Paoli, who pursued with relentless perseverance the last glimmering ray
of Napoleon's fortune. Some of the marshals had just made an attempt to
induce the Emperor Alexander to treat with the regency, and, moved by
the recollection of his ancient friendship, and by the influence which
the noble countenance of Napoleon exercised over his mind, the Czar
would, perhaps, have agreed to the proposal, when Pozzo di Borgo was
despatched in haste by the provisional government to Alexander, to put
a stop to the treaty, and he worked on the mind of the Czar by means of
the same considerations he had formerly presented to his view, and of
which he had acknowledged the justice. "The regency was still Napoleon,
and France no longer desired his rule; to sign a peace with him was
merely to expose themselves to a repetition of hostilities; if Europe
was desirous of rest, they must have done with the imperial system
altogether." The commissioner spent two hours in this conversation,
and, by his perseverance, he obtained the important declaration of
the allied sovereigns, that they would enter into no treaty with the
emperor or his family. Having gained this point, he returned with
speed to the provisional government, and gave vent to the picturesque
expression of his triumph in his communication to Talleyrand. "My dear
prince," said he, "I certainly cannot be said single-handed to have
politically killed Buonaparte, but I have cast the last clod of earth
upon his head."
Thus was played the drama of life between these two men: Pozzo,
formerly proscribed by Buonaparte, now came in his turn to be present
at the obsequies of his rival's power! Born within a few months of
each other, the one had quitted Ajaccio merely with the rank of a
sub-lieutenant, and had ascended the greatest throne under heaven;
the other, as an exile, had traversed Europe, to rouse the spirit
of war and vengeance against his compatriot, and, after unheard-of
efforts, had at last succeeded in realising the plan which had always
kept possession of his mind. He had his foot on his enemy's neck, and
had him banished to the island of Elba, which he had himself twice
sailed past, pursued by the fortune of his rival. General Pozzo never
would admit the hypothesis that France and Buonaparte were the same
thing; and in this respect he was as good a patriot as Moreau, Lannes,
Bernadotte, Massena, Dessoles, and Gouvion St. Cyr.
As soon as the senate had decided upon the restoration of the ancient
dynasty, and laid the foundations of the constitution, Pozzo di Borgo
was commissioned by the sovereigns to go to London, to meet Louis
XVIII. This was not only an honourable mission of congratulation to
the new French sovereign; the general's special duty was to explain to
Louis the real state of public opinion in France, and the necessity
of adopting the constitutional forms and liberal ideas of a charter,
to answer the public expectation. He went with all possible speed to
London, for the provisional government were well aware that the ardent
royalist party would immediately surround the French king, and it was
necessary to prevent his being guilty of any imprudence; and this
they hoped to effect by means of the salutary intervention of Pozzo di
Borgo, especially as his being the confidential servant of the Emperor
Alexander would naturally invest him with a considerable degree of
influence over the mind of Louis XVIII. When the general arrived at
Calais, he engaged a packet-boat for his sole use, and at the moment of
his embarkation, an episode occurred, which he often related as a proof
of the instability of human opinions. He was standing on the sea-shore,
when a stranger accosted him, and requested a passage in his little
vessel to enable him to go and meet the king. "Who are you?" asked
Pozzo di Borgo. "I am the Duc de la Rochefoucauld Liancourt," replied
the stranger; "and I am going to the king to resume my ancient office."
One may imagine the amazement of the ambassador; the Duc de Liancourt
had not only deeply insulted the Comte de Provence at the Constituent
Assembly, but he had afterwards carried his offence still farther, by
sending back to him, from the United States, the ribbon of his orders,
as a mark of his contempt for what he called the _crotchets_ of the old
school: Louis XVIII. could not forget this contemptuous bearing in a
man of noble birth.
