forest of Saint-Germain. I spent two months there with her, my
uncle Canrobert, who had returned from emigration, and an old
knight of Malta, M. d'Estresse, a friend of my late father.
Adolphe was not in Paris, he was in Rennes with Bernadotte, the
commander-in-chief of the army of the west, but my younger
brothers and M. Gault came to see us from time to time. In spite
of the kindness and shows of affection which were lavished on me,
I fell into a state of sombre melancholy, and my health
deteriorated. I had suffered so much, physically and mentally! I
became incapable of doing any work. Reading which I had always
loved became insupportable. I spent the greater part of the day
alone in the forest, where I lay in the shade absorbed in my
sorrowful reflections. In the evenings, I accompanied my mother,
my uncle, and the old knight on their usual walk along the bank
of the Seine; but I took very little part in the conversation,
and hid from them my sad thoughts, which revolved always about my
poor father, dying for want of proper care. Although my condition
alarmed my mother, Canrobert, and M. d'Estresse, they had the
good sense not to make matters worse by any remarks which would
have only irritated a sick mind, but they sought gradually to
chase away the unhappy memories which were so affecting me by
bringing forward the holidays of my two younger brothers, who
came to live with us in the country. The presence of these two
children, whom I dearly loved, eased my mind of its sorrows, by
the care I took to make their stay at Carriere a happy one. I
took them to Versailles, to Maisons and to Marly, and their
childish happiness slowly brought back to life my spirits which
had been so cruelly crushed by misfortune. Who could have thought
that these two children, so lovely and full of life would soon be
no more?
Chap. 14.
The end of the autumn of 1800 was approaching; my mother went
back to Paris, my young brothers went back to school, and I was
ordered to join Bernadotte at Rennes.
Bernadotte had been my father's best friend, and my father had
helped him in various ways on many occasions. In recognition of
the debt owed to my family, he had written to me saying that he
had reserved a place for me as his aide-de-camp. I received this
letter at Nice when I returned from Genoa, and on the strength of
it, I refused an offer from General Massena to take me on as a
permanent aide-de-camp, and to allow me to spend several months
with my mother before joining him and the army of Italy.
My father had arranged that my brother Adolphe should continue
his studies in order to enter the polytechnic; so he was not a
soldier when my father died; but on hearing this sad news, he
rebelled at the thought that his younger brother was already an
officer, and had been in action, while he was still on a school
bench. He gave up the studies required for the technical arms,
and opted to join the infantry instead, which allowed him to
leave school.
He was presented with a good opportunity. The government had
ordered a new regiment to be raised in the department of the
Seine. The officers for this regiment were to be selected by
General Lefebvre, who, as you know, had replaced my father in
command of the Paris division. General Lefebvre was only too
pleased to do something for the son of one of his old companions
who had died in the service of his country; he therefore awarded
my brother the rank of sous-lieutenant in this new unit. So far,
so good! But instead of going to join his company, and without
waiting for my return from Genoa, Adolphe hurried off to General
Bernadotte, who, without further ado, handed the vacant post to
the first brother to arrive, as if it was the prize in a race! So
when I went to join the general staff at Rennes, I learned that
my brother had been gazetted as permanent aide-de-camp, and I was
only a supernumerary, that is to say temporary. I was very
disappointed, because, had I expected this, I would have accepted
the proposal made by General Massena. But this opportunity had
now passed. It was in vain that General Bernadotte assured me
that he would obtain an increase in the establishment of his
aides-de-camp, I did not think this likely, and was convinced
that I would soon be moved elsewhere.
Bernadotte's staff was made up of officers who nearly all reached
senior positions; four were already colonels. The most
outstanding was, undoubtedly, Gerard. He was very clever, brave
and had a natural talent for warfare. He was under the command of
Marshal Grouchy at Waterloo, and gave him some sound advice,
which could have led us to victory. Out of the eleven
aides-de-camp attached to Bernadotte's staff, two became
marshals, three lieutenant-generals, four were brigadiers and one
was killed in action.
