(A.) After the victory of Dresden, some one complimented Napoleon on his
great success. “Oh! this is nothing,” observed he, while his countenance
beamed with satisfaction; “Vandamme is in their rear, it is there that
we must look for the great result.” The Emperor was proceeding in person
to assist in accomplishing this decisive operation, when, unfortunately,
after one of his meals, he was seized with so violent a retching, that
he was supposed to have been poisoned, and it was found necessary to
convey him back to Dresden. Thus the operations were interrupted. The
fatal consequences that ensued are well known. How trivial was the
cause, and how calamitous were the results!
(B.) A sudden overflow of the Bober in Silesia was the principal cause
of the disasters of Marshal Macdonald. His corps, while in full
operation, were overtaken by the flood, which impeded their operations,
and caused the terrible losses which have been above described.
(C.) About the end of September, the King of Bavaria addressed a
confidential letter to Napoleon, stating that he would maintain his
alliance with him for six weeks or two months longer; and that during
that interval he would obstinately refuse every advantage that might be
held out to him. The Emperor, who was placed in a most critical
situation, and who, but for this circumstance, might, perhaps, have lent
an ear to the propositions that were made to him, now no longer
hesitated, but immediately determined on the bold movement which he had
contemplated on Berlin. He conceived that six weeks would be sufficient
to change the state of affairs, and to remove the fears of his allies.
Unfortunately, military intrigues proved more powerful than the wishes
of the King of Bavaria. Napoleon was forced to suspend his movement, and
to give battle at Leipsic with disadvantage. The consequences have
already been seen.
(D.) Napoleon, in making his arrangements for the battles of Leipsic,
had relied on a diversion of those corps of the army which he had left
in Dresden. Their co-operation might have rendered the victory decisive,
and have given a new turn to affairs. But, unfortunately the enemy’s
force was so numerous, and we were so completely surrounded, that the
Emperor’s orders could not be transmitted to Dresden.
(F.) After the two terrible engagements at Leipsic, the French were
effecting their retreat across the Elster by a single bridge. An officer
who was stationed to guard it was ordered to blow it up if the enemy
should present himself in pursuit of our rear-guard. Unluckily this
officer was, by some mistake or other, informed that the Emperor wanted
him. He immediately obeyed the summons, and in his absence a corporal of
sappers, at the first sight of some detached Russian corps, fired the
train and blew up the bridge, thus dooming to perdition that portion of
our force which still remained on the Leipsic bank of the river. The
whole of our rear-guard and baggage, two hundred pieces of artillery,
and thirty thousand prisoners (stragglers, wounded and sick), fell into
the hands of the enemy.
On the publication of the bulletins containing this intelligence, a
general outcry was raised by the discontented party in Paris. It was
asserted that the whole was a fabrication, and that the Emperor himself
had ordered the blowing up of the bridge, with a view to ensure his own
safety at the expense of the rest of the army. It was in vain to refer
to the statement of the officer, who confirmed the fact, while he
attempted to justify himself. This was declared to be another
fabrication or a piece of complaisance on the part of the officer. Such
was the language of the time.[17]
Footnote 17:
When I visited London in 1814, public attention was occupied by the
recent events of the Continent, and the battle of Leipsic was the
general topic of conversation. It was related that, at the moment of
the defeat, Napoleon’s presence of mind completely forsook him. He
wandered about the city, and lost his way in a lonely street. Though
on horseback, faintness obliged him to support himself against a wall,
and in this situation he inquired his way of an old woman, and asked
her for a glass of water. The blowing up of the bridge was not
forgotten, and the story was related precisely as at Paris. These
details, which were echoed in the drawing-rooms, and circulated about
the streets, were credited among the higher ranks, as well as by the
vulgar. Prints, representing the different events of the battle, were
exhibited in the shop-windows. The subject of one of these engravings
was the above described incident in the street of Leipsic. Such a
multitude of absurdities was circulated that people of common sense
had no resource but to shrug up their shoulders and patiently endure
all that they heard.
(G.) The duplicity and bad faith of Austria, the numerous contradictions
between her acts and her professions, have already been mentioned.
Unmindful of the generosity of which she had been the object after the
battles of Leoben, Austerlitz, and Wagram, she discharged her debt of
gratitude according to the rules of policy, by eagerly seizing the
opportunity of repairing her losses at any price.
She ruined us by making us consent to the armistice of Pleisswitz; and
her conduct was the more odious, as she was determined to make war
against us; and a few days afterwards, though still our friend and ally,
and offering herself as a mediatrix, she entered into engagements
hostile to us. Her participation in the conventions of Rechembach about
the middle of June, and in the conferences of Trachenbergh, at the
commencement of July, is now well known. The necessity of maintaining a
certain appearance of decorum occasioned these matters to be kept a
secret for about a month after the commencement of hostilities. They
were at first proposed to Francis merely as eventual and precautionary
measures; and he was induced to affix his signature to them only by the
representations of his ministers, who described Napoleon as the scourge
of mankind, and attributed to him the delays in the opening of the
Congress, which in reality were occasioned by themselves. (_Montveran,_
vol. vi. p. 262.)
But, in spite of the conduct of Austria, Napoleon still cherished the
hope of seeing her resume her alliance with him; not that he could
calculate on any misunderstanding between her and the other coalesced
Powers, but because he supposed her to be sufficiently clear-sighted
with respect to her own interests. This idea never forsook him until the
moment of signing his abdication.[18]
Footnote 18:
This supposition was not altogether ill-founded; for it still remains
doubtful whether the consent of Austria to the dethronement of the
Emperor was compulsory or voluntary. By one of those fatalities which
attended the close of Napoleon’s career, a momentary success separated
the Austrians and the Russians, and the order for marching upon Paris,
as well as the famous declaration proscribing Napoleon and his family,
proceeded solely from Alexander. When Francis presented himself, he
had no alternative but to give his assent to measures which were
already determined on; but many circumstances induce the belief that
he did so with great repugnance and dissatisfaction.
(H.) The fortresses occupied by French troops in those places which were
in the possession of the Allied forces, were to have a clear circuit of
one league, and to receive supplies of provisions every five days; but
this article was not honestly fulfilled.
When the Armistice was prolonged, the French commissaries demanded that
officers of their army should be sent to the commanders of the
fortresses; but the Russian General-in-chief objected to this, and
circumstances were such that we were obliged to give up the point.
(_Montveran_, vol. vi. p. 270.)
(I.) The chief of the staff of the 3d corps, a Swiss by birth, but
educated in our ranks, went over to the enemy a few days before the
renewal of hostilities, taking with him all the information he could
collect. For this service the Emperor of Russia rewarded him with
particular favour and made him one of his Aides-de-camp. It has been
said that this officer, who was possessed of great talent, had reason to
complain of some injustice; but can any thing palliate such an act, or
remove the disgrace attending it?
(K.) Part of Napoleon’s plan of Campaign was that the Bavarian army,
stationed on the Danube, should act in concert with the army of Italy
stationed in Illyria, and that their combined efforts should be directed
upon Vienna. The important effect which these measures must have
produced on the fate of the Campaign may be easily conceived. But the
chief of the Bavarian army, under some pretence or other, but in reality
because he had entered into an understanding with the enemy, remained
constantly inactive, and thus paralyzed the efforts of the Viceroy, who
had to oppose the great bulk of the Austrian force. It has already been
stated that the open defection of the Bavarians, at the most critical
moment of the campaign, mainly contributed to bring about our disasters.
(L.) But nothing equalled the infamous and disgraceful treachery of the
Saxons, who, though they were then serving in our ranks and were our
companions in danger and glory, suddenly turned against us. Whatever
might be the fatal effects of their desertion, the disgrace attached to
themselves is greater than all the mischief they occasioned to us.
The conduct of Napoleon during this period, when he was described as a
monster of deception and bad faith, presents, on the contrary, an
example of singular magnanimity.
