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diff --git a/27289-h/27289-h.htm b/27289-h/27289-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8fc3209 --- /dev/null +++ b/27289-h/27289-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12889 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html lang="en"> + +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg e-Book of The Life Of Napoleon Bonaparte, Vol. 3; Author: William Milligan Sloane</title> + + +<style type="text/css"> +<!-- + +body {font-size: 1em; text-align: justify; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 5%;} + +h1 {font-size: 130%; text-align: center; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} +h2 {font-size: 120%; text-align: center; margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 2em;} +h3 {font-size: 120%; text-align: center; margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +h4 {font-size: 110%; text-align: center; margin-top: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; font-variant: small-caps;} + +a:focus, a:active { outline:#ffee66 solid 2px; background-color:#ffee66;} +a:focus img, a:active img {outline: #ffee66 solid 2px; } + +ul {list-style-type: none; margin-right: 10%; margin-left: 10%;} +ul.roman {list-style-type: upper-roman;} +sup {line-height: 0em;} +.roman li {font-variant: small-caps; font-size: 95%;} + +p {text-indent: 1em;} +p.tn {margin-left: 15%; width: 70%; text-indent: 0em; font-size: 85%;} + +.p4 {margin-top: 4em; margin-bottom: 1em;} + +.pagenum {visibility: hidden; + position: absolute; right:0; text-align: right; + font-size: 10px; + font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; + font-style: normal; letter-spacing: normal; + color: #C0C0C0; background-color: inherit;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps; font-size: 95%;} +.smaller {font-size: smaller;} +.small {font-size: 70%;} + +.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em;} +.left {text-align: left; text-indent: 0em;} +.right {text-align: right; text-indent: 0em;} +.ralign {position: absolute; right: 4em; top: auto;} +.summary {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; text-indent: 0em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + + +.figcenter {text-align: center;} + +.sidenote {width: 10%; float: left; clear: left; + margin-left: -5%; padding: 0.3em 0.1em 0.3em 0.1em; + font-size: 80%; text-indent: 0; text-align: left; + line-height: 1em;} + +.floatleft {clear: left; float: left;} +.floatright {clear: right; float: right;} +.clear {clear: both;} +--> +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, by +William Milligan Sloane + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte + Vol. III. (of IV.) + +Author: William Milligan Sloane + +Release Date: November 17, 2008 [EBook #27289] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE *** + + + + +Produced by Thierry Alberto, Henry Craig, Christine P. +Travers and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<p class="tn">Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, all +other inconsistencies are as in the original. The author's spelling +has been maintained.</p> + +<a id="img001" name="img001"></a> +<div class="p4 figcenter"> +<img src="images/img001.jpg" width="400" height="549" alt="" title=""> +<p class="small"> +<span class="floatleft">From the collection of W. C. Crane.</span> +<span class="floatright">Engraved by T. Levasseur.</span></p> +<p class="center smcap clear">THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON.</p> +<p class="small center">Drawn by F. Gérard.</p> +</div> + +<h1>THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE</h1> + +<p class="center">BY</p> + +<h2>WILLIAM MILLIGAN SLOANE</h2> +<p class="center">PH.D., L.H.D., LL.D.<br> +Professor of History in Columbia University</p> + +<p class="center">REVISED AND ENLARGED<br> +WITH PORTRAITS</p> + +<p class="center p4">VOLUME <abbr title="1">III</abbr></p> + +<a id="img002" name="img002"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img002.jpg" width="120" height="117" alt="Editor's arm." title=""> +</div> + +<p class="p4 center smaller">NEW YORK<br> +THE CENTURY CO.<br> +1916</p> + +<p class="p4 center smaller"><span class="smcap">Copyright</span>, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1910<br> +BY<br> +THE CENTURY CO.<br> +<i>Published, October, 1910</i></p> + + +<h2><span class="pagenum"><a id="pagev" name="pagev"></a>(p. v)</span> CONTENTS</h2> + +<a id="toc" name="toc"></a> +<ul> +<li>CHAPTER <span class="ralign">PAGE</span></li> + +</ul> +<ul class="roman"> +<li>War with Russia: Pultusk +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page001">1</a></span></li> +<li>Check to the Grand Army: Eylau +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page012">12</a></span></li> +<li>An Indecisive Victory: Friedland +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page024">24</a></span></li> +<li>Napoleon and Alexander at Tilsit +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page039">39</a></span></li> +<li>The Treaty of Tilsit +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page054">54</a></span></li> +<li>The Path of Napoleonic Empire +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page066">66</a></span></li> +<li>The New Feudalism +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page080">80</a></span></li> +<li>The Empires of Land and Ocean +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page097">97</a></span></li> +<li>French Empire and European Nationality +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page115">115</a></span></li> +<li>The Awakening of Spain +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page137">137</a></span></li> +<li>The First Revolt of Nations +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page153">153</a></span></li> +<li>Napoleon and Alexander at Erfurt +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page171">171</a></span></li> +<li>The Failure of the Spanish Campaign +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page182">182</a></span></li> +<li>The Transformation of Austria +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page192">192</a></span></li> +<li>The Fifth War with Austria—Eckmühl +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page202">202</a></span></li> +<li>Aspern, Essling, and Wagram +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page218">218</a></span></li> +<li>The Peace of Schönbrunn +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page233">233</a></span></li> +<li>Napoleon's Fatal Decision +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page244">244</a></span></li> +<li>The Austrian Marriage +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page251">251</a></span></li> +<li>Rigors of the Continental System +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page262">262</a></span></li> +<li>The Continental System Completed +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page274">274</a></span></li> +<li>The Course of the Peninsular War +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page282">282</a></span></li> +<li>Birth of the King of Rome +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page293">293</a></span></li> +<li>Tension Between Emperor and Czar +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page303">303</a></span></li> +<li>The Array of Nations +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page313">313</a></span></li> +<li>The Congress of Kings +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page325">325</a></span></li> +<li>The Invasion of Russia—Borodino +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page335">335</a></span></li> +<li>The Evacuation of Moscow +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page346">346</a></span></li> +<li>The Retreat from Russia +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page357">357</a></span></li> +<li>The Horrors of the Beresina +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page368">368</a></span></li> +<li>The Prodigal's Return +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page378">378</a></span></li> +<li>The Revolt of the Nations +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page388">388</a></span></li> +<li>The First Campaign in Saxony +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page401">401</a></span></li> +<li>The Nations in Grand Array +<span class="ralign"><a href="#page413">413</a></span></li> +</ul> + +<h2><span class="pagenum"><a id="pagevii" name="pagevii"></a>(p. vii)</span> LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<ul> +<li>The Emperor Napoleon <span class="ralign"><a href="#img001"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></span></li> +<li>Map of the Battle of Eylau <span class="ralign"><a href="#img003">14</a></span></li> +<li>Map of the Battle of Heilsberg <span class="ralign"><a href="#img004">28</a></span></li> +<li>Map of the Battle of Friedland <span class="ralign"><a href="#img005">36</a></span></li> +<li>Napoleon—by Ingres <span class="ralign"><a href="#img006">50</a></span></li> +<li>Queen Hortense <span class="ralign"><a href="#img007">98</a></span></li> +<li>Napoleon in his Study <span class="ralign"><a href="#img008">146</a></span></li> +<li>Map of the Spanish Campaign <span class="ralign"><a href="#img009">184</a></span></li> +<li>Joseph Bonaparte <span class="ralign"><a href="#img010">196</a></span></li> +<li>Map of the Battle of Eckmühl <span class="ralign"><a href="#img011">212</a></span></li> +<li>Two Maps of the Battles of Aspern and Essling <span class="ralign"><a href="#img012">221</a></span></li> +<li>Map of the Battle of Wagram <span class="ralign"><a href="#img014">228</a></span></li> +<li>Eugène Beauharnais <span class="ralign"><a href="#img015">246</a></span></li> +<li>Napoleon Bonaparte in 1809 <span class="ralign"><a href="#img016">296</a></span></li> +<li>Map of the Russian Campaign, 1812 <span class="ralign"><a href="#img017">340</a></span></li> +</ul> + +<h1><span class="pagenum"><a id="page001" name="page001"></a>(p. 001)</span> LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE</h1> + +<h3>CHAPTER I.</h3> + +<h4>War With Russia: Pultusk.<a id="footnotetag1" name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1" title="Go to footnote 1"><span class="smaller">[1]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Poland and the Poles — The Seat of War — Change in the Character of + Napoleon's Army — The Battle of Pultusk — Discontent in the Grand + Army — Homesickness of the French — Napoleon's Generals — His + Measures of Reorganization — Weakness of the Russians — The Ability + of Bennigsen — Failure of the Russian Manœuvers — Napoleon in + Warsaw.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1806-07.</p> + +<p>The key to Napoleon's dealings with Poland is to be found in his +strategy; his political policy never passed beyond the first tentative +stages, for he never conquered either Russia or Poland. The struggle +upon which he was next to enter was a contest, not for Russian +abasement but for Russian friendship in the interest of his +far-reaching continental system. Poland was simply one of his weapons +against the Czar. Austria was steadily arming; Francis received the +quieting assurance that his share in the partition was to be +undisturbed. In the general and proper sorrow which has been felt for +the extinction of Polish nationality by three vulture neighbors, the +terrible indictment of general worthlessness which was justly brought +against her organization and administration is at most times and by +most people utterly forgotten. A people has exactly the nationality, +government, and administration which expresses its quality and secures +its deserts. The Poles were either <span class="pagenum"><a id="page002" name="page002"></a>(p. 002)</span> dull and sluggish boors +or haughty and elegant, pleasure-loving nobles. Napoleon and his +officers delighted in the life of Warsaw, but he never appears to have +respected the Poles either as a whole or in their wrangling cliques; +no doubt he occasionally faced the possibility of a redeemed Poland, +but in general the suggestion of such a consummation served his +purpose and he went no further. That he had no sentiment about Polish +nationality is self-evident.</p> + +<p>After Jena the Czar displayed great activity. In spite of being +compelled to detach eighty thousand men for service against Turkey, he +had got together a second numerous army; Lestocq, with a corps of +fifteen thousand Prussians, had joined him, and he was clearly +determined to renew the war. For a time the French had no certain +information as to whether he would cross the Prussian frontier or not, +and Napoleon at first expected the city of Posen to be the center of +operations. Before long, however, it became evident that the Russians +were drawing together on Pultusk. Displaying an astounding assurance +as to the stability of his power in France, and without regarding the +possible effect upon conditions at home of a second war, at an +enormous distance, Napoleon determined to meet them. With the same +celerity and caution as of old, the various French divisions were led +first across the Vistula, and then over the plains, until in the end +of December they were concentrated before the enemy. During the three +weeks consumed in these operations much besides was done to strengthen +the position of the French and to assure their communications. The +Russians were dislodged from Warsaw, and Thorn was besieged; the +Vistula, Bug, Wkra, Narew, and other rivers were bridged; and a +commissary department was organized. The seat of war was different +indeed from any of those to which <span class="pagenum"><a id="page003" name="page003"></a>(p. 003)</span> Napoleon had hitherto been +accustomed. It was neither as densely settled nor as well tilled as +Italy and Germany, the population was far lower in the scale of +civilization, and therefore fiercer. The inhabitants could easily +strip their villages of the little forage and the few goods they +possessed, and at that season the fields were bare. The roads were of +the worst description; the rivers were deep and broad, often with +swampy banks and treacherous bottoms. In these circumstances it was +almost impossible to secure reliable information, for scouts and spies +were alike at fault.</p> + +<p>These new conditions of warfare were further complicated by a change +in the character of Napoleon's army. After Austerlitz many men of +German speech were to be found among the rank and file, and after Jena +the character of the soldiery grew more and more cosmopolitan. On the +first appearance of the imperial eagles of France in Poland, Jerome +was at the head of a whole corps of Würtembergers and Bavarians; many +Poles, Italians, Swiss, and Dutch were in others of the French corps; +and among the foreigners there were even Prussians from beyond the +Elbe. Some confusion was caused by this, and it was not diminished by +the fact that the French themselves had scarcely recovered from the +orgies in which they had been indulging for the last six weeks. +Moreover, the determination of the Emperor to "conquer the sea by +land" had emphasized in his mind the necessity of an overwhelming +superiority of numbers, and in November he demanded from the French +senate the eighty thousand conscripts who, according to law, could not +be drawn until September, 1807. This was the beginning of the fatal +practice destined in the end to enervate France and demoralize the +army. There was already little patriotism among the men, except what +served as a pretext for plunder; the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page004" name="page004"></a>(p. 004)</span> homogeneity of purpose, +principle, nationality, and age was soon to disappear.</p> + +<p>In the preliminary operations this deterioration was not apparent. The +troops marched doggedly through the mud, worked hard when called upon, +and although their rations, which were supplied by rascally +contractors, were very bad and altogether different from those to +which they had become accustomed in the years just preceding, the men +ate them without murmuring. But when, on December twenty-sixth, they +joined battle, the old push and nerve seemed lacking. The preparations +had been made on the plan of concentration, but at the last moment +Lannes was detached with his division to cut off the enemy's line of +retreat over the Narew. Napoleon, as at Jena, believed the main army +of his opponent to be where it was not, and he was incautious in thus +dividing and weakening his forces. Accordingly the battle had an +irregular and indecisive character. Lannes came unexpectedly upon the +mass of the Russian army, two columns forming the center and right, +and engaged them from ten in the morning until two in the afternoon. +At that hour a reserve arrived under Gudin, and attacked the Russian +right. But Bennigsen, the commander of that column, had ready a fresh +reserve, and with its aid the newcomers were repulsed. Lannes, who had +simultaneously made a final onset, was also beaten off by the superior +force of his enemy. On the same day, Murat, Davout, and Augereau +reached the neighboring village of Golymin, expecting to find the +Russian center there; on the left wing, at Neidenburg, Ney stood face +to face with Lestocq and his Prussians. There was nothing but +skirmishing at either place, for the French emperor could not drag his +artillery through the mud swiftly enough to make it tell at the right +time, and both Prussians and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page005" name="page005"></a>(p. 005)</span> Russians drew slowly off. Soult +was to have repeated the turning manœuver as carried out before +Jena, but the marching was so difficult, owing to a thaw, that he +could not accomplish anything like the necessary distance.</p> + +<p>The morning after this indecisive battle the entire Russian army was +far away. For strategic reasons and for lack of provisions it had +withdrawn to Ostrolenka. There was no pursuit. The natural question, +Why? is still unanswered. Some declare that the French troops were too +weary and bad-tempered; others, that Napoleon, in view of the +quagmires to which the roads were now reduced, dared not abandon his +base of supplies, as he was accustomed to do in summer weather and in +fruitful lands. There is still a third answer, that nothing was to be +gained; for of what use were the few miles of bare, flat land which +the army, putting forth its utmost exertions, might have been able to +traverse? All these reasons have validity. There was discontent among +the soldiers, for there was no booty; not even a soldier's common +comforts could be found. For the first time men of the line shouted +insults after the Emperor, and with impunity; even the faithful guard +indulged in double-meaning quips, but they, on the other hand, were at +the proper time soundly berated. "The short campaign of fifteen days," +wrote one of them, "made us ten years older." There was also danger in +advancing beyond reach of the commissary department,—deficient and +contemptible as it was in the hands of unscrupulous speculators,—and +there was indeed little to be gained by such a pursuit as was +possible, except prestige, which at that moment and at that distance +from France was not a valuable commodity.</p> + +<p>This element of distance from home was weighty. In far-off Egypt and +Syria, French soldiers had fought <span class="pagenum"><a id="page006" name="page006"></a>(p. 006)</span> bravely; an ideal will +carry even the commonest Frenchman far, and they then believed +themselves to be fighting for a principle. But since the armies of +France had begun to fight for booty and glory, they must have both. Of +the former there was little or none at all in the lands they now +occupied; the latter could be enjoyed only in the jubilations of their +kinsfolk; and although no account of any battle was more beclouded +than that of Pultusk which the Emperor sent to Paris, the approbation +of the fatherland could not reach Poland until long afterward, and in +tones that were low and almost inaudible. It is an old French saying +that next to the kingdom of heaven France is the most beautiful land, +and every Frenchman believes it. The Emperor himself said that his +French soldiers were unfitted for distant expeditions by their +yearnings for home. In his mind, therefore, the one essential thing to +restore the spirits of his men was rest. This opinion was strengthened +when he endeavored to visit the posts. Although his carriage stuck in +the mud and a saddle-horse could scarcely make its way, yet he got far +enough to see that his men were suffering and destitute.</p> + +<p>This preliminary campaigning, allowing for all obstacles so far +enumerated, was so generally inefficient and futile, that there +remains a conviction of further causes not lying on the surface. That +which is most to be suspected is the hastening corruption in the +character and morals, not of the soldiery,—that has been noted,—but +of the generals. One diarist of the time saw four marshals at Anspach. +He sketches Bernadotte as "a very tall dark man with fiery eyes under +thick brows." Humble as was his origin, his ambitions were lofty and +he was beginning to make ventures on his own account, not for the +master who had made him. There was also Mortier, fairly tall, "with a +stupid sentinel look"; considering <span class="pagenum"><a id="page007" name="page007"></a>(p. 007)</span> his career, he was +probably putting up his mask. There too were "Lefebvre, an old +Alsatian camp-boy, with his wife, former washerwoman in the regiment; +and Davout, a little smooth-pated, unpretending man, who was never +tired of waltzing." Mme. Lefebvre was aware of how costly were such +drawing-room triumphs as she imaged in her ambitious soul, and where +the supplies of booty could be found; Davout and Lannes and Ney were +still faithful and efficient; Augereau in action was utterly +uncertain, in morals pompous and wrong-headed; Murat knew where and +how the great prizes were to be found, and was as dashing and +venturesome as he was selfish and worldly-wise. The Russian generals +were plodding disciples of routine. Bennigsen was an able Hanoverian +mercenary, despising alike his Livonian colleague, Buxhöwden, and his +chief, the servile Russian marshal, Kamenski. The Prussian general +Lestocq was capable but inexperienced. The chief and his subordinate +were far from harmonious.</p> + +<p>The measures adopted to secure a period of comfort and repose for the +army were, unlike those taken for the campaign, apparently adequate. +The Emperor proceeded at once to station the various corps along the +Vistula, with provision and munition depots behind them. The +commissary department was thoroughly overhauled and much improved. The +line ran from Warsaw northwestward through Poland into Prussia, to the +river's mouth near Dantzic. Bernadotte had eighteen thousand men; Ney, +sixteen thousand; Soult, twenty-eight thousand; Augereau, eleven +thousand; Davout, twenty thousand; Lannes, eighteen thousand; Murat, +fourteen thousand; and the guard numbered fifteen thousand—a total of +about a hundred and forty thousand men. As conscripts and troops from +various garrisons came in, a new corps of twenty-three <span class="pagenum"><a id="page008" name="page008"></a>(p. 008)</span> +thousand men was formed, and placed under the command of Lefebvre. At +the same time, from his headquarters at Warsaw, the Emperor proceeded +with the organization of a government for Poland, and with the +training of her national guard. The two Russian columns had withdrawn +to Szuczyn, where they united under the command of Bennigsen, and the +Prussians were at Angerburg under Lestocq. This left open the way to +Königsberg, and early in January, 1807, Ney, overpowered by the +temptation to relieve the miseries of his men, and to make a stroke on +his own account by seizing the capital of East Prussia, set out from +Neidenburg without orders, leaving Bernadotte's position at Elbing +much exposed. Lestocq, however, managed to block Ney's path until the +Russians under Bennigsen arrived and compelled the French general to +return with his men to their quarters. Napoleon administered a severe +reprimand; and well he might, for the advantage thus offered to the +Russians had tempted Bennigsen to move, and the Russian army, once +afoot, seemed determined to remain so. In this way were destroyed +Napoleon's excellent calculations for the season of absolutely +essential repose.</p> + +<p>The action of Pultusk had made clear two serious defects in the +efficiency of Russia's force. During the battle, Kamenski, the +general-in-chief, a martinet and disciple of routine, had twice given +the order for retreat, and it was Bennigsen's disobedience which made +the conflict so indecisive that Russia claimed it as a victory. If a +victory, it was a barren one, because a weak and venal administration +of the commissary department had deprived the soldiers of sustenance +at the critical moment. Kamenski, who was seventy-six years old, was +retired on the ground of his health, and Bennigsen succeeded him, but +the bad commissary administration was not <span class="pagenum"><a id="page009" name="page009"></a>(p. 009)</span> remedied. The +Russian army was strong in regular infantry, but weak in +well-disciplined cavalry, although the latter defect was largely +supplied by the Cossacks, a peculiar body of riders from the Volga and +the Don, who paid the rental of their lands to the crown by four +years' military service at their own charges. Then, as now, they +fought with barbaric ferocity; they attacked in open formation, each +man for himself, and gave no quarter until the Czar offered a ducat +for every live Frenchman. They were known to ride a hundred miles in +twenty-four hours, and their services in pursuing an enemy were +invaluable.</p> + +<p>The one remarkable and unique feature of the Russian army in every +branch of the service has ever been its personal devotion to the Czar. +This feeling is a compound of religious fervor, patriotism, and +dynastic loyalty; these elements, welded inseparably, form a sentiment +of tremendous strength, which is a fair substitute for enlightened +patriotism. The case is different with the Tatar hordes from Central +Asia, who fight only for plunder, and in a crisis are often utterly +unreliable. At this time both Cossacks and Tatars were in the field, +the former in considerable numbers. The appointment of Bennigsen as +commander-in-chief, and the results of Pultusk, awakened great +enthusiasm among his hungry soldiers, who were now clamorous for a +decisive battle. He had ninety thousand men,—at least on paper,—and +was not disposed to leave the French in peace to recruit their numbers +and physical strength in comfortable winter quarters. Unlike the +Prussian officers, he had learned the lessons of recent campaigns, and +had the strength of his character been equal to the cleverness of his +strategy, he would have been a fair match for Napoleon. Moreover, the +King of Prussia, shut up in Königsberg with a few thousand men, was in +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page010" name="page010"></a>(p. 010)</span> a most precarious situation, both Ney and Bernadotte being +within striking distance. Finally, the garrison of the fortress at +Graudenz was dependent on the precarious supplies which they received +as Lestocq found an opportunity to send them.</p> + +<p>Very soon, therefore, the Cossacks were sent out to scour the country. +In their repeated skirmishes with the French light cavalry they showed +such daring and address that their foes became timid and cautious. In +this way the movements of Bennigsen's army were successfully +concealed, and he hoped by a swift march to overtake and destroy Ney's +isolated division; if successful he would secure access to Dantzic and +a connection with Graudenz, Kolberg, and other fortresses, which would +give him a position strong enough to jeopardize that of Napoleon at +Warsaw. Accordingly, with about sixty-five thousand men he began a +rapid and circuitous march northwesterly and around behind the +impenetrable belt of dark forests, past Lake Spirding to Heilsberg, +where he found Ney in full retreat on January twenty-second. But he +had overestimated the strength of his Russians; they were too +exhausted to strike quickly. Frost had set in, snow had fallen, and +both Ney and Bernadotte made their escape to Gilgenburg, the latter +after defeating the Russian advance-guard in a skirmish at Mohrungen. +Bennigsen was compelled to retire in order to recruit the strength of +his men.</p> + +<p>The Emperor of the French was still at Warsaw. The Polish capital was +gay and frivolous. New hopes had awakened the spirit of folly in the +aristocracy, and the "liberator," now at the very height of his +physical power, was often conspicuous in the revels. In the intervals +of his serious labors Napoleon gave way to a life of sensuality, and +the women were prodigal of their charms. One of them was the +well-known Countess <span class="pagenum"><a id="page011" name="page011"></a>(p. 011)</span> Walewska, a beautiful woman, who while +yet a child had been forced into wedlock with an aged nobleman. She +was now made to feel that the future of her country depended upon her +captivating Napoleon, for he had singled her out as the most beautiful +of all the crowd which pressed around him on his entry. Indignant when +the proposition was first made, she finally listened to the prejudiced +morality of her friends, and gave an unwilling consent. It is thought +that her child was the first born to Napoleon, and that this fact, +combined with his disgust for Josephine's incessant and inconsistent +outpourings of jealous complaint as to his conduct, had much to do +with his attitude concerning the political advantages of the divorce. +Such was the young Polish noblewoman's eventual devotion to the father +of her boy, that throughout his subsequent life in Europe she ran +every risk to be near her idol, and actually followed him to Elba. +Their son, the Count Walewski, was a devoted Frenchman, and a man of +quality, filling, with dignity, important offices in the service of +his country.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page012" name="page012"></a>(p. 012)</span> CHAPTER II.</h3> + +<h4>Check To the Grand Army: Eylau.<a id="footnotetag2" name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2" title="Go to footnote 2"><span class="smaller">[2]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon's Preparations — His Clever Strategy — The Plan Discovered + by the Russians — The Armies at Eylau — Failure of Napoleon's + Tactics — The Battle Indecisive — The French Army + Demoralized — Napoleon's Anxiety — His Army in Winter Quarters — The + Emperor's Activity — Rearrangement of his Forces — An Envoy from + the Shah of Persia — Reinforcements from France and Germany — The + Neutrality of Austria.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1807.</p> + +<p>It was not a very rude shock to his sensuous ease, however, when on +January twenty-seventh, 1807, Napoleon received the news of +Bennigsen's march. In a general way he had been aware for some days +that the enemy was moving, but he believed they had no other intention +than to derive what immediate advantage could be had from Ney's +rashness. In the absence of fuller information he had not changed his +opinion, but the army was nevertheless put in readiness, the trains +were equipped, and orders were issued for abandoning temporarily the +siege of Dantzic and for the complete occupation of Thorn. This step +was taken, as a glance at the map will show, to insure a new line of +connection with Posen and Berlin, directly in front of his base, in +case the oblique one he was holding between Warsaw and Bartenstein +should be endangered by a flank movement of the Russians.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page013" name="page013"></a>(p. 013)</span> Believing that Bennigsen's plan was to reach Elbing and +defend his communications with Dantzic, Napoleon issued orders on +January twenty-seventh for a countermarch in that direction, to engage +him either there or farther to the eastward. The orders given next day +to Davout and Augereau show that by swift movements he hoped to attack +at Willenberg, break through Bennigsen's center, and scatter his +forces right and left. Lannes had been taken ill after Pultusk, and +was still an invalid; Savary was therefore put in command of his +well-tried corps to bear the brunt of the battle. His business was to +cover the line of the Narew for the purpose of assuring freedom of +action to the main French army, and with that end in view to attack +the Russian corps under Essen, which was menacing it. Three days after +the orders of Napoleon were given, his army of a hundred thousand men +was in position on a line running in general east and west within the +space bounded by Willenberg, Gilgenburg, Mlawa, and Przasnysz, with +one reserve of forty thousand on the left, to prevent the loss of +Thorn, and another of fourteen thousand on the right. Everything was +in readiness for an advance under the most advantageous circumstances, +to take Bennigsen by surprise, strike him on his flank, and close the +campaign in a single battle. On January thirty-first the final orders +were issued for the advance, and the march began. As in Franconia, on +the eve of Jena, it seemed as if the victory were already assured, won +by the marvelous moving of great bodies of men, this time in the depth +of winter.</p> + +<a id="img003" name="img003"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img003b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img003.jpg" width="500" height="370" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Map of the Battle of Eylau.</p> +</div> + +<p>On what a slender thread hang the fortunes of war! That day a French +courier carrying to Bernadotte a particularly detailed account of the +Emperor's plan, and orders to advance to Gilgenburg, was caught by the +Cossacks. The precious papers were in Bennigsen's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page014" name="page014"></a>(p. 014)</span> hands next +morning. The Russian troops were still in a wretched condition, badly +clothed, and sustaining life by marauding; moreover, they numbered but +sixty-five thousand, Lestocq not yet having come in from Mohrungen. +The Russian general saw how he was entrapped, and that he could escape +only by a swift retreat. His conduct of the movement was masterly, and +on February sixth, though the French columns were not far behind, he +had reached Heilsberg. During the day the Russian rear-guard was +driven in, and Bennigsen, marching all night, found himself next +morning before the town of Eylau, or, more precisely, +Preussisch-Eylau, the spot he had selected for a desperate stand in +defense of Königsberg. The Russian rear-guard was again overtaken, +this time at Landsberg, where Murat arrived with his cavalry on the +morning of the seventh. All day the Russians slowly resisted him, +fighting bravely under Prince Bagration, and receding steadily as far +as Eylau, which they held by a stubborn stand until induced to +evacuate it voluntarily by the considerations of gathering darkness +and a foe superior in numbers. Their loss during the day was upward of +two thousand. When night fell the Russian lines were a short distance +behind Eylau, and stretched two miles, from Serpalten on the left to +Schloditten on the right. Lestocq, coming up with his Prussians, had +reached Rositten, between nine and ten miles away, where he received +orders to hurry onward. The French held the town of Eylau; in and near +it were the troops of Murat, Soult, Augereau, and just in their rear +the Emperor with the guard. Ney was farther to the north and west on +the left, with orders to cut off Lestocq. The terrain abounded in +lakes and ponds of considerable size, but a black frost had rendered +them so hard, and the snow had so completely bedecked them, that they +were for the purposes of manœuvering <span class="pagenum"><a id="page015" name="page015"></a>(p. 015)</span> as available as +the solid earth, both for cavalry and artillery.</p> + +<p>When day broke on February eighth the general arrangement of the +hostile lines was such as to favor neither. Soult was before the town +on the French left, Augereau in the center, and Saint-Hilaire with one +division of Soult on the right. Behind the two latter was Murat with +the cavalry; in the rear, on rising ground, was the guard under +Bessières as a reserve. Davout was far out on the right near +Bartenstein. The total number of French on the ground was about eighty +thousand. The Russian right was commanded by Tutschkoff, the center by +Sacken, the left by Ostermann-Tolstoi; their reserve was behind the +center, under Doctoroff and Prince Galitzin. Their total number was +about fifty-eight thousand, but they were superior to their enemy in +artillery. Between the armies, in a low plain, lay several of the +frozen ponds, covered with snow. Napoleon's plan was to send Davout +around the Russian left flank, while Saint-Hilaire engaged Tolstoi. +Augereau and the cavalry were to be hurled against the center and to +push toward the enemy's right; the combined onset would roll up +Bennigsen's entire line and result in a rout; Ney would intervene, and +make the battle not only decisive, but annihilating.</p> + +<p>The combination did not work out correctly. It was a raw and bitter +day; during the morning there were occasional snow flurries, and at +midday a heavy downfall. Bennigsen seized the initiative, and opened +the battle by a cannonade. Napoleon, divining his plan, sent a +messenger for Ney to come and strengthen Soult. At nine the Russian +right advanced and drove in the French left, which was weak, to the +town. At that moment the order was given for Augereau and +Saint-Hilaire to move. In the driving storm they lost connection with +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page016" name="page016"></a>(p. 016)</span> each other, and the latter was repulsed by Russian cavalry, +while Augereau's corps was almost destroyed by the enemy's center. The +dashing horsemen of Galitzin reached the foot of the very hill on +which Napoleon stood, and a panic seized all about him, not excepting +Berthier and Bessières, who excitedly called up the guard to save +their Emperor. The Emperor, though almost "trodden under foot" as +Bertrand testified, nevertheless remained calm, exclaiming, "What +boldness! What boldness!" The pursuers fell back exhausted, and Murat +in turn dashed with his cavalry toward the gap between the enemy's +center and right. So worn out were both sides, however, that without a +collision they ceased to charge, and began to fire.</p> + +<p>About noon Davout at last arrived on the Russian left, and drove it +from its position, while Saint-Hilaire again charged, and the two in +combination effected the movement contemplated by the Emperor. In a +few hours the Russians, who were receding in fair order and fighting +fiercely, began to waver, and some of the formations broke into +flight. In this crisis Scharnhorst arrived with five thousand +Prussians; he had been compelled to make a long detour in order to +avoid Ney, with whom Lestocq had been engaged. By nightfall the French +were brought to a stand, and soon after they were driven back from the +hamlets which they had seized in their advance. Night ended the fight. +Ney had not received his orders until two in the afternoon, and +arrived too late for service. The armies retained their relative +positions, and both claimed the day. Neither had lost, neither had +gained, the field. But the battle was disastrous for both: from first +to last the struggle had been desperate and bloody. The losses were +virtually equal—about eighteen thousand men on each side. During the +evening Napoleon began to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page017" name="page017"></a>(p. 017)</span> arrange a retreat; in fact, Davout +was about to begin it when he learned that there was a great commotion +in the enemy's bivouac. Advancing as far as possible, the marshal put +his ear to the ground and distinctly noted a diminishing rumble, which +convinced him that the Russians were withdrawing. This was an +agreeable surprise, and Napoleon, when informed of the fact, ordered +his army to stand fast. The morning light displayed an abandoned +Russian camp.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to tell which army was in the worse plight; both were +in the utmost distress. Augereau had been wounded, and, though not +disabled, had left the field. This brought down on him the commander's +displeasure, and inasmuch as his corps was nearly annihilated, it was +disbanded; some of his regiments were virtually destroyed. The living +were gaunt, exhausted, and ill with hunger; an eye-witness declared +that but for the arrival, about noon, of some Jewish traders from +Warsaw with four tuns of brandy, thousands would have perished from +cold and fatigue. The dead were strewn thick over the field, and in +some places were piled in heaps. On the white background of a Northern +winter the carnage was terribly apparent; the prowlers who skulked +from place to place in search of booty could be distinguished in all +directions. Marauding began on a frightful scale, discipline was +slackened by misery, and for miles around thousands of wretched +soldiers stripped the scarcely less wretched peasantry of their few +remaining bits of property.</p> + +<p>The army was eager to be gone from these sickening sights. But +Bennigsen had technically admitted defeat by his withdrawal, which the +Prussians characterized as "a sin and a shame." Napoleon, therefore, +waited to secure his victory, and formally despatched a few parties in +pursuit. Murat advanced to within touch of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page018" name="page018"></a>(p. 018)</span> Bennigsen, who +had taken his position under the walls of Königsberg. At the same time +the Emperor dictated a glowing account of the French triumph and of +the admirable condition of the army. It was at once despatched for +publication in the official journals of Paris. Soon afterward, on +February thirteenth, a messenger carried to Frederick William verbal +proposals for either an armistice or a separate peace on most +favorable terms. In these Napoleon set forth that the relation of +Prussia to Russia was mere vassalage, and that her rehabilitation as +an independent power was essential to the peace of Europe, agreeing to +restore her lands as far as the Elbe, and saying that as to Poland he +cared nothing whatever. The confident feeling of the allies was shown +by the Prussian king's prompt refusal to accept such overtures, and by +his determination to abide by the issue. On the other hand, the mere +fact of the proposition was evidence of Napoleon's anxiety. It is said +on good authority that the French emissary verbally offered the +complete restoration of Prussia if she would desert her ally.</p> + +<p>Stern necessity would wait no longer on Napoleon's bravado; in a few +days his troops withdrew to the tableland behind the river Passarge. +There they found better cantonments, but the food was neither better +nor more abundant. The Emperor had only a thatched hovel for his +headquarters at Osterode, and, as he wrote to his brother Joseph, +lived in snow and filth, without wine, brandy, or bread. "We shall be +in fine condition when we get bread," he said to Soult. "My position +would be fine if I had food; the lack of food makes it only moderate," +he wrote, on February twenty-seventh, to Talleyrand. This was true, +because now the army was more concentrated than before; and when +headquarters were moved in the spring to Finkenstein the Emperor +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page019" name="page019"></a>(p. 019)</span> was more comfortable. The movements culminating in Pultusk +clearly prove that Napoleon could not until then adapt his means to +the novel conditions of warfare he found in Poland. But in the +movements antecedent to Eylau there are, in spite of virtual defeat, a +clear apprehension of the difficulties, and an evident ability to +surmount them. While Bennigsen constantly assumes the offensive, +Napoleon always seizes the initiative, and in the retreat his choice +of the plateau around Osterode as a rallying-point displays a +continued mastery of all the conditions.</p> + +<p>Around the camp-fires there was, during the remaining months of +winter, a passive endurance, mingled with some murmuring about the +horrors caused by one man's ambition. The Emperor set his men an +example of uncomplaining cheerfulness. His health continued as +exuberant as it had been for the year past, and his activity, though +no longer feverish, lost nothing of its intensity. Savary thought he +outdid himself, accomplishing in one month what elsewhere would have +been, even for him, the work of three. Mme. de Rémusat remembered to +have heard him say that he felt better during those months than ever +before or after. This vigor of body, combined with the same iron +determination as of old, did indeed work miracles, and this in spite +of the fact that his indefatigable secretary, Maret, was long at the +point of death.</p> + +<p>To remedy the blunder of having left Dantzic behind in the hands of +the Prussians, Lefebvre was despatched with his new corps to beleaguer +it. Savary drove the Russians from the Narew and out of Ostrolenka; +Mortier threatened Stralsund and stopped the Swedes, who, as members +of the coalition, were finally about to take an active share in the +fighting. To strengthen the weakened ranks of the invaders, new levies +were ordered <span class="pagenum"><a id="page020" name="page020"></a>(p. 020)</span> in both Switzerland and Poland, while at the +same time some of the soldiers occupying Silesia and besieging her +fortresses were called in. Both Neisse and Glatz were still beset by +French troops, but the siege of Kolberg was abandoned, and still +further reinforcements thus became available. In the daily skirmishes +which occurred at the outposts the fighting was sharp; but the +Cossacks were as saucy as ever, and the French light horse could bring +in little news. Meantime Russia's difficulties, of which Napoleon +remained ignorant, kept her from reinforcing her army to the proper +size. Her credit was so low that she could raise no money on her own +account, and when she applied to England for a subsidy, it was +refused. The Czar was consequently furious, and strained Russia's +resources to the utmost; but he could give Bennigsen no more than +enough funds and men to restore his original strength.</p> + +<p>The arms of Russia had been fairly successful on the lower Danube, for +the Turks had been paralyzed by an unforeseen danger. Great Britain +had sent a fleet to Constantinople, and the Sultan, though he +immediately declared war against England, was terrified. But +Napoleon's emissary, Sebastiani, engaged the English admiral in +negotiations until the shore batteries were sufficiently strengthened +to compel the British fleet to retire. Filled by this success with new +enthusiasm for his Eastern projects, the Emperor of the French devised +and set on foot a scheme for the alliance of Turkey and Persia in +order to checkmate the ambitions of either Russia or Austria. About +the end of April an envoy from the Shah arrived at Finkenstein. He was +received with great demonstrations, and France was delighted to see +the kings of the East seeking, as she believed, her Emperor's favor. +Napoleon's information with regard to the Orient was detailed and +accurate; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page021" name="page021"></a>(p. 021)</span> his knowledge of the Eastern character was +fraternally instinctive. A treaty was easily negotiated in which +France promised to drive Russia from Georgia and to supply Persia with +artillery; in return the Shah was to break with England, confiscate +British property, instigate the peoples of Afghanistan and Kandahar to +rebellion, set on foot an army to invade India, and in case the French +should also despatch a land force against India, he was to give them +free passage along a line of march to be subsequently laid out, +together with means of sustenance. None of the Emperor's achievements +during this eventful winter shows more clearly than this how he could +rise above the discouragements of a doubtful situation, and how +sanguine his disposition was when his health was really good.</p> + +<p>Throughout the late campaign the Emperor Francis had occupied a +position of non-intervention and hesitating neutrality similar to that +of Frederick William the year before. If he had intervened any time +during the winter after Eylau, his will would have been imperative. +But as Prussia had held off in his hour of need, leaving Napoleon +untrammeled, so now he let Prussia drink of the same cup, and remained +nominally neutral. Andréossy reported, however, that Austria's +strength was being rapidly recruited, and that her preparations +foreboded a renewal of hostilities. There was a new prime minister, +Count Stadion, remarkable for his energy and insight. Napoleon +immediately began to make propositions for an alliance, intended +merely to gain time. As he had the previous year called for the boy +conscripts of 1807, so he now demanded those for 1808, who were even +somewhat younger. The Confederacy of the Rhine was summoned to supply +fresh troops, and even Spain, in which there had recently been +symptoms of serious uneasiness, was called on for <span class="pagenum"><a id="page022" name="page022"></a>(p. 022)</span> a large +contingent of auxiliaries. Before the close of negotiations with +Francis, Napoleon had virtually doubled his army; the new levies were +kept in Silesia and central Prussia, apparently as a reserve, but they +were not far from the Austrian frontier.</p> + +<p>On May twenty-sixth, in spite of a gallant and persistent defense by +Kalkreuth, Dantzic, the queen fortress of the Baltic, capitulated. +This made Lefebvre's force available to strengthen further the army +which still lay behind the Passarge. Napoleon again offered Silesia to +Francis, this time entire and outright, as the price of an alliance; +he was even willing to make an exchange for Dalmatia. On April +twenty-sixth, at Bartenstein, Russia and Prussia had signed a new +treaty, according to which they bound themselves to make no separate +peace, and agreed that they would endeavor to unite the Scandinavian +powers with England, Austria, and themselves for a general war of +liberation. The Viennese cabinet was again divided on the question of +renewing hostilities, and in the end proposed its services as a +mediator, provided that Poland should remain divided and Turkey +unmolested, and that German affairs should be rearranged. Napoleon +coquetted with this proposal until Russia and Prussia gave their +reply, which was not an assent to Austria's proposition, but a request +for Francis's adherence to the convention of Bartenstein.<a id="footnotetag3" name="footnotetag3"></a><a href="#footnote3" title="Go to footnote 3"><span class="smaller">[3]</span></a> When +Austria's offer was thus refused the French position was virtually +secure as against her, at least for the season. Shrewd onlookers could +hardly credit their senses, and thought that so far from Francis's +policy being one of neutrality, it was a favor of the highest +importance to Napoleon. The fact was that Austria knew Prussia's +weakness and had little confidence <span class="pagenum"><a id="page023" name="page023"></a>(p. 023)</span> in Russia's strength. +Moreover, France had powerful friends in Vienna, where Andréossy was +influential, and Austria's own preparations were not complete. It +would be a serious matter if she should conclude a treaty with two +allies who might be beaten before she could herself take the field. +Hence nothing disturbed the impenetrable front of the Danube power; +her own plans were maturing slowly but surely, and while the enormous +French reinforcements in central Europe were in a sense a menace, she +threw a strong military cordon upon the frontiers of Galicia, and +haughtily held aloof from anything likely to fetter her own ambitions.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page024" name="page024"></a>(p. 024)</span> CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<h4>An Indecisive Victory: Friedland.<a id="footnotetag4" name="footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4" title="Go to footnote 4"><span class="smaller">[4]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">The State of France — Remedies Proposed by the Emperor — Napoleon's + Self-Indulgence — Perplexities of both Combatants in + Poland — Opening of the Campaign — Heilsberg — Friedland — The Result + Indecisive — The Strategic Problem — The Statesman's Point of + View — The Armistice — Napoleon's Resolution — The Czar's + Obligations to Prussia — His Attitude toward Napoleon.</p> + +<p>The situation in Paris was even less satisfactory to Napoleon than +that in the rest of Europe. Then, as now, France was too much like one +of those interesting creatures called by the pleasant scientific name +of cephalopod—all head except a few tentacles; so we say Paris, and +not France. Imperial interests rested on two supports, Paris and the +rest of the world. When Napoleon withdrew behind the Passarge, not all +the fictions which his fertile brain could devise and his busy agents +spread were sufficient to deceive the astute operators of the Paris +exchange. Accordingly, the price of French government bonds went down +with a serious drop; England having announced soon afterward that she +meant to land a great army on the shores of the Baltic, public +confidence was further shaken. A year before, the French nation had +been startled by the premature demand for more French youth; the new +call to anticipate the conscription filled them with consternation. +These were grave matters, and the roads from Paris to Osterode and +Finkenstein continually resounded <span class="pagenum"><a id="page025" name="page025"></a>(p. 025)</span> under the hoofs of horses +and the roll of wheels as messengers sped back and forth with +questions and replies. The nature of this correspondence shows how +perfectly the government of France was centralized in Napoleon's +person, even in his absence at such a distance: the whole gamut of +administration was run, from state questions of the gravest importance +down to the disposition of trivial affairs connected with the opera +and its coryphées. As to reviving the finances, the Emperor was at his +wit's end, and in a sort of blind helplessness he ordered the state to +lend five hundred thousand francs per month to such manufacturers as +would keep at work and deposit their wares in a government storehouse +as collateral; nor did he disdain such measures as the founding of one +or two factories of military supplies, or even the refurnishing of the +Tuileries, in which he requested the women of his family to spend +their money freely.</p> + +<p>Of course he was absurdly unsuccessful; scarcely less so than he was +in his attempts to restore general confidence by the publication of +inspired articles in the newspapers. The censorship was more rigid +than ever, and Fouché was instructed to stop indiscreet private +letters from the army. Nevertheless, with no great difficulty the +senate was bullied into approving the new conscription, and the +volatile people soon listened without alarm to the siren voice of +their Emperor, which said these boys would be only a national guard, +children obeying the law of nature, the objects of his own paternal +care. Louis, who was governing Holland with reference to its own best +interests, and ordering the affairs of his family rigidly but +admirably, received a severe and passionate reprimand from the Emperor +for his economy. What was wanted was pay for the troops, plenty of +conscripts, encouragement for the Dutch Catholics, and a giddy court +where men would forget more serious things, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page026" name="page026"></a>(p. 026)</span> and where the +gay young Queen Hortense could make a display. "Let your wife dance as +much as she wants to; it is proper for her age. I have a wife forty +years old, and from the field of battle I recommend her to go to +balls; while you want one of twenty to live in a cloister, or like a +wet-nurse, always bathing her child." In the absence of her bogy, Mme. +de Staël, who said she loved the gutters of Paris better than the +mountain streams of Switzerland, reappeared in the suburbs of that +city. When Napoleon heard of it he grew furious, and gave orders to +seize her as an intriguer, and to send her back to Geneva, by force if +necessary. It was done, but an awful presentiment took possession of +the Emperor that she had appeared like a crow foreboding a coming +tempest. As if to compensate France for the loss of the exile's +literary powers and those of her friends, many means were devised and +tried for the encouragement of an imperial literature. In his assumed +and noisy contempt for ideals, Napoleon displayed his fear of them: +the Academy was ordered to occupy itself with literary criticism; when +in public assemblies mention was made of Mirabeau or other +Revolutionary heroes, the speaker was to be admonished that he should +confine himself to their style and leave their politics alone; the +schools were ordered to train the children in geography and in +history, but the instruction must be confined to facts, and not be +philosophical or religious.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's worst qualities and his growing weaknesses were made +manifest this winter in two exhibitions of self-indulgence most +far-reaching in their results. The first bad symptom was his notorious +license, which brought from the Empress expressions of the bitterest +reproach. Growing old at forty-three, not forty, as Napoleon gallantly +but untruthfully wrote to Louis, the aging Creole dismissed from +memory the sins of her own <span class="pagenum"><a id="page027" name="page027"></a>(p. 027)</span> youth and middle age, while in +jealous fury she charged her husband not only with his adulteries, but +with crimes the mere name of which sullies the ordinary records of +human wickedness and folly. She would have followed the Emperor to +Poland, but his repeated dissuasions, although honeyed, were virtual +prohibitions, and she dared not. His unfriendly annalist, Mme. de +Rémusat, says he retorted to all Josephine's charges that he needed +but one reply, the persistent I: "I am different from every one else, +and accept the limitations of no other." Her continuous weeping, he +wrote to his consort, showed neither character nor courage. "I don't +like cowards; an empress should have pluck." The second sign of +weakness was the growing neglect of detail in his work. Life has +always been too short for a despot both to gratify his passions and at +the same time to be a beneficent ruler, even under the simplest +conditions. On the recovery of Maret, the Emperor relaxed very much in +his personal attention to detail, while his secretary sought to drown +a domestic sorrow and scandal in a feverish activity still greater +than that which he had always displayed. This conjunction gave the +secretary an eminence he had not hitherto reached, and made him +thereafter a power behind the throne whose influence was dangerous to +the Empire, to France, and to the peace of Europe.