22d.—The Emperor resumed his researches respecting Egypt. He gave me
Strabo to look over; it was the edition which he had caused to be made.
He commended the care and pains bestowed upon it, and said that it had
been his intention to give us, in course of time, editions of all the
works of the ancients, through the official medium of the
Institute.—Before dinner the Emperor sent for me and my son, and spent
at least six hours with us, reading over and recasting the chapters on
the Tagliamento, Leoben, and Venice.
All is fine in these chapters on the Campaign of Italy. In that on the
Tagliamento, we see how one single disposition, made on the banks of
that river and hardly noticed, one of those movements which the Emperor
calls _the thought of the battle_, must inevitably lead to the gates of
Vienna.
The chapter on Venice is written after the manner of the ancients.
However, the last chapter read always seems to be that which pleases
most.
I was extremely unwell and very tired, not so much from fatigue
occasioned by work, as from bodily indisposition. We amused ourselves
this evening by reading the description of Ulysses’ departure from the
Island of Calypso, and his arrival amongst the Pheacians.
ON SENSIBILITY.—ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE EAST AND
WEST; DIFFERENCES OBSERVABLE BETWEEN THEM, &C.
23d.—This morning the Emperor, conversing in his room, after touching on
several subjects, spoke about sentiment, feelings, and sensibility, and
having alluded to one of us who, as he observed, never pronounced the
name of his mother but with tears in his eyes, he said, “But is this not
peculiar to him? Is this a general feeling? Do you experience the same
thing, or am I unnatural in that respect? I certainly love my mother
with all my heart; there is nothing that I would not do for her, yet if
I were to hear of her death, I do not think that my grief would manifest
itself by even a single tear; but I would not affirm that this would be
the case if I were to lose a friend, or my wife, or my son. Is this
distinction founded on nature? What can be the cause of it? Is it that
my reason has prepared me beforehand to expect the death of my mother,
as being in the natural course of events, whereas the loss of my wife,
or of my son, is an unexpected occurrence, a hardship inflicted by fate,
which I endeavour to struggle against? Perhaps also this distinction
merely proceeds from our natural disposition to egotism. I belong to my
mother, but my wife and my son belong to me.” And he went on multiplying
the reasons in support of his opinion, with his usual fertility of
invention, in which there was always something original and striking.
It is certain that he was tenderly attached to his wife and his son.
Those persons who have served in the interior of his household now
inform us how fond he was of indulging his feelings of affection towards
his family; and point out some shades in his disposition, the existence
of which we were far from suspecting at the time.
He would sometimes take his son in his arms, and embrace him with the
most ardent demonstrations of paternal love. But most frequently his
affection would manifest itself by playful teazing or whimsical tricks.
If he met his son in the gardens, for instance, he would throw him down
or upset his toys. The child was brought to him every morning at
breakfast time, and he then seldom failed to besmear him with every
thing within his reach on the table. With respect to his wife, not a day
passed here without his introducing her into his private conversations;
if they lasted any length of time, she was sure to come in for a share
in them, or to become the exclusive subject of them. There is no
circumstance, no minute particular relating to her, which he has not
repeated to me a hundred times. Penelope, after ten years’ absence, in
order to convince herself that she is not deceived, puts some questions
to Ulysses which he alone could answer. Well! I think that I should not
find it difficult to present my credentials to Maria-Louisa.
In the course of the conversation in the evening, the Emperor, speaking
of different nations, said he knew of only two,—the Orientals and the
people of the West. “The English, the French, the Italians, &c.” said
he, “compose one family, and form the western division; they have the
same laws, the same manners, the same customs; and differ entirely from
the Orientals, particularly with respect to their women and their
servants. The Orientals have slaves; our servants are free: the
Orientals shut up their women; our wives share in all our rights: the
Orientals keep a seraglio, but polygamy has never been admitted in the
West at any period. There are several other distinctions,” said the
Emperor; “it is said that as many as eighty have been reckoned. The
inhabitants of the East and of the West are therefore,” observed the
Emperor, “really two distinct nations:—with the Orientals every thing is
calculated to enable them to watch over their wives and make sure of
them; all our institutions in the West tend, on the contrary, to put it
out of our power to watch over ours, and to make it necessary for us to
rely upon them alone. With us, every man who does not wish to pass for
an idiot must have some occupation; and whilst he is attending to his
business, or fulfilling the duties of his situation, who will watch for
him? We must therefore, with our manners, rely entirely on the honour of
our women, and place implicit confidence in them. For my part,” added he
good-humouredly, “I have had both wives and mistresses; but it never
came into my head to use any particular precaution to watch over them,
because I thought that it was with these things as with the fear of
daggers and poison in certain situations of life; the torment of
guarding against them is greater than the danger we wish to avoid: it is
better to trust to one’s fate.
