Napoleon was accustomed to compare Marie Louise with Josephine,
attributing to the latter all the advantages of art and grace, and to the
former all the charms of simplicity, modesty, and innocence. Sometimes,
however, this simplicity had in it something childish, an instance of
which I received from good authority. The young Empress, thinking
herself sick, consulted M. Corvisart, who, finding that her imagination
alone was at fault, and that she was suffering simply from the
nervousness natural to a young woman, ordered, as his only prescription,
a box of pills composed of bread and sugar, which the Empress was to take
regularly; after doing which Marie Louise found herself better, and
thanked M. Corvisart, who did not think proper, as may well be believed,
to enlighten her as to his little deception. Having been educated in a
German court, and having learned French only from masters, Marie Louise
spoke the language with the difficulty usually found in expressing one's
self in a foreign tongue. Among the awkward expressions she often used,
but which in her graceful mouth were not without a certain charm, the one
which struck me especially, because it often recurred, was this:
"Napoleon qu'est ce que veux-to?" The Emperor showed the deepest
affection for his young wife, and at the same time made her conform to
all the rules of etiquette, to which the Empress submitted with the
utmost grace. In the month of May, 1811, their Majesties made a journey
into the departments of Calvados and La Manche, where they were received
with enthusiasm by all the towns; and the Emperor made his stay at Caen
memorable by his gifts, favors, and acts of benevolence. Many young men
belonging to good families received sub-lieutenancies, and one hundred
and thirty thousand francs were devoted to various charities. From Caen
their Majesties went to Cherbourg. The day after their arrival the
Emperor set out on horseback early in the morning, visited the heights of
the town, and embarked on several vessels, while the populace pressed
around him crying "Vive l'Empereur!" The following day his Majesty held
several Councils, and in the evening visited all the marine buildings,
and descended to the bottom of the basin which is cut out of the solid
rock in order to allow the passage of vessels of the line, and which was
to be covered with fifty-five feet of water. On this brilliant journey
the Empress received her share of the enthusiasm of the inhabitants, and
in return, at the different receptions which took place, gave a graceful
welcome to the authorities of the country. I dwell purposely on these
details, as they prove that joy over the birth of the King of Rome was
not confined to Paris alone, but, on the contrary, the provinces were in
perfect sympathy with the capital.
The return of their Majesties to Paris brought with them a return of
rejoicings and fetes on the occasion of the baptismal ceremony of the
King of Rome, and the fetes by which it was accompanied were celebrated
at Paris with a pomp worthy of their object. They had as spectators the
entire population of Paris, increased by a prodigious crowd of strangers
of every class.
At four o'clock the Senate left its palace; the Council of State, the
Tuileries; the Corps Legislatif, its palace; the Court of Cassation, the
Court of Accounts, the Council of the University, and the Imperial Court,
the ordinary places of their sittings; the municipal corps of Paris and
the deputations from the forty-nine good towns, the Hotel de Ville. On
their arrival at the Metropolitan Church these bodies were placed by the
master of ceremonies with his aides, according to their rank, on the
right and left of the throne, reaching from the choir to the middle of
the nave. The diplomatic corps at five o'clock took their place on the
platform erected for this purpose.
At half-past five cannon announced the departure of their Majesties from
the Tuileries. The Imperial procession was dazzlingly magnificent; the
fine bearing of the troops, the richness and elegance of the carriages,
the brilliant costumes, made up a ravishing spectacle. The acclamations
of the people which resounded on their Majesties' route, the houses hung
with garlands and drapery, the banners streaming from the windows, the
long line of carriages, the trappings and accouterments of which
progressively increased in magnificence, following each other as in the
order of a hierarchy, this immense paraphernalia of a fete which inspired
true feeling and hopes for the future-all this is profoundly engraved on
my memory, and often occupies the long leisure hours of the old servitor
of a family which has disappeared. The baptismal ceremony took place
with unusual pomp and solemnity. After the baptism the Emperor took his
august son in his arms, and presented him to the clergy present.
