The day preceding the Emperor's fete, or the day following, the colossal
bronze statue which was to be placed on the monument in the Place Vendome
was removed from the studio of M. Launay. The brewers of the Faubourg
Saint-Antoine offered their handsomest horses to draw the chariot on
which the statue was carried, and twelve were selected, one from each
brewer; and as their masters requested the privilege of riding them,
nothing could be more singular than this cortege, which arrived on the
Place Vendome at five o'clock in the evening, followed by an immense
crowd, amid cries of "Vive l'Empereur." A few days before his Majesty's
departure for Erfurt, the Emperor with the Empress and their households
played prisoner's base for the last time. It was in the evening; and
footmen bore lighted torches, and followed the players when they went
beyond the reach of the light. The Emperor fell once while trying to
catch the Empress, and was taken prisoner; but he soon broke bounds and
began to run again, and when he was free, carried off Josephine in spite
of the protests of the players; and thus ended the last game of
prisoner's base that I ever saw the Emperor play.
It had been decided that the Emperor Alexander and the Emperor Napoleon
should meet at Erfurt on the 27th of September; and most of the
sovereigns forming the Confederation of the Rhine had been invited to be
present at this interview, which it was intended should be both
magnificent and imposing. Consequently the Duke of Frioul, grand marshal
of the palace, sent M. de Canouville, marshal of lodgings of the palace,
M. de Beausset, prefect of the palace, and two quartermasters to prepare
at Erfurt lodgings for all these illustrious visitors, and to organize
the grand marshal's service.
The government palace was chosen for the Emperor Napoleon's lodgings, as
on account of its size it perfectly suited the Emperor's intention of
holding his court there; for the Emperor Alexander, the residence of M.
Triebel was prepared, the handsomest in the town; and for S. A. L, the
Grand Duke Constantine, that of Senator Remann. Other residences were
reserved for the Princes of the Confederation and the persons of their
suite; and a detachment of all branches of the service of the Imperial
household was established in each of these different lodgings.
There had been sent from the storehouse of the crown a large quantity of
magnificent furniture, carpets and tapestry, both Gobelin and la
Savonnerie; bronzes, lusters, candelabras, girondoles, Sevres china; in
fine, everything which could contribute to the luxurious furnishing of
the two Imperial palaces, and those which were to be occupied by the
other sovereigns; and a crowd of workmen came from Paris. General
Oudinot was appointed Governor of Erfurt, and had under his orders the
First regiment of hussars, the Sixth of cuirassiers, and the Seventeenth
of light infantry, which the major-general had appointed to compose the
garrison. Twenty select police, with a battalion chosen from the finest
grenadiers of the guard, were put on duty at the Imperial palaces.
The Emperor, who sought by every means to render this interview at Erfurt
as agreeable as possible to the sovereigns for whom he had conceived an
affection at Tilsit, wished to have the masterpieces of the French stage
played in their honor. This was the amusement most worthy of them that
he could procure, so he gave orders that the theater should be
embellished and repaired. M. Dazincourt was appointed director of the
theater, and set out from Paris with Messieurs Talma, Lafon, Saint-Prix,
Damas, Despres, Varennes, Lacave; Mesdames Duchesnoir, Raucourt, Talma,
Bourgoin, Rose Dupuis, Grosand, and Patrat; and everything was in order
before the arrival of the sovereigns.
Napoleon disliked Madame Talma exceedingly, although she displayed most
remarkable talent, and this aversion was well known, although I could
never discover the cause; and no one was willing to be first to place her
name on the list of those selected to go to Erfurt, but M. Talma made so
many entreaties that at last consent was given. And then occurred what
everybody except M. Talma and his wife had foreseen, that the Emperor,
having seen her play once, was much provoked that she had been allowed to
come, and had her name struck from the list.
Mademoiselle Bourgoin, who was at that time young and extremely pretty,
had at first more success; but it was necessary, in order to accomplish
this, that she should conduct herself differently from Madame Talma. As
soon as she appeared at the theater of Erfurt she excited the admiration,
and became the object of the attentions, of all the illustrious
spectators; and this marked preference gave rise to jealousies, which
delighted her greatly, and which she increased to the utmost of her
ability by every means in her power. When she was not playing, she took
her seat in the theater magnificently dressed, whereupon all looks were
bent on her, and distracted from the stage, to the very great displeasure
of the actors, until the Emperor at last perceived these frequent
distractions, and put an end to them by forbidding Mademoiselle Bourgoin
to appear in the theater except on the stage.
