and displays his art in its fullest extent. He had just refused the less
for the sake of getting the greater; and now he had contrived to get the
offer of the greater to show off his moderation by accepting only the
less. The Council of State sanctioned the proposition for conferring on
the First Consul the right of nominating his successor, and, of his own
accord, the First Consul declined this. Accordingly the Second Consul,
when he, the next day, presented the decree to the Council of State, did
not fail to eulogise this extreme moderation, which banished even the
shadow of suspicion of any ambitious after-thought. Thus the Senate
found itself out-manoeuvred, and the decree of the Consuls was
transmitted at once to the Legislative Body and to the Tribunate.
In the Legislative Body, M. de Vaublanc was distinguished among all the
deputies who applauded the conduct of the Government; and it was he who
delivered the apologetic harangue of the deputation of the Legislative
Body to the First Consul. After having addressed the Government
collectively he ended by addressing the First Consul individually--a
sort of compliment which had not hitherto been put in practice,
and which was far from displeasing him who was its object. As M. de
Vaublanc's speech had been communicated beforehand to the First Consul,
the latter prepared a reply to it which sufficiently showed how much it
had gratified him. Besides the flattering distinction which separated
him from the Government, the plenitude of praise was not tempered by
anything like advice or comment. It was not so with the address of the
Tribunate. After the compliments which the occasion demanded, a series
of hopes were expressed for the future, which formed a curious contrast
with the events which actually ensued. The Tribunate, said the address,
required no guarantee, because Bonaparte's elevated and generous
sentiments would never permit him to depart from those principles which
brought about the Revolution and founded the Republic;--he loved real
glory too well ever to stain that which he had acquired by the abuse of
power;--the nation which he was called to govern was free and generous
he would respect and consolidate her liberty; he would distinguish his
real friends, who spoke truth to him, from flatterers who might seek
to deceive him. In short, Bonaparte would surround himself with the men
who, having made the Revolution, were interested in supporting it.
To these and many other fine things the Consul replied, "This testimony
of the affection of the Tribunate is gratifying to the Government. The
union of all bodies of the State is a guarantee of the stability
and happiness of the nation. The efforts of the Government will be
constantly directed to the interests of the people, from whom all power
is derived, and whose welfare all good men have at heart."
So much for the artifice of governments and the credulity of subjects!
It is certain that, from the moment Bonaparte gained his point in
submitting the question of the Consulate for life to the decision of the
people, there was no longer a doubt of the result being in his favour.
This was evident, not only on account of the influential means which a
government always has at its command, and of which its agents extend
the ramifications from the centre to the extremities, but because the
proposition was in accordance with the wishes of the majority. The
Republicans were rather shy in avowing principles with which people were
now disenchanted;--the partisans of a monarchy without distinction of
family saw their hopes almost realised in the Consulate for life; the
recollection of the Bourbons still lived in some hearts faithful
to misfortune but the great mass were for the First Consul, and his
external acts in the new step he had taken towards the throne had been
so cautiously disguised as to induce a belief in his sincerity. If I
and a few others were witness to his accomplished artifice and secret
ambition, France beheld only his glory, and gratefully enjoyed the
blessings of peace which he had obtained for her. The suffrages of the
people speedily realised the hopes of the First Consul, and thus was
founded the CONSULATE FOR LIFE.
CHAPTER XIV
1802-1803.
Departure for Malmaison--Unexpected question relative to the
Bourbons--Distinction between two opposition parties--New intrigues
of Lucien--Camille Jordan's pamphlet seized--Vituperation against
the liberty of the press--Revisal of the Constitution--New
'Senatus-consulte--Deputation from the Senate--Audience of the
Diplomatic Body--Josephine's melancholy--The discontented--Secret
meetings--Fouché and the police agents--The Code Napoleon--
Bonaparte's regular attendance at the Council of State--His
knowledge of mankind, and the science of government--Napoleon's
first sovereign act--His visit to the Senate--The Consular
procession--Polite etiquette--The Senate and the Council of State--
Complaints against Lucien--The deaf and dumb assembly--Creation of
senatorships.
When nothing was wanting to secure the Consulate for life but the votes
of the people, which there was no doubt of obtaining, the First Consul
set off to spend a few days at Malmaison.
On the day of our arrival, as soon as dinner was ended, Bonaparte said
to me, "Bourrienne, let us go and take a walk." It was the middle of
May, so that the evenings were long. We went into the park: he was
very grave, and we walked for several minutes without his uttering a
syllable. Wishing to break silence in a way that would be agreeable
to him, I alluded to the facility with which he had nullified the last
'Senatus-consulte'. He scarcely seemed to hear me, so completely was
his mind absorbed in the subject on which he was meditating. At length,
suddenly recovering from his abstraction, he said, "Bourrienne, do
you think that the pretender to the crown of France would renounce his
claims if I were to offer him a good indemnity, or even a province in
Italy?" Surprised at this abrupt question on a subject which I was far
from thinking of, I replied that I did not think the pretender would
relinquish his claims; that it was very unlikely the Bourbons would
return to France as long as he, Bonaparte, should continue at the head
of the Government, though they would look forward to their ultimate
return as probable. "How so?" inquired he. "For a very simple reason,
General. Do you not see every day that your agents conceal the
truth from you, and flatter you in your wishes, for the purpose of
ingratiating themselves in your favour? are you not angry when at length
the truth reaches your ear?"--"And what then?"--"why, General, it must
be just the same with the agents of Louis XVIII. in France. It is in
the course of things, in the nature of man, that they should feed the
Bourbons with hopes of a possible return, were it only to induce a
belief in their own talent and utility."--"That is very true! You are
quite right; but I am not afraid. However, something might perhaps be
done--we shall see." Here the subject dropped, and our conversation
turned on the Consulate for life, and Bonaparte spoke in unusually mild
terms of the persons who had opposed the proposition. I was a little
surprised at this, and could not help reminding him of the different
way in which he had spoken of those who opposed his accession to the
Consulate. "There is nothing extraordinary in that," said he. "Worthy
men may be attached to the Republic as I have made it. It is a mere
question of form. I have nothing to say against that; but at the time
of my accession to the Consulate it was very different. Then, none but
Jacobins, terrorists, and rogues resisted my endeavours to rescue France
from the infamy into which the Directory had plunged her. But now I
cherish no ill-will against those who have opposed me."
During the intervals between the acts of the different bodies of the
State, and the collection of the votes, Lucien renewed his intrigues, or
rather prosecuted them with renewed activity, for the purpose of getting
the question of hereditary succession included in the votes. Many
prefects transmitted to M. Chaptal anonymous circulars which had been
sent to them: all stated the ill effect produced by these circulars,
which had been addressed to the principal individuals of their
departments. Lucien was the originator of all this, though I cannot
positively say whether his brother connived with him, as in the case of
the pamphlet to which I have already alluded. I believe, however, that
Bonaparte was not entirely a stranger to the business; for the circulars
were written by Raederer at the instigation of Lucien, and Raederer was
at that time in favour at the Tuileries. I recollect Bonaparte speaking
to me one day very angrily about a pamphlet which had just, been
published by Camille Jordan on the subject of the national vote on the
Consulate for life. Camille Jordan did not withhold his vote, but gave
it in favour of the First Consul; and instead of requiring preliminary
conditions, he contented himself, like the Tribunate, with enumerating
all the guarantees which he expected the honour of the First Consul
would grant. Among these guarantees were the cessation of arbitrary
imprisonments, the responsibility of the agents of Government, and the
independence of the judges. But all these demands were mere peccadilloes
in comparison with Camille Jordan's great crime of demanding the liberty
of the press.
The First Consul had looked through the fatal pamphlet, and lavished
invectives upon its author. "How!" exclaimed he, "am I never to have
done with these fire brands?--These babblers, who think that politics
may be shown on a printed page like the world on a map? Truly, I know
not what things will come to if I let this go on. Camille Jordan, whom I
received so well at Lyons, to think that he should--ask for the liberty
of the press! Were I to accede to this I might as well pack up at once
and go and live on a farm a hundred leagues from Paris." Bonaparte's
first act in favour of the liberty of the press was to order the seizure
of the pamphlet in which Camille Jordan had extolled the advantages of
that measure. Publicity, either by words or writing, was Bonaparte's
horror. Hence his aversion to public speakers and writers.
Camille Jordan was not the only person who made unavailing efforts to
arrest Bonaparte in the first steps of his ambition. There were yet in
France many men who, though they had hailed with enthusiasm the dawn of
the French Revolution, had subsequently been disgusted by its
crimes, and who still dreamed of the possibility of founding a truly
Constitutional Government in France. Even in the Senate there were some
men indignant at the usual compliance of that body, and who spoke of
the necessity of subjecting the Constitution to a revisal, in order to
render it conformable to the Consulate for life.
The project of revising the Constitution was by no means unsatisfactory
to Bonaparte. It afforded him an opportunity of holding out fresh
glimmerings of liberty to those who were too shortsighted to see into
the future. He was pretty certain that there could be no change but to
his advantage. Had any one talked to him of the wishes of the nation he
would have replied, "3,577,259 citizens have voted. Of these how many
were for me? 3,368,185. Compare the difference! There is but one vote in
forty-five against me. I must obey the will of the people!" To this he
would not have failed to add, "Whose are the votes opposed to me? Those
of ideologists, Jacobins, and peculators under the Directory." To such
arguments what could have been answered? It must not be supposed that
I am putting these words into Bonaparte's mouth. They fell from him
oftener than once.
As soon as the state of the votes was ascertained the Senate conceived
itself under the necessity of repairing the only fault it had committed
in the eyes of the First Consul, and solemnly presented him with a new
'Senatus-consulte', and a decree couched in the following terms:
ARTICLE I. The French people nominate and the Senate proclaim Napoleon
Bonaparte Consul for life.
ARTICLE II. A statue representing Peace, holding in one hand the laurel
of victory, and in the other the decree of the senate, shall commemorate
to posterity the gratitude of the Nation.
ARTICLE III. The Senate will convey to the First Consul the expression
of the confidence, the love, and the admiration of the French people.
Bonaparte replied to the deputation from the Senate, in the presence of
the Diplomatic Body, whose audience had been appointed for that day
in order that the ambassadors might be enabled to make known to their
respective Courts that Europe reckoned one King more. In his reply
he did not fail to introduce the high-sounding words "liberty and
equality." He commenced thus: "A citizen's life belongs to his country.
The French people wish that mine should be entirely devoted to their
service. I obey."
On the day this ceremony took place, besides the audience of the
Diplomatic Body there was an extraordinary assemblage of general
officers and public functionaries. The principal apartments of the
Tuileries's presented the appearance of a fete. This gaiety formed a
striking contrast with the melancholy of Josephine, who felt that every
step of the First Consul towards the throne removed him farther from
her.
She had to receive a party that evening, and though greatly depressed in
spirits she did the honours with her usual grace.
Let a Government be what it may, it can never satisfy everyone. At the
establishment of the Consulate for life, those who were averse to
that change formed but a feeble minority. But still they met, debated,
corresponded, and dreamed of the possibility of overthrowing the
Consular Government.
During the first six months of the year 1802 there were meetings of the
discontented, which Fouché, who was then Minister of the Police, knew
and would not condescend to notice; but, on the contrary, all the
inferior agents of the police contended for a prey which was easily
seized, and, with the view of magnifying their services, represented
these secret meetings as the effect of a vast plot against the
Government. Bonaparte, whenever he spoke to me on the subject, expressed
himself weary of the efforts which were made to give importance to
trifles; and yet he received the reports of the police agents as if he
thought them of consequence. This was because he thought Fouché badly
informed, and he was glad to find him at fault; but when he sent for
the Minister of Police the latter told him that all the reports he had
received were not worth a moment's attention. He told the First
Consul all, and even a great deal more than had been revealed to him,
mentioning at the same time how and from whom Bonaparte had received his
information.
