During the whole of this campaign the Emperor had not a moment of repose.

The days passed away in combats or marches, always on horseback; the

nights in labors in the cabinet. I never comprehended how his body could

endure such fatigue, and yet he enjoyed almost continuously the most

perfect health. The evening before the battle of Bautzen he retired very

late, after visiting all the military posts, and, having given all

necessary orders, slept profoundly. Early next morning, the 20th of May,

movements began, and we awaited at headquarters with eager impatience the

results of this day. But the battle was not over even then; and after a

succession of encounters, always ending in our favor, although hotly

contested, the Emperor, at nine o'clock in the evening, returned to

headquarters, took a light repast, and remained with Prince Berthier

until midnight. The remainder of the night was passed in work, and at

five o'clock in the morning he was on his feet and ready to return to the

combat. Three or four hours after his arrival on the battlefield the

Emperor was overcome by an irresistible desire for sleep, and, foreseeing

the issue of the day, slept on the side of a ravine, in the midst of the

batteries of the Duke of Ragusa, until he was awaked with the information

that the battle was gained.

This fact, which was related to me in the evening, did not astonish me in

the least; for I have already remarked that when he was compelled to

yield to the necessity of sleep, that imperious want of nature, the

Emperor took the repose which was so necessary to him when and where he

could, like a true soldier.

Although the result was decided, the battle was continued until five

o'clock in the evening. At six o'clock the Emperor had his tent erected

near a solitary inn, which had served as headquarters for the Emperor

Alexander during the two preceding days. I received orders to attend him

there, and did so with all speed; but his Majesty, nevertheless, passed

the whole night receiving and congratulating the chief generals, and

working with his secretaries.

All the wounded who were able to march were already on the road to

Dresden, where all necessary help awaited them. But on the field of

battle were stretched more than ten thousand men, Frenchmen, Russians,

Prussians, etc.,--hardly able to breathe, mutilated, and in a most

pitiable condition. The unremitting labors of the kind and indefatigable

Baron Larrey and the multitude of surgeons encouraged by his heroic

example did not suffice even to dress their wounds. And what means could

be found to remove the wounded in this desolate country, where all the

villages had been sacked and burned, and where it was no longer possible

to find either horses or conveyances? Must they then let all these men

perish after most horrible sufferings, for lack of means to convey them

to Dresden?

It was then that this population of Saxon villagers, who it might have

been thought must be embittered by the horrors of war,--in seeing their

dwellings burned, their fields ravaged,--furnished to the army an example

of the sublime sentiments which pity can inspire in the heart of man.

They perceived the cruel anxiety which M. Larrey and his companions

suffered concerning the fate of so many unfortunate wounded, and

immediately men, women, children, and even old men, hastily brought

wheelbarrows. The wounded were lifted, and placed on these frail

conveyances. Two or three persons accompanied each wheelbarrow all the

way to Dresden, halting if by a cry or gesture even, the wounded

indicated a desire to rest, stopping to replace the bandages which the

motion had displaced, or near a spring to give them water to allay the

fever which devoured them. I have never seen a more touching sight.

Baron Larrey had an animated discussion with the Emperor. Among the

wounded, there were found a large number of young soldiers with two

fingers of their right hand torn off; and his Majesty thought that these

poor young fellows had done it purposely to keep from serving. Having

said this to M. Larrey, the latter vehemently exclaimed that it was an

impossibility, and that such baseness was not in keeping with the

character of these brave young conscripts. As the Emperor still

maintained his position, Larrey at length became so angry that he went so

far as to tax the Emperor with injustice. Things were in this condition

when it was positively proved that these uniform wounds came from the

haste with which these young soldiers loaded and discharged their guns,

not being accustomed to handling them. Whereupon his Majesty saw that M.

de Larrey was right, and praised him for his firmness in maintaining what

he, knew to be the truth. "You are a thoroughly good man, M. de Larrey,"

said the Emperor. "I wish I could be surrounded only with men like you;

but such men are very rare."

CHAPTER XII.

We had now reached the eve of the day on which the Emperor, still deeply

affected by the loss he had sustained in the death of the Duke of Istria,

was to receive a blow which he felt perhaps most keenly of all those

which struck deep into his heart as he saw his old companions in arms

fall around him. The day following that on which the Emperor had, with

Baron Larrey, the discussion which I related at the end of the preceding

chapter was made memorable by the irreparable loss of Marshal Duroc. The

Emperor's heart was crushed; and indeed not one of us failed to shed

sincere tears--so just and good was he, although grave and severe in his

manner towards persons whom the nature of their duties brought into

contact with him. It was a loss not only to the Emperor, who possessed

in him a true friend, but, I dare to assert, also to the whole of France.

He loved the Emperor with a passionate devotion, and never failed to

bestow on him his faithful admonitions, although they were not always

heeded. The death of Marshal Duroc was an event so grievous and so

totally unexpected, that we remained for some time uncertain whether to

believe it, even when the only too evident reality no longer permitted us

to remain under any delusion.

These are the circumstances under which this fatal event occurred which

spread consternation throughout the army: The Emperor was pursuing the

rear guard of the Russians, who continually eluded him, and had just

escaped for the tenth time since the morning, after having killed and

taken prisoners large numbers of our brave soldiers, when two or three

shells dug up the ground at the Emperor's feet, and caused him to

exclaim, "What! after such butchery no result! no prisoners! those men

there will not leave me a nail." Hardly had he finished speaking when a

shell passed, and threw a chasseur of the cavalry escort almost under the

legs of his Majesty's horse. "Ah, Duroc," added he, turning towards

the grand marshal, "fortune protects us to-day."--"Sire," said an

aide-de-camp, rushing, up at a gallop, "General Bruyeres has just been

killed." "My poor comrade of Italy! Is it possible? Ah! it is

necessary to push on, nevertheless." And noticing on the left an

elevation from which he could better observe what was passing, the

Emperor started in that direction amidst a cloud of dust. The Duke of

Vicenza, the Duke of Treviso, Marshal Duroc, and general of engineers

Kirgener followed his Majesty closely; but the wind raised such a cloud

of dust and smoke that they could hardly see each other. Suddenly a

tree near which the Emperor passed was struck by a shell and cut in

half. His Majesty, on reaching the plateau, turned to ask for his

field-glass, and saw no one near him except the Duke of Vicenza. Duke

Charles de Plaisance came up, his face showing a mortal pallor, leaned

towards the grand equerry, and said a few words in his ear. "What is

it?" vehemently inquired the Emperor; "what has happened?"--"Sire,"

said the Duke of Plaisance, weeping, "the grand marshal is dead!"--

"Duroc? But you must be mistaken. He was here a moment ago by my

side." Several aides-de-camp arrived, and a page with his Majesty's

field-glass. The fatal news was confirmed, in part at least. The Grand

Duke of Frioul was not yet dead; but the shell had wounded him in the

stomach, and all surgical aid would be useless. The shell after

breaking the tree had glanced, first striking General Kirgener, who was

instantly killed, and then the Duke of Frioul. Monsieurs Yvan and Larrey

were with the wounded marshal, who had been carried into a house at

Markersdorf. There was no hope of saving him.

The consternation of the army and his Majesty's grief on this deplorable

event were indescribable. He mechanically gave a few orders and returned

to camp, and when he had reached the encampment of the guard, seated

himself on a bench in front of his tent, with lowered head and clasped

hands, and remained thus for nearly an hour without uttering a word.

Since it was nevertheless essential that orders should be given for the

next day, General Drouot approached,

[Count Antoine Drouot, chief of artillery of the guard, born at

Nancy, 1774; fought as captain at Hohenlinden,1800; distinguished

himself at Wagram (1809) and Borodino (1812); made general of

division at Bautzen, 1813; went to Elba as commander of the guard,

and was by the Emperor's side at Waterloo; died in 1847. He was a

Protestant, and was often seen during heavy firing reading his

Testament calmly.]

and in a voice interrupted by sobs asked what should be done.

"To-morrow, everything," replied the Emperor, and said not a word more.

"Poor man!" exclaimed the old watchdogs of the guard; "he has lost one of

his children." Night closed in. The enemy was in full retreat; and the

army having taken its position, the Emperor left the camp, and,

accompanied by the Prince de Neuchatel, M. Yvan, and the Duke of Vicenza,

repaired to the house where the grand marshal had been conveyed. The

scene was terrible. The Emperor, distracted with grief, repeatedly

embraced this faithful friend, endeavoring to cheer him; but the duke,

who was perfectly conscious of his condition, replied only by entreaties

to have opium given him. At these words the Emperor left the room; he

could no longer control his emotions.

The Duke de Frioul died next morning; and the Emperor ordered that his

body should be conveyed to Paris, and paced under the dome of the

Invalides.

[On either side of the entrance to the sarcophagus of porphyry

which holds the mortal remains of the great Emperor, rest Duroc and

Bertrand, who in life watched over him as marshals of his Palace.--

TRANS.]

He bought the house in which the grand marshal died, and charged the

pastor of the village to have a stone placed in the spot where his bed

had stood, and these words engraved thereon:

"HERE GENERAL DUROC, DUKE OF FRIOUL,

GRAND MARSHAL OF THE PALACE OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON,

MORTALLY WOUNDED BY A SHELL,

DIED IN THE ARMS OF HIS FRIEND, THE EMPEROR."

The preservation of this monument was imposed as an obligation on the

occupant of the house, who received it as a gift with this condition

annexed. The pastor, the magistrate of the village, and the one who

accepted this gift, were summoned to his Majesty's presence; and he made

known to them his wishes, which they solemnly engaged to fulfill. His

Majesty then drew from his privy purse the necessary funds, and handed

them to these gentlemen.

It is well that the reader should know how this agreement so solemnly

made was executed. This order of the Russian staff will inform him.

"A copy of a receipt dated the 16th (28th) of March states that the

Emperor Napoleon handed to Hermann, pastor of the church at

Markersdorf, the sum of two hundred gold napoleons for the purpose

of erecting a monument to the memory of Marshal Duroc, who died on

the field of battle. His Excellency Prince Repnin, Governor-General

of Saxony, having ordered that a deputy from my office be sent to

Markersdorf in order to bring the said sum and deposit it with me

until it is finally disposed of, my secretary, Meyerheim, is charged

with this mission, and consequently will go at once to Dlarkersdorf,

and, as an evidence of his authority, will present to Minister

Hermann the accompanying order, and take possession of the above

mentioned sum of two hundred gold napoleons. The secretary

Meyerheim will account to me alone for the execution of this order.

At Dresden this 20th of March (1st of April), 1814.

"(Signed) BARON DE ROSEN."

This order needs no comment. After the battles of Bautzen and Wurschen,

the Emperor entered Silesia. He saw on every occasion combined armies of

the allies put to flight before his own in every encounter; and this

sight, while flattering his vanity exceedingly, also greatly strengthened

him in the belief that he would soon find himself master of a rich and

fertile country, where the abundant means of subsistence would be of much

advantage in all his undertakings. Many times a day he exclaimed, "How

far are we from such a town? When do we arrive at Breslau?" His

impatience did not prevent him meanwhile from occupying his mind with

every object which struck his attention, as if he were free from all

care. He examined the houses, one by one, as he passed through each

village, remarked the direction of rivers and mountain ranges, and

collected the most minute information which the inhabitants could or

would give him. On the 27th of May, his Majesty, when not more than

three days march from Breslau, met in front of a little town called

Michelsdorf several regiments of Russian cavalry who held the road. They

were quite near the Emperor and his staff before his Majesty had even

perceived them. The Prince de Neuchatel, seeing the enemy so near,

hastened to the Emperor, and said, "Sire, they are still advancing."--

"Well, we will advance also," replied his Majesty, smiling. "Look behind

you--" And he showed the prince the French infantry approaching in close

columns. A few discharges soon drove the Russians from this position;

but half a league or a league farther we found them again, and this

maneuver was again and again repeated. The Emperor, perceiving this,

maneuvered accordingly, and in person directed with the greatest

precision the troops as they advanced. He went from one height to

another, and thoroughly inspected the towns and villages on the route in

order to reconnoiter their position, and ascertain what resources he

could obtain from the country; and, as a result of his attentive care and

indefatigable oversight, the scene changed ten times a day. If a column

emerged from a deep ravine, a wood, or a village, it could take immediate

possession of a height, since a battery was found already in position to

defend it. The Emperor indicated every movement with admirable tact, and

in such a manner that it was impossible to be taken at a disadvantage.