</p> + +<p>In spite of the enemy's numerical inferiority, Napoleon had been +thwarted at Eylau by the weather, by the unsurpassed bravery of the +Russian soldiers, and by the able tactics of Bennigsen. The latter had +not been worsted in the arbitrament of arms, yet the Emperor's +character for resolution and energy had virtually defeated the +Russians, and had given him not only a technical but a real victory. +Although he fell back and assumed the defensive, feeling that without +enormous <span class="pagenum"><a id="page028" name="page028"></a>(p. 028)</span> reinforcements and the capture of Dantzic he could +not resume the offensive, yet nevertheless he had remained for four +months unmolested by his foe. Bennigsen's perplexities were great. The +Russian court was rent by dissensions, affairs at Constantinople were +occupying much of the Czar's attention, and the force available for +fighting in the North seemed too small for a decisive victory: he +remained virtually inert. There was an effort late in February to +drive the French left wing across the Vistula, but it failed. A few +days later Napoleon in person made a reconnaissance on his right, and +this show of activity reduced the opposing ranks to inactivity. He had +proposed to resume hostilities on June tenth, and had by that time +increased his strength on the front to one hundred and sixty thousand +men, all well equipped and fairly well fed. The reserve army in +central Europe was much larger; there were about four hundred thousand +men, all told, in the field.</p> + +<a id="img004" name="img004"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img004b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img004.jpg" width="500" height="376" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Battle of Heilsberg.</p> +</div> + +<p>Meanwhile, however, the pleasant season had mended the roads and dried +the swamps. The Russians were refreshed by their long rest, and, +children of nature as they were, felt the summer's warmth as a spur to +activity. Bennigsen had by that time about ninety thousand men, +excluding the Prussians, who now numbered eighteen thousand. By his +delay he had lost the services of his best ally, the inclement +weather; but he had at least come to a decision, and forestalling +Napoleon's scheme, advanced on June sixth to the Passarge, against +Ney's corps, which was the French advance-guard. Ney retreated, and +the seventh was spent in manœuvers which resulted in uniting his +corps with the main army. Bennigsen, having hoped to cut off and +destroy his division before attacking in force, felt compelled, in +consequence of failure, to retreat in turn, and this movement left +Lestocq at a dangerous <span class="pagenum"><a id="page029" name="page029"></a>(p. 029)</span> distance to the right. At this +juncture Napoleon determined to assume the offensive himself. On the +eighth he began to concentrate his troops, and took measures to find +the enemy in order to force a battle. Bennigsen had withdrawn beyond +the river Alle; Soult and Lannes, with Murat in advance, were sent up +its left bank to Heilsberg; Davout and Mortier were to pass farther +on, as part of a general movement to surround; Ney and the guard were +held in reserve, while Victor was despatched to block Lestocq.</p> + +<p>The first shock occurred on the morning of the tenth, in the +neighborhood of Heilsberg; for Bennigsen had sent a considerable +number of his troops back over the river to feel the enemy. The +Russians were slowly driven across the plain, fighting fiercely as +they went, until by six in the evening they reached the heights near +the town, which had been intrenched. Here they turned, and for five +hours hurled back one advancing French column after another until +eleven o'clock at night, when, fortunately for the attacking +troops,—so at least thought Savary, who was with them,—it grew too +dark, even near the summer solstice and in those high latitudes, to +fight longer. Next morning Napoleon woke after his bivouac and looked +to see his enemy gone, as at Pultusk and Eylau. But this time a +repetition of that pleasant experience was denied him. His losses had +been so serious the day before that he spent the eleventh in +manœuvers, further concentrating his army before Heilsberg, and +despatching Davout to throw himself between Lestocq and Bennigsen, +thus turning the latter's right and checking the former, if all went +well. This movement determined the character of the whole campaign. It +had the desired effect, and on the morning of the twelfth the trenches +in front of him were empty. The Russians had stolen away, and for two +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page030" name="page030"></a>(p. 030)</span> days they steadily retreated down the Alle in the general +direction of Königsberg, until on the evening of the thirteenth they +reached Friedland.</p> + +<p>Bennigsen had expected to retreat still farther, hoping to reach +Wehlau, and cross to the right bank of the Pregel for a strong +defensive position before Königsberg. Lestocq with the Prussians was +well forward on the extreme right toward that place. But at three in +the morning of June fourteenth the head of Lannes's column appeared +before Friedland, and the Russian commander, supposing he had to do +with a single division, turned, and crossing to the left bank of the +Alle, passed through Friedland in order to meet his enemy in the open. +His evident intention was to follow the Napoleonic plan of +overwhelming the attacking divisions one by one as they arrived. His +right wing was stationed in the rear of the hamlet of Heinrichsdorf, +his left rested on a forest known as the Sortlack. When his +arrangements were completed it was nine o'clock in the morning. What +information he had is unknown, but what he did remains inexplicable. +Starting to seize Heinrichsdorf, he was, after a short conflict, +repulsed; for Lannes had stretched his line far to the left for the +same purpose, and had been reinforced by Mortier's vanguard. Bennigsen +withdrew about noon to his first position, and stood there in idleness +for three long hours, exchanging useless volleys with his foe. Having +his entire force already on the field, he remained absolutely inactive +while the enemy formed their line. In respect to his having massed his +forces before the French could form, his position was exactly parallel +to that which the latter had occupied at Jena with regard to the +Prussians, and which was used by Napoleon with such vigor for a flank +attack. But Bennigsen lacked the promptness and insight necessary to +use his advantage, and the long delay was decisive. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page031" name="page031"></a>(p. 031)</span> In the +interval, Ney, Victor's artillery, and the guard arrived; at three the +Emperor issued his orders for forming the line; and two hours later he +gave the signal for Ney to attack on the right. The Russians had but +shortly before learned that the main French army was in front of them, +and were beginning their retreat with the intention of recrossing the +Alle, many having entered Friedland, which lies on the left bank of +the stream. In the first rush toward the town, Ney was repulsed with +dreadful loss; but as Ney's corps rolled back to right and left, +Dupont appeared with Victor's first division in the very middle of the +breaking lines, and at the same moment Sénarmont pressed forward close +to the Russian ranks with all Victor's artillery,—thirty-six +pieces,—and began to pour in a deadly fire. This routed the enemy, +who fled through the town and over the stream; but their right wing, +being thus turned into the rear-guard, was caught by Lannes before it +reached the crossing, and checked. The wooden bridge was set in +flames, and before nightfall that portion of the Russian army which +had not yet crossed was virtually annihilated.</p> + +<p>About eighty thousand French and about fifty-five thousand Russians +took part in this battle; the former lost seven thousand men, the +latter sixteen thousand, with eighty field-pieces. It was the only one +of Napoleon's great engagements in which he admitted his numerical +superiority to his enemy. The same day Soult and Davout, with Murat's +cavalry, drove Lestocq into Königsberg, and prepared to invest the +town. But Lestocq's troops, with the garrison and the court, escaped, +flying for refuge toward the Russian frontier. Bennigsen collected at +Allenburg the troops he had saved, and, retreating in good order, +crossed the Niemen at Tilsit four days later. He then had the option +of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page032" name="page032"></a>(p. 032)</span> awaiting Napoleon, who was close behind, or of making +peace, or of withdrawing into the interior beyond the enemy's reach, +as Alexander had done after Austerlitz. As a matter of fact, he +confessed utter defeat. "This is no longer a fight, it is butchery," +he wrote to the Czar's brother, the Grand Duke Constantine. "Tell the +Emperor what you will," he said again, "if only I can stop the +carnage."<a id="footnotetag5" name="footnotetag5"></a><a href="#footnote5" title="Go to footnote 5"><span class="smaller">[5]</span></a></p> + +<p>The campaign of Friedland shows either less genius or more than any +other of Napoleon's victories, according to the standpoint from which +it is judged. If he is to be regarded throughout its duration merely +as a general, then his conduct shows comparatively little ability. He +came on his enemy where he did not expect a battle. Although he had +ample time to evolve and execute an admirable plan, and while his loss +was trifling compared with that of his opponents, yet, nevertheless, +Friedland was a commonplace, incomplete affair. It compelled the foe +to abandon Heilsberg, but it did not annihilate him or necessarily end +the war. Bennigsen found all Russia behind him after his defeat: +twenty-five thousand men came in from Königsberg, Prince Labanoff +brought up the Russian reserves, and thus was formed a substantial +army. A retreat with this force into the vast interior would have left +Napoleon as a general just where he was before. This ineffectual +result was entirely due to a single deliberate move which terminated +his scheme of surrounding and annihilating the foe—the detachment of +Davout against Lestocq on the enemy's extreme right.</p> + +<p>But when viewed from the statesman's point of view, Friedland appears +in a very different light.<a id="footnotetag6" name="footnotetag6"></a><a href="#footnote6" title="Go to footnote 6"><span class="smaller">[6]</span></a> It is a strange coincidence that in the +month previous a rebellion of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page033" name="page033"></a>(p. 033)</span> the janizaries had deprived +Selim III of his throne, and that, Sebastiani's influence being thus +ended, France's position in the Oriental question was utterly changed. +The formal despatches announcing this fact did not reach Tilsit until +June twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth, but there is a strong +probability that it was known to Napoleon before the battle of +Friedland. Is it possible that the Emperor intended Friedland to do no +more than satisfy his army's eagerness for glory, and yet leave +Alexander in a humor to unite with him for the gratification of those +well-known Oriental ambitions of his which he had so recently seen +jeopardized by the Franco-Turkish alliance and the consequent +ascendancy of French influence at Constantinople? Such a hypothesis is +by no means wild; nevertheless, a careful study of the campaign seems +to prove that Napoleon, in suddenly changing from the defensive to the +offensive, and so finding himself at Heilsberg face to face with +defeat, took the quickest and easiest means to relieve a critical +situation. It would have appeared something very much like bravado had +Davout's corps penetrated between Lestocq's division and the Russian +army, and thus have exposed itself to a rear attack. If the easy +self-reliance Napoleon felt after a winter of robust health had been +somewhat less, and if his intellectual acumen had been somewhat +greater, the whole situation might have been foreseen and provided +for. As neither was the case, he did as a general the best thing that +was possible at the moment. Admitting this, we shall find the +statesman making the most of the general's poor situation; for the +treaty which followed Friedland is unique in the history of diplomacy.</p> + +<p>There were forcible reasons on both sides for arriving at an +understanding. It has been remarked that Napoleon never discharged the +stings and darts of personal <span class="pagenum"><a id="page034" name="page034"></a>(p. 034)</span> abuse at Alexander I as he did +at the persons of other enemies. In what was almost a personal +correspondence at an earlier time the Czar had exhibited his noblest +qualities and an enlightened liberalism. To be sure, every humiliation +had been heaped on Russia in spurning the Oubril treaty of the +previous year and by the light disdain of peace obligations solemnly +taken. Yet Napoleon was alive to the present and imperative need of a +strong ally if his mercantile attack on England were to have even a +chance of success. With Austria he had employed all the diplomatic +arts of Talleyrand and Andréossy to no avail: the Polish campaign had +made Francis alert, that of Russia was reviving the bellicose spirit +of the Austrian army. Negotiation with Frederick William had failed +because based on the concept of a new Prussia eastward of the Elbe, a +menace alike to Russia and Austria, and a confession of defeat by the +King, who preferred to place his trust in Alexander. Francis was +equally adverse to Talleyrand's elaborate scheme of a realm eastern in +fact as in name, stretching away down the Danube valley to the Euxine, +a buffer against Russian aggression, a menace or a support to Turkey +as occasion required. It was therefore a categorical imperative which +determined the Emperor of the French to woo the Emperor of all the +Russias at this juncture. When a proposition for an armistice was made +by Bennigsen on June twenty-first, it was not only courteously but +impressively accepted, and within a very short time things were moving +as if the two emperors were no longer enemies, but rather as if they +were already intimate friends, anxious to embrace. At least, even +before their meeting, such was the attitude they assumed in their +communications with each other and ostentatiously displayed to those +about them. Some things are perfectly patent in the Czar's desire for +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page035" name="page035"></a>(p. 035)</span> peace. Russian autocracy as a system was still unshakable, +but the authority of his house was not: in sixty years there had been +no fewer than four revolutionary upheavals, either by the soldiery or +by a palace cabal. The instability of the throne had sadly diminished +the prestige of the country, and after Austerlitz the nation had been +treated with contempt in the person of the Czar, both in his political +and his military character, the rest of Europe being profoundly +indifferent to Russian chagrin. His situation was not improved by +Pultusk, Eylau, or Friedland. Dissensions in the field were not +concealed by the hallelujahs and hosannas of the populace in the +cities; victory bore no fruits; without Austria the next step could +not be taken, and hesitancy still marked that uneasy monarchy as its +own. Prussia, although the principal in the fight, was but a feeble +power. England, though reaping the harvest of Russia's commerce, had +become niggardly in regard to subsidies, and had delayed the +long-promised, much-vaunted Baltic expedition until it was useless. +The King of Sweden was so hated by his own subjects that his efforts +as an ally had been rendered almost futile. In Russia itself there was +a strong party, led by the Grand Duke Constantine, which steadily +denounced the war as one in the interest of strangers, and in it were +included most, if not all, the Russian officers. It was evident that +Alexander as an auxiliary would lose no prestige at home in +withdrawing from a quarrel which was not Russia's, and in which he had +more than paid any debt he owed to Prussia by the sacrifice in her +behalf of his guards and of the flower of his army. Moreover, misery +abounded among the survivors, and Russian finances were not exactly in +a flourishing condition. Such was the general discontent with the war +that men of importance—at least so it was said at the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page036" name="page036"></a>(p. 036)</span> +time—ventured to remind Alexander of his father's violent death.</p> + +<p>On the other side the urgency was becoming acute. As the strategists +say, Napoleon had won a battle, but not a victory, at Friedland. The +situation in Paris continued highly unsatisfactory. The threatened +English expedition to the Baltic might arrive at any time. +Contemptible as was Gustavus of Sweden, he was in Pomerania with an +Anglo-Hanoverian army of ten thousand men. Most disquieting of all, +there were movements both of intellectual agitation and of active +partizan warfare in Prussia that presaged a speedy convalescence on +her part. It is evident that an alliance with Russia was better for +France than one with Prussia as regards both the Oriental and European +plans of Napoleon. He therefore determined to suggest the most +glittering prospects to Alexander's messenger—nothing less than the +partition of Turkey, and the Vistula as the Russian frontier on the +Baltic.</p> + +<a id="img005" name="img005"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img005b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img005.jpg" width="500" height="372" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Battle of Friedland.</p> +</div> + +<p>But all these reasons on both sides seem inadequate to explain the +extraordinary character of the events preliminary to the meeting of +the two emperors at Tilsit, of what occurred at that meeting, and of +the treaty there negotiated. When Bennigsen first proposed an +armistice, Napoleon demanded as a guarantee the three fortresses of +Pillau, Kolberg, and Graudenz. His messenger returned with the reply +that they were not Russia's to give. Soon Duroc was despatched to the +hostile camp. Would the Czar make a separate peace? To do so would be +to betray Prussia by expressly violating the Bartenstein treaty. +Technically the document was invalid, for Austria had never signed it, +although she would gladly have done so when brought to face a +Franco-Russian alliance. Morally it would be base for Alexander to +negotiate separately, for Frederick <span class="pagenum"><a id="page037" name="page037"></a>(p. 037)</span> William had refused a +similar offer.<a id="footnotetag7" name="footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7" title="Go to footnote 7"><span class="smaller">[7]</span></a> The young Czar, however, cared nothing for the royal +Europe of former days, and but little for the theory of a Western +empire under Napoleon. What he did care for was Russian influence in +geographical Europe under whatever name, for the dismemberment of +Turkey, and for the extension of his empire toward the west by the +acquisition of Finland from Sweden. Having failed to realize his +purpose by a coalition of so-called legitimate sovereigns, and having +heard the almost incredible suggestions which Napoleon had made to +Prince Labanoff, his messenger, he was overpowered by the temptation +thus held out, and, deserting Prussia, answered, "Yes." On the +twenty-first an armistice without serious guarantees was concluded +between France and Russia; but none was made with Prussia, for the +terms offered to her were so severe that, desperate as was her King, +he could not endure the thought of accepting them. She was no longer +an equal with either France or Russia, but a dependent on either and +on both; her nomad court was reduced to Frederick William, his +minister Hardenberg, and a few followers who were here to-day and +there to-morrow, wherever they felt most was to be gained from the +self-interest of either their former ally or their conqueror. The +Queen and royal family were at Memel, the farthest outpost of +Prussia's shattered domain.</p> + +<p>The attitude of the Czar toward Napoleon was markedly different from +that of his predecessors in defeat. Frederick William's ancestor had +only a century before bought his title by supplying Prussian troops to +the German-Roman emperor, and, like Napoleon, had set the crown on his +own head. Francis I of Austria was the grandson of Maria Theresa, a +powerful and masterful <span class="pagenum"><a id="page038" name="page038"></a>(p. 038)</span> woman, who held her throne in direct +contravention of legitimist theories, because she had conquered it. +Both were nevertheless overpowered by the sense of their legitimacy +and sacred aloofness. When Francis humiliated himself before his +conqueror after Austerlitz, his mien was distant and his salute +haughty; the miserable King of Prussia was, like him, dignified and +severe even in his beggary. The Czar was too close to the crime which +had set him on his throne to assume any airs of superiority with the +French Cæsar. Having taken the first step, he began to show a childish +eagerness for a personal meeting with Napoleon. The Emperor was far +from averse, and made a formal proposal to that effect, which was +promptly accepted; the intercourse between French and Russian officers +grew warmer and closer every day, and the arrangements for an +interview between the would-be Eastern and Western emperors were soon +completed.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page039" name="page039"></a>(p. 039)</span> CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<h4>Napoleon and Alexander at Tilsit.<a id="footnotetag8" name="footnotetag8"></a><a href="#footnote8" title="Go to footnote 8"><span class="smaller">[8]</span></a></h4> + + +<p class="summary">The Floating Pavilion — Emperor, Czar, and King — The Two + Principals — Their Relation to Frederick William — A Diplomatic + Novelty — Napoleon's Motives — Great Britain and the World's + Commerce — The Orders in Council — Napoleon's Decrees — Russia as an + Ally — The Ministers and the Negotiations — Imperial + Amusements — The Fate of Turkey — The Two Friends — Work after Play.</p> + +<p>On the morning of June twenty-fifth, 1807, there lay anchored in the +middle of the Niemen, before Tilsit, a pavilion ingeniously +constructed by French soldiers from boats and boards. It was gaily +decorated, according to the taste of their country, with flags and +garlands. The front bore a large monogram composed of the letters N +and A interlaced. Within were two comfortable rooms, one for the +sovereigns, one for their suites. At a signal two skiffs put out, one +from each shore, amid the mingled cheers of the French and Russian +guards, drawn up in view of each other across the intervening +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page040" name="page040"></a>(p. 040)</span> stream. The dull roar of cannon intoned the tidings of +reconciliation. In one boat was Alexander, suitably arrayed in +uniform; in the other was Napoleon, wearing the traditional gray coat +and undress hat. The Emperor of the French was first on board the +float, and received his guest with all that winning grace which he +could so well command. After a formal embrace he began an informal +conversation, which then continued without a break as the two schemers +withdrew to the apartment arranged for their interview. The staff, at +a respectful distance, could catch nothing of what was said, and +although the interview lasted nearly two hours, no words of it are +known except the opening phrases, reported by Napoleon himself. +"Sire," remarked the Czar, "I shall second you against the English." +"In that case," was the reply, "everything can be arranged, and peace +is made." Some doubt has been cast on the literal truth of this +momentous dialogue, since it rests on a single authority. For a +century it has not been denied, and the cup of bitterness which +England had held to Alexander's lips was certainly brimming. Since the +beginning of hostilities Great Britain had failed in every single +engagement. Her naval force in the Baltic was puny, but it preyed on +Russian commerce; the promised war material did not arrive; her +support at Constantinople was farcical; she had no more heart in +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page041" name="page041"></a>(p. 041)</span> Turkish partition than before and ever since; Canning was +less than half-hearted and favored Austria to Russia's disadvantage; +even the money support expected and tacitly promised was refused. The +Czar knew that he had been betrayed by England in the interest of +Austria: he did not know how grave had been Napoleon's coquetry in a +similar suit. He was as much bent on the emancipation of Russian +commerce from English tyranny as Napoleon on the "freedom of the +seas," the revolutionary phrase for British humiliation. The +conversation may well have taken place literally as reported: even +though the Czar hoped to postpone the rupture for some months, he may +have given his complete confidence under four eyes. Who can measure +the fascination under which the young enthusiast fell at first sight? +In any case nothing apparently occurred to disturb the amiability of +either monarch. It was doubtless agreed that they should form a dual +alliance, absolute and exclusive.<a id="footnotetag9" name="footnotetag9"></a><a href="#footnote9" title="Go to footnote 9"><span class="smaller">[9]</span></a> "I have often slept two in a +bed," the suave but inelegant Napoleon was heard to say at a +subsequent meeting, "but never three." Savary declared that the +smiling and complacent young Czar thought the remark delightful. The +meaning of the riddle, if riddle there be, was, of course, that +Austria could no longer count as an equal in the Continental Olympus, +the membership of which was thus reduced to two.</p> + +<p>The Czar's conscience smote him in regard to his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page042" name="page042"></a>(p. 042)</span> desertion +of Prussia, but with no great effort he obtained material concessions +for her from his new ally. The same afternoon an armistice was +arranged with Frederick William, by the terms of which he temporarily +kept his strong places in Silesia and Pomerania; but his propositions +for an alliance were incontinently rejected. Next day there was +another meeting on the same raft, but this was tripartite, for the +King of Prussia was present. Napoleon was blunt and imperious, +reproaching Frederick William with the duplicity of his policy, +vindictively (the descriptive word he used himself), and with +emphasis, demanding Hardenberg's dismissal. At parting he invited +Alexander to dinner, but ostentatiously omitted to include Frederick +William in the request. It was agreed that to expedite the final +negotiations the three monarchs should remain on the ground; one half +the town of Tilsit was neutralized and divided into three portions, +each of the three parties to take up his residence in one. This closed +the preliminaries, and the two emperors returned with mutual +satisfaction to the respective sides of the river from which they had +come. The sensations of Frederick William, who accompanied Alexander, +must have been those of a soldier on the field under a capital +operation in surgery. That very afternoon the Czar removed to the +quarter of Tilsit appropriated to him. The King of Prussia took +lodgings in the house of a miller, but spent only a part of each day +in them, preferring the melancholy solitude of the neighboring hamlet +of Piktupönen, where he and Hardenberg had last alighted.</p> + +<p>Alexander was now thirty years of age, sanguine, ambitious, +impressionable, and mature in proportion to his years. His features +were well formed on Slavic lines, his look was sympathetic, and his +form elegant. The many graces of his mind and person were natural. "My +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page043" name="page043"></a>(p. 043)</span> friend," wrote Napoleon to Josephine on the twenty-fifth, "I +have just met the Emperor Alexander. I have been much pleased with +him; he is a very handsome, good young emperor; he has more +intelligence than is generally thought." Napoleon himself was only +eight years older, but his mind was more penetrating and adroit by a +whole generation. The classic cast in his features, which only a few +years before made sculptors mold him like the statue of the young +Augustus, had nearly disappeared. A complete transformation had been +produced in his bodily appearance by the robust health he had for some +time enjoyed. He had become more of a primitive Italian and less of a +Roman. His skin was now clear and of a rich, dark tint. His powerful +frame was fully developed, and while fat, he was not obese; the great +head sat on a neck which was like a pillar in thickness and strength. +His expression was slightly sensuous about the mouth and chin, but his +eyes were quick and penetrating in their glance. It was rarely that +his gaze was intent. The good manners and polished courtesy in which +he indulged at this time were an unwonted luxury.</p> + +<p>Cobenzl said that the last step but one to universal conquest was to +divide the world between two. At that moment there was little doubt as +to which of these two would ultimately survive. Alexander was +impressionable and eager for friendship. He was flattered by the +attentive and considerate manner of the greatest man in Europe. The +glittering, intoxicating generalities of Napoleon attracted his +aspiring mind, while the fascination of the Emperor's person strongly +moved his heart. On the other hand, the influence of the Czar on the +Emperor was substantial. Beneath his frank and chivalric manners, +behind his enthusiasm and romanticism, lay much persistence and shrewd +common <span class="pagenum"><a id="page044" name="page044"></a>(p. 044)</span> sense. The advantages which he gained were granted by +Napoleon mainly from motives of self-interest, for Russia, strong, was +the best helper in reducing Austria to impotence; nevertheless, they +were secured largely through personal influence, and were substantial +advantages which might be permanent in case of disaster to a single +life. Frederick William was only two years younger than Napoleon. His +development had been slow; he was well-meaning but dull, proud but +timid. Though destined to see a regeneration of Prussia under his own +reign, he had as yet done nothing to further it, and in an access of +resentment had declared a war in which she had been virtually +annihilated. His former ally insisted that he should occasionally +attend the conferences, but his presence was distasteful to Napoleon. +Thus he sat, dejection and despair stamped on his homely face; +haughty, yet a suppliant; a king, yet only by sufferance. Fortunately +his queen, Louisa, the woman of her day, beautiful, virtuous, and +wise, came finally to his support. Her hopes were destined to be +rudely shattered, and her charm was to be used in vain; but it was her +presence alone which gave any dignity to Prussia at Tilsit.</p> + +<p>Both from the place and circumstances, from the station and character +of the persons negotiating, as well as from the nature of the results, +the meeting at Tilsit is the most remarkable in the history of +diplomacy. The motives which disposed Napoleon to an armistice were +plain enough; those which determined his later conduct can only be +divined. Prussia had seemed to the French liberals of the Revolution +to belong by nature to their system: they were quite as angry with her +persistent neutrality as was either Austria or England, both of whom +thought she should adhere to them, if only for self-preservation. +Napoleon's repeated but vain <span class="pagenum"><a id="page045" name="page045"></a>(p. 045)</span> attempts to secure a Prussian +alliance before Jena, or a separate negotiation afterward, rooted this +traditional bitterness in his mind. To secure the prize for which he +was fighting he had only two courses open: either to restore Poland as +the frontier state between the civilization of his empire and the +semi-barbarism and ambitions of Russia, or else to negotiate with +Russia herself.</p> + +<p>The former course meant an interminable warfare with Russia, Austria, +and Prussia, at a distance of fifteen hundred miles from Paris; for +Russia would fight to the death rather than lose the only possessions +which put her into the heart of Europe, and thus be relegated to the +character of an Asiatic power. The Emperor of the French had already +seen after Eylau how untrustworthy the grand army was, even in Poland; +if dejected and insubordinate there, as he may well have recalled was +actually the case, what would it be on the banks of the Dnieper, in +the plains of Lithuania? Such considerations probably determined not +only the fact of peace, but its character. In order to secure what he +had gained in western, southern, and central Europe, England must be +brought to terms. Russia must therefore not only be an ally, but a +hearty ally: as the price of her subscription to the Berlin Decree, +and the consequent closing of her harbors to English shipping, she +could gratify any reasonable ambition, and might virtually dictate her +own terms. With an engine in his hands as formidable as Russia's +adhesion to his commercial policy, he could act at the nick of +time,—which, as he declared at this very season to Joseph, was the +highest art of which man is capable,—could destroy England's +commerce, and in a long peace could consolidate the empire he had +already won. His empire thus consolidated, he would be virtual master +of half the solid earth in the Eastern hemisphere. If ambition should +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page046" name="page046"></a>(p. 046)</span> still beckon him on, he would still be young; he could then +consider the next step to universal empire.</p> + +<p>It may safely be said that Great Britain was never more haughty than +at this moment. Her king had turned the ministry of "All the Talents" +out of doors; for after Fox's death the combination lost all dignity +and power. The Duke of Portland was now prime minister. He was a blind +but energetic conservative, his Toryism, unlike that of Pitt in his +enlightened days, being of the sort which lay close to his sovereign's +heart. England's monopoly of European commerce seemed assured: Sweden, +Denmark, and the Hanse towns were the only important seafaring powers +of Europe that retained a nominal neutrality, and it was only a +question of time when they must accept terms either from France or +from her. With every other European nation embroiled in the Napoleonic +wars and deeply concerned for its own territorial integrity, the +United States of America was her only real maritime rival, and she had +bullied us into a temporary acquiescence in her interpretation of +international law.<a id="footnotetag10" name="footnotetag10"></a><a href="#footnote10" title="Go to footnote 10"><span class="smaller">[10]</span></a></p> + +<p>When colonies were first recognized as essential to the prosperity of +European nations, the rule was universally observed that only the +mother country could trade with her own. In 1756 France endeavored to +break this rule by permitting neutral ships to engage in traffic +between herself and her West Indian possessions. England at once laid +down the "rule of 1756," that neutrals should not exercise in time of +war privileges of traffic which they were not permitted to enjoy in +time of peace; and this principle she was able to maintain <span class="pagenum"><a id="page047" name="page047"></a>(p. 047)</span> +more or less completely until 1793, when France declared war on her, +and again invited neutral commerce to French colonial harbors. +England, having regained her supremacy of the seas, reasserted in 1793 +the rule of 1756, but nevertheless so modified it the following year +that she permitted neutral traders to break, in their own or in her +harbors, their voyages from or to colonial ports. In 1796 France +notified all neutrals that she would treat them just as they permitted +Great Britain to treat them, and in 1798 shut all her harbors to any +vessel which had even touched at a British port. This state of affairs +continued until the peace of Amiens. When war was renewed in 1803 +between England and France the former again asserted the rule of 1756 +as binding, while indirect trade between neutral ports and the ports +of an enemy was again allowed, but under the new proviso that the +neutral ship did not on her outward voyage furnish the enemy with +goods contraband of war. This privilege of indirect trade was +invaluable to American ship-owners, and for two years the ocean +commerce of all Europe was in their hands. The fortunes they thus +accumulated were enormous, while Great Britain saw her own +manufactures displaced by those of continental nations, and the +colonies of her enemies prospering as never before. In 1805, +therefore, she withdrew the privilege of indirect trade, and her flag +being, after Trafalgar, the only belligerent one left on the ocean, +proceeded both to enforce the new rule and to abuse the proviso +concerning neutral vessels carrying contraband of war by ruthlessly +exercising the right of search. Under the orders in council of +September fifth, 1805, every neutral ship must be examined to see +whether its lading was a cargo of neutral goods, or whether it +contained anything contraband. This could only mean that every +American ship laden with other than American goods was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page048" name="page048"></a>(p. 048)</span> to be +seized; and in May of the following year, by the still more notorious +order of the sixteenth, Great Britain declared that every European +harbor from Brest to the mouth of the Elbe was blockaded. This was a +distance of eight hundred miles, and even she had not ships enough to +enforce her decree. Trafalgar had turned the heads of English +statesmen.</p> + +<p>This paper blockade was the challenge which called forth the Berlin +Decree from Napoleon. American ships, like those of the French, were +for a time seized, searched, and detained by the British on the +slightest suspicion that they were either leaving or were destined for +a hostile port, while their sailors were pitilessly impressed. The +government at Washington authorized reprisals, but American +ship-owners found it more profitable to compromise than to resist, and +Monroe came to an understanding with the English ministry; the +prosperity of American shipping was again revived, and the merchants +of the United States continued to prosper by carrying English wares +under the American flag into harbors where the union jack was +forbidden. By this evasion Great Britain retained her commercial +supremacy, and her prosperity was rather increased than diminished. +She withheld a similar coöperation from Sweden and Russia until it was +too late, her enterprise being chiefly concerned to open new channels +for her commerce in Egypt and in South America.</p> + +<p>How was this leviathan, which was drawing the wealth of all Europe to +its stores, and eluding or repelling all attack on its chosen +element—how was this tyrant of the ocean to be slain? Clearly the +Americans must be so harassed and annoyed that in the end the public +spirit of the United States would be aroused to resent English +control, and bid defiance to Great Britain's assumption of maritime +supremacy. To this end the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page049" name="page049"></a>(p. 049)</span> rigid enforcement of the Berlin +Decree would be well adapted in the long run, but in the interval much +could be done: if its principle could be extended to the destruction +of all smuggling, to the absolute exclusion of British commerce from +the entire Continent—not only from the seaports, but from the +markets—the end would be gained. With Russia's coöperation alone was +this possible. Napoleon's present plan, therefore, was to secure +France and the French Empire, as far as won, by compelling the world +to a lasting peace through the immediate establishment of a +counterpoise, the French and Russian empires against Great Britain, +leaving time to do its perfect work of exasperating the rising naval +power of the United States into open hostility against the parent +land.</p> + +<p>These, it seems, must have been the considerations which controlled +the course of affairs at Tilsit. The deliberations were both formal, +so called, and informal. At the former were present the three +sovereigns with their ministers—Talleyrand for France, Kurakin and +Labanoff for Russia, Kalkreuth and Goltz for Prussia; at the latter +were sometimes all three of the monarchs, frequently only the two +principals, for they found Frederick William a damper on their +hilarity. The generals, the staff, and the men of the two great armies +which had fought so bravely at Friedland harmonized in mutual respect; +but the unwarlike King and his suite, both military and civil, were +outsiders. Immediately after the formal and brilliant entry of +Alexander into Tilsit, Napoleon began the exchange of prisoners, and +despatched messengers commanding his forces in Germany to restore to +their sovereign the territories of Mecklenburg, whose reigning house +was kin to the Czar. For Frederick William there was scarcely a show +of kindness—nothing, in fact, but a cold condemnation <span class="pagenum"><a id="page050" name="page050"></a>(p. 050)</span> of +Hardenberg, to whose influence, combined with that of the military +party, the conqueror charged Prussia's declaration of war. This +minister, banished at Napoleon's instance, was near by. The King +pleaded in vain that he might still serve as mentor in the coming +negotiation; the Emperor scornfully refused. There were no others +available, rejoined the King. Napoleon named several: among them, and +probably not by inadvertence, Stein. This great name is welded to the +regeneration of Prussia, but its bearer was a liberal in the measures +he enforced. Hardenberg, great and adroit as he was, stood for the +passing conservatism, and while he was indefatigable to the end, he +was after all a worker at twilight, unable to see the coming +metamorphosis of old Europe into the new. It was a proposition +outlined by him which brought forward the first vital question, the +partition of Turkey. His sovereign's stateliest lands had been gained +by the partition of Austria and of Poland; he now suggested that +Russia and Austria should divide the Danubian principalities between +them, that France should take Greece and her isles, and that Poland +should be restored and given to the King of Saxony, who in turn should +hand over his German domains to Prussia. The Czar accepted the paper, +which was communicated to him as approved by the King, but kept +silence.</p> + +<p>A favorite amusement of the two emperors was playing with the French +army. Napoleon delighted in the display of his condescension to the +men, and in the exhibition of their enthusiastic affection for him. +Their drill, their uniforms, the niceties of military ceremonial, the +gorgeous drum-majors twirling their batons or marching in puffy +state—every detail fascinated the Czar, whose house, said +Czartoryski, was affected with the disease of paradomania.</p> + +<a id="img006" name="img006"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img006.jpg" width="300" height="456" alt="" title=""> +<p class="small right">Napoleon Exposition, 1895.</p> +<p class="center smcap">NAPOLEON, by Ingres.</p> +<p class="small center">From nature, during a mass at the Tuileries.<br> +Belonging to M. Germain Bapst</p> +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page051" name="page051"></a>(p. 051)</span> At an opportune moment on one of these reviewing expeditions, +Napoleon, surrounded by all the splendors of his power, was approached +by a hurrying courier, who put into his hands despatches announcing +the overthrow of the Sultan Selim. "It is a decree of Providence, +announcing the end of Ottoman empire!" he cried. Thenceforth he talked +incessantly of the Orient. As if inspired by prophetic fire, he +sketched a missionary enterprise for the liberation and regeneration +of Greece, and for the emancipation and reorganization of the lands +and peoples on the Danube and in the Levant by distributing them among +enlightened sovereigns. It was language identical with that which +Catherine the Great employed to inspire her people and her descendants +for Russia's policy. But the millennium must wait; for the present the +barbarous Turks must be driven back, not by force, but by a steady, +continuous application of the policy thus outlined; the consummation, +when reached, would be permanent. For the moment more immediate and +pressing matters must be settled; when Alexander should pay his +promised visit to Paris they would have more abundant leisure to +discuss ulterior plans. These dazzling prospects were a part of the +Czar's consideration. He promised in return to conclude a separate +peace with Turkey, which, in the absence of French support, he doubted +not he could make most favorable. But in case the Porte should prove +obdurate, a provisional plan of partition was drawn up to indicate +approximately what Russia might expect.</p> + +<p>As the days passed, a routine life was gradually established. The two +emperors met privately in the morning, and chatted about every +conceivable point, pacing the floor or bending with heads touching +over the map of Europe to consider its coming divisions. Alexander had +said at the outset that his prejudice against Napoleon <span class="pagenum"><a id="page052" name="page052"></a>(p. 052)</span> +disappeared at first sight, and later he exclaimed, "Why did we not +meet sooner?" He now repudiated any fondness whatever for the +"legitimate" politics of Europe; he had visited the Bourbon pretender, +the so-called Louis XVIII, at Mittau, and had found him of no account; +he even accepted the light suggestion of his new-found friend that the +Russian councilor Budberg should have no share in the conferences, as +being possibly too closely wedded to old ideas. "You be my secretary," +said Napoleon, "and I will be yours." In the afternoon the King of +Prussia, with his staff, was generally invited to join their cavalcade +for a ride. The Emperor of the French gave in later years a malicious +account of these jaunts. Himself a fearless though awkward horseman, +he spurred his charger to full speed, and the Czar followed with glee, +while the King, as timid in the saddle as in the cabinet, jounced and +bounced, often knocking Napoleon's arms with his elbows. The French +and Russian officers paired in good-fellowship, while the few +Prussians rode together. Constantine gathered Murat, Berthier, and +Grouchy about him, and treating them on equal terms, displayed the +strongest proofs of his regard. The dinners which followed, though +always large and stately, were made short, for the emperors wished to +be alone as quickly and as long as possible. The Czar was full of +curiosity. How did Napoleon win victories? How did he rule men? What +were his family relations? How did he regulate his inner life? The +Emperor was full of good humor: he told again and again the tale of +his victories, and expounded the principles on which he had won them; +he explained with candor and in detail the structure and workings of +his administrative machine; he opened his heart, and told how its +strings had been wrung by the death of the "Little Napoleon," the +eldest son of Queen Hortense.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page053" name="page053"></a>(p. 053)</span> In such pleasant converse the hours of ease rolled swiftly +by, and then the work of negotiation began once more. Where +differences appeared, Napoleon evaded close discussion and passed to +other matters. Next morning early, the Czar would receive a carefully +worded, concise note on the points at issue, together with an +argument. Sometimes he replied in writing, more frequently not. When +they met again, Napoleon sought, or appeared to seek, a compromise, +and never in vain. The council of ministers, in which there was not a +single man of force except Talleyrand, received the conclusions from +time to time, and elaborated the details.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page054" name="page054"></a>(p. 054)</span> CHAPTER V.</h3> + +<h4>The Treaty of Tilsit.<a id="footnotetag11" name="footnotetag11"></a><a href="#footnote11" title="Go to footnote 11"><span class="smaller">[11]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Two Equal Empires — Central Europe and the Orient — Prussia as a + Second-rate Power — The Grand Duchy of Warsaw and the Kingdom of + Westphalia — Napoleon and Frederick William — Queen Louisa of + Prussia — The Meeting of Napoleon and Louisa — Courtesy and + Diplomacy — The Bitterness of Disappointment — The Last + Plea — Prussia's Humiliation — The Parting of the + Emperors — Alexander's Disenchantment — Napoleon's Gains and + Losses.</p> + +<p>By such hitherto unknown simplicity and address diplomacy at Tilsit +was rendered most expeditious. The negotiations were complete, the +treaties drawn up, and the signatures affixed on July seventh. There +were three different documents: a treaty of peace, a series of seven +separate and secret articles, and a treaty of alliance. The first +point gained by Napoleon was the recognition of all his conquests +before 1805. The Czar admitted for the first time absolute equality +between the two empires, and recognized the limits of the French +system as it then existed: first, the Confederation of the Rhine, with +any additions yet to be made; second, the kingdom of Italy, including +Dalmatia; third, the vassalage of Holland, Berg, Naples, and +Switzerland. There was a verbal understanding, it is said, that +Napoleon might do as he liked in Spain <span class="pagenum"><a id="page055" name="page055"></a>(p. 055)</span> and the Papal States, +while the Czar should have the same liberty in regard to Finland. +Subsequent events attested the probability of this statement. To +illustrate Napoleon's attitude toward the recent, but now dissolved +alliance, Prussia was given to understand that she owed to Russia what +remnants of territory she retained; the stipulations with regard to +her were therefore included in the treaty with Russia.</p> + +<p>Still, there was to be a Prussia. Between the two great empires was to +lie, in realization of a long-cherished plan, a girdle of neutral +states like the "marches" established by Charles the Great. In this +line Silesia was the only break. Prussia and Austria, one on each side +of this mark, shorn of their strength and prestige, might await their +destiny. France was to mediate for peace between Russia and Turkey, +Russia between England and France. In case Great Britain should not +prove tractable,—that is, admit the sanctity of all flags on the high +seas, and restore all the colonies of France and her allies captured +since 1805,—then Russia, in common with France, Denmark, Sweden, +Portugal, and Austria, would declare commercial war on England, and +complete the continental embargo on British trade. Should Turkey +refuse favorable terms, the two empires would divide between them all +her European lands except Rumelia and the district of Constantinople. +Alexander afterward declared that Napoleon gave a verbal promise that +Russia should have a substantial increment on the Danube. The rumor +was that Bessarabia, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bulgaria were indicated +to the Czar as his share.</p> + +<p>No mention was made of Austria, which the treaty of Presburg had +sufficiently dismembered. But Prussia? In order to complete the great +"march" between east and west, Silesia was essential. At first +Napoleon <span class="pagenum"><a id="page056" name="page056"></a>(p. 056)</span> thought of combining it with Prussian Poland to +form a kingdom. This would not restore the real Poland, but it would +create a Poland, and give him a Polish army. It was already decided +that the Elbe should form Frederick William's western frontier; to +weaken his strength still further would destroy all balance between +Prussia and Austria. Moreover, Alexander made a tender appeal, and +adroitly suggested a distasteful counter-proposition. Accordingly it +was settled that the great province should remain Prussian. This was a +large concession to the Czar.</p> + +<p>To make some pretense of fulfilling the lavish but indefinite promises +made to the Poles, the lands of Warsaw and the province of Posen, with +a considerable tract not now contained in it, were erected into the +grand duchy of Warsaw. Under the influence of historical reminiscence +this was given, not as a province but as a separate sovereignty to the +Elector of Saxony, who was simultaneously made king and a member of +the Rhine Confederation. The Czar, in return for his cessions to the +grand duchy of Warsaw, received the Prussian district of Bielostok. As +a compensation for the Bocche di Cattaro and the Ionian Islands, +Dantzic was restored to its position of a free city. The Prussian +lands of the Elbe, together with Hesse-Cassel and many minor domains, +were erected into the kingdom of Westphalia for the Emperor's brother +Jerome. We have almost forgotten in our day how, less than a century +ago, Germany was divided into insignificant fragments. It is +instructive to recall that the formation of this new kingdom +beneficently ended the separate existence of no fewer than twenty-four +more or less autonomous powers—electorates, duchies, counties, +bishoprics, and cities. It contained the all-important fortress of +Magdeburg, the possession of whose frowning walls carried with +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page057" name="page057"></a>(p. 057)</span> it the command of the Elbe, and virtually made Prussia a +conquered and tributary state.</p> + +<p>This seemed to Frederick William the climax of his misfortunes. He had +daily information from the Czar of what was under consideration, and +the rescue of Silesia by his mediator gave him high hopes for the +preservation of Magdeburg. But his poor-spirited behavior wearied even +Alexander, who, willing at the outset to atone for desertion by +intervention, became toward the end very cold. When the King desired +permission to plead in person for Magdeburg, Napoleon refused. The +Prussian case might be presented by counsel. Goltz was speedily +summoned to the task, but though he was always about to have an +interview with the French emperor, he never secured it.</p> + +<p>It was at this crisis of Prussia's affairs that the King, after much +urging, consented to summon his Queen. The rumors and insinuations +concerning the Czar's undue admiration of her, so industriously spread +by Napoleon, had made him over-sensitive; but as a last resort he felt +the need of her presence. She came with a single idea—to make the +cause of Magdeburg her own. She had suffered under the malicious +innuendos of Napoleon regarding her character; she had shared the +disgrace of the Berlin war party in the crushing defeat at Jena and +Auerstädt; she had been a wayfarer among a disgraced and helpless +people; but her spirit was not broken, and she announced her visit +with all the dignity of her station. The court carriage in which she +drove, accompanied by her ladies in waiting, reached Tilsit on July +sixth, and drew up before the door of the humble miller under whose +roof were the rooms of her husband. Officers and statesmen were +gathered to receive and encourage her with good advice; but she waved +them away with an earnest call for quiet, so that she might collect +her ideas.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page058" name="page058"></a>(p. 058)</span> In a moment Napoleon was announced. As he climbed the narrow +stairway she rose to meet him. Friend and foe agree as to her beauty, +her taste, and her manners; her presence, in a white dress embroidered +with silver, and with a pearl diadem on her brow, was queenly. In her +husband's apartments she was the hostess, and as such she apologized +for the stair. "What would one not do for such an end!" gallantly +replied the somewhat dazzled conqueror. The suppliant, after making a +few respectful inquiries as to her visitor's welfare, and the effect +of the Northern climate on his health, at once announced the object of +her visit. Her manner was full of pathos and there were tears in her +eyes as she recalled how her country had been punished for its appeal +to arms, and for its mistaken confidence in the traditions of the +great Frederick and his glory. The Emperor was abashed by the lofty +strain of her address. So elevated was her mien that she overpowered +him; for the instant his self-assurance fled, and he felt himself but +a man of the people. He felt also the humiliation of the contrast, and +was angry. Long afterward he confessed that she was mistress of the +conversation, adding that she stood with her head thrown back like +Mlle. Duchesnois in the character of Chimène, meaning by this +comparison to stigmatize her attitude and language as theatrical. So +effective was her appeal that he felt the need of something to save +his own rôle, and accordingly he bowed her to a chair, and in the +moment thus gained determined to strike the key of high comedy. Taking +up the conversation in turn, he scrutinized the beauties of her +person, and, complimenting her dress, asked whether the material was +crape or India gauze. "Shall we talk of rags at such a solemn moment?" +she retorted; and then proceeded with her direct plea for Magdeburg. +In <span class="pagenum"><a id="page059" name="page059"></a>(p. 059)</span> the midst of her eloquence, when the Emperor seemed +almost overcome by her importunity, her meddling husband most +inopportunely entered the room. He began to argue and reason, citing +his threadbare grievance, the violation of Ansbach territory, and +endeavoring to prove himself to be right. Napoleon at once turned the +conversation to indifferent themes, and in a few moments took his +leave. "You ask much," he said to the Queen on parting; "but I promise +to think it over." The courageous woman had done her best, but her +cause—if, indeed, it was ever in the balance—was lost from the +moment she put her judge in an inferior position. Her majestic bearing +was fine, but it was not diplomacy. She might, nevertheless, have +succeeded had she been the wife of a wiser man. Long afterward +Napoleon thought her influence on the negotiations would have been +considerable if she had appeared in their earlier stages, and +congratulated himself that she came too late, inasmuch as they were +already virtually closed when she arrived.