But these petty police details did not divert the First Consul's
attention from the great object he had in view. Since March 1802 he
had attended the sittings of the Council of State with remarkable
regularity. Even while we were at the Luxembourg he busied himself in
drawing up a new code of laws to supersede the incomplete collection
of revolutionary laws, and to substitute order for the sort of anarchy
which prevailed in the legislation. The man who were most distinguished
for legal knowledge had cooperated in this laborious task, the result
of which was the code first distinguished by the name of the Civil Code,
and afterwards called the Code Napoleon. The labours of this important
undertaking being completed, a committee was appointed for the
presentation of the code. This committee, of which Cambacérès was the
president, was composed of MM. Portalis, Merlin de Douai, and Tronchet.
During all the time the discussions were pending, instead of assembling
as usual three times a week, the Council of State assembled every day,
and the sittings, which on ordinary occasions only lasted two or three
hours, were often prolonged to five or six. The First Consul took such
interest in these discussions that, to have an opportunity of conversing
upon them in the evening, he frequently invited several members of the
Council to dine with him. It was during these conversations that I most
admired the inconceivable versatility of Bonaparte's genius, or rather,
that superior instinct which enabled him to comprehend at a glance, and
in their proper point of view, legislative questions to which he might
have been supposed a stranger. Possessing as he did, in a supreme
degree, the knowledge of mankind, ideas important to the science of
government flashed upon his mind like sudden inspirations.
Some time after his nomination to the Consulate for life, anxious to
perform a sovereign act, he went for the first time to preside at the
Senate. Availing myself that day of a few leisure moments I went out to
see the Consular procession. It was truly royal. The First Consul had
given orders that the military should-be ranged in the streets through
which he had to pass. On his first arrival at the Tuileries, Napoleon
had the soldiers of the Guard ranged in a single line in the interior
of the court, but he now ordered that the line should be doubled, and
should extend from the gate of the Tuileries to that of the Luxembourg.
Assuming a privilege which old etiquette had confined exclusively to
the Kings of France, Bonaparte now for the first time rode in a carriage
drawn by eight horses. A considerable number of carriages followed that
of the First Consul, which was surrounded by generals and aides de
camp on horseback. Louis XIV. going to hold a bed of justice at the
Parliament of Paris never displayed greater pomp than did Bonaparte in
this visit to the Senate. He appeared in all the parade of royalty;
and ten Senators came to meet him at the foot of the staircase of the
Luxembourg.
The object of the First Consul's visit to the Senate was the
presentation of five plans of 'Senatus-consultes'. The other two Consuls
were present at the ceremony, which took place about the middle of
August.
Bonaparte returned in the same style in which he went, accompanied by M.
Lebrun, Cambacérès remaining at the Senate, of which he was President.
The five 'Senatus-consultes' were adopted, but a restriction was made in
that which concerned the forms of the Senate. It was proposed that when
the Consuls visited the Senate they should be received by a deputation
of ten members at the foot of the staircase, as the First Consul had
that day been received; but Bonaparte's brothers Joseph and Lucien
opposed this, and prevented the proposition from being adopted,
observing that the Second and Third Consuls being members of the Senate
could not be received with such honours by their colleagues. This little
scene of political courtesy, which was got up beforehand, was very well
acted.
Bonaparte's visit to the Senate gave rise to a change of rank in
the hierarchy of the different authorities composing the Government.
Hitherto the Council of State had ranked higher in public opinion; but
the Senate, on the occasion of its late deputation to the Tuileries, had
for the first time, received the honour of precedency. This had greatly
displeased some of the Councillors of State, but Bonaparte did not care
for that. He instinctively saw that the Senate would do what he wished
more readily than the other constituted bodies, and he determined to
augment its rights and prerogatives even at the expense of the rights
of the Legislative Body. These encroachments of one power upon another,
authorised by the First Consul, gave rise to reports of changes in
ministerial arrangements. It was rumoured in Paris that the number of
the ministers was to be reduced to three, and that Lucien, Joseph, and
M. de Talleyrand were to divide among them the different portfolios.
Lucien helped to circulate these reports, and this increased the First
Consul's dissatisfaction at his conduct. The letters from Madrid, which
were filled with complaints against him, together with some scandalous
adventures, known in Paris, such as his running away with the wife of
a 'limonadier', exceedingly annoyed Bonaparte, who found his own family
more difficult to govern than France.
France, indeed, yielded with admirable facility to the yoke which, the
First Consul wished to impose on her. How artfully did he undo all that
the Revolution had done, never neglecting any means of attaining his
object! He loved to compare the opinions of those whom he called the
Jacobins with the opinions of the men of 1789; and even them he found
too liberal. He felt the ridicule which was attached to the mute
character of the Legislative Body, which he called his deaf and dumb
assembly. But as that ridicule was favourable to him he took care to
preserve the assembly as it was, and to turn it into ridicule whenever
he spoke of it. In general, Bonaparte's judgment must not be confounded
with his actions. His accurate mind enabled him to appreciate all that
was good; but the necessity of his situation enabled him to judge with
equal shrewdness what was useful to himself.
What I have just said of the Senate affords me an opportunity of
correcting an error which has frequently been circulated in the
chit-chat of Paris. It has erroneously been said of some persons that
they refused to become members of the Senate, and among the number
have been mentioned M. Ducis, M. de La Fayette, and the Marechal de
Rochambeau. The truth is, that no such refusals were ever made. The
following fact, however, may have contributed to raise these reports and
give them credibility. Bonaparte used frequently to say to persons in
his salon and in his cabinet; "You should be a Senator--a man like you
should be a Senator." But these complimentary words did not amount to a
nomination. To enter the Senate certain legal forms were to be
observed. It was necessary to be presented by the Senate, and after
that presentation no one ever refused to become a member of the body,
to which Bonaparte gave additional importance by the creation of
"Senatoreries."--[Districts presided over by a Senator.]--This creation
took place in the beginning of 1803.
CHAPTER XV
1802.
The intoxication of great men--Unlucky zeal--MM. Maret, Champagny,
and Savary--M. de Talleyrand's real services--Postponement of the
execution of orders--Fouché and the Revolution--The Royalist
committee--The charter first planned during the Consulate--Mission
to Coblentz--Influence of the Royalists upon Josephine--The statue
and the pedestal--Madame de Genlis' romance of Madame de la
Valliere--The Legion of Honour and the carnations--Influence of the
Faubourg St. Germain--Inconsiderate step taken by Bonaparte--Louis
XVIII's indignation--Prudent advice of the Abbe Andre--Letter from
Louis XVIII. to Bonaparte--Council held at Neuilly--The letter
delivered--Indifference of Bonaparte, and satisfaction of the
Royalists.
Perhaps one of the happiest ideas that ever were expressed was that of
the Athenian who said, "I appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober." The
drunkenness here alluded to is not of that kind which degrades a man
to the level of a brute, but that intoxication which is occasioned by
success, and which produces in the heads of the ambitious a sort of
cerebral congestion. Ordinary men are not subject to this excitement,
and can scarcely form an idea of it. But it is nevertheless true that
the fumes of glory and ambition occasionally derange the strongest
heads; and Bonaparte, in all the vigour of his genius, was often subject
to aberrations of judgment; for though his imagination never failed him,
his judgment was frequently at fault.
This fact may serve to explain, and perhaps even to excuse the faults
with which the First Consul has been most seriously reproached.
The activity of his mind seldom admitted of an interval between the
conception and the execution of a design; but when he reflected coolly
on the first impulses of his imperious will, his judgment discarded
what was erroneous. Thus the blind obedience, which, like an epidemic
disease, infected almost all who surrounded Bonaparte, was productive of
the most fatal effects. The best way to serve the First Consul was never
to listen to the suggestions of his first ideas, except on the field of
battle, where his conceptions were as happy as they were rapid. Thus,
for example, MM. Maret, de Champagny, and Savary evinced a ready
obedience to Bonaparte's wishes, which often proved very unfortunate,
though doubtless dictated by the best intentions on their part. To
this fatal zeal may be attributed a great portion of the mischief
which Bonaparte committed. When the mischief was done, and past remedy,
Bonaparte deeply regretted it. How often have I heard him say that Maret
was animated by an unlucky zeal! This was the expression he made use of.
M. de Talleyrand was almost the only one among the ministers who did not
flatter Bonaparte, and who really served both the First Consul and the
Emperor. When Bonaparte said to M. de Talleyrand, "Write so and so, and
send it off by a special courier," that minister was never in a hurry to
obey the order, because he knew the character of the First Consul well
enough to distinguish between what his passion dictated and what his
reason would approve: in short, he appealed from Philip drunk to Philip
sober. When it happened that M. de Talleyrand suspended the execution of
an order, Bonaparte never evinced the least displeasure. When, the
day after he had received any hasty and angry order, M. de Talleyrand
presented himself to the First Consul, the latter would say, "Well, did
you send off the courier?"--"No," the minister would reply, "I took care
not to do so before I showed you my letter." Then the First Consul would
usually add, "Upon second thoughts I think it would be best not to send
it." This was the way to deal with Bonaparte. When M. de Talleyrand
postponed sending off despatches, or when I myself have delayed the
execution of an order which I knew had been dictated by anger, and had
emanated neither from his heart nor his understanding, I have heard
him say a hundred times, "It was right, quite right. You understand me:
Talleyrand understands me also. This is the way to serve me: the others
do not leave me time for reflection: they are too precipitate."
Fouché also was one of those who did not on all occasions blindly obey
Bonaparte's commands. His other ministers, on the other hand, when told
to send off a courier the next morning, would have more probably sent
him off the same evening. This was from zeal, but was not the First
Consul right in saying that such zeal was unfortunate?
Of Talleyrand and Fouché, in their connections with the First Consul, it
might be said that the one represented the Constituent Assembly, with
a slight perfume of the old regime, and the other the Convention in all
its brutality. Bonaparte regarded Fouché as a complete personification
of the Revolution. With him, therefore, Fouché's influence was merely
the influence of the Revolution. That great event was one of those which
had made the most forcible impression on Bonaparte's ardent mind, and
he imagined he still beheld it in a visible form as long as Fouché
continued at the head of his police. I am now of opinion that Bonaparte
was in some degree misled as to the value of Fouché's services as
a minister. No doubt the circumstance of Fouché being in office
conciliated those of the Revolutionary party who were his friends. But
Fouché cherished an undue partiality for them, because he knew that
it was through them he held his place. He was like one of the old
Condottieri, who were made friends of lest they should become enemies,
and who owed all their power to the soldiers enrolled under their
banners.
Such was Fouché, and Bonaparte perfectly understood his situation. He
kept the chief in his service until he could find an opportunity of
disbanding his undisciplined followers. But there was one circumstance
which confirmed his reliance on Fouché. He who had voted the death of
the King of France, and had influenced the minds of those who had voted
with him, offered Bonaparte the best guarantee against the attempts of
the Royalists for raising up in favour of the Bourbons the throne which
the First Consul himself had determined to ascend. Thus, for different
reasons, Bonaparte and Fouché had common interests against the House
of Bourbon, and the master's ambition derived encouragement from the
supposed terror of the servant.
The First Consul was aware of the existence in Paris of a Royalist
committee, formed for the purpose of corresponding with Louis XVIII.