This measure, which was very wisely taken by his Majesty, put him in the
bad graces of Mademoiselle Bourgoin; and another incident added still
more to the displeasure of the actress. The two sovereigns attended the
theater together almost every evening, and the Emperor Alexander thought
Mademoiselle Bourgoin charming. She was aware of this, and tried by
every means to increase the monarch's devotion. One day at last the
amorous Czar confided to the Emperor his feelings for Mademoiselle
Bourgoin. "I do not advise you to make any advances," said the Emperor
Napoleon. "You think that she would refuse me?"--"Oh, no; but to-morrow
is the day for the post, and in five days all Paris would know all about
your Majesty from head to foot." These words singularly cooled the ardor
of the autocrat, who thanked the Emperor for his advice, and said to him,
"But from the manner in which your Majesty speaks, I should be tempted to
believe that you bear this charming actress some ill-will."--"No, in
truth," replied the Emperor, "I do not know anything about her." This
conversation took place in his bedroom during the toilet. Alexander left
his Majesty perfectly convinced, and Mademoiselle Bourgoin ceased her
ogling and her assurance.
His Majesty made his entrance into Erfurt on the morning of the 27th of
September, 1808. The King of Saxony, who had arrived first, followed by
the Count de Marcolini, the Count de Haag, and the Count de Boze, awaited
the Emperor at the foot of the stairs in the governor's palace; after
them came the members of the Regency and the municipality of Erfurt, who
congratulated him in the usual form. After a short rest, the Emperor
mounted his horse, and left Erfurt by the gate of Weimar, making, in
passing, a visit to the King of Saxony, and found outside the city the
whole garrison arranged in line of battle,--the grenadiers of the guard
commanded by M. d'Arquies; the First regiment of hussars by M. de Juniac;
the Seventeenth infantry by M. de Cabannes-Puymisson; and the Sixth
cuirassiers, the finest body of men imaginable, by Colonel
d'Haugeranville. The Emperor reviewed these troops, ordered a change in
some dispositions, and then continued on his way to meet the Emperor
Alexander.
The latter had set out from Saint Petersburg on the 17th of September;
and the King and Queen of Prussia awaited him at Koenigsberg, where he
arrived on the 18th. The Duke of Montebello had the honor of receiving
him at Bromberg amid a salute of twenty-one cannon. Alighting from his
carriage, the Emperor Alexander mounted his horse, accompanied by the
Marshals of the Empire, Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, and Lannes, Duke of
Montebello, and set off at a gallop to meet the Nansouty division, which
awaited him arranged in line of battle. He was welcomed by a new salute,
and by oft repeated cries of "Long live the Emperor Alexander." The
monarch, while reviewing the different corps which formed this fine
division, said to the officers, "I think it a great honor, messieurs, to
be amongst such brave men and splendid soldiers."
By orders of Marshal Soult, who simply executed those given by Napoleon,
relays of the post had been arranged on all the roads which the Monarch
of the North would pass over, and they were forbidden to receive any
compensation. At each relay were escorts of dragoons or light cavalry,
who rendered military honors to the Czar as he passed.
After having dined with the generals of the Nansouty division, the
Emperor of Russia re-entered his carriage, a barouche with two seats, and
seated the Duke of Montebello beside him, who afterwards told me with how
many marks of esteem and kind feeling the Emperor overwhelmed him during
the journey, even arranging the marshal's cloak around his shoulders
while he was asleep.
His Imperial Russian Majesty arrived at Weimar the evening of the 26th,
and next day continued his journey to Erfurt, escorted by Marshal Soult,
his staff, and the superior officers of the Nansouty division, who had
not left him since he had started from Bromberg, and met Napoleon a
league and a half from Erfurt, to which place the latter had come on
horseback for this purpose.