In the winter of 1800, Portugal, backed by the English, had
declared war on Spain, and the French government had resolved to
support the latter. In consequence, troops were sent to Bayonne
and Bordeaux, and the companies of Grenadiers who belonged to
various regiments scattered throughout Brittany and the Vendee
were gathered together at Tours. This corps d'elite was intended
to be the nucleus of the so-called army of Portugal, which
Bernadotte was destined to command. The general had to move his
headquarters to Tours; to where had to be sent all his horses and
equipment, as well all that was required for the officers
attached to his service. But the general, partly to receive his
final orders from the First Consul and partly to take Madame
Bernadotte back, had to go to Paris; and as it was customary in
these circumstances during the absence of the general for the
officers of his staff to be permitted to go and take leave of
their families, it was decided that all the permanent aides could
go to Paris, and that the supernumeraries would go to Tours with
the baggage to supervise the servants, pay them every month,
arrange with the supply commission for the distribution of
forage, and the allotment of lodgings for the great number of men
and horses. This disagreeable duty fell to me and my fellow
supernumerary Lieutenant Maurin.
In the depths of winter and the most atrocious weather, we made
on horseback the long eight days journey from Rennes to Tours,
where we had all sorts of difficulties in setting up the
headquarters. We had been told that we would not be there for
much more than a fortnight, but we stayed there, bored stiff, for
six weary months, while our comrades were disporting themselves
in the capital. That was a foretaste of the unpleasant duties
which fell to me as a supernumerary aide-de-camp. So ended the
year 1800, during which I had undergone so much mental and
physical suffering.
The town of Tours had many inhabitants, and there were many
diversions; but although I received many invitations I did not
accept any of them. Fortunately my time was fully occupied in
looking after the large collection of men and horses, without
which the isolation in which I lived would have been
insupportable. The number of horses belonging to the
commander-in-chief and the officers of his staff amounted to more
than eighty, and all were at my disposal. I rode two or three
every day, and went for some long rides round Tours, which
although solitary, had for me much charm, and gave me gentle
solace.
Chap. 15.
The First Consul now changed his mind about the army of Portugal.
He gave the command to his brother-in-law, General Leclerc, and
kept General Bernadotte in command of the army of the west. In
consequence, the general staff, which my brother and the other
aides-de-camp had just joined at Tours, was ordered to return to
Brittany and betake itself to Brest, where the commander-in-chief
was to be stationed. It is a long way from Tours to Brest, but
the weather was fair, we were a young crowd, and the trip was
great fun. I was unable to ride on horseback, because of an
accidental injury to my hindquarters, so I rode in one of the
commander-in-chief's coaches. We found him awaiting us at Brest.
The harbour at Brest held at that time not only a great number of
French vessels, but also the Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral
Gravina, who was later killed at Trafalgar. When we arrived in
Brest, the two allied fleets were expected to take to Ireland,
General Bernadotte and a large invading force of French and
Spanish troops; but while we awaited this expedition,--which
never actually took place--the presence of so many army and naval
officers greatly animated the town of Brest. The
commander-in-chief, the admirals and several of the generals
entertained daily. The troops of the two nations mingled on the
best of terms, and I made the acquaintance of several Spanish
officers.
We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves at Brest, when the
commander-in-chief decided it would be a good idea to move his
headquarters to Rennes, a dismal town, but more in the centre of
his command. We had hardly arrived there when what I had foreseen
happened. The First Consul cut the number of aides-de-camp
allotted to the commander-in-chief. He was allowed only one
colonel, five officers of lower rank and no additional officers.
As a result I was told that I was to be posted to a regiment of
light cavalry. I would have resigned myself to this, if it had
been to return to the first Hussars, where I was known and whose
uniform I wore; but it was more than a year since I had left the
regiment, and I had been replaced, so I was ordered to join the
25th Chasseurs, who had just gone to Spain and were on the
frontier with Portugal around Salamanca and Zamora. I felt
increasingly bitter about the way I had been treated by General
Bernadotte, for without his false promises I would have been an
aide-de-camp to Messena and regained my place in the 1st Hussars.