This committee consisted of men who must not be confounded with those
wretched intriguers who were of no service to their employers, and were
not unfrequently in the pay of both Bonaparte and the Bourbons. The
Royalist committee, properly so called, was a very different thing. It
consisted of men professing rational principles of liberty, such as the
Marquis de Clermont Gallerande, the Abbe de Montesqieu, M. Becquet,
and M. Royer Collard. This committee had been of long standing; the
respectable individuals whose names I have just quoted acted upon a
system hostile to the despotism of Bonaparte, and favourable to what
they conceived to be the interests of France. Knowing the superior
wisdom of Louis XVIII., and the opinions which he had avowed and
maintained in the Assembly of the Notables, they wished to separate
that Prince from the emigrants, and to point him out to the nation as a
suitable head of a reasonable Constitutional Government. Bonaparte,
whom I have often heard speak on the subject, dreaded nothing so much as
these ideas of liberty, in conjunction with a monarchy. He regarded
them as reveries, called the members of the committee idle dreamers, but
nevertheless feared the triumph of their ideas. He confessed to me that
it was to counteract the possible influence of the Royalist committee
that he showed himself so indulgent to those of the emigrants whose
monarchical prejudices he knew were incompatible with liberal opinions.
By the presence of emigrants who acknowledged nothing short of absolute
power, he thought he might paralyse the influence of the Royalists of
the interior; he therefore granted all such emigrants permission to
return.
About this time I recollect having read a document, which had been
signed, purporting to be a declaration of the principles of Louis XVIII.
It was signed by M. d'Andre, who bore evidence to its authenticity.
The principles contained in the declaration were in almost all points
conformable to the principles which formed the basis of the charter.
Even so early as 1792, and consequently previous to the fatal 21st of
January, Louis XVI., who knew the opinions of M. de Clermont Gallerande,
sent him on a mission to Coblentz to inform the Princes from him,
and the Queen, that they would be ruined by their emigration. I am
accurately informed, and I state this fact with the utmost confidence. I
can also add with equal certainty that the circumstance was mentioned by
M. de Clermont Gallerande in his Memoirs, and that the passage relative
to his mission to Coblentz was cancelled before the manuscript was sent
to press.
During the Consular Government the object of the Royalist committee
was to seduce rather than to conspire. It was round Madame Bonaparte
in particular that their batteries were raised, and they did not prove
ineffectual. The female friends of Josephine filled her mind with ideas
of the splendour and distinction she would enjoy if the powerful hand
which had chained the Revolution should raise up the subverted throne.
I must confess that I was myself, unconsciously, an accomplice of the
friends of the throne; for what they wished for the interest of the
Bourbons I then ardently wished for the interest of Bonaparte.
While endeavours were thus made to gain over Madame Bonaparte to the
interest of the royal family, brilliant offers were held out for the
purpose of dazzling the First Consul. It was wished to retemper for him
the sword of the constable Duguesclin; and it was hoped that a statue
erected to his honour would at once attest to posterity his spotless
glory and the gratitude of the Bourbons. But when these offers reached
the ears of Bonaparte he treated them with indifference, and placed no
faith in their sincerity. Conversing on the subject one day with M.
de La Fayette he said, "They offer me a statue, but I must look to the
pedestal. They may make it my prison." I did not hear Bonaparte
utter these words; but they were reported to me from a source, the
authenticity of which may be relied on.
About this time, when so much was said in the Royalist circles and
in the Faubourg St. Germain, of which the Hotel de Luynes was the
headquarters, about the possible return of the Bourbons, the publication
of a popular book contributed not a little to direct the attention of
the public to the most brilliant period of the reign of Louis XIV. The
book was the historical romance of Madame de la Valloire, by Madame de
Genlis, who had recently returned to France. Bonaparte read it, and I
have since understood that he was very well pleased with it, but he
said nothing to me about it. It was not until some time after that
he complained of the effect which was produced in Paris by this
publication, and especially by engravings representing scenes in the
life of Louis XIV., and which were exhibited in the shop-windows. The
police received orders to suppress these prints; and the order was
implicitly obeyed; but it was not Fouché's police. Fouché saw the
absurdity of interfering with trifles. I recollect that immediately
after the creation of the Legion of Honour, it being summer, the
young men of Paris indulged in the whim of wearing a carnation in
a button-hole, which at a distance had rather a deceptive effect.
Bonaparte took this very seriously. He sent for Fouché, and desired him
to arrest those who presumed thus to turn the new order into ridicule.
Fouché merely replied that he would wait till the autumn; and the First
Consul understood that trifles were often rendered matters of importance
by being honoured with too much attention.
But though Bonaparte was piqued at the interest excited by the
engravings of Madame de Genlis' romance he manifested no displeasure
against that celebrated woman, who had been recommended to him by MM.
de Fontanes and Fievee and who addressed several letters to him. As this
sort of correspondence did not come within the routine of my business
I did not see the letters; but I heard from Madame Bonaparte that they
contained a prodigious number of proper names, and I have reason to
believe that they contributed not a little to magnify, in the eyes of
the First Consul, the importance of the Faubourg St. Germain, which, in
spite of all his courage, was a scarecrow to him.
Bonaparte regarded the Faubourg St. Germain as representing the whole
mass of Royalist opinion; and he saw clearly that the numerous erasures
from the emigrant list had necessarily increased dissatisfaction among
the Royalists, since the property of the emigrants had not been restored
to its old possessors, even in those cases in which it had not been
sold. It was the fashion in a certain class to ridicule the unpolished
manners of the great men of the Republic compared with the manners of
the nobility of the old Court. The wives of certain generals had several
times committed themselves by their awkwardness. In many circles
there was an affectation of treating with contempt what are called the
parvenus; those people who, to use M. de Talleyrand's expression, do not
know how to walk upon a carpet. All this gave rise to complaints against
the Faubourg St. Germain; while, on the other hand, Bonaparte's brothers
spared no endeavours to irritate him against everything that was
calculated to revive the recollection of the Bourbons.
Such were Bonaparte's feelings, and such was the state of society during
the year 1802. The fear of the Bourbons must indeed have had a powerful
influence on the First Consul before he could have been induced to take
a step which may justly be regarded as the most inconsiderate of his
whole life. After suffering seven months to elapse without answering
the first letter of Louis XVIII., after at length answering his second
letter in the tone of a King addressing a subject, he went so far as
to write to Louis, proposing that he should renounce the throne of his
ancestors in his, Bonaparte's, favour, and offering him as a reward for
this renunciation a principality in Italy, or a considerable revenue for
himself and his family.
--[Napoleon seems to have always known, as with Cromwell and the
Stuarts, that if his dynasty failed the Bourbons must succeed him.
"I remember," says Metternich, "Napoleon said to me, 'Do you know
why Louis XVIII. is not now sitting opposite to you? It is only
because it is I who am sitting here. No other person could maintain
his position; and if ever I disappear in consequence of a
catastrophe no one but a Bourbon could sit here.'" (Metternich, tome
i. p. 248). Farther, he said to Metternich, "The King overthrown,
the Republic was master of the soil of France. It is that which I
have replaced. The old throne of France is buried under its
rubbish. I had to found a new one. The Bourbons could not reign
over this creation. My strength lies in my fortune. I am new, like
the Empire; there is, therefore, a perfect homogeneity between the
Empire and myself."--"However," says Metternich, "I have often
thought that Napoleon, by talking in this way, merely sought to
study the opinion of others, or to confuse it, and the direct
advance which he made to Louis XVIII., in 1804 seemed to confirm
this suspicion. Speaking to me one day of this advance he said,
'Monsieur's reply was grand; it was full of fine traditions. There
is something in legitimate rights which appeals to more than the
mere mind. If Monsieur had consulted his mind only he would have
arranged with me, and I should have made for him a magnificent
future'" (Metternich, tome i, p. 276). According to Iung's Lucien
(tome ii. p. 421), the letter written and signed by Napoleon, but
never sent, another draft being substituted, is still in the French
archives. Metternich speaks of Napoleon making a direct advance to
Louis XVIII. in 1804. According to Colonel Iung (Lucien Bonaparte,
tome ii. pp. 4211-426) the attempt was made through the King of
Prussia in 1802, the final answer of Louis being made on the 28th
February 1803, as given in the text, but with a postscript of his
nephew in addition, "With the permission of the King, my uncle, I
adhere with heart and soul to the contents of this note.
"(signed) LOUIS ANTOINE, Duc d'Angouleme."
The reader will remark that there is no great interval between this
letter and the final break with the Bourbons by the death of the Duc
d'Enghien. At this time, according to Savory (tome iii. p. 241),
some of the Bourbons were receiving French pensions. The Prince de
Conti, the Duchesse de Bourbon, and the Duchesse d'Orleans, when
sent out of France by the Directory, were given pensions of from
20,000 to 26,000 francs each. They lived in Catalonia. When the
French troops entered Spain in 1808 General Canclaux, a friend of
the Prince de Conti, brought to the notice of Napoleon that the
tiresome formalities insisted on by the pestilent clerks of all
nations were observed towards these regal personages. Gaudin, the
Minister of Finance, apparently on his own initiative, drew up a
decree increasing the pensions to 80,000 francs, and doing away with
the formalities. "The Emperor signed at once, thanking the Minister
of Finance." The reader, remembering the position of the French
Princes then, should compare this action of Napoleon with the
failure of the Bourbons in 1814 to pay the sums promised to
Napoleon, notwithstanding the strong remonstrances made at Vienna to
Talleyrand by Alexander and Lord Castlereagh. See Talleyrand's
Correspondence with Louis XVIII., tome ii. pp. 27, 28; or French
edition, pp. 285, 288.]--
The reader will recollect the curious question which the First Consul
put to me on the subject of the Bourbons when we were walking in the
park of Malmaison. To the reply which I made to him on that occasion I
attribute the secrecy he observed towards me respecting the letter just
alluded to. I am indeed inclined to regard that letter as the result of
one of his private conferences with Lucien; but I know nothing positive
on the subject, and merely mention this as a conjecture. However, I
had an opportunity of ascertaining the curious circumstances which took
place at Mittau, when Bonaparte's letter was delivered to Louis XVIII.
That Prince was already much irritated against Bonaparte by his delay
in answering his first letter, and also by the tenor of his tardy reply;
but on reading the First Consul's second letter the dethroned King
immediately sat down and traced a few lines forcibly expressing his
indignation at such a proposition. The note, hastily written by Louis
XVIII. in the first impulse of irritation, bore little resemblance to
the dignified and elegant letter which Bonaparte received, and which I
shall presently lay before the reader. This latter epistle closed
very happily with the beautiful device of Francis I., "All is lost but
honour." But the first letter was stamped with a more chivalrous tone of
indignation. The indignant sovereign wrote it with his hand supported on
the hilt of his sword; but the Abbe Andre, in whom Louis XVIII.
reposed great confidence, saw the note, and succeeded, not without some
difficulty, in soothing the anger of the King, and prevailing on him to
write the following letter:
I do not confound M. Bonaparte with those who have preceded him.
I esteem his courage and his military talents. I am grateful for
some acts of his government; for the benefits which are conferred on
my people will always be prized by me.
But he errs in supposing that he can induce me to renounce my
rights; so far from that, he would confirm them, if they could
possibly be doubtful, by the step he has now taken.
I am ignorant of the designs of Heaven respecting me and my
subjects; but I know the obligations which God has imposed upon me.
As a Christian, I will fulfil my duties to my last breath--as the
son of St. Louis, I would, like him, respect myself even in chains--
as the successor of Francis I., I say with him--'Tout est perdu 'hors
l'honneur'.
MITTAU, 1802. LOUIS.
Louis XVIII.'s letter having reached Paris, the Royalist committee
assembled, and were not a little embarrassed as to what should be done.