He had added a corps of Saxons to his Imperial guard; but, on the
desertion of their countrymen, he ranged them round their Sovereign,
whom he left at Leipsic,[19] releasing him from all his engagements.
There were also some Bavarians in his army, and he wrote to their chief,
informing him that, Bavaria having disloyally declared war against him,
this circumstance would authorize him in disarming and detaining
prisoners all the Bavarians in his service; but that such a measure
would destroy the confidence which Napoleon wished that the troops under
his orders should repose in him. He therefore ordered them to be
supplied with provisions, and dismissed.[20]
Footnote 19:
The venerable and faithful King of Saxony followed his ally Napoleon,
at whose head-quarters he established himself. The coalesced powers,
on their entrance into Leipsic, seized the person of the King, and
announced their design of disposing of his states. His misfortunes are
known throughout Europe; they excited a deep interest in every
generous heart.
Footnote 20:
Amidst the general disloyalty, the conduct of the King of Würtemburg
presents an honourable exception. That prince, though already at war
with us, broke the brigade of cavalry, and the corps of infantry, who
went over to the enemy, and at the same time withdrew the decoration
of his Order from their officers.
(M.) I have before me the notes of a distinguished officer relative to
the capitulation of Dresden. Estimating the number of troops which we
had left behind us in the fortresses from which we were separated, he
concludes that they must have amounted altogether to 177,000. The
Emperor had but 157,000 men at Leipsic. How different, therefore, might
have been our fate, had those masses, or even a portion of them, been at
his disposal in this decisive event. But this unfortunate dispersion was
occasioned by extraordinary circumstances, and was not the result of any
regular system. The following particulars, relative to the violation of
the capitulation of Dresden, are literally quoted from the notes above
alluded to:—
“Above all, it is necessary to understand that it was determined in the
plan of the coalition against France, of which Prince Schwartzenberg had
the credit, that according as offers were made for the capitulation of
each of our numerous garrisons, the conditions should be fairly and
honourably granted, but without any intention of fulfilling them. This
point being established, the reason of the refusal of the capitulation,
signed at Dresden by Marshal St.-Cyr and Generals Tolstoy and Klenau,
was, that Prince Schwartzenberg could not ratify it, because the Count
de Lobau, Napoleon’s aide-de-camp, who was shut up in Dresden with the
Marshal, had protested against the capitulation. Some time after, the
capitulation of Dantzick, with General Rapp, was declined, under the
odiously false pretence that the garrison of Dresden, in spite of the
conditions of its capitulation, had entered into service immediately on
its arrival at Strasburg, and that, in consequence, the capitulation of
Dantzick could not be approved without incurring the risk of similar
inconveniences.
“The following is an additional proof of the bad faith of the Allies.
The garrison of Dresden, which was composed of two _corps d’armée_,
forming altogether 45,000 men, capitulated on the 11th of November.[21]
Footnote 21:
The determination to surrender had been far from unanimous in the
garrison. Opinions were divided on this point. Some were for returning
to France by means of a capitulation, which course was adopted; others
were in favour of an enterprise of a much bolder nature. This was
nothing less than to quit Dresden, with the chosen troops of the
garrison, to descend the Elbe by successively raising the blockade of
Torgau, where there were 28,000 men; of Wittemberg, where there were
5000; of Magdeburg, where there were 20,000, and to proceed to Hamburg
where there were 32,000. The army thus collected together, which would
have amounted to 60 or 80,000 men, was to repair to France, cutting a
passage through the enemy’s ranks, or compelling him to retrograde by
manœuvring on his rear; while the levies in mass that might have
advanced to assail our veteran bands would have been paralyzed. And
even had this plan failed, the issue was not likely to be more fatal
than the capitulation. This opinion was warmly advocated by the Count
de Lobau, Generals Teste, Mouton-Duvernet, and others. The design was
grand, worthy of our glory, and quite in harmony with our past acts.
It was the Emperor’s intention to carry it into effect, and for this
purpose he issued orders, which, however, did not reach the place of
their destination. The despair occasioned by the thought of
surrendering was such that a portion of the troops urged the officer
who was at the head of the opposing party to take the command upon
himself. Respect for discipline at length prevailed over enthusiasm;
but the officer above alluded to expressed himself in the most violent
way in the council. It is said that, in his indignation, he exclaimed
to the General-in-chief;—“The Emperor will tell me that, pistol in
hand, I ought to have taken the command upon myself.“
“According to the terms of the capitulation, the French were to evacuate
the fortress in six columns and in six successive days, and to repair to
Strasburgh.
“This capitulation was fulfilled, so far at least as regarded our
evacuation of the fortress and its occupation by the enemy; but our
sixth column had scarcely made a day’s march from the town when it was
announced that the capitulation was declined and rejected by the
General-in-chief, Prince Schwartzenberg, by an order of the 19th of
November.
“When Marshal Saint-Cyr remonstrated against this conduct, it was
proposed, by way of compensation for the injustice, that he should be
permitted to re-enter Dresden with his troops, and be again placed in
possession of all the means of defence which he had before the
capitulation: this was merely a piece of irony.
“In vain did the Marshal negotiate for the literal fulfilment of the
articles agreed upon by Count Klenau, who had full powers for so doing;
the unfortunate garrison, broken up and dispersed, was under the
necessity of repairing to the different cantonments that were assigned
to it in Bohemia, instead of pursuing its march towards the Rhine.
“The Marshal, indignant at this flagrant breach of faith, despatched a
superior officer to communicate the circumstance to Napoleon; but the
Allies retarded his progress under various pretences, and he did not
reach Paris until the 18th of December. Subsequent events had by this
time rendered the evil past all remedy.”
After the series of deceptions and perfidies which I have here
disclosed, and which the Allies had established as a system, it is not
surprising that Napoleon should have placed no reliance on the famous
declaration of Frankfort, and that he should have felt indignant at the
blindness of our Legislative Body, the committee of which, either from
evil designs or mistaken views, completed the ruin of affairs. Napoleon
assured me that he was several times on the point of summoning the
members of this committee before him, in order to consult with them
confidentially and sincerely on the real state of things, and the
imminent danger with which we were threatened. Sometimes he thought that
he should undoubtedly bring them back to a right sense of their duty;
sometimes, on the contrary, he feared that obstinacy of opinion, or
mischievous intention, might have involved the affair in controversy,
which, considering the spirit of the moment, would have weakened our
resources and hastened our dissolution.
The Emperor frequently adverted to this critical point in the destinies
of France; but I have hitherto refrained from entering upon the detail
of a subject which presents nothing either agreeable or consolatory.
BENEVOLENT ACTIONS PERFORMED BY THE EMPEROR.—HIS VISIT TO
AMSTERDAM.—OBSERVATIONS ON THE DUTCH, &C.—THE MASSACRES OF THE THIRD
OF SEPTEMBER.—REMARKS ON REVOLUTIONS IN GENERAL.—UNHAPPY FATE OF LOUIS
XVI.
3rd. About three o’clock, the Emperor sent for me to attend him in his
chamber. He had just finished dressing; and, as it was raining at the
time, he went into the drawing-room, where he communicated to me some
very curious particulars, which, as it may be supposed, concerned him,
and in which I played a conspicuous part.
Some time afterwards the Emperor took a turn on the lawn contiguous to
his library; but, finding the wind very violent, he soon returned to the
house and played at billiards, a thing which he very seldom thought of
doing.
In the course of the day, the Emperor related that, as he was once
travelling with the Empress, he stopped to breakfast in one of the
islands in the Rhine. There was a small farm house in the neighbourhood,
and while he was at breakfast he sent for the peasant to whom it
belonged, and desired him to ask boldly for whatever he thought would
render him happy; and, in order to inspire him with the greater
confidence, the Emperor made him drink several glasses of wine. The
peasant, who was more prudent and less limited in his choice than the
man described in the story of the three wishes, without hesitation
specified the object which he was ambitious to possess. The Emperor
commanded the prefect of the district immediately to provide him with
what he had made choice of, and the expense attending the gratification
of his wish did not exceed 6 or 7000 francs.
