9th.—I went to dine at Briars with my son and General Gourgaud; and we
staid to a little ball. I met the Admiral there, and I never found him
in a more agreeable humour. This was the first time I had seen him since
the adventure of Noverraz; I was aware how much the circumstance had
hurt him. He was on the point of departing for Europe, and I knew the
Emperor’s sentiments. I was twenty times almost tempted freely to enter
upon the subject, and thus to be the means of reconciling him with
Napoleon. Truth, justice, and our own interest, demanded this; but I was
deterred by considerations that were doubtless trivial. How often have I
blamed myself since!... But I had not received this delicate mission,
and I could not venture to take it upon myself. The admiral might have
given publicity to the affair, and perhaps have represented it in a way
that would have highly displeased the Emperor, and possibly have exposed
him to fresh vexations. On this subject I will note down the following
remarks which were made by the Emperor, and which characterize him too
well to be omitted.
He was one day describing to me evils attendant on weakness and
credulity in a sovereign; the intrigues which they engender in the
interior of the palace; and the fickleness which they create. He
demonstrated very clearly that a sovereign distinguished for these
qualities must inevitably become the dupe of courtiers and the victim of
calumny. “Of this I will give you a proof,” said he. “You yourself, who
have sacrificed every thing to follow me; you, who have evinced such
noble and affecting devotedness, how do you think your conduct is
viewed? How do you imagine your character is estimated? You are regarded
merely as one of the old nobility, an emigrant, an agent of the
Bourbons, maintaining correspondence with the English. It is said that
you concurred in betraying me to them, and that you followed me hither
only to be a spy upon me and to sell me to my enemies. The aversion and
animosity which you evince towards the Governor are affirmed to be only
false appearances agreed upon between you for the purpose of disguising
your treachery.” When I smiled at the lively turn of his fancy, and the
volubility with which he expressed himself: “You may laugh,” resumed he
“but I assure you that I am not inventing, I am merely echoing the
reports that have reached my ears. And can you imagine,” continued he,
“that a silly, feeble, and credulous being would not be influenced by
such stories and contrivances? My dear Las Cases, if I had not been
superior to the majority of legitimates, I might already have been
deprived of your services here, and your upright heart would perhaps
have been doomed to suffer the cruel stings of ingratitude.” He
concluded by saying: “how wretched is the lot of man! He is the same
every where: on the summit of a rock or within the walls of a palace!
Man is always man!...”