“It is, however, a very knotty question to decide, which is the best
method, ours or that of the Orientals; though, probably, not for you,
ladies,” said he, casting an arch-look upon those who were present. “Yet
it is certain that it would be a very great error to suppose that the
Orientals have fewer enjoyments than we have, and are less happy than we
are in the West. In the East, the husbands are very fond of their wives,
and the wives are very much attached to their husbands. They have as
many chances of happiness as we have, however different they may seem;
for every thing is conventional amongst men, even in those feelings
which, one would suppose, ought to be dictated by Nature alone. Besides,
the women in the East have their rights and privileges, as ours have
theirs: it would be quite as impossible to prevent them from going to
the public bath, as it would be to prevent our women from going to
church; and both abuse that liberty. You see, therefore, that the
imagination, feelings, virtues, and failings of human nature, are
circumscribed within a very narrow compass; and that the same things,
with few exceptions and differences, are to be found everywhere.”
He then proceeded to account for, or to justify, polygamy among the
Orientals in a very ingenious manner. “It never existed,” he said, “in
the West: the Greeks, the Romans, the Gauls, the Germans, the Spaniards,
the Britons, never had more than one wife. In the East, on the other
hand, polygamy has existed in all ages: the Jews, the Assyrians, the
Tartars, the Persians, the Turcomans, had all of them several wives.
Whence could this universal and invariable difference have arisen? Was
it owing to accident and to mere caprice? Did it depend on physical
causes in individuals? No. Were woman less numerous, in proportion,
among us than in Asia? No. Were they more numerous in the East than the
men? No. Were the latter of superior stature, to us, or differently
constituted? No. The fact is that the legislator, or that wisdom from on
high which supplies his place, must have been guided by the force of
circumstances arising from the respective localities. All the people of
the West have the same form, the same colour; they compose but one
nation, one family: it has been possible, as at the moment of the
Creation, to assign to them but one helpmate—happy, admirable,
beneficent law, which purifies the heart of the man, exalts the
condition of the woman, and assures to both a multitude of moral
enjoyments!
“The Orientals, on the other hand, differ from one another as much as
day and night, in their forms and colours: they are white, black,
copper-coloured, mixed, &c. The first thing to be thought of was their
conservation, to establish a consanguineous fraternity among them,
without which they would have been everlastingly persecuting,
oppressing, exterminating one another: this could only be accomplished
by the institution of polygamy, and by enabling them to have at one and
the same time a white, black, mulatto, and copper-coloured wife. The
different colours now constituting part of one and the same family, thus
became blended in the affections of the chief and in the opinions of
each of the females relatively to the others.
“Mahomet,” he added, “seems to have been acquainted with the secret, and
to have been guided by it: otherwise how happened it that he, who treads
so closely in the steps of Christianity, and deviates from it so little,
did not suppress polygamy? Do you reply that he retained it only because
his religion was wholly sensual? In this case, he would have allowed the
Mussulmans an indefinite number of wives, whereas he limited it to four
only, which would seem to imply a black, a white, a copper-coloured, and
a mixed.
Besides, let it not be supposed that this favour of the law was put in
practice for the whole nation; or there would not have been wives for
them all. In fact, eleven twelfths of the population have but one,
because they cannot maintain more, but polygamy in the chiefs is
sufficient to attain the grand object: for, the confusion of races and
of colours existing, by means of polygamy, in the higher class, it is
enough to establish union and perfect equality among all. We must,
therefore admit,” he concluded, “that if polygamy was not the offspring
of a political combination, if it owed its origin to chance alone, that
chance has in this instance, produced as much as consummate wisdom.”
The Emperor said that he had seriously thought of applying this
principle to our colonies, in order to harmonize the welfare of the
Negroes with the necessity for employing them. He had even, he said,
consulted divines on this subject, to ascertain if there were not means,
considering local circumstances, of reconciling our religious notions
with this practice.
The Emperor continued conversing in this manner until after midnight.
ON HOLLAND AND KING LOUIS.—COMPLAINTS OF THE EMPEROR AGAINST THE MEMBERS
OF HIS FAMILY.—MATTERS OF HIGH POLICE, &C.—LETTER TO KING LOUIS, THE
EMPEROR’S BROTHER.
24th.—The Emperor sent for me at about half-past twelve to his closet.
Our conversation turned upon the succession of authors through which the
light of history has been transmitted to us from the remotest antiquity
down to the present time. This led him to read that part of the first
table of the Historical Atlas which gives a recapitulation of them, and
presents the whole at one view.
The conversation turned on the diversities of the human species. The
Emperor sent for Buffon, to throw light upon the question; and continued
for some time employed in seeking information on the subject.
Having dressed, the Emperor sent for my son, and we worked three or four
hours at the chapters of the Campaign of Italy.
When this was completed, the conversation, through a variety of
subjects, turned upon Holland and King Louis, respecting whom he said
some things worthy of observation.
“Louis is not destitute of intelligence,” said the Emperor, “and has a
good heart; but even with these qualifications a man may commit many
errors, and do a great deal of mischief. Louis is naturally inclined to
be capricious and fantastical, and the works of Jean Jaques Rousseau
have contributed to increase this disposition. Seeking to obtain a
reputation for sensibility and beneficence, incapable by himself of
enlarged views, and, at most, competent to local details, Louis acted
like a Prefect rather than a king.