Immediately the acclamations, which had been repressed till then from
respect to the ceremony and the sanctity of the place, burst forth on all
sides. The prayers being ended, their Majesties, at eight o'clock in the
evening, went to the Hotel de Ville, and were there received by the
municipal corps. A brilliant concert and a sumptuous banquet had been
tendered them by the city of Paris. The decorations of the banquet hall
showed the, arms of the forty-nine good cities, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam,
being placed first, and the forty-six others in alphabetical order.
After the banquet their Majesties took their places in the concert hall;
and at the conclusion of the concert they repaired to the throne room,
where all invited persons formed a circle. The Emperor passed round this
circle, speaking affably, sometimes even familiarly, to most of the
persons who composed it, each of whom responded in the most cordial
manner.
At last, before retiring, their Majesties were invited to pass into the
artificial garden which had been made in the court of the Hotel de Ville,
the decorations of which were very elegant. At the bottom of the garden,
the Tiber was represented by flowing water, the course of which was
directed most artistically, and diffused a refreshing coolness. Their
Majesties left the Hotel de Ville about half-past eleven, and returned to
the Tuileries by the light of most beautiful illuminations and luminous
emblems, designed in most exquisite taste. Perfect weather and a
delightful temperature favored this memorable day.
The aeronaut Garnerin left Paris at half-past six in the evening, and
descended the morning of the next day at Maule, in the department of
Seine-et-Oise. After resting there a short while, he re-entered his
balloon and continued his journey.
The provinces vied in magnificence with the capital in celebrating the
fetes of the birth and baptism of the King of Rome. Every imaginable
device, both in emblems and illuminations, had been made use of in order
to add still more pomp to these fetes; and each town had been governed in
the form of homage it rendered to the new king, either by its
geographical position or by its especial industry. For instance, at
Clermont-Ferrand an immense fire had been lighted at ten o'clock in the
evening on the summit of the Puy-de-Dome, at a height of more than five
thousand feet; and several departments could enjoy during the whole night
this grand and singular sight. In the port of Flushing the vessels were
covered with flags and banners of all colors. In the evening the whole
squadron was illuminated; thousands of lanterns hung from the masts,
yards, and rigging, forming a beautiful scene. Suddenly, at the signal
of a gun fired from the admiral's vessel, all the vessels sent forth at
once tongues of flame, and it seemed as if the most brilliant day
succeeded to the darkest night, outlining magnificently those imposing
masses reflected in the water of the sea as in a glass.
We passed so continually from one fete to another it was almost
confusing. The rejoicings over the baptism were followed by a fete given
by the Emperor in the private park of Saint-Cloud, and from early in the
morning the road from Paris to Saint-Cloud was covered with carriages and
men on foot. The fete took place in the inclosed park and the orangery,
all the boxes of which and the front of the chateau were decorated with
rich hangings, while temples and kiosks rose in the groves, and the whole
avenue of chestnut-trees was hung with garlands of colored glass.
Fountains of barley water and currant wine had been distributed so that
all persons attending the fete might refresh themselves, and tables,
elegantly arranged, had been placed in the walks. The whole park was
illuminated by pots-a-feu concealed among the shrubbery and groups of
trees.
Madame Blanchard had received orders to hold herself in readiness to set
out at half-past nine at a given signal.
At nine o'clock, the balloon being filled, she entered the basket, and
was carried to the end of the basin of the swans, in front of the
chateau; and until the moment of departure she remained in this position,
above the height of the tallest trees, and thus for more than half an
hour could be seen by all the spectators present at the fete. At half-
past nine, a gun fired from the chateau having given the expected signal,
the cords which held the balloon were cut; and immediately the intrepid
aeronaut could be seen rising majestically into the air before the eyes
of the crowd assembled in the throne room. Having arrived at a certain
height, she set off an immense star constructed around the basket, the
center of which she thus occupied; and this star for seven or eight
moments threw from its points and angles numerous other small stars,
producing a most extraordinary effect. It was the first time a woman had
been seen to rise boldly into the air surrounded by fireworks, and she
appeared as if sailing in a chariot of fire at an immense height. I
imagined myself in fairyland.