</p> + +<p>The remainder of the day passed for the Queen in a whirl of +excitement, receiving messengers from Napoleon with the pardons of +Prussian prisoners and accepting polite attentions from his adjutants. +She gladly consented to dine with Napoleon, and Berthier was chosen to +escort her to his Emperor's lodging. On arrival she was received with +distinction, and assigned at table to the seat of honor between the +host and the Czar. The Emperor was all politeness, offering unwelcome +consolations to Frederick William, and expressing astonishment at the +Queen's courage. "Did you know my hussars nearly captured you?" he +said to her. "I can scarcely believe it, sire," was the reply; "I did +not see a single Frenchman." "But why expose yourself thus? Why did +you not wait for me at Weimar?" <span class="pagenum"><a id="page060" name="page060"></a>(p. 060)</span> "Indeed, sire, I was not +eager." There is a tradition that Talleyrand, whose work the treaty +really was, grew anxious and whispered to Napoleon later in the +evening that surely he would not surrender the benefits of his +greatest conquest for the sake of a pretty woman. Whether this +admonition was given or not, the Emperor was respectful and polite, +but non-committal. After dinner he conversed long with his fair guest. +To her lady in waiting, the Countess Voss, he offered snuff—a +singular mark of condescension. Next day, in a note to Josephine, he +said that he had been compelled continually to stand on his guard; and +the day following, July eighth, he again wrote to his Empress: "The +Queen is really charming, using every art to please me; but be not +jealous: I am like a waxed cloth from which all that glides off. It +would cost me too much to play the gallant." The Emperor's courtesy +had deceived the poor Queen entirely, and she is said to have returned +to her husband's lodgings at Piktupönen in the highest spirits.</p> + +<p>On that very night, immediately after the dinner, the step she so much +dreaded was taken, and orders were given to conclude the treaty as it +stood. At the last hour Goltz secured his interview to plead the +expectations awakened in the Queen, but the Emperor coldly explained +that his conduct had been politeness, and nothing more; the house of +Prussia might be glad to recover a crown at all. Talleyrand showed a +completed and final draft of the treaty ready for signature, and said +that his master was in haste, that in two days the documents would be +signed. This was the news which greeted Louisa next morning. She +returned at once to Tilsit, her eyes swollen with weeping; but she +appeared in a stately dress, and with a smile on her lips. Again she +was the object of the most distinguished courtesy <span class="pagenum"><a id="page061" name="page061"></a>(p. 061)</span> from +Napoleon's adjutants, but the expected visit from himself was not +made. However, she was again the Emperor's honored guest at dinner. +The host at once began to speak of her costume. "What, the Queen of +Prussia with a turban! Surely not to gratify the Emperor of Russia, +who is at war with the Turks!" "Rather, I think," replied the Queen, +"to propitiate Rustan," rolling her large, full eyes toward the +swarthy Mameluke behind his master's chair. She had the air, according +to Napoleon's account, of an offended coquette. After the meal it was +Murat who took the part filled the previous evening by the Emperor. +"How does your Majesty pass the time at Memel?" "In reading." "What +does your Majesty read?" "The history of the past." "But our own times +afford actions worthy of commemoration." "It is already more than I +can endure to live in them."</p> + +<p>Before parting, Napoleon spent a few moments at her side, and at the +end, turning, pulled from a bunch a beautiful rose, which he offered +with gestures of gallantry and homage. Hesitating a moment, the Queen +at last put out her hand, and said as she accepted it, "At least with +Magdeburg." "Madame," came the frigid reply, "it is mine to give and +yours to accept." But he gave his arm to conduct her to the carriage, +and as they descended the stair together the disappointed guest said, +in a sentimental and emotional voice, "Is it possible that, having had +the happiness to see so near the man of the century and of all +history, he will not afford me the possibility and the satisfaction of +being able to assure him that he has put me under obligations for +life?" With solemn tones Napoleon replied, "Madame, I am to be pitied; +it is a fault of my unlucky star." Queen Louisa's own lady in waiting +related that her sovereign's bitterness overcame her at the last, and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page062" name="page062"></a>(p. 062)</span> as she stepped into the carriage she said, "Sire, you have +cruelly deceived me." It is certain that next day she overwhelmed +Duroc with reproaches; but she afterward frankly confessed that she +could recall no definite promise made by Napoleon. To Talleyrand she +said, with fine sarcasm, that only two persons regretted her having +come to Tilsit—he and she. Her duty, she believed, as a loving wife, +as a tender mother, as the queen of her people, was fulfilled; but her +heart was broken. Queen Mary of England said of the loss of Calais, +"Should they open my heart, they will find the name of Calais +inscribed in bloody letters within." Queen Louisa pathetically +recalled this moan; she could say the same of Magdeburg.</p> + +<p>The treaty with Prussia, signed two days later, did not modify in the +least the terms arranged with Alexander, and for six years that +country remained in a mutilated and conquered condition, compelled to +obey with outward respect the behests of Napoleon. Every domain she +had owned west of the Elbe went to the kingdom of Westphalia, the +circle of Kottbus went to Saxony, the Polish provinces of south +Prussia and new east Prussia to the grand duchy of Warsaw, the circle +of Bielostok to Russia. Napoleon is said to have urged the Czar to +seize Memel and the strip of Prussian land east of the Niemen; but +this is denied, and in any case, Alexander, desiring to be at peace +with his neighbor, firmly refused; moreover, he verbally stipulated +for the evacuation of the Hohenzollern lands by French troops at an +early date. Nominally, therefore, the King of Prussia regained +sovereignty over less than half of his former territory. For this +consideration he was to pay an indefinite but enormous and almost +impossible indemnity, which was to cover the total cost of the war. To +guarantee this a large portion of the French army was, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page063" name="page063"></a>(p. 063)</span> in +spite of Alexander's demand, still left quartered in the Hohenzollern +lands, so that the Prussian people were daily reminded of their +disgrace, as well as irritated by extortionate taxation. First and +last, the war cost Prussia, in the support of the French army and in +actual contributions to France, over a billion of francs—about the +gross national income of thirteen years. The process of Prussian +consolidation begun three years before was thus hastened. What Pozzo +di Borgo called a masterpiece of destruction turned out in the end to +be the beginning of a new birth for the nation. But the royal pair +were stricken down: the high-souled Queen died, three years later, of +chagrin; the King lived to see his people strong once more, but in a +sort of obstructing stupor, being always an uncompromising +conservative. When he died, in 1840, he left to his successor a legacy +of smothered popular discontent.</p> + +<p>The treaties of Tilsit between France and Russia were signed, as was +said, on July seventh. The principal personages engaged on both sides +in this grand scene of reconciliation were on that day reciprocally +decorated with the orders of the respective courts, while the imperial +guards of both emperors received food and drink for a great festivity. +Next day Napoleon paid his farewell visit. At his morning toilet he +had his valet loosen the threads which fastened the cross of the +Legion of Honor to his coat, and as the Czar advanced to meet him he +asked in audible tones permission to decorate the first grenadier of +Russia. A veteran named Lazaref was summoned from the ranks, and with +a wrench the Emperor tore off his cross, and fastened it on the breast +of the peasant. The welkin rang with applause, while Lazaref kissed +his benefactor's hands and the hem of his coat. Next day Alexander +crossed the Niemen. Savary went with him as a French envoy, partly to +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page064" name="page064"></a>(p. 064)</span> keep up the Czar's courage and spirits, which would be +endangered by the sullen humor of the court circles in St. Petersburg, +partly to study the temper of the Russian people.</p> + +<p>To the last moment of their intercourse the Czar appeared to be under +the spell of Napoleon's seductive powers. He came as a conquered +prince; he left with an honorable peace, with the friendship of his +magnanimous conqueror, and with an unsmirched imperial dignity. He had +saved his recent ally from destruction, and had secured a small +increase of territory for himself; for the future there were Finland +and the fairest portion of Turkey. But in a few days the magic began +to pass. He had not secured Constantinople, and he had promised to +evacuate Wallachia and Moldavia; he had not secured the complete +evacuation of Prussia; he had risked a rupture with England; he had, +above all, submitted to the creation of a state which, under the thin +disguise of another name, was but the germ of a reconstructed Poland. +It began to appear as if he had been wheedled. There is sufficient +evidence that such bitter reflections made their appearance very soon; +but they were repressed, at first from pure shame, and afterward from +stern necessity, when England began to vent her anger. But the +Russians themselves could not be repressed. Before long Savary was +hated and abused by the public, the more because he maintained his +ascendancy over the Czar. The reports sent home by the former police +agent were clever and instructive, but their pictures of factional +disputes and Oriental plots at court, of aristocratic luxury and +general poverty, of popular superstition and barbarous manners, were +not reassuring, and confirmed in his Emperor's mind doubts felt from +the beginning as to the stability of the alliance consummated at +Tilsit, an alliance outwardly fair, but, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page065" name="page065"></a>(p. 065)</span> like all +Talleyrand's diplomacy, more showy than substantial.<a id="footnotetag12" name="footnotetag12"></a><a href="#footnote12" title="Go to footnote 12"><span class="smaller">[12]</span></a></p> + +<p>Napoleon left for Königsberg the same day on which he bade adieu to +Alexander. His route was by way of Dresden. He was not in the +slightest degree deceived. The peace of Europe, he said, was in St. +Petersburg; the affairs of the world were there. But he had gained +much. The outposts of his empire were established, and from one of +them he could touch with his hand the enchanted East. He had secured +the temporary coöperation of Russia, and with that as a beginning he +might consolidate the Continent against England, and complete the +stage in his progress now gained. Above all, he could at once restore +the confidence of France by the proclamation of peace and the +upbuilding of her prosperity. To be sure, he had forecast a division +of his prospective Eastern empire with Russia, he had left Prussia +outraged and bleeding, and Austria was uneasy and suspiciously +reserved; but he had checkmated them all in the menace of a restored +Poland, while their financial weakness and military exhaustion, +combined with the reciprocal jealousies of their dynasties, might be +relied on to prevent their immediate hostility. Besides, while he had +sung a certain tune at Tilsit, in the future he would, as he +sarcastically said somewhat later, have to sing it only according to +the written score.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page066" name="page066"></a>(p. 066)</span> CHAPTER VI.</h3> + +<h4>The Path of Napoleonic Empire.<a id="footnotetag13" name="footnotetag13"></a><a href="#footnote13" title="Go to footnote 13"><span class="smaller">[13]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon and the Neutral Powers — The Protectorate of Portugal and + the End of Etruria — Annexation of the Papal Legations — Seizure of + the Danish Fleet by Great Britain — The Degradation of + Spain — Godoy's Impolicy — The Spanish Court and the Heir + Apparent — Effects of the Russian Alliance in Paris — Napoleon's + Commentary on the Treaty — His Administrative Wisdom — Public Works + in France — The Jews in France — The Sanhedrim — Napoleon's + Successful Reforms — War Indemnities and Finance — Annoyances of + the Continental System.</p> + +<p>But in order to fulfil the purposes and realize the possibilities +which were indicated in the treaties of Tilsit, no time was to be +lost. The fate of Sweden and the Hanse towns having been virtually +settled, there remained three small maritime states in Europe which +still maintained a nominal neutrality—Denmark, Portugal, and Etruria. +One and all, they must choose between England and France. To each a +summons was to be addressed, and Napoleon wrote the preliminary +directions at Dresden. Between the lines of his despatches it was +clear that the precious naval armaments of all three powers—ships, +arsenals, stores, and men—must be put at the disposal of France. "A +thing must needs be done before the announcement <span class="pagenum"><a id="page067" name="page067"></a>(p. 067)</span> of your +plan," was one of Napoleon's own principles, and it was his intention +so to proceed in this case. At Dresden, also, was promulgated the new +constitution of Warsaw. Modeled on that of France, it was far from +liberal; but it abolished serfdom, made all citizens equal before the +law, and introduced the civil code.</p> + +<p>In 1804 Portugal had purchased her neutrality for the duration of the +war with the sum of sixteen million francs. She was now ordered to +close her ports to the British, to seize all their goods and ships, +and finally to declare war against Great Britain. Junot, formerly +imperial ambassador at Lisbon, was despatched with twenty-seven +thousand men, designated as a "corps of observation," to be ready on +the frontier to enforce the command. In reply, England seized the +Portuguese fleet, and kept it in security until the close of the war. +During the late campaigns in Poland and Prussia, King Louis of Etruria +had died, and his helpless widow, the Spanish infanta, Maria Louisa, +acting as regent for her young son, had admitted the English to the +harbor of Leghorn. Prince Eugène was now ordered to take another +"corps of observation" of six thousand men, and drive them out. He did +so promptly. Duroc at once suggested to the Spanish minister that +Napoleon would like some proposition for the indemnification of Maria +Louisa for the loss of Etruria—say one portion of Portugal for her, +and the rest for Godoy, the Prince of the Peace.</p> + +<p>This "deformity" removed from the Italian peninsula, it revealed a +still greater one—the fact that the Papal States disturbed the +connection between the two kingdoms of Italy and Naples. Pius VII, +returning disillusioned and embittered after the coronation ceremony, +and finding that his temporal weapons had failed him, had taken a +stand with his spiritual armor. It has <span class="pagenum"><a id="page068" name="page068"></a>(p. 068)</span> already been recalled +that he began to refuse everything Napoleon desired,—the coronation +as Western emperor, the extension of the Concordat to Venice, the +confirmation of bishops appointed in France and Italy by the temporal +power, the annulment of Jerome's marriage, the recognition of Joseph's +royalty,—except in return for a guarantee of his own independence and +neutrality; in short, he feebly abjured the French alliance and all +its works. There now came a demand from Napoleon that henceforth there +should be as many French cardinals as Roman, that the agents of +hostile powers should be banished from the Papal States, and that the +papal ports should be closed to England. The Emperor was weary, too, +of the petty squabbles in connection with the Church, of the threats +to excommunicate him and declare his throne vacant. Did they mean to +put him in a convent and whip him like Louis the Pious? If not, let +the full powers of an ambassador be sent to the cardinal legate at +Paris; in any case, let there be an end to menaces. At the same time +Eugène showed to Pius a personal letter from his stepfather, which, +though marked confidential, was intended to be thus shown. It +contained the threat that the Emperor contemplated calling a council +of the Gallican, Italian, German, and Polish churches to liberate +those peoples from the domination of Roman priests. The Pontiff was +terrified, and hastened to yield the most pressing demands made in the +message which he had himself received, among them the nomination of a +negotiator. But he childishly refused the letter of the Emperor's +demand, and commissioned, not the French cardinal legate at Paris, but +an Italian cardinal. Napoleon notified the See that he would treat +only with Bayanne, the French cardinal at Paris, and that longer +dallying would compel him to annex Ancona, Urbino, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page069" name="page069"></a>(p. 069)</span> +Macerata to the kingdom of Italy. Pius yielded at once, nominating +Bayanne, agreeing to enter the federation with France, and promising +to crown Napoleon; but the annexation took place quite as +expeditiously as the surrender—was, in fact, complete before it!</p> + +<p>Of the three minor sea powers, Denmark, commanding as she did the +gateway of the Baltic, was far the most important. Bernadotte was +already on her borders with an army. She was notified by him that she +must declare war against England immediately, or lose all her +continental possessions. Her government promised to obey, but +procrastinated. It has been claimed that English spies at Tilsit had +caught scraps of the bargain contained in the secret articles, and +that the Portland cabinet, in which Canning was secretary for foreign +affairs and Castlereagh for war and the colonies, had divined the +rest. It is now known that Canning believed there were no secret +articles, but was convinced that the two emperors had reached a secret +understanding hostile to England.<a id="footnotetag14" name="footnotetag14"></a><a href="#footnote14" title="Go to footnote 14"><span class="smaller">[14]</span></a> During the summer the ministry +received what they called the most positive information—what was its +extent and how it was obtained have never been made known—that the +French intended to invade Holstein and force Denmark to close the +Sound to British commerce. The danger seemed imminent: the Danish +fleet contained no fewer than twenty ships of the line, eighteen +frigates, nine brigs, and a number of gunboats. Such a reinforcement +of the French navy would put it again on a war footing. The English +ministry, therefore, offered to defend Denmark, guarantee her +colonies, and give her every means of defense, naval, military, +pecuniary, if only she would surrender her fleet to England, to be +restored in the event of peace. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page070" name="page070"></a>(p. 070)</span> The Danish regent was +already committed to France, and did not accept. Accordingly the +English army under Cathcart landed, and laid siege to Copenhagen, +while the fleet bombarded it for three days, until the government +agreed to their stipulations. This shameful deed of high-handed +violence must be laid at Canning's door. It was the first step in the +humiliation of a fine people, to their loss of Norway, and ultimately +of Schleswig and Holstein. Moreover, it was impolitic in the highest +degree, making the Czar a bitter enemy of England for four years. The +wretched country, in distraction, threw itself into the arms of +Bernadotte. Christian VII had long been an imbecile, and his son, +Frederick VI, though energetic and well-meaning, turned Denmark into +another vassal state of France by the treaty of Fontainebleau, signed +October thirtieth, 1807.</p> + +<p>In none of their many sovereignties had the incapacity of the Bourbons +been more completely demonstrated than in Spain. With intermittent +flickerings, the light of that famous land had been steadily growing +dimmer ever since Louis XIV exultingly declared that the Pyrenees had +ceased to exist. Stripped of her colonial supremacy, shattered in +naval power, reduced to pay tribute to France, she looked silently on +while Napoleon trafficked with her lands, mourning that even the +memory of her former glories was fading out in foreign countries. The +proud people themselves had, however, never forgotten their past; with +each successive humiliation their irritation grew more extreme, and +soon after Trafalgar they made an effort to organize under the crown +prince against the scandalous régime of Godoy. Both parties sought +French support, and the quarrel was fomented from Paris until the +whole country was torn by the most serious dissensions.</p> + +<p>When, in the previous year, Prussia declared war, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page071" name="page071"></a>(p. 071)</span> the +French legions were about to face those trained in the school of +Frederick the Great, a vigorous attempt was made by the Russian envoy +in Madrid to win the support of Spain for the coalition. England, too, +at the same moment, threatened to make the South American colonies +independent if she did not consent. Godoy was persuaded that Napoleon +had at last found his match, if not his master, and on October +fourteenth issued a manifesto couched for the most part in ambiguous +terms, but clearly announcing war as an immediate necessity. By a +strange coincidence, its date was that of the day on which was fought +the battle of Jena, and after hearing the news of that event the +Prince of the Peace hastened to make his submission in the name of the +King. Napoleon turned pale as he read the news of the contemplated +defection, which reached him at Berlin; he never forgave the +treachery, although for the time he feigned ignorance of its +existence. The renewal of Charles IV's submission gave him the +opportunity to demand that the Spanish fleet should proceed to Toulon, +that the King should send fifteen thousand men to oppose a possible +English landing at the mouth of the Elbe, and at the same time +undertake the sustenance of twenty-five thousand Prussian prisoners of +war, while thenceforward he must rigidly enforce the embargo on +English trade in all Spanish ports and markets.</p> + +<p>These demands the weak and contemptible government could not resist. +Godoy and the Queen resumed their scandalous living, while the King +joined in a conspiracy to cut off his son Ferdinand from the +succession. The young prince had the people's sympathy; but although +he had sought Napoleon's favor, and wished to marry the Empress +Josephine's niece, there was no response, and he remained impotent +before an administration apparently supported by France. He was, in +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page072" name="page072"></a>(p. 072)</span> the sequel, arrested on a charge of conspiring against his +father's life. Before the summer of 1807 closed, everything was ripe +for Napoleon's contemplated intervention to "regenerate" Spain.</p> + +<p>Such was the harvest of Tilsit in the field of foreign relations—a +harvest which to the last the Emperor claimed that Talleyrand had +sown. As to its effect in France, Metternich, then Austrian ambassador +in Paris, declared that men sat in the cafés coldly discussing an +entire reconstruction of Europe—two empires, and seventeen new +kingdoms with new sovereigns either from or in the interest of the +imperial houses! "Rhapsodies," he said, "which proved that all Europe +might crumble without exciting a single emotion of sorrow, +astonishment, or satisfaction in a people degraded beneath all others, +beneath all imagination, and which, worn out, demoralized to the point +where every trace of even national feeling is wiped out, by nineteen +years of revolution and crimes, now looks on with cold-blooded +indifference at what is passing beyond its own frontiers. Wise men +think that the treaties, being as advantageous to Russia as to France, +necessarily contain a germ which in developing will prove dangerous to +the latter." In reality there was not now a state in Europe toward +which the French empire did not stand in strained relations, not a +nationality besides the French which did not feel its self-respect +wounded, and resent the abasement.</p> + +<p>This, however, was not the panorama which the Emperor unfolded in +Paris. He reached St. Cloud quietly on the evening of July +twenty-seventh. The people of Paris learned the news incidentally, and +burst into spontaneous rejoicings, illuminating the city, and sending +addresses in which the terms of adulation were exhausted. Napoleon was +no longer an actor in merely <span class="pagenum"><a id="page073" name="page073"></a>(p. 073)</span> human history: he was a man of +the heroic age; he was beyond admiration; nothing but love could rise +to his lofty place. On August sixteenth the Emperor opened the +legislature in person. "Since your last session," he said, "new wars, +new triumphs, new treaties, have changed the face of Europe." If the +house of Brandenburg still reigned, he continued, it was due to the +sincere friendship he felt for the Czar. A French prince would rule on +the Elbe, and would know how to conciliate his subjects, while ever +mindful of his most sacred duties. Saxony had recovered her +independence, the peoples of Dantzic and the duchy of Warsaw their +country and their rights. All nations rejoiced to see the direful +influence of England destroyed. France was united to the Confederation +of the Rhine by its laws, by the federative system to the countries of +Holland, Switzerland, and Italy; her new relations with Russia were +cemented by reciprocal esteem. In all this, he affirmed, his pole-star +had been the happiness of his people, dearer to him than his own +glory. He would like maritime peace, and for its sake would overlook +the exasperations caused by a people tossed and torn by party strife. +Whatever happened, he would be worthy of his people, as they had shown +themselves to be worthy of him. Their behavior in his absence had only +increased his esteem for their character. He had thought of several +measures to simplify and perfect their institutions.</p> + +<p>This picture of martial and political renown, painted by a master who +had on one campaign changed the meaning of his title from its +primitive sense of military ruler to its later and grander one of +chief among and over princes, thus realizing the revival of the +Western Empire, could not but please the fancy and arouse the +enthusiasm of a generous, imaginative, forgiving people. The <span class="pagenum"><a id="page074" name="page074"></a>(p. 074)</span> +impression was heightened by their Emperor's activity in keeping faith +as to their own prosperity. As after Austerlitz, his first care was +now finance. The new commercial code was promulgated, and it proved +scarcely less satisfactory to the merchants than the civil code had +been to the people at large. The Bank of France was immediately +compelled to lower its rate of discount, and a council was held to +consider how Italy and the Rhine Confederation could be made tributary +to French industry and commerce. Recourse was also had to those +measures of internal development by the execution of great public +works which had been begun after Austerlitz, but were suspended before +Jena.</p> + +<p>Before the last campaign the Emperor and Empress had been accustomed +to visit various portions of France. During every halt the Emperor +would mount his horse, and, attended occasionally by one or more of +the local officials, but usually only by Rustan or an adjutant, would +gallop hither and thither, gathering information, examining +conditions, and making suggestions. Immediately afterward he would +throw off a sketch of needed improvements: public buildings, +almshouses, roads, canals, aqueducts, town streets, mountain +roads—anything, in short, which would arouse local enthusiasm and +benefit the country at large. Many—most, perhaps—of these schemes +remained inchoate; but many of the grandest were executed, and +Napoleon has left his impress as indelibly upon France itself as upon +its society. The routes of the Simplon and Mont Cenis, the great +canals which bind together the river systems, the restoration of the +cathedral at St. Denis, the quays of the Seine in Paris, the great +Triumphal Arch, the Vendôme Column, the Street of Peace, the Street of +Rivoli, the bridges of Austerlitz, Jena, and the Arts—these are some +of the magnificent enterprises due to his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page075" name="page075"></a>(p. 075)</span> initiative. Such +works were pushed throughout the summer of 1807 by employing large +numbers of laborers and artisans, while local workshops were opened in +every department to furnish employment to all who could not otherwise +find it. The political economist may lift his eyebrows and shrug his +shoulders in contemplating such shifts; but they were imperial shifts, +and created a high degree of comfort at the time, while they satisfied +in permanency that passion for beauty in utility which does not +sufficiently enter as an element into economic science.</p> + +<p>Closely connected with this policy was a measure of Napoleon's already +referred to, but little known. In some respects it was more successful +than any other; it certainly is most characteristic of the man. The +evil aimed at was cured at the time, and the permanent question is +less acute in modern France than in any other European country. For +years past there had been chronic distress among the agricultural +classes in some of the most fertile districts of France, notably in +the northeast. This was attributed to the presence of Jews in large +numbers. The stringent laws of the old régime had crowded that +unfortunate people out of all occupations but two—peddling and +money-lending. In both of these they became experts, and when +emancipated by the Revolution they used their liberty, not to widen +their activities, but to intensify the evils of the monopoly which +they had secured. Since 1791 large numbers of Polish and German Jews +had established themselves on the right bank of the Rhine; and +reaching hands across that stream to their kinsfolk on the left bank, +they combined to strip the French peasantry by the familiar arts of +barter and usury, which need not be described here, until in a few +years they were creditors to the extent of twenty-three million +francs, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page076" name="page076"></a>(p. 076)</span> had become extensive landed proprietors. They +were never seen to labor with their hands, and having no family name, +they evaded the conscription laws with impunity, while the courts of +justice became their humble servants in enforcing the collection of +scandalous debts or in the foreclosure of inflated mortgages.</p> + +<p>In 1806 a temporary decree had suspended all legal executions in +certain districts, and many Jews of the better class made ready to bow +before the coming tempest and come to the assistance of the +government. Napoleon, aware that the Old Testament law was civil and +political as well as religious, shrewdly asked advice from these and +other men of the more enlightened sort. It was agreed to call a +council. The Emperor summoned his prefects to name its members, and +appointed a committee to represent the government at its sessions. +Decisions taken by this assembly were to be submitted to a general +Sanhedrim of all Europe. The assembly of French Israelites met in +Paris during the latter part of 1806, and after due deliberation gave +satisfactory answers to a carefully prepared set of questions +propounded by the government commission. In 1807 the economic +situation had nevertheless become graver. The Sanhedrim met early in +February. Its members vied in flattery with the Roman priesthood, +setting the imperial eagle above the ark of the covenant, and blending +the letters N and J with those of the Jehovah in a monogram for the +adornment of their meeting-place. On March fourth they issued a decree +which is still the basis of religious instruction among Jewish youth. +They forbade polygamy, and admitted the principle of civil marriage +without anathema; they ordered all Israelites to treat those who +believe that God is the Creator of heaven and earth as fellow-citizens +and brothers; to obey the civil and military laws, including <span class="pagenum"><a id="page077" name="page077"></a>(p. 077)</span> +that of conscription, and to train their children to industry and +handiwork; they also invited them to enter the learned professions, +and to attach themselves to the country by the purchase of public +obligations. Usury was absolutely forbidden, the Israelite being +enjoined as a religious precept to make no distinction in money +transactions between Hebrew and Christian. The minutest details of the +whole transaction were foreseen and regulated by Napoleon, and may be +studied in his correspondence with his ministers.</p> + +<p>A year later, after careful and mature deliberation, there appeared an +imperial decree, not only organizing the Jewish Church and regulating +its relations with the state, but defining the civil and political +status of Hebrews. They were pronounced to be citizens like other men; +but they could not exact higher interest than five per cent., while if +they should demand over ten they should be punished for usury. Every +Jew in the northeastern department must have a license to do business, +and a notarial authorization for pawnbrokerage. Any Jew not domiciled +at the moment in Alsace might not thereafter acquire domicile in that +department, and could do so in others only by becoming a landowner and +tilling the soil. Every Jew should be liable to military service, and, +unlike his Christian fellow-citizens might not provide a substitute; +moreover, he must adopt and use a family name. This stringent law was +rigidly enforced, except in Bordeaux, the Gironde, and the Landes, +where no offense had been given. Its effect was steady and sure. +Before long, first one and then another Israelite was exempted from +its rigors, until finally, in 1812, the department or the man still +subject to its provisions was the exception and not the rule. From +that day to this there has scarcely been in France what is known +elsewhere as the Jewish question. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page078" name="page078"></a>(p. 078)</span> Hebrews are found in every +line of human activity; they have the same civil, political, and +religious standing as men of other blood and confessions; they are +illustrious in finance, in politics, in science, and in the arts. They +are, moreover, passionate patriots, and to the casual observer +scarcely distinguishable in mien and appearance from other citizens. +The temporary contravention of the civil code, both as to spirit and +letter, by the notorious decree above referred to has been so +beneficent that it has for the most part escaped any criticism or even +remark.<a id="footnotetag15" name="footnotetag15"></a><a href="#footnote15" title="Go to footnote 15"><span class="smaller">[15]</span></a></p> + +<p>While in ways like these the clutch of the usurer was relaxed and the +general well-being promoted, measures were taken to crown the work by +a stable system of finance. It will be recalled that two years before +the Emperor had saved the public credit by the direct expenditure of +the Austrian war indemnity. It was his fixed principle that France +should not pay for his wars, except with her children. He knew too +well the thrift of the whole nation and the greed of the lower classes +to jeopardize their good will either by the emission of paper money or +by the increase of tax rates. The panic of 1805 had been precipitated +by the virtual failure of a bankers' syndicate which made advances to +the government on its taxes and on the annual Spanish contribution as +well. In 1807 the war indemnity exacted from Prussia, Poland, and +Westphalia was used for a double purpose, the creation of two funds: +one to furnish an immediate supply of cash on the outbreak of war, the +other to replace the bankers' syndicate by making advances on the +taxes whenever required. There was therefore no increase in the rate +of taxation, work was abundant, and under the forcing process the +wheels were moving in almost every department of trade and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page079" name="page079"></a>(p. 079)</span> +industry. The price of the imperial bonds on the Bourse rose to +ninety-nine, a price never afterward reached in Napoleon's day.</p> + +<p>There was one sharp pinch. Coffee and sugar were no longer luxuries, +but necessities; and through the continental embargo colonial wares +had become, and were likely to remain, very dear and very scarce. Such +substitutes as ingenuity could devise were gradually accepted for the +former; to provide the latter the beet-root industry was fostered by +every means. The Emperor kept a sample of sugar made from beets on his +chimney-piece as an ornament, and occasionally sent gifts of the +precious commodity to his fellow-sovereigns. The story is told that an +official who had been banished from favor recovered his standing +entirely by planting a whole estate with beets. Such traits were +considered evidence of plain, homely common sense by the people, who +enjoyed the sensation that their Emperor shared their feelings and +participated in their daily shifts.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page080" name="page080"></a>(p. 080)</span> CHAPTER VII.</h3> + +<h4>The New Feudalism.<a id="footnotetag16" name="footnotetag16"></a><a href="#footnote16" title="Go to footnote 16"><span class="smaller">[16]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Imperial France — The Aristocracy — The Vassal + Sovereigns — Suppression of the Tribunate — The Right of + Entail — Evasions of Law — The New Nobility — Titles and + Emoluments — Style in the First Empire — Theory of the + University — Its Establishment — The Lycées — Effects of the + System — Regulation of the Court — The Emperor's Moods — Matrimonial + Alliances with Royalty — Gloom at Court — Decline of Talleyrand's + Influence — His New Rôle.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1807-08.</p> + +<p>It was not long before the people of Paris and of all France were in +the best possible humor; they were busy, they were clothed, they were +fed, they were making and saving money. With every hour grew the +feeling that their unity and strength were embodied in the Emperor. +Mme. de Rémusat was tired of his ill-breeding: it shocked her to +observe his coarse familiarity, to see him sit on a favorite's knee, +or twist a bystander's ear till it was afire; to hear him sow +dissension among families by coarse innuendo, and to see him crush +society that he might rule it. But such things would not have shocked +the masses of plain burgher Frenchmen at all. When the querulous lady +opened her troubles to the sympathetic Talleyrand, and bemoaned the +sad fate which kept her at the imperial court to gain a living, his +reply was not consoling. As time passed, the gulf between the ruler +and his venal but soft-spoken <span class="pagenum"><a id="page081" name="page081"></a>(p. 081)</span> minister had been widening, +and the Prince of Benevento had oftentimes to hear taunts and +reproaches in scenes of such violence as were unsuspected even by the +complaining lady in waiting. But nevertheless Talleyrand replied to +her that Napoleon still stood for the unity of France, and it was both +his and her duty to endure and support their monarch.</p> + +<p>No doubt the Emperor was perfectly aware of the situation. But he felt +that what was a new aristocracy in truth, though not yet so in name, +must be appeased as well as the people. He was furious at times with +the venality of his associates. Talleyrand once admitted that he had +taken sixty millions from various German princes. Masséna, Augereau, +Brune, and Junot were not so colossal in their greed, but they were +equally ill-disposed, and very successful in lining their coffers. +With Talleyrand Napoleon never joked; but when he wished to give a +warning to the others he drew a bill for some enormous sum on one or +other of them, and deposited it with a banker. There is no evidence +that such a draft was ever dishonored. On one occasion Masséna +disgorged two millions of francs in this way. Of the ancient nobility +the Emperor once said, with a sneer: "I offered them rank in my army, +they declined the service. I opened my antechambers to them, they +rushed in and filled them." To this sweeping statement there were many +noteworthy exceptions, but on the whole Napoleon never classed the +estate of the French nobles lower than they deserved. Still they had a +power which he recognized, and it was with a sort of grim humor that +he began to distribute honors and the sops of patronage among both the +old and the new aristocracy—a process which only made the latter +independent and failed to win the affections of the former.</p> + +<p>It was in the hope of securing the good will of the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page082" name="page082"></a>(p. 082)</span> ancient +nobility that he took two steps radical in their direct negation of +Revolutionary principles: the destruction of the tribunate and the +restoration of the right of entail. The connection between the two +lies in the tendency of both: merging tribunate and legislature made +it easy to substitute for an elective senate a hereditary house of +lords. Feeling himself sufficiently strong, Napoleon clearly intended +to gratify in others the weak human pride which, as Montesquieu says, +desires the eternity of a name, and thereby to erect a four-square +foundation for the perpetuity of his own dynasty. The brothers Joseph, +Louis, and Jerome were now no longer Bonapartes, but Napoleons, ruling +as Joseph Napoleon, Louis Napoleon, Jerome Napoleon, over their +respective fiefs. Murat, the brother-in-law, was already provided for +in the same way, and there were three reigning princes among the +satellites of the imperial throne. All these could transmit their name +and dominions in the line of hereditary succession. It may be read in +the "Moniteur" of July, 1810, that, in whatever position they were +placed by Napoleon's politics and the interest of his empire, their +first duty was to him, their second to France. "All your other duties, +even those to the people I may intrust to you, are only secondary."</p> + +<p>Ten years earlier General Bonaparte had declared that what the French +wanted was glory and the gratification of their vanity; of liberty, he +said, they knew nothing. The Emperor Napoleon, in one of his spoken +musings, applied the same conception to all continental Europeans, +saying that there were everywhere a few men who knew what freedom was +and longed to secure it; but that the masses needed paternal guidance, +and enjoyed it as long as they were comfortable. The asylum of this +enlightened minority in France was for a time the tribunate; to many +it seemed that, if free <span class="pagenum"><a id="page083" name="page083"></a>(p. 083)</span> government be government by +discussion, in the tribunate alone was any semblance of freedom left; +its name had consequently retained a halo of nobility, and its mere +existence was a comfort to the few who still recalled the ideals of +the Revolution. But, in truth, the body itself had ceased to have any +dignity whatsoever. The system of legislation was briefly this: from +the throne came a message exposing the situation of the country, the +council of state then formulated the measures set forth as necessary, +the tribunate approved them in one or other of its sections, and the +legislature gave the enacting vote. The suppression of the tribunate, +therefore, appeared to the general public like final proceedings in +bankruptcy. Some of the members went into the legislature, some into +official administrative positions, and the right of discussion in +committee behind closed doors was transferred to certain sections of +the legislature. By way of compensation it was "decreed by the +senate," as the formality was called, that no man could thenceforth +sit in the legislature until he had reached the age of forty. Perhaps +Napoleon remembered that his own fiery ambition had made him emperor +before he was thirty-six. The measure was announced to the tribunes as +a mere matter of course, and created no stir at the time. In later +years it was recalled that the English Parliament under the +Plantagenets had never entirely perished, and so was ready for +powerful deeds in more propitious days. But in France's later crisis +the French tribunate could not be revived; with it disappeared forever +the last rallying-point for the scattered remnant still true to the +Revolution.</p> + +<p>The complement of this negative measure was the creation of the right +to transmit together, and for an indefinite time, a title and the +realty on which its dignity reposed. Though the restoration of this +institution <span class="pagenum"><a id="page084" name="page084"></a>(p. 084)</span> was slightly anterior in time to the other as to +its beginnings, yet the final decree was not published until 1808, and +logically it is complementary and subsequent to it. To this day many +men of ancient and honorable name in France have not ceased to bemoan +the destruction of primogeniture by the Revolution and the Code +Napoléon. They are proud to transmit their title untarnished to their +descendants, are ready to make serious sacrifices in its behalf, to +exercise the rigid self-denials of family control for its sake, and to +engrave the motto of "noblesse oblige" on their hearts in order to +sustain it; but they bitterly complain that without the majorat, and +the transmission of outward, visible supports in land and houses to +strengthen it, the empty sound carries little weight. The compulsory +subdivision of estates at the death of the owner enables every scion +to live, if not to thrive, on the home stock. The failure of France in +colonization is largely due to the absence of men from good families +among the colonizers, while England sends her younger sons to the ends +of the earth, there to found new houses and perpetuate the old line +under favorable conditions. Hence, too, the petty dimensions of +aristocratic French life: little fortunes, little ambitions, little +establishments, little families, among that very class in society +which by cultivating the sentiment of honor should leaven the +practical, materialistic temper of the multitude. At the present time, +when the burghers amass in trade far greater fortunes than the +aristocracy possess, when the learned secure greater power by +intellectual vigor, when the demagogues grow mightier by the command +of votes, titles alone carry little weight, and the virtues of honor, +of chivalry, of elegance, can with difficulty display their example.</p> + +<p>No argument can ever restore general confidence in the institution of +primogeniture, but it dies hard, even <span class="pagenum"><a id="page085" name="page085"></a>(p. 085)</span> in England. In the +United States the absolute liberty of testamentary disposition enables +a wealthy father to found a family almost as perfectly as if the right +of entail existed, and the bulk of large fortunes is constantly left +by will to the most capable son, in order that he may keep up the +family name, the family estates, and the family pride. But under the +provisions of the Code Napoléon such a course is impossible. As the +lawgiver did not hesitate to contravene his own legislation in the +case of the Jews, so he again disregarded it in order to consolidate +that aristocracy of which he hoped to make another strong prop to his +throne; for he already had the Church and the people. "The code," he +said, "was made for the welfare of the people; and if that welfare +demands other measures, we must take them." This was not difficult, +because the imperial power had gradually shaped two instruments +wherewith to act: one was the laws sanctioned by the legislature and +pertaining ordinarily to abstract questions of jurisprudence; the +other was the Emperor's personal decrees, which, though discussed by +the council of state, were the expression of the Emperor's will, and +covered in their scope the whole field of authority.</p> + +<p>It was by the latter course that he had intended to create the new +nobility. Ostensibly the measure was to be the last blow of the ax at +the root of feudalism. The new dignities carried no privilege with +them; they were, it was explained, a sort of civic crown to which any +one might aspire, and their creation was therefore in no way +derogatory to the principle of equality. The holders might become too +independent and self-reliant, they might even display a class spirit; +but the Emperor felt himself to be striving upward, these creatures of +his would have to run fast before they could outstrip their master. At +St. Helena the prisoner, recalling with bitterness <span class="pagenum"><a id="page086" name="page086"></a>(p. 086)</span> the +ingratitude of his beneficiaries, declared that he took the +unfortunate step in order to reconcile France with the rest of Europe. +He was by that time aware that though the Legion of Honor was, and +would continue to be, an institution dear to the French heart, this +one was not so, and needed an apology; for his imperial nobility had +never been taken seriously or kindly by the people, who could not draw +the nice distinction between a feudal and an imperial aristocracy. +Even in the first steps of his enterprise he was made to feel the need +of caution, and it was by statute, after all, not by decree, that the +whole matter was finally regulated. So curious is popular fickleness +that an Emperor who could boldly tyrannize in almost any other +direction felt that he dared not take the risk of constituting himself +a fountain of honor, such as legitimate monarchs were.</p> + +<p>The system was for the world outside like some fairy wonder completed +overnight, since the duchies had been ready the year before. The +Italian titles were the most honorable and the most highly endowed. +They were either at once or later given as follows: Soult, Duke of +Dalmatia; Mortier, Duke of Treviso; Savary, Duke of Rovigo; Bessières, +Duke of Istria; Duroc, Duke of Friuli; Victor, Duke of Belluno; +Moncey, Duke of Conegliano; Clarke, Duke of Feltre; Masséna, Duke of +Rivoli; Lannes Duke of Montebello; Marmont, Duke of Ragusa; Oudinot, +Duke of Reggio; Macdonald, Duke of Taranto; Augereau, Duke of +Castiglione; Bernadotte, Prince of Ponte Corvo. In Germany there were +created three similar duchies—Auerstädt for Davout, Elchingen for +Ney, and Dantzic for Lefebvre. Berthier was made Prince of Neufchâtel. +So much for the military officials. In civil life there were +corresponding distinctions: Cambacérès, Duke of Parma; Maret, Duke of +Bassano; Lebrun, Duke of Piacenza; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page087" name="page087"></a>(p. 087)</span> Fouché, Duke of Otranto; +Champagny, Duke of Cadore. The members of the senate, the councilors +of state, the presiding officers of the legislature, and the +archbishops were all created counts. Each one of these titles was, +like the others, richly endowed with land from the public domains in +Poland, Germany, and Italy. But the distinction bestowed on the +soldiers was marked in the difference between the accompanying gifts +to them and those to civilians. The only portion of the great force +which had returned to France was the guard, who were instructed to +keep themselves as exclusive as possible. A most lavish +pension-system, as it was considered even in that age of military +splendor, drew from the army chest five hundred francs a year for +soldiers who had lost a limb; officers received as high as ten +thousand francs, according to the nature of their disabilities. But +the marshals were showered with gold. Berthier had a million; Ney, +Davout, Soult, and Bessières, six hundred thousand each; Masséna, +Augereau, Bernadotte, Mortier, and Victor, four hundred thousand +apiece; and the rest two hundred thousand. But even this was nothing +to what some of them secured later by holding several offices at once. +At one time Berthier had a yearly income of a million three hundred +and fifty-five thousand francs; Davout, of nine hundred and ten +thousand; Ney, of seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand; Masséna, of +six hundred and eighty-three thousand. The ministers were able to +secure salaries averaging about two hundred thousand francs, and +ambassadors had incomes corresponding to their dignity. Caulaincourt, +the ablest of all the latter class, had eight hundred thousand francs +at St. Petersburg wherewith to support the imperial state of France. +It is interesting to note from Napoleon's letters that he had +occasionally to admonish some of these gentlemen to make use of their +titles.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page088" name="page088"></a>(p. 088)</span> The Revolution had chosen to find its artistic expression in +the correct and strict severity of classical forms. Napoleon had from +the beginning of his career been under the spell of Greek and Roman +examples. Thus it happened that the art of the First Empire was what +it is—heavy, conventional, and reminiscent. With the ever-growing +rigidity of censorship, literature sometimes took refuge in +abstractions, or, what is much the same thing, in the contemplation of +events so remote that their discussion could give no offense. +Sometimes authors accepted the curious task of defending the external +forms and results of the Revolution as expressed in the Empire, while +combating every principle from which the movement had sprung. Able men +like Chénier published some of their writings, and locked others in +their desks against a brighter day. In religion the Emperor's +principle was that his subjects should hate the English because they +were heretics, and the Pope because he was a fanatic. The "ideologues" +and "metaphysicians" were anarchists, for the public order was +endangered by their teachings. The newspapers were not only gagged, +but metamorphosed—the "French Citizen" into the "French Courier," the +"Journal of Debates" into the "Journal of the Empire." Their columns +were filled with laudations of the Emperor; their political articles +were virtually composed in the Foreign Office; and there was not a +symptom of anything like the existence of party feeling. A certain +journalist having been allowed to make statements concerning the +luxury at court, the editor of the offending paper was given to +understand that the Emperor would tolerate no such criticism nor any +remarks contrary to his interests.<a id="footnotetag17" name="footnotetag17"></a><a href="#footnote17" title="Go to footnote 17"><span class="smaller">[17]</span></a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page089" name="page089"></a>(p. 089)</span> But the crowning work of this period was the final +realization of the plan for organizing public instruction in what was +designated by the head of the state as the Imperial University. Though +somewhat changed in name and character, it exists to-day virtually as +it came from the maker's hand. Like the institution of the prefecture, +it is a faultless machine of equalization and centralization, molding +the mass of educated Frenchmen into one form, rendering them +responsive and receptive to authoritative ideas from their youth +upward, and passive in their attitude toward instruction. Joseph de +Maistre used to preach that, all social order depending on the +authority of beliefs as well as on the authority of behavior, no man +who denied the supremacy of the Pope would permanently admit the +sovereignty of the state. Napoleon furnished a standing refutation of +this thesis. The whole system of public instruction in France has +under the third republic not merely been secularized, but it has been +made, and for a quarter of a century has remained, substantially +infidel. Twenty-five academic generations of living French citizens, +reckoning each year's output as a generation, have come out from its +laboratory with a minimum of faith; but state supremacy and state +socialism are, in a moderate form, more prevalent among them than +among any similar body of men elsewhere.</p> + +<p>The University of France means literally the totality of all +instruction in the country, organized by successive stages into a +single system, and rigidly controlled from above. The outlines +sketched in the law passed in 1802, and supplemented in 1806, were +carefully followed by Napoleon in his final step, and neither the +theory nor the method need be again discussed. It is significant that +it was an imperial decree, and not a statute, which on March +seventeenth, 1808, created the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page090" name="page090"></a>(p. 090)</span> organism. There was an +endowment of four hundred million francs, and a separate budget, "in +order that instruction might not suffer by passing disturbances in +imperial finances." In order, also, that its doctrine might not feel +the influence of every passing philosophical fashion, the corporation +was subordinate to, but separate from, the ministry, with a grand +master, chancellor, and treasurer of its own, and thirty members, of +whom ten were appointed for life by the Emperor, the rest being +annually designated by the grand master. They made rules for the +discipline, revised the textbooks, and chose the instructors of all +the institutions of learning in all France, except some of the great +ecclesiastical seminaries and a few of the technical schools. At the +outset it was ordered that all the masters, censors, and teachers in +the great intermediate schools or lyceums should be celibates! The +professors might marry, but in that case they could not live in the +precincts of what was virtually a military barrack.