“No sooner had he arrived in Holland, than, fancying that nothing could
be finer than to have it said that he was thenceforth a true Dutchman,
he attached himself entirely to the party favourable to the English,
promoted smuggling, and thus connived with our enemies. It became
necessary from that moment to watch over him, and even to threaten to
attack him. Louis, then, seeking a refuge against the weakness of his
disposition in the most stubborn obstinacy, and mistaking a public
scandal for an act of glory, fled from his throne, declaiming against me
and against my insatiable ambition, my intolerable tyranny. What then
remained for me to do? Was I to abandon Holland to our enemies? Ought I
to have given it another King? But in that case could I have expected
more from him than from my own brother? Did not all the kings that I
created act nearly in the same manner? I therefore united Holland to the
empire; and this act produced a most unfavourable impression in Europe,
and contributed not a little to pave the way to our misfortunes.
“Louis was delighted to take Lucien as his model: Lucien had acted
nearly in the same manner; and if, at a later period, he has repented,
and has even nobly made amends for his errors, this conduct did honour
to his character, but could not produce any favourable change in our
affairs.
“On my return from Elba in 1815, Louis wrote a long letter to me from
Rome, and sent an ambassador to me. It was his treaty, he said, the
conditions upon which he would return to me. I answered that I would not
make any treaty with him, that he was my brother, and that if he came
back he would be well received.
“Will it be believed that one of his conditions was that he should be at
liberty to divorce Hortense! I severely rebuked the negotiator for
having dared to be the bearer of so absurd a proposal, and for having
believed that such a measure could ever be made the subject of a
negotiation. I reminded Louis that our family compact positively forbade
it, and represented to him that it was not less forbidden by policy,
morality, and public opinion. I farther assured him that, actuated by
all these motives, if his children were to lose their state through his
fault, I should feel more interested for them than for him, although he
was my brother.
“Perhaps an excuse might be found for the caprice of Louis’s disposition
in the deplorable state of his health, the age at which it became
deranged, and the horrible circumstances which produced that
derangement, and which must have had a considerable influence upon his
mind; he was on the point of death on the occasion, and has, ever since,
been subject to most cruel infirmities: he is almost paralytic on one
side.
“It is certain, however,” added the Emperor, “that I have derived little
assistance from my own family, and that they have severely injured me
and the great cause. The energy of my disposition has often been
extolled; but I have been a mere milksop, particularly with my family;
and well they knew it after the first moment of anger was over, they
always carried their point by perseverance and obstinacy. I became tired
of the contest, and they did with me just as they pleased. These are
great errors which I have committed. If, instead of this, each of them
had given a common impulse to the different bodies which I placed under
their direction, we should have marched on to the poles; every thing
would have given way before us; we should have changed the face of the
world; Europe would now enjoy the advantages of a new system, and we
should have received the benedictions of mankind! I have not been so
fortunate as Gengis Khan, with his four sons, each of whom rivalled the
other in zeal for his service. No sooner had I made a man a king, than
he thought himself king _by the grace of God_, so contagious is the use
of the expression. He was then no longer a lieutenant, on whom I could
rely, but another enemy whom I was obliged to guard against. His efforts
were not directed towards seconding me, but towards rendering himself
independent. They all immediately imagined that they were adored and
preferred to me. From that moment I was in their way, I endangered their
existence! Legitimate monarchs would not have behaved differently; would
not have thought themselves more firmly established. Weak-minded men!
who, when I fell, had occasion to convince themselves that the enemy did
not even do them the honour to demand the surrender of their dignities,
or even to allude to it. If they are now put under personal restraint,
if they are subject to vexation, it must proceed, on the part of the
conqueror, from a wish to impose the weight of power, or from the base
motive of gratifying his vengeance. If the members of my family excite a
strong interest amongst mankind, it is because they belong to me and to
the common cause; but assuredly there is not the least danger of any
movement being produced by any of them. Notwithstanding the philosophy
of several of them (for some of them had said, after the fashion of the
chamberlains of the Faubourg St-Germain, that they were _forced_ to
reign,) their fall must have been sensibly felt by them, for they had
soon accommodated themselves to the pleasures and comforts of their
station; they were all really kings. Thanks to my labours, all have
enjoyed the advantages of royalty; I alone have known its cares. I have
all the time carried the world on my shoulders; and this occupation,
after all, is rather fatiguing.
“It will perhaps be asked, why I persisted in erecting states and
kingdoms? The manners and the situation of Europe required it. Every
time that another country was annexed to France, the act added to the
universal alarm which already prevailed, excited loud murmurs, and
diminished the chances of peace. Then why, will it be farther said, did
I indulge in the vanity of placing every member of my family on a
throne? (for the generality of people must have thought me actuated by
vanity alone:) why did I not rather fix my choice upon private
individuals possessing greater abilities? To this I reply that it is not
with thrones as with the functions of a prefect; talents and abilities
are so common in the present age, among the multitude, that one must be
cautious to avoid awakening the idea of competition. In the agitation in
which we were involved, and with our modern institutions, it was proper
to think rather of consolidating and concentrating the hereditary right
of succession, in order to avoid innumerable feuds, factions, and
misfortunes. If there was any fault in my person and my elevation,
consistently with the plan of universal harmony which I meditated for
the repose and happiness of all, it was that I had risen at once from
the multitude. I felt that I stood insulated and alone, and I cast out
anchors on all sides into the sea around me. Where could I more
naturally look for support than amongst my own relations? Could I expect
more from strangers? And it must be admitted that if the members of my
family have had the folly to break through these sacred ties, the
morality of the people, superior to their blind infatuation, fulfilled
in part my object. With them their subjects thought themselves more
quiet, more united as in one family.