He commanded only the troops as a whole, transmitting either personally,

or through his staff officers, his orders to the commander of the corps

and divisions, who in their turn transmitted or had them transmitted to

the chiefs of battalions. All orders given by his Majesty were short,

precise, and so clear that it was never necessary to ask explanations.

On the 29th of May, not knowing how far on the road to Breslau it was

prudent to advance, his Majesty established himself on a little farm

called Rosnig, which had been pillaged, and presented a most miserable

aspect. As there could be found in the house only a small apartment with

a closet suitable for the Emperor's use, the Prince de Neuchatel and his

suite established themselves as well as they could in the surrounding

cottages, barns, and even in the gardens, since there was not sufficient

shelter for all. The next day a fire broke out in a stable near the

lodging of the Emperor. There were fourteen or fifteen wagons in this

barn, which were all burned. One of these wagons contained the traveling

treasury chest; in another were the clothes and linen belonging to the

Emperor, as well as jewelry, rings, tobacco boxes, and other valuable

objects. We saved very few things from this fire; and if the reserve

corps had not arrived promptly, his Majesty would have been obliged to

change his customary toilet rules for want of stockings and shirts. The

Saxon Major d'Odeleben, who has written some interesting articles on this

campaign, states that everything belonging to his Majesty was burned; and

that it was necessary to have him some pantaloons made in the greatest

haste at Breslau. This is a mistake. I do not think that the

baggage-wagon was burned; but even if it had been, the Emperor would not

on that account have needed clothing, since there were always four or

five complete suits either in advance or in the rear of the

headquarters. In Russia, when the order was given to burn all carriages

which lacked horses, this order was rigorously executed in regard to the

persons of the household, and they were consequently left with almost

nothing; but everything was reserved which might be considered

indispensable to his Majesty.

At length on the 1st of June, at six o'clock in the morning, the advance

guard entered Breslau, having at its head General Lauriston, and General

Hogendorp, whom his Majesty had invested in advance with the functions of

governor of this town, which was the capital of Silesia. Thus was

fulfilled in part the promise the Emperor had made in passing through

Warsaw on his return from Russia: "I go to seek three hundred thousand

men. Success will render the Russians bold. I will deliver two battles

between the Elbe and the Oder, and in six months I will be again on the

Niemen."

These two battles fought and gained by conscripts, and without cavalry,

had re-established the reputation of the French army. The King of Saxony

had been brought back in triumph to his capital. The headquarters of the

Emperor were at Breslau; one of the corps of the grand army was at the

gates of Berlin, and the enemy driven from Hamburg. Russia was about to

be forced to withdraw into its own boundaries, when the Emperor of

Austria, acting as mediator in the affairs of the two allied sovereigns,

advised them to propose an armistice. They followed this advice; and as

the Emperor had the weakness to consent to their demands, the armistice

was granted and signed on the fourth of June, and his Majesty at once set

out on his return to Dresden. An hour after his departure he said, "If

the allies do not in good faith desire peace, this armistice may become

very fatal to us."

On the evening of the 8th of June, his Majesty reached Gorlitz. On that

night fire broke out in the faubourg where the guard had established its

quarters; and at one o'clock one of the officials of the town came to the

headquarters of the Emperor to give the alarm, saying that all was lost.

The troops extinguished the fire, and an account was rendered the Emperor

of what had occurred. I dressed him in all haste, as he wished to set

out at break of day. "To how much does the loss amount?" demanded the

Emperor. "Sire, to seven or eight thousand francs at least for the cases

of greatest need."--"Let ten thousand be given, and let it be distributed

immediately." The inhabitants were immediately informed of the

generosity of the Emperor; and as he left the village an hour or two

after, he was saluted with unanimous acclamations.

On the morning of the 10th we returned from Dresden. The Emperor's

arrival put an end to most singular rumors which had been circulated

there since the remains of Grand Marshal Duroc had passed through the

city. It was asserted that the coffin contained the body of the Emperor;

that he had been killed in the last battle, and his body mysteriously

concealed in a room of the chateau, through the windows of which lights

could be seen burning all night. When he arrived, some persons perfectly

infatuated with this idea went so far as to repeat what had already been

reported, with the added circumstance that it was not the Emperor who was

seen in his carriage, but a figure made of wax. Nevertheless, when next

day he appeared before the eyes of all on horseback in a meadow in front

of the gates of the city, they were compelled to admit that he still

lived.

The Emperor alighted at the Marcolini palace, a charming summer residence

situated in the faubourg of Friedrichstadt. An immense garden, the

beautiful meadows of Osterwise on the banks of the Elbe, in addition to

an extremely fine landscape, rendered this sojourn much more attractive

than that of the winter palace; and consequently the Emperor was most

grateful to the King of Saxony for having prepared it for him. There he

led the same life as at Schoenbrunn; reviews every morning, much work

during the day, and few distractions in the evening; in fact, more

simplicity than display. The middle of the day was spent in cabinet

labors; and during that time such perfect tranquillity reigned in the

palace, that except for the presence of two sentinels on horseback and

videttes, which showed that it was the dwelling of a sovereign, it would

have been difficult to imagine that this beautiful residence was

inhabited even by the simplest private citizen.

The Emperor had chosen for his apartments the right wing of the palace;

the left was occupied by the Prince de Neuchatel. In the center of the

building were a large saloon and two smaller ones which served as

reception rooms.

Two days after his return, his Majesty sent orders to Paris that the

actors of the "Comedy" Theater from Paris should spend the time of the

armistice at Dresden. The Duke of Vicenza, charged in the interim with

the duties of grand marshal of the palace, was ordered to make all

necessary preparations to receive them. He committed this duty to the

care of Messieurs de Beausset and de Turenne, to whom the Emperor gave

the superintendence of the theater; and a hall to be used for this

purpose was erected in the orangery of the Marcolini palace. This hall

communicated with the apartments, and could seat about two hundred

persons. It was erected as if by magic, and was opened, while awaiting

the arrival of the French troupe, with two or three representations given

by the Italian comedians of the King of Saxony.

The actors from Paris were: For tragedy, Messieurs Saint-Prix and Talma

and Mademoiselle Georges.

For comedy: Messieurs Fleury, Saint-Fal, Baptiste the younger, Armand,

Thenard, Michot, Devigny, Michelot and Barbier; Mesdames Mars, Bourgoin,

Thenard, Emilie Contat, and Mezeray.

The management of the theater was given to M. Despres.

All these actors arrived on the 19th of June, and found every arrangement

made for their comfort,--tastefully furnished lodgings, carriages,

servants, everything which could enable them to agreeably endure the

ennui of a residence in a foreign land, and prove to them at the same

time how highly his Majesty appreciated their talents; an appreciation

which most of them richly merited, both on account of their excellent

social qualities, and the nobility and refinement of their manners.

The debut of the French troupe at the theater of the Orangery took place

on the 22d of June, in the 'Gageure Imprevue', and another piece, then

much in vogue at Paris, and which has often since been witnessed with

much pleasure, 'La Suite d'un Bal Masque'.

As the theater of the Orangery would have been too small for the

representation of tragedy, that was reserved for the grand theater of the

city; and persons were admitted on those occasions only by cards from the

Count of Turenne, no admission fee being charged.

At the grand theater on the days of the French play, and also in the

theater at the Marcolini palace, the footmen of his Majesty attended upon

the boxes, and served refreshments while the piece was being played.

This is how the days were spent after the arrival of the actors of the

French theater.

Everything was quiet until eight o'clock in the morning, unless a courier

arrived, or some aide-de-camp was unexpectedly summoned. At eight

o'clock I dressed the Emperor; at nine he held his levee, which all could

attend who held as high a rank as colonel. The civil and military

authorities of the country were also admitted; the Dukes of Weimar and

d'Anhalt, the brothers and nephews of the King of Saxony, sometimes

attended. Next came breakfast; then the parade in the meadows of

Osterwise, about one hundred paces distant from the palace, to which the

Emperor always went on horseback, and dismounted on arriving; the troops

filed before him, and cheered him three times with their customary

enthusiasm. The evolutions were commanded sometimes by the Emperor,

sometimes by the Count of Lobau. As soon as the cavalry began to defile,

his majesty re-entered the palace and began to work. Then began that

perfect stillness of which I have spoken; and dinner was not served until

late,--seven or eight o'clock. The Emperor often dined alone with the

Prince de Neuchatel, unless there were guests from the royal family of

Saxony. After dinner they attended the theater, when there was a play;

and afterwards the Emperor returned to his cabinet to work again, either

alone or with his secretaries.

Each day it was the same thing, unless, which was very rarely the case,

fatigued beyond measure by the labors of the day, the Emperor took a

fancy to send for Madame Georges after the tragedy. Then she passed two

or three hours in his apartment, but never more.

Sometimes the Emperor invited Talma or Mademoiselle Mars to breakfast.

One day, in a conversation with this admirable actress, the Emperor spoke

to her concerning her debut. "Sire," said she, in that graceful manner

which every one remembers, "I began very young. I slipped in without

being perceived."--"Without being perceived!" replied his Majesty

quickly; "you are mistaken. Be assured moreover, Mademoiselle, that I

have always, in common with all France, highly appreciated your wonderful

talents."

The Emperor's stay at Dresden brought wealth and abundance. More than

six million francs of foreign money were spent in this city between the

8th of May and 16th of November, if one can believe the statements

published on Saxon authority of the number of lodgings distributed. This

sojourn was a harvest of gold, which keepers of boarding-houses, hotels,

and merchants carefully reaped. Those in charge of military lodgings

furnished by the inhabitants also made large profits. At Dresden could

be seen Parisian tailors and bootmakers, teaching the natives to work in

the French style. Even bootblacks were found on the bridges over the

Elbe, crying, as they had cried on the bridges of the Seine, "Shine your

boots!"

Around the city numerous camps had been established for the wounded,

convalescents, etc. One of these, called the Westphalian camp, presented

a most beautiful scene. It was a succession of beautiful small gardens;

there a fortress made of turf, its bastions crowned with hortensias; here

a plot had been converted into a terrace, its walks ornamented with

flowers, like the most carefully tended parterre; on a third was seen a

statue of Pallas. The whole barrack was decked with moss, and decorated

with boughs and garlands which were renewed each day.

As the armistice would end on the 15th of August, the fete of his Majesty

was advanced five days. The army, the town, and the court had made

extensive preparations in order that the ceremony might be worthy of him

in whose honor it was given. All the richest and most distinguished

inhabitants of Dresden vied with each other in balls, concerts,

festivities, and rejoicings of all sorts. The morning before the day of

the review, the King of Saxony came to the residence of the Emperor with

all his family, and the two sovereigns manifested the warmest friendship

for each other. They breakfasted together, after which his Majesty,

accompanied by the King of Saxony, his brothers and nephews, repaired to

the meadow behind the palace, where fifteen thousand men of the guard

awaited him in as fine condition as on the most brilliant parades on the

Champ-de-Mars.

After the review, the French and Saxon troops dispersed through the

various churches to hear the Te Deum; and at the close of the religious

ceremony, all these brave soldiers seated themselves at banqueting tables

already prepared, and their joyous shouts with music and dancing were

prolonged far into the night.

CHAPTER XIII.

The entire duration of the armistice was employed in negotiations tending

to a treaty of peace, which the Emperor ardently desired, especially

since he had seen the honor of his army restored on the fields of Lutzen

and Bautzen; but unfortunately he desired it only on conditions to which

the enemy would not consent, and soon the second series of our disasters

recommenced, and rendered peace more and more impossible. Besides, from

the beginning of negotiations relative to the armistice, whose limit we

had now nearly reached, the emperor Alexander, notwithstanding the three

battles won by Napoleon, would listen to no direct proposals from France,

except on the sole condition that Austria should act as mediator. This

distrust, as might be expected, did not tend to produce a final.

reconciliation, and, being the conquering party, the Emperor was

naturally irritated by it; nevertheless, under these grave circumstances

he conquered the just resentment caused by the conduct of the Emperor of

Russia towards himself. The result of the time lost at Dresden, like the

prolongation of our sojourn at Moscow, was a great advantage to the

enemy.