Napoleon added that, on another occasion, when he was sailing in a yacht
in Holland, he entered into conversation with the steersman, and asked
him how much his vessel was worth. “My vessel!” said the man, “it is not
mine; I should be too happy if it were, it would make my
fortune.”—“Well, then,” said the Emperor, “I make you a present of it;”
a favour for which the man seemed not particularly grateful. His
indifference was imputed to the phlegmatic temperament natural to his
countrymen; but this was not the case. “What benefit has he conferred on
me?” said he to one of his comrades who was congratulating him; “he has
spoken to me, and that is all; he has given me what was not his own to
give—a fine present truly!” In the mean time Duroc had purchased the
vessel of the owner, and the receipt was put into the hands of the
steersman, who, no longer doubting the reality of his good fortune,
indulged in the most extravagant demonstrations of joy. The expense of
this purchase was about the same as that attending the present made to
the countryman. “Thus,” said the Emperor, “it is evident that human
wishes are not so immoderate as they are generally supposed, and that it
is not so very difficult to render people happy! These two men
undoubtedly found themselves completely happy.”
When the Emperor visited Amsterdam, the people, he said, were very
hostile to him; but he soon completely ingratiated himself in the public
favour. He declined being attended by any other guard than the guard of
honour belonging to the city; and this mark of confidence immediately
gained him the esteem of the Dutch. He constantly appeared among every
class of citizens. On one occasion he addressed a crowd of people in the
following blunt manner:—“It is said that you are discontented—but why?
France has not conquered, but adopted, you: you are excluded from no
benefits which are enjoyed by the French; you are a portion of the same
family, and participate in all its advantages. Consider now: I have
selected my Prefects, Chamberlains, and Councillors of State from
amongst you in a just proportion to the amount of your population, and I
have augmented my guard with your Dutch guard. You complain of distress;
but, in this respect, France has still greater reason to be
dissatisfied. We all suffer, and we must continue to do so until the
common enemy, the tyrant of the sea, the vampire of your trade, shall be
brought to reason. You complain of the sacrifices you have made; but
come to France and see all that you still possess beyond what we do, and
then, perhaps, you will deem yourselves less unfortunate. Why not rather
congratulate yourselves on the circumstances that have brought about
your union with France. In the present state of Europe, what would you
be, if left to yourselves?—The slaves of all the world. Instead of
which, identified as you are with France, you will one day possess the
whole trade of the great Empire.” Then, assuming a tone of gaiety, he
said:—“I have done every thing in my power to please you. Have I not
sent you as a Governor precisely the man who suits you—the good and
pacific Lebrun. You condole with him, he condoles with you: you bewail
your distresses together. What more could I do for you?” At these words
the assembly burst into a loud fit of laughter. The Emperor had secured
the good graces of the multitude.—“However,” said he, “let us hope that
the present state of things will not last long. Believe me, I am as
anxious for a change as you can be. Every man of discernment among you
must be aware that it is neither my wish, nor for my interest, that
matters should remain as they now are.”
The Emperor left the people of Amsterdam full of enthusiasm for him; and
he, on his part, carried away impressions decidedly in their favour.
Previously to his journey he had often complained that whosoever he sent
to Holland immediately became a Dutchman. After his return, that
circumstance occurred to his recollection in the Council of State, and
he said that he had himself become a Dutchman. One day, when a member of
the Council spoke slightingly of the Dutch, the Emperor said,
“Gentlemen, you may be more agreeable than they; but I can wish you
nothing better than to be possessed of their moral qualities.”
After dinner, some one happened to mention the date of the day, the 3rd
of September; upon which the Emperor made some very remarkable
observations; among which were the following:—“This,” said he, “is the
anniversary of horrid and appalling executions, of a repetition, in
miniature, of Saint-Bartholomew’s day: less disgraceful, certainly,
because fewer victims were sacrificed, and because the atrocities were
not committed under the sanction of the Government, which, on the
contrary, used its endeavours to punish the crime. It was committed by
the mob of Paris; an unbridled power, which rivalled, and even
controlled, the Legislature.
“The atrocities of the 3rd of September were the result of fanaticism
rather than of absolute brutality: the authors of the massacres put to
death one of their own party, for having committed theft during the
executions. This dreadful event,” continued the Emperor, “arose out of
the force of circumstances and the spirit of the moment. No political
change ever takes place unattended by popular fury; the people are never
exposed to danger, without committing disorders and sacrificing victims.
The Prussians entered the French territory; and the people, before they
advanced to meet them, resolved to take revenge on their adherents in
Paris. Probably, this circumstance was not without its influence on the
safety of France. Who can doubt that if, during recent events, the
friends of the invaders had been the victims of similar horrors, France
would have fallen under the yoke of foreigners? But this could not have
happened, for we had become legitimate. The duration of authority, our
victories, our treaties, the re-establishment of our old manners, had
rendered our government regular. We could not plunge into the same
horrors as had been committed by the multitude; for my part, I neither
could nor would be a King of the mob.
“No social revolution ever takes place unaccompanied by violence. Every
revolution of this kind is at first merely a revolt. Time and success
alone can exalt and render it legitimate; but still it can never be
brought about without outrage. If people enjoying authority and fortune
are required to relinquish these advantages, they of course resist:
force is then resorted to; they are compelled to yield. In France this
point was gained by the lantern and public executions. The reign of
terror commenced on the 4th of August, with the abolition of titles of
nobility, tithes, and feudal rights, the wrecks of which were scattered
among the multitude, who then, for the first time, understood and felt
really interested in the Revolution. Before this period there was so
much of dependence and religious spirit among the people that many
doubted whether the crops would ripen as usual without the King and the
tithes.
“A revolution,” concluded the Emperor, “is one of the greatest evils by
which mankind can be visited. It is the scourge of the generation by
which it is brought about; and all the advantages it procures cannot
make amends for the misery with which it embitters the lives of those
who participate in it. It enriches the poor, who still remain
dissatisfied; and it impoverishes the rich, who cannot forget their
downfal. It subverts every thing; and, at its commencement, brings
misery to all and happiness to none.
“Beyond a doubt, true social happiness consists in the harmony and the
peaceful possession of the relative enjoyments of each class of people.
In regular and tranquil times, every individual has his share of
felicity: the cobbler in his stall is as content as the King on his
throne; the soldier is not less happy than the general. The best-founded
revolutions, at the outset, bring universal destruction in their train;
the advantages they may produce are reserved for a future age. Ours
seems to have been an irresistible fatality: it was a moral eruption,
which could no more be prevented than a physical eruption. When the
chemical combinations necessary to produce the latter are complete, it
bursts forth: in France the moral combinations which produce a
revolution had arrived at maturity, and the explosion accordingly took
place.”
We asked the Emperor whether he thought it would have been possible to
suppress the Revolution in its birth; and he replied that, if not
impossible, the attempt would at least have been difficult. “Perhaps,”
said he “the storm might have been laid or averted by some great
Machiavelian act; by striking with one hand the great ringleaders, and
with the other making concessions to the nation, granting freely the
reformation required by the age, part of which had already been
mentioned in the famous royal sitting. And yet, after all,” he observed,
“this would only have been guiding and directing the Revolution.” He
thought that some other plan of the same kind might perhaps have
succeeded on the 10th of August, if the King had remained triumphant.
“These two periods,” he said, were the only ones which afforded any
chance, however desperate; for, at the affair of Versailles, the people
had not yet entirely shaken off their allegiance, and on the 10th of
August they were already beginning to be tired of disorder. But those
who were chiefly interested in quelling the revolutionary spirit were
not adequate to encounter the difficulties of the moment.”
The Emperor then rapidly ran over the series of errors committed during
this period. “The line of conduct then pursued,” said he, “was truly
pitiable. Louis XVI. should have had a prime minister, and M. Necker
under him in the finance department. Prime ministers seem to have been
invented for the last reigns of the French monarchy; and yet the
prevailing false notions and vanity of the time caused them to be
dispensed with.”