“To resume: acts of that importance were not to be considered lightly;
they were involved in considerations of the highest order; they were
connected with the tranquillity of mankind, the possibility of
ameliorating its condition. If, notwithstanding all these measures,
taken with the best intentions, it seems that no permanent good has been
effected, we must admit the truth of this great maxim, that to govern is
very difficult for those who wish to do it conscientiously.”
The following letter, of a very old date, will serve to throw great
light upon the words of Napoleon, mentioned a few pages back, respecting
the conduct of his brother in Holland.
At a later period, King Louis published a sort of account of his
administration, addressed to the Dutch nation; it is particularly
interesting, after having read the above paragraph and the accompanying
letter, to take up that document of King Louis, in order to be able to
form an opinion on the subject founded on a due knowledge of all the
circumstances.
“_Castle of Marach, 3d April, 1808._
“Sir and brother.—The auditor D——t delivered to me an hour ago your
despatch, dated 22d March. I send a courier who will take this letter to
you in Holland.
“The use you have just made of the privilege of mercy cannot but produce
a very bad effect. This privilege is one of the finest and noblest
attributes of the sovereign power. In order not to bring it into
discredit, it must be used only in cases when the royal clemency is not
detrimental to the ends of justice, or when it is calculated to leave an
impression of being the result of generous feelings. The present case is
that of a number of banditti, who attacked and murdered several
custom-house officers, with the intention of smuggling afterwards
without interruption. These people are condemned to death; and your
Majesty extends the royal mercy to them ... to a set of murderers, to
men whom nobody can pity. If they had been caught in the act of
smuggling; if, in defending themselves, they had killed some of the
officers, then you might perhaps have taken into consideration the
situation of their families, and their own; and have shewn an example of
a kind of paternal feeling, by modifying the severity of the law, by a
commutation of punishment. It is in cases of condemnation for offences
against the revenue laws, it is more particularly in cases of
condemnation for political offences, that clemency is well applied. In
these matters the principle is that, if it is the Sovereign who is
attacked, there is a certain magnanimity in pardoning the offender. On
the first report of an affair of that kind, the sympathy of the public
is immediately excited in favour of the offender, and not of him who is
to inflict the punishment. If the Prince remits the sentence, the people
consider him superior to the offence, and the public clamour is directed
against those who have offended him. If he follows the opposite system,
he is thought vindictive and tyrannical. If he pardons atrocious crimes,
he is looked upon as weak, or actuated by bad intentions.
“Do not fancy that the privilege of mercy can always be used without
danger, and that society will always commend the exercise of it in the
Sovereign. The Sovereign is blamed when he applies it in favour of
murderers or great malefactors, because it then becomes injurious to the
interests of the community. You have too frequently, and on too many
occasions, extended the royal mercy. The kindness of your heart must not
be listened to when it can become prejudicial to your people. In the
affair of the Jews, I should have done as you did; but in that of the
smugglers of Middelburg, I should not have pardoned on any account. Many
reasons ought to have induced you to let justice take its course, and
give the example of an execution which would have produced the excellent
effect of preventing many crimes by the terror which it would have
inspired. Public officers are murdered in the middle of the night—the
murderers are condemned. Your Majesty commutes the punishment of death
into a few years’ imprisonment! How much will this not tend to
dishearten all the persons employed in the collection of your revenue!
The political effect produced by it is also very bad, for the following
reasons:—Holland was the channel through which England had, for many
years, introduced her goods on the Continent. The Dutch merchants have
made immense profits by this trade; and that is the reason why the Dutch
nation is partial to England, and fond of smuggling, and why it hates
France, who forbids smuggling and opposes England. The mercy which you
have extended to these smugglers and murderers is a kind of compliment
which you have paid to the taste of the Dutch for smuggling. You appear
to make common cause with them,—and against whom? Against me.
“The Dutch love you: your disposition is amiable, your manners are
unaffected, and you govern them according to their inclination; but you
would make a beneficial use of the influence you possess if you shewed
yourself positively determined to suppress smuggling, and if you opened
their eyes to their real interests: they would then think that the
system of prohibition is good, since it is observed by the King. I
cannot see what advantage your Majesty can derive from a species of
popularity which you would acquire at my expense. Certainly Holland is
no longer what it was at the time of the treaty of Ryswick; and France
is not in the situation in which it was placed during the last years of
the reign of Louis XIV. If, therefore, Holland is unable to follow a
system of policy independent of that of France, it must fulfil the
conditions of the alliance.
“It is not to the present alone that sovereigns must accommodate their
policy; the future must also be the object of their consideration. What
is at this moment the situation of Europe? On one side, England, who
possesses, by her sole exertions, a dominion to which the whole world
has been hitherto compelled to submit. On the other side, the French
Empire and the Continental States, which, strengthened by the union of
their powers, cannot acquiesce in this supremacy exercised by England.