All hopes of a peaceful adjustment of affairs now having vanished, on the

15th of August the Emperor ordered his carriage; we left Dresden, and the

war recommenced. The French army was still magnificent and imposing,

with a force of two hundred thousand infantry, but only forty thousand

cavalry, as it had been entirely impossible to repair completely the

immense loss of horses that had been sustained. The most serious danger

at that time arose from the fact that England was the soul of the

coalition of Russia, Prussia, and Sweden against France. Her subsidies

having obtained her the supreme control, nothing could be decided without

consulting her; and I have since learned that even during the pretended

negotiations the British government had declared to the Emperor of Russia

that under the circumstances the conditions of the treaty of Luneville

would be far too favorable to France. All these complications might be

expressed in these words: "We desire war!" War was then waged, or rather

the scourge continued to desolate Germany, and soon threatened and

invaded France. I should, moreover, call attention to the fact that what

contributed to render our position extremely critical in case of reverses

was that Prussia waged on us not simply a war of regular armies, but that

it had now assumed the character of a national war, by the calling out of

the Zandwehr and Zandsturm which made the situation far more dangerous

than against the tactics of the best disciplined army. To so many other

complications was added the fear, soon only too well justified, of seeing

Austria from an inoffensive and unbiased mediator become a declared

enemy.

Before going farther, I deem it best to refer again to two or three

occurrences I have inadvertently omitted which took place during our stay

at Dresden previous to what might be called the second campaign of 1813.

The first of these was the appearance at Dresden of the Duke of Otranto,

whom his Majesty had summoned.

He had been very rarely seen at the Tuileries since the Duke of Rovigo

had replaced him as minister of general police; and I noticed that his

presence at headquarters was a great surprise to every one, as he was

thought to be in complete disgrace. Those who seek to explain the causes

of the smallest events think that his Majesty's idea was to oppose the

subtle expedients of the police under M. Fouche to the then all-powerful

police of the Baron de Stein, the armed head of all the secret parties

which were forming in every direction, and which were regarded, not

without reason, as the rulers of popular opinion in Prussia and Germany,

and, above all, in the numerous schools, where the students were only

awaiting the moment for taking up arms. These conjectures as to M.

Fouche's presence at Dresden were without foundation. The Emperor in

recalling him had a real motive, which he, however, disguised under a

specious pretext. Having been deeply impressed by the conspiracy of

Malet, his Majesty thought that it would not be prudent to leave at Paris

during his absence a person so discontented and at the same time so

influential as the Duke of Otranto; and I heard him many times express

himself on this subject in a manner which left no room for doubt. But in

order to disguise this real motive, the Emperor appointed M. Fouche

governor of the Illyrian provinces in place of Count Bertrand, who was

given the command of an army-corps, and was soon after appointed to

succeed the adorable General Duroc in the functions of grand marshal of

the palace. Whatever the justice of this distrust of Fouche, it is very

certain that few persons were so well convinced of the superiority of his

talents as a police officer as his Majesty himself. Several times when

anything extraordinary occurred at Paris, and especially when he learned

of the conspiracy of Malet, the Emperor, recalling in the evening what

had impressed him most deeply during the day, ended by saying, "This

would not have happened if Fouche had been minister of police!" Perhaps

this was undue partiality; for the Emperor assuredly never had a more

faithful and devoted servant than the Duke of Rovigo, although many jests

were made in Paris over his custom of punishing by a few hours

imprisonment.

Prince Eugene having returned to Italy at the beginning of the campaign

in order to organize a new army in that country, we did not see him at

Dresden; the King of Naples, who had arrived on the night of the 13th or

14th August presented himself there almost alone; and his contribution to

the grand army consisted of only the small number of Neapolitan troops he

had left there on his departure for Naples.

I was in the Emperor's apartment when the King of Naples entered, and saw

him for the first time. I did not know to what cause to attribute it,

but I noticed that the Emperor did not give his brother-in-law as cordial

a welcome as in the past. Prince Murat said that he could no longer

remain idle at Naples, knowing that the French army to which he still

belonged was in the field, and he asked only to be allowed to fight in

its ranks. The Emperor took him with him to the parade, and gave him the

command of the Imperial Guard; and a more intrepid commander would have

been difficult to find. Later he was given the general command of the

cavalry.

During the whole time of the armistice, spun out rather than filled with

the slow and useless conferences of the Congress of Prague, it would be

impossible to describe the various labors in which the Emperor occupied

himself from morning till evening, and often far into the night. He

could frequently be seen bending over his maps, making, so to speak, a

rehearsal of the battles he meditated. Nevertheless, greatly exasperated

by the slowness of the negotiations as to the issue of which he could no

longer delude himself, he ordered, shortly before the end of July, that

everything should be prepared and in readiness for a journey he intended

making as far as Mayence. He made an appointment to meet the Empress

there; and as she was to arrive on the 25th, the Emperor consequently

arranged his departure so as to arrive only a short time after. I recall

this journey only as a fact, since it was signalized by nothing

remarkable, except the information the Emperor received at this time of

the death of the Duke of Abrantes, who had just succumbed at Dijon to a

violent attack of his former malady. Although the Emperor was already

aware that he was in a deplorable state of mental alienation, and must

consequently have expected this loss, he felt it none the less sensibly,

and sincerely mourned his former aide-decamp.

The Emperor remained only a few days with the Empress, whom he met again

with extreme pleasure. But as important political considerations

recalled him, he returned to Dresden, visiting several places on his

route, and the 4th of August we returned to the capital of Saxony.

Travelers who had seen this beautiful country only in a time of peace

would have recognized it with difficulty. Immense fortifications had

metamorphosed it into a warlike town; numerous batteries had been placed

in the suburbs overlooking the opposite bank of the Elbe. Everything

assumed a warlike attitude, and the Emperor's time became so completely

and entirely absorbed that he remained nearly three days without leaving

his cabinet.

Nevertheless, in the midst of the preparations for war all arrangements

were made to celebrate on the 10th of August the Emperor's fete, which

had been advanced five days, because, as I have previously observed, the

armistice expired precisely on the anniversary of Saint-Napoleon; and, as

may be readily inferred from his natural passion for war, the resumption

of hostilities was not an addition to his fete which he would be likely

to disdain.

There was at Dresden, as had been customary at Paris, a special

representation at the theater on the evening before the Emperor's fete.

The actors of the French theater played two comedies on the 9th at five

o'clock in the evening; which representation was the last, as the actors

of the French Comedy received orders immediately afterwards to return to

Paris. The next day the King of Saxony, accompanied by all the princes

of the royal family, repaired at nine o'clock in the morning to the

Marcolini palace, in order to pay his respects to the Emperor; after

which a grand morning reception was held as was the custom at the

Tuileries, and a review, at which the Emperor inspected a part of his

guard, several regiments, and the Saxon troops, who were invited to dine

by the French troops. On that day the city of Dresden without much

exaggeration might have been compared to a great dining-hall. In fact,

while his Majesty was dining in state at the palace of the King of

Saxony, where the whole family of this prince was assembled, the entire

diplomatic corps was seated at the table of the Duke of Bassano; Baron

Bignon, envoy from France to Warsaw, feasted all the distinguished Poles

present in Dresden; Count Darn gave a grand dinner to the French

authorities; General Friant to the French and Saxon generals; and Baron

de Serra, minister from France to Dresden, to the chiefs of the Saxon

colleges. This day of dinings was concluded by a supper for nearly two

hundred guests, which General Henri Durosnel, Governor of Dresden, gave

that evening at the close of a magnificent ball at the residence of M. de

Serra.

On our return from Mayence to Dresden I learned that the residence of

General Durosnel was the rendezvous of all the highest circles of

society, both Saxon and French. During the absence of his Majesty, the

general, taking advantage of this leisure, gave numerous fetes, among

others one to the actors and actresses of French Comedy. I recall in

this connection an amusing anecdote which was related to me at the time.

Baptiste junior, with no lack either of decorum or refinement,

contributed greatly to the amusement of the evening, being presented

under the name of my Lord Bristol, English diplomat, en route to the

Council of Prague. His disguise was so perfect, his accent so natural,

and his phlegm so imperturbable, that many persons of the Saxon court

were completely deceived, which did not in the least astonish me; and I

thereby saw that Baptiste junior's talent for mystification had lost

nothing since the time when I had been so highly diverted at the

breakfasts of Colonel Beauharnais. How many events had occurred since

that time.

The Emperor, seeing that nothing could longer delay the resumption of

hostilities, had consequently divided the two hundred thousand men of his

infantry into fourteen army corps, the command of which was given to

Marshals Victor, Ney, Marmont, Augereau, Macdonald, Oudinot, Davoust, and

Gouvion Saint-Cyr, Prince Poniatowski, and Generals Reynier, Rapp,

Lauriston, Vandamme, and Bertrand. The forty thousand cavalry formed

six grand divisions under the command of Generals Nansouty,

Latour-Maubourg, Sebastiani, Arrighi, Milhaud, and Kellermann; and, as I

have already said, the King of Naples had the command of the Imperial

Guard. Moreover, in this campaign appeared for the first time on our

fields of battle the guard of honor, a select troop recruited from the

richest and most distinguished families, and which had been increased to

more than ten thousand men, divided into two divisions under the simple

title of regiments; one of which was commanded by General Count of

Pully, and the other, if I am not mistaken, by General Segur. These

youths, but lately idlers given up to repose and pleasure, became in a

short time most excellent cavalry, which signalized itself on various

occasions, notably at the battle of Dresden, of which I shall soon have

occasion to speak.

The strength of the French army has been previously stated. The combined

army of the allies amounted to four hundred and twenty thousand infantry,

and its cavalry to hardly less than one hundred thousand, without

counting a reserve army corps of eighty thousand Russians, in readiness

to leave Poland under the command of General Beningsen. Thus the enemy's

army outnumbered ours in the proportion of two to one.

At the time we entered into this campaign, Austria had just declared war

openly against us. This blow, although not unexpected, struck the

Emperor deeply, and he expressed himself freely in regard to it before

all persons who had the honor to approach him. M. de Metternich, I have

heard it stated, had almost certainly forewarned him of this in the last

interviews this minister had at Dresden with his Majesty; but the Emperor

had been entirely unable to bring himself to the belief that the Emperor

of Austria would make common cause with the coalition of the north

against his own daughter and grandson. Finally all doubts were solved by

the arrival of Count Louis de Narbonne, who was returning from Prague to

Dresden, as bearer of a declaration of war from Austria. Every one

foresaw that France must soon count among its enemies all the countries

no longer occupied by its troops, and results justified this prediction

only too well. Nevertheless, everything was not lost, for we had not yet

been compelled to take the defensive.

CHAPTER XIV.

War recommenced before negotiations were finally broken, for the Duke of

Vicenza was still in communication with M. de Metternich. The Emperor,

as he mounted his horse, said to the numerous generals surrounding him

that he now marched to conquer a peace. But what hope could remain after

the declaration of war by Austria, and above all, when it was known that

the allied sovereigns had incessantly increased their pretensions in

proportion as the Emperor granted the concessions demanded? The Emperor

left Dresden at five o'clock in the afternoon, advancing on the road to

Koenigstein, and passed the next day at Bautzen, where he revisited the

battlefield, the scene of his last victory. There the king of Naples,

who did not wish royal honors to be rendered himself, came to rejoin the

Emperor at the head of the Imperial Guard, who presented as imposing an

appearance as in its pristine days.

We arrived at Gorlitz on the 18th, where the Emperor found the Duke of

Vicenza, who was returning from Bohemia. He confirmed the truth of the

report his Majesty had already received at Dresden, that the Emperor of

Austria had already decided to make common cause with the Emperor of

Russia and the Kings of Prussia and Sweden against the husband of his

daughter, the princess whom he had given to the Emperor as a pledge of

peace. It was also through the Duke of Vicenza that the Emperor learned

that General Blucher had just entered Silesia at the head of an army of

one hundred thousand men, and, in violation of most sacred promises, had

seized on Breslau the evening before the day fixed for the rupture of the

armistice. This same day General Jomini, Swiss by birth, but until

recently in the service of France, chief of staff to Marshal Ney, and

loaded with favors by the Emperor, had deserted his post, and reported at

the headquarters of the Emperor Alexander, who had welcomed him with

demonstrations of most intense satisfaction.

[Baron Henri Jomini, author of the celebrated treatise on the art

of war, was born in the Canton de Vaud, 1779; aide-de-camp to Ney,

1804; distinguished himself in several battles, and on his desertion

was made lieutenant-general and aide to Emperor Alexander; died

1869.]