The ambassador did not refuse a passage to the noble duke; and it was a
most curious circumstance that the first step taken by M. de Liancourt
when they reached the royal yacht in which Louis had embarked, was
to adorn himself with the blue ribbon he had formerly sent back to
the king during his sojourn in the land of equality and liberty. It
is impossible to describe the despair of the duke when he found he
could not be received by Louis XVIII., while Count Pozzo was welcomed
in the warmest manner, and the king expressed himself in the most
flattering language, with tears in his eyes. The ambassador from the
allies explained the orders he had received. "Though the constitution
proclaimed by the senate might have fallen into contempt, it was no
reason for abandoning the principles of liberty upon which it was
founded." Pozzo di Borgo remained with the king during his voyage,
and assisted him in preparing the declaration issued at St. Ouen,
containing the plan of such a representative system as the liberal
party were desirous of establishing in France. Let us imagine that
country passing from the military rule of Napoleon into constitutional
principles, finding herself free, on emerging from the firm, but
despotic government of the emperor, had she not already gained an
immense step in securing the advantages of a public representation? The
treaty of Paris was based on the diplomatic scheme determined upon at
Chaumont and Chatillon: it restrained France within her ancient limits,
and placed her under the government of the ancient dynasty, thus
offering a pledge of peace and the maintenance of order, so necessary
to the tranquillity of Europe.
General Pozzo di Borgo remained in Paris as Russian ambassador to the
new French government, until the meeting of the Congress of Vienna,
where all the diplomatic chiefs were summoned to attend. I will not
recount the events of that period, having related them in a work
especially devoted to the history of those times;[21] I will only
observe, that had they listened at Vienna to the warnings, derived
from the former experience of the friend of Paoli, France would never
have suffered the misfortunes inflicted by the reign of the Hundred
Days. The _corps diplomatique_ received intelligence that Napoleon was
seeking the opportunity of returning from exile, and reappearing in
Europe, and General Pozzo, who well knew the energy of his countryman,
proposed removing him to a more secure spot,--as, for example, one
of the islands of the African Ocean, from whence escape would be
impossible, so as to prevent any risk of his again throwing the whole
of Europe into a state of danger and revolution.
[21] "Histoire de la Restauration."
At Vienna, a coldness took place for the second time between Alexander
and his confidential _employé_, occasioned by the difference of their
opinions on the question of Poland. The Czar had taken it into his
head that Poland must be formed into a vast kingdom, separated by its
constitution from Russia, and even comprehending its ancient provinces
within its boundaries, and Pozzo di Borgo was strongly opposed to the
whole scheme: he foretold the consequences of such a proceeding in an
exceedingly well-written memorial, full of sound judgment, and evincing
a deep and extensive consideration of the subject. "The creation of
such a kingdom," said he, "would only be encouraging the spirit of
rebellion, and this would eventually involve the nobility and people
of Poland in a deeper slavery; for if an insurrection were to take
place, it would be necessary to repress it with severity."[22] Alas,
he spoke but too truly! What has been the ruin of Poland, and caused
the dispersion of her generous nobility? Was it not the insane project
of an impossible revolution? The Emperor Alexander withdrew for a
short time his confidence from General Pozzo, to place it in Count
Capo d'Istria, a man of rather a dreamy and visionary cast of mind,
and whose opinion exactly coincided with his own, concerning the
emancipation of Greece and Poland, under the _suzeraineté_ of the Czar.
[22] This memorial was found again some years afterwards at Warsaw.
The Emperor Nicholas wrote to Pozzo di Borgo in 1830, "How rightly
you foresaw what would happen! You would have saved us much
difficulty and embarrassment."
But all these occurrences were suddenly interrupted by the landing of
Napoleon in the gulf of Juan. It was like the fall of a thunderbolt.