Those states had also their colonies and a maritime trade; they possess
an extent of coast much greater than England; but they have become
disunited, and England has attacked the naval power of each separately:
England has triumphed on every sea, and all navies have been destroyed.
Russia, Sweden, France, and Spain, which possess such ample means for
having ships and sailors, dare not venture to send a squadron out of
their ports. It is, therefore, no longer from a confederation amongst
the maritime powers—a confederation which it would be besides impossible
to maintain, on account of the distance, and of the interference of the
various interests of each with those of the others—that Europe can
expect its maritime emancipation, and a system of peace, which can be
established only by the will of England.
“I wish for peace; I wish to obtain it by every means compatible with
the dignity of the power of France; at the expense of every sacrifice
which our national honour can allow. Every day I feel more and more that
peace is necessary; and the sovereigns of the Continent are as anxious
for peace as I am. I feel no passionate prejudice against England; I
bear her no insurmountable hatred: she has followed against me a system
of repulsion; I have adopted against her the Continental system, not so
much from a jealousy of ambition, as my enemies suppose, but in order to
reduce England to the necessity of adjusting our differences. Let
England be rich and prosperous; it is no concern of mine, provided
France and her allies enjoy the same advantages.
“The Continental system has, therefore, no other object than to advance
the moment when the public rights of Europe and of the French Empire
will be definitively established. The sovereigns of the North observe
and enforce strictly the system of prohibition, and their trade has been
greatly benefited by it: the manufactures of Prussia may now compete
with ours. You are aware that France, and the whole extent of coast
which now forms part of the Empire, from the Gulf of Lyons to the
extremity of the Adriatic, are strictly closed against the produce of
foreign industry. I am about to adopt a measure with respect to the
affairs of Spain, the result of which will be to wrest Portugal from
England, and subject all the coasts of Spain, on both seas, to the
influence of the policy of France. The coasts of the whole of Europe
will then be closed against England, with the exception of those of
Turkey, which I do not care about, as the Turks do not trade with
Europe.
“Do you not perceive, from this statement, the fatal consequences that
would result from the facilities given by Holland to the English for the
introduction of their goods on the continent? They would enable England
to levy upon us the subsidies which she would afterwards offer to other
powers to fight against us. Your Majesty is as much interested as I am
to guard against the crafty policy of the English Cabinet. A few years
more, and England will wish for peace as much as we do. Observe the
situation of your kingdom, and you will see that the system I allude to
is more useful to yourself than it is to me. Holland is a maritime and
commercial power; she possesses fine sea-ports, fleets, sailors, skilful
commanders, and colonies, which do not cost any thing to the
mother-country; and her inhabitants understand trade as well as the
English. Has not Holland, therefore, an interest in defending all those
advantages? May not peace restore her to the station she formerly held?
Granted that her situation may be painful for a few years; but is not
this preferable to making the King of Holland a mere governor for
England, and Holland and her colonies a vassal of Great Britain? Yet the
protection which you would afford to English commerce would lead to that
result. The examples of Sicily and Portugal are still before your eyes.
“Await the result of the progress of time. You want to sell your
spirits, and England wants to buy them. Point out the place where the
English smugglers may come and fetch them; but let them pay for them in
money and never in goods, _positively never!_ Peace must at last be
made; and you will then conclude a treaty of commerce with England. I
may perhaps also make one with her, but in which our mutual interests
shall be reciprocally guaranteed. If we must allow England to exercise a
kind of supremacy on the sea, a supremacy which she will have purchased
at the expense of her treasure and her blood, and which is the natural
consequence of her geographical position and of her possessions in the
three other parts of the globe; at least our flags will be at liberty to
appear on the ocean without being exposed to insult, and our maritime
trade will cease to be ruinous. For the present we must direct our
efforts towards preventing England from interfering in the affairs of
the Continent.
“I have been led on, from the consideration of the mercy which you have
granted, to the above details, and I have entered into them because I
feared that your Dutch Ministers may impress your Majesty’s mind with
false notions.
“I wish you to reflect seriously upon the contents of this letter, and
to render the different subjects it treats upon objects of the
deliberations of your councils, in order that your Ministers may give a
proper direction and tendency to their measures. Under no pretence
whatever will France allow Holland to separate herself from the
Continental system.
“With respect to these smugglers, since the fault has been committed, it
cannot be undone. I advise you, however, not to leave them in the prison
of Middelburg; it is too near the spot where the crime was perpetrated:
send them to the remotest part of Holland. The present having no other
object, &c.
(Signed) “Napoleon.”
During dinner the Emperor asked his groom how his horse was; the groom
answered that it was well fed, in good spirits, and in excellent
condition. “I hope he does not complain of me,” said the Emperor, “if
ever horse led the life of a canon, it is assuredly this.” It is now two
or three months since the Emperor was on horseback.
ZEAL FOR WORKING.—IDEAS AND PLANS OF NAPOLEON RESPECTING OUR HISTORY,
&C.—ON THE WORKS PUBLISHED, &C.—M. MÉNÉVAL; CURIOUS PARTICULARS.
25th—27th. The Emperor for some days past has been remarkably assiduous.