The Duke of Vicenza gave the particulars of this desertion, which seemed

to affect his Majesty more than all the other news. He told him, among

other things, that when General Jomini had entered the presence of

Alexander, he found this monarch surrounded by his chiefs, among whom

Moreau was pointed out to him. This was the first information the

Emperor had received of General Moreau's presence at the enemy's

headquarters. The Duke of Vicenza added, that when the Emperor Alexander

presented General Jomini to Moreau the latter saluted him coolly, and

Jomini replied only by a slight inclination of his head, and retired

without uttering a word, and the remainder of the evening remained in

gloomy silence in a corner of the saloon opposite to that occupied by

General Moreau. This constraint had not escaped the Emperor Alexander's

observation; and the next morning, as he was making his toilet, he

addressed Marshal Ney's ex-chief of staff: "General Jomini," said he,

"what is the cause of your conduct yesterday? It seems to me that it

would have been agreeable to you to meet General Moreau."--"Anywhere

else, Sire."--"What!"--"If I had been born a Frenchman, like the general,

I should not be to-day in the camp of your Majesty." When the Duke of

Vicenza had finished his report to the Emperor, his Majesty remarked with

a bitter smile, "I am sure that wretch Jomini thinks he has performed a

fine action! Ah, Caulaincourt, these desertions will destroy me!"

Perhaps Moreau, in welcoming General Jomini so coldly, was actuated by

the thought that were he still serving in the French army he would not

have betrayed it with arms in his hand; and after all it is not an

unusual thing to see two traitors each blush for the other, deluding

themselves at the same time in regard to their own treachery, not

comprehending that the sentiments they feel are the same as those they

inspire.

However that may be, the news which M. de Caulaincourt brought caused the

Emperor to make some changes in his plans for the campaign. His Majesty

entirely abandoned the idea of repairing in person to Berlin, as he had

expressed his intention of doing, and, realizing the necessity of

ascertaining first of all the contemplated operations of the grand army

of Austria, commanded by the Prince of Schwarzenberg, penetrated into

Bohemia; but learning through the couriers of the army and his spies that

eighty thousand Russians still remained on the opposite side with a

considerable body of the Austrian army, he retraced his steps after a few

engagements in which his presence decided the victory, and on the 24th we

found ourselves again at Bautzen. His Majesty from this place sent the

King of Naples to Dresden, in order to restore the courage of the King of

Saxony and the inhabitants when they should find the enemy at the gates

of their city. The Emperor sent them the assurance that the enemy's

forces would not enter, since he had returned to defend its approaches,

and urged them at the same time not to allow themselves to be dismayed by

any sudden or unexpected attack made by isolated detachments. Murat

arrived at a most opportune moment, for we learned later that

consternation had become general in the city; but such was the prestige

attached to the Emperor's assurances that all took courage again on

learning of his presence.

After the King of Naples had gone to fulfill this mission, Colonel

Gourgaud was called during the morning into the Emperor's tent, where I

then was. "I will be tomorrow on the road to Pirna," said his Majesty;

"but I shall halt at Stolpen. As for you, hasten to Dresden; go with the

utmost speed; reach it this night. Interview on your arrival the King of

Naples, Durosnel, the Duke of Bassano, and Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr;

reassure them all. See also the Saxon minister Gersdorf. Say to him

that you could not see the king because you set out in such haste; but

that I can to-morrow bring forty thousand men into Dresden, and that I am

preparing to enter with all the army. Next day you will see the

commandant of the engineering corps; you will visit the redoubts and the

fortifications of the town; and when you have inspected everything, you

will return quickly and meet me at Stolpen. Report to me exactly the

real state of affairs, as well as the opinion of Marshal Saint-Cyr and

the Duke of Bassano. Set out." The colonel left immediately at a

gallop, though he had eaten nothing as yet that day.

The next evening at eleven o'clock, Colonel Gourgaud returned to the

Emperor, after performing all the requirements of his mission. Meanwhile

the allied army had descended into the plain of Dresden, and had already

made some attacks upon the advance posts. It resulted from information

given by the colonel that when the King of Naples arrived, the city,

which had been in a state of complete demoralization, now felt that its

only hope was in the Emperor's arrival.

In truth, hordes of Cossacks were already in sight of the faubourgs,

which they threatened to attack; and their appearance had compelled the

inhabitants of these faubourgs to take refuge in the interior of the

city. "As I left," said Colonel Gourgaud, "I saw a village in flames

half a league from the great gardens, and Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr was

preparing to evacuate that position."--"But after all," said the Emperor

eagerly, "what is the opinion of the Duke of Bassano?"--"Sire, the Duke

of Bassano does not think that we can hold out twenty-four hours."--"And

you?"--"I, Sire? I think that Dresden will be taken to-morrow if your

Majesty is not there."--"I can then rely upon what you tell me?"--

"Sire, I will answer for it with my head."

Then his Majesty summoned General Haxo, and said to him, his finger on

the map, "Vandamme is advancing by way of Pirna beyond the Elbe. The

eagerness of the enemy in penetrating as far as Dresden has been extreme.

Vandamme will find himself in his rear. I intend to sustain his movement

with my whole army; but I am uneasy as to the fate of Dresden, and am not

willing to sacrifice that city. I can reach it in a few hours, and I

shall do so, although it grieves me much to abandon a plan which if well

executed might furnish the means of routing all the allies at one blow.

Happily Vandamme is still in sufficient strength to supplement the

general movement by attacks at special points which will annoy the enemy.

Order him, then, to go from Pirna to Ghiesubel, to gain the defiles of

Peterswalde, and when intrenched in this impregnable position, to await

the result of operations under the walls of Dresden. I reserve for him

the duty of receiving the swords of the vanquished. But in order to do

this it is necessary that he should keep his wits about him, and pay no

attention to the tumult made by the terrified inhabitants. Explain to

General Vandamme exactly what I expect of him. Never will he have a

finer opportunity to gain the marshal's baton."

General Haxo set out instantly; and the Emperor made Colonel Gourgaud

reenter his apartment, and ordered him to take a fresh horse, and return

to Dresden more quickly than he had come, in order to announce his

arrival. "The old guard will precede me," said his Majesty. "I hope

that they will have no more fear when they see that."

On the morning of the 26th the Emperor was seated on his horse on the

bridge of Dresden, and began, amid cries of joy from both the young and

old guard, to make dispositions for the terrible battle which lasted

three days.

It was ten o'clock in the morning when the inhabitants of Dresden, now

reduced to despair, and speaking freely of capitulation, witnessed his

Majesty's arrival. The scene changed suddenly; and to the most complete

discouragement succeeded most entire confidence, especially when the

haughty cuirassiers of Latour-Maubourg defiled over the bridge, holding

their heads high, and their eyes fixed on the neighboring hillsides

covered by the enemy's lines. The Emperor immediately alighted at the

palace of the king, who was preparing to seek an asylumn in the new town,

but whose intentions were changed by the arrival of this great man. The

interview was extremely touching.

I cannot undertake to describe all the occurrences of those memorable

days, in which the Emperor covered himself with glory, and was more

exposed to danger than he had ever been at any time. Pages, equerries,

and aides-decamp fell dead around him, balls pierced the stomach of his

horse, but nothing could touch him. The soldiers saw this and redoubled

their ardor, and also their confidence and admiration. I shall simply

state that the Emperor did not re-enter the chateau until midnight, and

then spent the hours until daylight dictating orders, while promenading

up and down the room with great strides, until at break of day he

remounted his horse. The weather was horrible, and the rain lasted the

whole day. In the evening, the enemy being completely routed, the

Emperor returned to the palace in a frightful condition. From the time

he mounted his horse, at six o'clock in the morning, the rain had not

ceased a single instant, and he was so wet that it could be said without

any figure of speech that the water ran down into his boots from the

collar of his coat, for they were entirely filled with it. His hat of

very fine beaver was so ruined that it fell down over his shoulders, his

buff belt was perfectly soaked with water; in fact a man just drawn out

of the river would not be wetter than the Emperor. The King of Saxony,

who awaited him, met him in this condition, and embraced him as a

cherished son who had just escaped a great danger; and this excellent

prince's eyes were full of tears as he pressed the saviour of his capital

to his heart. After a few reassuring and tender words from the Emperor,

his Majesty entered his apartments, leaving everywhere traces of the

water which dripped from every part of his clothing, and I had much

difficulty in undressing him. Knowing that the Emperor greatly enjoyed a

bath after a fatiguing day, I had it prepared; but as he felt unusually

fatigued, and in addition to this began to shiver considerably, his

Majesty preferred retiring to his bed, which I hurriedly warmed. Hardly

had the Emperor retired, however, than he had Baron Fain, one of his

secretaries, summoned to read his accumulated correspondence, which was

very voluminous. After this he took his bath, but had remained in it

only a few moments when he was seized with a sudden sickness accompanied

by vomiting, which obliged him to retire to bed.

His Majesty said to me, "My dear Constant, a little rest is absolutely

indispensable to me; see that I am not awaked except for matters of the

gravest importance; say this to Fain." I obeyed the Emperor's orders,

after which I took my position in the room in front of his Majesty's

chamber, watching with the attention of a sentinel on duty lest he should

be awakened, or any one should even approach his apartment.

The next morning the Emperor rang very early, and I entered his room

immediately, anxious to know how he had passed the night. I found him

almost entirely restored, and in fine spirits. He told me, however, that

he had had a short attack of fever. I must here remark that it was the

only time the Emperor had fever, and during the whole time I was with him

I never saw him ill enough to keep his bed for twenty-four hours. He

rose at his usual hour, and when he descended was intensely gratified by

the fine appearance made by the battalion on duty. Those brave

grenadiers, who the evening before had served as his escort, and

reentered Dresden with him in a most pitiable condition, this morning he

saw ranged in the court of the palace in splendid condition, and bearing

arms as brilliant as if it were a day of parade on the Place du

Carrousel. These brave fellows had spent the night polishing their arms,

and drying themselves around great fires which they had kindled for the

purpose, having thus preferred the satisfaction of presenting themselves

in faultless condition before their Emperor's eyes to the sleep and rest

which they must so greatly have needed.

One word of approbation repaid them for their fatigue, and it may be

truly said never was a military chief so much beloved by his soldiers as

his Majesty.

The last courier who had returned from Paris to Dresden, and whose

dispatches were read, as I have said, to the Emperor, bore several

letters for me written by my family and two or three of my friends; and

all who have accompanied his Majesty on his campaigns, in whatever rank

or employment, well know how we valued news received from home. These

letters informed me, I remember, of a famous lawsuit going on in the

court of assizes between the banker Michel and Reynier, which scandalous

affair caused much comment in the capital, and almost divided with the

news from the army the interest and attention of the public; and also of

the journey the Empress was about to make to Cherbourg, to be present at

the opening of the dikes, and filling the harbor with water from the

ocean. This journey, as may well be imagined, had been suggested by the

Emperor, who sought every opportunity of putting the Empress forward, and

making her perform the duties of a sovereign, as regent of the Empire.

She summoned and presided over the council of ministers, and more than

once I heard the Emperor congratulate himself after the declaration of

war with Austria that his Louise, as he called her, acted solely for the

interests of France, and had nothing Austrian but her birth. He also

allowed her the satisfaction of herself publishing and in her own name

all the official news of the army. The bulletins were no longer issued;

but the news was transmitted to her all ready for publication, which was

doubtless an attention on the part of his Majesty in order to render the

Empress Regent more popular, by making her the medium of communication

between the government and the public. Moreover, it is a fact, that we

who were on the spot, although we knew at once whether the battle was

gained or lost, often did not know the entire operations of the different

corps maneuvering on an immense line of battle, except through the

journals of Paris; and our eagerness to read them may well be imagined.

CHAPTER XV.

During the second day of the battle of Dresden, at the end of which the

Emperor had the attack of fever I mentioned in the preceding chapter, the

King of Naples, or rather Marshal Murat, performed prodigies of valor.