</p> + +<p>Liberal culture, so far as given, was provided in the lyceums, and +they really form the heart of the university. Under the Empire their +instruction was largely in mathematics, with a sprinkling of Latin. It +is now greatly broadened and elevated. The pupils of the primary +schools felt a quasi-dependence on the Emperor; those of the lyceums +were the very children of patronage, for the cheapness of their +education, combined with their semi-military uniforms and habits, +impressed at every turn on them and their families the immanence of +the Empire. They entered by government examinations; all their letters +passed through the head master's hands; they were put under a +threefold system of espionage culminating in the grand master; the one +hundred and fifty scholarships and bourses in each were paid by the +state; the punishments were, like those of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page091" name="page091"></a>(p. 091)</span> soldiers, arrest +and imprisonment. With the acquisition of military habits the young +<i>lycéen</i> could look forward to military promotion, for two hundred and +fifty of the most select were sent every year to the military schools, +where they lived at the Emperor's expense, expecting professional +advancement by the Emperor's patronage. Others of less merit were +detached for the civil service, and in that also their careers were at +the imperial mercy. They were daily and hourly reminded of Napoleon's +greatness, for twenty-four hundred foreigners from the vassal states +of the Empire were scattered among these institutions, where they were +turned into Frenchmen and docile subjects at the Emperor's expense, +while being virtually held as hostages for the good behavior of their +parents. These powerful engines did not work in vain. During the +comparatively short existence of the Empire their product assumed +enormous proportions, and largely modified the temper of society +throughout France. The youth educated by priests or tutors were found +unable to keep pace with their favored contemporaries from the +government schools, and from the first no prophet was needed to +foretell the destiny of private institutions and ecclesiastical +seminaries. Little by little they made way for or became annexed to +the lyceums which one after another were founded wherever needed. The +charges of the latter were, and are, very low; and thrifty fathers +appreciate the fact. The state is at enormous cost to support them; +but public sentiment, preferring indirect to direct taxation, approves +of the expenditure, while crafty statesmen, whether royalist, +imperialist, or republican, employ them to create citizens of the kind +in power at the time.</p> + +<p>Throughout the late summer and autumn of 1807 the imperial court was +more stately than ever before. The old nobility became assiduous in +their attendance, and, as <span class="pagenum"><a id="page092" name="page092"></a>(p. 092)</span> one of the Empress's ladies in +waiting is said to have remarked they "received good company." On his +return Napoleon had found Josephine's extravagance to be as unbounded +as ever; but he could not well complain, because, although for the +most part frugal himself, he had latterly encouraged lavishness in his +family. Still, it was not agreeable to have dressmakers' bills flung +into his carriage when driving in state with his consort, and on one +occasion he sent an unprincipled but clever milliner to the prison of +Bicêtre for having disobeyed his orders in furnishing her wares to the +Empress at exorbitant prices. The person was so indispensable to the +court ladies, however, that they crowded her cell, and she was soon +released. At St. Cloud, Malmaison, the Tuileries, and Fontainebleau +the social vices of courts began to appear; but they were sternly +repressed, especially high play. By way of contrast, the city of Paris +was at that very moment debauched by a profusion of gambling-hells and +houses of prostitution, all licensed at an enormous figure by Fouché +and producing great revenues for the secret police. The gorgeous state +uniforms of the marshals, the rich and elegant costumes of the ladies, +the bespangled and begilt coats of the household, dancing, +theatricals, concerts, and excursions—all these elements should have +combined to create brilliancy and gaiety in the imperial circle, but +they did not.</p> + +<p>There was something seriously amiss with the central figure. He was +often sullen and morose, often violent and even hysterical. To calm +his nervous agitation the court physician ordered warm baths, which he +spent hours in taking. Then again he was irregular in his habits, +being often somnolent during the daytime, but as frequently breaking +his rest at midnight to set the pens of his secretaries scampering to +keep pace with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page093" name="page093"></a>(p. 093)</span> the flow of his speech. With old friends he +was coarse and severe: even the brutal Vandamme confessed that he +trembled before that "devil of a man," while Lannes was the only human +being who still dared to use the familiar "thou" in addressing his old +comrade. To the face of his generals the Emperor was merely cold: +behind their backs he sneered—saying, for instance, of Davout that he +might give him never so much renown, he would not be able to carry it; +of Ney that he was disposed to ingratitude and turbulence; of +Bessières, Oudinot, and Victor that they were mere mediocrities. Among +all these dazzling stars he himself moved in simple uniform and in a +cocked hat ornamented with his favorite cheap little cockade. It was a +well-calculated vanity, for with increasing corpulence plainness of +dress called less attention to his waddling gait and growing +awkwardness of gesture.</p> + +<p>The summer of 1807 saw the social triumph of the Bonaparte family, the +sometime Jacobins, but now emperor and kings. Jerome Napoleon was +married on August twenty-second to the Princess Catherine of +Würtemberg. The Emperor had already spoken at Tilsit with the Czar +about unions for himself and family suitable to their rank, but the +hint of an alliance with the Romanoffs was coldly received. In the +Emperor's opinion this, however, was a really splendid match. The +Rhine princes and subsidiary monarchs hastened to Paris, and one of +them showed his want of perspicacity by marked attentions to +Josephine, which he hoped would secure her husband's favor. When men +of such lofty and undisputed lineage were joining what was apparently +an irresistible movement, the recusant nobility of France itself could +not well stand aloof any longer. It amused and interested the Emperor +to see them obey Fouché's hint, and throng to be introduced <span class="pagenum"><a id="page094" name="page094"></a>(p. 094)</span> +in the correct way to the new and undisputed sovereign, not merely of +France, but of western Europe.</p> + +<p>Moreover, they were no longer impertinent. They remembered the fate +meted out to Mme. de Staël for her solemn innuendos, and did not +forget that the last item in the indictment on which Mme. de Chevreuse +had been banished was a snippish remark to Napoleon's face. Astonished +at the splendor of her diamonds, he had in his own court clumsily +asked if they were all real. "Indeed, sire, I do not know," she +replied; "but they are good enough to wear here." In consequence, +therefore, of this new and now well-intentioned element the court +swelled in numbers and gained in grace, but not in joyousness. The +Empress was already foreboding her fate; there was the stiffness of +inaptitude about everything, even the amusement, and the languid +weariness of the ladies was an unforgiven imperial sin. The quick wit +of the Emperor remarked this annoying fact, and demanded counsel of +Talleyrand. The Prince of Benevento had by this time resigned his +position as minister, and the relations between himself and the +Emperor were strained, but he was not rebuked when he ventured on the +old license of speech. "It is because pleasure will not move at the +drum-tap," was his answer, "and you look as if you would command every +one just as you do the army: 'Ladies and gentlemen, forward march!'"</p> + +<p>Talleyrand's numberless intrigues, his venality and self-seeking, his +cynicism and contemptuous airs, had finally destroyed his +preponderance with Napoleon, although he still retained much +influence. No one was better aware of the fact than he was. Thus far +he had reckoned himself an indispensable factor in the administration +of the Empire; now he saw that he was so no longer, that his time had +come.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page095" name="page095"></a>(p. 095)</span> He had a sterile mind, and was destitute of principle. +Constructive politics were beyond his powers, and he was hopelessly +ignorant of social movements. The real Europe of his time was to him a +closed book; and while Napoleon was well served in every other +function of state, because he himself could assist and supervise, he +was wretchedly betrayed in the matter of permanent gains by diplomacy, +in which he was personally a blunderer and a tyro. Talleyrand was a +distinguished and typical aristocrat of the old French school, +elegant, adroit, smooth-spoken, and sharp. He was an unequaled +courtier, influential by his moderation in word, gesture, and +expression, but a feeble adviser, and utterly incapable of broad +views. His character, being unequal to his skill, was not strong +enough either to curb or guide a headstrong master, for his intellect +was neither productive nor solid. No treaty ever made by him was +lasting, and he must have known that even the peace of Tilsit would +begin to crumble almost before the papers were signed. The balance of +Europe was disturbed but temporarily by that agreement, not +permanently, as had been intended; the attempted seclusion of Prussia +by Napoleon destroyed her old antagonism to other German powers, and +marked the beginning of amalgamation with all her sister states for +the reconstruction of an avenging German nationality.</p> + +<p>Something may be forgiven to an adventurer in the storms of +revolution, but Talleyrand trimmed his sails to every wind, outrode +every storm, and made gains in every port. He was a trusted official +of the Republic, the Consulate, the Empire, and the restored monarchy. +Wise in his day and generation, he had long before made ready to +withdraw, if necessary, from active life, by the accumulation of an +enormous fortune, heaped up by means which scandalized even imperial +France. He had <span class="pagenum"><a id="page096" name="page096"></a>(p. 096)</span> been embittered at the close of the Consulate +by Napoleon's determination that his ministers should not be his +highest dignitaries, his arch-officers. The title of "prince," with +two hundred thousand francs a year, was a poor consolation when men +like Lebrun and Cambacérès had the precedence as arch-treasurer and +arch-chancellor, while—most unendurable of all—they drew salaries of +three hundred and fifty thousand francs. Berthier, the Prince of +Neufchâtel, had recently been made vice-constable to represent Louis +Bonaparte, who, though still constable, had left Paris to become Louis +Napoleon, King of Holland. This was Talleyrand's opportunity to resign +from the ministry on his own initiative. He demanded a dignity for +himself similar to that accorded to Berthier. The Emperor told him +that, accustomed to power as he had become, he would be unhappy in a +station which precluded his remaining in the cabinet. But the minister +knew his rôle in the little comedy, and, persisting, was on August +ninth made vice-grand elector, while Champagny, an excellent and +laborious official, took his seat at the council-board as minister of +external relations. Talleyrand's withdrawal had not the slightest +influence on the Emperor's foreign policy; in fact, the quidnuncs at +Fontainebleau declared that he was seen limping into Napoleon's office +almost every evening.<a id="footnotetag18" name="footnotetag18"></a><a href="#footnote18" title="Go to footnote 18"><span class="smaller">[18]</span></a> But he was so well known in every court, his +circle of personal acquaintances was so large, so timorous, and so +reverential, that superstitious men believed his retirement augured +the turn of Napoleon's fortunes.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page097" name="page097"></a>(p. 097)</span> CHAPTER VIII.</h3> + +<h4>The Empires of Land and Ocean.<a id="footnotetag19" name="footnotetag19"></a><a href="#footnote19" title="Go to footnote 19"><span class="smaller">[19]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Diplomacy at St. Petersburg — Internal Politics of + Russia — Alexander's Perplexities — War between Great Britain and + Russia — New Orders in Council — The Milan Decree — Position of the + United States — The Regeneration of Prussia — Napoleon's Repressive + Measures — Austria's New Army — Diplomatic Tension between Russia + and France — Designs of Napoleon as to Egypt — He Temporizes with + Alexander — Caulaincourt and Tolstoi — The Czar's + Demands — Napoleon's Visit to Italy — Limitations of his + Ambition — Visions of Oriental Empire — Control of the + Mediterranean — His Proposition to Russia — His Complete Program.</p> + + +<p>The diplomatic intrigues at St. Petersburg were intensely amusing +after the peace of Tilsit. Alexander coquetted with the English +agents, and concealed his plans from the conservative Russians. His +lips were sealed about what had occurred at the meeting with Napoleon, +and the charge has been disproved that some of his suite blabbed +enough to the British diplomats to enable them to divine the rest. +Canning's acuteness and his conviction that Napoleon and Alexander had +reached an understanding hostile to England sufficiently account for +the bombardment of Copenhagen, and place the responsibility for it on +his shoulders. But in the interval before that event the Czar cajoled +the English embassy until they felt assured of a triumph, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page098" name="page098"></a>(p. 098)</span> +while almost simultaneously he assured Lesseps, the French +consul-general, how precious Napoleon's society had been to him, and +declared that if England did not yield the two allies would compel +her. To the formal introductory communications of Russia concerning +peace, Canning replied by a demand for the secret articles of Tilsit, +and despatched the fleet to the Baltic. The successful stroke made in +September at Copenhagen filled the Czar with solicitude; for, like his +ally, he had hoped to gain time, and such promptness in imitating +Napoleon's contempt for neutral rights dismayed him. It looked as +though this were the first event in a maritime war which would end by +destroying the shipyards at Cronstadt, or perhaps even St. Petersburg +itself. But instead of further aggression came a new mission from the +London cabinet asking for Alexander's good offices in appeasing +Denmark, and offering every indemnity to that power except the +restoration of the fleet. Great Britain, commanding the Baltic, could +be magnanimous.</p> + +<a id="img007" name="img007"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img007.jpg" width="400" height="479" alt="" title=""> +<p class="small"><span class="floatleft">From the collection of W. C. Crane.</span> +<span class="floatright">Engraved by Langier.</span></p> +<p class="center smcap clear">QUEEN HORTENSE.</p> +<p class="small center">Painted by Girodet.</p> +</div> + +<p>This conjunction of affairs destroyed Alexander's self-control. He had +played the friend of England to no advantage, and England now asked +for new and impossible proofs of his friendship. He could neither +disclose to her the secret articles nor mediate in her behalf with a +country which had already joined his own system. On the other hand, +Savary, the French ambassador, and Lesseps, the French consul-general, +were daily reminding him of his engagements to Napoleon. There was +little need, for the alliance meant to him the attainment of his most +cherished ambitions: the acquisition of Finland to the westward, and +of the great Danube principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia to the +south. In all contingencies he had to reckon with the wealthy Russian +proprietors, whose prosperity demanded the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page099" name="page099"></a>(p. 099)</span> easy export of +their enormous produce in timber and grain by the same British ships +which supplied them with essential articles that were not manufactured +in Russia. To them the continental blockade was a horror, and many in +the army declared they would not shed their blood to undermine the +national prosperity.</p> + +<p>This tension could not last. The English secretly introduced into +Russia a pamphlet charging that the peace of Tilsit had separated the +Czar from both his people and his troops. Savary, mindful of his old +detective arts, discovered its origin and adroitly laid the facts +before Alexander, who burst into angry abuse of the "libel," and +bemoaned the lack of able men to support him both in a wise foreign +policy and in such internal reforms as the abolition of serfdom, which +he was determined to accomplish. Moreover, Napoleon's conduct was such +as to produce serious uneasiness. So far from evacuating Prussia, +French troops still occupied all her harbor towns, and menaced the +Russian frontier as if their commander were a foe and not a friend. +The agreement made with Kalkreuth for the gradual withdrawal of the +French army from Prussia was held to be null, for the Prussians could +not raise the indemnity of a hundred and fifty million francs computed +as the direct cost of the war. To this was added the fact that no move +was made toward the dismemberment of Turkey. The Emperor of the French +had seized and fortified Corfu, but in a preliminary armistice between +Russia and Turkey, due to his intermediation, not a word was said +about the Danubian principalities; although the Russian troops were +still in Wallachia, it was clear that French influence was daily +growing stronger at Constantinople, and might grow strong enough to +thwart the Czar's plans entirely.</p> + +<p>Such were the disquieting considerations which finally <span class="pagenum"><a id="page100" name="page100"></a>(p. 100)</span> +brought to a climax the relations of Russia with England. On October +twenty-sixth, Lord Leveson-Gower, the English ambassador, received a +note from Count Rumianzoff to the effect that twice Russia had taken +up arms for England's advantage, and had in vain solicited even such +coöperation as would seem to have been in Great Britain's own +interest. She had not even asked, said the writer, for reinforcements, +but merely for a diversion, and had been chagrined to see that her +ally, so far from maintaining the Czar's cause, had instead, like a +cold observer of the bloody theater where war had been kindled at her +behest, despatched expeditions on her own behalf to seize Egypt and to +attack Buenos Ayres. After all this the Czar had still offered his +mediation, but in vain: Great Britain had replied by an act of +unheard-of violence, despoiling an ancient and dignified monarchy. +Could the Czar apologize for such a deed? It was insulting to expect +it. After reciting these grievances and asserting the principles of +the armed neutrality, the paper announced a rupture of all diplomatic +relations until reparation should be made to Denmark.</p> + +<p>War was formally declared by Russia on November seventh, and England +retorted by orders in council, issued on the eighteenth and +twenty-sixth of the same month, which declared that every continental +port closed to her flag was thereafter in a state of blockade. The +neutral states were each and all notified that she would exercise the +right of search to the fullest extent; that all neutral ships must put +into English harbors before proceeding to their destination, and pay a +duty in case of reëxportation of their cargoes. An exception to this +latter regulation was made in the case of the United States, they +being graciously permitted to have direct commercial intercourse with +Sweden, but with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page101" name="page101"></a>(p. 101)</span> Sweden only. This, of course, meant that +neutral states must either carry on England's trade under their own +flags or abandon their commerce altogether.</p> + +<p>This measure was in utter contempt of international law, even as then +understood, and was a high-handed outrage against neutral powers, in +particular against the United States. It was treating the ocean +exactly as Napoleon had treated the lands of Europe. But it was a +powerful weapon, for if successfully enforced it would destroy +Napoleon's Continental System entirely. Accordingly, in pursuance of +his policy that fire must be fought with fire, the Emperor retorted +with equal ruthlessness, fulminating the terrible Milan Decree of +December seventeenth, 1807. In it he declared that any vessel which +obeyed the orders of the English admiralty or suffered itself to be +searched was and would be regarded as an English ship. It was +essential, therefore, that any nation desiring exemption from the +enactments of the Berlin and Milan decrees on the one hand and of the +English orders in council on the other must make itself respected by +force of arms. The Americans must either accept the humiliating terms +of England or enter the French system and seek in a maritime war to +capture the continental markets for themselves.</p> + +<p>Napoleon, as has already been narrated, intended to force them into +the latter course immediately, but he was not well informed concerning +American affairs. Jefferson was at that time in his second term as +President of the United States. The Democratic party, of which he was +the leader, was vastly more concerned with agricultural than with +commercial interests. They were afraid to increase the public debt, +cared little for the prosperity of New England commerce, and, seeking +to avoid the dilemma arranged for them by England and France, passed +the notorious embargo act forbidding <span class="pagenum"><a id="page102" name="page102"></a>(p. 102)</span> all foreign commerce +whatsoever. American ships must avoid foreign waters, which, like the +land, had become the arena of a bloody duel in which the United States +were not interested—so, at least, the Democrats fondly believed. +Exports to England fell in a single year from forty-nine to nine +millions of dollars. In other words, the embargo, though causing great +distress, could not be perfectly enforced, since the Eastern merchants +continued their humiliating submission to England for the sake of +their lucrative speculations.</p> + +<p>At the same time the farmers were suddenly awakened to the fact that +in the end they suffered as much under the prohibition as the traders. +In the resulting agitations Jefferson closed his public career without +éclat. Madison wisely secured a modification of the embargo by the +Non-intervention Act, which opened all foreign commerce except that +with England and France. But the merchants of New England were +rebellious and dissatisfied even with this. The Federalists wanted a +navy and a place in the European system; in other words, a fair share +in the world's carrying-trade for the seafarers of the Atlantic coast. +Matters drifted on in general discontent and mutual recrimination +until 1810. Napoleon in that year shrewdly announced that he had +abandoned his policy, but for all that he actually continued to +enforce it. This empty pretense of friendship embroiled the United +States still further with England, and in the end led to a second war +for independence.</p> + +<p>The Czar had no sooner taken the decisive step of finally declaring +war on England than the Napoleonic policy began further to unfold. +Prussia was at once compelled to follow her protector's example, and +before the ensuing season all her harbors were fortified and closed. +In spite of the French occupation, a national reform movement had +begun in this land. In Königsberg <span class="pagenum"><a id="page103" name="page103"></a>(p. 103)</span> was formed the League of +Virtue, which focused the new morality and patriotism of the masses. +The pens of Fichte, Schleiermacher, and other great writers continued +to build up public spirit. Stein accepted office, stipulating that the +privy council should be abolished, and then freed the serfs. Among +other important reforms he destroyed the old distinction between land +tenures, and made transfers simple. Self-government was granted to the +cities. The schools were entirely reconstructed under the direction of +William von Humboldt, and the University of Berlin was founded as a +nursery for the new national spirit.</p> + +<p>Under these influences the monarchy of Frederick the Great ceased to +exist; the authority of the "yunker" class which supported it and had +rashly brought on the war with France was temporarily eclipsed by a +wholesome expression of national vigor, and the enlightened liberalism +of Prussia became the stimulus for a similar movement in all Germany. +As to the army, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst entered with zeal upon the +task of reorganization, and the latter was a very genius of reform. +Napoleon at length showed his true colors, forbade his victim to +maintain more than forty-two thousand troops, and declared to the face +of Frederick William's brother in Paris that the occupation of the +fortresses had passed from the narrow domain of particular politics +into the great field of general policy. He meant, of course, that he +was thereby virtually holding in check not merely Prussia, but Russia +and Austria as well. The limitation set by him to the active military +force of the captive state was easily evaded by the subterfuge of +substituting new recruits for those who had completed their training +in the ranks; but the French occupation seemed to be virtually +permanent.</p> + +<p>The military reorganization of Austria was already <span class="pagenum"><a id="page104" name="page104"></a>(p. 104)</span> complete, +and Metternich wrote on July twenty-sixth, 1807, to Stadion, the +minister of state, that as the peace of Tilsit had sown broadcast the +germs of its own destruction, the wisdom of his correspondent's +administration would one day bring Austria to the point where three +hundred thousand men united under one will and directed to one goal +would play the first rôle in Europe, "in a moment of universal +anarchy, at one of those epochs which always follow great usurpations, +and wipe out the traces of the conquerors; an epoch of which no one +can foretell the date, but which nothing postpones except the life of +a single man, and which all the genius of that man can so much the +less postpone as he has not yet taken the first step to preclude its +certain results." This reference to Napoleon's childlessness and the +dependence of his system on his single life is clear enough. The +Emperor of the French was himself thoroughly aware of the influence +exerted by such a consideration upon the course of affairs, and in +consequence his dealing with Francis was somewhat less peremptory than +that with Frederick William. Nevertheless, the results were +exceedingly humiliating to Austria's pride. In a treaty concluded at +Fontainebleau on October tenth, 1807, with reference to the Italian +frontier, her dominions were shorn to the quick. At Napoleon's +suggestion, Count Starhemberg, her ambassador in London, intimated +that England, in the interest of peace, ought to restore the Danish +fleet and make terms with France. On the prompt refusal of Great +Britain to listen, the envoy withdrew from London; but he did not +leave the English cabinet in doubt as to the cause. He knew and +broadly hinted that though his master dared not trifle with a +Franco-Russian alliance, his heart was with the English cause. To all +outward appearance, therefore, Austria was quite as <span class="pagenum"><a id="page105" name="page105"></a>(p. 105)</span> +subservient as Prussia to the mighty coalition of France and Russia.</p> + +<p>Almost immediately after the rupture with England, Alexander had the +mortification of seeing his worst fears realized. Napoleon had opened +to him at Tilsit a dazzling vista of territorial aggrandizement. +Slowly but surely the desired effect was produced. Aware of all the +dangers he ran, the Czar nevertheless sacrificed every other +consideration, even that of his people's material comfort, in order to +demonstrate his good faith. By declaring war he likewise paid in +advance. But at the earliest possible moment, on November seventh, his +ambassador to France, sent for the purpose, demanded the return—to +wit, the two principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. Simultaneously +and in another quarter this same demand was made emphatic. Immediately +after the meeting at Tilsit, Guilleminot, a French general, had been +sent as mediator between Russia and Turkey to the seat of war on the +Danube. An armistice was concluded under his direction at Slobozia, in +which were two or three compensatory clauses promising that Russia +would make restitution to Turkey of certain vessels and munitions of +war which had been captured. The Czar professed to take great umbrage +at these stipulations. Shortly afterward he rejected the whole paper, +and the Russian troops remained in Wallachia. This conduct was +intended to indicate his obstinate determination to have the vague +promises of Napoleon defined, and then to secure their performance.</p> + +<p>The Emperor of the French had been kept well informed by Savary, and +knew that the Tilsit alliance, being distasteful to the Russian +people, hung on the personal good will of their sovereign. He would +have been glad to put Alexander off with some slight rectification of +the border-line between Russia and Turkey <span class="pagenum"><a id="page106" name="page106"></a>(p. 106)</span> and with further +indefinite promises, but he dared not. Accordingly he devised the plea +that the aggrandizement of the Eastern and Western empires must keep +equal pace, not in the West, for that was his by right, but in those +debatable lands wherewith Russia hoped to secure a permanent seat in +the councils of Europe. He was confirmed in his desire to postpone the +partition of Turkey by finding that Mustapha, the Sultan who had +overthrown Selim in defiance of France, was now ready in turn to make +friends with her and perform her behests. The hope of getting Egypt +was again awakened, but the times were not ripe and delay must be +secured.</p> + +<p>In addition to these considerations there was that of immediate +safety. The last two campaigns had seen Napoleon a victor, once over +Austria and Russia combined, again over Prussia and Russia combined; +but in each there had been moments when the coalition of the three +would have overwhelmed him. For this reason he would gladly have +declared at Tilsit that the house of Hohenzollern had ceased to reign, +in order thereby to preclude any future danger from a triple alliance. +This idea he had abandoned for the time in order to gratify Alexander. +His ally secure, he now returned or pretended to return to it. Prussia +was regaining her strength too rapidly; her embittered hostility was +an ever-increasing menace. On the plea that she could never pay the +promised indemnity, and was therefore to be treated as a bankrupt, +Napoleon declared at last that Russia could have the Danube provinces +if France could take Silesia for the grand duchy of Warsaw. "Prussia," +ran Napoleon's despatch on this subject—"Prussia would have but two +millions of inhabitants; but would not that be enough for the welfare +of the royal family, and is it not in their interest to place her +without delay and with perfect resignation among the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page107" name="page107"></a>(p. 107)</span> +inferior powers, since all their efforts to restore the position she +has lost merely serve to distress their subjects and cherish idle +regrets?" "What the Emperor would prefer," said this same memorandum, +"is that the Turks should remain in peaceable possession of Wallachia +and Moldavia; still he would hand over these provinces to the Czar in +return for a just compensation from Prussian lands; and finally, +though far from wishing a complete partition of Turkey, he desires you +not to condemn utterly the plan, but rather to dwell on the motives +for postponing it. This ancient project of Russian ambition is a tie +which can bind Russia to France."</p> + +<p>For the purposes of this difficult negotiation Napoleon had chosen +Caulaincourt, his devoted servant and most adroit diplomat. Having +been concerned in the expeditions to Strasburg and Ettenheim which +captured Enghien, the ambassador had been deeply, though unjustly, +involved in the disrepute of the execution, and that fact was a tie +which bound him to his master. The two seemed thoroughly to understand +each other. Alexander had chosen an envoy who was the very antipodes +of the adroit and elegant Caulaincourt. Count Tolstoi was a bluff +soldier, selected in the belief that he would be uninfluenced by the +intrigues of Paris society, and could secure the utmost return for the +agreement of Tilsit by direct negotiation with the Emperor himself, as +one old soldier talking with another. This officer was instructed to +lay great stress on the liberation of Prussia, but to remember that +the object of his mission was to cement harmony and confidence. On the +journey to Paris he paused at Memel to pay his respects to Frederick +William and his Queen. He found them, considering their station, +actually in want, dependent on the Czar's gifts of clothes and other +necessaries for the little personal comfort they enjoyed. This made a +deep <span class="pagenum"><a id="page108" name="page108"></a>(p. 108)</span> impression on Tolstoi's heart, and though received at +Paris with such distinction as had never been accorded to any other +ambassador, he was cold and distant with both the Emperor and the +court. At last there was positive disagreement between him and the +great personages of the capital; there was even a rumor that Ney and +he would fight a duel. The offensive remarks which led to such tension +were due to a statement by Tolstoi that Russia had been beaten by +accident, that Russian soldiers were invincible, and might one day +take their revenge.</p> + +<p>Moreover, the ambassador could not even get on with Napoleon. Both he +and his staff avoided the splendors of Fontainebleau, preferring to +frequent the drawing-rooms of a notorious actress whose name had often +been linked with that of the Emperor. Under such circumstances +diplomacy gathered but little fruit. Napoleon offered both the +Danubian provinces for Silesia, or else the evacuation of Prussia +proper for that of Wallachia; he even mentioned the magic word +"Constantinople" as part of Russia's share in an eventual partition of +the whole Turkish empire. Tolstoi wrote to St. Petersburg that France +was postponing the evacuation of Prussia for selfish purposes, meaning +to dismember her; and from that starting-point depicted the horrors of +a Napoleonic Europe. Such opinions dismayed Alexander, and although he +received Caulaincourt with distinction equal to that which had been +accorded to Tolstoi, he firmly refused the bargain offered by him. He +would not consent to a further dismemberment of Prussia, partly for +sentimental reasons, chiefly because he could not endure the +strengthening of the grand duchy of Warsaw, the new political organism +which suggested the restoration of Poland. As to the principalities, +these he would have. Russian society had for the moment <span class="pagenum"><a id="page109" name="page109"></a>(p. 109)</span> +repressed its hostility to the Czar and his treaty of Tilsit, and was +quietly waiting to see what would be the substantial results. No gain +less than the acquisition of Wallachia and Moldavia would reinstate +Alexander in their good will or make the French alliance endurable. +This was of course a serious crisis; but Caulaincourt, nothing +dismayed, set himself, by the exercise of all those social arts of +which he had such a mastery, to win the aristocratic circles of St. +Petersburg.</p> + +<p>In the month of December, 1807, Napoleon was on a royal progress +through his kingdom of Italy, and the news of the diplomatic crisis in +Russia reached him at Venice, which had become his as a result of +Austerlitz and by the treaty of Presburg. Although he had gone thither +for a serious consultation with Joseph, its fascinations were already +weaving curious plans in the Emperor's mind. His rapid journey through +Lombardy and a short visit to Milan, whence he fulminated his reply to +the English admiralty, had convinced him of the firm sovereignty he +exercised throughout these splendid realms. In the few days of his +presence he had further strengthened his power by many generous and +beneficent decrees. It was with a sense of security that he came to +Venice; at once he yielded to her spell, realizing that at last his +control of the Adriatic was complete, inasmuch as now he held both +shores and commanded the entrance by the possession of Corfu. Just +beyond was the brilliant East, ripe for conquest. Could he or should +he lose the opportunity to use such a superb base of operations, win +the gratitude of all Venetia by restoring the ancient glories of her +capital, and thereby lay his hand at last on the bauble which had once +before so dazzled him? Besides, Great Britain, his hated rival, +scorning the terms he had offered, disdaining the continental +blockade, anchored in her strength by the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page110" name="page110"></a>(p. 110)</span> control of Western +seas, was vulnerable in India, and there alone. These considerations +returned with overpowering allurement to his imagination, and four +millions of francs were appropriated to improve the harbor and restore +somewhat the splendors of Venice.</p> + +<p>New Year's day found the Emperor again at the Tuileries, in time to +receive a new courier from Russia with still more vigorous +representations of Alexander's desires. The idea of a general +partition of Turkish lands grew stronger, and in an interview with +Metternich, Napoleon hinted that Austria should have a share. +Instructions were sent to Caulaincourt that he should hold out hopes +in order to gain time and to learn whether it was definitely +impossible that matters should remain as the treaty of Tilsit, taken +literally, had arranged them. This procrastinating attitude of mind +had a twofold cause. One appears to have been a gradual realization in +Napoleon's consciousness that dreams and schemes must materialize, +that in the mystery of a life like his one step inevitably leads to +another, that his career must encircle the vast globe, while he +himself was but mortal, finite, and already verging to the utmost +limit of his powers. A year before he had written to Josephine that he +was of all men the most enslaved; "my master has no bowels, and that +master is the nature of things." The other cause was the fearless and +warlike attitude taken in Great Britain by both crown and Parliament +and announced with threats of eternal war at the opening of the +legislative session of 1807. It appears probable, likewise, that +whatever answer should be given by Alexander to his pregnant question, +he felt his only safety now to be in the alliance with the Czar.</p> + +<p>Time, time, time—that was the prime necessity; there were only +twenty-four hours in the day, and only a certain quantity of nerve +force in his own system. Before <span class="pagenum"><a id="page111" name="page111"></a>(p. 111)</span> the partition of Turkey, if +Alexander's reply should make it inevitable, two weighty matters must +be settled: first, the road to an Oriental empire must be secured; and +second, the already existing Western empire of Europe must be rounded +out by the "regulation" of Spanish affairs—the appropriation, if it +should seem best, of the whole Iberian peninsula. Any tyro in +geography could see by a glance at the map that as navigation was in +those days—that is, by the propulsion of fickle winds amid the partly +known currents of ocean and sea—the command of Gibraltar and Malta +meant the control of the Levant, and the British held both places. +With Spain in French hands, Gibraltar eventually might be taken, but +the case of Malta was far different. In the possession of a seafaring +nation like the English the island was impregnable. But was this in +reality the only outlet for the French empire to the East? From France +proper, yes; but from Italy, by the Adriatic, there was an admirable +alternative, if not, indeed, the only true line of trade.</p> + +<p>Since the first awakening of his ambition, Napoleon had dreamed of +supremacy in the Mediterranean, and every successive treaty made with +Northern powers had looked to some strengthening of French influence +on that sea. Now at last he had Corfu, and the English, straitened for +troops, were withdrawing the forces which occupied Sicily to send them +into Portugal. The squadrons from Brest, Lorient, and Rochefort were +at once ordered to unite in the Mediterranean. This was the moment to +seize Sicily, and with that island added to Corfu, France would +control the best road into Egypt. But the hostile fate which seemed to +attend all Napoleon's undertakings by sea again checkmated him. +English cruisers were found hovering about Corfu, and the landing in +Sicily was temporarily abandoned in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page112" name="page112"></a>(p. 112)</span> order to sweep the +English from the waters of the Ionian Isles. In the event of success, +the invasion of Turkey, the seizure of Egypt, and the gratification of +Alexander would be easy. More remotely, the deadly blow at England +could be struck in Asia. What a conception! What a debauch of the +imagination!</p> + +<p>But there was one specter which, though laid for intervals, would not +entirely down, and returned with stolid persistency: the existence of +the Western empire hung on the thread of a single life; the very +crowns of France and Italy had no heir. The situation was much +discussed in court circles, sometimes even among the people, and was +becoming acute. In order to solve the problem peace was essential, and +not a remote, but an immediate one, if possible. The Russian +ambassador, returning from London, had reported on his journey through +France that the English were not so envenomed as they seemed. It was +only a straw, yet it was talked of. At once Napoleon seized it, and +announced that his one aim, his most ardently desired goal, +was—peace.</p> + +<p>It was now the close of January; Tolstoi was invited to join a +hunting-party, and in the heart of the forest Napoleon found means to +be alone with him. After a long, vague, contradictory, but dramatic +conversation setting forth the same three alternatives,—peace between +Russia and Turkey without the principalities, or the principalities in +exchange for Silesia, or the ultimate but not immediate partition of +Turkey,—the great actor suddenly paused as if in an ecstasy of +sincerity, and snatching his hat off his head with both hands, flung +it on the ground as he said: "Hark you, M. Tolstoi; it is not the +Emperor of the French, but an old general of division that is now +talking to another. May I be thought the vilest of men if I do not +scrupulously <span class="pagenum"><a id="page113" name="page113"></a>(p. 113)</span> fulfil the contract I made at Tilsit, and if I +do not evacuate both Prussia and the duchy of Warsaw as soon as you +have withdrawn your troops from Moldavia and Wallachia! I am neither a +fool nor a child, not to know what I stipulate, and what I stipulate I +always fulfil." Leaving this objurgation time to work its effect, the +Emperor of the French a few days later—on February second—wrote with +his own hand to the Emperor of all the Russias. It was an innocent and +kindly epistle, advising his friend to strengthen his army, and +promising all aid possible in case he should feel that the border-line +of Sweden was too near St. Petersburg. An army of fifty thousand men, +Russian, French, perhaps a "little Austrian," marching into Asia by +way of Constantinople, would not reach the Euphrates before England +would begin to tremble. "I am strong in Dalmatia, you on the Danube. +One month after an agreement we could be on the Bosporus. But our +mutual interests require to be combined and equalized in a personal +conference. Tolstoi is not built on the proportions of Tilsit. We +could have everything ready, you and I, or perhaps Caulaincourt and +Rumianzoff, before March fifteenth, and by May first our troops could +be in Asia at the moment when those of your Majesty were in Stockholm. +We would have preferred peace, you and I, but we must do what is +predestined, and follow whither the irresistible march of events +conducts us."</p> + +<p>This letter was a masterpiece. It meant, first, a little European war, +short and sharp, whereby Russia would get Finland as a sop and have +her attention drawn off from Prussia and Spain; secondly, a menace +which would bring England to terms and produce a peace; thirdly, the +neutralization of Austria by inviting her to sit down at the feast; +lastly, the consolidation of Napoleon's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page114" name="page114"></a>(p. 114)</span> dynasty for the +ultimate completion of his designs in the Orient either with or +without Russia's aid. The alternative would be a war of hitherto +unknown dimensions, including not only all Europe, but Asia Minor and +northern Africa; out of such a conflict might result a permanent order +the foundation and copestone of which would be French supremacy. +England would of course rush to the assistance of Sweden, the only +land now left in Europe that had never fallen into the orbit of the +French system. At that moment Spain and Portugal, abandoned to their +fate, must drop into French hands. If England should still prove +resolute, then an expedition to Egypt would sail from Corfu, while +simultaneously the united armies of Russia, France, and Austria would +march to the conquest of Turkey and the seizure of India. It was a +scheme so vast, so logical, so imperial, that it left far behind the +dreams of a Corsican patriot or the visions of an ardent Frenchman. +Successful as a soldier, the Emperor was carried by each new victory +into widening circles of enterprise which could have no relation to +narrow national limits.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page115" name="page115"></a>(p. 115)</span> CHAPTER IX.</h3> + +<h4>French Empire and European Nationality.<a id="footnotetag20" name="footnotetag20"></a><a href="#footnote20" title="Go to footnote 20"><span class="smaller">[20]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Diplomatic Fencing with Russia — Caulaincourt and + Rumianzoff — Plight of the Czar — Napoleon and the Papacy — The Pope + a Prisoner — The House of Braganza — Partition of Portugal — Flight + of the Royal Family — Junot's Aspirations — The Condition of + Spain — The Court — The Crown Prince — The Popular + Factions — Napoleon's Plans — Quarrel of Charles and + Ferdinand — Trial of Ferdinand — Invasion of Spain — Napoleon and + Lucien at Mantua — Napoleon and Joseph at Venice — Godoy + Thwarted — The French Armament — The Humiliation of Spain — Fall of + Godoy — Abdication of the King.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1808.</p> + +<p>The instructions issued by Napoleon to Caulaincourt in this crisis +reveal the writer's entire political system during the turning-point +of his career: they show him at the height of his powers, promising, +cajoling, suggesting, procrastinating, representing his own actions in +the best light without regard to truth, using Russia as long as she +could serve him, and abandoning her within a few days when she became +recalcitrant; all this to gain time and opportunity. The Czar had been +from the outset instigated by the French ambassador to seize Finland, +but feeling that success in that quarter would weaken his claims on +the principalities, he hesitated. Court intrigue began to thicken +about him once more. With every day the miseries and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page116" name="page116"></a>(p. 116)</span> +uncertainties of his position made him more wretched. At last he +behaved with the inconsistency of distraction and hesitation. Almost +while soothing words were being uttered to the Swedish ambassador, +Russian columns suddenly burst into the Swedish province, and were not +withdrawn. Alexander renewed his demand for the Danube provinces. +Napoleon sent him exquisite presents, Sèvres porcelain or some +specimen of choice armor. At last came the letter of February second. +The first impression made on the Czar by its reading was one of +exaggerated joy and enthusiasm: "Ha! the style of Tilsit! What a great +man! What large ideas!" Such were his exclamations as he read. But +calm deliberation awakened suspicions, and before long a defiant +spirit led to a categorical request that any ultimate design on +Silesia should be formally renounced, whereupon Caulaincourt replied: +"The Emperor Napoleon demands that your Majesty shall not be more +urgent with him than he is with you."</p> + +<p>As a preliminary to the second personal interview between the two +monarchs, suggested at Tilsit, and for which proposals were now +renewed from Paris, the two ministers, Caulaincourt and Rumianzoff, +finally began to discuss the terms of a partition of Turkey. The +diplomatic gladiators were well matched; between offer and substitute, +demand and excuse, feint and counterfeint, the days passed in a most +entertaining manner, until suddenly the Czar became aware that time +was flying and that he was not making headway. Somewhat petulantly the +interview was postponed, for it was clear that the ministers would not +agree by the time suggested, and without an agreement Alexander +refused to attend. Meanwhile his troops in Finland had met with bitter +and obstinate resistance. His army had been driven from eastern +Bothnia, and his fleet lay <span class="pagenum"><a id="page117" name="page117"></a>(p. 117)</span> blockaded by that of Great +Britain under Admiral Saumarez. St. Petersburg was terrified by the +presence of an English fleet in the Baltic. The Czar could not weaken +his force on the Danube, lest he should lose the coveted provinces, +and he dared not withdraw troops from Poland, for the French were +still in Silesia. With the understanding that Bernadotte should be +their active auxiliary, the Russian forces had rashly crossed the +Swedish border with inadequate numbers; and in reality the marshal did +set out to join them, but half-way on his march, for some unexplained +reason, he had paused. Caulaincourt said it was because of the +difficulties encountered in crossing the Belt; but the halt was, of +course, one move in Napoleon's game. On April twenty-fifth the latter +wrote to Talleyrand: "Was I to send my soldiers so lightly into +Sweden? There was nothing for me there." Simultaneously the French +forces in both Poland and Prussia were compacted and strengthened, +while at the confluence of the Bug and the Vistula, in the grand duchy +of Warsaw, over against the Russian frontier, were steadily rising the +walls of a powerful fort above which waved the tricolor. What a plight +was this for the White Czar, the grandson of Catherine II, the +philosophic monarch educated by Laharpe, the beneficent despot! Behind +him a disgusted nation, before him illimitable warfare; bound by the +letter of an ambiguous treaty, occupied in a doubtful conquest, +thwarted in his ambitions; in short, if not checkmated, put into a +position very much like that known in the noble game of chess as +stalemate!</p> + +<p>Napoleon's treatment of the Czar makes the whole situation in northern +Europe and Austria easily comprehensible; it is necessary to examine +from the same standpoint, also, what occurred in the southern states +of Europe, remote as they were; otherwise the course <span class="pagenum"><a id="page118" name="page118"></a>(p. 118)</span> of +affairs at the opposite extremities of Europe seems utterly +mysterious. If the path followed at St. Petersburg was tortuous, what +shall be said of the policy pursued in the Papal States, in Tuscany, +in Portugal and in Spain? During the diplomatic reconnaissance led by +Caulaincourt, the statesmen of these countries had been busy at +Fontainebleau. What Cardinal Bayanne seemed anxious to obtain for Pius +VII—namely, the inviolability of his territories—had been lost even +before the concessions demanded from the Pope were made. The trembling +prelate had consented to join the federation against England, to drive +out the monks, to accept an increased French representation in the +College of Cardinals, and to admit Venetia to the Concordat. But to +use Napoleon's own expression in the decree issued from Vienna on May +seventeenth, 1809, the Western Emperor had already "resumed the grant" +of Charles the Great which had been used against his successor. There +was no longer a hostile strip of land, stretching from sea to sea, +which separated the kingdoms of Naples and Italy, for the three +legations were occupied in December, 1807.</p> + +<p>With this fulcrum Bayanne had been moved to negotiate a formal treaty +containing all Napoleon's stipulations. The Pope was exasperated by +the occupation of his lands, and refused his assent to the paper; he +would not even enter the French federative system. This attitude +appears to have been quite as agreeable to the Emperor of the French +as one of submission would have been. Appealing to public opinion on +the ground of necessity, he sent his troops on February second, 1808, +into the city of Rome; in March, Ancona, Macerata, Fermo, and Urbino +were consolidated with the kingdom of Italy; and before the end of +April, the foreign priests were banished, the Pope's battalions were +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page119" name="page119"></a>(p. 119)</span> enrolled under the tricolor, and the guard of nobles was +disbanded: the entire administration was in French hands. For a year +the successor of St. Peter remained a fainéant prince shut up in the +Quirinal. To a demand for the resignation of his temporal power he +replied by a bull, dated June tenth, 1809, excommunicating the +invaders of his states; thereupon he was seized and sent a prisoner to +Grenoble. Napoleon, looking backward in the days of his humiliation, +said that this quarrel with the Pope was one of the most wearing +episodes in all his career. It undid much of the web knitted in the +Concordat, by alienating the Roman Catholics both in France itself and +in his conquered or allied lands.</p> + +<p>During the same autumn months of 1807 another treaty was negotiated at +Fontainebleau; namely, a secret compact with Spain for the partition +of Portugal. The house of Braganza, like the other so-called +legitimate monarchies of Europe, had fallen into a moral and physical +decline. The Queen was a lunatic, and her son Don John, who was +regent, though a mild and honorable man, lacked every element of +greatness such as would have enabled him to swim in the troubled +waters of his time. The land, moreover, was saturated with democratic +principles. There had been a tacit understanding that on account of +the enormous tribute paid to France for the acknowledgment of +neutrality she would close one eye to the traffic with England, which +was essential to the prosperity, if not to the very existence, of the +little country. But the Berlin and Milan decrees were intended to be +measures of serious war, and the Emperor now insisted that they should +be enforced. Although the regent was the son-in-law of Charles IV of +Spain, yet after the peace of Tilsit the court of Madrid united with +that of Fontainebleau in an effort to compel the closing of all +Portuguese harbors and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page120" name="page120"></a>(p. 120)</span> the fulfilment of the decrees to the +letter, demanding the dismissal of the English minister, the arrest of +all British subjects, and the confiscation of all English goods. The +reply of John was a consent to everything except the arrest of +innocent traders.</p> + +<p>This partial refusal was a sufficient pretext; at once the French +envoy at Lisbon was recalled, Junot was ordered to enter Spain and to +march on Portugal, while the terms of partition were settled at +Fontainebleau with Charles's minister, Izquierdo, in a compact which +Napoleon must have looked upon as the great practical joke of his +life. For fear he should be too quickly found out, he positively +inhibited Charles from communicating it to his ministers. The French +ambassador at Madrid was also kept in ignorance of its terms. Under it +the King of Spain was to be styled Emperor of the Two Americas; and in +return for Etruria, which was at last to be formally incorporated with +the kingdom of Italy, he was to have what he had so long desired, the +virtual sovereignty of Portugal. Over one portion the young King of +Etruria was to reign as a vassal; over a second, the generalissimo and +high admiral of Spain, the Prince of the Peace, the Queen's paramour, +the King's trusted servant, Manuel Godoy; a third was to remain +unappropriated for Charles's disposal at a later date.