Pozzo di Borgo, however, received the intelligence without any
appearance of surprise; and when the _corps diplomatique_ sought to
remove the fears that had been excited as to the probability of war, he
replied, "I well know Buonaparte; since he has landed, he will proceed
to Paris, and if so, there must be no delay, no attempt at pacific
measures; Europe should march at once against the common enemy." The
Emperor Alexander sent for Pozzo di Borgo, to whom he restored his
perfect confidence, and then despatched him to Ghent to Louis XVIII.,
charged with a military mission to the Anglo-Prussian army of the
Low Countries. A general cry for war now arose at Vienna, and the
allied powers made preparations for a fresh campaign, in spite of all
the endeavours of Napoleon to separate Austria and Russia from the
coalition. With this view, it is well known that he transmitted to
Alexander a copy of the secret treaty concluded in March 1814, between
England, France, and Austria, against Russia, relative to the Polish
question; and from this point dates the extreme antipathy of Alexander
for Talleyrand--an antipathy which more than once stood in the way of
diplomatic transactions after the second invasion of France.
General Pozzo arrived in Belgium, now the inevitable theatre of war,
as Russian commissary to the Anglo-Prussian army, which formed the
advanced guard of the coalition, at the very moment Napoleon made his
appearance on the frontier. The Duke of Wellington was informed of the
sudden arrival of his terrible adversary, in the midst of a brilliant
ball, under the thousand lustres of the palace of Laeken: the English
troops were assembled in all haste, and a courier was despatched to
Bulow, to desire him to quicken his march, and join the rest of the
army. The Prussians, under Blucher, received a check at Ligny, and the
English took up their position at Mont St. Jean. Pozzo di Borgo arrived
there in a state of considerable anxiety. "How long do you think you
can hold out?" said he. "I do not put much faith in the Belgians,"
replied the Duke of Wellington; "but I have a dozen British regiments
with me, and I will engage to maintain my ground all day; but Bulow
must come to my assistance before five o'clock in the evening." In
the middle of the battle a note arrived from Bulow, promising his
arrival in less than three hours; the news flew along the ranks, and
the English army, feebly supported by the Belgians, resisted with an
obstinate courage, which gained them the victory. At the funereal
battle of Waterloo, Count Pozzo di Borgo received rather a serious
wound.
Napoleon's last battle-field was fought and lost! still Count Pozzo
felt uneasy, and with reason, for the army of Alexander had taken no
part in these events, indeed it had scarcely reached Germany; and was
it not probable that the Duke of Wellington and Blucher, profiting by
their successes, might take upon themselves to decide alone upon the
fate of France? Pozzo di Borgo sent for a young Russian officer serving
in the Prussian army, and said to him, "Spare not your horses, but
in forty-eight hours let the czar be informed of this victory! Your
fortune awaits you at the end of your journey." Though suffering from
his wound, the diplomatist followed the Duke of Wellington closely
to Paris: he resumed his office of ambassador to Louis XVIII., but
without the same favourable circumstances in regard to credit, as he
had enjoyed in 1814. As he had foreseen, the occupation of Paris by the
English and Prussian generals had rendered them all powerful there,
the Fouché-Talleyrand ministry was almost entirely formed by the Duke
of Wellington, and both those political characters were known to be
devoted to England. Russia thus played but a secondary part, which it
was very desirable should be augmented; but the arrival of the Emperor
Alexander at the head of 230,000 bayonets soon changed the face of
affairs.