A great deal was said respecting the equivocal conduct of several great
personages during this critical period, and the Emperor said: “We
condemn Louis XVI.; but, independently of his weakness, he was placed in
peculiar circumstances. He was the first monarch on whom the experiment
of modern principles was tried. His education, his innate ideas, led him
to believe sincerely that all that he defended, either openly or
secretly, belonged to him of right. There might be a sort of honesty
even in his want of faith, if I may so express myself. At a subsequent
period, the same conduct would have been inexcusable, and even
reprehensible. Add to all this that Louis XVI. had every body against
him, and one may form an idea of the innumerable difficulties which Fate
had accumulated on that unhappy Prince. The misfortunes of the Stuarts,
which have excited such deep interest, were not more severe.”
THE BODY-GUARD OF THE KING OF FRANCE.—A DESERTER
IN THE EMPEROR’S SUITE.
4th.—The Emperor sent for me after he had finished his breakfast. He was
stretched on a sofa, with several books scattered about him. He wore his
nightcap, and looked pale. “Las Cases,” said he, “I am unwell. I have
been looking over a great many books, but I can find nothing to interest
me. I feel wearied.” He fixed his eye on me; that eye, naturally so
animated, was now dim, and its expression told me more than his eye had
uttered. “Sit down,” said he, pointing to a chair that was beside him,
loaded with books, “and let us chat.” He spoke of the Island of Elba, of
the life he had led there, of some visits which he had received, &c. He
then put some questions to me concerning Paris and the French Court
during the corresponding period. The conversation having led to the
mention of the King’s body-guard, some one present remarked, as a
curious circumstance, that there was a deserter from the guard in
Napoleon’s suite at St. Helena. “How? explain yourself,” said the
Emperor.—“Sire,” continued the person who had just spoken, “at the time
of the restoration, one of the captains of the guard, for whom I
entertained great friendship, and who, in spite of the difference of our
opinions, had always evinced a high regard for me, proposed to enter my
son in his company, assuring me that he would treat him as though he
were his own. I replied that he was too young, and that the appointment
might retard the progress of his education; but my friend silenced all
my objections. I however requested some time to consider of the matter;
and on my mentioning it to some persons of my acquaintance, they were
astonished that I should have declined so good an offer, and assured me
that in a short time my son might attain great advancement, without any
interruption of his education. I then waited on the captain of the
guard, and acknowledged that I had not shewn myself sufficiently
grateful for his offer; and he replied that he was fully aware I had not
understood the extent of the advantage he proposed to me. However, by
one circumstance or another, your Majesty returned before my son had the
honour of being presented to his colonel, and as I took him from his
Lyceum on our departure for St. Helena, he is clearly and truly a
deserter.” The Emperor laughed heartily and said; “This is another
effect of revolutions! What new interests, connexions, and opinions do
they create! It is fortunate when they do not disunite families, and set
the best friends at variance with each other.” He then began to question
me concerning my family, and concluded by saying, “I saw in Alphonse de
Beauchamp’s work, your name mentioned among the individuals who, on the
30th of March, endeavoured to excite demonstrations in favour of the
Royal Family in the Place Louis XV. I know it was not you; I think you
once explained the matter to me, but I have forgotten the
particulars.”—“Sire,“ said I, “it was a cousin of mine, of the same
name. The circumstance vexed me a good deal at the time; I inserted
contradictions in the journals; and it was rather droll that my cousin,
on his part, addressed letters to the public prints, desiring that he
might be particularly specified as the individual alluded to. I believe
that the general way in which the name was introduced, in Alphonse de
Beauchamp’s work, was kindly meant on the part of the author, who
wished, by this means, to afford me an opportunity of ingratiating
myself in the favour of the ruling party, if I had a mind to do so. I
must do my cousin the justice to say that, when I obtained an
appointment about your Majesty’s person, I several times offered to
solicit for him a post in your household or elsewhere; but this he
constantly declined. I wish he may now enjoy the reward of his
fidelity.” The Emperor again repeated that all private interests were
subverted by revolutions. “And it is these private wounds,” said he,
“which occasion the general ferment, and render the shocks so acute and
violent.”
The weather was so bad the whole of the day that it was impossible to go
out. The Emperor dismissed me and sent for General Gourgaud, to whom he
dictated in his library, from two to six o’clock, almost the whole of
Moreau’s campaign during the Consulate. After dinner, he read to us
Madame de Maintenon’s celebrated sumptuary letter to her brother, in
which she fixes her household expenditure at six thousand francs a-year.
The Emperor had several volumes of the _Grands Hommes_ brought to him,
and, after perusing some articles, he amused himself by looking at the
outline portraits at the end of each volume.
NAPOLEON’S REPROOFS, &C. THE GOVERNOR BARGAINS
FOR OUR EXISTENCE.
5th.—To-day, in the course of my morning conversation with the Emperor,
I happened to mention some acts of oppression and injustice, which
excited dissatisfaction in the public mind, and rendered him unpopular,
because they were executed in his name, and were by many supposed to
emanate from him. “But how?” said he, “was there no one among the
multitude that surrounded me, none of my chamberlains, who had
sufficient spirit and independence to complain and bring these matters
to my knowledge? I would have rendered justice wherever it had been
withheld.”—“Sire, few would have ventured to call your attention to
these things.”—“Did you really stand so much in awe of me? I suppose you
dreaded my sharp rebuffs; but you ought to have known that I always lent
a ready ear to every one, and that I never refused to administer
justice. You should have balanced the reward of the good action against
the danger of the reprimand. After all, I confess that my reproofs were
in most instances the result of calculation. They were frequently the
only means I possessed of learning a man’s temper, of discovering by
stealth the different shades of his character. I had little time for
inquiry; and a reprimand was one of my experiments. For example, I
lately gave you a repulse, and this enabled me to discover that you were
somewhat headstrong, extremely susceptible, sufficiently candid, but
sullen; and, I may say, too sensitive,” he added, pinching my ear. “I
was,” continued he, “obliged to surround myself, as it were, with a halo
of fear; otherwise, having risen as I did from amidst the multitude,
many would have made free to eat out of my hand, or to slap me on the
shoulder. We are naturally inclined to familiarity.”
The weather continued very bad, and the Emperor spent the chief part of
the day in writing, as he did yesterday.
The Governor has renewed his cavilling on the subject of our supplies,
descending into petty details about a few bottles of wine, or a few
pounds of meat. Instead of eight thousand pounds, the sum fixed by
Government, he now applied for an allowance of twelve thousand, which he
himself declared to be indispensable; but he insisted on having the
surplus delivered into his own hands, or subjecting us to great
retrenchments. He bargained for our existence. When this was mentioned
to the Emperor he replied that the Governor might do as he pleased; but
he desired, at all events, that he might not be troubled about the
business.
In the evening the conversation again turned on Madame de Maintenon, and
the Emperor made many remarks on her letters, her character, her
influence on the affairs of her time, &c. He asked for the Historical
Dictionary to read the articles on the Noailles family; and he retired
to rest at eleven o’clock.
CONFIDENTIAL CONVERSATION.—THE LETTERS OF MADAME
DE MAINTENON AND SEVIGNÉ.
6th.—The weather proved as bad as it had been on the preceding day.
After finishing his toilet, the Emperor retired to his library, attended
by one of his suite, with whom he held a long confidential conversation
on a topic intimately concerning us.