The meeting took place at Neuilly. After a long deliberation it was
suggested that the delivery of the letter should be entrusted to the
Third Consul, with whom the Abby de Montesqieu had kept up acquaintance
since the time of the Constituent Assembly. This suggestion was adopted.
The recollections of the commencement of his career, under Chancellor
Maupeou, had always caused M. Lebrun to be ranked in a distinct class
by the Royalists. For my part, I always looked upon him as a very
honest man, a warm advocate of equality, and anxious that it should be
protected even by despotism, which suited the views of the First Consul
very well. The Abbe de Montesquiou accordingly waited upon M. Lebrun,
who undertook to deliver the letter. Bonaparte received it with an air
of indifference; but whether that indifference were real or affected, I
am to this day unable to determine. He said very little to me about
the ill success of the negotiation with Louis XVIII. On this subject he
dreaded, above all, the interference of his brothers, who created around
him a sort of commotion which he knew was not without its influence, and
which on several occasions had excited his anger.
The letter of Louis XVIII. is certainly conceived in a tone of dignity
which cannot be too highly admired; and it may be said that Bonaparte
on this occasion rendered a real service to Louis by affording him the
opportunity of presenting to the world one of the finest pages in the
history of a dethroned King. This letter, the contents of which were
known in some circles of Paris, was the object of general approbation to
those who preserved the recollection of the Bourbons, and above all,
to the Royalist committee. The members of that committee, proud of the
noble spirit evinced by the unfortunate monarch, whose return they were
generously labouring to effect, replied to him by a sort of manifesto,
to which time has imparted interest, since subsequent events have
fulfilled the predictions it contained.
CHAPTER XVI
1802.
The day after my disgrace--Renewal of my duties--Bonaparte's
affected regard for me--Offer of an assistant--M. de Meneval--My
second rupture with Bonaparte--The Duc de Rovigo's account of it--
Letter from M. de Barbe Marbois--Real causes of my separation from
the First Consul--Postscript to the letter of M. de Barbe Marbois--
The black cabinet--Inspection of letters dining the Consulate--
I retire to St. Cloud--Communications from M. de Meneval--A week's
conflict between friendship and pride--My formal dismissal--Petty
revenge--My request to visit England--Monosyllabic answer--Wrong
suspicion--Burial of my papers--Communication from Duroc--My letter
to the First Consul--The truth acknowledged.
I shall now return to the circumstances which followed my first
disgrace, of which I have already spoken. The day after that on which I
had resumed my functions I went as usual to awaken the First Consul
at seven in the morning. He treated me just the same as if nothing had
happened between us; and on my part I behaved to him just as usual,
though I really regretted being obliged to resume labours which I found
too oppressive for me. When Bonaparte came down into his cabinet he
spoke to me of his plans with his usual confidence, and I saw, from
the number of letters lying in the basket, that during the few days
my functions had been suspended Bonaparte had not overcome his
disinclination to peruse this kind of correspondence. At the period of
this first rupture and reconciliation the question of the Consulate for
life was yet unsettled. It was not decided until the 2d of August, and
the circumstances to which I am about to refer happened at the end of
February.
I was now restored to my former footing of intimacy with the First
Consul, at least for a time; but I soon perceived that, after the scene
which M. de Talleyrand had witnessed, my duties in the Tuileries were
merely provisional, and might be shortened or prolonged according
to circumstances. I saw at the very first moment that Bonaparte had
sacrificed his wounded pride to the necessity (for such I may, without
any vanity, call it) of employing my services. The forced preference he
granted to me arose from the fact of his being unable to find any one
able to supply my place; for Duroc, as I have already said, showed
a disinclination to the business. I did not remain long in the dark
respecting the new situation in which I stood. I was evidently
still under quarantine; but the period of my quitting the port was
undetermined.
A short time after our reconciliation the First Consul said to me, in
a cajoling tone of which I was not the dupe, "My dear Bourrienne, you
cannot do everything. Business increases, and will continue to increase.
You know what Corvisart says. You have a family; therefore it is right
you should take care of your health. You must not kill yourself with
work; therefore some one must be got to assist you. Joseph tells me
that he can recommend a secretary, one of whom he speaks very highly. He
shall be under your direction; he can make out your copies, and do all
that can consistently be required of him. This, I think, will be a great
relief to you."--"I ask for nothing better," replied I, "than to have
the assistance of some one who, after becoming acquainted with the
business, may, some time or other, succeed me." Joseph sent M. de
Meneval, a young man who, to a good education, added the recommendations
of industry and prudence. I had every reason to be satisfied with him.
It was now that Napoleon employed all those devices and caresses which
always succeeded so well with him, and which yet again gained the day,
to put an end to the inconvenience caused to him by my retirement,
and to retain me. Here I call every one who knew me as witnesses that
nothing could equal my grief and despair to find myself obliged to
again begin my troublesome work. My health had suffered much from it.
Corvisart was a clever counsellor, but it was only during the night that
I could carry out his advice. To resume my duties was to renounce all
hope of rest, and even of health.
--[There is considerable truth in this statement about the effect on
his health. His successor, Meneval, without the same amount of
work, broke down and had to receive assistance (Meneval, tome i. p.
149).]--
I soon perceived the First Consul's anxiety to make M. de Meneval
acquainted with the routine of business, and accustomed to his manner.
Bonaparte had never pardoned me for having presumed to quit him after
he had attained so high a degree of power; he was only waiting for an
opportunity to punish me, and he seized upon an unfortunate circumstance
as an excuse for that separation which I had previously wished to bring
about.
I will explain this circumstance, which ought to have obtained for
me the consolation and assistance of the First Consul rather than the
forfeiture of his favour. My rupture with him has been the subject of
various misstatements, all of which I shall not take the trouble to
correct; I will merely notice what I have read in the Memoirs of the Duc
de Rovigo, in which it is stated that I was accused of peculation. M. de
Rovigo thus expresses himself:
Ever since the First Consul was invested with the supreme power his
life had been a continued scene of personal exertion. He had for
his private secretary M. de Bourrienne, a friend and companion of
his youth, whom he now made the sharer of all his labours. He
frequently sent for him in the dead of the night, and particularly
insisted upon his attending him every morning at seven. Bourrienne
was punctual in his attendance with the public papers, which he had
previously glanced over. The First Consul almost invariably read
their contents himself; he then despatched some business, and sat
down to table just as the clock struck nine. His breakfast, which
lasted six minutes, was no sooner over than he returned to his
cabinet, only left it for dinner, and resumed his close occupation
immediately after, until ten at night, which was his usual hour for
retiring to rest.
Bourrienne was gifted with a most wonderful memory; he could speak
and write many languages, and would make his pen follow as fast as
words were uttered. He possessed many other advantages; he was well
acquainted with the administrative departments, was versed in the
law of nations, and possessed a zeal and activity which rendered his
services quite indispensable to the First Consul. I have known the
several grounds upon which the unlimited confidence placed in him by
his chief rested, but am unable to speak with equal assurance of the
errors which occasioned his losing that confidence.
Bourrienne had many enemies; some were owing to his personal
character, a greater number to the situation which he held.
Others were jealous of the credit he enjoyed with the Head of the
Government; others, again, discontented at his not making that
credit subservient to their personal advantage. Some even imputed
to him the want of success that had attended their claims. It was
impossible to bring any charge against him on the score of
deficiency of talent or of indiscreet conduct; his personal habits
were watched--it was ascertained that he engaged in financial
speculations. An imputation could easily be founded on this
circumstance. Peculation was accordingly laid to his charge.
This was touching the most tender ground, for the First Consul held
nothing in greater abhorrence than unlawful gains. A solitary
voice, however, would have failed in an attempt to defame the
character of a man for whom he had so long felt esteem and
affection; other voices, therefore, were brought to bear against
him. Whether the accusations were well founded or otherwise, it is
beyond a doubt that all means were resorted to for bringing them to
the knowledge of the First Consul.
The most effectual course that suggested itself was the opening a
correspondence either with the accused party direct, or with those
with whom it was felt indispensable to bring him into contact; this
correspondence was carried on in a mysterious manner, and related to
the financial operations that had formed the grounds of a charge
against him.--Thus it is that, on more than one occasion, the very
channels intended for conveying truth to the knowledge of a
sovereign have been made available to the purpose of communicating
false intelligence to him. To give an instance.
Under the reign of Louis XV., and even under the Regency, the Post
Office was organized into a system of minute inspection, which did
not indeed extend to every letter, but was exercised over all such
as afforded grounds for suspicion. They were opened, and, when it
was not deemed safe to suppress them, copies were taken, and they
were returned to their proper channel without the least delay. Any
individual denouncing another may, by the help of such an
establishment, give great weight to his denunciation. It is
sufficient for his purpose that he should throw into the Post Office
any letter so worded as to confirm the impression which it is his
object to convey. The worthiest man may thus be committed by a
letter which he has never read, or the purport of which is wholly
unintelligible to him.
I am speaking from personal experience. It once happened that a
letter addressed to myself, relating to an alleged fact which had
never occurred, was opened. A copy of the letter so opened was also
forwarded to me, as it concerned the duties which I had to perform
at that time; but I was already in possession of the original,
transmitted through the ordinary channel. Summoned to reply to the
questions to which such productions had given rise, I took that
opportunity of pointing out the danger that would accrue from
placing a blind reliance upon intelligence derived from so hazardous
a source. Accordingly, little importance was afterwards attached to
this means of information; but the system was in operation at the
period when M. de Bourrienne was disgraced; his enemies took care to
avail themselves of it; they blackened his character with M. de
Barbe Marbois, who added to their accusations all the weight of his
unblemished character. The opinion entertained by this rigid public
functionary, and many other circumstances, induced the First Consul
to part with his secretary (tome i. p. 418).
Peculation is the crime of those who make a fraudulent use of the public
money. But as it was not in my power to meddle with the public money,
no part of which passed through my hands, I am at loss to conceive how I
can be charged with peculation! The Duc de Rovigo is not the author,
but merely the echo, of this calumny; but the accusation to which his
Memoirs gave currency afforded M. de Barbe Marbois an opportunity of
adding one more to the many proofs he has given of his love of justice.
I had seen nothing of the Memoirs of the Duc de Rovigo except their
announcement in the journals, when a letter from M. de Barbe Marbois was
transmitted to me from my family. It was as follows:
SIR--My attention has been called to the enclosed article in a
recent publication. The assertion it contains is not true, and I
conceive it to be a duty both to you and myself to declare that I
then was, and still am, ignorant of the causes of the separation in
question:--I am, etc.
(Signed) MARBOIS
I need say no more in my justification. This unsolicited testimony of
M. de Marbois is a sufficient contradiction to the charge of peculation
which has been raised against me in the absence of correct information
respecting the real causes of my rupture with the First Consul.
M. le Duc de Rovigo also observes that my enemies were numerous. My
concealed adversaries were indeed all those who were interested that the
sovereign should not have about him, as his confidential companion,
a man devoted to his glory and not to his vanity. In expressing his
dissatisfaction with one of his ministers Bonaparte had said, in the
presence of several individuals, among whom was M. Maret, "If I
could find a second Bourrienne I would get rid of you all." This
was sufficient to raise against me the hatred of all who envied the
confidence of which I was in possession.
The failure of a firm in Paris in which I had invested a considerable
sum of money afforded an opportunity for envy and malignity to irritate
the First Consul against me. Bonaparte, who had not yet forgiven me for
wishing to leave him, at length determined to sacrifice my services to a
new fit of ill-humour.
A mercantile house, then one of the most respectable in Patna, had among
its speculations undertaken some army contracts. With the knowledge of
Berthier, with whom, indeed, the house had treated, I had invested some
money in this business. Unfortunately the principals were, unknown to
me, engaged in dangerous speculations in the Funds, which in a short
time so involved them as to occasion their failure for a heavy amount.