Talleyrand had evidence of this from the very first steps taken
towards the preliminaries of peace; the Czar had an old grudge
against the French plenipotentiary at Vienna, and he would not hear
of any negotiation carried on by him; still Alexander's mediation was
indispensable to our interests, in the discussions preparatory to
a treaty of peace. England, Prussia, and Germany, exacted the most
exorbitant conditions, being apparently desirous of making the most
of their victory, and vieing with each other in the pillage of our
unfortunate country. Lord Castlereagh's first minutes demanded the
cession of a chain of fortresses along the Belgic frontier from Calais
to Maubeuge; while the Prussians and Germans claimed Alsace and part
of Lorraine; who but the Czar could defend us from the greediness of
our conquerors? Talleyrand tried to appease Alexander by promising a
high political situation to his ambassador; he offered Pozzo di Borgo
the ministry of the interior, combined with that of the police, now
vacant by the resignation of Fouché, or any other appointment he might
prefer; but Count Pozzo declined his offers, declaring he could only be
useful to France as an intermediate agent between the two governments;
a Frenchman in his affections, and a Russian in his position and duty,
he would appear as a type of alliance between the two cabinets and
the two nations. Talleyrand's plans fell to the ground, owing to the
invincible objections of the Emperor Alexander, who persisted in his
desire of seeing the ministry for foreign affairs intrusted to a man of
his choice, and in whom he could place confidence; and he recommended
the appointment of the Duc de Richelieu, designating him as the best
of Frenchmen, and the most upright of men: Talleyrand was, therefore,
obliged to give way; he gave in his resignation to Louis XVIII., who
intrusted the Duc de Richelieu with the formation of another cabinet.
From this moment the influence of Russia on public affairs became
clearly defined. The Czar placed himself as the intermediary in all
questions regarding territory, and he had, in point of fact, some
object in wishing to uphold the active power of France in the south
of Europe, in order that he might hereafter meet with an ally and
supporter there. Pozzo di Borgo's influence increased with that of
his emperor, and he always exercised it in a kind and favourable
manner towards France. Let us take a retrospective glance of that most
disastrous period, when the country, invaded by 800,000 foreigners,
was completely crushed under the burden of military contributions; but
Alexander threw the weight of his opinion and his power into the scale,
as opposed to the demands of the English, Prussians, and Germans, and
the question of the cession of Alsace, Lorraine, and a great part of
the northern provinces, was at an end.
In the secret conferences of the plenipotentiaries, the Russian
minister pressed the necessity of not exercising too much severity in
the conditions exacted from France and the new dynasty; because, when
dishonour, weakness, or degradation, are imposed upon a king or a
nation, a natural reaction takes place against a yoke too oppressive
to be borne. The treaty of Paris, the result of these conferences, was
no doubt a very hard measure; when the Duc de Richelieu signed it,
the trembling of his hand shewed the pain and grief he endured, and
he wrote a most noble letter, which is still extant, deploring this
cruel necessity; still, compared with the conditions imposed by the
Anglo-Prussians, a great step had been gained. France underwent no
partition; though she lost some posts on the frontier, though she was
obliged to submit to a military occupation, though a contribution of
seven hundred millions[23] of francs was levied, at least she could
look forward to a limit, however distant, to the evils of war, she
neither lost Lorraine nor Alsace, she still was a great nation.
[23] About twenty-eight millions sterling.
When the Emperor Alexander quitted Paris, he invested Pozzo di Borgo
with full power to uphold the government of Louis XVIII., to watch his
first proceedings and prevent his first faults. A powerful royalist
reaction had taken place; the greater part of the Chamber of 1815 had
decided in favour of a system of unbounded energy, in which parties,
when left to themselves, are always apt to indulge in the first joy of
victory. This chamber was strongly opposed to the Richelieu ministry,
and made political order of impossible attainment, though it was the
only means of realising the loans, and, consequently, of fulfilling the
terms imposed by the army of occupation. Under existing circumstances,
moderation was not merely a natural impulse of elevated minds, it
was an actual law of necessity; besides which, reactions do not
create real resources, they only disturb people's minds, and destroy
public prosperity. Pozzo di Borgo upheld the Duc de Richelieu in the
plan common to both, of endeavouring to arrest the ultra-royalist
movement, which threw obstacles in the way of the fulfilment of their
engagements towards the allies; and the _ordonnance_ of the 5th of
September altered the course of ideas, and political principles of
the Restoration. The despatches of Pozzo di Borgo had prepared the
Emperor Alexander for this change, being altogether in favour of the
moderate royalist system, which the duke was desirous of following;
"It was necessary," said he, "to put a stop to the reaction of 1815;"
and the emperor perfectly agreed with him in opinion. The Russian
minister considered this _ordonnance_ as an act evincing the royal
will, likely to be favourably received in Europe, and thus to advance
the deliverance of the country from foreign occupation; the event
shewed he was not mistaken, for Louis soon received letters from the
Czar, congratulating him upon the act of firmness which enabled his
government to pursue the path of salutary moderation.