All our mornings have been spent in making researches concerning Egypt,
in the works of the ancient authors. We have looked over Herodotus,
Pliny, Strabo, &c., together, without any other intermission than that
which we required to eat our breakfast, which was served on his small
table. The weather continued unfavourable, and the Emperor dictated
every day and the whole day.
At dinner he told us that he found himself much better, and we then
observed to him that for some time past, however, he had not been out of
the house, and was occupied eight, ten, or twelve hours a day. “That is
the very reason of my being better,” said he: “occupation is my element;
I was born and made for it. I have found the limits beyond which I could
not use my legs; I have seen the extent to which I could use my eyes;
but I have never known any bounds to my capability of application. I
nearly killed poor Ménéval; I was obliged to relieve him for a time from
the duties of his situation, and place him for the recovery of his
health near the person of Maria Louisa, where his post was a mere
sinecure.”
The Emperor added that, if he were in Europe and had leisure, his
pleasure would be to write history. He complained of the very
indifferent manner in which history was written every where. The
researches in which he had lately been engaged had proved this fact to
him to a degree beyond any thing he could ever have suspected.
“We have no good history,” observed he, “and we could not have any; and
the other nations of Europe are nearly in the same predicament as
ourselves. Monks and privileged persons, that is to say, men friendly to
abuses and inimical to information and learning, monopolized this branch
of writing; they told us what they thought proper, or rather that which
favoured their interests, gratified their passions, or agreed with their
own views!—He had formed,” he said, “a plan for remedying the evil as
much as possible; he intended, for instance, to appoint commissions from
the Institute, or learned men whom public opinion might have pointed out
to him, to revise, criticize, and re-publish our annals. He wished also
to add commentaries to the classic authors which are put in the hands of
our youth, to explain them with reference to our modern institutions.
With a good programme, competition, and rewards, this end would have
been accomplished; every thing,” he said, “can be obtained by such
means.”
He then repeated, what I believe I have mentioned before, that it had
been his intention to cause the history of the last reigns of our kings
to be written from the original documents in the archives of our Foreign
Office. There were also several manuscripts, both ancient and modern, in
the Imperial Library, which he intended to have printed, classifying and
embodying them under their different heads, so as to form codes of
doctrine on science, morality, literature, fine arts, &c.
He had, he said, several other plans of a similar nature. And could any
other period be found equally favourable to the execution of such plans?
When will there be again united in the same man the genius to conceive
and the power to execute them?
In order to check the production of the immense number of inferior works
with which the public was inundated, without however trenching upon the
liberty of the press, he asked what objection there could have been to
the formation of a tribunal of opinion, composed of members of the
Institute, members of the University, and persons appointed by the
government, who would have examined all works with reference to these
three points of view, science, morality, and politics; who would have
criticized them, and defined the degree of merit possessed by each. This
tribunal would have been the light of the public; it would have operated
as a warranty in favour of works of real merit, insured their success,
and thus produced emulation; whilst, on the contrary, it would
necessarily have discouraged the publication of inferior productions.
All our evenings were devoted to the Odyssey, with which we are
delighted. Polyphemus, Tiresias, and the Syrens, have quite charmed us.
The following details relate to M. Ménéval, to whom the Emperor alluded
above; they will be considered invaluable, as they will serve to exhibit
Napoleon in the sphere of his private life.
The Emperor, when First Consul, complained that he had no Secretary. He
had just dismissed the one he had had during the campaigns of Italy and
the expedition in Egypt; he was an old college acquaintance of the
Emperor’s, a man full of intelligence, and to whom he was very much
attached; but he had been obliged to part with him. His brother Joseph
then offered him his own secretary, whom he had only had for a short
time: Napoleon accepted the offer, and acquired a treasure. This the
Emperor has repeated several times since. It was Ménéval, whom he has
since made a baron, _Maître des Requêtes_, and _Secrétaire des
Commandemens_ to the Empress Maria Louisa.
Ménéval’s title, when attached to the First Consul, was Secretary of the
Portfolio; a long regulation was even made expressly regarding him; the
principal article of which was that he should never, under any pretence
whatever, have a secretary, or employ an amanuensis; which condition was
strictly observed.
M. Ménéval was a man of gentle and reserved manners, very discreet,
working at all times and at all hours. The Emperor never had reason to
be dissatisfied or displeased with him, and was very much attached to
him. The Secretary of the Portfolio had generally all the current
business, all affairs that arose on a sudden emergency, or from a sudden
thought. How many affairs, plans, and conceptions, have been discussed
and transmitted through his medium! He opened and read all letters
addressed to the Emperor; classed them for the Emperor’s examination,
and wrote under his dictation.
The Emperor dictated so fast that, most frequently, in order to save
time, the Secretary was obliged to endeavour to recollect the words,
rather than attempt to write them down at the moment they were
pronounced. In this, Ménéval particularly excelled. In the course of
time, Ménéval was authorized himself to return answers on many subjects.
He might easily have acquired great influence; but it was not in his
disposition to seek to obtain it.