“We have now,” said he, “been at St. Helena more than a year, and with
regard to certain points we remain just as we were on the first day of
our arrival. I must confess that I have hitherto come to no
determination in my own mind upon these subjects. This is very unlike
me; but how many mortifications have I to encounter! A victim to the
persecutions of Fate and man, I am assailed every where and on all
hands. Even you, my faithful friends and consolers, help to lacerate the
wound. I am vexed and distressed by your jealousies and
dissensions.”—“Sire,” replied the individual to whom he addressed
himself, “these things should remain unnoticed by your Majesty. In all
that concerns you, our jealousy is merely emulation; and all our
dissension ceases on the expression of your slightest wish. We live only
for you, and will always be ready to obey you. To us you are the _Old
Man of the Mountain_; you may command us in all things, except
crime.”—“Well,” said the Emperor, “I will think seriously of the subject
I have just alluded to, and each shall have his own particular task.” He
dictated a few notes, and afterwards went down to the garden, where he
walked about for a short time alone, and then withdrew to his own
apartment.
The Emperor did not quit his chamber until the moment dinner was
announced. He resumed his remarks on Madame de Maintenon, whose letters
he had been reading. “I am charmed,” said he, “with her style, her
grace, and the purity of her language. If I am violently offended by
what is bad, I am at the same time exquisitely sensible to what is good.
I think I prefer Madame de Maintenon’s letters to those of Madame de
Sevigné: they tell more. Madame de Sevigné will certainly always remain
the true model of the epistolary style; she has a thousand charms and
graces, but there is this defect in her writings, that one may read a
great deal of them without retaining any impression of what one has
read. They are like trifles, which a man may eat till he is tired
without overloading his stomach.”
The Emperor then made some observations on grammar. He asked for the
grammar of Domairon, who had been our professor at the military school
at Paris. He glanced through it with evident pleasure. “Such is the
influence of youthful impressions,” said he; “I suspect that Domairon’s
is not the best of grammars, yet to me it will always be the most
agreeable. I shall never open it without experiencing a certain
pleasure.”
ERRORS OF THE ENGLISH MINISTERS.—MEANS OF WHICH ENGLAND MIGHT HAVE
AVAILED HERSELF FOR THE LIQUIDATION OF HER DEBT.—THE GOVERNOR’S
REDUCTIONS.
7th.—The Emperor remained within doors the whole of the day. The
Governor appeared on the grounds accompanied by a numerous party; but we
fled at his approach. Several vessels have been observed out at sea.
I was summoned to attend the Emperor, and I found him engaged in
perusing a work on the state of England. This became the subject of
conversation; the Emperor said a great deal respecting the enormous
national debt of England, the disadvantageous peace she had concluded,
and the different means by which she might have extricated herself from
her difficulties.
Napoleon possesses in an eminent degree the instinct of order and
harmony. I once knew a man who, being much engaged in arithmetical
calculations, confessed that he could not enter a drawing-room without
being led irresistibly to count the people who were in it; and that,
when he sat down to table, he could not help summing up the number of
plates, glasses, &c. Napoleon, though in a more elevated sphere, has
also an irresistible habit of his own, which is to develop the grand and
the beautiful in every subject that comes under his attention. If he
happens to converse about a city, he immediately suggests improvements
and embellishments; if a nation be the object of his consideration, he
expatiates on the means of promoting her glory, prosperity, useful
institutions, &c. Many of his observations, that have already been noted
down, must have rendered this fact obvious to the reader.
Either the contents of the journals and other publications of the day,
or the nature of our situation here, occasioned the Emperor’s attention
to be constantly directed to the state of England. He frequently
adverted to what she ought to have done, as well as to what she still
had to do, and which might render her future condition more prosperous.
I subjoin here a few of the observations, on this subject, which escaped
him at various times:—
“The Colonial system,” said he one day, “is now at an end for all; for
England, who possesses every colony, and for the other powers, who
possess none. The empire of the seas now belongs indisputably to
England; and why should she, in a new situation, wish to continue the
old routine? Why does she not adopt plans that would be more profitable
to her? She must look forward to a sort of emancipation of her colonies.
In the course of time, many will doubtless escape from her dominion, and
she should therefore avail herself of the present moment to obtain new
securities and more advantageous connexions. Why does she not propose
that the majority of her colonies shall purchase their emancipation by
taking upon themselves a portion of the general debt, which would thus
become specially theirs. The mother-country would by this means relieve
herself of her burthens, and would nevertheless preserve all her
advantages. She would retain, as pledges, the faith of treaties,
reciprocal interests, similarity of language, and the force of habit;
she might moreover reserve, by way of guarantee, a single fortified
point, a harbour for the ships, after the manner of the factories on the
coast of Africa. What would she lose? Nothing; and she would spare
herself the trouble and expense of an administration which, too often,
serves only to render her odious. Her ministers, it is true, would have
fewer places to give away; but the nation would certainly be no loser.
“I doubt not,” added he, “that, with a thorough knowledge of the
subject, some useful result might be derived from the ideas which I have
just thrown out, however erroneous they may be in their first hasty
conception. Even with regard to India, great advantages might be
obtained by the adoption of new systems. The English who are here,
assure me that England derives nothing from India in the balance of her
trade; the expenses swallow up, or even exceed, the profits. It is
therefore merely a source of individual advantage, and of a few private
fortunes of colossal magnitude; but these are so much food for
ministerial patronage, and therefore good care is taken not to meddle
with them. Those nabobs, as they are styled, on their return to England,
are useful recruits to the aristocracy. It signifies not that they bear
the disgrace of having acquired fortunes by rapine and plunder, or that
they exercise a baneful influence on public morals by exciting in others
the wish to gain the same wealth by the same means; the present
ministers are not so scrupulous as to bestow a thought on such matters.
These men give them their votes; and, the more corrupt they are, the
more easily are they controlled. In this state of things, where is the
hope of reform? Thus, on the least proposition of amendment, what an
outcry is raised! The English aristocracy is daily taking a stride in
advance; but, as soon as there is any proposal for retrograding, were it
only for the space of an inch, a general explosion takes place. If the
minutest details be touched, the whole edifice begins to totter. This is
very natural. If you attempt to deprive a glutton of his mouthful he
will defend himself like a hero.”
On another occasion the Emperor said:—“After a twenty year’s war, after
the blood and treasures that were lavished in the common cause, after a
triumph beyond all hope, what sort of peace has England concluded? Lord
Castlereagh had the whole Continent at his disposal, and yet what
advantage, what indemnity, has he secured to his own country? He has
signed just such a peace as he would have signed had he been conquered.
I should not have required him to make greater sacrifices had I been
victorious. But, perhaps, England thought herself sufficiently happy in
having effected my overthrow; in that case, hatred has avenged me!
During our contest, England was animated by two powerful sentiments—her
national interest and her hatred of me. In the moment of triumph, the
violence of the one caused her to lose sight of the other. She has paid
dearly for that moment of passion!“ He developed his idea, glancing at
the different measures which demonstrated the blunders of Castlereagh,
and the many advantages which he had neglected. “Thousands of years will
roll away,” said he, “before there occurs such another opportunity of
securing the welfare and real glory of England. Was it ignorance, or
corruption, on the part of Castlereagh? He distributed the spoil
generously, as he seemed to think, among the Sovereigns of the
Continent, and reserved nothing for his own country; but, in so doing,
did he not fear the reproach of being considered as the agent rather
than the partner of the Holy Allies? He gave away immense territories;
Russia, Prussia, and Austria acquired millions of population. Where is
the equivalent to England? She, who was the soul of all this success,
and who paid so dearly for it, now reaps the fruit of the _gratitude_ of
the Continent, and of the errors or treachery of her negotiator. My
continental system is continued; and the produce of her manufactures is
excluded. Why not have bordered the Continent with free and independent
maritime towns, such, for example, as Dantzick, Hamburg, Antwerp,
Dunkirk, Genoa, &c., which would of necessity have become the staples of
her manufactures, and would have scattered them over Europe, in spite of
all the duties in the world. England possessed the right of doing this,
and her circumstances required it: her decisions would have been just,
and who would have opposed them at the moment of the liberation? Why did
she create to herself a difficulty, and, in course of time, a natural
enemy, by uniting Belgium to Holland, instead of securing two immense
resources for her trade, by keeping them separate? Holland, which has no
manufactures of her own, would have been the natural depôt for English
goods; and Belgium, which might have become an English colony, governed
by an English Prince, would have been the channel for dispersing these
goods over France and Germany. Why not have bound down Spain and
Portugal by a commercial treaty of long duration, which would have
repaid all the expenses incurred for their deliverance, and which might
have been obtained under pain of the enfranchisement of their colonies,
the trade of which, in either case, England would have commanded? Why
not have stipulated for some advantages in the Baltic, and to balance
the States of Italy? These would have been but the regular privileges
attached to the dominion of the seas. After so long a contest in support
of this right, how happened its advantages to be neglected at the moment
when it was really secured? Did England, while she sanctioned usurpation
in others, fear that opposition would be offered to hers? and by whom
could it have been offered? Probably England repents now, when it is too
late; the opportunity cannot be recovered; she suffered the favourable
moment to escape her!... How many _whys_ and _wherefores_ might I not
multiply!... None but Lord Castlereagh would have acted thus: he made
himself the man of the Holy Alliance, and in course of time he will be
the object of execration. The Lauderdales, the Grenvilles, and the
Wellesleys, would have pursued a very different course; they would at
least have acted like Englishmen.”