Much has been said of this truly extraordinary prince; but only those who

saw him personally could form a correct idea of him, and even they never

knew him perfectly until they had seen him on a field of battle. There

he seemed like those great actors who produce a complete illusion amid

the fascinations of the stage, but in whom we no longer find the hero

when we encounter them in private life. While at Paris I attended a

representation of the death of 'Hector' by Luce de Lancival, and I could

never afterwards hear the verses recited in which the author describes

the effect produced on the Trojan army by the appearance of Achilles

without thinking of Prince Murat; and it may be said without exaggeration

that his presence produced exactly this effect the moment he showed

himself in front of the Austrian lines. He had an almost gigantic

figure, which alone would have sufficed to make him remarkable, and in

addition to this sought every possible means to draw attention to

himself, as if he wished to dazzle those who, might have intended to

attack him. His regular and strongly marked features, his handsome blue

eyes rolling in their orbits, enormous mustaches, and black hair falling

in long ringlets over the collar of a kurtka with narrow sleeves, struck

the attention at first sight. Add to this the richest and most elegant

costume which one would wear even at the theater,--a Polish coat richly

embroidered, and encircled by a gilded belt from which hung the scabbard

of a light sword, with a straight and pointed blade, without edge and

without guard; large amaranth-colored pantaloons embroidered in gold on

the seams, and nankeen boots; a large hat embroidered in gold with a

border of white feathers, above which floated four large ostrich plumes

with an exquisite heron aigrette in the midst; and finally the king's

horse, always selected from the strongest and handsomest that could be

found, was covered with an elegantly embroidered sky-blue cloth which

extended to the ground, and was held in place by a Hungarian or Turkish

saddle of the richest workmanship, together with a bridle and stirrups

not less magnificent than the rest of the equipment. All these things

combined made the King of Naples a being apart, an object of terror and

admiration. But what, so to speak, idealized him was his truly

chivalrous bravery, often carried to the point of recklessness, as if

danger had no existence for him. In truth, this extreme courage was by

no means displeasing to the Emperor; and though he perhaps did not always

approve of the manner in which it was displayed, his Majesty rarely

failed to accord it his praise, especially when he thought necessary to

contrast it with the increasing prudence shown by some of his old

companions in arms.

On the 28th the Emperor visited the battlefield, which presented a

frightful spectacle, and gave orders that everything possible should be

done to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded, and also of the

inhabitants and peasants who had been ravaged and pillaged, and their

fields and houses burned, and then ascended the heights from which he

could follow the course of the enemy's retreat. Almost all the household

followed him in this excursion. A peasant was brought to him from

Nothlitz, a small village where the Emperor Alexander and the King of

Prussia had their headquarters during the two preceding days. This

peasant, when questioned by the Duke of Vicenza, said he had seen a great

personage brought into Nothlitz, who had been wounded the evening before

on the staff of the allies. He was on horseback, and beside the Emperor

of Russia, at the moment he was struck. The Emperor of Russia appeared

to take the deepest interest in his fate. He had been carried to the

headquarters of Nothlitz on lances of the Cossacks interlaced, and to

cover him they could find only a cloak wet through with the rain. On his

arrival at Nothlitz the Emperor Alexander's surgeon came to perform the

amputation, and had him carried on an extending chair to Dippoldiswalde,

escorted by several Austrian, Prussian, and Russian detachments.

On learning these particulars the Emperor was persuaded that the Prince

von Schwarzenberg was the person in question. "He was a brave man," said

he; "and I regret him." Then after a silent pause, "It is then he,"

resumed his Majesty, "who is the victim of the fatality! I have always

been oppressed by a feeling that the events of the ball were a sinister

omen, but it is very evident now that it was he whom the presage

indicated."

While the Emperor gave himself up to these conjectures, and recalled his

former presentiments, prisoners who were brought before his Majesty had

been questioned; and he learned from their reports that the Prince von

Schwarenzberg had not been wounded, but was well, and was directing the

retreat of the Austrian grand army. Who was, then, the important

personage struck by a French cannonball? Conjectures were renewed on

this point, when the Prince de Neuchatel received from the King of Saxony

a collar unfastened from the neck of a wandering dog which had been found

at Nothlitz. On the collar was written these words, "I belong to General

Moreau." This furnished, of course, only a supposition; but soon exact

information arrived, and confirmed this conjecture.

Thus Moreau met his death the first occasion on which he bore arms

against his native country,--he who had so often confronted with impunity

the bullets of the enemy. History has judged him severely; nevertheless,

in spite of the coldness which had so long divided them, I can assert

that the Emperor did not learn without emotion the death of Moreau,

notwithstanding his indignation that so celebrated a French general could

have taken up arms against France, and worn the Russian cockade. This

unexpected death produced an evident effect in both camps, though our

soldiers saw in it only a just judgment from Heaven, and an omen

favorable to the Emperor. However that may be, these are the

particulars, which I learned a short time after, as they were related by

the valet de chambre of General Moreau.

The three sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia had been present on

the 27th at the battle on the heights of Nothlitz, but had retired as

soon as they saw that the battle was lost. That very day General Moreau

was wounded by a cannon-ball near the intrenchments in front of Dresden,

and about four o'clock in the afternoon was conveyed to Nothlitz, to the

country house of a merchant named Salir, where the Emperors of Austria

and Russia had established their headquarters. Both limbs of the general

were amputated above the knee. After the amputation, as he requested

something to eat and a cup of tea, three eggs were brought him on a

plate; but he took only the tea. About seven o'clock he was placed on a

litter, and carried to Passendorf by Russian soldiers, and passed the

night in the country house of M. Tritschier, grand master of forests.

There he took only another cup of tea, and complained greatly of the

sufferings he endured. The next day, the 28th of August, at four o'clock

in the morning, he was conveyed, still by Russian soldiers, from

Passendorf to Dippodiswalde, where he took a little white bread and a

glass of lemonade at the house of a baker named Watz. An hour after he

was carried nearer to the frontiers of Bohemia, borne by Russian soldiers

in the body of a coach taken off the wheels. During the entire route he

incessantly uttered cries which the extremity of his sufferings drew from

him.

These are the details which I learned in regard to Moreau; and, as is

well known, he did not long survive his wound. The same ball which broke

both his legs carried off an arm from Prince Ipsilanti, then aide-de-camp

to the Emperor Alexander; so that if the evil that is done can be

repaired by the evil received, it might be said that the cannon-shot

which tore away from us General Kirgener and Marshal Duroc was this day

sent back on the enemy. But alas! it is a sad sort of consolation that

is drawn from reprisals.

It may be seen from the above, and especially from the seemingly decisive

benefits arising from the battle of Dresden, that since the resumption of

hostilities, in every place where our troops had been sustained by the

all-powerful presence of the Emperor, they had obtained successes; but

unfortunately this was not the case at points distant from the main line

of operations. Nevertheless, seeing the allies routed by the army which

he commanded in person, and certain, moreover, that General Vandamme had

held the position which he had indicated to him through General Haxo, his

Majesty returned to his first idea of marching on Berlin, and already

even had disposed his troops with this intention, when the fatal news

arrived that Vandamme, the victim of his own rashness, had disappeared

from the field of battle, and his ten thousand men, surrounded on all

sides, and overwhelmed by numbers, had been cut to pieces. It was

believed that Vandamme was dead, and it was not until later we learned

that he had been taken prisoner with a part of his troop. It was learned

also that Vandamme, incited by his natural intrepidity, and unable to

resist a desire to attack the enemy whom he saw within his grasp, had

left his intrenchments to make the attack. He had conquered at first,

but when after his victory he attempted to resume his former position he

found it occupied, as the Prussians had seized it; and though he fought

with all the abandon of despair, it was all in vain, and General Kleist,

proud of this fine trophy, conducted him in triumph to Prague. It was

while speaking of this audacious attack of Vandamme that the Emperor used

this expression, which has been so justly admired, "For a retreating

enemy it is necessary to make a bridge of gold, or oppose a wall of

brass." The Emperor heard with his usual imperturbability the

particulars of the loss he had just experienced, but nevertheless

repeatedly expressed his astonishment at the deplorable recklessness of

Vandamme, and said he could not comprehend how this experienced general

could have allowed himself to be drawn away from his position. But the

deed was done, and in such instances the Emperor never lost time in

useless recriminations. "Come," said he, addressing the Duke of Bassano,

"you have just heard--that means war from early in the morning until late

in the evening."

After giving various orders to the army and his chiefs, the Emperor left

Dresden on the evening of the 3d of September, with the intention of

regaining what he had lost from the audacious imprudence of General

Vandamme. But this defeat, the first we had sustained since the

resumption of hostilities, became the forerunner of the long series of

reverses which awaited us. It might have been said that victory, having

made one last effort in our favor at Dresden, had finally grown weary;

for the remainder of the campaign was but a succession of disasters,

aggravated by treachery of every description, and ending in the horrible

catastrophe at Leipzig. Before leaving Dresden we had learned of the

desertion to the enemy of a Westphalian regiment, with arms and baggage.

The Emperor left Marshal Saint-Cyr in Dresden with thirty thousand men,

with orders to hold it to the last extremity, since the Emperor wished to

preserve this capital at any price. The month of September was spent in

marches and countermarches around this city, with no events of decided

importance. Alas! the Emperor was never again to see the garrison of

Dresden. Circumstances becoming still more embarrassed, imperiously

demanded that his Majesty should promptly oppose some obstacle to the

progress of the allies. The King of Saxony, furnishing an example of

fidelity rare among kings, determined to accompany the Emperor, and

entered his carriage in company with the queen and the Princess Augusta,

having the headquarters' staff as escort. Two days after his departure

the Saxon troops joined the French army at Eilenburg, on the banks of the

Mulda. The Emperor exhorted these allies, whom he believed faithful, to

maintain the independence of their country, pointed out to them how

Prussia was threatening Saxony, and endeavoring to acquire her most

beautiful provinces, and reminded them of the proclamation of their

sovereign, his worthy and faithful ally; finally he spoke to them in the

name of military honor, urging them, in closing, to take it always as

their guide, and to show themselves worthy rivals of the soldiers of the

grand army with whom they had made common cause, and beside whom they

were now about to fight. The words of the Emperor were translated and

repeated to the Saxons by the Duke of Vicenza; and this language from the

lips of one whom they regarded as the friend of their sovereign and the

saviour of their capital seemed to produce a profound impression. The

march was then begun in confidence, with no premonition of the

approaching defection of these very men who had so often greeted the

Emperor with their cries of enthusiasm, swearing to fight to the death

rather than abandon him.

His Majesty's plan then was to fall on Blucher and the Prince Royal of

Sweden, from whom the French army was separated only by a river. We

therefore left Eilenburg, where the Emperor parted with the King of

Saxony and his family, the Duke of Bassano, the grand park of artillery,

and all the conveyances, and directed our course towards Duben. Blucher

and Bernadotte had retired, leaving Berlin uncovered. Then the Emperor's

plans became known; and it was seen that he was marching on Berlin, and

not on Leipzig, and that Diiben was only the meeting-place for the various

corps, who, when united, were to march on the capital of Prussia, which

the Emperor had already seized twice.

The time was unfortunately past when a simple indication of the Emperor's

plans was regarded as a signal of victory. The chiefs of the army, who

had until now been perfectly submissive, began to reflect, and even took

the liberty of disapproving of plans which they were afraid to execute.

When the army became aware of the Emperor's intention to march on Berlin,

it was the signal for almost unanimous discontent. The generals who had

escaped the disasters of Moscow, and the dangers of the double campaign

in Germany, were fatigued, and perhaps eager to reap the benefits of

their good fortune, and at last to enjoy repose in the bosom of their

families. A few went so far as to accuse the Emperor of being anxious to

still extend the war. "Have there not been enough killed?" said they,

"Must we all share the same fate?" And these complaints were not kept

for secret confidences, but were uttered publicly, and often even loud

enough to reach the ears of the Emperor; but in that case his Majesty

seemed not to hear.

Amidst this disaffection of a large number of the chiefs of the army, the

defection of Bavaria was learned, and gave an added strength to the

anxiety and discontent inspired by the Emperor's resolution; and then

occurred what had never taken place before: his staff united their

entreaties that he should abandon his plans in regard to Berlin, and

march on Leipzig. I saw how much the Emperor suffered from the necessity

of listening to such remonstrances, notwithstanding the respectful

language in which they were couched. For two entire days his Majesty

remained undecided; and how long these forty-eight hours were! Never did

abandoned cabin or bivouac present a more mournful sight than the sad

chateau of Duben. In this doleful residence I saw the Emperor for the

first time entirely unemployed; the indecision to which he was a prey

absorbed him so entirely that his character seemed entirely changed. Who

could believe it? To the activity which drove him on, and, so to speak,

incessantly devoured him, had succeeded a seeming indifference which is

perfectly indescribable. I saw him lie on the sofa nearly a whole day,

the table before him covered with maps and papers at which he did not

even glance, and with no other occupation for hours than slowly tracing

large letters on sheets of white paper. This was while he was

vacillating between his own will and the entreaties of his generals.