The Emperor was almost always in his closet; it might be said that he
spent the whole day and part of the night in it. He usually went to bed
at ten or eleven o’clock, and rose again about twelve, to work for a few
hours more. Sometimes he sent for M. Ménéval, but most frequently he did
not; and, aware of his zeal, he would sometimes say to him, “You must
not kill yourself.”
When the Emperor went into his closet in the morning, he found bundles
of papers already arranged and prepared for him by Ménéval, who had been
there before him. If the Emperor sometimes allowed twenty-four hours, or
two days, to elapse without going into it, his Secretary would remind
him of it, and tell him that he would suffer himself to be overwhelmed
with the mass of papers that were accumulating, and that the closet
would soon be full of them. To this the Emperor usually answered
good-humouredly: “Do not alarm yourself, it will soon be cleared;” and
so indeed it was, for in a few hours the Emperor had despatched all the
answers, and was even with the current business. It is true that he got
through a great deal by not answering many things, and throwing away all
that he considered useless, even when coming from his Ministers. To this
they were accustomed; and when no answer appeared they knew what it
meant. He himself read all letters that were addressed to him; to some
he answered by writing a few words in the margin, and to others he
dictated an answer. Those that were of great importance were always put
by, read a second time, and not answered until some time had elapsed.
When leaving his closet, he generally recapitulated those affairs that
were of the greatest consequence, and fixed the hour at which they must
be ready for him, which was always punctually attended to. If at that
hour the Emperor did not come, M. Ménéval followed him about from place
to place through the palace to remind him of it. On some of these
occasions the Emperor would go and settle the affair, at other times he
would say, “To-morrow; night is a good adviser.” This was his usual
phrase; and he often said that he had indeed worked much harder at night
than during the day; not that thoughts of business prevented him from
sleeping, but because he slept at intervals, according as he wanted
rest, and a little sufficed for him.
It often happened that the Emperor, in the course of his campaigns, was
roused suddenly upon some emergency; he would then immediately get up,
and it would have been impossible to guess from the appearance of his
eyes that he had just been asleep. He then gave his decision, or
dictated his answer, with as much clearness, and with his mind as free
and unembarrassed, as at any other moment. This he called the
_after-midnight presence of mind_; and he possessed it in a most
extraordinary degree. It has sometimes happened that he has been perhaps
called up as often as ten times in the same night, and each time he was
always found to have fallen asleep again, not having as yet taken his
quantum of rest.
Boasting one day to one of his ministers (General Clarke) of the faculty
which he possessed of sleeping almost at pleasure and how little rest he
required, Clarke answered in a jocular tone, “Yes, Sire, and that is a
source of torment to us, for it is often at our expense; we come in for
our share of it sometimes.”
The Emperor did every thing himself and through the medium of his
Cabinet. He appointed to all vacant situations, and most frequently
substituted new names to those of the persons proposed to him. He read
the plans of his Ministers, adopted, rejected, or modified them. He even
indited the notes of his Minister for Foreign Affairs, which he dictated
to Ménéval, from whom he kept no secret. It was through Ménéval also
that he wrote to the different sovereigns; in addressing whom he
observed a formula which he had had drawn up from the reports of former
times, and to the strict observance of which he attached great
importance. All the Ministers transacted business with the Emperor
together on one day of the week, appointed for that purpose, unless
something occurred to prevent it. The business of each Minister was
transacted in the presence of all the others, who were allowed to give
their opinions respecting it, and each of them thus emptied his
portfolio. A register was kept of the deliberations, of which there must
be many volumes. Those documents that had been decided on were left to
have the signature affixed to them, which was done through the medium of
the Minister Secretary of State, who countersigned them. Sometimes some
of these papers, after they had been thus decided on, were still sent to
the Emperor’s cabinet to be revised and modified before the signature
was put to them. The Minister for Foreign Affairs was the only one who,
independently of his share in the general business transacted by the
other Ministers, had besides, from the secret nature of his functions,
other business to despatch in private with the Emperor.
One of the favourite aides-de-camp of the Emperor was entrusted with all
that related to the _personnel_ of the war-department. For a long time
Duroc occupied this confidential post; afterwards Bertrand and
Lauriston; Count Lobau was the last who filled it.
M. Ménéval, being in a very indifferent state of health, worn down by
fatigue from application, and requiring some interval of repose, the
Emperor gave him a situation in the household of the Empress Maria
Louisa, which was, he said, quite a sinecure. However, the Emperor only
parted with him on condition that he should come back to him as soon as
he was well; and he never failed to remind him of it every time he saw
him.
After Ménéval’s retirement, the business of the Emperor’s cabinet ceased
to be conducted by one person only; Ménéval had a great many successors
at the same moment, and the cabinet became a kind of office, in which
several persons were employed. One of these persons, whom the Emperor
had taken on the recommendation of others who had thought they could
answer for him as for themselves, received an order, at the time of the
disasters of 1814, to burn the documents that were in the closet; but,
instead of obeying this order, he so far forgot his duty as to take them
away with him: and, after the King’s restoration, he wrote to one of his
Ministers to offer them to him. The Emperor found the proof of his
treachery amongst the papers left at the Tuileries at the period of the
20th of March; and one morning having gone into his closet before any
body was come, he wrote several times on a piece of paper, as if he had
been trying his pen, _Such a one (naming him) is a traitor_—_Such a one
is a traitor_; and laid it on the table where sat one of those who had
recommended him, and who was himself, said the Emperor, a man on whose
zeal and fidelity every reliance could be placed. This was the only
reproach he ever addressed to him, and the only revenge he ever
exercised on the offender.