At another time the Emperor said;—“The national debt is the canker-worm
that preys on England; it is the chain of all her difficulties. It
occasions the enormity of taxation, and this in its turn raises the
price of provisions. Hence the distress of the people, the high price of
labour and of manufactured goods which are not brought with equal
advantage to the continental markets. England then ought at all hazards
to contend against this devouring monster; she should assail it on all
sides, and at once subdue it _negatively_ and _positively_, that is to
say, by the reduction of her expenditure and the increase of her
capital.
“Can she not reduce the interest of her debt, the high salaries, the
sinecures, and the various expenses attending her army establishment,
and renounce the latter, in order to confine herself to her navy? In
short, many things might be done, which I cannot now enter into. With
regard to the increase of her capital, can she not enrich herself with
the ecclesiastical property, which is immense, and which she would
acquire by a salutary reform, and by the extinction of titular dignities
which would give offence to no one? But if a word be uttered on this
subject, the whole aristocracy is up in arms, and succeeds in putting
down the opposition; for in England it is the aristocracy that governs,
and for which the Government acts. They repeat the favourite adage,
that, if the least stone of the old foundation be touched, the whole
fabric will fall to the ground. This is devoutly re-echoed by the
multitude; consequently reform is stopped, and abuses are suffered to
increase and multiply.
“It is but just to acknowledge that, in spite of a compound of odious,
antiquated, and ignoble details, the English constitution presents the
singular phenomenon of a happy and grand result; and the advantages
arising out of it secure the attachment of the multitude, who are
fearful of losing any of the blessings they enjoy. But is it to the
objectionable nature of the details that this result must be attributed?
On the contrary, it would shine with increased lustre if the grand and
beautiful machine were freed from its mischievous appendages.
“England,” continued the Emperor, “presents an example of the dangerous
effects of the borrowing system. I would never listen to any hints for
the adoption of that system in France; I was always a firm opposer of
it. It was said, at the time, that I contracted no loans for want of
credit, and because I could find no one willing to lend; but this was
false. Those who know any thing of mankind and the spirit of
stock-jobbing, will be convinced that loans may always be raised by
holding out the chance of gain and the attraction of speculation. But
this was no part of my system, and, by a special law, I fixed the amount
of the public debt at what had generally been supposed to be conducive
to the general prosperity, namely, at eighty millions interest for my
France in her utmost extent, and after the union with Holland, which of
itself produced an augmentation of twenty millions. This sum was
reasonable and proper; a greater one would have been attended by
mischievous consequences. What was the result of this system? What
resources have I left behind me? France, after so many gigantic efforts
and terrible disasters, is now more prosperous than ever! Are not her
finances the first in Europe? To whom and to what are these advantages
to be attributed? So far was I from wishing to swallow up the future,
that I had resolved to leave a treasure behind me. I had even formed
one, the funds of which I lent to different banking-houses, embarrassed
families, and persons who held offices about me.
“I should not only have carefully preserved the sinking fund, but I
calculated on having, in course of time, funds which would have been
constantly increasing, and which might have been actively applied for
the furtherance of public works and improvements. I should have had the
fund of the Empire for general works; the fund of the departments for
local works; the fund of the communes for municipal works, &c.”
In the course of another conversation, the Emperor observed:—“England is
said to traffic in every thing: why, then, does she not sell liberty,
for which she might get a high price, and without any fear of exhausting
her own stock; for modern liberty is essentially moral, and does not
betray its engagements. For example, what would not the poor Spaniards
give her to free them from the yoke to which they have been again
subjected? I am confident that they would willingly pay any price to
recover their freedom. It was I who inspired them with this sentiment;
and the error into which I fell might, at least, be turned to good
account by another government. As to the Italians, I have planted in
their hearts principles that never can be rooted out. What can England
do better than to promote and assist the noble impulses of modern
regeneration? Sooner or later, this regeneration must be accomplished.
Sovereigns and old aristocratic institutions may exert their efforts to
oppose it, but in vain. They are dooming themselves to the punishment of
Sisyphus; but, sooner or later, some arms will tire of resistance, and,
on the first failure, the whole will tumble about their ears. Would it
not be better to yield with a good grace?—this was my intention. Why
does England refuse to avail herself of the glory and advantage she
might derive from this course of proceeding? Every thing passes away in
England as well as elsewhere. Castlereagh’s administration will pass
away, and that which may succeed it, and which is doomed to inherit the
fruit of so many errors, may become great by only discontinuing the
system that has hitherto been pursued. He who may happen to be placed at
the head of the English cabinet, has merely to allow things to take
their course, and to obey the winds that blow. By becoming the leader of
liberal principles, instead of leaguing with absolute power, like
Castlereagh, he will render himself the object of universal benediction,
and England will forget her wrongs. Fox was capable of so acting, but
Pitt was not; the reason is, that, in Fox, the heart warmed the genius;
while, in Pitt, the genius withered the heart. But it may be asked, why
I, all-powerful as I was, did not pursue the course I have here traced
out?—how, since I can speak so well, I could have acted so ill? I reply
to those who make this inquiry with sincerity, that there is no
comparison between my situation and that of the English government.
England may work on a soil which extends to the very bowels of the
earth; while I could labour only on a sandy surface. England reigns over
an established order of things; while I had to take upon myself the
great charge, the immense difficulty, of consolidating and establishing.
I purified a revolution, in spite of hostile factions. I combined
together all the scattered benefits that could be preserved; but I was
obliged to protect them with a nervous arm against the attacks of all
parties; and in this situation it may truly be said that the public
interest, _the State, was myself_.
“Our principles were attacked from without; and, in the name of these
very principles, I was assailed in the opposite sense at home. Had I
relaxed ever so little, we should soon have been brought back to the
time of the Directory; I should have been the object, and France the
infallible victim, of a _counter-Brumaire_. We are in our nature so
restless, so busy, so loquacious! If twenty revolutions were to happen,
we should have twenty constitutions. This is one of the subjects that
are studied most, and observed the least. We have much need to grow
older in this fair and glorious path; for here our great men have all
shewn themselves to be mere children. May the present generation profit
by the faults that have hitherto been committed, and prove as wise as it
is enthusiastic!”
To-day the Governor commenced his grand reductions, and it was thought
proper to deprive us of eight English domestics, who had formerly been
granted to us. To the servants this was a subject of deep regret, and it
was gratifying to ourselves to observe that we won the regard of all who
were permitted to approach us. We are now absolutely in want of daily
necessaries, to supply which the Emperor proposes to dispose of his
plate; this is his only resource.
After dinner the Emperor read the _Cercle_, and retired immediately,
although it was very early in the evening. He was indisposed, and could
not sleep. He sent for me about midnight. By chance I had not retired to
rest, and I remained in conversation with him for two hours.