The moment the Czar perceived the Emperor, he left his carriage, and
advanced towards his Majesty, who had also alighted from his horse. They
embraced each other with the affection of two college friends who meet
again after a long absence; then both mounted their horses, as did also
the Grand Duke Constantine, and passing at a gallop in front of the
regiments, all of which presented arms at their approach, entered the
town, while the troops, with an immense crowd collected from twenty
leagues around, made the air resound with their acclamations. The
Emperor of Russia wore on entering Erfurt the grand decoration of the
Legion of Honor, and the Emperor of the French that of Saint Andrew of
Russia; and the two sovereigns during their stay continued to show each
other these marks of mutual deference, and it was also remarked that in
his palace the Emperor always gave the right to Alexander. On the
evening of his arrival, by his Majesty's invitation, Alexander gave the
countersign to the grand marshal, and it was afterwards given alternately
by the two sovereigns.
They went first to the palace of Russia, where they remained an hour; and
later, when Alexander came to return the visit of the Emperor, he
received him at the foot of the staircase, and accompanied him when he
left as far as the entrance of the grand hall. At six o'clock the two
sovereigns dined at his Majesty's residence, and it was the same each
day. At nine o'clock the Emperor escorted the Emperor of Russia to his
palace; and they then held a private conversation, which continued more
than an hour, and in the evening the whole city was illuminated. The day
after his arrival the Emperor received at his levee the officers of the
Czar's household, and granted them the grand entry during the rest of
their Stay.
The two sovereigns gave to each other proofs of the most sincere
friendship and most confidential intimacy. The Emperor Alexander almost
every morning entered his Majesty's bedroom, and conversed freely with
him. One day he was examining the Emperor's dressing-case in silver
gilt, which cost six thousand francs, and was most conveniently arranged
and beautifully carved by the goldsmith Biennais, and admired it
exceedingly. As soon as he had gone, the Emperor ordered me to have a
dressing-case sent to the Czar's palace exactly similar to that which had
just been received from Paris.
Another time the Emperor Alexander remarked on the elegance and
durability of his Majesty's iron bedstead; and the very next day by his
Majesty's orders, conveyed by me, an exactly similar bed was set up in
the room of the Emperor of Russia, who was delighted with these polite
attentions, and two days after, as an evidence of his satisfaction,
ordered M. de Remusat to hand me two handsome diamond rings.
The Czar one day made his toilet in the Emperor's room, and I assisted.
I took from the Emperor's linen a white cravat and cambric handkerchief,
which I handed him, and for which he thanked me most graciously; he was
an exceedingly gentle, good, amiable prince, and extremely polite.
There was an exchange of presents between these illustrious sovereigns.
Alexander made the Emperor a present of three superb pelisses of martin-
sable, one of which the Emperor gave to his sister Pauline, another to
the Princess de Ponte-Corvo; and the third he had lined with green velvet
and ornamented with gold lace, and it was this cloak which he constantly
wore in Russia. The history of the one which I carried from him to the
Princess Pauline is singular enough to be related here, although it may
have been already told.
The Princess Pauline showed much pleasure in receiving the Emperor's
present, and enjoyed displaying her cloak for the admiration of the
household. One day, when she was in the midst of a circle of ladies, to
whom she was dilating on the quality and excellence of this fur, M. de
Canouville arrived, and the princess asked his opinion of the present she
had received from the Emperor. The handsome colonel not appearing as
much struck with admiration as she expected, she was somewhat piqued, and
exclaimed, "What, monsieur, you do not think it exquisite?"--
"No, madame."--"In order to punish you I wish you to keep this cloak; I
give it to you, and require you to wear it; I wish it, you understand."
It is probable that there had been some disagreement between her Imperial
highness and her protege, and the princess had seized the first means of
establishing peace; but however that may be, M. de Canouville needed
little entreaty, and the rich fur was carried to his house. A few days
after, while the Emperor was holding a review on the Place du Carrousel,
M, de Canouville appeared on an unruly horse, which he had great
difficulty in controlling. This caused some confusion, and attracted his
Majesty's attention, who, glancing at M. de Canouville, saw the cloak
which he had given his sister metamorphosed into a hussar's cape. The
Emperor had great difficulty in controlling his anger. "M. de
Canouville," he cried, in a voice of thunder, "your horse is young, and
his blood is too warm; you will go and cool it in Russia." Three days
after M. de Canouville had left Paris.