At the end of two days of most painful suspense he yielded; and from that

time all was lost. How much better it would have been had he not

listened to their complaints, but had again allowed himself to be guided

by the presentiments which possessed him! He repeated often, with grief,

while recalling the concessions he made at that time, "I should have

avoided many disasters by continuing to follow my own impulses; I failed

only by yielding to those of others."

The order for departure was given; and as if the army felt as much pride

in triumphing over the will of its Emperor as they would have felt in

beating the enemy by obeying the dictates of his genius, they abandoned

themselves to outbursts of joy which were almost beyond reason. Every

countenance was radiant. "We shall now," they repeated on all sides, "we

shall now see France again, embrace our children, our parents, and our

friends!" The Emperor and Marshal Augereau alone did not share the

general light-heartedness. The Duke of Castiglione had just arrived at

headquarters, after having in some measure avenged on the army of

Bohemia, Vandamme's defeat. He, like the Emperor, had dark presentiments

as to the consequences of this retrograde movement, and knew that

desertions on the way would add to the number of the enemy, and were so

much the more dangerous since these deserters had so recently been our

allies and knew our positions. His Majesty yielded with a full

conviction of the evil which would result; and I heard him at the end of

a conversation with the marshal which had lasted more than an hour, utter

these words, "They would have it so."

The Emperor on his march to Duben was at the head of a force which might

be estimated at one hundred and twenty-five thousand men. He had taken

this direction with the hope of finding Blucher again on the Mulda; but

the Prussian general had recrossed the river, which contributed much to

give credit to a rumor which had been circulated for some time. It was

said that in a council of the allied sovereigns held recently at Prague,

and at which Moreau and the Prince Royal of Sweden were present, it had

been agreed that as far as possible they should avoid engaging in a

battle whenever the Emperor commanded his army in person, and that

operations should be directed only against smaller bodies commanded by

his lieutenants. It is impossible, certainly, to render more striking

homage to the superiority of the Emperor's genius; but it was at the same

time stopping him in his glorious career, and paralyzing his usually

all-powerful action.

However that may be, the evil genius of France having obtained the

ascendency over the good genius of the Emperor, we took the road to

Leipzig, and reached it early on the morning of the 15th of October. At

that very moment the King of Naples was in the midst of an engagement

with the Prince von Schwarzenberg; and his Majesty, on hearing the sound

of cannon, crossed the town, and visited the plain where the engagement

was taking place. On his return he received the royal family of Saxony,

who had come to join him. During his short stay at Leipzig, the Emperor

performed an act of clemency which must undoubtedly be considered most

meritorious if we take into consideration the gravity of the

circumstances in which we were placed. A merchant of this city named

Moldrecht was accused and convicted of having distributed among the

inhabitants, and even in the army, several thousand copies of a

proclamation in which the Prince Royal of Sweden invited the Saxons to

desert the cause of the Emperor. When arraigned before a tribunal of

war, M. Moldrecht could not exculpate himself; and, indeed, this was an

impossibility, since several packages of the fatal proclamation had been

found at his residence. He was condemned to death, and his family in

deep distress threw themselves at the feet of the King of Saxony; but,

the facts being so evident and of such a nature that no excuse was

possible, the faithful king did not dare to grant indulgence for a crime

committed even more against his ally than against himself. Only one

recourse remained for this unhappy family, which was to address the

Emperor; but as it was difficult to reach him, M. Leborgne D'Ideville,

interpreting secretary, was kind enough to undertake to place a note on

the Emperor's desk, who after reading it ordered a postponement which was

equivalent to a full pardon. Events followed in their course, and the

life of M. Moldrecht was saved.

Leipzig, at this period, was the center of a circle in which engagements

took place at numerous points and almost incessantly. Engagements lasted

during the days of the 16th, 17th, and 18th; and his Majesty, as a poor

return for his clemency towards M. Moldrecht, reaped the bitter fruits of

the proclamation which had been scattered in every direction through the

efforts of this merchant. On that day the Saxon army deserted our cause,

and reported to Bernadotte. This left the Emperor a force of only one

hundred and ten thousand men, with an opposing force of three hundred and

thirty thousand; so that if when hostilities were resumed we were only as

one to two, we were now only one to three. The day of the 18th was, as

is well known, the fatal day. In the evening the Emperor, seated on a

folding stool of red morocco in the midst of the bivouac fires, was

dictating to the Prince of Neuchatel his orders for the night, when two

commanders of artillery were presented to his Majesty, and gave him an

account of the exhausted condition of the ammunition chests. In five

days we had discharged more than two hundred thousand cannon-balls, and

the ammunition being consequently exhausted there was barely enough left

to maintain the fire for two hours longer; and as the nearest supplies

were at Madgeburg and Erfurt, whence it would be impossible to obtain

help in time, retreat was rendered absolutely necessary.

Orders were therefore given for a retreat, which began next day, the

19th, at the end of a battle in which three hundred thousand men had

engaged in mortal combat, in a confined space not more than seven or

eight leagues in circumference. Before leaving Leipzig, the Emperor gave

to. Prince Poniatowski, who had just earned the baton of a marshal of

France, the defense of one of the faubourgs. "You will defend the

faubourg on the south," said his Majesty to him. "Sire," replied the

prince, "I have very few men."--"You will defend it with those you have."

"Ah, Sire, we will remain; we are all ready to die for your Majesty."

The Emperor, moved by these words, held out his arms to the prince, who

threw himself into them with tears in his eyes. It was really a farewell

scene, for this interview of the prince with the Emperor was their last;

and soon the nephew of the last king of Poland found, as we shall soon

see, a death equally as glorious as deplorable under the waves of the

Elster.

[Prince Joseph Anthony Poniatowski, born at Warsaw, 1762. Nephew

of Stanislas Augustus, the last king of Poland. He commanded the

Polish army against Russia, 1792, and served under Kosciuszko, 1794.

He led an army of Poles under Napoleon, 1807 and 1809, and commanded

a corps in the Russian campaign. Had Napoleon succeeded in that

campaign, Poniatowski would have been made king of Poland. Wounded,

and made a marshal at Liepzig, he was drowned on the retreat.]

At nine o'clock in the morning the Emperor took leave of the royal family

of Saxony. The interview was short, but distressing and most

affectionate on the part of each.

The king manifested the most profound indignation at the conduct of his

troops. "I could never have imagined it," said he; "I thought better of

my Saxons; they are only cowards;" and his grief was so intense that the

Emperor, notwithstanding the immense disadvantage which had accrued to

him from the desertion of the Saxons during the battle, sought to console

this excellent prince.

As his Majesty urged him to quit Leipzig in order that he might not be

exposed to the dangers attending the capitulation which had now become

absolutely necessary, this venerable prince replied, "No; you have

already done enough, and it is carrying generosity too far to risk your

person by remaining a few minutes longer in order to console us." Whilst

the King of Saxony was expressing himself thus, the sound of heavy firing

of musketry was heard, and the queen and Princess Augusta joined their

entreaties to those of the monarch, in their excessive fright already

seeing the Emperor taken and slain by the Prussians. Some officers

entered, and announced that the Prince Royal of Sweden had already forced

the entrance of one of the faubourgs; that General Beningsen, General

Blucher, and the Prince von Swarzenberg were entering the city on every

side; and that our troops were reduced to the necessity of defending

themselves from house to house, and the Emperor was himself exposed to

imminent peril. As there was not a moment to lose, he consented at.

last to withdraw; and the King of Saxony escorted him as far as the foot

of the palace staircase, where they embraced each other for the last

time.

CHAPTER XVI.

It was exceedingly difficult to find an exit from Leipzig, as this town

was surrounded on every side by the enemy. It had been proposed to the

Emperor to burn the faubourgs which the heads of the columns of the

allied armies had reached, in order to make his retreat more sure; but he

indignantly rejected this proposal, being unwilling to leave as a last

adieu to the King of Saxony his cities abandoned to the flames. After

releasing him from his oath of fidelity, and exhorting him to now

consider only his own interests, the Emperor left him, and directed his

course to the gate of Ramstadt; but he found it so encumbered that it was

an impossibility to clear a passage, and he was compelled to retrace his

steps, again cross the city, and leave it through the northern gate, thus

regaining the only point from which he could, as he intended, march on

Erfurt; that is, from the boulevards on the west. The enemy were not yet

completely masters of the town, and it was the general opinion that it

could have been defended much longer if the Emperor had not feared to

expose it to the horrors of a siege. The Duke of Ragusa continued to

offer strong resistance in the faubourg of Halle to the repeated attacks

of General Blucher; while Marshal Ney calmly saw the combined forces of

General Woronzow, the Prussian corps under the orders of General Billow,

and the Swedish army, break themselves to pieces against his impregnable

defenses.

So much valor was nevertheless at last compelled to yield to numbers, and

above all to treachery; for at the height of the combat before the gates

of Leipzig, a battalion from Baden, which until then had fought valiantly

in the French ranks, suddenly abandoned the gate Saint-Peter, which it

was commissioned to defend, and at the entrance to the city gave itself

up to the enemy. Thereupon, according to what I have heard related by

several officers who were in this terrible tumult, the streets of Leipzig

presented a most horrible sight; and our soldiers, now compelled to

retire, could do so only by disputing every step of the ground. An

irreparable misfortune soon filled the Emperor's soul with despair.

I shall now relate the events which signalized this deplorable day just

as my memory recalls them. I do not know to what cause to attribute it,

but none of the many stirring events which I witnessed present themselves

more distinctly before my mind than a scene which took place under the

walls of Leipzig. Having triumphed over incredible obstacles, we at last

succeeded in crossing the Elster on the bridge at the mill of Lindenau.

I can still see the Emperor as he stationed officers along the road

charged to indicate to stragglers where they might rejoin their

respective commands. On this day, after the immense loss sustained owing

to a disparity of numbers, he showed the same solicitude concerning

everything as after a decisive triumph. But he was so overcome by

fatigue that a few moments of sleep became absolutely necessary, and he

slept profoundly under the noise of the cannon which thundered around him

on all sides. Suddenly a terrible explosion occurred, and a few moments

after the King of Naples entered his Majesty's barrack accompanied by

Marshal Augereau. They brought sad news-the great bridge over the Elster

had just been blown up. This was the last point of communication with

the rear guard, which consisted of twenty thousand men now left on the

other side of the river under the command of Marshal Macdonald. "This,

then, is how my orders are executed!" exclaimed the Emperor, clasping his

head between his hands. He remained a moment buried in thought and

absorbed in his own reflections.

The fact was, his Majesty had given orders to undermine all the bridges

over the Elster and have them blown up, but not until after the French

army had crossed the river in safety. I have since heard this event

discussed from many points of view, and have read many contradictory

accounts. It is not my province to shed light on a point of history

which forms such a subject of controversy, and I have consequently

limited myself to relating as I have done only what came within my own

knowledge. Nevertheless, I may be permitted to make to my readers one

simple observation which presents itself to my mind whenever I read or

hear it said that the Emperor himself had the bridge blown up in order to

shelter himself from the enemy's pursuit. I ask pardon for such an

expression, but this supposition appeared to me an absurdity so

incredible as to surpass belief; for it is very evident that if under

these disastrous circumstances he could think only of his own personal

safety, he would not a short time before have voluntarily prolonged his

stay in the palace of the King of Saxony, where he was exposed to much

more imminent danger than he could have encountered after leaving

Leipzig. Moreover, the Emperor was far from enjoying the consternation

which struck him when he learned that twenty thousand of his brave

soldiers were separated from him perhaps forever.