</p> + +<p>The treaty ended with the seemingly innocent stipulation that a new +French army of forty thousand men should be formed at Bayonne, to be +in readiness should Great Britain land troops in Portugal. It was not, +however, to enter Spain without the agreement of both contracting +parties. Meantime Junot, by his Emperor's command, was sending home +maps, plans, topographical sketches, and itineraries of Spain. +Although twenty-five thousand Spaniards were marching with him, he +received orders, dated October thirty-first, three days <span class="pagenum"><a id="page121" name="page121"></a>(p. 121)</span> +after the treaty was signed at Fontainebleau, to seize all the strong +places of Portugal, occupy them with French troops, and not to permit +the Spaniards to garrison a single one. His first object, he had been +already told, should be to capture the fleet lying in the Tagus and to +take the regent prisoner. The clever and ambitious general marched +swiftly, and on November twenty-seventh reached, with his exhausted +troops, Abrantes, a town about eighty miles from Lisbon. The news of +his arrival was unexpected in the capital; worse still, as it appeared +to the dismayed court, were the evidences that he would receive an +enthusiastic reception from many influential elements of the +population, who still considered the word "French" a synonym for +"democratic." Sir Sidney Smith, who commanded the British ships in the +Tagus, addressed a letter to Don John promising that England would +never recognize a rule in Portugal hostile to the house of Braganza, +and strongly urging him to embark the royal family for the Portuguese +dominions in South America. The prince had probably read what had been +published in the "Moniteur" of November thirteenth: to wit—"The +regent of Portugal loses the throne. The fall of the house of Braganza +is a new proof of the inevitable destruction attending those who unite +with England." At any rate the hard-pressed ruler was unnerved, and +issued a jerky, feeble proclamation, declaring that he would never +submit to the tyranny of Napoleon, announcing his flight, naming a +council of regency, and requesting those who were so disposed to +accompany him. A very few faithful subjects joined themselves to the +royal family, and with the mad Queen in their midst the little band +embarked.</p> + +<p>The fleet had hardly worked its way out of the river when Junot +reached Lisbon with a small corps of panting, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page122" name="page122"></a>(p. 122)</span> worn-out men. +His prey had escaped, but so had the mad Queen, and from that moment +he began to wonder why a crown would not sit comfortably on his own +head. He had been Bonaparte's faithful confidant from the outset of +his career, and could furnish a queen who boasted an ancestry no less +distinguished than that of the Greek emperors of the Comnenian family. +The people were most friendly, deputations from the powerful secret +society of Freemasons presented addresses, the regency made no +resistance, the commander-in-chief and his army gave in their +submission. But the French general showed no sign of organizing the +liberal government which they so earnestly desired and fully expected. +On the contrary, he established military provinces, seized all the +public moneys, and sought to conciliate his master's debtors at his +master's expense; for, instead of the forty millions indemnity +demanded by Napoleon, he took his pen, like the unjust steward, and +wrote twenty. In return the Portuguese radicals were to ask the +Emperor that he should be made their king. Owing in part to Junot's +insatiable greed and his appropriation of enormous private +treasure,—an example which his army was quick to follow,—in part to +the subsequent disenchantment and a general revulsion of feeling, the +plan came to naught. Before long the Spanish general Bellesca seized +the French governor of Oporto and began a rebellion in favor of Don +John. The commander-in-chief, called from Lisbon to suppress the +insurgents, left the city under a committee at the head of which was +the Bishop of Oporto. The prelate at once applied to England for help, +and in a short time the whole country had organized secret juntas in +order to throw off the French yoke. England responded with alacrity, +sending troops from Sicily and from Ireland; but the strongest +reinforcement of all was the general <span class="pagenum"><a id="page123" name="page123"></a>(p. 123)</span> appointed to command +them, Sir Arthur Wellesley. Before the middle of August, 1808, the +Peninsular war was raging and the laurels were England's.</p> + +<p>Meantime the contemplated upheaval had occurred in Spain. It is +impossible to conceive deeper degradation than that into which the +Bourbon monarchy of that country had sunk, and the court had carried +the country with it in its debasement. The population had fallen to +ten millions, and of a nominal army of a hundred and twenty thousand +men not fifty thousand were really effective. The host of +office-holders and privileged nobility which battened like leeches on +an exhausted treasury was equaled in number only by the clergy, +secular and regular, with nuns, novices, and servants, who lived on +the revenues of the ecclesiastical estates, and on what could be +extorted from an impoverished people. By a terrible form of +primogeniture the lands which did not belong to the Church had +gradually fallen into the hands of a few owners, who lived in state at +Madrid and never laid eyes on their farms, forests, or pastures. The +peasantry had no interest to improve what might be taken from them at +the death of the proprietor, or by caprice be appraised at a higher +value on account of their very efforts toward the amelioration of +their lot. The grandees kept gloomy state in vast palaces filled with +hordes of idle servants. The remnants from their lavish but poorly +served tables supported the crowds of beggars that thronged their +gates. Of social life they had little; they were gloomy, lonely, and +sullenly indifferent. In their stables stood herds of mules and hung +stores of gaudy trappings, but these were used only a few times each +year to convey the owners in proper dignity to the great public +functions.</p> + +<p>On such a foundation stood the court: the King, generous-minded but +deceived, and jealously attached <span class="pagenum"><a id="page124" name="page124"></a>(p. 124)</span> to the crown servants, +impatient of any annoyance, and always declaring a willingness to +resign his throne; the Queen, clear-headed and ambitious, but +self-indulgent, extravagant, and vicious; Godoy, the Prince of the +Peace,—so called from the treaty which he had negotiated at Basel to +conclude the French and Spanish revolutionary wars,—the real ruler, +soothing the King's sensibilities and gratifying the Queen's passions. +To preserve his ascendancy this trimmer had thrown in his lot with +Napoleon; but, faithless and perfidious, he would gladly have rejected +that or any other protection to fly to one he believed stronger. In +any centralized monarchy the administrative law is the backbone; in +Spain the administration was feeble and corrupt, for every member of +it was engaged in humbly imitating the example of its head, whose +house was a depot of plunder, whence toward the close of his career +the spoils were transferred on pack-mules by night, no one knew +whither. It was said, and many sober men believed it, that Godoy had +all the wealth of Spain.</p> + +<p>Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias, and heir apparent to the throne, was a +young widower of good impulses but feeble character. His deceased +wife, married in 1803, had been the daughter of Queen Caroline of +Naples; having quarreled with her mother-in-law, Louisa, she had died +prematurely, probably poisoned. The prince knew the scandals of his +father's household and the abuses of Godoy's administration, but +thought the bonds of degradation too strong to be stricken off by a +weak hand like his own. His followers, however, headed by the Duke del +Infantado and the ambitious Canon Escoiquiz, his former tutor, were +numerous and enlightened. They understood how hollow was the +protection vouchsafed by Napoleon to Godoy, and how faithless was the +pretended friendship of the latter for France. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page125" name="page125"></a>(p. 125)</span> Their plan +was that Ferdinand should refuse the proffered hand of Godoy's +sister-in-law, demand that of a Beauharnais princess, and thus secure +the interest and aid of the French emperor. With such support they +might hope to overthrow the minister and reform the administration. No +doubt they also dreamed of power and place for themselves.</p> + +<p>As time passed, the sympathies of the nation rallied more and more to +Ferdinand, until at last he became the leader and representative of +the solid elements in society. Between the waning power of Godoy and +the rising popularity of the crown prince, something like an +equilibrium was at last established, and in 1807 the two embittered +factions stood like gladiators looking for a chance to strike. This +situation was made to Napoleon's hand; but as it gave rise to more and +more serious intrigues, a decision had to be taken promptly. Should he +accede to Ferdinand's desire, formally communicated in a letter sent +by Escoiquiz on October twelfth? Talleyrand and Fouché both urged the +adoption of the policy. What prompted Talleyrand cannot be surmised. +After Austerlitz he had urged moderation, but it was probably because +he was bribed by the vanquished. His judgment and interest may, +however, have kept equal pace in that conclusion. He was most likely +influenced in this one by the Empress, whose position was becoming +desperate, for the Bonaparte family were now persistently and openly +urging a divorce. All Josephine's arts seemed unavailing against her +obdurate enemies, and her last hope was to obtain royal alliances for +her relatives, thus securing new support against those of the Emperor. +She had a charming niece, Mlle. Tascher de la Pagerie, to whom she was +ardently devoted; and to set on the throne of Spain one who was almost +a daughter would both gratify natural affection and fortify her own +position.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page126" name="page126"></a>(p. 126)</span> There is no indication, however, that Talleyrand's hand was +crossed this time, though again his judgment coincided with his +interest in sound advice. The country was utterly disorganized and a +change must occur; the people were too haughty to endure their +humiliation longer; it would be better to support Ferdinand as a +reformer, and thereby secure for the French system not merely the +kingdom proper, but all her colonial dominions. As Fouché put it, the +King had so far been one of the best of French prefects, and if he +were no longer efficient his legitimate heir had better be continued +in the office. But the idea of securing the Spanish colonies for his +Empire dazzled and allured the Emperor more than the assured support +of Spain. Having determined for that purpose to put one of his +brothers on the Spanish throne, he disregarded both the clamorous +calls for aid from the King on one side and the approaches of +Ferdinand on the other. All remonstrance from his own family was vain, +and he proceeded with his scheme. A new conscription secured the forty +thousand men for Bayonne, and General Clarke was ordered to fortify +the frontier.</p> + +<p>Exactly in the nick of time the intrigues at Madrid had come to a +head. On October twenty-eighth an armed Spanish force seized the +person and papers of Ferdinand. Godoy feigned illness and kept his +rooms, while the Queen examined what was found. It was said that there +was a cipher code for corresponding with friends; a memorial from +Ferdinand to Napoleon charging Godoy with a design to seize the +throne, and mentioning his mother's shame in covert terms; a memorial +from Escoiquiz asking from the Emperor the hand of a French princess; +and an order under the seal of Ferdinand VII, with blank date, to the +Duke del Infantado, appointing him to the command of New Castile on +the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page127" name="page127"></a>(p. 127)</span> King's death. Two days later Godoy's connection with the +seizure was proved; for, ill as he feigned to be, he was observed +entering the Escorial after nightfall. Next day the King announced the +discovery of this "conspiracy" in a proclamation to his people, and +wrote a letter of similar wording to Napoleon, complaining that +Beauharnais, the French ambassador, had been the center of the +intrigue. The charge was strictly true, for this brother of the +Empress's first husband, though a bluff, honest man, was blindly +self-confident, and had fallen into the trap set for him in Paris. He +was not unwilling to gratify Josephine, he despised Godoy, and his +evident friendship for the crown prince had been largely instrumental +in creating the popular confidence that France would regenerate Spain +by means of the legitimate heir.</p> + +<p>Charles also announced his intention of cutting Ferdinand off from the +succession, and humbly requested Napoleon's advice. A commission of +Castilian grandees was appointed to try the culprit, while +simultaneously strenuous efforts were made to force a confession of +conspiracy from him. The latter scheme failed, but the prince obeyed +with alacrity the summons to appear. Exactly what occurred is unknown, +but it can be imagined; some of the facts leaked out, and the result +was a wretched compromise both at court and among the people. The +prince asserted that he had written the suspicious order during his +father's recent illness, basely denounced his accomplices, and by +declaring that it was Beauharnais who had suggested his asking a wife +from the Emperor strengthened the general belief that Napoleon had +instigated his entire course. This was enough to cow the King and +Queen. The offender was at once released, and wrote a formal request +for pardon. His sire issued a proclamation granting the boon. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page128" name="page128"></a>(p. 128)</span> His friends were formally tried, but Godoy dared not ask +questions compromising the French ambassador, and they were acquitted.</p> + +<p>During the trial the "secret hand" was indicated as being still +unknown; some said it was that of the Queen, a few thought the grand +inquisitor had been meddling. Napoleon sent a wily and misleading +epistle declaring that he had never received a letter from the Prince +of Asturias,—which literally was true, though he had been informed of +its existence and of its contents,—and that he had heard nothing but +the vague gossip of palace talk. This letter of Napoleon's was +confided on November thirteenth to one of his shrewdest counselors, +the chamberlain de Tournon, who was carefully instructed to bring home +the most accurate information he could secure regarding the state of +public feeling, and secretly to observe the condition in which he +found the frontier fortresses of Pamplona and Fuenterrabia. On the +same day orders were issued for Dupont to take advantage of the +general excitement incident to the recent events, cross the frontier +with his division, and advance to Vitoria, whence he should +reconnoiter the surrounding country. As if to emphasize his own +indifference, in reality to avoid unpleasant questions and with the +most serious objects in view, the Emperor set out for Italy a few days +earlier; and the day of his arrival in Milan was the date on which +Dupont invaded Spain. During this visit to Venice, which has been +referred to as the time in which Russia was brought to a standstill +and the ultimate method of procedure in the Orient outlined, Napoleon +met the Queen Regent of Etruria. She declared, as was expected of her, +that she could not continue to reign where she did not rule, her +dominions being occupied on the ground of large policy by French +troops; accordingly she was despatched to Madrid with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page129" name="page129"></a>(p. 129)</span> a +royal train. Her sometime kingdom was incorporated with that of Italy, +and the unsuspecting Beauharnais was instructed to have her new +Portuguese realm ready against her arrival.</p> + +<p>But the real object of that winter journey to Italy seems to have been +the two interviews which the Emperor had with his brothers Joseph and +Lucien, the former being beckoned from Naples to Venice, the latter +from Rome to Mantua. The younger brother had, after the first juvenile +heats of radicalism, become a moderate republican, holding his +convictions resolutely. Having opposed a hereditary consulate for +Napoleon, and unmindful of any reward he might have claimed for his +services of Brumaire, he withdrew from public life to spend his time +in study and the gratification of his literary tastes. On the death of +his first wife, by whom he had two daughters, he married, in direct +opposition to Napoleon's wishes, the beautiful and accomplished Mme. +de Jauberthon. This was in 1803. Having been importuned to put her +away and lend himself to the project of buttressing the Empire by +accepting a crown and contracting a royal marriage, he had refused. By +far the ablest and most courageous of the Bonaparte brothers, he was +utterly indifferent to the rise of Napoleonic empire, for his +principles were fixed. It was with reluctance that he came to Mantua. +There are two accounts of what happened there: that which has long +been accepted—of Lucien hotly refusing the crown of Portugal, with +the hand of Prince Ferdinand for his daughter Charlotte; and that +which makes Napoleon's first offer to have been Etruria. Both accounts +agree, however, that the Emperor raised his bid to the promise of +Italy—always on condition that his brother should divorce his wife +and rule in the interest of the imperial power. Lucien disdained even +this bribe, declaring that <span class="pagenum"><a id="page130" name="page130"></a>(p. 130)</span> he would accept the crown, but +that he would rule in the interests of his subjects, and that he would +in no case consider a divorce. Angry words were spoken. Napoleon +crushed in his hand a watch with which he had been toying, hissing out +that thus he would crush wills which opposed his. "I defy you to +commit a crime," retorted Lucien. Before parting there was a half +reconciliation, and Napoleon requested that at least his brother's +eldest daughter might be sent to Paris for use in the scheme of royal +alliances. Lucien assented, and the child, a clever girl of about +fourteen, was sent to live with Madame Mère. She was thoroughly +discontented, and wrote bright, sarcastic letters to her stepmother, +whom she loved, depicting the avarice of her grandmother and the +foibles of her other relatives. These, like all other suspected +letters of the time, were intercepted and read in the "cabinet noir"; +their contents being made known to Napoleon, he sent the petulant, +witty writer back to her father. Despairing of any support from Lucien +or his family, Napoleon formally adopted his stepson Eugène, the +viceroy, with a view to consolidating and confirming the Italian +feeling of dependence on France.</p> + +<p>Joseph's character also had ripened by this time. Experience had +destroyed the adventurous spirit in which he entered on his career; he +had become a gentle, philosophic, industrious monarch, careful of the +best interests of his people, and he was accordingly beloved by them. +Roederer had introduced order into the Neapolitan finances, his own +administrative reforms worked smoothly, and the only discontented +element of his people was composed of the nobles, who chafed at the +repression of their power and the curtailment of their privileges. +There is positive evidence that Joseph was summoned and came to +Venice, but there is no record of the interview, except a marginal +note written by <span class="pagenum"><a id="page131" name="page131"></a>(p. 131)</span> Joseph himself in an existing copy of Miot +de Melito's memoirs, to the effect that Napoleon spoke of the troubles +among the members of the royal family of Spain as likely "to produce +results which he dreaded." The last word is underscored. "I have +enough anxiety prepared," he said; "troubles in Spain can only benefit +the English, who do not desire peace, by destroying the resources +which I find in that ally to carry on the war against them." Over and +above this information there is, however, a high probability that +Joseph was then informed that since Lucien had proved refractory, he +himself was now destined for Spain; that the King expressed at first a +decided unwillingness to accept the unwelcome task; and that, like +Lucien, he departed under his brother's disfavor. Napoleon's offer had +already been discussed at Tilsit as a contingency. Joseph was so +accustomed to obey that a sober second thought led him to repent of +his creditable hesitation; within a week, and before leaving Venice, +he had despatched a confidential messenger to secure Alexander's +formal compliance with his transfer to Spain. He was under the spell +of the magician, for it was probably Napoleon who prompted his +thoughts. After that of Charles the Great, the empire of Charles V had +been the most splendid in Europe, and Joseph perhaps dreamed that if +not first he might be second, eclipsed only by his brother.</p> + +<p>Godoy was an adroit diplomat. In reply to Napoleon's letter he +personally asked and urged the bestowal on Ferdinand of a French +princess in marriage, but at the same time he also urged the +publication of what had been stipulated at Fontainebleau. The answer +was most dilatory, and when it was written there was a new tone: +Napoleon would gladly draw the bonds of alliance tighter by such a +match as had been so often suggested, but could such a mark of +confidence be shown to a dishonored <span class="pagenum"><a id="page132" name="page132"></a>(p. 132)</span> son without some proof +of his repentance? He added that it would be premature to publish the +articles of Fontainebleau. In open contempt of that document, a decree +was issued on December twenty-third, 1807, from Milan, appointing +Junot governor of all Portugal. On February second, 1808, this paper +was communicated to the King of Spain by Beauharnais, with the +intimation that the treaty must temporarily remain suspended. The +scales now fell from Godoy's eyes. His agent in Paris informed him +that he had been coldly received by Champagny, the Minister of +External Relations; and soon afterward Mlle. Tascher de la Pagerie was +married to an unimportant member of the Rhenish Confederation, the +Duke of Aremberg. It was thought at Madrid that the Emperor had +abandoned both the court factions; public opinion, whether favorable +to one or the other, was soon united in a common irritation against +France, and before long it was current talk that Napoleon contemplated +the dismemberment of Spain by the connivance of Godoy.</p> + +<p>Meantime the new conscription had been carried through, and ever +larger numbers of French striplings, dignified by the name of troops, +appeared at Bayonne, and crossed the border. The sturdy Spaniards +regarded them with amazement and contempt. There was no appearance as +yet of any English invasion, and the army in Portugal was in no need +of assistance; but Moncey followed Dupont with thirty thousand +so-called men; Duhesme led an army corps to Barcelona at one end of +the Pyrenees, while Darmagnac passed the gorge of Roncesvalles into +Navarre with his division, and seized Pamplona; Bessières hurried on +behind with the guard; and Jerome was ordered to levy forty thousand +men in Westphalia. Figueras, San Sebastian, and Valladolid were soon +in French hands. The "Moniteur" of January <span class="pagenum"><a id="page133" name="page133"></a>(p. 133)</span> twenty-fourth +explained that these acts were necessitated by plans of the English to +land at Cadiz. Six days afterward the Emperor estimated that he had +eight hundred thousand men under arms, and that he would soon have +eighty thousand more. In the presence of such facts the Prince of the +Peace was prostrated, while terror overpowered the feeble King and his +wicked consort. Nor was their panic diminished when a second letter +arrived from Napoleon, dated February twenty-fifth, which plainly +showed a determination to quarrel. "Your Majesty asked the hand of a +French princess for the Prince of Asturias; I replied on January tenth +that I consented. Your Majesty speaks no more of this marriage. All +this leaves in the dark many objects important for the welfare of my +peoples." In a few weeks Izquierdo arrived from Paris and reluctantly +explained the appalling truth: that the gossamer bonds of the treaty +he had negotiated at Fontainebleau were blown away, and that Portugal +was to be given entire to one of the Bonapartes. This was the +explanation of the appalling armaments in northern Spain, beyond the +Ebro. Godoy returned an answer refusing all proposals tending to such +a conclusion. Izquierdo carried back this reply, and toward the close +of March Talleyrand was appointed to negotiate with him under the +pretense of finding some compromise.</p> + +<p>Talleyrand was heartily sick of his inactivity, and eagerly seized the +opportunity to reassert his importance. Abandoning utterly the +position of semi-resistance to Napoleon which he had held for some +time past, he now used his adroit and clever gift to further the +Emperor's schemes. The document which was finally drawn up by him gave +the French equal rights in the Spanish colonies with Spanish subjects, +and proposed an exchange for Portugal of the great march north of the +Ebro, which <span class="pagenum"><a id="page134" name="page134"></a>(p. 134)</span> had once been held by Charles the Great and was +now held by Napoleon. When Izquierdo heard the hard stipulations he +cried out in dismay, but to every remonstrance came the cool reply +that such was the Emperor's will. Early in March Bessières entered +Spain with thirty-five thousand men. This raised the total number in +the scattered divisions of the French troops now south of the Pyrenees +to about a hundred thousand. The Spaniards were at last thoroughly +awake to the fact of their humiliation. Excitement became more and +more intense, until an eruption of popular violence was imminent.</p> + +<p>At this crisis Napoleon took a step of great significance. Murat, +Grand Duke of Berg, arrived at Burgos on March thirteenth, with full +powers as commander-in-chief, and at once assumed command. Ordering a +concentration of all the divisions, he slowly marched on Madrid. The +Prince of the Peace and the King heard their hour striking. Godoy's +first thought was to imitate the example set by the house of Braganza, +and, flying beyond the seas, to establish the Spanish Bourbons in +Mexico or Peru. The Queen was from the first ardent for a project +which would prolong the semblance of power for herself and the +favorite, but it was days before Charles could bring himself to such a +conclusion. At last, on March fifteenth, the council was summoned to +hear his determination, and orders were given to keep open the route +to Cadiz. The populace felt that disgrace could go no further, and, +denouncing Godoy, besought the King to remain.</p> + +<p>They could get no satisfactory answer from Aranjuez, where the +vacillating, terrified, and disunited court now was. One day followed +another, and the streets of that town swarmed with angry men whose +pride and scorn found expression in calls for Godoy's death. On the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page135" name="page135"></a>(p. 135)</span> evening of the seventeenth they began to riot, and the +wretched prince saw his house surrounded. Half clad and half starved, +he tried first one door and then another; all were beset, and he was +compelled to take refuge in the loft, where he remained hidden under a +rubbish heap while the mob worked their will in the handsome rooms +below. Next morning Charles yielded to the popular clamor, and deposed +Godoy from his high offices. For forty-eight hours the minister lay +concealed. At last he could no longer endure the tortures of hunger +and thirst; evading the attention of his own household, he reached the +street, and on the nineteenth was taken in charge by the guards who +held it. The rumor of his capture spread fast, and it required great +courage on the part of the soldiers to protect their prisoner from +violence. Their efforts were only partly successful; they had a bloody +and fainting burden when they reached their barracks and withdrew +behind the doors. In that moment, when it seemed as if the mob would +finally break down even the strong entrance and seize its prey, +Charles despatched his son to calm the storm.</p> + +<p>The people adored the Prince of Asturias, and without difficulty he +quieted the rioters and offered life to his enemy. The haughty +grandee, broken by pain, fell on his knees and implored protection; +but he retained enough of interest in the situation to murmur through +his gory lips, "Are you already king?" "Not yet, but I shall be soon," +was the reply. On a promise that the traitorous betrayer of his +country's honor should be delivered to the courts and tried by the +rigor of the law, the excited populace withdrew. At once Charles began +preparations to carry Godoy beyond their reach; but the fact could not +be kept secret, and once more rioting began. The populace of Madrid +burned all the palaces <span class="pagenum"><a id="page136" name="page136"></a>(p. 136)</span> belonging to the prince, except one, +which they spared because they thought it was the property of their +sovereign. The King submitted to what was inevitable, but determined +to lay down the burden of his royal dignity. On the same day, the +nineteenth, he signed the necessary papers and abdicated in favor of +his son. Next morning, in the presence of a great council summoned to +Aranjuez, he explained that he was overwhelmed by misfortune and the +weight of government, and that for his health's sake he must seek the +ease of private life in a milder clime.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page137" name="page137"></a>(p. 137)</span> CHAPTER X.</h3> + +<h4>The Awakening of Spain.<a id="footnotetag21" name="footnotetag21"></a><a href="#footnote21" title="Go to footnote 21"><span class="smaller">[21]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">The National Spirit — The Spaniards and their Dynasty — Murat's + Fatal Blunder — Louis Napoleon and the Spanish Throne — Napoleon's + Subterfuge — A Trap for Charles and Ferdinand — The Course of + Savary — Napoleon and Ferdinand — Dethronement of the Spanish + Bourbons — Quarrels of Father and Son — The Madrid + Massacre — Ferdinand a Prisoner — Napoleon's Idea of + Legitimacy — The Spanish Cortes at Bayonne — Joseph, King of + Spain — The Spanish People — Agitations in Madrid — Uprising of + Spain.</p> + +<p>If there be a time when the turn of Napoleon's fortunes is evident, it +is the spring of 1808. Between the determination to complete his +system of commercial warfare in western Europe and the contempt which +he entertained for the Spanish throne, he appears to have fallen into +a deadly snare—the failure to appreciate how strong and lively was +the popular passion for nationality in Spain, a feeling so long +eclipsed by the failures of Spanish government, the licentiousness of +the Spanish court, and the turbulence of personal ambitions +indifferent to the public welfare. The measures he devised and ordered +taken were ruthless in their purpose to cow officials and monarch, in +their stern repression <span class="pagenum"><a id="page138" name="page138"></a>(p. 138)</span> of disorder, in their intent to give +a bitter lesson to all opposing his designs. But rude as was his +procedure, admirable as were his military dispositions, there is +abundant evidence of his consciousness that ultimately he must reckon +with the national pride of a people which, though crushed to earth, +was eager to rise again. But such reckoning must be postponed until +after conquest and the effort to rise was put forth in the resistance +to invasion with a speed and vigor no one could have foreseen. +Ferdinand's first act as king was to request Napoleon's favor and +protection. His letter was written on March twentieth, and intrusted +to an embassy of three grandees. Charles and Louisa had, however, +repented almost before the formalities of abdication were over, and +the newly arrived Queen of Etruria supported them in their fickleness. +With despicable inconsistency they too despatched an embassy, but to +Murat, imploring his interference on their behalf and his favor for +Godoy. In reply, Murat, whether from slyness or from a desire to gain +time, requested a formal, written demand to that effect. He was +promptly furnished with a paper, signed by both King and Queen, +declaring that they had acted under fear, and begging to be +reinstated. This document was a precious arrow for Napoleon's quiver. +Still, the perplexity of the French commander was great; he knew +nothing of Napoleon's plans, he dared not acknowledge Ferdinand as +king, and he dared not restore Charles, whose sovereignty he had been +virtually menacing by his march. In this dilemma he despatched an +aide-de-camp to Aranjuez with verbal messages of comfort, and, +hurrying forward, entered Madrid with his army on the twenty-third.</p> + +<p>Napoleon had frequently enjoined his brother-in-law to enter the city, +recruit his supplies, and give his troops a rest; but with those +injunctions he had likewise given <span class="pagenum"><a id="page139" name="page139"></a>(p. 139)</span> strict commands to allay +any fears in the court. These instructions had not contemplated the +revolution of Aranjuez, and by it every condition was changed. Murat +would have been wise if he had disobeyed the letter of his orders; but +he did not, for new circumstances breed new ideas, and within +twenty-four hours he had made up his mind. Here was a new kingdom; the +other men of the family—Louis, Jerome, and Joseph—all had crowns; +the grand duchy of Berg was very well, but a kingdom was better, and +he might secure that of Spain for himself. For this end he must throw +Ferdinand altogether into the shade, while placing the glory and power +of France in the most brilliant illumination. It was a fatal step to +occupy Madrid, more fatal still for the French general to exhibit +himself in a martial splendor which sadly contrasted with the troops +of beardless boys at his back. He was received by the inhabitants with +cool contempt. Next day Ferdinand made his royal entry. The populace +went mad with delight, and displayed a passionate devotion which +augured ill for the schemes of Prince Joachim of Berg. A less egoistic +man would have seen that a national uprising was imminent. But Murat +was neither modest nor penetrating; he was a great and dashing cavalry +general, at times an excellent commander-in-chief, but he was not a +statesman. His conduct entangled the skeins of Spanish intrigue into a +knot which only war could sever.</p> + +<p>His course did not even ultimately lead to the goal, but to +consequences far different. When on March twenty-fifth Napoleon +received the despatch announcing the revolution of Aranjuez and +Murat's neutral attitude, he replied in commendatory language, +instructing his brother-in-law to keep the balance as it was, neither +recognizing the new King until further directions, nor <span class="pagenum"><a id="page140" name="page140"></a>(p. 140)</span> +indicating by any action that the old one had ceased to reign. The +same day, the twenty-fifth, a letter was despatched to King Louis at +The Hague, asking for an answer in categorical terms as to whether he +would accept the Spanish throne. Joseph had hesitated and was +momentarily out of favor, while the perpetual smuggling of the Dutch +had convinced Napoleon that the only means to secure the continental +embargo was to incorporate Holland with France. Three days later Murat +received still higher praise, with a perfectly irrelevant clause +interjected: "I suppose Godoy will come by way of Bayonne." This was, +of course, a hint to send the Prince of the Peace into France. If the +commander of the French forces should act on the suggestion, he would +do the work thoroughly; and under the same date Bessières was +instructed to treat the old King and Queen with distinction if they +should pass his way. Publicly it was to be made known in Madrid that +the long-talked-of visit by the Emperor would not be further +postponed. Such was Napoleon's confidence in the quick apprehension of +his subordinates that henceforward he regarded the whole royal +household of Spain as his prisoners.</p> + +<p>There is in existence what purports to be a letter from Napoleon to +Murat, dated March twenty-ninth.<a id="footnotetag22" name="footnotetag22"></a><a href="#footnote22" title="Go to footnote 22"><span class="smaller">[22]</span></a> It is undoubtedly by Napoleon, +but it was either written at the time, for public effect, and not +sent, or it was a later fabrication intended to mislead posterity, +because its formal style is not used elsewhere in the correspondence. +It explains to "His Imperial Highness" what was not known until ten +years later, namely, that the Spaniards were a people with violent +political passions, capable of indefinite warfare; that the nation +could and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page141" name="page141"></a>(p. 141)</span> must be regenerated only by careful management; +and that nothing must be done precipitately. At the same time it gives +the Protector, as Murat is designated, his own option in regard to a +recognition of Ferdinand, expresses disapproval of the precipitate +seizure of Madrid, and warns him that he must not create an +irrepressible opposition. Whether the letter be authentic or not, +whether it was sent or not, really matters but little as regards our +judgment of the facts. The disorganization of Spain had been its own +work; the court intrigues were already burning before they were fanned +by Napoleon's agents in the hope that, like the royal house of +Portugal, the incapable Spanish Bourbons would fly to America. The +revolution of Aranjuez was a bitter disappointment to the great +schemer, and disconcerted his plans. But Murat's conduct and +Ferdinand's character rendered difficult, if not impossible, any +course which would combine the consummation of his fixed designs with +even the slightest degree of popular good will in Spain. Nothing was +to be gained at such a supreme moment by the ordinary brutal abuse +which the Emperor was accustomed to heap on his brother-in-law for +commonplace offenses; moreover, in view of the disappointing +revolution, Murat's course was perhaps as good as any other. He must, +however, bear whatever responsibility attached to it, and that +responsibility would have been his even without the supposititious +letter which he never received. The contempt of the people for the +boy-soldiers at whose head he had marched into Madrid, combined with +disdain for his own pompousness and with fury at his subsequent +cruelty, goes far to account for much that was disastrous to French +prestige and to France in the sequel.</p> + +<p>In order to secure the Spanish crown it was now necessary that both +the quarreling factions should be <span class="pagenum"><a id="page142" name="page142"></a>(p. 142)</span> removed from the scene of +their scandalous intrigues. Perhaps it would be possible, perhaps not. +Napoleon set out on April second for Bayonne, accompanied by his +Empress with a stately suite, and the adroit Savary was despatched to +Madrid. Savary's memoirs indicate that his instructions for this +memorable journey were very vague: the Emperor wished to see whether +the Bourbons merited dethronement; in other words, whether they could +be uncrowned. For himself, Savary naively declared that much of his +own participation in the subsequent events was mere accident. Murat +had obeyed both his verbal and his implied instructions. According to +the former, Charles and his consort were in the Escorial, treated with +all honor, but prisoners. Godoy, also, was aware that he must soon +appear at Bayonne. But Murat had gone further, for he had slyly +suggested to Napoleon that Ferdinand should appear at the same +rendezvous. Beauharnais told Ferdinand to his face that he ought to +meet Napoleon half-way on his journey, in order the better to make his +peace.</p> + +<p>This hint was quietly conveyed to Savary before his departure, and he +was at the same time intrusted with a letter to Murat expressing a +desire that the Prince of Asturias should either remain at Madrid or +come out to meet the Emperor, who intended not to enter Spain for the +present, but to wait at Bayonne. The careful plan worked admirably. No +one knows on conclusive evidence what Savary said to Ferdinand, what +hopes he held out, what promises he made in his master's name; but on +April tenth the young King placed Madrid under the administration of a +junta and set out, expecting to meet Napoleon at Burgos. He had been +easily moved to this course, for Murat had so far coldly refused to +recognize him, while Savary was prodigal of obsequiousness and +addressed him as king. His ministers <span class="pagenum"><a id="page143" name="page143"></a>(p. 143)</span> Escoiquiz and Cavallos +declare, in their justificatory writings, that in addition to the +impression produced by his conduct, Savary actually said, as if in a +burst of military frankness, that the Emperor was already on his way +to assure himself whether Ferdinand's dispositions toward the French +system were as sincere as his father's had been, and would of course +be favorably impressed if a personal interview should be sought by the +young King before his guest could reach Madrid.</p> + +<p>At Burgos Ferdinand learned that Napoleon was not yet within the +Spanish borders; at Vitoria he was informed that the Emperor had not +yet even passed Bordeaux. His people had utterly disapproved of the +journey, but they acclaimed him joyously on the two days' progress to +Burgos. Thereafter he remarked a change, and the nearer he approached +the frontier the more they showed their irritation at his insensate +folly. At Vitoria, therefore, he summoned Savary, whose carriage was +"accidentally in the King's convoy," and reproached him with deceit. +It was too late; divisions of French soldiers were scattered all +about, among them the splendid cavalry of Bessières. To wheel and +return would have been an open insult to the Emperor, which French +soldiers would not have tolerated. The uneasy young King thereupon +penned and despatched by a special courier a long letter recalling the +facts, and begging the Emperor to terminate the equivocal position in +which he found himself placed.</p> + +<p>The reply was speedy and most insulting, for it studiously avoided the +recognition of Ferdinand's sovereignty. The Emperor had expected +before this to visit Madrid in person and institute some necessary +reforms, but affairs in the North had delayed him, and the revolution +at Aranjuez had changed the situation. He hoped Ferdinand would +quickly put an end to any attempt <span class="pagenum"><a id="page144" name="page144"></a>(p. 144)</span> at a trial of Godoy, for +its revelations must necessarily dishonor the Queen. "Your Royal +Highness," he wrote, "has no other rights to the throne than those +transmitted through your mother." Had the abdication been a free act +or not? He would like to talk to Ferdinand as to whether or not it was +forced by the riots of Aranjuez. His "Royal Highness" had behaved ill +about his marriage, for he should not have acted without the King's +knowledge, and every such approach to a foreign sovereign made by an +heir apparent is a criminal act. If there had not been force at +Aranjuez, there would be no difficulty in recognizing Ferdinand; +moreover, a French marriage for him would be not merely advantageous +to the Spaniards, but to the interest of the French.</p> + +<p>The following day, April seventeenth, orders were issued to Bessières +that if the prince should continue his journey there should be no +interference; but if, however, he turned back toward Burgos, he was to +be arrested and brought by force to Bayonne. Ferdinand hesitated as he +read the insults, promises, and compliments which made up Napoleon's +letter. His Spanish counselors advised a return; Savary laughed at +such scruples, and was not only voluble in verbal commentaries on the +ambiguous text, but profuse in promises. On the twentieth Ferdinand +VII of Spain, as his supporters called him, was at the gates of +Bayonne. He was received, not with royal honors, but by his own +legates, the three grandees whom he had sent to Napoleon; and they +told him with mournful accents that the Emperor with his own lips had +declared that the Bourbons could no longer reign in Spain. It was with +dejected mien and shaky steps that the young monarch and his suite +followed Duroc and Berthier to the wretched quarters provided for +their residence. The Empress was, throughout <span class="pagenum"><a id="page145" name="page145"></a>(p. 145)</span> the three +months spent at Bayonne, both gracious and conciliatory, playing her +part as hostess with grace, and alleviating with kindness the +bitterness of her compulsory guests. On the evening of Ferdinand's +arrival a handsome dinner was given at the château where the court was +lodged, and the visiting prince was most decorously treated. His train +grew more joyous and hopeful as the hours passed, although they noted +that the Emperor did not address his guest as king. Still, that was a +slight matter, and they returned in gaiety to their poor lodgings—all +but one: Canon Escoiquiz had been asked to remain for a short private +interview, while Savary escorted his master. It was an identical +communication which was then made in the same hour to both minister +and prince; short, terse, and brutal: to wit, the Bourbons had ceased +to reign in Spain, and Ferdinand would be indemnified by Etruria if he +would formally renounce a crown which was not even technically his, +since Charles declared that he had abdicated through fear. The +document in which this was announced had already been printed and +published at Madrid by Napoleon's command. He now summoned Charles, +Louisa, and Godoy to Bayonne.</p> + +<p>Murat had found trouble in liberating the Prince of the Peace, for the +junta feared the populace if they should remember the object of their +hate and scorn. But he finally succeeded, and in the last days of +April Godoy reached Bayonne, where by the thirtieth all the puppets +were assembled. Dejected and broken-spirited, the minister agreed to +play the part assigned to him. The honors of a royal progress had been +paid to Charles, and he posed for a few days as the King. Ferdinand, +whose character and behavior awakened the contemptuous scorn even of +Talleyrand, was the culprit at the bar, charged with dishonoring his +parents. The trial scene <span class="pagenum"><a id="page146" name="page146"></a>(p. 146)</span> was a shocking exhibition of human +frailty. Ferdinand was summoned before a bench composed of his +parents, who claimed to be still sovereigns, and the French emperor; +Godoy, looking like a bull, as Talleyrand thought, sat sullenly by. +The old King demanded his crown. Ferdinand persistently refused to +surrender it. Finally the trembling and invalid father rose on his +shaky, rheumatic legs and brandished his staff; the undutiful son +remained unmoved. A second demand was made by letter; it was to the +same effect, but the answer was different. Ferdinand agreed that he +would renounce his throne before the assembled Cortes at Madrid, but +there only, and to Charles IV alone. At Napoleon's command Charles +refused to consider the proposal, giving as a reason that Spain could +be saved only by the Emperor. This was Napoleon's opportunity. Two +days later an imperial decree was promulgated, which appointed Murat +dictator of Spain, under the style "lieutenant-general of the +kingdom."</p> + +<a id="img008" name="img008"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img008.jpg" width="400" height="553" alt="" title=""> +<p class="right small">In the collection of the Countess of Sandwich.</p> +<p class="center smcap">NAPOLEON IN HIS STUDY.</p> +<p class="small center">From the painting by Paul Hippolyte Delaroche.</p> +</div> + +<p>Meantime that intriguer had been making for himself a tortuous +approach to royalty. Nothing could more hasten the progress of events +than a riot in Madrid. The sensibility of the inhabitants of that city +had been rasped by the French occupation; they had seen the departure +of their idol with irritation, and had been further exasperated by +Godoy's liberation. Murat set fire to the train of their passions +first by a new disposition of his forces, which so menaced the place +as to make it clear that he was no longer an ally, but a conqueror, +and then by the announcement that the infante Don Francisco was to be +despatched to Bayonne with his uncle and all the remaining members of +the royal family, including the Queen of Etruria and her children. On +May second the entire population rose to resist this insolent tyranny. +Murat was ready for the move; the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page147" name="page147"></a>(p. 147)</span> conflict was short, but +it was sharp, for he lost several hundred soldiers, perhaps half as +many as the patriots, in whose ranks some eight hundred fell. The +aspirant to royal honors yielded with ostentatious grace to the first +representations of the junta, and promised a general amnesty; but he +also thought it best to make an example before the eyes of his future +subjects, and in spite of his plighted word two hundred of the +insurgent patriots were seized and shot. This very day, however, there +was pronounced a decree of rude disenchantment for him. It was on May +second that Napoleon definitely wrote to him that the kingdom of Spain +could not be his; he might have Naples or Portugal. The Emperor was +tired of Bayonne, and longed to be back in Paris, where he could be +active about the business of perpetuating his empire and his dynasty. +The stubborn Ferdinand was therefore summoned once more, and charged +with having instigated the upheaval of Madrid. He remained mute for +some minutes, and with downcast eyes. "If before midnight," came the +cold words of the Emperor, "you have not recognized your father as +legitimate king, and notified the fact at Madrid, you will be treated +as a rebel." Some declare that there was besides a menace of death.</p> + +<p>This ended all resistance. Ferdinand resigned his rights as king into +his father's hands, his rights as heir into those of Napoleon. Charles +had already assigned his rights as king to the same suzerain.<a id="footnotetag23" name="footnotetag23"></a><a href="#footnote23" title="Go to footnote 23"><span class="smaller">[23]</span></a> The +complacent old man was actually cheerful and joyous, as his +entertainer desired he should be; but Ferdinand, in spite of the fact +that he was to have the château of Navarre with an income of a million +francs, in spite of promises that all the royal family would be +liberally pensioned, remained silent and gloomy. Napoleon was not +pleased <span class="pagenum"><a id="page148" name="page148"></a>(p. 148)</span> by this behavior, and in commending him to the +hospitality of Talleyrand, at the splendid castle of Valençay, +declared that his whole character could be summed up in a single +word—sullen. Poor Talleyrand! he saw himself condemned to the +"honorable mission" of turnkey to a dispossessed monarch whose guard +of honor was a troop of eighty mounted police. By the Emperor's grace +the young culprit was not to be committed to jail, for he had +voluntarily surrendered himself; but Talleyrand was to watch and amuse +him, and discover, if possible, some charming and marriageable girl to +entangle his affections, so that in her society he might forget the +delights of power, while time should weaken the promptings of ambition +and revenge. In a few days Charles, Louisa, and Godoy were comfortably +installed at Compiègne, while Ferdinand, with his brother, went +sullenly away to "visit" at Valençay. The prisoner's character was +soon displayed. The day of his arrival at his destination he wrote a +cringing letter to Napoleon, and soon after not only congratulated the +Emperor on the accession of the King of Naples to the throne he had +claimed for his own, but even felicitated Joseph himself on his +coronation as Catholic Majesty.</p> + +<p>Napoleon knew the mysterious power throughout Europe of that charmed +word "legitimacy." He despised the concept that it expressed, while he +meant to make the most of its power. Having misunderstood the strength +of Spanish patriotism, he now made the blunder of supposing that the +Spaniards would receive as a legitimate prince whomsoever he chose to +appoint as heir to the "legitimacy" which the Spanish Bourbons had +just put into his hands. Louis, moreover, had but recently illustrated +the force of a new environment under the notion of legitimacy. +Replying to Napoleon's letter of March twenty-fifth, he had flatly +refused the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page149" name="page149"></a>(p. 149)</span> Spanish crown, on the ground that he had sworn a +solemn oath to the Dutch. Joseph was immediately restored to favor and +ordered to Bayonne. He came with apparent alacrity, due, as he +claimed, to his desire to free his beloved brother Napoleon from +embarrassment. Soon all was apparently ready for his inauguration.</p> + +<p>The treaty of Fontainebleau had produced unexpected complications and +disastrous results on its political side; the apparently insignificant +military clauses had so far been successfully executed. One Spanish +army was far away on the Baltic, held under curb by Bernadotte; +another had been despatched to western Spain, and had remained there; +in the mean while the north and the center of the country were +occupied by the French. General Solano had made some movement to lead +back his troops into the occupied territory, but was checked in his +advance by instructions from the ministers of Charles IV at Madrid. +Uncertain as to their powers in a revolutionary crisis, he rendered +only a half-obedience; but it was sufficient for Napoleon's object, +and there was no body of Spanish troops within striking distance of +the capital. Accordingly, when the Spanish notables were summoned to +Bayonne, they could not well refuse, and a hundred and fifty of them +responded. On June sixth, 1808, the crown of Spain was offered to +Joseph by this strange Cortes, and he accepted it. At the same time +the new constitution, destined by Napoleon to regenerate the country, +was laid before the same body, which discussed and adopted it. In the +following month his Catholic Majesty presented himself, with this +document and a cabinet of able ministers, to the people of Madrid. +Charles IV and his followers found Compiègne too cold, and soon moved, +first to Marseilles, then to Italy. Murat became King of Naples. +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page150" name="page150"></a>(p. 150)</span> Ferdinand remained contentedly in France, licking the hand +which had struck him down. Napoleon returned to Paris, uneasy at the +attitude of the Spanish nation, but hoping that local discontent could +be smothered by the strong hand, as he had seen it smothered in +France, Italy, and the Orient. In this, however, he was to find +himself sadly mistaken.</p> + +<p>In the story of Spanish degradation at its worst two names must stand +together as partners in political crime—those of Godoy and Escoiquiz, +who sought to mask their own base ambitions behind the acts of their +feeble creatures, the King and Ferdinand respectively. Throughout the +whole vile complot moves also the figure of the Queen, whose +counterpart must be sought in the annals of witches, furies, and +hetæræ. But there were still left uncontaminated eleven millions of +the Spanish people. They were indolent by nature, had been fettered +both by tradition and by worn-out institutions, and had long groaned +in the chains of corrupt administration. With the removal of the +Bourbons all these paraphernalia were swept away. The brothers +Napoleon believed, and no doubt honestly, that pure and capable +administration under a modern system would soon produce order, +industry, prosperity, and peace, and that a grateful nation would +before long acclaim its preservers, and enroll itself as a devoted +ally against the "perfidious and tyrannical" supremacy of Great +Britain. It is useless to speculate how far this dream would have been +realized but for the utter rottenness of the instruments with which +the reformers worked. The King's senility, the Queen's lust, Godoy's +greed, Escoiquiz's self-seeking, Ferdinand's unreliability, Murat's +ambition, made a poor armory of weapons wherewith to accomplish a +beneficent revolution. But the one vital blunder was, after all, not +in the use of such tools: it was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page151" name="page151"></a>(p. 151)</span> in the contempt for +nationality shown first in making the treaty of Fontainebleau, then in +its violation by the subsequent seizure of Portugal, and finally in +the occupation of Spain by French troops. Declaring that more had been +lost than gained by the events which occurred at Bayonne, Talleyrand +says that on one occasion he icily observed to Napoleon that society +would pardon much to a man of the world, but cheating at cards never. +If this be true, it was a stinging rebuke and one which touched the +heart of the whole matter.</p> + +<p>To the bloody butchery and broken faith of May second, the day of the +Madrid riots, may be attributed the turn of Napoleon's fortunes. How +far he was responsible for each of Murat's successive acts cannot be +known. With exaggerated conceptions of the Emperor's ubiquity, some +attribute every detail in every step to the direct intervention of the +master. This is unproved and highly improbable; but the spirit was +his, and the use he made of each occasion as it arose is matter of +history. The fires of rebellion were lighted thenceforth on every +Spanish hearth. Madrid itself was dangerous enough, but Madrid was not +Spain, as Paris is France, and the fine local enthusiasm of +uncorrupted Spanish blood in every district was awakened into vigorous +activity by the news of how faithless had been the French treatment, +not only of the royal house, but of the citizens—men and women who +were themselves true Spaniards, brothers and sisters of every other +Spaniard. This possibility Napoleon had not foreseen, and he did not +grasp the fact until long afterward, when years of bitter experience +had rolled over his head. The Madrid riots, suppressed by Murat with +such terrible bloodshed, were at the time, in Napoleon's mind, only a +welcome leverage for moving Ferdinand to compliance, and that was all.