London: Published for Henry Colburn, Feb. 1836.
]
NAPOLEON’S PATRIMONIAL VINEYARD, &C.—HIS NURSE—HIS PATERNAL HOME.—TEARS
OF JOSEPHINE DURING WURMSER’S SKIRMISHES IN THE ENVIRONS OF MANTUA.
8th.—I went to the Emperor’s apartment about eleven o’clock. He was
dressing himself, and looking over, with his valet, some samples of
perfumery and scents, received from England. He enquired about them all,
did not know one of them, and laughed heartily at his gross ignorance,
as he called it. He wished to breakfast in the tent, and we all
assembled there.
He complained of the bad quality of the wine; and appealed to his
maître-d’hôtel, Cipriani, who is a Corsican, whether he had not much
better in their country. He said that he had received, as part of his
patrimony, the best vineyard in the island, extensive and productive,
called _l’Esposata_, and he felt it his duty, he said, not to mention it
but with gratitude. It was to that vineyard that he was indebted, in his
youth, for his visits to Paris; it was that which supplied the expenses
of his vacations. We asked him what had become of it. He told us, that
he had long ago given it to his nurse, to whom, he was sure he must have
given at least one hundred and twenty thousand francs in lands and
houses in the island. He had even resolved, he said, to give her his
patrimonial house; but finding it too much above her situation, he had
made a present of it to the Romalino family, his nearest relatives by
his mother’s side, on condition that they should transfer their
habitation to his nurse.[7]
Footnote 7:
The patrimonial house of Napoleon, his cradle, at present (1824) in
the possession of M. Romalino, member of the Chamber of Deputies, is,
as it might naturally be supposed, an object of eager curiosity and
great veneration to travellers and military men in particular.
I am assured by eye-witnesses, that, on the arrival of every regiment
in Corsica, the soldiers instantly run to it in crowds, and obtain
admission with a certain degree of authority. It might be said that
they believe themselves entitled to it as a right. Once admitted,
every one conducts himself according to the warmth of his feeling, one
raises his hands to heaven, as he looks about him, another falls on
his knees, a third kisses the floor, and a fourth bursts into tears.
There are some who seem to be seized by a fit of insanity. Something
similar is said of the tomb of the great Frederic. Such is the
influence of heroes.
In short, he had, he said, made a great lady of her. She had come to
Paris at the time of the coronation, and had an audience of the Pope for
upwards of an hour and a half. “Poor Pope,” exclaimed the Emperor, “he
must have had a good deal of spare time! She was, however, extremely
devout. Her husband was a coasting trader of the island. She gave great
pleasure at the Tuileries, and enchanted the family by the vivacity of
her language and her gestures. The empress Josephine made her a present
of some diamonds.”
After breakfast, the Emperor, adhering to his resolution of yesterday,
proceeded with his work. He finished the chapter of Castiglione, and
then went to the wood, with the intention of waiting for the calash. In
continuance of the conversation, which had been brought on by the
chapter, he related that Josephine had left Brescia with him, and had
thus commenced the campaign against Wurmser. Arrived at Verona, she had
witnessed the first shots that were fired. When she returned to
Castel-Nuovo, and saw the wounded as they passed, she was desirous of
reaching Brescia; but she found herself stopped by the enemy, who was
already at Ponte-Marco. In the anxiety and agitation of the moment, she
was seized with fear, and wept a great deal, on quitting her husband,
who exclaimed, when embracing her, and with a kind of inspiration:
“Wurmser shall pay dearly for those tears which he causes thee!” She was
obliged to pass in her carriage very close to the fortifications of
Mantua. She was fired upon from the place, and one of her suite was even
wounded. She traversed the Po, Bologna, Ferrara, and stopped at Lucca,
attended by dread and the unfavourable reports, which were usually
spread around our patriotic armies; but she was internally supported by
her extreme confidence in her husband’s good fortune.
Such was, however, already the opinion of Italy, observed the Emperor,
and the sentiments impressed by the French General, that, in spite of
the crisis of the moment, and of all the false reports which accompanied
him, his wife was received at Lucca by the Senate, and treated with the
same respect as the greatest princess. It came to compliment her, and
presented her with the oils of honour. It had reason to applaud itself
for that conduct. A short time afterwards the couriers brought
intelligence of the prodigious achievements of her husband, and the
annihilation of Wurmser.
The Emperor returned to the saloon for the first time since the fire. It
is gradually furnished with articles sent expressly from London, which
make it a little more tolerable. After dinner, the Emperor began with
reading Turcaret, with which, he said, notwithstanding all its wit, he
felt himself disgusted, in consequence of its vulgarity; but it bore, he
remarked, the impression of Le Sage. He then took up l’Avocat Patelin,
and was much amused with its genuine humour.
9th.—The Emperor breakfasted in the tent, and revised the chapter of the
Brenta. At three o’clock, he took an airing in the calash. The Governor
called during our ride. It was understood that he wished to speak to the
Emperor on the celebration of the Prince Regent’s birthday, which is to
take place next Monday, the 12th inst., and to give him notice of the
salutes and volleys that are to be fired on the occasion at the camp,
situated so closely to us. It is said, on the other hand, that he has
given directions for supplying the Emperor’s table only, and that each
of us is to be put upon a particular allowance, as he finds the expense
very much beyond his credit. At any rate, we shall see.
CATHERINE II.—IMPERIAL GUARDS.—PAUL I. &C.—PROJECTS
ON INDIA, &C.
10th.—The Emperor was indisposed and took a bath. At three he walked out
and called for the carriage. He had just read the history of Catherine.
“She was,” he said, “a commanding woman; she was worthy of having a
beard upon her chin. The catastrophe of Peter and that of Paul were
seraglio revolutions, the work of janissaries. These palace-soldiers are
terrible, and dangerous in proportion as the Sovereign is absolute. My
imperial guard might also have become fatal under any other but myself.”
The Emperor said that he and Paul had been on the best terms together.
At the time of his murder, in which the public spared neither his
relations nor his allies, he had concerted a plan with him, at that very
moment, for an expedition to India, and he would have certainly
prevailed upon him to carry it into execution. Paul wrote to him very
often, and at great length. His first communication was curious and
original. “Citizen First Consul,” (he had written to him with his own
hand,) “I do not discuss the merits of the rights of man; but, when a
nation places at its head a man of distinguished merit and worthy of
esteem, it has a government, and France has, henceforth, one in my
eyes.”
On our return, we found the Admiral and his lady; the Emperor took them
in the calash and made another tour. He afterwards walked for some time
with Lady Malcolm, to whom he behaved in a most gracious manner.
After dinner, the Emperor turned over the leaves of two volumes of the
Théâtre Français, without being able to find any thing capable of fixing
his attention.