So I was much discontented....But one must obey. Once I had got
over my resentment--which does not last long at that age--I could
not wait to get on the road and leave General Bernadotte, of whom
I thought I had good reason to complain. I had very little money.
My father had often lent money to Bernadotte, in particular when
he bought the estate of Lagrange; but although he knew that,
scarcely recovered from an injury, I was about to cross a large
part of France and all of Spain and, what is more, had to buy a
new uniform, he never offered to advance me a sou; and not for
anything in the world would I have asked him to do so. Very
luckily for me my mother had, at Rennes, an elderly uncle, M. de
Verdal of Gruniac, a former major in the infantry of Ponthievre,
with whom she had spent the first years of the revolution. This
old man was a little eccentric, but very good-hearted; not only
did he advance me the money which I desperately needed, but he
gave it to me out of his own pocket.
Although, at this period, the Chasseurs wore the same dolman as
the Hussars, theirs was green. I was foolish enough to shed a few
tears when I had to discard the Bercheny uniform, and renounce
the name of Hussar to become a Chasseur!
My farewell to General Bernadotte was somewhat cool; however he
gave me letters of introduction to Lucien Bonaparte, our
ambassador at Madrid, and to General Leclerc, our commander in
Portugal.
On the day of my departure, all the aides-de-camp joined me in a
farewell luncheon; then I set out with a heavy heart. I arrived
at Nantes after two days of travel, dog tired, with a pain in my
side, and quite sure that I would not be able to stand riding on
horseback the four hundred and fifty leagues which I had to cover
to reach the frontier of Portugal. By chance, however, I met in
the house of an old acquaintance from Soreze, who lived in
Nantes, a Spanish officer named Don Raphael, who was on his way
to join his regimental depot at Estramadura. We agreed to travel
together, and that I would be guide as far as the Pyrenees, after
which he would take over.
We went by stage-coach through the Vendee, where almost all the
market towns and villages still bore the marks of fire although
the civil war had been over for two years. These ruins made a
sorry spectacle. We passed through La Rochelle, Rochefort and
Bordeaux. From Bordeaux to Bayonne we rode in a sort of "Berlin"
which never went at faster than a walking pace over the sands of
Landes, so we often got out and walked alongside until we would
stop to rest under a group of pine trees. Then, sitting in the
shade, Don Raphael would take up his mandolin and sing. In this
way we took six days to reach Bayonne.
Before crossing the Pyrenees, I had to report to the general
commanding Bayonne. His name was General Ducos, an excellent man,
who had served under my father. Out of concern for my safety, he
wished to delay my entry into Spain for a few days, because he
had just heard that a gang of robbers had plundered some
travellers not far from the frontier. Even before the War of
Independence and the Civil Wars, the Spanish character, at once
both adventurous and lazy, had given them a noticeable taste for
brigandage, and this taste was encouraged by the splitting up of
the country into several kingdoms which once formed independent
states, each with its own laws, usages, and frontiers. Some of
these states imposed customs duties, some, such as Biscay and
Navarre, did not; and the result was that the inhabitants of the
customs-free countries constantly tried to smuggle dutiable goods
into those whose frontiers were guarded by lines of armed and
active customs officers. The smugglers, on their part, had, from
time immemorial, formed bands, which employed force when cunning
was insufficient, and whose occupation was not considered in any
way dishonourable by the majority of Spaniards, who saw it as a
just war against the imposition of customs. Preparing their
expeditions, collecting intelligence, posting armed guards,
hiding in the mountains, where they lie about smoking and
sleeping, such is the life of the smugglers, who, as a result of
the large profits to be made from a single operation, can live in
comfortable idleness for several months. However, when the
customs officers, with whom they have frequent skirmishes, have
been victorious and confiscated their goods, these Spanish
smugglers, reduced to extremes, think nothing of becoming
highwaymen, a profession which they pursue with a certain
magnanimity, since they never kill travellers, and always leave
them the means to continue their journey. They had just done as
much to an English family, and General Ducos, who wished to spare
us the disagreeable experience of being robbed, had for this
reason decided to delay our departure; but Don Raphael assured
him that he knew enough about the habits of Spanish robbers to be
certain that the safest time to travel in a province was just
after a gang had committed some offence, because they then
cleared off and hid for a while. So general Ducos allowed us to
leave.