THE EMPEROR’S COURT AT THE TUILERIES.—THE PRESENTATION OF THE LADIES.—ON
WOMEN’S AGES.—MANUSCRIPT OF THE ISLAND OF ELBA.
8th.—The Emperor sent for me very early: he was just finishing his
toilet. He had had no sleep during the night, and he seemed much
fatigued. The weather had become somewhat tolerable, and he desired to
have his breakfast under the tent. While it was preparing, he took a few
turns about the garden, and resumed the conversation he had had with me
on the preceding night.
He invited Madame de Montholon to breakfast, and afterwards we took a
drive in the calash, of which the Emperor had made no use for a
considerable time. He had scarcely breathed the fresh air for several
days.
The conversation once more turned on the subject of the Emperor’s Court
at the Tuileries, the multitude of persons composing it, the spirit and
address with which Napoleon went through the ceremony of the
presentations, &c. I pass over many of the observations that were made,
for the sake of avoiding repetition.
“It is more difficult than is generally supposed,” said the Emperor, “to
speak to every body in a crowded assemblage, and yet say nothing to any
one; to seem to know a multitude of people, nine-tenths of whom are
total strangers to one.”
Again, when alluding to the period when he was in the plentitude of his
power, he observed that it was at once easy and difficult to approach
him, to communicate with him, and to be appreciated by him; and that it
depended on the merest chance in the world whether his courtiers made or
missed their fortune. “Now that I am myself entirely out of the
question,” said he, “now that I am a mere private individual, and can
reflect philosophically on the time when I was called to execute the
designs of Providence, without, however, ceasing to be a man, I see how
much the fate of those I governed really depended upon chance; and how
often favour and credit were purely accidental. Intrigue is so
dexterous, and merit often so awkward, and these extremes approximate so
closely to each other that, with the best intentions in the world, I
find that my benefits were distributed like prizes in a lottery. And yet
could I have done better? “Was I faulty in my intentions, or remiss in
my exertions? Have other sovereigns done better than I did? It is only
thus that I can be judged. The fault was in the nature of my situation,
and in the force of things.”
We then spoke of the presentation of the ladies at Court, their
embarrassment, and the plans, views, and hopes that were formed by some
of them. Madame de Montholon revealed the secrets of several of her
acquaintance, by which it appeared that if in the saloons of Paris some
were heard to exclaim against the Emperor’s coarseness of manners,
harshness of expression, and ugliness of person, others, who were better
disposed, better informed, and differently affected, extolled the
sweetness of his voice, the grace of his manners, the delicacy of his
smile, and above all, his famous hand, which was said to be ridiculously
handsome.
These advantages, it was observed, combined with great power and still
greater glory, were naturally calculated to excite and to give rise to
certain romantic stories. Thus at the Tuileries how many endeavoured to
render themselves pleasing to the sovereign! How many sought to inspire
a sentiment which it is probable they themselves really felt!
The Emperor smiled at our remarks and conjectures; and he confessed
that, notwithstanding the mass of business and the cloud of flattery in
which he was enveloped, he had oftener than once observed the sentiments
to which we alluded. A few of the least timid among his admirers had, he
said, even solicited and obtained interviews. We now laughed in our
turn, and said that, at the time, these stories had been the subject of
a great deal of mirth. But the Emperor seriously protested that they
were void of foundation. In a more private conversation at the Briars,
during one of our walks by moonlight, the Emperor, as I have stated in a
former part of my Journal, made the same assertion, and contradicted
every report of this nature, except one.
Our next subject of conversation was the repugnance of women to let
their age be known. The Emperor made some very lively and entertaining
remarks. An instance was mentioned of a woman who preferred losing an
important law-suit to confessing her age. The case would have been
decided in her favour, had she produced the register of her baptism, but
this she could not be prevailed on to do.
Another anecdote of the same kind was mentioned. A certain lady was much
attached to a gentleman, and was convinced that her union with him would
render her happy; but she could not marry without proving the date of
her birth, and she preferred remaining single.
The Emperor informed us that a distinguished lady, at the time of her
marriage, had deceived her husband, and represented herself to be five
or six years younger than she really was, by producing the baptismal
register of her younger sister, who had been dead some time.
“However,” said the Emperor, “in so doing, poor Josephine exposed
herself to some risk. This might really have proved a case of nullity of
marriage.” These words furnished us with the key to certain dates,
which, at the Tuileries, were the subject of jesting and ridicule, and
which we then attributed wholly to the gallantry and extreme
complaisance of the Imperial Almanack.
About four o’clock the Emperor took a short walk. I did not accompany
him. On his return, he informed us that he had visited the Company’s
garden, where he had met several very pretty women. “But I had not my
interpreter with me,” he added, pointing to me. “The rogue left me, and
nothing could be more provoking, for I never felt more inclined to avail
myself of his assistance.” This little walk, however, did the Emperor no
good, for he was presently seized with a severe tooth-ache.
A vessel, which had come from the Cape some time ago, sailed for Europe
this day. Several English military officers, who were passengers in this
ship, had not been permitted to wait on the Emperor, in spite of their
repeated solicitations. This was a new instance of the Governor’s spite.
These officers were men of distinction, and their reports on their
return home might have had some influence. The Governor, in defiance of
all truth, informed them that Napoleon had determined to receive no one.
The Emperor some time ago analyzed to us a subject which he said he
intended to dictate in fourteen chapters, and which had forcibly struck
me by its truth, its force, its just reasoning, and its dignity. I
frequently alluded to it when I happened to be alone with him; and he
laughed more than once at the perseverance I shewed, which, he said, was
not usual with me. To-day he informed me that he had at length produced
something, though not in fourteen chapters, nor on the promised subject;
but that I must be content with it. I have read it, and it is certainly
a very remarkable fragment. I do not believe that the Revolution has
produced any thing more comprehensive and energetic on the governments
of the last twenty-five years in France, namely, the Republic, the
Consulate, and the Empire.
The exposition and development of the ten chapters which compose this
work may be regarded as a perfect outline of the subject. The style is
remarkably simple and nervous. Each chapter is full and forcible, and
the whole, which consists of fifty pages, is struck off and finished
with a masterly hand. I have understood that the substance of these
ideas was to have formed the Emperor’s manifesto at the time of his
landing from Elba.
Since my return to Europe, this little work has been published, under
the title of _Manuscrit de l’Ile d’Elbe_; though I have reason to
believe that at first another title was intended for it. Be this as it
may, since the work is but little known, and as those who have read it
may be ignorant of its real origin, I here transcribe almost literally
several chapters, which will serve to prove its source and its
authenticity.
CHAP. I.—In the sixteenth century, the Pope, Spain, and the Sixteen,
attempt in vain to raise a fourth dynasty to the throne of France.
Henry IV. succeeds Henry III. without an interregnum: he conquers the
League; but finds that the only way to secure himself on the throne is
by sincerely joining the party which constitutes the majority of the
nation.
”Henry IV. was proclaimed King at St. Cloud, on the day on which Henry
III. died. His sovereignty was acknowledged by all the Protestant
churches and by a part of the Catholic nobility. The Holy League which
had been formed against Henry III., in hatred of the Protestants, and to
avenge the death of the Duke of Guise, was master of Paris, and
commanded five-sixths of the kingdom. The Leaguers refused to
acknowledge Henry IV., but they proclaimed no other sovereign. The Duke
of Mayenne, the chief of the League, exercised authority under the title
of Lieutenant-general of the kingdom. The accession of Henry IV.
produced no change in the forms adopted by the League for exercising its
power; each town was governed as in disturbed and factious times, by
local or military authorities. At no period, not even on the day
succeeding his entrance into Paris, did Henry IV. acknowledge the acts
of the League, and the latter never set up any pretensions that he
should do so. No law, no regulation, emanated from the League. The
Parliament of Paris was divided into two parties; one for the Leaguers,
which sat at Paris, and the other for Henry IV., which assembled at
Tours. But these parliaments drew up and registered none but judicial
acts. The provinces retained their own organization and privileges, and
were governed by their own common laws. It has already been observed
that the League had not proclaimed any other sovereign; but it
acknowledged for a moment as King, the Cardinal de Bourbon, Henry’s
uncle. The Cardinal, however, did not consent to second the designs of
the enemies of his house. Besides, Henry had seized his person; no act
emanated from him, and the League continued subject to the authority of
the Lieutenant-general the Duke of Mayenne. There was therefore no
interregnum between Hen. III. and Hen. IV.
