The Consuls of the Republic, considering that the resolution of the

First Consul is an homage rendered to the sovereignty of the People,

and that the People, when consulted on their dearest interests, will

not go beyond the limits of those interests, decree as follows:--

First, that the French people shall be consulted on the question

whether Napoleon Bonaparte is to be made Consul for life, etc.

The other articles merely regulated the mode of collecting the votes.

This decree shows the policy of the First Consul in a new point of view,

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--Fouche 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 Fouche, 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 Fouche 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 Cambaceres 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, Cambaceres 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--Fouche 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." Fouche

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 Fouche, 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 Fouche as a complete personification of

the Revolution. With him, therefore, Fouche'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 Fouche continued

at the head of his police. I am now of opinion that Bonaparte was in

some degree misled as to the value of Fouche's services as a minister.

No doubt the circumstance of Fouche being in office conciliated those of

the Revolutionary party who were his friends. But Fouche 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 Fouche, 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 Fouche. 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 Fouche 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 Montesqiou, 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

Fouche's police. Fouche 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 Fouche, and

desired him to arrest those who presumed thus to turn the new order into

ridicule. Fouche 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, Due 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 fors

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 Montesqiou 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 Due 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 Due 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 Due 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 Due 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 Floreal, 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 Due 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, Bessieres, 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 Cambaceres;

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 par 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 are 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 au 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

triffles 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 Cambaceres 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.