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page152" name="page152"></a>(p. 152)</span> But the city had been full of provincials attracted from all +parts of the country to swell the triumph of their idol Ferdinand on +his accession to the throne. They returned to their homes inspired +with hatred for the French and with bitter scorn for the pretexts on +which Spain and Portugal had been torn from a commercial system that +brought them considerable prosperity and many comforts, in order that +they might be incorporated, under foreign princes, into another +system, which not only required serious self-denial, but brought +stagnation, disorganization, and the presence of an armed soldiery. +One weakness of the Spanish monarchy had always been the absence of +centralization, but that very fact had been the national strength in +fostering local attachments. Into every city, town, and hamlet, each +nourishing its own local pride by local patriotism, came the news from +Madrid of how the invaders were trampling not merely upon Spanish +rights, but upon every consideration of humanity and good faith. The +national will was stirred as never before or since; its expression +grew louder every day, until at last the conflagration of devotion to +a national cause was kindled far and near. Every community formed its +committees, and these organized such neighborhood resistance as was +possible, while communicating with other juntas of the same sort to +unite their little wars, or guerrillas, into a great combined and +vigorous effort wherever the opportunity offered. Under the surface +throughout all Spain the fires of resistance began to kindle; the +crackling could be heard even while the assembly at Bayonne was +adopting the new constitution.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page153" name="page153"></a>(p. 153)</span> CHAPTER XI.</h3> + +<h4>The First Revolt of Nations.<a id="footnotetag24" name="footnotetag24"></a><a href="#footnote24" title="Go to footnote 24"><span class="smaller">[24]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">The New Rôle of Spain — Guerrilla Warfare — The French Cowed — The + Capitulation of Baylen — The French Retreat from Spain and + Portugal — Complaints of King Joseph — Napoleon's + Exasperation — Imperialist Sentiment in France — The Emperor's + Determination — The Spirit of Prussia — The Work of Stein — The + Revolution in Turkey — Austria's Anxieties — War Feeling at + Vienna — Napoleon Turns to the Czar — Alexander's + Hesitancy — Napoleon's Misrepresentations — Austria + Warned — Talleyrand and the Czar — Napoleon's Allocution at St. + Cloud.</p> + +<p>Thus far in the history of Europe all politics had been in the main +dynastic. The nations having been consolidated under powerful houses, +it was the reigning family which seemed to constitute the national +entity, not the common institutions, common speech, common faith, +common territory, common aims, and common destiny of the people. +Spain, like Italy, had a clearly marked national domain, and, in spite +of some striking differences, a fairly homogeneous population. It was +fitting and not entirely unnatural that the land of the Inquisition, +the land of ignorance, the land of intolerance, the land, in short, +which had sunk the lowest under absolutism, should begin the +counterrevolution <span class="pagenum"><a id="page154" name="page154"></a>(p. 154)</span> which, checking the excesses of Napoleon +and the French Revolution in their disregard for nationality, ushered +into the world's forum the nation and national sentiment as the +strongest force of the nineteenth century.</p> + +<p>This was exactly what happened in Spain. Napoleon's strategy had +laughed at the military formation of Frederick the Great's system; the +guerrillas of Spain laughed at the formations of regular warfare in +any shape. They rose to fight, and dispersed for safety, leaving their +smarting foe unable to strike for lack of a billet. The occasional +successes of the Spanish regulars showed, moreover, that the generals +were not entirely ignorant of Napoleon's own system. When Joseph +entered Madrid the whole land was already in open rebellion, except +where French force compelled a sullen acquiescence in French rule. The +long inactive, sluggish ecclesiastics suddenly seemed to feel the +vigor to resist and the power to lead. They joined the insurgents, and +invoked the orthodoxy of the nation so as to inflame the passions of +the masses against the persecutor of the Pope. Irregular and undefined +as were the elements of the uprising, it was nevertheless essentially +a popular movement; as Napoleon himself later admitted, it was the +people themselves who refused to ratify his new institutions, and who +declared for Ferdinand VII. The sequel furnished ample illustration of +this fact: the mountaineers of Asturias rose in united rebellion; the +inhabitants of Cartagena threw open their arsenals to the volunteers +of the neighborhood; the citizens of Saragossa beat off their +besiegers, while those of Valencia first massacred the French who took +refuge in their citadel, and then repulsed Moncey in a desperate +conflict. When the Spanish leaders ventured into an open battle-field +they were defeated; on the other hand, when <span class="pagenum"><a id="page155" name="page155"></a>(p. 155)</span> they kept the +hills and fought like bandits they were victorious.</p> + +<p>So quick and general was the Spanish rising that the various French +army divisions shut themselves up for safety in whatever towns they +could hold: pretending to defy the national guards, who seemed to +spring from the ground without, they were in reality awestricken +before the wrath of the armed citizens within. A quick burst of +Spanish anger, a sharp stab of the Spanish poniard—the frequency of +such incidents began to create a panic among the French boy-soldiers. +The seizure and sack of a city had for years been a traditional +amusement of the grand army, connected in Italy and Germany with +little or no loss of life, and enhanced by the acquisition of enormous +booty. The young conscripts, who had heard the oft-told tale from +their fathers' lips, found to their bitter disappointment that in +Spain a sack meant much bloodshed and little, if any, booty. Sometimes +the tables were more than turned. A French squadron put in at Cadiz to +coöperate with a force despatched by Napoleon, under pretense of +resisting an invasion threatened by the English, but really for the +purpose of terrorizing southern Spain. The arrival of the troops +having been delayed by the outbreak of rebellion farther north, the +townsfolk of that ancient city rose and seized the fleet. The corpses +of French soldiers, wherever found throughout the country, were +mutilated by the furious Spaniards, and the wounded received no +quarter.</p> + +<p>At the end of May, Murat was in Madrid as commander-in-chief, with +Moncey as his lieutenant; he had thirty thousand troops. Junot was in +Portugal with twenty-five thousand. Bessières had twenty-five thousand +more, half in Old Castile under himself, half in Aragon under Verdier. +Duhesme commanded the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page156" name="page156"></a>(p. 156)</span> thirteen thousand who were in +Catalonia; Dupont stood on the Tagus near Toledo with twenty-four +thousand more. In the first weeks of June four different skirmishes +occurred between the French regulars and the insurgents in different +parts of the country. Verdier at Logroño on the sixth, Frère in +Segovia on the seventh, Lefebvre at Tudela on the eighth, and Lasalle +near Valladolid on the twelfth, had all dispersed the hordes opposed +to them. By the middle of the month a regular advance was ordered. It +took the form of dispersion for the sake of complete occupation. While +Lefebvre laid siege to Saragossa, Moncey started for Valencia with ten +thousand soldiers, Dupont for Andalusia with nine thousand, and +Bessières's division was distributed throughout Castile up to the +walls of Santander, which closed its gates and prepared for +resistance. Owing to the defiant attitude and desperate courage of the +people, every one of these movements was unsuccessful, each failing in +its own special purpose. Cordova was captured, but it had almost +instantly to be abandoned. At once Napoleon changed his carefully +studied but futile strategy, and determined to concentrate the +scattered columns on the critical point, wherever it might be. By this +time Palafox and others of the Spanish leaders had shown great ability +as generals. The danger now was that a Spanish army would seize +Madrid, and thither the French army must betake itself. On July +fourteenth Bessières successfully overwhelmed the opposition made at +Medina de Rio Seco by the Spaniards under La Cuesta and the Irish +general Blake. The only corps left exposed was that of Dupont, to whom +reinforcements had been promptly despatched; but the Spaniards under +Castaños caught his army, now twenty-five thousand strong, in the +mountain pass of La Carolina, among the Sierra Moreña mountains, and +on July twenty-first <span class="pagenum"><a id="page157" name="page157"></a>(p. 157)</span> forced him to capitulate at Baylen, +where his whole corps laid down their arms.</p> + +<p>This was an awful blow, for Madrid was thereby rendered untenable. The +Emperor gave orders to retreat behind the Duero, and directed +Bessières to keep open the connection with Junot by way of Valladolid. +In fact, he began to appreciate his task, for he warned his generals +against any system of cordons in dealing with such an enemy, useful as +a string of posts might be in checking smugglers; and besides this +change of plan, there were indications that he would himself soon take +charge in Spain. There was need of this, for his generals and +boy-soldiers did not stop to hold the Duero; evacuating Madrid, they +never halted until they were behind the Ebro, in what they considered +a kind of French borderland. The siege of Saragossa was abandoned, and +Duhesme evacuated Catalonia. Junot's situation was thus rendered most +precarious, for when Wellesley landed early in August with fourteen +thousand English troops, and found that the junta of Corunna had no +need of him, he promptly advanced against the invaders of Portugal. +Having driven in the French outposts on the seventeenth, four days +later he attacked and defeated Junot at Vimeiro. At the very height of +the contest, when victory seemed already secure, Burrard, a superior +officer, arrived to assume command. This reduced Wellesley to the rank +of an adviser, and, his advice not being taken, Junot escaped to the +strong position of Cintra, whence, although entirely cut off from his +base in Spain, he was able to dictate his own terms of surrender. He +and all his troops had a free return by sea to France, but Portugal +was to be evacuated.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was at St. Cloud, near Paris, when the news of this disaster +arrived. To some extent he was already aware of the situation. He knew +that the Spaniards <span class="pagenum"><a id="page158" name="page158"></a>(p. 158)</span> would not keep any stipulations they +made, claiming that no faith was due to a hostile army which had +entered their country under the guise of allies—an army, moreover, +which stole the sacred vessels from the sanctuaries of their churches, +and would not keep its promise to restore them. The letters of Joseph, +who was now utterly disenchanted, had for some time been but one +string of bitter complaints. He had asked the Emperor whether an end +could not be made to the organized pillage of the churches, and had +told him that the movement in Spain was as irrepressible as that of +the French Revolution, emphasizing his hopelessness by the suggestion +that if France had raised a million soldiers, Spain could probably +raise at least half as many. He said, too, that men talked openly of +assassinating him; that he had no friends but the scoundrels, the +honest men and patriots being on the other side. "My generals," was +the Emperor's comment on this querulousness, "are a parcel of +post-inspectors; the Ebro is nothing but a line; we must resume the +offensive at Tudela." "I have a spot there," he said, pointing with +his finger at his uniform. To calm his brother's fears, he replied +that the whole Spanish matter had been arranged long before with +Russia; that Europe recognized the change as an accomplished fact; and +that the priests and monks were at the bottom of all the trouble, +stirring up sedition, and acting for the greedy Inquisition. "There is +no question of death, but of life and victory; you shall have both.... +I may find in Spain the Pillars of Hercules, but not the limits of my +power." True to his old principles, Napoleon refused to "call off the +thieves," as Joseph besought him, and declared that, according to the +laws of war, when a town was captured under arms pillage was +justifiable.</p> + +<p>These were all brave words, but the Emperor was in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page159" name="page159"></a>(p. 159)</span> the last +stage of exasperation. The letters he wrote at the time betray +something of the unutterable pain he felt. No one but himself could +really know the difference to him: his glory was smirched, his +Oriental plans and his scheme for peace with England were indefinitely +postponed, his impatient ally was again put off, while Austria and +Prussia were encouraged to revolt. Was the vast structure he had so +laboriously erected now to fall in one crash at his feet? The news of +Junot's surrender was further embittered by the receipt of information +that the Spanish troops under General La Romana, which had slyly been +posted first in Hamburg, and then sent to Denmark as Bernadotte's +advance-guard, had at last revolted, and were embarking on English +ships for home in order to join the movement of national redemption. +By this disaster the demonstration against Sweden promised to the Czar +was made impossible. This accumulation of misfortunes—defeat before +Valencia, defeat before Saragossa, disaster and surrender at Baylen, +disaster and disgrace at Vimeiro, retreat from Madrid, desertion of +the Duero as a line of defense, exchange of the offensive for a weak +defensive, and loss of the whole Iberian peninsula except the strip +behind the Ebro—all this was shameful and hard to bear. Nevertheless, +under favorable conditions the situation might have been retrieved. +The conditions, however, were most unfavorable. The example and +success of Spain were daily giving new comfort to Napoleon's enemies +both in France and abroad.</p> + +<p>For the present, however, France might be trusted. The people as a +whole had become imperial to the core. The republicans and royalists +were so diminished in numbers, and so silenced by the censorship, that +they were virtually impotent. The real ability of the country was no +longer in retreat, but in the public service; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page160" name="page160"></a>(p. 160)</span> the +administration, both financial and judicial, had every appearance of +solidity, and the industrial conditions were so steadily improving +that the most enterprising and intelligent merchants began to have +faith in the ultimate success of the Continental System as a means of +securing a European monopoly to French manufactures and commerce. The +perfect centralization of France kept the provinces in such close +touch with Paris that there was no open expression of discontent in +any part of the country. The people were not well informed as to the +facts, and they were slow to apprehend the significance of what they +learned. By this time the Emperor was France, and whatever he did must +be well done. The gradual infusion of the military spirit into the +masses had made them passive and obedient. There had been, they knew, +some unpleasant troubles beyond the Pyrenees, but the season was not +over, and before winter the Emperor's discipline would no doubt be +successful. The grand army now pouring out of Germany across France +into Spain evidently meant serious business, but there could be no +doubt of the result.</p> + +<p>The court remained solemn and dull in its weary round of ceremony. The +moving spirit was now occupied elsewhere, and his constant +absent-mindedness made the whole structure meaningless; for it was an +open secret that the soft grace and beseeching eyes, the graceful and +willowy form, the exquisite taste and winning ways of Josephine would +avail her no longer. The little nephew, Hortense's son and Napoleon's +darling, his intended heir, was dead; Joseph had only daughters, and +there being no male successor to the throne, reasons of state made a +divorce inevitable.<a id="footnotetag25" name="footnotetag25"></a><a href="#footnote25" title="Go to footnote 25"><span class="smaller">[25]</span></a> The deference of others to the Empress and her +condescension to them <span class="pagenum"><a id="page161" name="page161"></a>(p. 161)</span> were but a mockery, the reality of her +power having vanished. In this vain show the Emperor moved more dark +and mysterious than ever. It was his will that nothing should be +changed, and every courtier played his part as well as possible, the +two leading actors playing theirs superbly. There was an outward +display of confidence and kindness between them, which sometimes may +have been real; there were quarrels, explanations, and +reconciliations—a momentary return at times to old affection: but the +resultant of the conflicting forces was such as to destroy conjugal +trust and create general disquietude.</p> + +<p>When Napoleon looked abroad he saw nothing to reassure him, and +everything to create alarm. In Prussia there was a regeneration such +as was comparable only to a new birth. The old military monarchy, +under which the land had been repressed like an armed camp by its +sovereigns, was gone forever. The Tugendbund, that "band of virtue" +already mentioned, had ramified to the farthest borders; partizan +warfare was abandoned; piety, dignity, purity, courage, and the power +of organization were filling the land. The presence of the French +could not quench the new spirit, but instead it added fuel to the +flames of national hatred. Patriotic conventicles and every other form +of secret meeting were held. Scharnhorst went steadily on with the +training and reform of the army, while Stein, with a noble devotion, +and under an unsympathetic master, was working to perfect his new +administrative system. The churches were filled, and the hearers +understood every allusion in the glowing sermons addressed to them by +a devoted and patriotic clergy; schools, colleges, and universities +swarmed with students, whose youthful zeal found every encouragement +in the instruction of their teachers, which combined two qualities not +always <span class="pagenum"><a id="page162" name="page162"></a>(p. 162)</span> found united in teaching, being at the same time +thoroughly scientific and highly stimulating.</p> + +<p>At last, in August, Napoleon, who had looked and listened with deep +interest, read with his own eyes in one of Stein's intercepted letters +that the minister and his colleagues were aiming at a national +uprising, not of Prussia alone, but of all Germany. The illustrious +statesman, having emancipated the Prussian people, and having seen the +reform of the whole political organism in that great land, was +proceeding to extend his beneficent influence throughout all Germany. +In September Napoleon demanded Stein's dismissal, and enforced the +demand by sequestrating Frederick William's Westphalian estates, +threatening at the same time to continue the French occupation of +Prussia indefinitely. There was apparently no alternative, for the +country, although rejuvenated, had no allies, and could not fight +alone. Stein, therefore, resigned after an eventful ministry of about +a year, in which he had prepared the way for every one of the changes +which ultimately reconstructed Prussia.</p> + +<p>The two movements which in Spain and Germany menaced Napoleon's +prestige were national; there were two others, which, if not that, +may, by a stretch of definition, be called at least dynastic. The +first was a revolution in Constantinople. The Sultan Mustapha IV had +been from the beginning a feeble creature of the soldiers, who, after +overthrowing Selim, had set him on the throne. Before long he became +the contemptible tool of an irresponsible robber gang known as the +"yamacks," who, under the guise of militia, held the Turkish capital +in terror. The situation in Constantinople had finally grown +unendurable even to the Turks, and the Pasha of Rustchuk appeared at +the gates of the city to restore Selim III, who was still a captive in +the Seraglio. When the doors of that sacred inclosure were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page163" name="page163"></a>(p. 163)</span> +forced open, the first object seen was the body of the murdered +sovereign, killed by Mustapha in the belief that he himself was now +the sole available survivor of Othman's line. But the soldiers +ransacked the palace, and dragged from his concealment the young +prince Mahmud, second of the name, and destined to be a great +reformer. Him they proclaimed Sultan and set upon the throne, +appointing their leader grand vizir. The new government was devoted to +reform, contemptuous of French influence, and determined to repress +the evils which seemed to have ruined its predecessor. This severity +was more than the licentious capital would endure. At once every +element of discontent burst forth again,—the janizaries, the Ulema, +or doctors of the sacred law, and the people,—some mistrusting one +thing, others another, all alike unwilling to obey any master but +their own will. Disintegration of what little administrative +organization there still was, seemed imminent. The Turkish generals on +the Danube began to make light of the armistice or truce of Slobozia, +Napoleon's one reliance in his Eastern designs; they actually set in +motion their troops, and prepared to take the offensive against +Russia. This was in the hope that, before asking a separate peace from +the Czar or returning to seize the leadership at Constantinople, they +might secure some military prestige as a working capital. The whole +outlook seemed to foretell the extinction of French influence with the +Porte and a crash in the Orient before Napoleon was ready to take +advantage of it.</p> + +<p>But the events of Bayonne had been productive of greater alarm to the +house of Austria than to any other power. In the humiliation of the +Hohenzollerns, Napoleon had the sanction of conquest, though, in view +of Prussia's rising strength, it was now commonly said that he had +done too much or too little. While in weakening <span class="pagenum"><a id="page164" name="page164"></a>(p. 164)</span> that nation +he had rudely lopped the strength of an old French ally, yet he had +not destroyed it, and he had exercised what all Europe still admitted +to be a right—that of superior force. Austria, on the other hand, had +been an old and inveterate rival of France in the race for territorial +extension. Napoleon's treatment of her after Austerlitz had been +bitter, but the Hapsburgs could not plead former friendship. Here, +however, was a new development in Napoleonic ambition. The successive +announcements that minor ruling dynasties had ceased to reign had all +been made with the partial justification of either conquest or general +expediency, or, as in most cases, of both. The Spanish Bourbons had +been the Emperor's most obsequious and useful allies, obeying his +behests without a question: for their degradation there was no plea +either of expediency or of a right secured by conquest. The extinction +of what still ranked as a great royal house was accomplished by +chicane, was due to a boundless ambition, and was rendered utterly +abhorrent to all divine-right dynasties by the specious pretext of +reform under which it was accomplished. This gave Francis food for +reflection.</p> + +<p>In the territorial expansion of Rome her victims were first conquered, +then made dependent allies, then at last destroyed, and their lands +turned into Roman provinces. It appeared as if this, too, were, in +general, Napoleon's policy; but in some cases he showed himself quite +willing to dispense with any intermediary stage and marched direct to +his goal. Austria, already irritated by the disposition made of +Etruria and by the treatment of the Pope, could endure the suspense as +to her own fate no longer. Her new military system was complete, her +armies were reorganized and reëquipped, her administration was well +ordered, her generals and statesmen were alike confident. The Emperor +of the French had shown <span class="pagenum"><a id="page165" name="page165"></a>(p. 165)</span> quite the same impatience with +Austria in July as with Prussia in September, admonishing both to +observe the Continental System with strictness; but his warning +produced no effect at Vienna. On the contrary, the Viennese newspapers +took a belligerent tone, and called for war; English goods poured in +through the harbor of Triest; communications between the ministry at +London and the cabinet at Vienna became more frequent and regular; the +nation supported its monarch and assumed a warlike attitude. The +disasters in Spain tied Napoleon's hands, and he did nothing in a +military way except to call Davout from Poland into Silesia, and to +strengthen Mortier in Franconia.</p> + +<p>With the inconsistency of the highest greatness, Napoleon changed his +whole political campaign in the twinkling of an eye, as he so often +did his military ones. During the long months since the interview at +Tilsit, Alexander had been kept in an agony of uncertainty, deprived +of real French coöperation in regard either to Sweden or to Turkey, +and actually menaced by the continued occupation of Prussia and the +fortification of the strategic points in the duchy of Warsaw. +Caulaincourt had found his mission of dissimulation and +procrastination most difficult, partly by reason of Pozzo di Borgo's +influence, partly because the conquest of Muscovite society was a task +hitherto unknown to French arts, and experience had to be dearly +bought. In this latter work his success was very moderate, but he +became unconsciously an intimate friend and adviser of the Czar. This +displeased Napoleon, who promptly recalled him to his senses by a +warning that he must not forget that he was a Frenchman. Caulaincourt +bravely repelled the insinuation, but the correspondence of Napoleon +both with him and with the Czar became so voluminous that the Emperor +was virtually his own ambassador.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page166" name="page166"></a>(p. 166)</span> The contents of these letters were partly personal and +friendly; partly promissory, in preparation for what was about to be +done at Bayonne; partly preliminary to the second interview between +the two emperors, which had been mentioned at Tilsit and often +discussed since then. But so far there was not the slightest change of +front, no substantial fulfilment of the vague promises, no +coöperation; the world was still under the system of Tilsit in the +union of Russia and France—a union so far represented by the will of +Napoleon. The events at Bayonne deeply affected Alexander. His ally +knew they would, and on July tenth he wrote a long letter to St. +Petersburg, lamely justifying his conduct. But, after all, the Czar +cared little for ancient European dynasties, and, recovering from the +first shock, he began to make sport of a king "who had nothing further +to live for than his Louise and his Emmanuel," and then took a firm +stand in approval of his ally's course. The French and Russian +ministers had now completed their scheme for the partition of Turkey, +and the Czar finally and unconditionally assented to the second +meeting with the Emperor.</p> + +<p>But before the details of the all-important interview could be +arranged there was much to be done; in particular, Austria must be +held in check. An English vessel had arrived at Triest with a +deputation of Spanish insurgents who offered the throne of their +country to the Archduke Charles. The armaments of Francis grew +stronger day by day. No one could hold the Hapsburg empire in check +except the Czar. Even amid the exhausting labors of Bayonne, Napoleon +remembered this, and thought of the East, reorganizing his fleet in +preparation for coöperation with that of Russia, and commanding +reports to be made on the geography and military history of Persia. +After the loss of Baylen, of which he learned in the first days of +August, his ingenuity did <span class="pagenum"><a id="page167" name="page167"></a>(p. 167)</span> not desert him, in spite of his +heavy heart. A swift courier was despatched on the fifth, with a +letter dated back to July twenty-first, and written as if in ignorance +of events in Spain. He was enjoined to outrun the ordinary +news-carriers, in order that, reaching St. Petersburg before them, he +might present as an offering of friendship to Alexander the promise of +a virtual evacuation of Prussia—even, in certain contingencies, of +Warsaw. Twenty-four hours later another messenger was despatched, +conveying the bad news in the mildest form, and expressing as the +Emperor's greatest concern a hope that the Russian squadron which had +been sent to Lisbon would escape, as he had reassuring news from its +commander. It mattered not to him that this was untrue; the end was +gained, and the real significance of Baylen was thereby largely +concealed from the Czar, or at least the impression made on him by the +news was weakened.</p> + +<p>Waiting for these communications to produce their effect, the Emperor +forwarded a formal remonstrance to Vienna, in his own name, against +Austria's warlike attitude, and two weeks later categorically demanded +a similar step from the Czar, opening out once more the vista of +indefinite aggrandizement for Russia in the East if only the European +conflagration were not rekindled. The Czar was charmed by the promises +of Napoleon, but when it came to a menacing remonstrance with Austria +he hesitated. The anti-French party in Russia were now repeating, like +parrots, first, Spain is annihilated, then Austria, then we ourselves. +Moreover, as Alexander himself felt, arrangements like those of Tilsit +are but too easily overset by unforeseen circumstances, and in such an +event what would Europe be without the Hapsburgs? In the end a feeble +hint, backed up by a weak menace, was sent to Vienna. Peace, wrote +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page168" name="page168"></a>(p. 168)</span> the Czar, is the best policy for Austria. "May not the peace +of Tilsit, which I made, carry some obligations with it?" The warning +produced a momentary impression in the city on the Danube.<a id="footnotetag26" name="footnotetag26"></a><a href="#footnote26" title="Go to footnote 26"><span class="smaller">[26]</span></a></p> + +<p>In this short interval every preparation was hastened for the +interview which had now become indispensable to both parties. Napoleon +had only one object—to draw the alliance closer in the eyes of all +Europe for the conservation of his prestige. Alexander had +several—the mitigation of Prussia's bondage, the successful +occupation of Finland, and, what was the real bond of the alliance, +the partition of Turkey. This was substantially what the Czar had been +promised at Tilsit, but he had not yet obtained a single item of the +list then agreed upon. In spite of Caulaincourt's caresses and +Napoleon's cajoling, he was now in a determined humor, and meant to +demand the fulfilment of his ally's engagement, not from good will, +but from necessity. Talleyrand, wearied to distraction by the dull +life of Valençay and the charge of the Spanish princes, had determined +to regain his diplomatic power, and now began, by the agency of his +many devoted friends in Paris, an extensive course of preparation for +a return to public life and to influence. Through semi-official +channels the Czar was informed that France, drunk with victory and +conquest, now looked to his wisdom for protection from the further +ambitions of her fiery ruler. Before long Alexander's own agents began +to confirm this statement. The French nation, at least the reasonable +portion of it, they said, was weary of Napoleon's imperial policy. If +this were true, Spain and Austria might be used to hold France in +check while Russia should work her will on the Danube. No matter now +if her ally were faithless: compliance could be forced from his +weakness.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page169" name="page169"></a>(p. 169)</span> This disposition had been partly foreseen by Napoleon; he was +informed by Caulaincourt how steadily it was crystallizing into a +fixed determination. To the observer the moment seemed critical, but +the great adventurer was still able to ride the storm. Whence the +impulse came is not easily determined, but he turned to Talleyrand as +an agent likely to be useful in such complications. The intriguer came +forward promptly, and, receiving the Caulaincourt despatches, together +with a verbal explanation from the Emperor, was quickly in readiness +for the duty of counselor, to which he was called. Napoleon himself +assumed a lofty tone. On August fifteenth he held a levee at St. Cloud +to which all the representatives of foreign powers were summoned; +those of Russia and Austria stood near together. Again, as on the +famous occasion before the rupture of the peace of Amiens, he uttered +a public allocution in the form of a conversation; this time it was +with Metternich, the Austrian ambassador, and he was calmer and more +courtly. Reproaching the Emperor of Austria with ingratitude, he +announced his political policy; to wit, that Russia would hold Austria +in check, while he and Alexander divided the East between them without +reference to Francis, unless the latter should disarm and recognize +Joseph as king of Spain. Tolstoi remained frigid throughout the long +harangue. It was he who had declared and repeated that eventually +Napoleon, having humbled Austria, would attack Russia. A fortnight +earlier, in an interview with the stern old Russian, the Emperor had +asseverated the contrary, but to no effect: Tolstoi had shown no +symptoms of faith or conviction. The address to Metternich was, +therefore, a second string to Napoleon's bow in case he should fail at +Erfurt to win Alexander. His general mien was undaunted and his tone +loftier than ever. The tenor <span class="pagenum"><a id="page170" name="page170"></a>(p. 170)</span> of his private conversation +with Metternich and others was that he would rest content with what he +had. Spain would no longer be a danger in the rear, Austria and Russia +would be his allies, sharing in the mastery of the world, and England, +the irreconcilable enemy of them all, would be finally reduced to +ignominious surrender by the loss of her means of subsistence.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page171" name="page171"></a>(p. 171)</span> CHAPTER XII.</h3> + +<h4>Napoleon and Alexander at Erfurt.<a id="footnotetag27" name="footnotetag27"></a><a href="#footnote27" title="Go to footnote 27"><span class="smaller">[27]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon's Imperial Hospitality — The Interviews of Napoleon and + Goethe — Meeting of Napoleon and Wieland — Their Conversation — The + Gains of Russia — Dangerous Elements in the Dual League — Austria + Menaced — Napoleon's Marital Relations — Fouché's Machinations for + the Divorce of Josephine — Napoleon's Proposal for a Russian + Princess.</p> + +<p>The second meeting of the two most powerful monarchs then living +occurred at Erfurt on September twenty-seventh, and their +deliberations lasted eighteen days. It was Napoleon's greatest +diplomatic engagement, and he was the victor. The town was his, and he +was, of course, the host. Such splendid hospitality as he lavished +would have touched a harder heart than Alexander's. The luxury and +military display were barbaric on the one hand, while, on the other, +Germany's greatest scholars and men of letters were summoned to +flatter the Czar's intellectual pretensions. There was the same +exhibition, too, of frank personal confidence and of imperial +magnanimity as at Tilsit. Talleyrand and the Russian chancellor, +Rumianzoff, held protracted conferences, the former, as he confesses +in his memoirs, plotting against his master's interests, in order to +see that Austria should <span class="pagenum"><a id="page172" name="page172"></a>(p. 172)</span> suffer no harm. Day after day +Napoleon and Alexander paced the floor of the great room in the palace +which had been fitted as an office, examining details and bringing +matters to a conclusion. There was intoxication in the very air. The +kings of Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Westphalia were present with their +consorts and attendant courtiers; so, too, were the Prince Primate and +the minor rulers of Germany. The drawing-rooms, streets, and theaters +of Erfurt were filled with the splendors of their gorgeous apparel and +that of their bedizened attendants. On October fourth the "Œdipe" +of Voltaire was given at the playhouse before the assembled courts. At +the words, "A great man's friendship is a boon from the gods," +Alexander rose, and, grasping Napoleon's hand, stood for a moment in +an attitude that typified a renewed alliance. The house thundered with +applause.</p> + +<p>More memorable still was the appearance on the scene of Germany's most +transcendent genius, who came to lay the homage of his intellect at +the feet of him whom he considered at the moment, and long after, not +only to be the greatest power, but the greatest idealist, in the +world. Goethe and Napoleon met twice—once in Erfurt, once in Weimar. +On both occasions it was the man of arms who sought out the man of +letters—<i>par nobile fratrum</i>. They talked of Werther and his sorrows; +the Emperor appreciatively, and with a knowledge of detail. It is said +that the latter took exception to some one passage in particular; +which one is not known. The poet had probably just risen from penning +the "Elective Affinities," and seemed to recognize his dazzling host +as a creature familiar with such ties, transcending the bounds of +nations, the trammels of commonplace human limitations, the confines +of ordinary thought and speech. "A great man can be recognized +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page173" name="page173"></a>(p. 173)</span> only by his peers," is one of Goethe's own sentences. What +to the poet were common men and the chains of political bondage, what +were nations and their ambitions, in comparison with a society where +mind and morals had the glorious license of Olympians and could follow +the unobstructed paths of inclination in realms controlled only by +fancy! Napoleon's greeting was laconic, "Vous êtes un homme." This +flattered Goethe, who called it the inverse "ecce homo," and felt its +allusion to his citizenship, not in Germany, but in the world. The +nineteenth-century Cæsar then urged the great writer to carry out an +already-formed design and compose a drama on the life of his own great +prototype; such a work, he was sure, would be worthier of the theme +than Voltaire's effort. At St. Cloud Napoleon had once paid a glowing +eulogy to the power of tragic dramas, and, speaking of Corneille, +declared that to his inspiration the French nation owed many of its +finest impulses and its most brilliant deeds. "If he were here, I +would make him a prince." To Goethe he now said that in art, as in +politics, there should be rule and ordered beauty; apropos of the +drama imitated from Shakspere, which mingles tragedy and comedy, the +terrible with the burlesque, he expressed surprise that a great mind +like Goethe's did not like clean-cut models—"N'aime pas les genres +tranchés." These two judgments, taken together, give a valuable +picture of Napoleon's mind.</p> + +<p>Amid the brilliant scenes arranged for the entertainment of Napoleon +in the stately little town of Weimar, when surrounded by that German +aristocracy which he had humbled, he summoned to his presence the man +who in the two periods of his career personified first the strength +and then the weakness of the German folk—the aged Wieland. Indeed, +the Emperor's conversation throughout that excursion to Weimar was +chiefly <span class="pagenum"><a id="page174" name="page174"></a>(p. 174)</span> of learning, as if he bowed before German knowledge, +German science, German letters. He had studied much, he said, in the +barracks, "when I was a young lieutenant of artillery," and his cold, +piercing glance seemed to search the very hearts of the proud princes +and dukes who crowded around and literally stood at his chair in +domestic service. It was at the ball given by the Grand Duchess that +he asked for Wieland. During the evening this gentle and now temperate +old man had been present while the actors of the French comedy, +brought among other decorative trappings from Paris, had declaimed the +"Death of Cæsar" from the stage of the ducal theater; he had listened +to Talma's significant utterance of the words, "Rule without violence +over a conquered universe," and then, wearied by the excitement of +these strange experiences, had withdrawn from further revelry. The +Grand Duchess of Weimar, anxious to gratify her great guest, sent her +carriage to fetch the author of "Oberon"; and rather than detain the +illustrious dictator, the poet started as he was, in his ordinary +garments, with unpowdered hair, wearing his little skull-cap and felt +shoes. The meeting was therefore most dramatic. The dancing almost +ceased when Napoleon advanced to meet his visitor, for the company +crowded in a wide circle to look on and catch what they might hear. +But the conversation was in a low tone.</p> + +<p>Wieland would never tell or write what was said, and we know only +enough to feel that the great soldier's words were worthy both of his +genius and of the occasion. He had treated the German nobility with +haughtiness; this plain scholar he treated as an equal. Speaking of +the ancients, and defending the Cæsars against Tacitus, he discussed +the rise of Christianity and emphasized the value of all religions in +conserving morals. The poet <span class="pagenum"><a id="page175" name="page175"></a>(p. 175)</span> replied, when needful, in broken +French, but soon felt at his ease, for the Emperor seemed disposed to +engross the conversation, and in the manner of the times proposed +questions. "Which of your works do you prefer?" Wieland disclaimed +merit for any, but, under urgency, confessed that he liked best his +"Agathon" and "Oberon." Then Napoleon asked the stock query which he +so often put to scholars and men of letters: "Which has been the +happiest age of humanity?" "Impossible to give a reply," said the +poet; "good and evil, virtue and vice, continually alternate; +philosophy must emphasize the good and make the evil tolerable." +"Admirable! admirable!" said Napoleon; "it is not just to paint +everything dark, like Tacitus. He is certainly a skilful artist, a +bold, seductive colorist, but above all he aims at effect. History +wants no illusions; it should illuminate and instruct, not merely give +descriptions and narratives which impress us. Tacitus did not +sufficiently develop the causes and inner springs of events. He did +not sufficiently study the mystery of facts and thoughts, did not +sufficiently investigate and scrutinize their connection, to give +posterity a just and impartial opinion. History, as I understand it, +should know how to catch men and peoples as they would appear in the +midst of their epoch. It should take account of external circumstances +which would necessarily exercise an important influence on their +actions, and clearly see within what limits that influence wrought. +The Roman emperors were not so bad as Tacitus describes them. +Therefore I am forced to prefer Montesquieu; he is more just, and his +criticism is closer to the truth." In discussing Christianity Napoleon +said: "Philosophers seek in vain a better doctrine than one which has +reconciled man with himself, and has guaranteed the peace and public +order of peoples, as well as the happiness and hope <span class="pagenum"><a id="page176" name="page176"></a>(p. 176)</span> of +individuals." The talk lasted for two hours, and the interview ended +by a movement, not of Napoleon, but of Wieland himself, who seemed +weary with standing. "Go, go," said the Emperor, gently. "Good-night."</p> + +<p>Such were the scenes which unrolled themselves before the eyes of +Europe. Festival succeeded festival—plays, processions, parades, +hunts, balls, and dinners. Onlookers sent broadcast to every quarter +accounts of the millennial harmony which presided over all. Emperors, +kings, princes, nobles, marshals, generals, historians, scholars, +poets, players, diplomatists,—the most brilliant actors on the +world's great stage,—were brought together at Erfurt in a group not +often equaled. The stars of Russian decorations, the ribbons of the +Legion of Honor, glittered for the first time on breasts like those of +Goethe and Wieland, which were not accustomed to such distinctions. +The dual league of emperors appeared to the world stronger and more +illustrious than before. In a sense this was true, for at the close +Alexander seemed to have obtained much, if not all, that he had +demanded. The two empires were still to act in unity for the +reëstablishment of a general peace on terms which would guarantee to +France her conquests made in the south since Tilsit, and to Russia +what she had secured in the east and north. Things were looking +brighter for the Czar in Finland, and of the Eastern acquisitions +which he so ardently desired, Wallachia and Moldavia were already +within his grasp. In other words, England was to be forced into +acknowledging the new order of things established by France in Spain, +and into acquiescing in Russia's seizure of Finland, Wallachia, and +Moldavia. If Austria should ally herself with the Turks to defeat +Russia's aims, France would intervene for her ally, and, reciprocally, +Russia would do the same in case the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page177" name="page177"></a>(p. 177)</span> cabinet of Vienna +should declare war against France. In any case, Francis was to be +compelled to recognize the new kings of Spain and Naples under the +virtual compulsion of a united summons by Russia and France. If +England should again prove intractable, the two monarchs would meet a +third time, and within a year, to concert further measures. These were +very substantial gains for Russia, and for the time being the +Franco-Russian alliance was, as it appeared to the world, mightier and +firmer than it had been.</p> + +<p>But, on the other hand, it contained now what was wanting +before—active germs of dissolution. In the first place, Alexander and +his ministers had shown themselves so firm that more than once there +had been hot words even between the emperors, and the memories of +these were a source of the increased suspicions which Alexander +carried back to the Neva. The Czar had, moreover, been compelled to +yield a very important point. The treaty, as a whole, was to remain +secret for at least ten years. He might occupy and consider as his own +the two coveted provinces, but even they were not to be openly annexed +until England's answer was received. An Anglo-Turkish alliance, +Napoleon reasoned, would be disastrous, while a Russo-Turkish +alliance, in case of Russian victory, would give the ministers at St. +James's too much insight into the agreement of Erfurt, and perhaps +bring on some such calamity as the seizure of the Danish fleet which +the suspicions entertained at London concerning Tilsit had +precipitated. The ultimate aim of the treaty was to be indefinitely +concealed. Another dangerous element in the affairs of Erfurt was that +contained in the additional provocation given to Prussia and Austria. +It is generally believed that Napoleon urged Alexander to send troops +and occupy not only Warsaw, but parts of both Austria <span class="pagenum"><a id="page178" name="page178"></a>(p. 178)</span> and +Prussia. This would embroil him with his neighbors, and make central +Europe secure while France was fighting Spain. If this be true, it +explains two facts. Prussia in her despair had sent one agent after +another to Paris in order to secure some mitigation of Napoleon's +demands. The last had been Prince William, the King's brother, who +early in September had agreed that his country should pay one hundred +and forty millions of francs, surrender to France the forts on the +Oder, and reduce her army to forty-two thousand men, in return for the +withdrawal of Napoleon's troops and a reduction of the indemnity by +fourteen and a half millions of francs. On October ninth, three weeks +afterward, the prince was invited by Napoleon to hunt hares on the +battle-field of Jena! This incident, taken in connection with the +demand for Stein's dismissal, seemed very significant of Napoleon's +attitude toward Prussia.</p> + +<p>General Vincent had been despatched from Vienna nominally to explain +away at Erfurt the Austrian armaments; in reality, to observe what was +going on. Although he found no difficulty in winning the versatile +Talleyrand to his cause, he was treated with scant courtesy by +Napoleon, and sent back with a letter from him to Francis containing +bitter reproaches and menaces. Stein, after his withdrawal, found, +like Hardenberg, a refuge in Vienna. There he formed one of an +influential coterie composed of Alexander's envoy, Pozzo di Borgo, and +others of like mind, who were steadily consolidating the war +sentiment. The activity of these men explained a phrase in the letter +to Francis,—"The last rising in mass would infallibly have brought on +war if I could have supposed that that levy and those preparations had +been arranged with Russia,"—which hinted at Russia's possible +interest in the military preparations; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page179" name="page179"></a>(p. 179)</span> and one day at +Erfurt, as Napoleon's grenadiers were marching by, the Czar had to +listen while their Emperor vaunted the courage they had displayed at +Pultusk and Friedland. Apropos of Napoleon's lack of delicacy, it is +said that once in the Tuileries he significantly addressed one of his +court ladies, not renowned for purity, with the words, "You are fond +of men, I understand." "Yes; when they are polite," was the rejoinder. +At Erfurt Talleyrand gave the same explanation of his master's +vagaries. "We French are more civilized than our monarch," he said to +Montgelas, the Bavarian minister of state; "his is only the +civilization of Roman history."</p> + +<p>But there was another incident at Erfurt more pregnant of ultimate +changes than any of these. Thanks to Fouché's Mephistophelian +insinuations, and the details which leaked out concerning the quarrels +between Queen Hortense, representing her mother, and the Grand Duchess +of Berg, representing the Bonapartes, the subject of Napoleon's +divorce had become common talk. The new position at Tilsit as the +recognized head of Europe's kingly hierarchy seems as early as that to +have tempted the Emperor to a course distasteful to the man; but what +occurred there is uncertain, and did not commit him. At Fontainebleau, +the following autumn, his harsh and distant treatment of Josephine +gave color to the suspicion that he was again under temptation. Whom +would he choose? asked the gossips. Sometime during the year a list of +marriageable princesses was prepared by the Emperor's orders. It +included Maria Louisa of Austria, aged sixteen; Maria Amelia, niece of +the King of Saxony; and the two sisters of the Czar, the younger of +whom was not quite thirteen. The general opinion seemed to fix on one +or the other of the Czar's unmarried sisters. This rumor soon reached +St. Petersburg, and the scandal-mongers of that capital <span class="pagenum"><a id="page180" name="page180"></a>(p. 180)</span> +promptly designated the Grand Duchess Catherine, for she was of +marriageable age, and they said she was learning French country +dances. Alexander was in consternation; the Russian party would be +aghast if he should consent, while a refusal might endanger the +alliance on which hung all his ambitions.</p> + +<p>Some months previously, Fouché, aware of the conflict in Napoleon's +mind, had actually suggested to the Empress, and probably with her +husband's knowledge, that she should take the initiative. In reply she +ran with disheveled hair and streaming eyes to ask an explanation from +her lord in person. He consoled her with many protestations, but he +left for Italy without having entirely reassured her. On his return +from Milan he roundly abused his minister of police, and forbade his +continued plotting. Nevertheless, the daring functionary persistently +disobeyed, and by the month of March, 1808, the air of Paris was thick +with embittered and ardent pleas on one side or the other. One evening +the court was to attend a gala performance to be given in the +Tuileries. Their Majesties did not appear. Napoleon, in fact, had not +made ready; instead he had retired to his private apartments and had +sent for Josephine. She entered her husband's chamber in full array of +evening costume, to find him in bed, pale, worn, and weary. At once he +began the recital of his perplexities, pouring out, as it were, his +whole heart, and, though not uttering the request, he seemed as if +beseeching in dumb despair the decisive word from her. The Empress, +however, was inflexible. Was he, he said in fierce disappointment, to +be compelled to adopt his bastard children? Surprised and touched by +her signs of assent, the Emperor vowed never to desert her, and there +matters had remained.</p> + +<p>At Erfurt the same vacillation overmastered Napoleon <span class="pagenum"><a id="page181" name="page181"></a>(p. 181)</span> as that +with which he had been tormented since Tilsit. By his command +Talleyrand and Caulaincourt were to drop the remark before Alexander +that the matter of the divorce was a European question; he wished to +test, he said, the temper of his ally. Both ministers suggested that a +contemplated match between the daughter of Paul I and the King of +Sweden had fallen through because of the confessional difficulties, +the latter being a Protestant, the former of the Greek Church. The +Emperor shrugged his shoulders in displeasure, and they discharged +their task. Apparently the Czar was not shocked, for, opening the +subject himself, he told Napoleon that his best friends looked with +anxiety to see him consolidate his work and his dynasty by a second +marriage. This of course led to a confidential talk, in which the +possibility of a matrimonial as well as a political alliance was +mentioned. If Napoleon had demanded on the spot the hand of the Czar's +marriageable sister, Catherine, it is doubtful if Alexander would have +refused. But the imperial host still vacillated, for he had not taken +the irrevocable step; a hesitating mention was made of his guest's +younger sister, Anne, who was still a child, as an eventual +possibility, and nothing more was said.</p> + +<p>To stamp the success of the meeting, a joint letter was sent to George +III, asking for peace on the principle of "uti possidetis." The two +monarchs parted with every manifestation of personal devotion; but on +Alexander's return to his capital his elder sister was married with +indecent haste to the Duke of Oldenburg.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page182" name="page182"></a>(p. 182)</span> CHAPTER XIII.</h3> + +<h4>The Failure of the Spanish Campaign.<a id="footnotetag28" name="footnotetag28"></a><a href="#footnote28" title="Go to footnote 28"><span class="smaller">[28]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">The Grand Army in France — Their Entrance to Spain — The Opposing + Forces — Napoleon's Strategic Plan — French Victories — Sir John + Moore — The British and the Spaniards — Napoleon's Advance to + Madrid — His Return Northward — Moore's Retreat — Napoleon at + Paris — Death of Moore — The Napoleonic Constitution for + Spain — Spanish Resistance — Joseph's Weakness — Establishment of + the New Monarchy.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1808-09.</p> + +<p>While Alexander was hastening the preparations for his sister's +marriage, Napoleon was hurrying toward Spain, whither, too, the +legions of the grand army, released by the evacuation of Prussia, had +already been ordered. Baylen and Cintra must be retrieved at any cost. +As the splendid array of soldiers passed through France they were +received like men who had already conquered. The civil authorities +spread banquets for them, compliments rained from the honeyed lips of +chosen orators, poets sang sweet strains on the theme of their +glories. This appeared a spontaneous outburst to the troops, and they +marched with the elasticity of enthusiasm to their task. The curious +may read to-day what the army could not know—that by Napoleon's +personal decree the ministry of war had prepared every detail of that +triumph, that the prefects <span class="pagenum"><a id="page183" name="page183"></a>(p. 183)</span> acted under stringent orders, +that three sets of warlike songs were written by commission in Paris, +and forwarded one each to various points, so that, as the Emperor +wrote, "the soldier may not hear the same thing twice." The success of +the plan was complete, and the jubilations had every appearance of +being genuine.</p> + +<p>It was therefore not a tired and disheartened army which was gathered +under the walls of Burgos early in November, but a body of picked and +energetic veterans. Joseph, to be sure, had done little in the +interval to take advantage of the foolish and careless tumult into +which the joy of victory had thrown the Spanish people. In spite of +the minute directions which had been received almost daily from +Napoleon, Jourdan, who, having been the King's military adviser in +Naples, had come in the same capacity to Spain, gradually lost every +advantage of position. But the French boys who had fought in the +summer were older and more experienced. The defensive attitude of +their leader had given them the training of camp life, and had secured +the recuperation of their strength. When, therefore, they were mingled +with the newcomers, they might be considered almost as good soldiers +as those who had arrived from Germany.</p> + +<p>Moreover, the best generals were now in command: Victor was at +Amurrio, Bessières at Miranda on the Ebro, Moncey at Tafalla, Lefebvre +near Bilbao, Ney at Logroño on the Ebro, Saint-Cyr at La Junquera, +each with a corps, the smallest of twenty, the largest of thirty +thousand men. Duhesme was shut up in Barcelona with ten thousand. +There was a reserve of thirty-five thousand, the guard and cavalry, at +Tolosa and Vitoria. Mortier's corps of twenty-four thousand was in the +rear, and Junot, who had been better received in Paris than he +expected, was coming up with nineteen thousand more. In all, there +were about two hundred and forty <span class="pagenum"><a id="page184" name="page184"></a>(p. 184)</span> thousand troops. Napoleon, +reaching Bayonne on November third, had it announced that there were +between three and four hundred thousand! With such a numerous and +efficient fighting force, there was no need of exaggeration. To oppose +it Blake had thirty-two thousand Spaniards at Valmaseda as the left +wing of the Spanish army, and La Romana, having disembarked at +Santander, soon arrived with eight thousand more; the center, +twenty-five thousand strong, lay between Calahorra and Tudela under +Castaños; the right seventeen thousand in number, was at and near +Saragossa under Palafox. Before Barcelona was Vives, with twenty +thousand, and near Burgos was a reserve of eighteen thousand under +Belvedere—about a hundred and twenty thousand men, all told. In +addition to this regular army, there was another irregular one of vast +but vague dimensions, consisting of the entire nation.