The whole of the garden which their Majesties traversed presented a view
of which it is impossible to give an idea. The illuminations were
designed in perfect taste; there were a variety of amusements, and
numerous orchestras concealed amid the trees added yet more to the
enchantment. At a given signal three doves flew from the top of a column
surmounted with a vase of flowers, and offered to their Majesties
numerous and most ingenious devices. Farther on German peasants danced
waltzes on a charming lawn, and crowned with flowers the bust of her
Majesty the Empress, and shepherds and nymphs from the opera executed
dances, Finally, a theater had been erected in the midst of the trees, on
which was represented a village fete, a comedy composed by M. Ittienne,
and set to music by Nicolo. The Emperor and Empress were seated under a
dais during this play, when suddenly a heavy shower fell, throwing all
the spectators into commotion. Their Majesties did not notice the rain
at first, protected as they were by the dais, and the Emperor being
engaged in conversation with the mayor of the town of Lyons. The latter
was complaining of the sales of the cloths of that town, when Napoleon,
noticing the frightful rain which was falling, said to this functionary,
"I answer for it that to-morrow you will have large orders."
The Emperor kept his position during most of the storm, while the
courtiers, dressed in silk and velvet, with uncovered heads, received the
rain with a smiling face. The poor musicians, wet to the skin, at last
could no longer draw any sound from their instruments, of which the rain
had snapped or stretched the cords, and it was time to put an end to this
state of affairs. The Emperor gave the signal for departure, and they
retired.
On that day Prince Aldobrandini, who in his quality of first equerry of
Marie Louise accompanied the Empress, was very happy to find and borrow
an umbrella in order to shelter Marie Louise; but there was much
dissatisfaction in the group where this borrowing was done because the
umbrella was not returned. That evening the Prince Borghese and Princess
Pauline nearly fell into the Seine in their carriage while returning to
their country house at Neuilly. Those persons who took pleasure in
finding omens, and those especially (a very small number) who saw with
chagrin the rejoicings of the Empire, did not fail to remark that every
fete given to Marie Louise had been attended by some accident. They
spoke affectedly of the ball given by the Prince of Schwartzenberg on the
occasion of the espousals, and of the fire which consumed the dancing-
hall, and the tragic death of several persons, notably of the sister of
the prince. They drew from this coincidence bad auguries; some from ill-
will, and in order to undermine the enthusiasm inspired by the high
fortunes of Napoleon; others from a superstitious credulity, as if there
could have been any serious connection between afire which cost the lives
of several persons, and the very usual accident of a storm in June, which
ruined the toilets, and wet to the skin thousands of spectators.
It was a very amusing scene for those who had no finery to spoil, and who
ran only the risk of taking cold, to see these poor women drenched with
the rain, running in every direction, with or without a cavalier, and
hunting for shelter which could not be found.
A few were fortunate enough to find modest umbrellas; but most of them
saw the flowers fall from their heads, beaten down by the rain, or their
finery dripping with water, dragging on the ground, in a pitiable state.
When it was time to return to Paris the carriages were missing, as the
coachmen, thinking that the fete would last till daylight, had prudently
thought that they would not take the trouble to wait all night. Those
persons with carriages could not use them, as the press was so great that
it was almost impossible to move. Several ladies got lost, and returned
to Paris on foot; others lost their shoes, and it was a pitiable sight to
see the pretty feet in the mud. Happily there were few or no accidents,
and the physician and the bed repaired everything. But the Emperor
laughed heartily at this adventure, and said that the merchants would
gain by it.
M. de Remusat, so good and ready to render a service, always forgetting
himself for others, had succeeded in procuring an umbrella, when he met
my wife and mother-in-law, who were escaping like the others, took them
on his arm, and conducted them to the palace without their having
received the least injury. For an hour he traveled back and forth from
the palace to the park, and from the park to the garden, and had the
happiness to be useful to a great number of ladies whose toilets he saved
from entire ruin. It was an act of gallantry which inspired infinite
gratitude, because it was performed in a manner evincing such kindness of
heart.