Draught-horses were at this time unknown in Spain, where all
coaches, even the king's, were drawn by mules. There were no
stage-coaches, and in the post-houses nothing but saddle horses.
So that even the greatest of noblemen, who had their own coaches,
were forced when they travelled to hire harness mules and go by
short stages. The comfortably off took light carriages, which did
not go more than ten leagues a day. The ordinary people attached
themselves to caravanserais of donkey-men, who carried baggage in
the same way as our carters, but no one travelled alone, partly
for fear of robbers, and partly because of the mistrust with
which a solitary traveller was regarded. After our arrival in
Bayonne, Don Raphael, who was now in charge, said to me that as
we were not such grandees that we could hire a coach, nor so poor
that we had to join the donkey-men, there remained only two
possibilities, either we rode on horseback or we took a seat in a
carriage. Travelling on horseback, of which I have done so much,
did not seem suitable, as we would have no means of carrying our
baggage, so it was decided that we should go by carriage.
Don Raphael bargained with an individual who agreed to take us to
Salamanca for 800 francs a head, and to lodge us and feed us on
the way, at his own expense. This was double what a similar
journey would have cost in France, and I had already spent a lot
of money to get to Bayonne; but that was the price, and as there,
was no other way for me to join my new regiment, I had to accept.
We left in an enormous and ancient four-wheeled carriage, in
which three of the seats were occupied by a citizen of Cadiz, his
wife and daughter, while a Benedictine Prior from the university
of Salamanca completed the party.
Everything was new to me on this trip. Firstly, the harnessing,
which greatly surprised me. The team consisted of six splendid
mules, of which, to my astonishment, only the two on the shaft
had bridles and reins, the remaining four went freely, guided
only by the voices of the coachman and his "Zagal" who, agile as
a squirrel, sometimes went for more than a league on foot,
running beside his mules, which were at full trot, then, in a
blink of an eye he would climb up on to the seat beside his
master, only to get down and then up again; which he did twenty
times a day; going round the coach and the harness to make sure
that nothing was out of order, and while doing all this, singing
to encourage his mules, each one of which he called by name. He
never struck them, his voice alone being enough to urge on any
mule which was not pulling its weight.
These activities, and in particular the man's singing, I found
most entertaining. I also took a lively interest in what was said
in the coach, for, although I did not speak Spanish, what I knew
of Italian and Latin enabled me to understand much of what my
fellow passengers were saying, to whom I replied in French, which
they understood reasonably well. I did not smoke, but the five
Spaniards, even the two ladies and the monk, soon lit up their
cigars. We were all in good spirits. Don Raphael, the ladies, and
even the fat monk sang together.
Normally we left in the morning. We stopped from one o'clock to
three, to dine, rest the mules, and allow the heat of the day to
pass, during which time one slept; what the Spanish call the
siesta. Then we went on to our night stop. The meals were
sufficiently plentiful, but the Spanish cuisine seemed to me, at
first, to taste awful, however I got used to it; but I could
never have got used to the horrible beds which we were offered at
night in the pousadas or inns. They were really disgusting, and
Don Raphael, who had just spent a year in France was forced to
agree. To avoid this unpleasantness, on the first day of my
arrival in Spain, I asked if I could sleep on a bale of straw.
Sadly, I discovered that such a thing as a bale of straw was
unknown in Spain, because, instead of threshing the sheaves of
corn they have them trampled under foot by mules, which breaks
the straw into short bits, scarcely as long as a finger. But I
had the bright idea of filling a large cloth sack with this short
straw, which I placed in a barn and slept on covered by my cloak;
thus avoiding the vermin with which the beds and the rooms were
infested. In the morning I emptied the sack and put it in the
coach and each evening I refilled it so that I had a clean
palliasse. Don Raphael followed my example.