How many misfortunes were the inevitable results of the destruction of

the last bridge on the road from Leipzig to Lindenau! And how many deeds

of heroism, the greater part of which will remain forever unknown, mark

this disaster! Marshal Macdonald, seeing himself separated from the

army, plunged on horseback into the Elster, and was fortunate enough to

reach the other bank; but General Dumortier, attempting to follow his

intrepid chief, disappeared and perished in the waves with a great number

of officers and soldiers; for all had sworn not to surrender themselves

to the enemy, and it was only a small number who submitted to the cruel

necessity of being made prisoners. The death of Prince Poniatowski

caused intense sorrow in the heart of the Emperor; and it may be said

that every one at headquarters was deeply distressed at the loss of our

Polish hero, and all were eager to learn the particulars of so grievous

and irreparable a misfortune. As was well known, his Majesty had given

him orders to cover the retreat of the army, and all felt that the

Emperor could not have bestowed this trust more worthily. It is related

that seeing himself pressed by the enemy against the bank of the river,

with no means of crossing, he was heard to say to those around him,

"Gentlemen, here we must die with honor!" It is added that putting into

practice this heroic resolution he swam across the waters of the Pleisse

in spite of the wounds he had received in the stubborn combat he had

sustained since morning. Then finding no longer any refuge from

inevitable captivity, except in the waters of the Elster, the brave

prince had thrown himself into it without considering the impassable

steepness of the opposite bank, and in a few moments he with his horse

was ingulfed beneath the waves. His body was not found until five days

afterwards, and then drawn from the water by a fisherman. Such was the

end, both deplorable and glorious, of one of the most brilliant and

chivalrous of officers, who showed himself worthy to rank among the

foremost French generals. Meanwhile the lack of ammunition compelled the

Emperor to retire promptly, although in remarkably good order, to Erfurt,

a town well furnished with both provisions and forage, as well as

material for arming and equipping the army,--in fact with all the

materials of war. His Majesty arrived on the 23d, having engagements

each day, in order to protect his retreat against forces four or five

times as numerous as those remaining at his disposal. At Erfurt the

Emperor remained only two days, and left on the 25th after bidding adieu

to his brother-in-law the King of Naples, whom he was never to see again.

I witnessed a part of this last interview, and remarked a certain

constraint in the manner of the King of Naples, which, however, his

Majesty seemed not to perceive. It is true that the king did not

announce his immediate departure, and his Majesty was ignorant that this

prince had secretly received an Austrian general.

[This was Count Mier, charged to guarantee to Murat the possession

of his kingdom if he abandoned the cause of the Emperor. He

abandoned him. What did he gain?--NOTE BY THE EDITOR.]

His Majesty was not informed of this until afterwards, and manifested

little surprise. Moreover (I call attention to this because I so often

had occasion to remark it), so many severe blows repeated in such quick

succession had struck the Emperor for some time past, that he seemed to

have become almost insensible, and it might well have been said that he

felt himself perfectly intrenched in his ideas of fatality.

Nevertheless, his Majesty, though unmoved under his own misfortunes, gave

full vent to his indignation on learning that the allied sovereigns

considered the King of Saxony as their prisoner, and had declared him a

traitor, simply because he was the only one who had not betrayed him.

Certainly if fortune had again become favorable to him, as in the past,

the King of Saxony would have found himself master of one of the most

extensive kingdoms of Europe; but fortune was hereafter to be always

adverse, and even our victories brought us only a barren glory.

Thus, for instance, the French army soon covered itself with glory at

Hanau, through which it was necessary to pass by overwhelming the immense

army of Austrians and Bavarians collected at this point under the command

of General Wrede. Six thousand prisoners were the result of this

triumph, which at the same time opened to us the road to Mayence, which

we expected to reach without other obstacles. It was on the 2d of

November, after a march of fourteen days from Leipzig, that we again

beheld the banks of the Rhine, and felt that we could breathe in safety.

Having devoted five days to reorganizing the army, giving his orders, and

assigning to each of the marshals and chiefs of the several corps the

post he was to occupy during his absence, the Emperor left Mayence on the

7th, and on the 9th slept at Saint-Cloud, to which he returned preceded

by a few trophies, as both at Erfurt and Frankfort we had taken twenty

banners from the Bavarians. These banners, presented to the minister of

war by M. Lecouteux aide-de-camp to the Prince de Neuchatel, had preceded

his Majesty's arrival in Paris by two days, and had already been

presented to the Empress, to whom the Emperor had done homage in the

following terms:

"MADAME, AND MY VERY DEAR WIFE,--

I send you twenty banners taken by my army at the battles of

Wachau, Leipzig, and Hanau. This is an homage it gives me pleasure

to render to you. I desire that you will accept it as a mark of my

entire satisfaction with the manner in which you have administered

the regency which I confided to you."

Under the Consulate and during the first six years of the Empire,

whenever the Emperor had returned to Paris after a campaign, it was

because that campaign was finished, and the news of a peace concluded in

consequence of a victory had always preceded him. For a second time he

returned from Mayence under different circumstances. In this case, as on

the return from Smorghoni, he left the war still in progress, and

returned, not for the purpose of presenting to France the fruit of his

victories, but to demand new subsidies of men and money in order to

repair the defeat and losses sustained by our army. Notwithstanding this

difference in the result of our wars, the welcome accorded to his Majesty

by the nation was still the same, apparently at least; and the addresses

by the different towns of the interior were not less numerous, nor less

filled with expressions of devotion; and those especially who were the

prey of fears for the future showed themselves even more devoted than all

others, fearing lest their fatal premonitions should be discovered. For

my own part, it had never occurred to me that the Emperor could finally

succumb in the struggle he was maintaining; for my ideas had never

reached this point, and it is only in reflecting upon it since that I

have been able to comprehend the dangers which threatened him at the

period we had now reached. He was like a man who had passed the night on

the edge of a precipice, totally unaware of the danger to which he was

exposed until it was revealed by the light of day. Nevertheless, I may

say that every one was weary of the war, and that all those of my friends

whom I saw on the return from Mayence spoke to me of the need of peace.

Within the palace itself I heard many persons attached to the Emperor say

the same thing when he was not present, though they spoke very

differently in the presence of his Majesty. When he deigned to

interrogate me, as he frequently did, on what I had heard people say, I

reported to him the exact truth; and when in these confidential toilet

conversations of the Emperor I uttered the word peace, he exclaimed again

and again, "Peace! Peace! Ah! who can desire it more than I? There

are some, however, who do not desire it, and the more I concede the more

they demand."

An extraordinary event which took place the very day of his Majesty's

arrival at Saint-Cloud, when it became known, led to the belief that the

allies had conceived the idea of entering upon new negotiations. In

fact, it was learned that M. de Saint-Aignan, his Majesty's minister at

the ducal court of Saxony, had been taken by main force and conducted to

Frankfort, where were then assembled M. de Metternich, the Prince von

Schwarzenberg, and the ministers of Russia and Prussia. There overtures

entirely in the interests of peace were made to him on the part of the

allied sovereigns, after which M. de Saint-Aignan was allowed to return

immediately to the Emperor to inform him of the details of his seizure

and the propositions which had been made to him. These offers made by

the allies, of which I was not informed, and consequently can say

nothing, seemed to strike the Emperor as worthy of consideration; and

there was soon a general rumor in the palace that a new Congress was to

be assembled at Manheim; that the Duke of Vicenza had been appointed by

his Majesty as minister plenipotentiary; and that in order to give more

dignity to his mission, the portfolio of foreign affairs had been at the

same time committed to him. I remember that this news revived the hopes

of all, and was most favorably received; for although it was doubtless

the effect of prejudice, no one could be ignorant that the general public

did not see with pleasure the Duke of Bassano in the place to which the

Duke of Vicenza was called to succeed him. The Duke of Bassano was said

to have acted in accordance with what he believed to be the secret wishes

of the Emperor, and to be averse to peace. It will be seen later, by an

answer which his Majesty made to me at Fontainebleau, how groundless and

without foundation were these rumors. It seemed then exceedingly

probable that the enemy really intended to treat for peace; since in

procuring openly by force a French negotiator, they had forestalled any

credit which might accrue to the Emperor from making overtures for peace.

What above all gave great weight to the general belief in the disposition

of Europe towards peace was that not simply a Continental peace was in

question as at Tilsit and Schoenbrunn, but also a general peace, in which

England was to enter as a contracting party; so that in consequence it

was hoped that the gain in the permanence of such peace would offset the

severity of its terms. But unfortunately this hope, which was indulged

with the joy of anticipation, lasted only a short time; and it was soon

learned that the propositions made to M. de Saint-Aignan were only a

bait, and an old diplomatic ruse which the foreigners had made use of

simply in order to gain time by deluding the Emperor with vain hopes.

In fact, a month had not passed away, there had not even been time to

complete the preliminary correspondence usual in such cases, when the

Emperor learned of the famous declaration of Frankfort, in which, far

from entering into negotiations with his Majesty, it was attempted to

separate his cause from that of France. What a mass of intrigues! Let

one bless with a thankful heart his mediocrity when he compares himself

with men condemned to live amid this labyrinth of high impostures and

honorable hypocrisies! A sad certainty was obtained that the foreigners

wished a war of extermination, and renewed consternation ensued where

hope had begun to reign; but the genius of his Majesty had not yet

deserted him, and from this time all his efforts were directed towards

the necessity of once again meeting the enemy face to face, no longer in

order to conquer his provinces, but to prevent an invasion of the sacred

soil of his own country.

CHAPTER XVII.

In speaking of the year 1813, an account of the incredible number of

affiliations which took place at this time between secret societies

recently formed in Italy and Germany should not be omitted. The Emperor

from the time when he was only First Consul, not only did not oppose the

opening of Masonic lodges, but we have every reason to believe secretly

favored them. He was very sure that nothing originated in these meetings

which could be dangerous to his person or injurious to his government;

since Freemasonry counted among its votaries, and even had as chiefs, the

most distinguished personages of the state. Moreover, it would have been

impossible in these societies, where a few false brethren had slipped in,

for a dangerous secret, had there been one, to escape the vigilance of

the police. The Emperor spoke of it sometimes as pure child's play,

suitable to amuse idlers; and I can affirm that he laughed heartily when

told that the archchancellor, in his position as chief of the Grand

Orient, had presided at a Masonic banquet with no less dignity than would

have comported with the presidency of the senate or of the council of

state. Nevertheless, the Emperor's indifference did not extend to

societies known in Italy under the name of Carbonari, and in Germany

under various titles. We must admit, in fact, that since the

undertakings of two young Germans initiated in Illuminism, it was natural

that his Majesty should not have seen without anxiety the propagation of

those bonds of virtue in which young fanatics were transformed into

assassins.

I know nothing remarkable in relation to the Carbonari, since no

circumstance connected our affairs with those of Italy. In regard to the

secret societies of Germany, I remember that during our stay at Dresden I

heard them mentioned with much interest, and not without fears for the

future, by a Saxon magistrate with whom I had the honor of associating

frequently. He was a man about sixty years of age, who spoke French

well, and united in the highest degree German stolidity with the gravity

natural to age. In his youth he had lived in France, and part of his

education had been received at the College of Soreze; and I attributed

the friendship which he showed for me to the pleasure he experienced in

conversing about a country the memory of which seemed very dear to him.

I remember perfectly well to-day the profound veneration with which this

excellent man spoke to me of one of his former professors of Soreze, whom

he called Don Ferlus; and I must have had a defective memory indeed had I

forgotten a name which I heard repeated so often.

My Saxon friend was named M. Gentz, but was no relation of the diplomat

of the same name attached to the Austrian chancellery. He was of the

Reformed religion, very faithful in the performance of his religious

duties; and I can assert that I never knew a man with more simple tastes,

or who was more observant of his duties as a man and a magistrate. I

would not like to risk saying what were his inmost thoughts concerning

the Emperor; for he rarely spoke of him, and if he had anything

unpleasant to say it may be readily understood that he would not have

chosen me as his confidant. One day when we were together examining the

fortifications which his Majesty had erected at many points on the left

bank of the Elbe, the conversation for some reason happened to fall on

the secret societies of Germany, a subject with which I was perfectly

unacquainted. As I was questioning him in order to obtain information,

M. Gentz said to me, "It must not be believed that the secret societies

which are multiplying in Germany in such an extraordinary manner have

been protected by the sovereigns; for the Prussian government sees them

grow with terror, although it now seeks to use them in order to give a

national appearance to the war it has waged against you. Societies which

are to-day tolerated have been, even in Prussia, the object of bitter

persecutions. It has not been long, for instance, since the Prussian

government used severe measures to suppress the society called

'Tugendverein', taking the precaution, nevertheless, to disguise it under

a different title. Doctor Jahn put himself at the head of the Black

Chevaliers, who were the precursors of a body of partisans known under

the name of the Black Chasseurs, and commanded by Colonel Lutzow. In

Prussia the still vivid memory of the late queen exercised a great

influence over the new direction given to its institutions, in which she

occupied the place of an occult divinity. During her lifetime she gave

to Baron Nostitz a silver chain, which as her gift became the decoration,

or we might rather say the rallying signal, of a new society, to which

was given the name of the Conederation of Louise. And lastly, M. Lang

declared himself the chief of an order of Concordists, which he

instituted in imitation of the associations of that name which had for

some time existed in the universities.