This caused a rumour that a slight fall of the Funds, which took place
at that period, was occasioned by the bankruptcy; and the First Consul,
who never could understand the nature of the Funds, gave credit to the
report. He was made to believe that the business of the Stock Exchange
was ruined. It was insinuated that I was accused of taking advantage
of my situation to produce variations in the Funds, though I was so
unfortunate as to lose not only my investment in the bankrupt house, but
also a sum of money for which I had become bound, by way of surety,
to assist the house in increasing its business. I incurred the violent
displeasure of the First Consul, who declared to me that he no longer
required my services. I might, perhaps have cooled his irritation by
reminding him that he could not blame me for purchasing an interest in
a contract, since he himself had stipulated for a gratuity of 1,500,000
francs for his brother Joseph out of the contract for victualling the
navy. But I saw that for some time past M. de Meneval had begun to
supersede me, and the First Consul only wanted such an opportunity as
this for coming to a rupture with me.
Such is a true statement of the circumstances which led to my separation
from Bonaparte. I defy any one to adduce a single fact in support of
the charge of peculation, or any transaction of the kind; I fear no
investigation of my conduct. When in the service of Bonaparte I caused
many appointments to be made, and many names to be erased from the
emigrant list before the 'Senatus-consulte' of the 6th Floréal, year X.;
but I never counted upon gratitude, experience having taught me that it
was an empty word.
The Duc de Rovigo attributed my disgrace to certain intercepted letters
which injured me in the eyes of the First Consul. I did not know this
at the time, and though I was pretty well aware of the machinations of
Bonaparte's adulators, almost all of whom were my enemies, yet I did not
contemplate such an act of baseness. But a spontaneous letter from M.
de Barbe Marbois at length opened my eyes, and left little doubt on the
subject. The following is the postscript to that noble peer's letter:
I recollect that one Wednesday the First Consul, while presiding at
a Council of Ministers at St. Cloud, opened a note, and, without
informing us what it contained, hastily left the Board, apparently
much agitated. In a few minutes he returned and told us that your
functions had ceased.
Whether the sudden displeasure of the First Consul was excited by a
false representation of my concern in the transaction which proved so
unfortunate to me, or whether Bonaparte merely made that a pretence
for carrying into execution a resolution which I am convinced had been
previously adopted, I shall not stop to determine; but the Duc de Rovigo
having mentioned the violation of the secrecy of letters in my case, I
shall take the opportunity of stating some particulars on that subject.
Before I wrote these Memoirs the existence in the Post Office of the
cabinet, which had obtained the epithet of black, had been denounced in
the chamber of deputies, and the answer was, that it no longer existed,
which of course amounted to an admission that it had existed. I may
therefore, without indiscretion, state what I know respecting it.
The "black cabinet" was established in the reign of Louis XV., merely
for the purpose of prying into the scandalous gossip of the Court and
the capital. The existence of this cabinet soon became generally
known to every one. The numerous postmasters who succeeded each other,
especially in latter times, the still more numerous Post Office clerks,
and that portion of the public who are ever on the watch for what is
held up as scandalous, soon banished all the secrecy of the affair, and
none but fools were taken in by it. All who did not wish to be committed
by their correspondence chose better channels of communication than the
Post; but those who wanted to ruin an enemy or benefit a friend long
continued to avail themselves of the black cabinet, which, at first
intended merely to amuse a monarch's idle hours, soon became a medium of
intrigue, dangerous from the abuse that might be made of it.
Every morning, for three years, I used to peruse the portfolio
containing the bulletins of the black cabinet, and I frankly confess
that I never could discover any real cause for the public indignation
against it, except inasmuch as it proved the channel of vile intrigue.
Out of 30,000 letters, which daily left Paris to be distributed through
France and all parts of the world, ten or twelve, at most, were copied,
and often only a few lines of them.
Bonaparte at first proposed to send complete copies of intercepted
letters to the ministers whom their contents might concern; but a few
observations from me induced him to direct that only the important
passages should be extracted and sent. I made these extracts, and
transmitted them to their destinations, accompanied by the following
words: "The First Consul directs me to inform you that he has just
received the following information," etc. Whence the information came
was left to be guessed at.
The First Consul daily received through this channel about a dozen
pretended letters, the writers of which described their enemies as
opponents of the Government, or their friends as models of obedience and
fidelity to the constituted authorities. But the secret purpose of this
vile correspondence was soon discovered, and Bonaparte gave orders that
no more of it should be copied. I, however, suffered from it at the time
of my disgrace, and was well-nigh falling a victim to it at a subsequent
period.
The letter mentioned by M. de Marbois, and which was the occasion of
this digression on the violation of private correspondence, derived
importance from the circumstance that Wednesday, the 20th of October,
when Bonaparte received it, was the day on which I left the Consular
palace.
I retired to a house which Bonaparte had advised me to purchase at St.
Cloud, and for the fitting up and furnishing of which he had promised to
pay. We shall see how he kept this promise! I immediately sent to direct
Landoire, the messenger of Bonaparte's cabinet, to place all letters
sent to me in the First Consul's portfolio, because many intended for
him came under cover for me. In consequence of this message I received
the following letter from M. de Meneval:
MY DEAR BOURRIENNE--I cannot believe that the First Consul would
wish that your letters should be presented to him. I presume you
allude only to those which may concern him, and which come addressed
under cover to you. The First Consul has written to citizens
Lavallette and Mollien directing them to address their packets to
him. I cannot allow Landoire to obey the order you sent.
The First Consul yesterday evening evinced great regret. He
repeatedly said, "How miserable I am! I have known that man since
he was seven years old." I cannot but believe that he will
reconsider his unfortunate decision. I have intimated to him that
the burden of the business is too much for me, and that he must be
extremely at a loss for the services of one to whom he was so much
accustomed, and whose situation, I am confident, nobody else can
satisfactorily fill. He went to bed very low-spirited. I am, etc.
(Signed) MENEVAL.
19 Vendemiaire, an X.
(21st October 1802.)
Next day I received another letter from M. Meneval as follows:--
I send you your letters. The First Consul prefers that you should
break them open, and send here those which are intended for him. I
enclose some German papers, which he begs you to translate.
Madame Bonaparte is much interested in your behalf; and I can assure
you that no one more heartily desires than the First Consul himself
to see you again at your old post, for which it would be difficult
to find a successor equal to you, either as regards fidelity or
fitness. I do not relinquish the hope of seeing you here again.
A whole week passed away in conflicts between the First Consul's
friendship and pride. The least desire he manifested to recall me
was opposed by his flatterers. On the fifth day of our separation he
directed me to come to him. He received me with the greatest kindness,
and after having good-humouredly told me that I often expressed myself
with too much freedom--a fault I was never solicitous to correct--he
added: "I regret your absence much. You were very useful to me. You are
neither too noble nor too plebeian, neither too aristocratic nor too
Jacobinical. You are discreet and laborious. You understand me better
than any one else; and, between ourselves be it said, we ought to
consider this a sort of Court. Look at Duroc, Bessières, Maret. However,
I am very much inclined to take you back; but by so doing I should
confirm the report that I cannot do without you."
Madame Bonaparte informed me that she had heard persons to whom
Bonaparte expressed a desire to recall me observe, "What would you do?
People will say you cannot do without him. You have got rid of him now;
therefore think no more about him: and as for the English newspapers, he
gave them more importance than they really deserved: you will no longer
be troubled with them." This will bring to mind a scene--which occurred
at Malmaison on the receipt of some intelligence in the 'London
Gazette'.
I am convinced that if Bonaparte had been left to himself he would have
recalled me, and this conviction is warranted by the interval which
elapsed between his determination to part with me and the formal
announcement of my dismissal. Our rupture took place on the 20th of
October, and on the 8th of November following the First Consul sent me
the following letter:
CITIZEN BOURRIENNE, MINISTER OF STATE--I am satisfied with the
services which you have rendered me during the time you have been
with me; but henceforth they are no longer necessary. I wish you to
relinquish, from this time, the functions and title of my private
secretary. I shall seize an early opportunity of providing for you
in a way suited to your activity and talents, and conducive to the
public service.
(Signed)BONAPARTE.
If any proof of the First Consul's malignity were wanting it would be
furnished by the following fact:--A few days after the receipt of the
letter which announced my dismissal I received a note from Duroc;
but, to afford an idea of the petty revenge of him who caused it to
be written, it will be necessary first to relate a few preceding
circumstances.
When, with the view of preserving a little freedom, I declined the
offer of apartments which Madame Bonaparte had prepared at Malmaison
for myself and my family, I purchased a small house at Ruel: the First
Consul had given orders for the furnishing of this house, as well as
one which I possessed in Paris. From the manner in which the orders were
given I had not the slightest doubt but that Bonaparte intended to
make me a present of the furniture. However, when I left his service
he applied to have it returned. As at first I paid no attention to his
demand, as far as it concerned the furniture at Ruel, he directed Duroc
to write the following letter to me:
The First Consul, my dear Bourrienne, has just ordered me to send
him this evening the keys of your residence in Paris, from which the
furniture is not to be removed.
He also directs me to put into a warehouse whatever furniture you
may have at Ruel or elsewhere which you have obtained from
Government.
I beg of you to send me an answer, so as to assist me in the
execution of these orders. You promised me to have everything
settled before the First Consul's return. I must excuse myself in
the best way I can.
(Signed) DUROC.
24 Brumaire, an X.
(15th November 1802.)
Believing myself to be master of my own actions, I had formed the design
of visiting England, whither I was called by some private business.
However, I was fully aware of the peculiarity of my situation, and I was
resolved to take no step that should in any way justify a reproach.
On the 11th of January I therefore wrote to Duroc:
My affairs require my presence in England for some time. I beg of
you, my dear Duroc, to mention my intended journey to the First
Consul, as I do not wish to do anything inconsistent with his views.
I would rather sacrifice my own interest than displease him. I rely
on your friendship for an early answer to this, for uncertainty
would be fatal to me in many respects.
The answer, which speedily arrived, was as follows:--
MY DEAR BOURRIENNE--I have presented to the First Consul the letter
I just received from you. He read it, and said, "No!"
That is the only answer I can give you. (Signed) DUROC.
This monosyllable was expressive. It proved to me that Bonaparte was
conscious how ill he had treated me; and, suspecting that I was actuated
by the desire of vengeance, he was afraid of my going to England, lest I
should there take advantage of that liberty of the press which he had so
effectually put down in France. He probably imagined that my object was
to publish statements which would more effectually have enlightened the
public respecting his government and designs than all the scandalous
anecdotes, atrocious calumnies, and ridiculous fabrications of
Pelletier, the editor of the 'Ambigu'. But Bonaparte was much deceived
in this supposition; and if there can remain any doubt on that subject,
it will be removed on referring to the date of these Memoirs, and
observing the time at which I consented to publish them.
I was not deceived as to the reasons of Bonaparte's unceremonious
refusal of my application; and as I well knew his inquisitorial
character, I thought it prudent to conceal my notes. I acted differently
from Camoens. He contended with the sea to preserve his manuscripts;
I made the earth the depository of mine. I carefully enclosed my most
valuable notes and papers in a tin box, which I buried under ground.
A yellow tinge, the commencement of decay, has in some places almost
obliterated the writing.
It will be seen in the sequel that my precaution was not useless, and
that I was right in anticipating the persecution of Bonaparte, provoked
by the malice of my enemies. On the 20th of April Duroc sent me the
following note:
I beg, my dear Bourrienne, that you will come to St. Cloud this
morning. I have something to tell you on the part of the First
Consul.