The Russian influence continued to increase. The military occupation
was still in force, and France, which had to arrange pecuniary
conventions resulting from various treaties, was exposed to very severe
trials: war was succeeded by famine, famine by internal disorders, and
simultaneous revolts. In his despatches to the emperor, Pozzo di Borgo
endeavoured to convince him of the necessity of alleviating the burden
of the military contributions, unless they wished to drive to despair
a nation which they might find it difficult to bring into entire
subjection. I never met with a collection of documents better reasoned,
or more thoroughly imbued with the desire of putting an end to the
military occupation of the country; perhaps his strong and patriotic
anxiety on that head often made him form too severe a judgment of the
royalist party.
The influence of the Russian ambassador was favourable to all
the negotiations of the French government, and at the Congress
of Aix-la-Chapelle it assumed the character of a most generous
intervention. Before starting for the congress he had received full
authority from his sovereign to endeavour to prevail upon the Duke of
Wellington to declare himself arbiter and mediator in the delicate
question regarding the debts claimed by foreigners from the French
government. These liabilities exceeded all bounds; and Pozzo di
Borgo, appealing to the generosity and military honour of the Duke of
Wellington, persuaded him to give over the military occupation which
injured and tormented France, and to make an end of these liquidations,
which appeared to have neither limit nor probable termination. Though
the Duke of Wellington had an interest in keeping up a command which
invested him with such vast authority in France, he consented to
become the arbiter of the different interests; and affairs were thus
arranged beforehand, that no obstacle might arise to interfere with the
resolutions already formed, and which were to be finally settled at the
Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle.
The result of that congress was the liberation of France, the credit
and trouble attending which are due to the Duc de Richelieu; but the
exertions of Pozzo di Borgo also contributed greatly to calm the fears
of Alexander, which had been excited by the liberal tendency at that
time so vehement in Europe.
The disposition of the Czar always evinced a greater degree of warmth
and generosity than of deep reflection; a bias had been given by
education, and he was also surrounded by timid people, constantly
ready to be alarmed at the posture of affairs, and more especially
uneasy at the excited state of the German universities. During his
brief stay in Paris, after the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, Alexander
had entered into an explanation on this subject with the French king.
According to his ideas, the principal danger in Europe at that time
arose from Jacobinism, and this was an evil above all others to be
avoided; it was a disorder of a new species, against which the Holy
Alliance would have some difficulty in acting so as to preserve the
world from its contagion. The instructions left with Pozzo di Borgo
bore the stamp of the same opinions; and what must have been the
disappointment of the emperor, when, upon his arrival at Warsaw, he
received intelligence that the Richelieu ministry was dissolved, and
that a political system more decidedly liberal had been adopted by
France! The Russian ambassador felt no repugnance for General Dessole,
and Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr, who formed part of this administration,
for they both belonged to the military opposition which had formed the
basis of the restoration; but, when the choice fell upon M. Grégoire,
and when the Duc de Berri was assassinated, terror and amazement
took possession of the _corps diplomatique_, and Pozzo di Borgo was
not unacquainted with the resolutions which again placed the Duc de
Richelieu at the head of affairs. The influence of the ambassador was
then neither very strong nor important, for a very simple reason; from
the year 1815 to 1818 it was impossible the French government should
act independent of foreigners; they occupied the country; it was
necessary to consult their diplomatic agents, and be in a great measure
decided by their opinion; but, when France was delivered from them, the
influence changed its nature, there was then no material action, only
a moral, and consequently limited, influence exercised by the _corps
diplomatique_.