</p> + +<a id="img009" name="img009"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img009b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img009.jpg" width="500" height="427" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Map of the Spanish Campaign.</p> +</div> + +<p>Amid the exciting cares of Erfurt, Napoleon had still found time to +study the military situation in Spain with minuteness, and he finally +wrote to Joseph that he was coming in person to end the war by one +skilful stroke. This hope was founded on the position held by Blake, +advanced as it was beyond the Spanish line, and remote enough to be +exposed. By a swift blow that general's army might therefore be cut +off from its support, and annihilated; the center and right would +successively meet the same fate. This plan had been jeopardized by the +rashness of Lefebvre. On October thirty-first Blake had advanced from +Durango for an attack. He had not only been routed, but in the heat of +victory had been thrown far back to Valmaseda by the over-zealous +French general. Although the Emperor had hoped for something quite +different, having given orders to draw him forward toward Biscay and +Navarre, he still did not abandon his strategic plan. The Spaniards +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page185" name="page185"></a>(p. 185)</span> had grown warlike in a day, but their victories had +intoxicated them, and of military science they had only what they had +learned by experience. There was no harmony among the generals—not +even a preconcerted plan of operation. Accordingly the mass of the +French army was directed toward Burgos to cut off and overwhelm Blake, +while two corps under Soult were directed to intercept his retreat.</p> + +<p>Burgos fell almost without opposition on November tenth; Blake was +defeated the next day at Espinosa, and his scattered columns, turned +but not captured by Soult, fled into Asturias, where they joined the +force of La Romana. Without a moment's hesitation Ney was now +despatched to the southeast in order to fall on Castaños's rear, while +Lannes was to unite Moncey's corps with Lagrange's division and attack +his front. The Spanish general was posted, as has been said, on the +Ebro between Calahorra and Tudela. Before the twentieth the two moves +had been executed and all was in readiness. The Spaniards fled before +Lannes's attack on the twenty-third, but Ney with his cavalry remained +inexplicably stationary, and did not cut off their retreat. They were +therefore able to reassemble at Siguenza, while Palafox withdrew to +Saragossa. This was seemingly an easy triumph for Napoleon's matchless +strategy; his plan worked without real resistance, for his +self-sufficient and ignorant enemy was scattered. Nevertheless, it +will be observed that the execution was deficient and the result +disproportionate. Neither Soult on the right nor Ney on the left +showed such vigor or promptness as of old; there was no general +surrender by the Spaniards, nor was any portion of their force +annihilated. All that was gained—and for a common general it would +have been much—was the ability to take another step.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page186" name="page186"></a>(p. 186)</span> The capitulation at Cintra, the affair at Bayonne, and the +uprising of the Spaniards had combined to intensify rebellion in +Portugal. She was now in full sympathy with Spain, and her people were +scarcely less bitter or less active than the Spaniards. The easy terms +secured by Junot had infuriated England, and not only Dalrymple and +Burrard, but Wellesley himself, had been recalled to give an account +of their conduct. The last was triumphantly vindicated; but while the +others were not convicted of dereliction in duty, they were virtually +withdrawn from active life. Sir John Moore was now in command of the +English troops in the Peninsula. He had been reinforced with ten +thousand men, and feeling sure of Portugal, had advanced into Spain. +To Napoleon it seemed evident that his intention was to seize Madrid.</p> + +<p>This was a mistake. The jubilant Spaniards, expecting to treat +Napoleon as they had treated Dupont, had summoned the English to join +them. Moore's orders were to assist them, and he prepared to obey, +although he well knew what would be the consequences of Spanish +hallucination. With one column he reached Salamanca on November +thirteenth; the head of the other was at Astorga. His own division +numbered only fifteen thousand men; the other was even smaller—ten +thousand at the most. It was on that date that he learned of +Napoleon's victories. Accordingly he halted to await the next move of +the French. That move was against Madrid. Saragossa was besieged by +Moncey, Lefebvre was thrown out to guard the right flank, and Ney to +protect the left of the advancing columns; the march began on November +twenty-eighth.</p> + +<p>The first obstacle was the mountain-range of Guadarrama, which had to +be crossed by the pass of Somosierra. This defile was found to be +strongly guarded; there were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page187" name="page187"></a>(p. 187)</span> not only infantry stationed on +the heights, but artillery also, sixteen guns being below the turn of +the pass in a most advantageous position. In the early morning of the +thirtieth the French infantry began to climb the cliffs on each side +of the narrow gorge, and as the mists were heavy their movements were +successfully concealed until the Spanish bivouacs were reached +surprised, and dislodged. Simultaneously a regiment of Polish light +horse was launched against the battery. Their charge was magnificent, +and the gunners could fire only a single round before they were +overpowered. By the ordinary breakfast hour the pass was free. On the +evening of December second the whole army—infantry, cavalry, and +artillery—was united on the heights of Chamartin before the gates of +Madrid. Two days later, after a gallant resistance by its little +garrison and the undaunted inhabitants, the city yielded to the +superior strength of Napoleon, and proposed terms. After some parley +these were accepted, but under the circumstances the Emperor felt that +mildness must be seasoned by menace. There were disorders in the +streets, incident to the new occupation by the French, and that fact +he used as a plea to declare the capitulation null and the Spanish +officers prisoners of war. Their men had escaped the day before.</p> + +<p>The military operations of the campaign were of course not yet ended, +for Moore had not appeared in the valley of the Tagus, marching, as it +was believed he would, toward Madrid. The first task was to find him. +The different corps were sent out in all directions, but it was not +until the middle of the month that the British position was even +approximately ascertained. Napoleon was surprised by what he learned, +and concluded that the English were about to abandon Portugal in order +to secure Ferrol as a base of supplies. His first impulse <span class="pagenum"><a id="page188" name="page188"></a>(p. 188)</span> +was to march out himself and prevent such a disaster; on the twentieth +half of his army set forth from Madrid, and on the twenty-second he +led them through the snows of the Guadarrama.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Moore had made his decision. It was to attract the attention +of the French, draw them toward him, and then slowly retreat +northward, thus leaving Andalusia free from interference, and giving +the southern Spaniards time to organize once more and equip themselves +for a second Baylen. To this end he prepared on the twenty-third to +attack Soult, but, learning of Napoleon's rapid advance, he promptly +changed his plan and began his retreat; three days later he led his +troops safely across the Esla. Then began a famous chase. The Emperor +hurried forward, marching on foot through cold and snow to encourage +his tired men. He was eager to strike a blow at his enemy's rear +before they should get too far away, and Soult was urged onward to +Mansilla, to flank the retreating column. On the twenty-ninth the +French cavalry reached the Esla and were driven back by the English +rear-guard, while Moore stopped only long enough to destroy the +magazines at Benevento, and then hurried on to Astorga.</p> + +<p>For two days longer the retreat continued. Moore, after many +successful skirmishes, reached Corunna, where he hoped to embark. +Soult crossed the Esla at last, and on New Year's day, 1809, the +Emperor found himself at Astorga. He believed there was an English +fleet at Ferrol; the weather was bitter, and his health was +jeopardized by the severity of the cold; moreover, disquieting letters +arrived, and he determined that this game was not worth the candle. +Soult was intrusted with the pursuit, Ney was stationed at Astorga as +a reserve, and Napoleon, putting himself at the head of his guards, +set out for Valladolid, which he reached <span class="pagenum"><a id="page189" name="page189"></a>(p. 189)</span> on the sixth. After +a rest of ten days, new and more disquieting despatches made clear the +urgent need for his presence in Paris, though his task in Spain was +far from ended. On January twenty-third he reached the Tuileries.</p> + +<p>The tale of Moore's splendid retreat, of his courage and calmness in +loss and disaster, of his superb control of his men in their +disappointment when Corunna was reached and no fleet was found there, +of his brave fight with Soult on January sixteenth, of the mortal +wound which struck him down in the hour of victory, and of the +self-forgetfulness which enabled him in the agonies of death to make +all necessary arrangements for his men to embark on the belated +ships—all this is a brilliant page of English history, perhaps the +finest record in its entire course of glory won in retreat, of +patience, moderation, and success in the very hour of bitterest +disappointment. It was the spirit and example of Moore which made +possible the victories of Wellington.</p> + +<p>The French interests in Spain were left in a most deplorable +condition. The populace of Madrid had received the hero of the age +with coldness, and shut themselves up in their houses to avoid forming +a crowd or creating any enthusiasm in the streets. They would not even +come out to see the gorgeous military parade which was arranged for +their benefit. The gentry and nobility had been alike distant and +cold. It was clear that Spain could neither be wheedled, cajoled, nor +threatened into even passive acquiescence in the new conquest. It was +essential, therefore, that another course should be tried. On December +fourth, Napoleon, in the rôle of reformer-statesman, pronounced and +issued from Chamartin a series of the most thoroughgoing edicts. All +feudal privileges, all interprovincial customs dues, were swept away; +the Inquisition was abolished, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page190" name="page190"></a>(p. 190)</span> and the number of convents +was reduced to a third. These measures were in themselves most +salutary, and struck at the very root of the upas-tree under the +baneful shade of which Spain had been slowly perishing. But to do good +they must be enforced; there must be a complete military conquest of +the country, and a capable administration.</p> + +<p>There was neither. The Spanish army had been defeated, but, severe as +had been its punishment, its power of resistance was not destroyed; +the occupation of the country was also sadly incomplete, and it made +no difference whither French soldiers marched, or what strategic +points they held, some kind of Spanish fighting force, no matter how +irregular, sprang up behind them and on their sides. The complete +military centralization of Prussia had made Jena decisive for the +whole loose-jointed territory of that kingdom; the compact territory +of Spain and the local independence of her peoples made regular +victories utterly fruitless so far as the open country was concerned.</p> + +<p>Moreover, Joseph, although he had been driven from his capital, and +had enjoyed neither power nor consequence except as the general of +Napoleon's armies, now asserted that he, and not his brother, was the +king of Spain. He was angry and hurt by the Emperor's assumption of +superior sovereignty. He was the one, he felt, who could best deal +with the Spaniards, win their affection, and consolidate his power. To +be shouldered off his throne, and compelled to stand by while such +radical measures were taken, embittered him. Shame, he said, covered +his face before his pretended subjects; he renounced all rights to the +throne, preferring honor and honesty to power so dearly bought. This +angered Napoleon, and he threatened to divide the land into military +provinces; but, like his gentler brother, he himself <span class="pagenum"><a id="page191" name="page191"></a>(p. 191)</span> +recoiled before the utter annihilation of a nationality so ancient and +dignified as that of Spain.</p> + +<p>As the price for the evacuation of Madrid, the people of the capital +swore to accept Joseph once more as their king. Similar oaths of +allegiance came from all the provinces occupied by the French. +Although these oaths were not considered binding by those who took +them, inasmuch as they held themselves to be acting under compulsion, +yet at least the shadow of Joseph's monarchy reappeared under the +imperial protection, and a so-called liberal constitution, modeled on +that of France, was given to the people as a boon. "It depends on +yourselves," was the Emperor's language, "to make this charter yours. +If all my endeavors prove vain, and you do not justify my confidence, +then I have nothing left but to treat you as a conquered province, and +create another throne for my brother. In that case I shall put the +crown of Spain on my own head, and teach the ill-disposed to respect +it; for God has given me the power and the will to overcome all +obstacles."<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page192" name="page192"></a>(p. 192)</span> CHAPTER XIV.</h3> + +<h4>The Transformation of Austria.<a id="footnotetag29" name="footnotetag29"></a><a href="#footnote29" title="Go to footnote 29"><span class="smaller">[29]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Dangers in Napoleon's Rear — The State of Paris — Austria + Warlike — The Czar's Policy — National Movements in + Germany — Napoleon's True Position — Talleyrand's + Responsibility — The Needs of France — The Conscription again + Anticipated — The Archduke Charles — War Declared by + Austria — Charles's Appeals to National Sentiment — Imperial Excess + and Dynastic Moderation — The Uprising of the Tyrol — Austria's + Successes.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1809.</p> + +<p>The news from central Europe which reached Napoleon in Spain was of a +most alarming character, and made certain considerations so emphatic +that all others became insignificant. It mattered not that he must +leave behind him a half-accomplished task; that while his strategy had +been successful, he had lost the opportunity to annihilate the +English, which, though he did not know it at the time, he had really +had in the tardy arrival of their transports at Corunna; that the +national uprising was not suppressed by his carefully devised +measures; that the oaths of allegiance sworn to Joseph and the +constitution had been sworn under compulsion by a minority, who, pious +as the people were, did not, for that reason, consider even themselves +as bound, much less the nation as a whole—all this was serious +enough, but it was paltry when compared <span class="pagenum"><a id="page193" name="page193"></a>(p. 193)</span> with what had taken +place in German lands while he had been absent from Paris.</p> + +<p>During the campaign of Marengo there had been a knot of active, +self-seeking, and traitorous men who, having risen by Bonaparte's +help, schemed how best to sustain themselves in case of his death. +This same group, under the leadership of Talleyrand and Fouché, had +been again arranging plans for their guidance should misfortune +overwhelm Napoleon in Spain. Such was their activity that even +Metternich had been deceived into the belief that they had a large +party of French patriots behind them, who, weary of the Emperor's +incessant calls on France for aid in enterprises foreign to her +welfare, would gladly be rid of him. So grave did the Austrian +ambassador consider the crisis that late in November he left his post +and set out for Vienna. Vincent's reports about the friction at Erfurt +had already found credence in the Austrian capital among the war +party, and the belief was spreading that the Franco-Russian alliance +was hollow.</p> + +<p>Stein's absence from North Germany had only intensified the sympathy +of the people with his policy. Even at Königsberg, the seat of +government, public opinion demanded the measures he had desired. +Prussia was not only strong once more, but was ardent to redeem its +disgrace. The reflex influence of the popular movements in Prussia and +Austria upon one another had intensified both, until the more advanced +leaders in the two countries cared little whether the process of +German regeneration was begun under Hohenzollern or Hapsburg +leadership. Into this surcharged atmosphere came Metternich with his +exaggerated statements about the great reactionary party in France. +The effect was to raise the elements. He declared, besides, that the +Spanish war had absorbed so much of Napoleon's effective military +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page194" name="page194"></a>(p. 194)</span> strength that not more than two hundred thousand men were +available for use in central Europe, and that Austria alone, with her +new armaments, would be a match for any army the French emperor could +lead against her, at least in the first stages of a war. Austria had +been negotiating for an English subsidy, without which her troops, +fine as they were, could not be maintained; but Great Britain refused +a grant until they should actually take the field. This fact was an +inducement so strong as to put a climax on the already hostile +inclinations of the Emperor Francis; and as his minister Stadion had +long felt that Napoleon's power must not be allowed time for further +consolidation, the government concluded to strike while the +difficulties in Spain were at their height.</p> + +<p>Although the Czar had left Erfurt in an anxious mood, he was +nevertheless clear in his mind that through Napoleon alone could his +ambitions be gratified. He was equally convinced that, while the +European system should not be further upturned, it must for the +present be maintained as it now was. On his homeward journey he had +time to reflect on the situation, and as he passed through Königsberg +the warlike temper of Prussia was so manifest that he thought +Frederick William, for a while at least, should be removed from its +influence. Accordingly he pressed the King to pay a visit to St. +Petersburg. The invitation was accepted, and the Czar's efforts were +so successful that when his visitor left for home his feeling was as +unwarlike as it had ever been. He informed Austria that his interests +were those of Russia, that there should be no offensive warfare, and +that any conflict must be confined to repelling an attack. The Czar +declared on March second, in response to an inquiry from Vienna, that +if Austria should begin a war he would fulfil his obligations to +Napoleon; but six weeks later, seeing how determined was the war +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page195" name="page195"></a>(p. 195)</span> sentiment at Vienna, and how complete were the preparations +of Francis, it seemed best to throw an anchor to windward, and he so +far modified his attitude as to explain that in the event of war he +would not put his strength into any blow he might aim at Austria.</p> + +<p>The cabinet of Vienna was perfectly aware that neither Alexander nor +Frederick William represented the national feeling of their respective +peoples. They knew that Austria's opportunity to lead a great revolt +against Napoleon was to be found in the support of the powerful +conservatives of Russia, in the enthusiasm of all Prussia, where Arndt +was already crying, "Freedom and Austria!" and in the passionate +loyalty of her own peoples, not excepting the sturdy Tyrolese, who, +chafing under Napoleon's yoke, were ready for insurrection. On March +eighteenth, 1809, the French minister at Vienna wrote to Paris that in +1805 the government, but neither army nor nation, had desired war; +that now the government, the army, and the people all desired it. The +Austrian plenipotentiary was ordered, in requesting a subsidy from +Great Britain, to state that in the event of victory his government +hoped to secure such internal vigor as Austria had enjoyed before the +treaty of Presburg. As to the neighboring states, she desired some +minor rectifications of her own frontier, with indemnifications to the +younger branches of her dynasty for their lost domains. These might be +found either in Germany or in Italy, and if she should succeed in +destroying Napoleon's system of tributary powers, she meant to restore +all their territories to their rightful owners, not excepting those of +the German princes who had been hostile.</p> + +<p>To suppose, as many do, that no inkling of all the stupendous schemes +reached Napoleon in Spain is preposterous. Bavaria was his faithful +subordinate, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page196" name="page196"></a>(p. 196)</span> Poland still hoped everything from his +successes. Both were in the heart of Germany, and through a carefully +organized system of spies, information of the most reliable nature was +regularly received in both countries. The same historians who assert +that after Marengo Bonaparte left Italy for Paris to cloak his defeat, +and that he fled to Malmaison to conceal his direct connection with +Enghien's death, expect us to believe that Napoleon fled from Spain +merely to throw the responsibility of failure on Joseph. Most men in +any crisis act from mixed motives. Such a charge displays skill in +combining facts, but Marengo, whether a defeat or a victory, secured +France to the general who commanded there; the retreat to Malmaison +did not induce the Consul to deny his responsibility for the execution +at Vincennes; and it would have been simply an intervention of the +supernatural if Napoleon, for purely subjective reasons, had left +Spain to return to Paris just at the very instant when his presence +was absolutely essential there, not only to check those who, although +ostensibly his supporters, were in reality his deadly foes, but also +for the warlike preparations to meet the storm which was about to +burst. His secretary has asserted that the letters which reached him +at Astorga contained all this disquieting news, and there is +absolutely no proof that they did not. The probability is all on the +side of the account which was universally accepted until attacked by +the group of over-credulous French historians whose zeal for the +Revolution is such that they feel bound to deny every statement of the +equally biased school of Napoleonic advocates.</p> + +<a id="img010" name="img010"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img010.jpg" width="400" height="487" alt="" title=""> +<p class="small"><span class="floatleft">From the collection of W. C. Crane.</span> +<span class="floatright">Engraved by S. W. Reynolds.</span></p> +<p class="center smcap clear">JOSEPH BONAPARTE.</p> +<p class="small center">Painted by J. Goubaud, January 30, 1831, +Point-Breeze, U. S. A.</p> +</div> + +<p>Moreover, it was from Spain that the Emperor warned the princes +composing the Confederation of the Rhine to have their contingents +ready. His language is guarded—whether the cabinet of Vienna had +drunk from the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page197" name="page197"></a>(p. 197)</span> waters of Lethe or from those of the +Danube, he himself would be ready. Besides, his actions could have but +one meaning. The moment he reached Paris, significant looks and +conduct warned Talleyrand to beware. "Is Joseph," the Emperor said, in +an interview with Roederer, "to talk like an Englishman or behave like +Talleyrand? I have covered this man with honors, riches, and diamonds; +he has used them all against me. At the first opportunity he had, he +has betrayed me as much as he could. He has declared during my absence +that he kneeled in supplication to prevent my enterprise in Spain; for +two years he tormented me to undertake it.... It was the same with +regard to Enghien. I did not even know him; it was Talleyrand who +brought him to my notice. I did not know where he was; it was +Talleyrand who told me the spot, and after having advised the +execution he has groaned over it with every acquaintance."</p> + +<p>At the same time the columns of the "Moniteur" were filled with +half-true accounts of the Emperor's success in Spain, and the French +people knew everything that was favorable; but there was a complete +suppression of all the rest. As Austria desired war to secure her +subsidies from England, so France was again in need of funds which her +own resources could not provide. Because of the failure to paralyze +Spain by a single blow, Napoleon had, for the first time in his +history, returned after a "successful" campaign without an enormous +war indemnity. Once again, after temporary patching, French finances +were in disorder, and there was urgent need to repair them. The people +desired peace for their enterprises, but the continental blockade so +hampered commerce that any peace which did not include a pacification +of the seas would avail them little. It was a customary formality of +Napoleon's to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page198" name="page198"></a>(p. 198)</span> put the entire responsibility of war on the +enemy, and it was announced in February that negotiations with Austria +had failed. This was in a large sense true, although the particular +effort referred to was perfunctory, and was intended technically to +secure the help of Russia, which was to fight only in case Austria +should be the aggressor.</p> + +<p>Gradually, therefore, the war spirit revived in France. No one +remonstrated when once more recourse was had to the fatal policy of +anticipating the annual conscription. Not only were the conscripts for +1810 called out, but the number was stretched to the utmost, and those +who from immaturity or other causes had been unavailable in 1806, +1807, 1808, and 1809 were now collected. The total of the youths thus +swept together was not less than a hundred and sixty thousand. To +render available their slender efficiency, they were divided among the +various regiments already in the field, in each of which these raw and +boyish recruits constituted a fifth battalion.</p> + +<p>Since the Archduke Charles had been again at the helm of military +affairs in Austria, not only had a transformation been wrought in the +army as a fighting instrument, but the general staff had likewise been +completely reorganized. For two years, therefore, Austria's occupation +had been not only forging a sword, but practising, as well, the +wielding of it. The lessons taught her by previous experience in +Napoleonic warfare were thoroughly learned. It was consequently a very +different strategic problem which the Emperor of the French had to +solve in this campaign.</p> + +<p>For two years the Archduke had been studying his task, and that in the +light of ample experience. The conclusion he reached was that he would +attack and overpower Davout in Saxony; then, by an appeal to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page199" name="page199"></a>(p. 199)</span> +their German patriotism, raise and use the peoples of northern and +central Germany for an overwhelming assault on Napoleon. But as the +time for action grew near, the moral influence of those annihilating +blows which the French armies had struck once and again began to +assert itself and to create hesitancy. Count Stadion, the minister of +state, knew that diplomacy had reached the limit of its powers and +could gain at most only a few weeks. These he felt sure the enemy +would use to better advantage in strengthening himself than Austria in +her poverty could do. He was therefore urgent for prompt action. +Charles, on the other hand, hesitated to face the miraculous resources +of Napoleon without a finishing touch to some of his preparations +which were still incomplete. He therefore began in January to +procrastinate, and consequently it was not until February that Francis +demanded an advance. In this interval the whole plan of campaign was +changed. The main army, under Charles, was to be collected in Bohemia, +ready for action in any direction, so as to thwart whatever course +Napoleon might adopt. Hiller was to guard the line of the Inn, the +Archduke Ferdinand was to march against Warsaw, while the Archduke +John was to enter the Tyrol from Italy and excite the people to +revolt. On April ninth all these movements were well under way; Hiller +had reached the Inn, and Charles declared war.</p> + +<p>Ostensibly this war was to be unlike any other so far waged. The +secret instructions given to the imperial Austrian envoy in London +clearly indicated that the Hapsburgs hoped by victory to restore their +influence both in Italy and Germany; for that was the meaning of +"restoration to rightful owners" and the "slight rectification of +their frontiers," or, in other words, the restoration of European +conditions to what they had <span class="pagenum"><a id="page200" name="page200"></a>(p. 200)</span> been before Napoleon's advent. +This was the dynastic side; the national side was also to be used for +the same end. "The liberties of Europe have taken refuge under your +banner," ran Charles's proclamation to the army; "your victories will +break their bonds, and your German brethren still in the enemy's ranks +await their redemption." To the German world he said, "Austria fights +not only for her own autonomy, but takes the sword for the +independence and national honor of Germany." Another manifesto, +written by Gentz, the ablest statesman in Vienna, declared that the +war was to be waged not against France, but against the persistent +extension of her system which had produced such universal disorder in +Europe.</p> + +<p>The tone and language of these papers have an audible Napoleonic echo +in them: if an upstart house, represented by a single life and without +direct descendants, could win success by appeals to the people, and +gain the support of their enthusiasm by identifying its interests with +theirs, why might not an ancient dynasty, with vigorous stock and +numerous shoots, do likewise? Moreover, Napoleon no longer respected +the limits of natural physical boundaries, or the restrictions of +birth, speech, religion, and custom, which inclosed a nation: his +empire was to disdain such influences, to found itself on the +universal brotherhood of man, and to secure the regeneration of +humanity by liberal ideas of universal validity. Austria would offset +this alluring summons by a trumpet-call to the brotherhood of Germans, +to the strong forces of national feeling, to the respect for tradition +and history which would animate her soldiers and justify her course.</p> + +<p>If she needed a concrete illustration she could point to the Tyrolese. +Since the treaty of Presburg their chains had chafed their limbs to +the raw; at this very <span class="pagenum"><a id="page201" name="page201"></a>(p. 201)</span> moment they were again in open +rebellion. The administrative reforms introduced by Maximilian of +Bavaria were in reality most salutary; his determined stand against +priestly domination over the Tyrolese people proved in the end their +salvation. But the evils of feudalism were always least among +mountaineers, and relations of patriarchal tenderness existed between +the aristocracy and the peasantry. The devotion of both classes to +their institutions, their habits, their clothes, their customs, their +local names, was intense. They had no mind to see the name of their +country disappear forever, to lose their pleasant, easy-fitting +institutions, or to submit to the conscription and join in the great +leveling movement which compelled them to serve in the ranks as +ordinary soldiers. With their local assemblies they meant to keep +their military exclusiveness as scouts, skirmishers, and +sharp-shooters, in all of which lines they excelled.</p> + +<p>The more enlightened citizens of the towns were well pleased with +Bavarian rule, but the impulsive, ignorant, and superstitious +peasantry were the glad instruments of Austrian emissaries. When they +learned that war was inevitable and would soon be formally declared, +they at once rose, seized Innsbruck, and held it against the Bavarian +troops. When an Austrian garrison marched in, their reception was +enthusiastic. This was in the middle of April; simultaneously the +Archduke John defeated Prince Eugène in Italy and drove him back upon +the Adige, while Ferdinand overpowered all resistance in Poland, and +on the twentieth occupied Warsaw. Such successes were intoxicating; +the great general had, it seemed, been caught napping at last, and the +advantage of a successful opening appeared to be with his enemy.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page202" name="page202"></a>(p. 202)</span> CHAPTER XV.</h3> + +<h4>The Fifth War With Austria—Eckmühl.<a id="footnotetag30" name="footnotetag30"></a><a href="#footnote30" title="Go to footnote 30"><span class="smaller">[30]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Strategic Preliminaries — Final Orders — The Defensive Plan of + Austria — Berthier's Failure — Napoleon's Arrival at + Donauwörth — The Height of Napoleon's Ability — The Austrian + Advance — The First Collision — Concentration of Napoleon's + Army — The Austrians Divided — The Austrians at Eckmühl — The + Battle — Charles's Retreat — The Five Days' Fight — Its + Results — Charles at the Bisamberg — Napoleon at Vienna — The German + Risings Demoralized — Discrimination of the People — Napoleon's + Unsuccessful Appeal to Hungary — Pius VII Loses his Secular + Power — Napoleon's Activity — Charles's Sluggishness — Plans of Both + Generals — Napoleon on the Lobau.</p> + + +<p>It was Napoleon's pride that in his campaigns no enemy should lay down +the law to him. He did not ask, How will my foe behave? What must I do +to thwart him?—that was defensive warfare. For his purposes he must +ask, Whence can I best strike? This question he now answered by +selecting the valley of the Danube as his line of approach, and +Ratisbon as his headquarters. He had before him the most difficult +task he had so far undertaken. The concentration and sustenance of his +troops must be made along the line of very least resistance. Davout +had four divisions—one each in Magdeburg, Hanover, Stettin, and +Bayreuth; he was also in command of the Poles and Saxons. Bernadotte +had two divisions distributed in Hamburg, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page203" name="page203"></a>(p. 203)</span> Bremen, and +Lübeck; Oudinot had one in Hanau; the soldiers of the Rhine +Confederation were scattered in all its towns. Two other divisions +were just starting for Spain. In the beginning of March Berthier was +again appointed chief of staff, and the Emperor's orders were issued. +They were as clear, concise, and adequate as any of his best; he was +once more on familiar ground, under ordinary conditions, facing a +well-known foe, whose strength was greater than ever before, but whose +identity was still the same. Davout was to collect his troops at +Bamberg, the Poles were to remain in Warsaw, the Saxons in Dresden. To +the latter capital Bernadotte should lead his army and then assume +command. Oudinot was ordered to Augsburg, where he was to be +reinforced. The departing divisions were brought to a halt and sent +back to Ulm for Masséna's command, while two fresh ones were gathered +in France and sent to Strasburg. The Rhine princes were to have their +contingents ready and await orders.</p> + +<p>A glance at the map will show that, as Napoleon said, he could then in +an emergency reach Munich like lightning. But he expected no move from +his enemy before the middle of April. By that time he hoped to have +his German army gathered, equipped, and ready; in the interval the +forces already on the ground could hold Charles in check; by the end +of March there would be a hundred thousand French in Bamberg, Ulm, and +Augsburg, with thirty thousand Bavarians under Lefebvre about Munich; +before the outbreak of hostilities he hoped to have a total of two +hundred thousand available fighting troops. "Should the Austrians +attack before April tenth," were the orders given on March +twenty-eighth, "the army shall be collected behind the Lech, the right +occupying Augsburg, the left resting on the right bank of the Danube +at Donauwörth." Then followed the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page204" name="page204"></a>(p. 204)</span> most minute instructions +to Berthier, explaining every move, and setting forth the reasons why +Ratisbon had been chosen as headquarters. This would assure control of +the Danube, keep open a line of communication, and enable the writer +so to control space and time that he could open the campaign much as +he chose.</p> + +<p>These dispositions had already compelled another change of plan by the +Austrians. They had expected a repetition of Moreau's advance by +Munich; instead, they were called on to defend their capital a second +time. Two divisions were left to watch the Bohemian Forest; the rest +of the army, with Charles at its head, set out, by the circuitous +route through Linz, to join Hiller and assume the offensive in the +Danube valley. In case of a battle the two divisions were to come up +by the short, direct route through Ratisbon, and add their strength to +the main army. On the declaration of hostilities the Austrians at once +crossed the Inn and began their march; it was the sixteenth before +they reached the line of the Isar. Had the Archduke not been so +sparing of his troops, wearied as they were by the circuit through +Linz, he might have changed the course of history. Napoleon had not +yet arrived, and Berthier, who was but human, had proved unequal to +the execution of his commander's orders.</p> + +<p>It had been the object of Napoleon to gather his army on a certain +definite, well-connected line, and thence use it as necessity +demanded. Instead of obeying the letter of his instructions, Berthier +had struggled to obey their spirit, and had failed. The command on the +left bank had been assigned to Davout; that of all the troops on the +other side had been given to Masséna; the latter was to concentrate on +the Lech, the former at Ingolstadt. So far all was good; then Berthier +lost his head (the critics say he never could have learned strategy, +if <span class="pagenum"><a id="page205" name="page205"></a>(p. 205)</span> he had had ten lives), and, swerving from the clear +letter of Napoleon's orders, he attempted a more rapid +combination—not that behind the Lech, but one directly at Ratisbon. +Davout was to march thither and remain there; the other divisions were +successively to join him. The result was that three days elapsed +before any army was gathered at all; the two portions, one at +Ratisbon, the other at Augsburg, being for that time widely separated, +and each exposed to the separate attack of an enemy without +possibility of coöperation by the other half.</p> + +<p>When the Archduke Charles learned the general situation of his enemy +he determined to do exactly this thing—that is, to attack and +overwhelm each portion of the French army separately. For this purpose +he crossed the Isar, and, turning to the right, marched directly on +Ratisbon to attack Davout's command with his superior force before +Masséna's scattered divisions could reach the positions assigned to +them. But he was too late. The semaphore telegraph then in use had +flashed from station to station its signals of the declaration of war +and of the enemy's advance over the Inn, until the news reached +Napoleon in Paris on the twelfth. On the sixteenth, after four days' +almost unbroken travel, he reached Donauwörth. The confusion into +which Berthier's orders had thrown his carefully arranged plans +infuriated him; but when he heard, as he descended from his +traveling-carriage, where the enemy was, he could not believe his +ears. When assured of the truth he seemed, as eye-witnesses declared, +to grow taller, his eyes began to sparkle, and with every indication +of delight he cried: "Then I have him! That's a lost army! In one +month we are in Vienna!" The enemy's first decisive blunder was the +march by Linz; the second was yet to be made.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page206" name="page206"></a>(p. 206)</span> Napoleon's strategy during the following days was, both in +his own opinion and in that of his military commentators, the greatest +of his life. Such had been Berthier's indecision when he saw his +blunder that one general at least—to wit, Pelet—charged him with +being a traitor. In twenty-four hours his puzzled humor and +conflicting orders had more or less demoralized the whole army. But +Napoleon's presence inspired every one with new vigor, from the +division commanders to the men in the ranks. Promptly on the +seventeenth the order went forth for Davout to leave Ratisbon and +challenge the enemy to battle by a flank march up the right bank of +the Danube to Ingolstadt in his very face. Lefebvre was to cover the +movement, and Wrede, with one Bavarian division, was held ready to +strengthen any weak spot in case of battle. Next day Masséna was +ordered to set out from Augsburg for the same point, "to unite with +the army, catch the enemy at work, and destroy his columns." To this +end he was to march eastward by Pfaffenhofen. In a twinkling the +scattered French army seemed already concentrated, while scouts came +one after the other to announce that the Austrians were separating.</p> + +<p>The Austrians had crossed the Isar in good order, Charles himself at +Landshut. If they had kept directly onward they might have still +wedged themselves between Davout and Lefebvre. But the Archduke grew +timid at the prospect of swamps and wooded hills before him; uncertain +of his enemy's exact position, he threw forward three separate columns +by as many different roads, and thus lengthened his line enormously, +the right wing being at Essenbach, the center advanced before Landshut +to Hohen-Thann, the left at Morsbach. At four in the morning of the +eighteenth Lefebvre received orders to fall on the Austrian left, +while flying messengers <span class="pagenum"><a id="page207" name="page207"></a>(p. 207)</span> followed each other in quick +succession to spur on Masséna with urgent pleas of immediate +necessity. It was hoped that he might come up to join an attack which, +though intended mainly to divert the Austrians from Davout, could by +his help be turned into an important victory.</p> + +<p>The Archduke during the day collected sixty-six thousand men at Rohr +for his onset, and thirty-five thousand men at Ludmannsdorf to cover +his flank, leaving twenty-five thousand at Moosburg. That night +Davout's last corps, that of Friant, came in, and he began his march. +Masséna, who had collected his army and was coming from Augsburg, was +ordered to turn, either left toward Abensberg, in order to join +Davout, or right toward Landshut, to attack Charles's rear, as +circumstances should determine. Lefebvre was now commanded to assume +the defensive and await events at Abensberg. Throughout the morning of +the nineteenth Davout and Charles continued their march, drawing ever +closer to each other. At eleven the French van and the Austrian left +collided. The latter made a firm stand, but were driven in with great +slaughter.</p> + +<p>A considerable force which had been sent to strike Davout on the flank +at Abensberg was also defeated by Lefebvre. Before evening the entire +French army was united and in hand. Davout was on the left toward the +river Laber, Lefebvre, with the Bavarians and several French +divisions, was in the center beyond the river Aben, while Masséna had +reached a point beyond Moosburg. Within sixty hours Napoleon had +conceived and completed three separate strategic movements: the +withdrawal of the whole army toward Ingolstadt, the advance of his +right to strengthen the incoming left, and the rearrangement of his +entire line with the right on his enemy's base of operations.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page208" name="page208"></a>(p. 208)</span> "In war you see your own troubles; those of the enemy you +cannot see. You must show confidence," wrote the French emperor about +this time to Eugène. How true it was of his own course! On the morning +of the twenty-first he declared that the enemy was in full retreat. +This was over-confidence on his part, and not true; but it might as +well have been. As a result of the preceding day's skirmishing and +countermarching the Austrian army was almost cut in two; one division, +the right, under Charles, was pressing on to Ratisbon, while the +other, under Hiller, was marching aimlessly behind in a general +northwesterly direction, and the whole straggling line was not less +than twenty miles in length. Lannes, the sturdiest, most +rough-and-ready of all the marshals, had arrived from Spain the night +before. His presence increased the army's confidence that they would +win, and next day he commanded a division formed from the corps of +Morand, Gudin, and Nansouty. Davout received orders to hold the enemy +in front; Masséna was to spread out along their rear from Moosburg +down the Isar, ready to harass either flank or rear with half his +strength, and to send the rest, under Oudinot, to Abensberg.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the twentieth the Emperor himself, with Lannes and +Wrede, set out to sever the enemy's line. They had little difficulty. +The thin column dispersed before them to the north and south. Hiller +was driven back to Landshut, whence he fled to Neumarkt, leaving the +Isar in possession of the French. Davout advanced simultaneously +against the Archduke's army, which, although very much stronger than +Hiller's division, nevertheless retired and occupied Eckmühl, standing +drawn up on the highroad toward Ratisbon. At Landshut the Emperor +became aware that the mass of the Austrian army was not before him, +but before <span class="pagenum"><a id="page209" name="page209"></a>(p. 209)</span> Davout. Leaving Bessières and two divisions of +infantry, with a body of cavalry, to continue the pursuit of Hiller, +he turned back toward Eckmühl at three in the morning of the +twenty-second. Here, again, a great resolve was taken in the very nick +of time and in the presence of the enemy. With the same iron will and +burning genius, the same endurance and pertinacity, as of old, he +pressed on at the head of his soldiers. It was one o'clock when the +eighteen-mile march was accomplished and the enemy's outposts before +Eckmühl were reached.</p> + +<p>Meantime one of the Austrian divisions left in Bohemia had arrived at +Ratisbon. Charles, strengthened by this reinforcement, had determined +to take the offensive, and at noon his advance began. Vandamme seemed +destined to bear the force of the onset, but in the moment before the +shock would have occurred, appeared Napoleon's van. Advancing rapidly +with Lannes, the Emperor rode to the top of a slight rise, and, +scanning the coming Austrians, suddenly ordered Vandamme to seize +Eckmühl, and then despatched Lannes to cross the Laber and circumvent +the enemy. Davout, having learned the direction of the Austrian +charge, threw himself against the hostile columns on their right, and +after a stubborn resistance began to push back the dogged foe. In less +than two hours the French right, left, and center were all advancing, +and the enemy were steadily retreating, but fighting fiercely as they +withdrew. This continued until seven in the evening, when Lannes +finally accomplished his task.</p> + +<p>This destroyed all resistance. The Emperor weakly yielded to his +generals' remonstrance that the troops were exhausted, and did not +order a pursuit. Charles withdrew into Ratisbon. During the night and +early morning he threw a pontoon bridge across the stream, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page210" name="page210"></a>(p. 210)</span> +which was already spanned by a stone one, and next day, after a +skirmish in which his outposts were driven into the town, he crossed +the Danube; three days later he effected a junction with his second +division, left in the Bohemian Forest, and stood at Cham with an +effective fighting force of eighty thousand men. The result proved +that Napoleon's judgment had been unerring; had he pursued, in spite +of all remonstrance and in disregard of the fatigue of his men, he +would have had no mighty foe to fight a few weeks later at Wagram. +Some time thereafter he told an Austrian general that he had +deliberated long, and had refrained from following Charles into +Bohemia for fear the Northern powers would rise and come to the +assistance of Austria. "Had I pursued immediately," he said at St. +Helena, "as the Prussians did after Waterloo, the hostile army crowded +on to the Danube would have been in the last extremity."</p> + +<p>"Labor is my element," he remarked on the same dreary isle almost amid +the pangs of dissolution. "I have found the limit of my strength in +eye and limb; I have never found the limit of my capacity for work." +This was certainly true of this five days' fight. "His Majesty is +well," wrote Berthier on the twenty-fourth, "and endures according to +his general habit the exertion of mind and body." Once more his enemy +was not annihilated, but this contentment and high spirits seem +natural to common minds, which recall that in a week he had evolved +order from chaos, and had stricken a powerful, united foe, cutting his +line in two, and sending one portion to the right-about in utter +confusion. To the end of his life Napoleon regarded the strategic +operations culminating at Eckmühl as his masterpiece in that +particular line. Jomini, his able critic, remained always of the same +opinion. French history knows this conflict as the Battle of Five +Days; Thann, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page211" name="page211"></a>(p. 211)</span> Abensberg, Landshut, Eckmühl, and Ratisbon +being the places in or near which on each day a skirmish or combat +occurred to mark the successive stages of French victory.</p> + +<p>The results were of the most important kind. In the first place, +Austria's pride and confidence were gone. She had lost fifty thousand +men, and her warfare was no longer offensive, but defensive. Charles +called for peace, but the Emperor would not listen. The Archduke John, +moreover, was compelled to abandon the Tyrol, and when he found +himself again in Italy, he was no longer confronted by Eugène alone, +that excellent youth but feeble general, whom he had so easily +defeated: Macdonald was associated with the viceroy in the command. In +Poland, also, Ferdinand's easy successes had carried him too far in +pursuit of Poniatowski, and he began to retreat. Lefebvre with the +Bavarians was stationed at Salzburg to prevent an irruption of the +Tyrolean mountaineers toward the north; all the rest of the Emperor's +army was immediately ordered to march on the Austrian capital.</p> + +<p>The advance was scarcely contested. Hiller, commanding Charles's left +wing, had paused in his retreat, and crossing the Inn with his thirty +thousand men, had successfully attacked Wrede at Erding. He had +probably heard that Charles was marching to Passau, but the news was +false. Learning the truth, he turned again and recrossed the Inn; +thence he continued to withdraw, stopping an instant at the Traun to +avail himself of a strong position and hold the line if Charles were +perchance coming thither to join him. At Ebelsberg, on May third, he +made a splendid and momentarily successful resistance, but was +overwhelmed by superior numbers. Hearing of his leader's slow advance, +and being himself in despair, on the seventh he led his army <span class="pagenum"><a id="page212" name="page212"></a>(p. 212)</span> +at Mautern across to the left bank of the Danube in order to effect a +junction with the disheartened Archduke, and then destroyed the bridge +behind him. The forces of Charles and Hiller met and halted on the +slopes of the great hill known as the Bisamberg, which overlooks +Vienna from the north shore, and commands the fertile plains through +which the great river rolls past the Austrian capital.</p> + +<a id="img011" name="img011"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img011b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img011.jpg" width="500" height="371" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Battle of Eckmühl 22 April 1809.</p> +</div> + +<p>Day after day, with unimportant interruptions but no real check, the +French ranks marched down the right bank of the stream. On May tenth +they appeared before Vienna. Then, as now, it had no efficient +fortifications, and its garrison consisted of a citizen militia, +strengthened by a small detachment which Hiller had sent forward to +reinforce and encourage them. The defenders were commanded by the +Archduke Maximilian. There was a brave show of resistance; all the +suburbs were evacuated, and the populace gathered behind the old brick +walls which had been erected two centuries before against the Turks. +At first Napoleon thought there would be a second instance of such +embittered and desperate resistance as he had encountered at Madrid. +But a feint of the French to cut off the communication of the town +with the river, together with a few cannon-balls, quickly brought the +unhappy capital to terms; Maximilian marched out at midnight on the +eleventh, and on the twelfth Napoleon returned to the neighboring +palace of Schönbrunn, where he had already established his +headquarters. The news which arrived from day to day was most +encouraging. Poniatowski was again in possession of Warsaw, which the +Archduke Ferdinand had evacuated in order to rejoin his brother +Charles. The Archduke John, flying before Macdonald, had passed the +Carinthian mountains into Hungary, where the liberal movement +threatened <span class="pagenum"><a id="page213" name="page213"></a>(p. 213)</span> Austrian rule. The Bavarians, after desperate +fighting under Lefebvre, had driven the Tyrolese rebels from +Innsbruck. It seemed a proper time to complete, if possible, the +demoralization of the whole Austrian empire before crossing the Danube +to annihilate its military force. Francis had sown the wind in his +declaration of war: he must reap the whirlwind.</p> + +<p>From the beginning Napoleon had made the most of his enemy's being the +aggressor. There were no terms too harsh for the "Moniteur" to apply +when speaking of the hostile court and the resisting populations. The +Emperor's proclamations reveled in abuse of the Tyrolese and of +Schill. The latter was a Prussian partizan who, having distinguished +himself after Jena, was now striving to use the Austrian war in order +to arouse the North Germans. He had already gathered a few desperate +patriots, and in open hostility was defying constituted authority with +the intention of calling his country to arms. The news of Eckmühl had +destroyed his chances of success, and he was soon to end his gallant +but ill-starred career in a final stand at Stralsund, whither he had +retreated. He was stigmatized by Napoleon as a "sort of robber, who +had covered himself with crimes in the last Prussian campaign." In +repeated public utterances the Emperor of Austria was characterized as +cowardly, thankless, and perjured, while the Viennese were addressed +as "good people, abandoned and widowed." The last acts of their flying +rulers had been murder and arson; "like Medea, they had with their own +hands strangled their own children."</p> + +<p>This policy of wooing the people while abusing their rulers had been +successfully undertaken in Italy, and continued with varying results +from that day. No more effective revolutionary engine could have been +devised for Europe in Napoleon's age. The specious statements +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page214" name="page214"></a>(p. 214)</span> of the Emperor were based on truth, and while the idea they +expressed was distorted and reiterated until its exaggeration became +falsehood, yet France and the Napoleonic soldiers appeared to fight +and suffer enthusiastically for what they still considered a great +cause. Even the dull boors, whose intelligence had been nearly +quenched by centuries of oppression, felt stirrings of manhood as they +listened to the Emperor's fiery words; the middle classes, though not +deceived, had no power to refute such language from such a man; and +among the few truly enlightened men of each nation who were aware of +their country's abasement under dynastic absolutism, a tremendous +impression was often created, at least temporarily.</p> + +<p>This fact had already been well illustrated in Poland. Austria had +another appanage whose people cared little for the prestige of their +foreign kings and much for their own liberties. The Hungarians were a +conservative, capable race; many of them were ardent Protestants, well +educated and well informed, successfully combining in their +institutions the best elements of both civic and patriarchal life. To +them Napoleon issued a proclamation on May fifteenth which was a +masterpiece of its kind. It set forth that the Emperor Leopold II in +his short reign had acknowledged their rights and confirmed their +liberties; that Francis I had sworn to maintain their laws and +constitution, but had never convoked their estates except to demand +money for his wars; that in view of such treatment, Hungary should now +rise and secure national independence. The proclamation produced some +effect, but as a whole the Hungarians stood fast in their allegiance.