(Signed) DUROC.
This note caused me much anxiety. I could not doubt but that my enemies
had invented some new calumny; but I must say that I did not expect such
baseness as I experienced.
As soon as Duroc had made me acquainted with the business which the
First Consul had directed him to communicate, I wrote on the spot the
subjoined letter to Bonaparte:
At General Duroc's desire I have this moment waited upon him, and he
informs me that you have received notice that a deficit of 100,000
francs has been discovered in the Treasury of the Navy, which you
require me to refund this day at noon.
Citizen First Consul, I know not what this means! I am utterly
ignorant of the matter. I solemnly declare to you that this charge
is a most infamous calumny. It is one more to be added to the
number of those malicious charges which have been invented for the
purpose of destroying any influence I might possess with you.
I am in General Duroc's apartment, where I await your orders.
Duroc carried my note to the First Consul as soon as it was written. He
speedily returned. "All's right!" said he. "He has directed me to say it
was entirely a mistake!--that he is now convinced he was deceived! that
he is sorry for the business, and hopes no more will be said about it."
The base flatterers who surrounded Bonaparte wished him to renew his
Egyptian extortions upon me; but they should have recollected that the
fusillade employed in Egypt for the purpose of raising money was no
longer the fashion in France, and that the days were gone by when it was
the custom to 'grease the wheels of the revolutionary car.'
CHAPTER XVII.
1803.
The First Consul's presentiments respecting the duration of peace--
England's uneasiness at the prosperity of France--Bonaparte's real
wish for war--Concourse of foreigners in Paris--Bad faith of
England--Bonaparte and Lord Whitworth--Relative position of France
and England-Bonaparte's journey to the seaboard departments--
Breakfast at Compiegne--Father Berton--Irritation excited by the
presence of Bouquet--Father Berton's derangement and death--Rapp
ordered to send for me--Order countermanded.
The First Consul never anticipated a long peace with England. He wished
for peace merely because, knowing it to be ardently desired by the
people, after ten years of war he thought it would increase his
popularity and afford him the opportunity of laying the foundation of
his government. Peace was as necessary to enable him to conquer the
throne of France as war was essential to secure it, and to enlarge its
base at the expense of the other thrones of Europe. This was the secret
of the peace of Amiens, and of the rupture which so suddenly followed,
though that rupture certainly took place sooner than the First Consul
wished. On the great questions of peace and war Bonaparte entertained
elevated ideas; but in discussions on the subject he always declared
himself in favour of war. When told of the necessities of the people,
of the advantages of peace, its influence on trade, the arts, national
industry, and every branch of public prosperity, he did not attempt to
deny the argument; indeed, he concurred in it; but he remarked, that all
those advantages were only conditional, so long as England was able
to throw the weight of her navy into the scale of the world, and to
exercise the influence of her gold in all the Cabinets of Europe. Peace
must be broken; since it was evident that England was determined
to break it. Why not anticipate her? Why allow her to have all the
advantages of the first step? We must astonish Europe! We must thwart
the policy of the Continent! We must strike a great and unexpected blow.
Thus reasoned the First Consul, and every one may judge whether his
actions agreed with his sentiments.
The conduct of England too well justified the foresight of Bonaparte's
policy; or rather England, by neglecting to execute her treaties, played
into Bonaparte's hand, favoured his love for war, and justified the
prompt declaration of hostilities in the eyes of the French nation, whom
he wished to persuade that if peace were broken it would be against his
wishes. England was already at work with the powerful machinery of
her subsidies, and the veil beneath which she attempted to conceal her
negotiations was still sufficiently transparent for the lynx eye of the
First Consul. It was in the midst of peace that all those plots were
hatched, while millions who had no knowledge of their existence were
securely looking forward to uninterrupted repose.
Since the Revolution Paris had never presented such a spectacle as
during the winter of 1802-3. At that time the concourse of foreigners
in the French capital was immense. Everything wore the appearance of
satisfaction, and the external signs of public prosperity. The visible
regeneration in French society exceedingly annoyed the British Ministry.
The English who flocked to the Continent discovered France to be very
different from what she was described to be by the English papers. This
caused serious alarm on the other side of the Channel, and the English
Government endeavoured by unjust complaints to divert attention from
just dissatisfaction, which its own secret intrigues excited. The King
of England sent a message to Parliament, in which he spoke of armaments
preparing in the ports of France, and of the necessity of adopting
precautions against meditated aggressions. This instance of bad faith
highly irritated the First Consul, who one day, in a fit of displeasure,
thus addressed Lord Whitworth in the salon, where all the foreign
Ambassadors were assembled:
"What is the meaning of this? Are you then tired of peace? Must Europe
again be deluged with blood? Preparations for war indeed! Do you think
to overawe us by this? You shall see that France may be conquered,
perhaps destroyed, but never intimidated--never!"
The English Ambassador was astounded at this unexpected sally, to which
he made no reply. He contented himself with writing to his Government an
account of an interview in which the First Consul had so far forgotten
himself,-whether purposely or not I do not pretend to say.
That England wished for war there could be no doubt. She occupied Malta,
it is true, but she had promised to give it up, though she never had any
intention of doing so. She was to have evacuated Egypt, yet there she
still remained; the Cape of Good Hope was to have been surrendered, but
she still retained possession of it. England had signed, at Amiens, a
peace which she had no intention of maintaining. She knew the hatred
of the Cabinets of Europe towards France, and she was sure, by her
intrigues and subsidies, of arming them on her side whenever her plans
reached maturity. She saw France powerful and influential in Europe, and
she knew the ambitious views of the First Consul, who, indeed, had taken
little pains to conceal them.
The First Consul, who had reckoned on a longer duration of the peace of
Amiens, found himself at the rupture of the treaty in an embarrassing
situation. The numerous grants of furloughs, the deplorable condition of
the cavalry, and the temporary absence of artillery, in consequence of
a project for refounding all the field-pieces, caused much anxiety
to Bonaparte. He had recourse to the conscription to fill up the
deficiencies of the army; and the project of refounding the artillery
was abandoned. Supplies of money were obtained from the large towns,
and Hanover, which was soon after occupied, furnished abundance of good
horses for mounting the cavalry.
War had now become inevitable; and as soon as it was declared the
First Consul set out to visit Belgium and the seaboard departments to
ascertain the best means of resisting the anticipated attacks of the
English. In passing through Compiegne he received a visit from Father
Berton, formerly principal of the military school of Brienne. He was
then rector of the school of arts at Compiegne, a situation in which he
had been placed by Bonaparte. I learned the particulars of this visit
through Josephine. Father Berton, whose primitive simplicity of manner
was unchanged since the time when he held us under the authority of his
ferule, came to invite Bonaparte and Josephine to breakfast with him,
which invitation was accepted. Father Berton had at that time living
with him one of our old comrades of Brienne, named Bouquet; but he
expressly forbade him to show himself to Bonaparte or any one of his
suite, because Bouquet, who had been a commissary at headquarters
in Italy, was in disgrace with the First Consul. Bouquet promised
to observe Father Berton's injunctions, but was far from keeping his
promise. As soon as he saw Bonaparte's carriage drive up, he ran to
the door and gallantly handed out Josephine. Josephine, as she took his
hand, said, "Bouquet,--you have ruined yourself!" Bonaparte, indignant
at what he considered an unwarrantable familiarity, gave way to one of
his uncontrollable fits of passion, and as soon as he entered the room
where the breakfast was laid, he seated himself, and then said to his
wife in an imperious tone, "Josephine, sit there!" He then commenced
breakfast, without telling Father Becton to sit down, although a third
plate had been laid for him. Father Becton stood behind his old pupil's
chair apparently confounded at his violence. The scene produced such an
effect on the old man that he became incapable of discharging his duties
at Compiegne. He retired to Rheims, and his intellect soon after became
deranged. I do not pretend to say whether this alienation of mind was
caused by the occurrence I have just related, and the account of which
I received from Josephine. She was deeply afflicted at what had passed.
Father Berton died insane. What I heard from Josephine was afterwards
confirmed by the brother of Father Becton. The fact is, that in
proportion as Bonaparte acquired power he was the more annoyed at the
familiarity of old companions; and, indeed, I must confess that their
familiarity often appeared very ridiculous.
The First Consul's visit to the northern coast took place towards the
end of the year 1803, at which time the English attacked the Dutch
settlements of Surinam, Demerara, and Essequibo, and a convention of
neutrality was concluded between France, Spain, and Portugal. Rapp
accompanied the First Consul, who attentively inspected the preparations
making for a descent on England, which it was never his intention to
effect, as will be shortly shown.
On the First Consul's return I learned from Rapp that I had been spoken
of during the journey, and in the following way:--Bonaparte, being at
Boulogne, wanted some information which no one there could give, him.
Vexed at receiving no satisfactory answer to his inquiries he called
Rapp, and said, "Do you know, Rapp, where Bourrienne is?"--"General, he
is in Paris."--"Write to him to come here immediately, and send off one
of my couriers with the letter." The rumour of the First Consul's sudden
recollection of me spread like lightning, and the time required to write
the letter and despatch the courier was more than sufficient for
the efforts of those whom my return was calculated to alarm. Artful
representations soon checked these spontaneous symptoms of a return to
former feelings and habits. When Rapp carried to the First Consul
the letter he had been directed to write the order was countermanded.
However, Rapp advised me not to leave Paris, or if I did, to mention the
place where I might be found, so that Duroc might have it in his power
to seize on any favourable circumstance without delay. I was well aware
of the friendship of both Rapp and Duroc, and they could as confidently
rely on mine.
CHAPTER XVIII.
1803.
Vast works undertaken--The French and the Roman soldiers--Itinerary
of Bonaparte's journeys to the coast--Twelve hours on horseback--
Discussions in Council--Opposition of Truguet--Bonaparte'a opinion
on the point under discussion--Two divisions of the world--Europe a
province--Bonaparte's jealousy of the dignity of France--The
Englishman in the dockyard of Brest--Public audience at the
Tuilleries--The First Consul's remarks upon England--His wish to
enjoy the good opinion of the English people--Ball at Malmaison--
Lines on Hortense's dancing--Singular motive for giving the ball.
At the time of the rupture with England Bonaparte was, as I have
mentioned, quite unprepared in most branches of the service; yet
everything was created as if by magic, and he seemed to impart to others
a share of his own incredible activity. It is inconceivable how many
things had been undertaken and executed since the rupture of the peace.
The north coast of France presented the appearance of one vast arsenal;
for Bonaparte on this occasion employed his troops like Roman soldiers,
and made the tools of the artisan succeed to the arms of the warrior.
On his frequent journeys to the coast Bonaparte usually set off at
night, and on the following morning arrived at the post office of
Chantilly, where he breakfasted. Rapp, whom I often saw when he was
in Paris, talked incessantly of these journeys, for he almost always
accompanied the First Consul, and it would have been well had he always
been surrounded by such men. In the evening the First Consul supped at
Abbeville, and arrived early next day at the bridge of Brique. "It would
require constitutions of iron to go through what we do," said Rapp.
"We no sooner alight from the carriage than we mount on horseback, and
sometimes remain in our saddles for ten or twelve hours successively.
The First Consul inspects and examines everything, often talks with the
soldiers. How he is beloved by them! When shall we pay a visit to London
with those brave fellows?"