“The League was split into several parties. The Sorbonne had decided
that the rights of birth could confer no right to the crown on a Prince
who was an enemy to the Church. The Pope had declared that Henry IV.
having relapsed, had forfeited his rights for ever; and that he could
not recover them, even though he should return to the bosom of the
Church. Henry IV., King of Navarre, was born a Protestant; but on the
massacre of St. Bartholomew, he was compelled to marry Margaret de
Valois, and to abjure the reformed religion. However, as soon as he
withdrew from the Court, and found himself amidst the Protestants on the
left bank of the Loire, he declared that his abjuration had been wholly
compulsory, and he again embraced the Protestant faith. This step caused
him to be characterized as an obstinate renegado; but the majority of
the League were of opinion that it would be proper to summon Henry to
return to the bosom of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Romish Church; and
acknowledge him as sovereign, as soon as he should abjure Protestantism
and receive absolution from the Bishops.
“The leaguers convoked the States-general of the kingdom at Paris. The
Spanish ambassadors now unmasked the designs of their sovereign, and
urged the States to establish a fourth dynasty on the throne of France,
on the ground that Henry and Condé, having, by their apostacy, forfeited
their rights to the crown, the male line of the Capets was extinct. They
accordingly set forth the claims of the Infanta of Spain, the daughter
of Henry II. of France, who was the first in the female line. Even
supposing that, by the extinction of the male line of descent, the
nation possessed the right of disposing of the crown, they still
insisted that its choice ought to fall on the Infanta, for two reasons:
first, because it was impossible to select a princess of more
illustrious family; and secondly, because France was indebted to Philip
II. for his exertions in supporting the cause of the League. The Infanta
was to marry a French Prince, and mention was even made of the Duke of
Guise, the son of the Duke who had been assassinated at Blois. There was
already a body of Spanish troops in Paris, commanded by the Duke of
Mayenne; and it was proposed that an army of 50,000 Spaniards should be
maintained in Paris by the Court of Madrid, which would devote its whole
power and resources to ensure the triumph of this fourth dynasty. The
sixteen supported these propositions, which were sanctioned by the Court
of Rome, and seconded by the utmost efforts of the Legate. But all was
vain; public spirit was roused at the idea of a foreign nation disposing
of the throne of France. That part of the Parliament which sat at Paris
addressed remonstrances to the Duke of Mayenne the Lieutenant-general of
the kingdom, and urged him to enforce the observance of the fundamental
laws of the monarchy, and of the Salic law in particular. Had the
designs of the Spanish faction succeeded; had the Statesgeneral declared
the crown forfeited by the descendants of Hugues Capet; had a fourth
dynasty been raised to the throne, accepted by the nation, and
sanctioned by the religion acknowledged among the powers of Europe, the
rights of the third dynasty would have been extinct.
“Henry conquered the League at Arques and on the plains of Ivry, and he
then besieged Paris. However, he was convinced of the impossibility of
reigning in France, unless he joined the national party. He had
conquered with an army composed entirely of French troops: if he had
under his command a small corps of English, the Leaguers had a still
more considerable number of Spaniards and Italians. On both sides,
therefore, the contest had been maintained by Frenchmen against
Frenchmen; the foreigners were merely auxiliaries; the national honour
and independence could not be compromised, whichever party might be
declared victorious. _Ventre Saint-gris! Paris vaut bien une messe!_
were the exclamations by which Henry used to sound the opinion of the
Huguenots; and when, at the Council of Beauvais, he assembled the
principal leaders of the Protestant party, to deliberate on the
resolution which it was most expedient to adopt, the majority, and in
particular the most intelligent persons among them, advised the King to
abjure his faith and to join the national party. Henry pronounced his
abjuration at Saint-Denis, and received absolution from the Bishops; the
gates of Paris were thrown open to him, and his authority was
acknowledged by the whole kingdom. He now frankly espoused the national
party. Almost all the public posts were occupied by the Leaguers. The
Protestants, those who had constantly served the King, and to whom he
was indebted for his victories, frequently raised complaints against
him, and taxed him with ingratitude. Still, however, in spite of all the
discretion that was observed, the nation continued long to mistrust the
secret intentions of Henry. It was remarked that _what is bred in the
bone will never be out of the flesh_.
CHAP. II.—The republic sanctioned by the will of the people, by
religion, by victory, and by all the Powers of Europe.
Hugues Capet ascended the throne by the choice of the Parliament,
consisting of Lords and Bishops, which two classes then constituted the
nation. The French monarchy was never absolute; the intervention of the
States General has always been necessary for sanctioning the principal
acts of the Legislature, and for levying new taxes. Subsequently, the
French Parliaments, under the pretence of being States General on a
small scale, and seconded by the Court, usurped the rights of the
nation. In 1788, the Parliaments were the first to acknowledge them.
Louis XVI. convoked the States General in 1789, and the nation exercised
a portion of the sovereignty. The Constituent Assembly framed a new
constitution for the state, which was sanctioned by the approval of the
whole French people, and which Louis XVI. accepted and swore to
maintain. The Legislative Assembly suspended the King. The convention,
which consisted of the deputies of all the primary assemblies in the
Kingdom, and which was invested with special powers, proclaimed the
abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the Republic. The
adherents of the royal party fled from France, and solicited the aid of
foreign arms. Austria and Prussia signed the convention of Pilnitz; and
Austrian and Prussian armies, joined by the French royalist forces,
commenced the war of the first coalition to subdue the French people.
The whole nation took up arms; and the Austrians and Prussians were
conquered. The second coalition was afterwards formed by Austria,
England, and Russia; but this was destroyed like the first, and all the
Powers in Europe acknowledged the French Republic.
1st.—The Republic of Genoa, by an extraordinary embassy, on the 15th of
June, 1792.
2d.—The Porte, by a declaration, on the 27th of March, 1793.
3d.—Tuscany, by the treaty of the 9th of February, 1795.
4th.—Holland, by the treaty of 16th of May, 1795.
5th.—The Venetian Republic, by an extraordinary embassy, on the 30th of
December, 1795.
6th.—The King of Prussia, by the treaty signed at Bâle, on the 5th of
April, 1795.
7th.—The King of Spain, by the treaty signed at Bâle, on the 22nd of
July, 1795.
8th.—Hesse-Cassel, by the treaty of the 28th of July, 1795.
9th.—Switzerland, by the treaty of the 19th of August, 1795.
10th.—Denmark, by a declaration, on the 18th of August, 1795.
11th.—Sweden, by an embassy, on the 23rd of April, 1795.
12th.—Sardinia, by the treaty of Paris, on the 28th of April, 1796.
13th.—America, by an extraordinary embassy, on the 30th of December,
1796.
14th.—Naples, by the treaty of the 10th of October, 1796.
15th.—Parma, by the treaty of the 5th of November, 1796.
16th.—Wurtemburgh, by the treaty of the 7th of August, 1796.
17th.—Baden, by the treaty of the 22d of August, 1796.
18th.—Bavaria, by the treaty of the 24th of July, 1797.
19th.—Portugal, by the treaty of the 19th of August, 1797.
20th.—The Pope, by the treaty signed at Tolentino on the 19th of
February, 1797.
21st.—The Emperor of Germany, by the treaty of Campo-Formio, on the 7th
of October, 1797.
22d.—The Emperor of Russia, by a treaty signed on the 8th of October,
1801.
23d.—The King of England, by the treaty signed at Amiens on the 27th of
March 1802.