Several traces may therefore still be found, and several documents must
exist, of the business transacted in the Emperor’s cabinet. Some of
these documents have been alluded to in the debates of the British
Parliament; but Napoleon solemnly declared, on his return at the period
of the 20th of March last, that these documents had been falsified. And
they are not the only documents that are left of that ever-memorable
administration.
There must be twenty or thirty folio volumes, and as many in quarto,
containing the correspondence of the campaigns of Italy and of Egypt,
collected and regularly classed.
There must be also about sixty or eighty folio volumes of the
deliberations of the Council Ministers, collected by the Secretaries of
State, the Duke of Bassano and Count Daru; and lastly, the minutes of
the sittings of the Council of State, written and arranged by M. Locré.
These are real and proud titles of glory for Napoleon. Upon these
immortal monuments, all subsequent governments have modelled and
directed their administration; and from them all future governments, of
every country, will henceforth inevitably seek and derive information:
so sure and solid have been the foundations which he has laid—so
judiciously placed the landmarks—so deep are the roots—so much, in one
word, does the whole bear the stamp of genius, and the character of
rectitude and of duration.
OBSERVATIONS OF THE EMPEROR CONCERNING MY WIFE.—DICTATION OF THE EMPEROR
FOR ANOTHER PORTION OF HIS MEMOIRS.
28th.—The Emperor to-day availed himself of an interval of fine weather
to take two turns in the calash: he said he wanted a little jolting. His
left cheek was still swelled. About three o’clock he returned; and, a
short time afterwards, having nothing to do, he sent for me, and we
walked round the garden for some time. Having perceived the Doctor, he
beckoned to him. The Doctor came up to us, and from him Napoleon heard
that the Russian and Austrian Commissioners had come the day before to
the entrance to Longwood, from which they had been turned away by the
centry placed by the Governor.
When we were alone, the Emperor, after having conversed upon a variety
of subjects, spoke of my wife, conjecturing what she might be doing,
what had become of her, &c.
“There is no doubt,” said he, presently afterwards, “that your situation
at St. Helena inspires a lively interest, and must tend to cause your
wife’s company to be sought after. Every thing relating to me is still
dear to many persons. From this rock I still bestow crowns!... Yes, my
dear friends, when you return to Europe, you will find yourselves
crowned!”
Then, speaking again of my wife, he said, with an expression of the
utmost kindness, “The best thing she could do would be to go and spend
the time of her separation from you with Madame, or some other members
of my family. They would undoubtedly feel much pleasure in taking care
of her,” &c.
When we went back into the house, the Emperor sat down to work. The
Campaign of Italy was nearly finished but he provided me with a new
subject.
“_Note, write_:”—These were the words which the Emperor uttered abruptly
when a new idea occurred. What follows is literally what he dictated to
me, in this instance: nothing has been altered in it, and he has never
read it over.
“Note.—The Campaign of Italy being completed, Las Cases will, in the
course of a week, undertake the period from the breaking of the treaty
of Amiens to the battle of Jena. In 1802 all Europe is at peace; shortly
afterwards all Europe begins war: the Republic is changed, and becomes
the Empire; the maritime question becomes the chief cause of the rupture
of the peace of Amiens.
“Las Cases will begin by causing extracts to be made from the Moniteur
of that time, by little Emanuel, under his directions: he must get
through at least six or seven a-day, which will make one hundred and
eighty, or a period of six months in one month.—There must be at least a
period of six months extracted before we begin.
“The periods preceding and following that period will be prepared and
arranged by the other gentlemen. In making the extracts, the plan
already prescribed to M. Montholon must be followed; that is, of
extracting all that relates to one event, and referring to the page and
month.
_The following will be the great events of this period_:—
“1st, History of the flotilla.
“2d, Declaration of Austria.
“3d, Movements of the fleets.
“4th, Battle of Trafalgar.
“5th, Ulm—Austerlitz.
“6th, Peace of Vienna.
“7th, Negotiation of Lord Lauderdale at Paris.
“8th, Battle of Jena.
“_To be inserted in their respective places_:—
“1st, Conspiracy of Georges.
“2d, Affair of the Duc d’Enghien.
“3d, Coronation of the Emperor, by the Pope.
“4th, Imperial organization.
“This will be one of the most glorious periods of the history of France;
for it exhibits, in the space of one year, on one side a Pope coming to
France to crown an Emperor,—an event which had not taken place for one
thousand years before; and, on the other, the French flag waving over
the capitals of Austria and Prussia, the Roman empire dissolved, and the
Prussian monarchy destroyed.”
I take pleasure in transcribing literally the above dictation of the
Emperor’s, with his first ideas and in his first words, in order to shew
his style and manner.
It will be easily conceived with what zeal and ardour both my son and
myself devoted ourselves to this our task, the importance of which we
fully appreciated. We had not yet completed the analysis of our six
months, when I was torn from Longwood.