Notwithstanding these continual journeys the First Consul never
neglected any of the business of government, and was frequently present
at the deliberations of the Council. I was still with him when the
question as to the manner in which the treaties of peace should be
concluded came under the consideration of the Council. Some members,
among whom Truguet was conspicuous, were of opinion that, conformably
with an article of the Constitution, the treaties should be proposed by
the Head of the Government, submitted to the Legislative Body, and
after being agreed to promulgated as part of the laws. Bonaparte thought
differently. I was entirely of his opinion, and he said to me, "It
is for the mere pleasure of opposition that they appeal to the
Constitution, for if the Constitution says so it is absurd. There are
some things which cannot become the subject of discussion in a public
assembly; for instance, if I treat with Austria, and my Ambassador
agrees to certain conditions, can those conditions be rejected by the
Legislative Body? It is a monstrous absurdity! Things would be brought
to a fine pass in this way! Lucchesini and Markow would give dinners
every day like Cambacérès; scatter their money about, buy men who are to
be sold, and thus cause our propositions to be rejected. This would be a
fine way to manage matters!"
When Bonaparte, according to his custom, talked to me in the evening of
what had passed in the Council, his language was always composed of a
singular mixture of quotations from antiquity, historical references,
and his own ideas. He talked about the Romans, and I remember when
Mr. Fox was at Paris that he tried to distinguish himself before that
Foreign Minister, whom he greatly esteemed. In his enlarged way of
viewing the world Bonaparte divided it into two large states, the East
and the West: "What matters," he would often say, "that two countries
are separated by rivers or mountains, that they speak different
languages? With very slight shades of variety France, Spain, England,
Italy, and Germany, have the same manners and customs, the same
religion, and the same dress. In them a man can only marry one wife;
slavery is not allowed; and these are the great distinctions which
divide the civilised inhabitants of the globe. With the exception of
Turkey, Europe is merely a province of the world, and our warfare is but
civil strife. There is also another way of dividing nations, namely,
by land and water." Then he would touch on all the European interests,
speak of Russia, whose alliance he wished for, and of England, the
mistress of the seas. He usually ended by alluding to what was then his
favourite scheme--an expedition to India.
When from these general topics Bonaparte descended to the particular
interests of France, he still spoke like a sovereign; and I may truly
say that he showed himself more jealous than any sovereign ever was of
the dignity of France, of which he already considered himself the sole
representative. Having learned that a captain of the English navy had
visited the dockyard of Brest passing himself off as a merchant,
whose passport he had borrowed, he flew into a rage because no one had
ventured to arrest him.--[see James' Naval History for an account of Sir
Sidney Smith's daring exploit.]--Nothing was lost on Bonaparte, and he
made use of this fact to prove to the Council of State the necessity of
increasing the number of commissary-generals of police. At a meeting of
the Council he said, "If there had been a commissary of police at Brest
he would have arrested the English captain and sent him at once to
Paris. As he was acting the part of a spy I would have had him shot as
such. No Englishman, not even a nobleman, or the English Ambassador,
should be admitted into our dockyards. I will soon regulate all this."
He afterwards said to me, "There are plenty of wretches who are selling
me every day to the English without my being subjected to English
spying."
--[During the short and hollow peace of Amiens Bonaparte sent over
to England as consuls and vice-consuls, a number of engineers and
military men, who were instructed to make plans of all the harbours
and coasts of the United Kingdom. They worked in secrecy, yet not
so secretly but that they were soon suspected: the facts were
proved, and they were sent out of the country without ceremony.--
Editor of 1836 edition.]--
He had on one occasion said before an assemblage of generals, senators,
and high officers of State, who were at an audience of the Diplomatic
Body, "The English think that I am afraid of war, but I am not." And
here the truth escaped him, in spite of himself. "My power will lose
nothing by war. In a very short time I can have 2,000,000 of men at
my disposal. What has been the result of the first war? The union of
Belgium and Piedmont to France. This is greatly to our advantage; it
will consolidate our system. France shall not be restrained by foreign
fetters. England has manifestly violated the treaties! It would be
better to render homage to the King of England, and crown him King of
France at Paris, than to submit to the insolent caprices of the English
Government. If, for the sake of preserving peace, at most for only
two months longer, I should yield on a single point, the English would
become the more treacherous and insolent, and would enact the more in
proportion as we yield. But they little know me! Were we to yield to
England now, she would next prohibit our navigation in certain parts of
the world. She would insist on the surrender of our ships. I know
not what she would not demand; but I am not the man to brook such
indignities. Since England wishes for war she shall have it, and that
speedily!"
On the same day Bonaparte said a great deal more about the treachery
of England. The gross calumnies to which he was exposed in the London
newspapers powerfully contributed to increase his natural hatred of the
liberty of the press; and he was much astonished that such attacks
could be made upon him by English subjects when he was at peace with the
English Government.
I had one day a singular proof of the importance which Bonaparte
attached to the opinion of the English people respecting any misconduct
that was attributed to him. What I am about to state will afford another
example of Bonaparte's disposition to employ petty and roundabout means
to gain his ends. He gave a ball at Malmaison when Hortense was in the
seventh month of her pregnancy.
--[This refers to the first son of Louis and of Hortense, Napoleon
Charles, the intended successor of Napoleon, who was born 1802, died
1807, elder brother of Napoleon III.]--
I have already mentioned that he disliked to see women in that
situation, and above all could not endure to see them dance. Yet, in
spite of this antipathy, he himself asked Hortense to dance at the
ball at Malmaison. She at first declined, but Bonaparte was exceedingly
importunate, and said to her in a tone of good-humoured persuasion, "Do,
I beg of you; I particularly wish to see you dance. Come, stand up,
to oblige me." Hortense at last consented. The motive for this
extraordinary request I will now explain.
On the day after the ball one of the newspapers contained some verses
on Hortense's dancing. She was exceedingly annoyed at this, and when
the paper arrived at Malmaison she expressed, displeasure at it.
Even allowing for all the facility of our newspaper wits, she was
nevertheless at a loss to understand how the lines could have been
written and printed respecting a circumstance which only occurred the
night before. Bonaparte smiled, and gave her no distinct answer. When
Hortense knew that I was alone in the cabinet she came in and asked me
to explain the matter; and seeing no reason to conceal the truth, I told
her that the lines had been written by Bonaparte's direction before the
ball took place. I added, what indeed was the fact, that the ball
had been prepared for the verses, and that it was only for the
appropriateness of their application that the First Consul had pressed
her to dance. He adopted this strange contrivance for contradicting an
article which appeared in an English journal announcing that Hortense
was delivered. Bonaparte was highly indignant at that premature
announcement, which he clearly saw was made for the sole purpose of
giving credit to the scandalous rumours of his imputed connection with
Hortense. Such were the petty machinations which not unfrequently found
their place in a mind in which the grandest schemes were revolving.
CHAPTER XIX.
1803.
Mr. Pitt--Motive of his going out of office--Error of the English
Government--Pretended regard for the Bourbons--Violation of the
treaty of Amiens--Reciprocal accusations--Malta--Lord Whitworth's
departure--Rome and Carthage--Secret satisfaction of Bonaparte--
Message to the Senate, the Legislative Body, and the Tribunate--
The King of England's renunciation of the title of King of France--
Complaints of the English Government--French agents in British ports
--Views of France upon Turkey--Observation made by Bonaparte to the
Legislative Body--Its false interpretation--Conquest of Hanover--
The Duke of Cambridge caricatured--The King of England and the
Elector of Hanover--First address to the clergy--Use of the word
"Monsieur"--The Republican weeks and months.
One of the circumstances which foretold the brief duration of the
peace of Amiens was, that Mr. Pitt was out of office at the time of its
conclusion. I mentioned this to Bonaparte, and I immediately perceived
by his hasty "What do you say?" that my observation had been heard--but
not liked. It did not, however, require any extraordinary shrewdness
to see the true motive of Mr. Pitt's retirement. That distinguished
statesman conceived that a truce under the name of a peace was
indispensable for England; but, intending to resume the war with France
more fiercely than ever, he for a while retired from office, and left
to others the task of arranging the peace; but his intention was to mark
his return to the ministry by the renewal of the implacable hatred
he had vowed against France. Still, I have always thought that the
conclusion of peace, however necessary to England, was an error of the
Cabinet of London. England alone had never before acknowledged any of
the governments which had risen up in France since the Revolution; and
as the past could not be blotted out, a future war, however successful
to England, could not take from Bonaparte's Government the immense
weight it had acquired by an interval of peace. Besides, by the mere
fact of the conclusion of the treaty England proved to all Europe that
the restoration of the Bourbons was merely a pretext, and she defaced
that page of her history which might have shown that she was actuated
by nobler and more generous sentiments than mere hatred of France. It
is very certain that the condescension of England in treating with the
First Consul had the effect of rallying round him a great many partisans
of the Bourbons, whose hopes entirely depended on the continuance of war
between Great Britain and France. This opened the eyes of the greater
number, namely, those who could not see below the surface, and were not
previously aware that the demonstrations of friendship so liberally made
to the Bourbons by the European Cabinets, and especially by England,
were merely false pretences, assumed for the purpose of disguising,
beneath the semblance of honourable motives, their wish to injure
France, and to oppose her rapidly increasing power.
When the misunderstanding took place, France and England might have
mutually reproached each other, but justice was apparently on the side
of France. It was evident that England, by refusing to evacuate Malta,
was guilty of a palpable infraction of the treaty of Amiens, while
England could only institute against France what in the French law
language is called a suit or process of tendency. But it must be
confessed that this tendency on the part of France to augment her
territory was very evident, for the Consular decrees made conquests more
promptly than the sword. The union of Piedmont with France had changed
the state of Europe. This union, it is true, was effected previously
to the treaty of Amiens; but it was not so with the states of Parma and
Piacenza, Bonaparte having by his sole authority constituted himself the
heir of the Grand Duke, recently deceased. It may therefore be easily
imagined how great was England's uneasiness at the internal prosperity
of France and the insatiable ambition of her ruler; but it is no less
certain that, with respect to Malta, England acted with decidedly bad
faith; and this bad faith appeared in its worst light from the following
circumstance:--It had been stipulated that England should withdraw her
troops from Malta three months after the signing of the treaty, yet more
than a year had elapsed, and the troops were still there. The order of
Malta was to be restored as it formerly was; that is to say, it was to
be a sovereign and independent order, under the protection of the Holy
See. The three Cabinets of Vienna, Berlin, and St. Petersburg were to
guarantee the execution of the treaty of Amiens. The English Ambassador,
to excuse the evasions of his Government, pretended that the Russian
Cabinet concurred with England in the delayed fulfilment of the
conditions of the treaty; but at the very moment he was making that
excuse a courier arrived from the Cabinet of St. Petersburg bearing
despatches completely, at variance with the assertion of Lord Whitworth.
His lordship left Paris on the night of the 12th May 1803, and the
English Government, unsolicited, sent passports to the French embassy
in London. The news of this sudden rupture made the English console fall
four per cent., but did not immediately produce such a retrograde effect
on the French funds, which were then quoted at fifty-five francs;--a
very high point, when it is recollected that they were at seven or eight
francs on the eve of the 18th Brumaire.
In this state of things France proposed to the English Government to
admit of the mediation of Russia; but as England had declared war
in order to repair the error she committed in concluding peace, the
proposition was of course rejected. Thus the public gave the First
Consul credit for great moderation and a sincere wish for peace. Thus
arose between England and France a contest resembling those furious wars
which marked the reigns of King John and Charles VII. Our beaux esprits
drew splendid comparisons between the existing state of things and the
ancient rivalry of Carthage and Rome, and sapiently concluded that, as
Carthage fell, England must do so likewise.