"My duties as magistrate," added M. Gentz, "have frequently enabled me to

obtain exact information concerning these new institutions; and you may

consider the information which I give you on this subject as perfectly

authentic. The three chiefs whom I have just mentioned apparently direct

three separate societies; but it is very certain that the three are in

reality only one, since these gentlemen engage themselves to follow in

every particular the vagaries of the Tugendverein, and are scattered

throughout Germany in order that by their personal presence they may have

a more direct influence. M. Jahn is more especially in control of

Prussia; M. Lang of the north, and Baron de Nostitz of the south, of

Germany. The latter, knowing perhaps the influence of a woman over young

converts, associated with himself a beautiful actress named Madame Brede;

and she has already been the means of making a very important acquisition

to the Confederation of Louise, and one which might become still more so

in the future if the French should meet with reverses. The former

Elector of Hesse, admitted through the influence of Madame Brede,

accepted almost immediately after his reception the grand chieftancy of

the Confederation of Louise, and the very day of his installation placed

in the hands of M. de Nostitz the sum necessary to create and equip a

free corps of seven hundred men destined to enter the service of Prussia.

It is true that having once obtained possession of this sum the baron did

nothing towards the formation of the corps, which greatly incensed the

ex-elector; but by dint of skill and diplomacy Madame Brede succeeded in

reconciling them. It has been proved, in fact, that M, de Nostitz did

not appropriate the funds deposited with him, but used them for other

purposes than the arming of a free corps. M. de Nostitz is beyond doubt

the most zealous, ardent, and capable of the three chiefs. I do not know

him personally, but I know he is one of those men best calculated to

obtain unbounded influence over all with whom he comes in contact. He

succeeded in gaining such dominion over M. Stein, the Prussian minister,

that the latter placed two of his secretaries at the disposal of Baron de

Nostitz to prepare under his direction the pamphlets with which Germany

is flooded; but I cannot too often repeat," continued M. Gentz, "that the

hatred against the French avowed by these various societies is simply an

accidental thing, a singular creation of circumstances; since their prime

object was the overthrow of the government as it existed in Germany, and

their fundamental principle the establishment of a system of absolute

equality. This is so true that the question has been earnestly debated

amongst the members of the Tugendverein of proclaiming the sovereignty of

the people throughout Germany; and they have openly declared that the war

should not be waged in the name of the governments, which according to

their belief are only the instruments. I do not know what will be the

final result of all these machinations; but it is very certain that by

giving themselves an assumed importance these secret societies have given

themselves a very real one. According to their version it is they alone

who have decided the King of Prussia to openly declare himself against

France, and they boast loudly that they will not stop there. After all,

the result will probably be the same as in nearly all such cases,--if

they are found useful they will be promised wonderful things in order to

gain their allegiance, and will be abandoned when they no longer serve

the intended purposes; for it is an entire impossibility that reasonable

governments should lose sight of the real end for which they are

instituted."

This is, I think, an exact summary, not of all M. Gentz said to me

concerning the secret societies of Germany, but of what I recall; and I

also remember that when I gave the Emperor an account of this

conversation, his Majesty deigned to give most earnest attention, and

even made me repeat certain parts, which, however, I do not now remember

positively. As to the Carbonari, there is every reason to think that

they belonged by secret ramifications to the German societies; but as I

have already said, I have not been able to obtain exact information as to

them. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to repeat here what I heard

concerning the initiation of a Carbonari.

This story, which may perhaps be only imaginary, struck my attention

deeply. Moreover, I give it here with much hesitation, not knowing

whether some one has not already profited by it, as I was by no means the

only auditor of this narration. I obtained it from a Frenchman who lived

in the north of Italy at the time my conversation with M. Gentz occurred.

A French officer, formerly attached to General Moreau, a man of

enthusiastic but at the same time gloomy and melancholy character, left

the service after the trial instituted against his general at Paris. He

took no part in the conspiracy; but unalterably attached to republican

principles, this officer, whose tastes were very simple, and who

possessed an ample competence, left France when the Empire was

established, and took no pains to disguise his aversion to the head of an

absolute government. Finally, although of most inoffensive conduct, he

was one of those designated under the name of malcontents. After

traveling several years in Greece, Germany, and Italy, he settled himself

in a little village in the Venetian Tyrol. There he lived a very retired

life, holding little communication with his neighbors, occupied in the

study of natural science, given up to meditation, and no longer occupying

himself, so to speak, with public affairs. This was his position, which

appeared mysterious to some persons, at the time the institution of the

ventes of the Carbonari were making such incredible progress in most of

the Italian provinces, especially in those on the borders of the

Adriatic. Several notable inhabitants of the country, who were ardent

Carbonari, conceived the plan of enrolling in their society this French

officer, whom they knew, and being aware of his implacable resentment

against the chief of the Imperial government, whom he regarded as a great

man, in fact, but at the same time as the destroyer of his beloved

republic. In order not to rouse the supposed susceptibilities of this

officer, they organized a hunting-party to meet in the locality where he

usually took his solitary rambles. This plan was adopted, and so well

carried out that the intended meeting took place apparently by chance.

The officer did not hesitate to engage in conversation with the hunters,

some of whom he already knew; and after some desultory remarks the

conversation turned on the Carbonari, those new votaries of secret

liberty. The magic word liberty had not lost its power to stir to its

depths the heart of this officer, and consequently produced upon him the

exact effect they desired, by awaking enthusiastic memories of his youth,

and a joy to which he had long been a stranger; and consequently when

they proposed to add his name to the brotherhood which was now around

him, no difficulty was experienced. The officer was received, the secret

signs and words of recognition were given him, and he took the oath by

which he engaged to be always and at every hour at the disposal of his

brethren, and to perish rather than betray their secrets; and was then

initiated and continued to live as in the past, but expecting every

moment a summons.

The adventurous character of the inhabitants of the Venetian Tyrol afford

a striking contrast to the character of the inhabitants of Italy; but

they have in common suspicious natures, and from suspicion to revenge the

descent is rapid. The French officer had hardly been admitted, than

there were found among them some who condemned this action, and regarded

it as dangerous; and there were some who even went so far as to say that

his being a Frenchman should have been a sufficient impediment, and that,

besides, at a time when the police were employing their best men to

uncover all disguises, it was necessary that the firmness and constancy

of the newly elected should be put to some other proof than the simple

formalities they had required. The sponsors of the officer, those who

had, so to speak, earnestly desired him as a brother, raised no

objections, being perfectly satisfied as to the correctness of their

choice.

This was the state of affairs when news of the disaster of the French

army at Leipzig were received in the neighboring provinces of the

Adriatic, and redoubled the zeal of the Carbonari. About three months

had passed since the reception of the French officer; and having received

no news from his brethren, he thought that the duties of the Carbonari

must be very inconsiderable, when one day he received a mysterious letter

enjoining him to be the following night in a neighboring wood, at a

certain spot exactly at midnight, and to wait there until some, one came

to him. The officer was promptly at the rendezvous at the appointed

hour, and remained until daylight, though no one appeared. He then

returned to his home, thinking that this had been simply a proof of his

patience. His convictions, in this respect, were somewhat changed,

however, when a few days afterwards he received another letter ordering

him to present himself in the same manner at the same spot; and he again

passed the night there in vain expectation.

Nothing further had occurred, when a third and similar rendezvous was

appointed, at which the French officer presented himself with the same

punctuality and inexhaustible patience. He had waited several hours,

when suddenly, instead of witnessing the arrival of his brethren, he

heard the clash of swords; and moved by irresistible impulse, he rushed

towards the spot from which the noise issued and seemed to recede as he

advanced. He soon arrived at a spot where a frightful crime had just

been committed, and saw a man weltering in his blood, attacked by two

assassins. Quick as lightning he threw himself, sword in hand, on the

two murderers; but, as they immediately disappeared in the thick woods,

he was devoting his attention to their victim, when four gendarmes

arrived on the scene; and the officer then found himself alone with

unsheathed sword near the murdered man. The latter, who still breathed,

made a last effort to speak, and expired while indicating his defender as

his murderer, wherepon the gendarmes arrested him; and two of them took

up the corpse, while the others fastened the arms of the officer with

ropes, and escorted him to a neighboring village, one league distant,

where they arrived at break of day. He was there conducted before a

magistrate, questioned, and incarcerated in the prison of the place.

Imagine the situation of this officer, with no friends in that country,

not daring to recommend himself to his own government, by whom his

well-known opinions had rendered him suspected, accused of a horrible

crime, well aware of all the proofs against him, and, above all,

completely crushed by the last words of the dying man! Like all men of

firm and resolute character, he accepted the situation without

complaint, saw that it was without remedy, and resigned himself to his

fate. Meanwhile, a special commission had been appointed, in order to

make at least a pretense of justice; but when he was led before this

commission, he could only repeat what he had already said; that is to

say, give an exact account of the occurrence, protest his innocence, and

admit at the same time that appearances were entirely against him. What

could he reply when asked wherefore, and with what motive, he had been

found alone in the night, armed with a sword, in the thickest of the

wood? Here his oath as Carbonari sealed his lips, and his hesitation

was taken as additional proof. What could he reply to the deposition of

the gendarmes who had arrested him in the very act? He was consequently

unanimously condemned to death, and reconducted to his prison until the

time fixed for the execution of his sentence.

A priest was first sent to him. The officer received him with the utmost

respect, but refused to make confession, and was next importuned by the

visit of a brotherhood of penitents. At last the executioner came to

conduct him to the place of punishment; and while he was on the way,

accompanied by several gendarmes and a long line of penitents, the

funeral procession was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of the

colonel of the gendarmerie, whom chance brought to the scene. This

officer bore the name of Colonel Boizard, a man well known in all upper

Italy, and the terror of all malefactors. The colonel ordered a halt,

for the purpose of himself questioning the condemned, and made him give

an account of the circumstances of the crime and the sentence. When he

was alone with the officer, he said, "You see that all is against you,

and nothing can save you from the death which awaits you. I can,

nevertheless, save you, but only on one condition. I know that you

belong to the society of the Carbonari. Give me the names of your

accomplices in these terrible conspiracies and your life shall be the

reward."--"Never!"--"Consider, nevertheless."--"Never, I tell you; lead

me to execution."

It was then necessary to set out anew for the place of execution. The

executioner was at his post; and as the officer with a firm step mounted

the fatal scaffold, Colonel Boizard rushed up to him and begged him still

to save his life on the conditions he had offered. "No! no! never!"

Instantly the scene changed; the colonel, the executioner, the gendarmes,

the priest, penitents, and spectators, all gathered round the officer,

each one eager to press him to their hearts, and he was conducted in

triumph to his dwelling. All that had passed was simply an initiation.

The assassins in the forest and their victim, as well as the judges and

the pretended Colonel Boizard, had been playing a role; and the most

suspicious Carbonari now knew how far their new brother would carry the

constancy of his heroism and the observance of his oath.

This is almost exactly the recital which I heard, as I have said, with

the deepest interest, and which I take the liberty of repeating, though I

well understand how much it will lose by being written. Can it be

implicitly believed? This is what I would not undertake to decide; but I

can affirm that my informant gave it as the truth, and was perfectly

certain that the particulars would be found in the archives of Milan,

since this extraordinary initiation was at the time the subject of a

circumstantial report addressed to the vice-king, whom fate had

determined should nevermore see the Emperor.

CHAPTER XVIII.

I digressed considerably, in the preceding chapter, from my recollections

of Paris subsequent to our return from Germany after the battle of

Leipzig, and the Emperor's short sojourn at Mayence. I cannot even now

write the name of the latter town without recalling the spectacle of

tumult and confusion which it presented after the glorious battle of

Hanau, where the Bavarians fought so bravely on this the first occasion

when they presented themselves as enemies before those in whose ranks

they had so recently stood. It was, if I am not mistaken, in this last

engagement that the Bavarian general, Wrede, was, with his family, the

immediate victims of their treachery. The general, whom the Emperor had

overwhelmed with kindness, was mortally wounded, all his relatives in the

Bavarian army were slain, and his son-in-law, Prince of Oettingen, met

the same fate. It was one of those events which never failed to make a

deep impression on the mind of his Majesty, since it strengthened his

ideas of fatality. It was also at Mayence that the Emperor gave orders

for the assembling of the Corps Legislatif on the 2d of December. The

opening was delayed, as we shall see; and far better would it have been

had it been indefinitely postponed; since in that case his Majesty would

not have experienced the misfortunes he afterwards endured from their

opposition, symptoms of which now manifested themselves for the first

time in a manner which was, to say the least, intemperate.