We crossed the provinces of Navarre, Biscay and Alava, country of
high mountains; then we crossed the Ebro and entered the immense
plains of Castile. We passed through Burgos and Valladolid, and
arrived, at last, after a journey lasting fifteen days, at
Salamanca.
There, not without regret I parted from my good travelling
companion, whom I was to meet once more in the same part of the
world, during the War of Independence. General Leclerc was at
Salamanca. He received me kindly, and even proposed that I should
stay with him as a supernumerary aide-de-camp, but my recent
experience had taught me that although the post of aide-de-camp
offers one more freedom and comfort than regimental duty, this is
only when one is on the establishment. As a supernumerary you are
landed with all the unpleasant jobs, and you have only a very
precarious position. I therefore turned down the favour which I
was offered and asked to go and join my regiment. It was a good
thing that I took this step, because, the following year, the
general, having been given the command of the expedition to Santa
Dominica, took with him, on his general staff, a lieutenant who
had accepted the post which I had turned down, and all these
officers and the general died of yellow fever.
I joined the 25th Chasseurs at Salamanca. The colonel was M.
Moreau, an old officer and a very fine fellow. He gave me a warm
welcome, as did my new comrades; and in a few days I was on the
best of terms with everybody. I was introduced to the town's
society, for at that time the presence of the French was highly
acceptable to the Spanish, and completely opposite to what it
became later. In 1801 we were their allies. We had come to fight
for them against the Portuguese and the English, so we were
treated as friends. The French officers were billeted with the
wealthiest inhabitants and there was competition to have them. We
were received everywhere. We were overwhelmed by invitations.
Being thus admitted into the family life of the Spaniards, we
learned more, in a short time, about their way of living than
officers who came to the peninsula during the War of Independence
could have learned in several years.
I was billeted in the home of a university professor, who had
given me a very nice room looking out onto the handsome Salamanca
square. My regimental duties were not very onerous and left me
plenty of leisure time, which I used to study the Spanish
language, which is, in my opinion, the most elegant and beautiful
in Europe. It was at Salamanca that I saw, for the first time,
the famous General Lasalle. He sold me a horse.
The fifteen thousand French troops sent to Spain with General
Leclerc formed the right wing of the Spanish Grand Army, which
was commanded by the "Prince de la Paix" and we were therefore
under his orders. This man (Emmanuel Godoy) was the queen's
favourite and was, in effect, the king. He came to revue us on
one occasion. He seemed to me to be very pleased with himself,
and although he was small and undistinguished looking, he was not
lacking in charm and ability.
Godoy started the army moving, and our regiment went to Toro and
then to Zamora. I was sorry to leave Salamanca at first, but we
were as well received in other towns, particularly in Zamora,
where I stayed in the house of a rich merchant who had a superb
garden, where a numerous society would gather in the evenings to
make music and pass part of the night in conversation amid groves
of pomegranates myrtles and lemon trees. It is difficult to
appreciate fully the beauties of nature if one has not
experienced the delicious nights of the southern countries.
We had, however, to tear ourselves away from the pleasant life
which we were leading to go and attack the Portuguese. We crossed
the border: there were a few small engagements which all went our
way: the French troops went to Viseu, while the Spanish came down
the Tagus and reached Alantejo: we expected to enter Lisbon soon,
as conquerors. But the Prince de la Paix, who had, without much
reflection, called the French troops into the peninsula, now,
also without much reflection, took fright at their presence, and
to get rid of them he concluded, without the knowledge of the
First Consul, a peace treaty with the Portuguese, which he
cunningly had ratified by the French ambassador, Lucien
Bonaparte. This greatly annoyed the First Consul, and caused,
from that day, a rift between the two brothers.
The French troops stayed for several months longer in Portugal,
until the beginning of 1802; then we returned to Spain and
successively to our previous charming stations of Zamora, Toro
and Salamanca, where we were always made welcome.