to throw a wistful glance towards the palace windows, where some
half-closed curtain from time to time would show the golden sparkle of
a brilliant lustre or the rich frame of a mirror,--mayhap an open sash
would for a moment display some fair form, the outline only seen as she
leaned on the balcony and drank in the balmy air of the mild evening,
while the soft swell of music would float from the gorgeous saloon,
and falling on my ear, set me a-dreaming of pleasures my life had never
known!
My utter loneliness pressed deeper on me every day; for while each of
my companions had friends and relatives, among whom their evenings were
passed, I was friendless and alone. The narrowness of my means--I had
nothing save my pay--prevented my frequenting the theatre, or even
accepting such invitations as the other cadets pressed upon me; and thus
for hours long have I sat and watched the windows of the palace, weaving
to myself stories of that ideal world from which my humble fortune
debarred me.
It had been years since the Tuileries exhibited anything resembling the
state that formerly prevailed in that splendid palace; but at the period
I speak of Bonaparte had just been chosen Consul for life, and already
the organization of his household had undergone a most considerable
alteration. In the early years of the Consulate a confused assemblage of
aides-de-camp, whose heavy gait and loud speech betokened less the court
than the camp, were the only attendants on his person; he lived in the
centre pavilion, as if in a tent in the midst of his army. But now he
inhabited the splendid suite of rooms to the left of the pavilion,--_de
l'horloge_, as it is called,--which stretches away towards the river.
The whole service of the palace was remodelled; and without wounding
those prejudices that attached to the times of the deposed Monarchy
by adopting the titles of chamberlain, or gentlemen of the chamber,
he gradually instituted the ceremonial of a Court by preferring to the
posts about his person those whose air and manners savored most of the
higher habitudes of society, and whose families were distinguished among
the noblesse of the kingdom.
Duroc, the chief aide-de-camp of the General, was appointed governor
of the palace; and it was said that the Consul himself studied all the
ancient ceremonial of the old Court, and ordained that every etiquette
of royalty should be resumed with the most unerring accuracy. The
chamberlains were represented by prefects of the palace; and Josephine
had her ladies of honor, like any princess of the blood royal.
The Consul, still imitating the observances of the Bourbons, had
his _petits levers_ and his grand receptions; and if the new-created
functionaries possessed little of the courteous ease and high-bred
habitudes of the old Court, there was in their hard-won honors--most of
them promoted on the very field of battle--that which better suited the
prejudices of the period, and scarcely less became the gilded saloons of
the Tuileries.
Like all newly-organized societies, the machinery worked ill at
first. Few if any of them had ever seen a Court; and the proud but yet
respectful obedience which characterized the French gentleman in the
presence of his sovereign was converted into an obsequious and vulgar
deference towards Bonaparte, equally opposite to the true type, as it
was foreign to the habits, of the blunt soldier who proffered it.
But what, after all, signified these blemishes? There was beauty: never
in the brighter annals of France had more lovely women filled those
gorgeous saloons. There was genius, heroism: the highest chivalry of
the great nation could scarce vie with the proud deeds of those grouped
around him,--the mighty one on whom each eye was fixed. And if, as M.
Talleyrand remarked, there were those who knew not how to walk on
the waxed floor of a palace, few could tread more finely the field of
battles, and step with firmer foot the path that led to glory. Yet,
with all the First Consul's pride in those whose elevation to rank and
dignity was his own work, his predilections leaned daily more and more
towards the high and polished circles of the Faubourg St. Germain. The
courteous and easy politeness of Talleyrand, the chivalrous and courtly
bearing of the Comte de Narbonne, and the graceful elegance of Ségur's
manners, formed too striking a contrast with the soldierlike rudeness
of the newly-promoted generals, not to make a profound impression on
one who could, in the deepest and weightiest concerns of life, take into
calculation the most minute and trivial circumstances.
This disparity, remarkable as it was among the men, was still more so in
the ladies of the Court,--few of those newly elevated having tact enough
either to imitate successfully the polished usages of the old nobility,
or resolution sufficient to maintain their original habits without
blushing at their own want of breeding.
If I have been led somewhat from the current of my own story by this
digression, it is merely that I may passingly note down some of the
features of the period,--one of the most remarkable in the history of
Modern Europe, and one which already, to the far-seeing eye of some,
betokened the speedy return to those very institutions of Monarchy to
uproot which cost the best blood of France, and a revolution the most
terrific the world has ever witnessed.
And now, looking back on the great career of that great man, no portion
of his history can, perhaps, present anything to compare with the
splendor of the Consulate. A long succession of victories, the spoils
of half Europe, glory to very satiety, had intoxicated the nation.
A country flourishing in every element of prosperity; social order
restored; a high position amid surrounding nations; and everything that
could gratify national ambition obtained,--France stood at the very
pinnacle of her greatness. Even the splendor of those names who
represented the various states of Europe at her Court seemed to attest
her supremacy. The stately and polished Whitworth, conspicuous by
the elegance of his appearance and the perfection of his aristocratic
bearing; the Russian Ambassador, Marcoff; the Chevalier Azara, the
Minister of Spain, the courtier of Europe; Baron de Cetto, the Envoy of
Saxony, one of the most distinguished, both by manners and ability, m
the whole diplomatic circle, were among those who frequented the First
Consul's levies, which already, in the splendor of costume and the
gorgeous display of uniform, rivalled the most sumptuous days of the
Monarchy.
All the long-forgotten ceremonial of a Court was restored. Dinners, most
splendid in all the array of pomp and grandeur, were given every week;
fêtes, that vied with the luxurious era of Louis the Fourteenth himself,
took place frequently; and Paris became the rendezvous for all Europe,
curious to behold the rich trophies of successful wars, and mix in the
delight of a capital where pleasure reigned triumphant.
The theatre presented an array of genius and talent hitherto unequalled.
Talma and Mademoiselle Mars were in the very zenith of their fame, and
obtained a large share of Bonaparte's favor, whose tastes were eminently
dramatic. In a word, a new era had commenced, and every class and walk,
every condition of man, seemed resolved to recompense itself, by the
pursuit of pleasure, for the long and dark night of trouble through
which it had passed.
While, therefore, the Court of the First Consul partook of such
features as those, the circle of Josephine possessed attractions
totally different. There, amid her intimate friends, all the charm and
fascination of French society held sway. Each evening saw assembled
around her the wittiest and most polished persons of the day,--the gay
and spirited talkers who so pre-eminently gave the tone to Parisian
society: the handsomest women, and the most distinguished of the
litterateurs of the period, found ready access to one whose own powers
of pleasing have left an undying impression on some, who even still can
recall those delightful moments.
Such were, in brief, the leading features of the Court then held in the
Tuileries; and such the germ of that new order of things which was so
soon to burst forth upon astonished Europe under the proud title of The
Empire.