Bonaparte was at St. Cloud when Lord Whitworth left Paris. A fortnight
was spent in useless attempts to renew negotiations. War, therefore, was
the only alternative. Before he made his final preparations the First
Consul addressed a message to the Senate, the Legislative Body, and
the Tribunate. In this message he mentioned the recall of the English
Ambassador, the breaking out of hostilities, the unexpected message
of the King of England to his Parliament, and the armaments which
immediately ensued in the British ports. "In vain," he said, "had France
tried every means to induce England to abide by the treaty. She had
repelled every overture, and increased the insolence of her demands.
France," he added, "will not submit to menaces, but will combat for
the faith of treaties, and the honour of the French name, confidently
trusting that the result of the contest will be such as she has a right
to expect from the justice of her cause and the courage of her people."
This message was dignified, and free from that vein of boasting in
which Bonaparte so frequently indulged. The reply of the Senate was
accompanied by a vote of a ship of the line, to be paid for out of the
Senatorial salaries. With his usual address Bonaparte, in acting for
himself, spoke in the name of the people, just as he did in the question
of the Consulate for life. But what he then did for his own interests
turned to the future interests of the Bourbons. The very treaty which
had just been broken off gave rise to a curious observation. Bonaparte,
though not yet a sovereign, peremptorily required the King of England to
renounce the empty title of King of France, which was kept up as if to
imply that old pretensions were not yet renounced. The proposition was
acceded to, and to this circumstance was owing the disappearance of the
title of King of France from among the titles of the King of England,
when the treaty of Paris was concluded on the return of the Bourbons.
The first grievance complained of by England was the prohibition of
English merchandise, which had been more rigid since the peace than
during the war. The avowal of Great Britain on this point might well
have enabled her to dispense with any other subject of complaint; for
the truth is, she was alarmed at the aspect of our internal prosperity,
and at the impulse given to our manufactures. The English Government had
hoped to obtain from the First Consul such a commercial treaty as would
have proved a death-blow to our rising trade; but Bonaparte opposed
this, and from the very circumstance of his refusal he might easily have
foreseen the rupture at which he affected to be surprised. What I state
I felt at the time, when I read with great interest all the documents
relative to this great dispute between the two rival nations, which
eleven years afterwards was decided before the walls of Paris.
It was evidently disappointment in regard to a commercial treaty which
created the animosity of the English Government, as that circumstance
was alluded to, by way of reproach, in the King of England's
declaration. In that document it was complained that France had sent
a number of persona into the ports of Great Britain and Ireland in the
character of commercial agents, which character, and the privileges
belonging to it, they could only have acquired by a commercial treaty.
Such was, in my opinion, the real cause of the complaints of England;
but as it would have seemed too absurd to make it the ground of a
declaration of war, she enumerated other grievances, viz., the union of
Piedmont and of the states of Parma and Piacenza with France, and the
continuance of the French troops in Holland. A great deal was said
about the views and projects of France with respect to Turkey, and this
complaint originated in General Sebastiani's mission to Egypt. On that
point I can take upon me to say that the English Government was
not misinformed. Bonaparte too frequently spoke to me of his ideas
respecting the East, and his project of attacking the English power in
India, to leave any doubt of his ever having renounced them. The result
of all the reproaches which the two Governments addressed to each other
was, that neither acted with good faith.
The First Consul, in a communication to the Legislative Body on the
state of France and on her foreign relations; had said, "England,
single-handed, cannot cope with France." This sufficed to irritate the
susceptibility of English pride, and the British Cabinet affected to
regard it as a threat. However, it was no such thing. When Bonaparte
threatened, his words were infinitely more energetic. The passage above
cited was merely an assurance to France; and if we only look at the past
efforts and sacrifices made by England to stir up enemies to France
on the Continent, we may be justified in supposing that her anger at
Bonaparte's declaration arose from a conviction of its truth. Singly
opposed to France, England could doubtless have done her much harm,
especially by assailing the scattered remnants of her navy; but she
could have done nothing against France on the Continent. The two
powers, unaided by allies, might have continued long at war without any
considerable acts of hostility.
The first effect of the declaration of war by England was the invasion
of Hanover by the French troops under General Mortier. The telegraphic
despatch by which this news was communicated to Paris was as laconic
as correct, and contained, in a few words, the complete history of the
expedition. It ran as follows: "The French are masters of the Electorate
of Hanover, and the enemy's army are made prisoners of war." A day
or two after the shop windows of the print-sellers were filled with
caricatures on the English, and particularly on the Duke of Cambridge.
I recollect seeing one in which the Duke was represented reviewing his
troops mounted on a crab. I mention these trifles because, as I was then
living entirely at leisure, in the Rue Hauteville, I used frequently to
take a stroll on the Boulevards, where I was sometimes much amused with
these prints; and I could not help remarking, that in large cities such
trifles have more influence on the public mind than is usually supposed.
The First Consul thought the taking of the prisoners in Hanover a good
opportunity to exchange them for those taken from us by the English
navy. A proposition to this effect was accordingly made; but the English
Cabinet was of opinion that, though the King of England was also Elector
of Hanover, yet there was no identity between the two Governments,
of both which George III. was the head. In consequence of this subtle
distinction the proposition for the exchange of prisoners fell to the
ground. At this period nothing could exceed the animosity of the two
Governments towards each other, and Bonaparte, on the declaration
of war, marked his indignation by an act which no consideration can
justify; I allude to the order for the arrest of all the English in
France--a truly barbarious measure; for; can anything be more cruel
and unjust than to visit individuals with the vengeance due to the
Government whose subjects they may happen to be? But Bonaparte, when
under the influence of anger, was never troubled by scruples.
I must here notice the fulfilment of a remark Bonaparte often made, use
of to me during the Consulate. "You shall see, Bourrienne," he would
say, "what use I will make of the priests."
War being declared, the First Consul, in imitation of the most Christian
kings of olden times, recommended the success of his arms to the
prayers of the faithful through the medium of the clergy. To this end he
addressed a circular letter, written in royal style, to the Cardinals,
Archbishops, and Bishops of France.
It was as follows:
MONSIEUR--The motives of the present war are known throughout
Europe. The bad faith of the King of England, who has violated his
treaties by refusing to restore Malta to the order of St. John of
Jerusalem, and attacked our merchant vessels without a previous
declaration of war, together with the necessity of a just defence,
forced us to have recourse to arms. I therefore wish you to order
prayers to be offered up, in order to obtain the benediction of
Heaven on our enterprises. The proofs I have received of your zeal
for the public service give me an assurance of your readiness to
conform with my wishes.
Given at St. Cloud, 18 Prairial, an XI. (7th June 1803).
(Signed) BONAPARTE.
This letter was remarkable in more than one respect. It astonished most
of his old brothers-in-arms, who turned it into ridicule; observing that
Bonaparte needed no praying to enable him to conquer Italy twice over.
The First Consul, however, let them laugh on, and steadily followed the
line he had traced out. His letter was admirably calculated to please
the Court of Rome, which he wished should consider him in the light of
another elder son of the Church. The letter was, moreover, remarkable
for the use of the word "Monsieur," which the First Consul now employed
for the first time in an act destined for publicity. This circumstance
would seem to indicate that he considered Republican designations
incompatible with the forms due to the clergy: the clergy were
especially interested in the restoration of monarchy. It may, perhaps,
be thought that I dwell too much on trifles; but I lived long enough in
Bonaparte's confidence to know the importance he attached to trifles.
The First Consul restored the old names of the days of the week, while
he allowed the names of the months, as set down in the Republican
calendar, to remain. He commenced by ordering the Moniteur to be dated
"Saturday," such a day of "Messidor." "See," said he one day, "was there
ever such an inconsistency? We shall be laughed at! But I will do away
with the Messidor. I will efface all the inventions of the Jacobins."
The clergy did not disappoint the expectations of the First Consul. They
owed him much already, and hoped for still more from him. The letter
to the Bishops, etc., was the signal for a number of circulars full of
eulogies on Bonaparte.
These compliments were far from displeasing to the First Consul, who
had no objection to flattery though he despised those who meanly made
themselves the medium of conveying it to him. Duroc once told me that
they had all great difficulty in preserving their gravity when the cure
of a parish in Abbeville addressed Bonaparte one day while he was on
his journey to the coast. "Religion," said the worthy cure, with pompous
solemnity, "owes to you all that it is, we owe to you all that we are;
and I, too, owe to you all that I am."
--[Not so fulsome as some of the terms used a year later when
Napoleon was made Emperor. "I am what I am," was placed over a seat
prepared for the Emperor. One phrase, "God made Napoleon and then
rested," drew from Narbonne the sneer that it would have been better
if the Deity had rested sooner. "Bonaparte," says Joseph de
Maistre, "has had himself described in his papers as the 'Messenger
of God.' Nothing more true. Bonaparte comes straight from heaven,
like a thunderbolt." (Saints-Benve, Caureries, tome iv. p. 203.)]
CHAPTER XX.
1803.
Presentation of Prince Borghese to Bonaparte--Departure for Belgium
Revival of a royal custom--The swans of Amiens--Change of formula
in the acts of Government--Company of performers in Bonaparte's
suite--Revival of old customs--Division of the institute into four
classes--Science and literature--Bonaparte's hatred of literary men
--Ducis--Bernardin de Saint-Pierre--Chenier and Lemercier--
Explanation of Bonaparte's aversion to literature--Lalande and his
dictionary--Education in the hands of Government--M. de Roquelaure,
Archbishop of Malines.
In the month of April 1803 Prince Borghese, who was destined one day to
become Bonaparte's brother-in-law by marrying the widow of Leclerc, was
introduced to the First Consul by Cardinal Caprara.
About the end of June Bonaparte proceeded, with Josephine, on
his journey to Belgium and the seaboard departments. Many curious
circumstances were connected with this journey, of which I was informed
by Duroc after the First Consul's return. Bonaparte left Paris on the
24th of June, and although it was not for upwards of a year afterwards
that his brow was encircled with the imperial-diadem, everything
connected with the journey had an imperial air. It was formerly the
custom, when the Kings of France entered the ancient capital of Picardy,
for the town of Amiens to offer them in homage some beautiful swans.
Care was taken to revive this custom, which pleased Bonaparte greatly,
because it was treating him like a King. The swans were accepted, and
sent to Paris to be placed in the basin of the Tuileries, in order to
show the Parisians the royal homage which the First Consul received when
absent from the capital.
It was also during this journey that Bonaparte began to date his decrees
from the places through which he passed. He had hitherto left a great
number of signatures in Paris, in order that he might be present, as it
were, even during his absence, by the acts of his Government. Hitherto
public acts had been signed in the name of the Consuls of the Republic.
Instead of this formula, he substituted the name of the Government
of the Republic. By means of this variation, unimportant as it might
appear, the Government was always in the place where the First Consul
happened to be. The two other Consuls were now mere nullities, even
in appearance. The decrees of the Government, which Cambacérès signed
during the campaign of Marengo, were now issued from all the towns of
France and Belgium which the First Consul visited during his six weeks'
journey. Having thus centred the sole authority of the Republic in
himself, the performers of the theatre of the Republic became, by a
natural consequence, his; and it was quite natural that they should
travel in his suite, to entertain the inhabitants of the towns in which
he stopped by their performances. But this was not all. He encouraged
the renewal of a host of ancient customs. He sanctioned the revival of
the festival of Joan of Arc at Orleans, and he divided the Institute
into four classes, with the intention of recalling the recollection of
the old academies, the names of which, however, he rejected, in spite of
the wishes and intrigues of Suard and the Abby Morellet, who had gained
over Lucien upon this point.
However, the First Consul did not give to the classes of the Institute
the rank which they formerly possessed as academies. He placed the class
of sciences in the first rank, and the old French Academy in the second
rank. It must be acknowledged that, considering the state of literature
and science at that period, the First Consul did not make a wrong
estimate of their importance.