</p> + +<p>Four years earlier Napoleon's proclamation declaring that the Bourbons +of Naples had ceased to reign was launched from Schönbrunn. Now +another, to which <span class="pagenum"><a id="page215" name="page215"></a>(p. 215)</span> reference has already been made, equally +famous, was dictated within its walls, though dated, May seventeenth, +from the "Imperial Camp at Vienna." It was a document even abler than +that addressed to the Hungarians. Citing the abuses which had from +immemorial times resulted from the confusion of temporal with +spiritual power in the papacy, it revoked the donation of Charles the +Great to Hadrian I (made a thousand years before!), declared that Pius +VII had ceased to reign, and that, as an indemnity for the loss of his +secular power, he was to receive an annual increase of income +amounting to two million francs. In time of peace this decree would +have produced throughout Europe a tremendous stir; but in the interval +between the two acts of a great campaign, men were much more occupied +with speculations about the decision of arms than with a change which +was, after all, only another phase of a protracted, tiresome struggle +in which the papacy had long since fallen from its pinnacle. It was, +however, an element of terrific demoralization in the house of +Austria, which thus saw the consolidation of Italy under the Napoleon +family complete, and their last hope to regain their European +influence by enlargement in that peninsula extinguished.</p> + +<p>Such was the scenic diversion provided for the great world in the +pause of a few days after the occupation of Vienna. These moments were +likewise occupied by the greatest military activity. Morning, noon, +and night secretaries wrote and messengers ran; the roads of central +Europe resounded beneath the feet of tramping infantry and the hoofs +of horses which were dragging provision-trains and artillery +carriages, or bearing despatches to distant points.</p> + +<p>The Archduke Charles was a fine strategic theorist, in his age second +only to Napoleon. After the fatal division of his army before +Landshut, he had wonderfully <span class="pagenum"><a id="page216" name="page216"></a>(p. 216)</span> retrieved his strength in +seizing Ratisbon, crossing the Danube, and standing at Cham eighty +thousand strong, as he did after his reinforcement by the division +which he called in from the Bohemian Forest. But again he became the +victim of indecision. Calling for peace negotiations, he loitered long +at Budweis, failed to join Hiller so as to throw their united force +across the French advance to Vienna, and when at last he brought up on +the slopes of the Bisamberg he seemed for an instant aimless. Thus can +the hope of peace paralyze a great general's activity. But when, +having offered to open negotiations with his adversary, he received no +answer, when he learned that the Austrian ministry also was determined +to fight the struggle out, he was himself again. His plan was the +greatest perhaps ever devised by him: so great, indeed, that four +years later Napoleon made it his own at Dresden. It was to free Vienna +by threatening the French communications.</p> + +<p>The idea was old enough; the novelty lay in the details. Kollowrath +was to detach twenty-five thousand men from his own force, and to +seize Linz with its bridge; the Archduke John was to join the Army of +the Tyrol, which had retreated to the head waters of the Enns, and +then march with fifty thousand men to the same point. But Masséna was +already master of the Enns valley, and Bernadotte was sent to assist +Vandamme at Linz. The Emperor had already divined the plan, and +thwarted it by the rapidity with which his orders were transmitted and +distant divisions summoned. The communications were threatened, but +not broken, and Napoleon gave his whole attention to the problem of +crossing a great river in the face of an enemy. He had done it before, +but never under circumstances so peculiar as these which confronted +him in the size of the Danube and the strength of his foe.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page217" name="page217"></a>(p. 217)</span> The mighty stream follows for the most part a single channel +until it enters the plains which face Vienna on the north, where, at +intervals, it divides into several arms, inclosing numerous islands. +These branches are nearly all substantial streams; many of them are +navigable. It was determined to choose two such points, one above and +the other below the town, to build bridges at both, and to select +whichever one should prove more feasible when the task was done. The +enterprise above the town failed entirely through the vigilance of the +Austrians. Masséna had better success at the other end, and succeeded +in gathering sufficient material without great difficulty; his bridges +between the two shores by the island of Lobau were ready on May +twentieth. In this interval Charles advanced, and occupied a line +farther forward in the great plain, stretching from hamlet to +hamlet—from Korneuburg, Enzersfeld, and Gross-Ebersdorf to +Strebersdorf. Eugène and Macdonald had reached Villach, whence they +could march direct to Vienna; the Archduke John was at Völkermarkt, on +his way down the Drave toward Hungary. Two days before, eight hundred +French soldiers had crossed into the island of Lobau to drive out the +Austrian scouts; on the nineteenth Napoleon arrived, and the necessary +fortifications were constructed; on the twentieth the passage began, +and Masséna, with Lannes's light cavalry, was sent out to reconnoiter.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page218" name="page218"></a>(p. 218)</span> CHAPTER XVI.</h3> + +<h4>Aspern, Essling, and Wagram.<a id="footnotetag31" name="footnotetag31"></a><a href="#footnote31" title="Go to footnote 31"><span class="smaller">[31]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">The Marchfeld — Tactics of the Two Armies — The Battle in Aspern + and Essling — The Indecisive Result — Napoleon's Retreat — Character + of the Battle — Discontent in the French Army — The Spirit of + Austria — Preparations to Renew the Conflict — The French Army on + the Lobau — Napoleon's New Tactics — The First Day of + Wagram — Napoleon's Use of Artillery — The Second Day of + Wagram — The Victory Dearly Bought — A French Panic — Napoleon's + Dilemma.</p> + +<p>Charles, having apparently determined to let his enemy cross +unmolested, and to fight the decisive battle on his own ground, had +advanced meantime to still another line of hamlets—Strebersdorf, +Gerasdorf, Deutsch-Wagram. On the morning of the twenty-first +Napoleon's army was partly across the main stream, some of his troops +being yet on the Lobau, some entirely over on the left bank, but a +large portion still on the right bank. His cavalry was again sent to +clear the Marchfeld of the Austrian light horse, who were coursing +from one vantage-point to another; and he himself, in order to survey +the country, advanced to the first slight rise beyond the low meadows +which border the river. Near where he stood was the comfortable hamlet +of Aspern, composed like the others round about of one-story stone +houses and high stone barns, some of which are of great size, with +walls many feet thick. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page219" name="page219"></a>(p. 219)</span> The farmsteads and churchyards are +inclosed with ordinary masonry walls. At a short distance to the +eastward lay Essling, which, like Aspern, had a few hundred +inhabitants, and farther still, but easily visible, the somewhat +larger village of Enzersdorf. The plain, though not rolling, is yet +not perfectly flat, and small watercourses traverse it at frequent +intervals, their direction marked by the trees growing on their banks. +The most important of these, the Russbach, was some miles north of +where he stood. Turning to Masséna, after scanning the ground, he +said: "I shall refuse on the left, and advancing on the right, turn in +the Austrian front to the left." That is, he would leave his own left +on the river, turn the Austrian left, and rolling up their line, +inclose them with their rear to the Danube. His success would be their +annihilation, for they had no means of crossing in retreat.</p> + +<p>To men of less daring this would have seemed a mad plan. A careful +general would, without hesitation, have seized and strongly garrisoned +Aspern, Essling, and Enzersdorf, in order that his own line of retreat +might be secure, and sufficient room be assured in which to deploy. +Pelet, in his memoirs, declares that the Emperor's orders were "to +cross the river and march against the enemy." Be this as it may, there +were as yet only three infantry divisions on the left bank of the +Danube, and Aspern was but weakly garrisoned. Charles was determined +to maintain if possible his superiority of numbers. The river was +somewhat swollen and he sent floats laden with stones down the main +channel to crash through Napoleon's bridges. The attempt met with only +slight success, though it weakened the most important bridge. Meantime +the Austrians were advancing in five columns, one by Breitenlee +against Aspern, one by Aderklaa against Essling, one direct on +Enzersdorf <span class="pagenum"><a id="page220" name="page220"></a>(p. 220)</span> to their left; the two others were cavalry, and +bore in the general direction of Breitenlee toward Aspern. They +appeared in full sight about one o'clock, the column destined to +attack Napoleon being nearest. Napoleon's over-confidence disappeared +at once, and while the Austrians deployed for the attack, and occupied +Aspern, he sent in Molitor's division to seize and hold that hamlet, +Masséna being in command. The divisions of Legrand and Boudet were in +the rear, on the right and left respectively. Bessières, with the +cavalry of Lasalle and Espagne, stood between Aspern and Essling; the +division of Carra Saint-Cyr arrived later and was held in reserve. +Lannes and Boudet, with a small force, were ordered to hold Essling. +Enzersdorf was abandoned, and quickly occupied by the Austrian left.</p> + +<p>The fighting at Aspern was awful. The French pushed in, were driven +out, then turned and seized the place again. Once more, and still once +more, the same alternation of success and defeat was repeated, the +thickest of the fight being at the churchyard in the western end of +the village. At Essling the fore-post about which the battle raged was +a great barn with mighty walls and vaulted cellars. Meanwhile the +Emperor was calling in his troops as fast as possible from behind, but +at three in the afternoon his main bridge over the chief arm of the +Danube gave way before masses of rubbish brought down from the +hill-country by a freshet, which was hourly increasing in volume. The +Austrians were from first to last superior in numbers on the +battle-field; their enfilading batteries were able to sweep the French +lines for several hours, and the carnage was dreadful. At last +Bessières succeeded in dislodging them from Essling, and by great +exertion that place was held until dusk, when the Austrians drew off +to bivouac. But at Aspern the numbers <span class="pagenum"><a id="page221" name="page221"></a>(p. 221)</span> engaged were greater, +Legrand being sent in toward nightfall. The Archduke intended to take +and hold the village if possible, and the fighting continued there +until midnight. Weakened and inferior in numbers though the French +were, they understood better than their foes the defense of such a +place, and when firing ceased they still held half of the long main +street.</p> + +<a id="img012" name="img012"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img012b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img012.jpg" width="500" height="371" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Battle of Aspern or Essling. 21st of May 1809.</p> +</div> + +<a id="img013" name="img013"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img013b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img013.jpg" width="500" height="371" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Battle of Aspern or Essling. 22nd of May 1809.</p> +</div> + +<p>By midnight the French bridge was again repaired, and Davout, in +response to Napoleon's urgent orders, began to bring up +reinforcements, especially artillery, holding them on the south shore +of the main stream in readiness for crossing. At two in the morning +the Austrians made still another effort to drive out the enemy from +Aspern; soon afterward they again attacked Essling. Masséna called in +Carra Saint-Cyr to Aspern; within an hour both attacks had been +repulsed, and the latter hamlet was entirely cleared of the enemy. +While the desperate struggle again went on, the Emperor once more +surveyed the field; and when at seven in the morning Davout sent word +that a portion of the reinforcements was already on the Lobau, +Napoleon determined to break through the enemy's center, and for that +purpose threw forward the troops already on the ground. But once more +the weakened and patched structure over the Danube gave way, and the +arrival of reinforcements was stopped; the available French force was +immediately drawn back, and stationed to hold the line from Aspern to +Essling. The enemy was encouraged and pressed on to the attack with +renewed vigor; in the former village the scenes of the previous day +were repeated, first one and then the other contestant holding it for +a time. In the center, where the Austrians almost broke through the +line, Napoleon quickly brought together his recently arrived artillery +and Bessières's cavalry; after terrific struggles they succeeded in +holding <span class="pagenum"><a id="page222" name="page222"></a>(p. 222)</span> the Austrians in check. On the right Essling, +after being captured and recaptured several times by each side, was +taken and long held by the enemy's left; it was then retaken at about +three in the afternoon, by a portion of the French reserve, Napoleon's +"young guard." Thereupon, from the sheer exhaustion of both sides, the +conflict ceased, nothing being heard but desultory discharges of +artillery. The French were in possession of both Aspern and Essling. +At seven the Emperor called a council of war; the generals advised +recrossing the Danube and a retreat into Vienna. "You must mean to +Strasburg," said their chief; "for if Charles should follow, he might +drive me thither, and if he should march to cut me off at Linz, I must +march thither, too, to meet him. In either case, I must abandon the +capital, my only source of supplies." There was no reply, and it was +determined to withdraw into the Lobau, and hold it until a stronger +bridge could be constructed and Davout bring over his entire force. +After two days of terrific defensive fighting,—so terrific that the +Austrians were several times on the point of retreat,—Napoleon was +obliged to abandon the field.</p> + +<p>The night of May twenty-second was the beginning of such bitterness +for the French emperor as he had not yet tasted. His enemy's forces +numbered about seventy thousand, his own perhaps forty-five thousand; +but this was entirely his own fault, due largely to overweening +confidence in himself and a weak contempt for foes who, after a long +and severe novitiate, now fought like veteran Frenchmen, and were led +by one who had learned the lessons of Napoleon's own strategy. Five +times Essling had been lost and won; how often Aspern had been +captured and retaken could only be estimated. Both hamlets were now +abandoned by the French. The last Austrian charge against the center +had been made <span class="pagenum"><a id="page223" name="page223"></a>(p. 223)</span> and repelled with fiery valor, but in it +Lannes was mortally wounded. The grand total, therefore, of the two +days was a loss of gallant troops by the thousand, and of this +marshal, Napoleon's greatest division general, the friend of his +youth, and the only surviving one that was both fearless and honest. +Worse even than this, the "unconquerable," though not conquered, had +been checked, and that, too, not in a corner, as in Spain or at Eylau, +but in the sight of all Europe, on a field chosen by himself.</p> + +<p>As the war-sick Emperor passed the litter on which lay his old +comrade, he threw himself on the living but maimed and half-conscious +form in an agony of tenderness; and that night, as he sat at table +before an untasted meal, briny tears rolled over cheeks which did not +often know the sensation. But the bulletin which he dictated ran, "The +enemy withdrew to their position, and we remained masters of the +field." This latter clause was exactly as true of the French at Aspern +as it had been of the Russians at Eylau—the affair was a technical +victory, a moral defeat. The Austrians celebrated the battle as their +victory, the honors of which they accorded to the last cavalry charge +under Prince John Liechtenstein; and in the peaceful churchyard at +Aspern lies the effigy of a majestic lion stricken to the heart, as a +reminder to patriotic Austrians of those two days' victorious +fighting, which literally drenched the spot with blood. "We could not +use the victory," wrote Charles's chief of staff on the twenty-fourth; +"for the enemy's strong position made pursuit impossible." This he +well knew, because the night before the Austrians had tried with +signal failure to dislodge the French army from the Lobau.</p> + +<p>The respective feelings of the two forces are mirrored in two facts. +On the twenty-third Napoleon again <span class="pagenum"><a id="page224" name="page224"></a>(p. 224)</span> visited Lannes, who was +now fully conscious and aware that he was doomed. He was as fearless +as ever and with the stern candor of an old republican poured out to +the Emperor all that he felt. The army, he said, was weary of +bloodshed, the nation of its sense of exhaustion; for both were alike +aware that they suffered and bled no longer for a principle, but for +the boundless ambition of one man. The veteran marshal refused all +sympathy or consolation, and turned his face to the wall. Both Marbot +and Pelet declare that this story of Cadet de Gassicourt is an +invention; if so, it is a clever one, for we know from other sources +that the language ascribed to Lannes expressed the sentiments of the +soldiery. As there was little chance for booty in such rapid marching +and constant fighting, the youth and the poor were disheartened. The +great fortunes won by the officers were of little use while peace was +denied for their enjoyment; the millions of Masséna did not save him +from the exposures and hardships of the battle-field, and he confessed +that he loved luxury and immoral self-indulgence. Such voices had +created an undercurrent of discontent.</p> + +<p>The feeling of Charles and his soldiers was not greatly different. +There was nothing possible as the result of their victory but to take +up a more comfortable position on the same Marchfeld which had +witnessed their losses. Before them were the bodies of ten thousand +dead and four times that number had been wounded: losses which were +about equally divided between their brethren and their foes. The +Archduke urged that now was the time for diplomacy. The battle of +Aspern had softened Napoleon, he said, and Austria might secure an +advantageous peace. But Francis had not changed his nature; he would +await the final decision. His brother Ferdinand would soon arrive from +Poland, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page225" name="page225"></a>(p. 225)</span> John was already in Hungary. To Frederick +William III he had offered Warsaw if Prussia would only come to his +assistance. But the King of Prussia was stubborn. Fearing lest Austria +should secure German leadership, and expecting in the end to gain more +from Russia, he refused, in spite of the earnest advice of all his +ministers, to assist his rival. It was only when he was assured that +Alexander intended to remain neutral that he consented to a secret +armament, but then it was too late. The insurrection in Westphalia, to +assist which Schill, in disobedience of orders, had led his battalion +of hussars from Berlin, was easily suppressed. This fact, with +Napoleon's signal success in Bavaria, seemed to justify Frederick +William, and the failure of Francis to secure any advantage after +Aspern confirmed the opinion. Such, however, was the temper of the +Prussian people that, under moral compulsion, their King finally +proposed formal terms of alliance. Austria's real spirit appeared in +her vague answer. She first asked England for more assistance, but +failing to secure it, turned ungraciously and with indefinite +proposals to Prussia. Her envoy of course found no response. Thus it +was that Charles and Napoleon lay for weeks watching each other like +gladiators, each ready to take advantage of any false step made by the +other, and both steadily gathering strength to renew the struggle in +the same arena.</p> + +<p>Napoleon seemed to make his preparations with a determination to risk +all in the next encounter. His line of communication with the west was +abandoned altogether; the Tyrol, too, was virtually evacuated, and +Lefebvre, with the Bavarians, relieved Vandamme and Bernadotte at +Linz, so that both the latter might at once advance within striking +distance. Eugène had reached Bruck in Styria, and was therefore at +hand; Marmont with ten thousand men was called from Illyria. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page226" name="page226"></a>(p. 226)</span> +Being thus safe toward the south, the Emperor sent two divisions to +watch the Austrians at Presburg. Before June tenth he had compacted in +and about Vienna an army of two hundred and forty thousand men. On the +thirteenth the Archduke John, having turned and advanced toward Raab, +was attacked, defeated, and driven back into Hungary by Eugène, who +had learned, if not generalship, at least obedience, and having +carefully obeyed his stepfather's injunctions, had thus won an +important victory.</p> + +<p>Meantime all was activity on the Lobau. A new and solid bridge was +built across the main stream. To forestall another such accident as +had occurred before, this structure was not only protected by piles, +but guarded by rowboats which were armed with field-pieces and manned +by artillerymen. The enemy had withdrawn behind the Russbach in a line +from Deutsch-Wagram to Markgrafneusiedl, leaving only a corps to +fortify the old line from Aspern to Essling. In consequence the +Emperor entirely changed his plan. The island of Lobau was first +strongly fortified, and then, not one, but numerous bridges were +constructed to the mainland on the left bank under cover of the guns. +Lower down similar measures were taken. In this way the French troops +could effect their passage very rapidly and much farther eastward than +before, avoid the Aspern-Essling line, and reaching Enzersdorf under +protection of their own forts, turn the enemy's left almost in the act +of crossing, and so roll up the left wing of his line, which was +strongly posted on high ground behind the Russbach, from +Markgrafneusiedl through Parbasdorf toward Wagram, where it was +connected with the center. These arrangements were all completed by +July first, on which date the Emperor left Schönbrunn for the Lobau. +During the fighting at Aspern he had observed the field <span class="pagenum"><a id="page227" name="page227"></a>(p. 227)</span> from +the swinging rungs of a rope-ladder fastened to one of the tall trees +on the island. This time he brought with him a long step-ladder, one +of those used in the palace gardens to trim high shrubs. The Archduke +John was now in Presburg; the Archduke Charles had raised his numbers +to a hundred and thirty thousand men. On and near the Lobau were a +hundred and eighty thousand French soldiers; twenty-two thousand more +were behind.</p> + +<p>It was the fifth before all the preliminary moves were successfully +taken. The passage had been safely accomplished during the previous +night exactly as had been planned, a feint against Aspern having +thrown the Austrians on a false scent. In the morning, therefore, the +two lines were arrayed opposite, but somewhat obliquely, to each +other, the French right overlapping the Austrian left beyond +Enzersdorf as far as Wittau, so as either to prevent the approach of +Archduke John or to outflank the Austrian left according to +circumstances. The French center was thus in front of the Austrian +left, and Masséna, with the French left resting on the Danube, was to +attack the Austrian center at the village of Gerasdorf, while +Bernadotte and Eugène were to throw themselves on Charles's left, +which stretched behind the Russbach from Wagram to Markgrafneusiedl. +Napoleon waited for some hours while scouts reconnoitered toward +Presburg. Being assured about five that John had not left that city +nor given any signs of moving, he prepared his columns, and about +seven in the evening ordered the onset.</p> + +<p>Masséna made a vigorous effort to hold the enemy's center and right, +while Napoleon launched his own center and right against the positions +held by his opponent's left. For some hours there was vigorous +fighting, but Charles saw the Emperor's manœuver, and swiftly +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page228" name="page228"></a>(p. 228)</span> throwing his reserve from behind Gerasdorf into his left, +gained time to call up reinforcements from his right at the Bisamberg. +Bernadotte moved slowly, and did not render his force effective at the +crucial moment. Napoleon was much incensed by his apparent +sluggishness. An attack made at seven against Wagram by Oudinot +failed. This hamlet was the key of the Austrian position, forming as +it did the angle of their line, and the fighting there was desperate. +By nine o'clock the French were thrown back all along, and compelled +to resume the positions they had held in the morning. At eleven a last +attempt was made by Eugène and Bernadotte on Wagram, but like the +other it was bloody and useless. At the council-fire that evening the +leaders of the French left and center were ordered to move farther to +the right, and to concentrate next morning on the positions behind the +Russbach. About dawn the change was made, and before sunrise all was +ready, the Emperor having passed a sleepless night on his tiger-skin +behind the bivouac fire in front of his tent.</p> + +<a id="img014" name="img014"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img014b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img014.jpg" width="500" height="374" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Battle of Wagram. Positions July 5<sup>th</sup> 1809.</p> +</div> + +<p>But Charles did not wait to be attacked. With new courage and added +confidence he ordered his right, under Klenau, to follow down the +Danube against the enemy's weakened left, which might thus be turned, +while with the break of day his center advanced against Masséna. For a +time the Austrians carried all before them, and Masséna retreated step +by step until it appeared as if the tables would be turned and +Napoleon overwhelmed by his own tactics. Both Aspern and Essling were +taken, and then, turning north, the united Austrian center and right +entirely surrounded the French left and attacked it on the flank. They +thought themselves victorious, when unexpectedly the heavy artillery +on the Lobau opened fire upon them, and they began to waver. At this +crisis the great artillerist <span class="pagenum"><a id="page229" name="page229"></a>(p. 229)</span> brought into action the +strong batteries of his own arm which he had so carefully prepared. +Lauriston was chosen to carry out the decisive movement, and his +splendid conduct not merely secured the victory, but made it +overwhelming. According to the most conservative estimate, there were +under his command one hundred field-pieces,—sixty from the +guard,—and these were supported by cavalry and cuirassiers; some +estimate the number of guns at four hundred, but this is manifestly a +wild exaggeration. As the artillery rolled up and unlimbered, volleys +of shot, shell, and grape began to follow in swift succession, and in +a short time the enemy's pursuit was not only stayed, but with the +approach of Macdonald's infantry to form a new flank it was turned +into retreat. The Austrians made one gallant stand, but were finally +forced back to the foot of the Bisamberg.</p> + +<p>Meantime Davout had attacked the left. While he fought he was steadily +reinforced, until at one time, about midday, over a third of the army +was concentrated under his command. The Austrians opposed to them +could not, even with their vantage of high ground, withstand the ever +stronger pressure, and slowly rolled back northward in a curve. Eugène +captured Wagram, and then turned in that direction to unite with +Macdonald, whose division had joined that of Wrede, and had been +steadily pushing back the enemy's line toward the same point. They +were supported by Davout and Oudinot. The Austrians on the right were +then once more dislodged and compelled to withdraw on the highway to +Brünn. It was about two in the afternoon. Davout had been ordered to +wait for a signal to make the decisive advance. It was given, and as +Oudinot rushed up the heights at Parbasdorf, his comrade appeared from +Markgrafneusiedl, driving the enemy before him. A <span class="pagenum"><a id="page230" name="page230"></a>(p. 230)</span> breach in +the opposing line was made at once, and the whole Austrian wing, being +thus disorganized, hurried back to reform if possible beyond Wagram, +cross the Russbach, and join the main army. They were successful. The +French right halted just beyond the village which gave its name to the +battle. Lasalle, a brilliant light-horse general, was killed in the +last charge, and both armies bivouacked for the night. Next morning +Charles withdrew toward Znaim, Masséna, Davout, and Marmont following +with the van of Napoleon's army. Several skirmishes took place between +portions of the Austrian rear and various corps of the French van, in +which the latter were decidedly checked. Marmont was obliged to assume +the defensive under the walls of Znaim. The Austrian losses at the +battle of Wagram were computed at twenty-four thousand, including +seven hundred and fifty-three officers. Those of the French were +certainly not less, if we include seven thousand who were taken +prisoners. They lost, moreover, twelve standards and eleven guns.</p> + +<p>In the early hours of July sixth, Charles had despatched an adjutant +to Presburg with orders to the Archduke John to march at once and +attack the enemy's rear. The story at first accepted was that the +messenger found the bridges over the river March destroyed, and +arrived six hours too late for his errand to be successful. There +were, however, many at the time who attributed criminal negligence to +John, among them his own brother, the commander-in-chief. For a time, +by means of court intrigue and persistent misrepresentation, the blame +was put, not on John, but on Charles, but eventually the former was +found guilty and banished to Styria. Had the latter's plan succeeded, +Napoleon would have had a different task—a task so difficult that the +issue of the battle might well have been doubtful, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page231" name="page231"></a>(p. 231)</span> if not +disastrous. As it was, the victory was dearly bought, and the +Austrians were not demoralized.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, in the very hour of victory the French, who had +halted to take breath, were thrown into a panic by the appearance of a +few Austrian pickets from the Archduke John's army, then coming up, +and thousands of the victorious soldiers fled in wild demoralization +toward the Danube. John, whose appearance but a short time earlier +would have turned his brother's defeat into victory, drew back his +thirteen thousand men in good order to guard Hungary. As Napoleon +himself had been in a dangerous condition of over-confidence before +Aspern, so now his soldiery were clearly in the same plight. +Self-conceit had made them unreliable. Bernadotte's corps had +displayed something very much like cowardice and mutiny at the last. +The army still fought in the main like the perfect machine it was, but +the individual men had lost their stern virtue. They believed that +victory, plunder, and self-indulgence were the fair compensations of +their toils. Ungirt and freed from the restraints of discipline, they +gave signs that the petulance, timidity, and unruliness which had been +manifested in Poland and Prussia were not diminished.</p> + +<p>Their Emperor, if his vision had been unclouded, would have understood +that endurance, suffering, and privation would make such men an +untrustworthy dependence in the hour of need. How changed he was +himself is clear from the fact that Bonaparte would never have rested +until his foe was disorganized and overpowered, while Napoleon saw +himself forced to treat with an opponent who, though beaten, was still +undaunted and active. If the victor had been fighting for life, his +position would have been morally strong; fighting as a +world-conqueror, it was illogical; fighting <span class="pagenum"><a id="page232" name="page232"></a>(p. 232)</span> as equal with +equal to repel aggression, it was comprehensible. This last was the +attitude into which he was forced by the campaign of Aspern, Essling, +Wagram. Francis, whose power he had meant to crush, upon whom a few +short weeks before he had heaped insult and abuse, had turned out a +most dangerous foe. Technically conquered, it would not be well for +his opponent to try conclusions with him again in the still uncertain +position of the Napoleonic power. Rather reap the field secured, the +daunted conqueror reasoned, than risk devastation by grasping for +more. This, and no other, is the explanation of that remarkable +somersault in Napoleon's diplomacy which followed in the next few +weeks.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page233" name="page233"></a>(p. 233)</span> CHAPTER XVII.</h3> + +<h4>The Peace of Schönbrunn.<a id="footnotetag32" name="footnotetag32"></a><a href="#footnote32" title="Go to footnote 32"><span class="smaller">[32]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Schill and the Duke of Brunswick — Andreas Hofer — The Armistice of + Znaim — The Northern Powers Adhere to France — Wellesley's + Successes in the Peninsula — The Walcheren + Expedition — Negotiations for Peace — Austria a Second-rate + Power — Attempt on Napoleon's Life — His Great Uneasiness — The + Tyrol Subdued — The Pope a Prisoner.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's course was probably somewhat influenced both by the +mutterings of national discontent in France and by the actual +insurrections which were taking place in Germany. Schill, after +leaving Berlin, had been successively harassed by the Dutch, the +Westphalians, and the Danes, until in despair he threw himself into +Stralsund in hope of coöperation from an English fleet. The city was +immediately beleaguered, and on May thirty-first it fell. The King of +Prussia had already denounced the gallant adventurer and his +companions as a robber band of outlaws. As has been told, the daring +patriot was killed in the assault, and only a hundred and fifty of his +comrades escaped. The officers who fled into Prussia were +court-martialed, and punished by a light sentence of imprisonment. +Those captured in Stralsund were taken to Brest and sentenced to penal +servitude. Frederick <span class="pagenum"><a id="page234" name="page234"></a>(p. 234)</span> William, the young Duke of Brunswick, +deprived by Napoleon of his throne, and determined to avenge his +father, had raised, during the progress of the French campaign in +Austria, a corps of Bohemian and other adventurers, which was soon +famous for its extraordinary exploits, and became world-renowned as +the Black Legion. With this force, assisted by that of the Austrian +commandant in Franconia, General Kienmayer, he defeated the Saxons at +Nossen, a French army under Junot at Berneck, and repelled King Jerome +of Westphalia; he then seized Dresden, Leipsic, and Lindenau, holding +at the time of Wagram a considerable portion of Franconia. Napoleon's +victory rendered his situation desperate, but with fifteen hundred men +he cut his way northward through Leipsic, Halle, Halberstadt, and +Brunswick, defeating the Westphalian, Saxon, and Dutch troops which +sought to intercept him, and reached the shores of the North Sea at +Elsfleth, where, seizing a merchant flotilla, he embarked with his men +for England. He was received in London with jubilation, and was richly +pensioned for his heroic adventures.</p> + +<p>Almost simultaneously the Tyrolese, taking advantage of Lefebvre's +withdrawal, rose again. The exploits of their hero, Andreas Hofer, +form a romantic episode of history, but they very indirectly affected +the central story, if at all. In the five weeks intervening between +Aspern and Wagram, that able and devoted man had virtually reorganized +his country and cleared it of intruders. Even the double invasion of +French and Bavarians, on one side from Klagenfurth, on the other down +the valley of the Inn, was successfully repelled. The tactics of +Hofer's men were most effective against regular troops, who, marching +in thin lines through mountain defiles, were cut down by +sharp-shooters, overwhelmed with rocks hurled from high ledges over +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page235" name="page235"></a>(p. 235)</span> the precipitous walls of ravines, entrapped by ambushes, or +slaughtered by the scythes, clubs, and pitchforks of the peasantry.</p> + +<p>Leaving Eugène to hold the Marchfeld, Napoleon and his army pressed on +after Marmont in pursuit of Charles. Before Znaim, which was reached +on the eleventh, the vanguard had just suffered something very like a +repulse, and the Emperor made ready for another battle if it should be +necessary. In the very midst of the preparations came a proposition +from Charles for an armistice. After a long discussion by the French +generals, Napoleon accepted it. "You must fight only when the hope of +any fortunate turn is gone," he wrote about this time; "for in its +nature the result of a battle is always doubtful." The Archduke's +motive was to gain time. The Emperor Francis had accepted a plan +proposed by John for a reunion of the Austrian armies on the confines +of Hungary to continue the war, and he was still hoping to retrieve +the blunder he had made in not negotiating on equal terms with +Prussia. He therefore acquiesced in Charles's proposal, though not +intending the armistice as a preliminary of peace. Napoleon affected +uncertainty, and demanded an enormous cession of territory as the +price of a truce. Francis in turn demurred, but finally yielded. To +this again Charles, confident in his ability to carry on the war, +would not listen. His quarrel with Francis and John was growing more +bitter; and the Emperor felt that in order to compose the family +difficulties and allay jealousies, time must now be gained at any +price. Francis therefore persisted, Charles resigned the command, and +the former assumed it himself.</p> + +<p>The Austrian Emperor's first step was to open negotiations in the hope +of prolonging them until he could rearrange the control of his army +and recuperate his <span class="pagenum"><a id="page236" name="page236"></a>(p. 236)</span> strength, trusting that in the interval +the kaleidoscope of European diplomacy might entirely change. He was +not disappointed in the fact of a change, but the change was far +different from what he had expected. The King of Prussia now +definitely withdrew the propositions which he had half-heartedly made +before Wagram. He thought it was better to reign behind the Oder than +not to reign at all. The Czar kept the promise made at Erfurt most +unwillingly; but having at last secured Finland, he felt bound to +fulfil the letter of his engagement. Prince Galitzin had been put at +the head of thirty thousand unwilling Russians, and sent to invade +Galicia. Crossing the frontier, his officers declared their distaste +for the task, and knew they were reflecting the sentiments of an +overpowering majority of their own nation. The invasion turned out a +farce, and was rather in the nature of a friendly reception by the +inhabitants.</p> + +<p>Francis therefore hoped for something from Alexander's lukewarmness. +The latter, however, would do nothing, for nominally, and in +occasional skirmishes really, he was fighting Turkey, and meant, after +the peace, to claim the fulfilment of Napoleon's promise. It would be +impolitic to jeopardize his whole ambition by any deviation from the +letter of the Erfurt agreement. Francis therefore was informed that he +must make the best terms with Napoleon that he could. As to Great +Britain, the chances seemed better. In the seas that bordered Italy +and the Ionian Isles, off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, on the +waters of the Baltic, her flag was seen. Wellesley had been landed in +the Iberian peninsula, and, driving Soult before him, had not only +expelled the French from Portugal, but had defeated Victor at +Talavera, and was preparing for the invasion of Spain. The English +government had in <span class="pagenum"><a id="page237" name="page237"></a>(p. 237)</span> readiness another army of forty thousand +men and another fleet of thirty-five ships of the line. Where best +could they employ them? After long deliberation the selfish policy was +adopted of using them, not to cripple Napoleon, but for England's +immediate advantage. They were not sent to reinforce Wellesley and +insure the conquest of Spain, nor to save Schill, nor to strengthen +Austria. By any one of these courses the European uprising against the +French emperor would have been inaugurated that very year.</p> + +<p>As it was, they were despatched to destroy the dockyards of the +Netherlands, where it was said, and perhaps believed, that Napoleon +was building ships to dispute British supremacy at sea. After +disembarking on the island of Walcheren, the army combined with the +fleet in a successful attack on Flushing, which fell on August +fifteenth. This was their only success. Fouché raised an army of +national guards, and Bernadotte, who, having incurred the Emperor's +displeasure at Wagram for his slowness and lack of success, had been +sent home in disgrace, was induced to put himself at its head. The +army and navy officers of the English disagreed as to how they should +meet him. The result was separation and disaster; the fleet sailed +back to England and the army withdrew to Walcheren, where it was held +in check while the swamp-fever devastated its ranks. About the same +time a plague also broke out in the Austrian army, and, as was +claimed, destroyed its efficiency. Wellesley, unsupported, saw himself +threatened by a flank movement of Soult and drew back, while, in +August, Sebastiani defeated a division of the Spanish army.</p> + +<p>These were the circumstances which turned the pretended peace +negotiations of Francis into reality. When proceedings first began at +Altenburg they were simply farcical. Napoleon really needed peace, if +Prussia and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page238" name="page238"></a>(p. 238)</span> Russia were meditating war; but the first +proposal made by Austria he scorned, and talked of Francis's +abdication, with a partition of Hapsburg lands among the new +Napoleonic states. When the nominal plenipotentiaries, Champagny and +Metternich, actually met, the former still scouted anything like +reasonable terms, demanding for his Emperor the lands occupied by +French troops. The Austrian, anxious to gain time, replied with +equally impossible propositions. But as the summer passed, and +Francis's hopes of support grew fainter and fainter, he sent a +personal representative, General Bubna, to Napoleon, and this +plenipotentiary began to display sincerity. Thereupon the Emperor of +the French manifested his earnest desire for peace. So far he had +relied on the Czar, who stood by the alliance in the face of his +people's opposition. How much longer, Alexander must have asked +himself, could this state of things continue? It was praiseworthy in +him that he cared nothing for popular opinion, but he might not be +able to hold out against it much longer. It was very significant that +in a formal note just received from St. Petersburg by the hand of a +Russian officer, Alexander advised peace. To this messenger, when +speaking of the chances for renewing hostilities, Napoleon exclaimed +in undisguised horror, "Blood, blood, always blood!" And then, with a +sudden change of manner, he said: "I am anxious to get back to Paris." +Like his generals, the Emperor of the French was plainly sick of war. +His sad countenance, like theirs, was an open book in which the +Russian could clearly read this important fact. Indeed, the anxious, +war-worn, unsettled Napoleon actually contemplated an alliance with +Austria. It was clear that if her territories were left intact she +would gladly join in one. He had need to be done with her in order to +settle his affairs in Spain and elsewhere. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page239" name="page239"></a>(p. 239)</span> But he feared +Francis, and hoped that such a vacillating temporizer might abdicate +in favor of some thoroughly trustworthy successor. Napoleon confessed +to Bubna that he admired the Austrian troops; they were as good as his +own, and under his leadership would be victorious. Champagny's +demands, he admitted, were not final, but certain territories on the +south, on the west, and in Galicia he must have.</p> + +<p>With this understanding, full powers were given to Prince +Liechtenstein, and he went direct to Schönbrunn. The terms of peace +turned out very hard indeed. A war indemnity of a hundred million +francs was first incorporated in the treaty itself; but afterward, in +a secret article, Francis was required to reduce his army to a hundred +and fifty thousand men, and the indemnity was diminished to +eighty-five millions. This would have been an awful burden to lay on +the empire even as it had been, and Austrian territory was now to be +seriously diminished. Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, and the Inn quarter +went to the Confederation of the Rhine, New Galicia to the grand duchy +of Warsaw, along with a large district in East Galicia and the town of +Cracow. A small strip of the same province was reserved for Russia. +But the most deadly blow was the constitution of a subsidiary +government, to be known as Illyria, by the surrender directly to +France of Görz, Monfalcone, Triest, Carniola, Willach in Carinthia, +and Croatia east of the Save. This made Austria not only a +second-class, but an inland power, cutting her off entirely from the +sea; but she was, nevertheless, to enter the Continental System +against England, and recognize all that Napoleon had done or might do +in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. These were the hard but imperative +conditions which the Emperor laid down. Liechtenstein accepted them +subject to his sovereign's approval.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page240" name="page240"></a>(p. 240)</span> But the conqueror was in haste. On October twelfth there had +been a great review of his troops at Schönbrunn. In the crowd was a +youth, scarcely more than a child, who pressed forward to gain access +to Napoleon. His urgency attracted the attention of Berthier, and he +was seized by General Rapp. On his person was a large knife, and he +openly avowed his purpose of assassination. He was confronted with his +intended victim. His name, he said, was Staps, and he was the son of a +Protestant pastor at Naumburg. The Emperor coldly asked what he would +do if pardoned. "Try again to kill you," was the culprit's reply. He +avowed no penitence, but declared he had no personal feeling. He would +gladly have reasoned with Napoleon, he further said, if he could but +have gained an interview; if unsuccessful in his plan, he would have +thought it a deed of honor to smite down the world's oppressor. The +would-be assassin was secretly shot, and the police had instructions +to say, if there should be much talk, that he was crazy. This event +seemed deeply to impress the intended victim with the intensity of +feeling among the common people of Germany, and he was anxious to be +gone. His fears were well founded; assassination was in the minds of +many unbalanced men. A captain in the Austrian army actually sought a +furlough, giving as his reason that he desired to kill Napoleon.</p> + +<p>This mania for assassination completed the depression of spirits which +for some time past had been noticeable in the French emperor. Severely +wounded in the great toe at Ratisbon, he had there been compelled to +exercise enormous self-control to prevent a panic in the army. Knocked +senseless by a fall from his horse on the road to Schönbrunn, he had +for the same reason been forced to enjoin silence on nearly two +hundred persons who were aware of the fact. At Essling he had thought +it <span class="pagenum"><a id="page241" name="page241"></a>(p. 241)</span> necessary to throw himself into the bullet hail to +sustain the morale of his troops, and having saved Lannes from +drowning during a preliminary reconnaissance of the Danube banks, he +had finally lost him under the most distressing circumstances. To cap +the climax of these experiences, it now seemed as if his own life were +in constant jeopardy. When, therefore, the official articles of the +peace were drawn up on the fourteenth, and Liechtenstein departed to +lay them before Francis, the French cannon did not wait for +formalities, but proclaimed the peace as already made. The next night +Napoleon was on his way to Paris.</p> + +<p>The armistice of Znaim had utterly crushed the hopes of the Tyrolese, +but they continued to fight in despair. The peace of Schönbrunn set +free the entire French army to overwhelm them. A second double +invasion was organized. Prince Eugène offered amnesty to the +insurgents, and the Austrian ministry advised them to cease +resistance. But Hofer had by this time convinced himself that his +mission was more than earthly. After some hesitation, he refused to +accept Austria's advice, and the conflict was renewed. The Tyrolese +were now alone, and after a vain resistance the combatants dispersed +among the mountains. The land was again reduced to submission. Hofer +remained safely hidden for some time, but he was eventually betrayed, +captured, and sent to Mantua for the formality of a trial. Napoleon's +directions to Eugène were very concise. Whenever the order should +reach him, the viceroy was to name a court-martial, try the prisoner, +and have him shot. Throughout suffering and imprisonment the hero +displayed the greatest firmness, and met his death with lofty +devotion. In the previous spring, when at Austria's instigation the +Tyrol had risen, he had been ennobled; ten years later the title and +estates <span class="pagenum"><a id="page242" name="page242"></a>(p. 242)</span> of Passeyr were bestowed on his family. Among the +eastern Alps the name of Andreas Hofer is like that of William Tell +among the mountains of Switzerland. His rugged virtues are celebrated +in verse, and tradition lingers about his haunts.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's decree of May seventeenth, depriving the Pope of his +secular power, reached Rome in due time, and Murat proceeded without +delay to execute it. There were no difficulties, for it will be +remembered that in February General Miollis had occupied the city. A +committee of administration was immediately named, whose duties were +to prepare the way for incorporation with Italy. On June tenth formal +proclamation was made that Pius VII was no longer a secular prince, +his dominion having passed to the King of Italy. He was still to +reside in Rome as spiritual head of the Catholic Church. That night +the Pope promulgated a bull excommunicating Napoleon and his +adherents, favorers, and councilors. Unlike similar instruments of his +predecessors, it contained a clause declaring the punishment to be +purely spiritual, and prohibiting every one from using it as a +sanction for attack on the persons of those against whom it was +issued. On the night of July fifth a French general with his guard +forced the doors of the Quirinal palace, and demanded from Pius a +formal renunciation of his secular power. The Pope having firmly and +quietly refused, he was informed that he must make ready to leave the +city. At three the next morning he was placed in a carriage with a +single cardinal, and on a second dignified and solemn refusal to +comply was carried to Florence. There he was separated from his one +companion and put in charge of the gendarmes. Traveling by day and +night, sometimes in a litter, sometimes by sea, the aged man was +finally brought to Grenoble. The devout French of that city could +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page243" name="page243"></a>(p. 243)</span> not understand the secrecy and haste of his journey, and +hastened to pay him homage. So great were the crowds and so intense +was the feeling that very soon his presence in France was considered +dangerous. He was therefore carried back to Savona, where he remained +a state prisoner under rigid supervision in decent but plain +apartments until 1812, when he was conducted to Fontainebleau and +lodged like a prince.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page244" name="page244"></a>(p. 244)</span> CHAPTER XVIII.</h3> + +<h4>Napoleon's Fatal Decision.<a id="footnotetag33" name="footnotetag33"></a><a href="#footnote33" title="Go to footnote 33"><span class="smaller">[33]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon's Explanations to Alexander — His New Manner — Sad Plight + of Josephine — The Divorce Announced and Confirmed by the + Senate — Negotiations for the Czar's Sister — Napoleon's + Impatience — His Desire for a Great Match.</p> + +<p>The treaty of Schönbrunn was a flagrant violation of the agreement +made between Napoleon and Alexander at Erfurt, inasmuch as it +materially enlarged the grand duchy of Warsaw and thus menaced Russia +with the reconstruction of Poland. "Clearly," said Rumianzoff to +Caulaincourt, "you want to be rid of the Russian alliance, and to +substitute for it that with the grand duchy." Alexander was very +angry, but, though in the strict observance of forms he had been +irreproachable, his conduct in the real support of his ally had not +been sincere. His people were more embittered with the French alliance +every day, and Napoleon knew how both the nation and the Czar would +feel when they were informed that provinces occupied by Russian troops +had been assigned to Poland. Francis, wroth as he was, had not dared +to disturb the popular joy so loudly expressed over Napoleon's +premature announcement of peace. Accordingly, on October twentieth, +1809, the very day in which the papers were signed and ratified, an +explanation was sent to Alexander by the Emperor <span class="pagenum"><a id="page245" name="page245"></a>(p. 245)</span> of the +French. It pleaded that he could not abandon a friendly people to +Austria's vengeance, but declared that he would guarantee their good +behavior under Saxon rule; as for the names of Poles and Poland, for +all he cared, they might disappear from history. The Czar accepted the +excuse with what grace he could, for the partition of Turkey was not +yet accomplished. But the peace of Schönbrunn marked the initiation of +a policy which dissolved the peace of Tilsit. There could now no +longer be any serious question of marriage between members of the two +courts. Compelled by circumstances to choose between a dual alliance +with a first-rate power which must share on equal terms in the +dominion of the world, and one with a second-rate power whose armies +were surpassed by none, Napoleon had deliberately chosen the latter, +as the shortest way to absolute and complete supremacy, to the +assertion of a sovereign will over a conquered universe.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's return to Paris was celebrated in the manner usual after a +victorious campaign. The departments of government issued the most +fulsome addresses; subsidiary and vassal kings crowded to offer their +congratulations; there were the ordinary manifestations of popular +joy, and no one seemed to remember that the Emperor had been smitten +by the papal bolt. But men remarked a great change in his bearing and +expression. Cambacérès said that he seemed to be walking in the midst +of his glory. Moreover, he withdrew from the capital, and held his +court in Fontainebleau. The air was all surcharged. The Duc de Broglie +tells us in his memoirs that he had seen the Empress early that year, +surrounded by the brilliant throng of "ladies in waiting, ladies of +the court and palace, accompanied by the train of 'readers,' which +composed the harem of our sultan, and enabled him for a time to endure +the painted old <span class="pagenum"><a id="page246" name="page246"></a>(p. 246)</span> age of the former sultana." The truth which +underlies this is notorious, and the scene over the divorce before the +Emperor's departure for the campaign just concluded bears witness to +the depth to which Josephine had fallen in her desperate attempts to +retain both her place and some portion of Napoleon's tenderness.</p> + +<a id="img015" name="img015"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img015.jpg" width="400" height="522" alt="" title=""> +<p class="small right">From the collection of W. C. Crane.</p> +<p class="center smcap">EUGÈNE BEAUHARNAIS.</p> +<p class="small center">Drawn by Vigneron after Le Gros.</p> +</div> + +<p>Napoleon himself had long since announced that he was superior to +plain virtues, and the list of his paramours was daily growing longer +and better known. But all this self-abasement on the part of Josephine +and all the self-indulgence of Napoleon could not do more than +postpone the judgment day. "My enemies," the Emperor was accustomed to +cry out—"my enemies make appointments at my tomb." He could not rest +content with an empire for himself which he knew would break of its +own weight on his death unless he left a legitimate heir. On his +return from Austria his resolution to divorce the Empress was taken, +and Eugène was summoned to convey it to his mother. Josephine, though +forewarned, was still unable to realize the fact. She behaved well; +her own long career of intrigue, license, and extravagance forbade +recriminations, and besides, she was to enjoy the title and state of +an empress for life. Still, as women under the Directory loved, she +loved her husband, and there had been much tenderness between them, +neither taking very seriously the infidelities of the other. To the +end, even after the moderate beauty and great physical charm of her +middle age were transformed into the faded colors and form of old age +(for she was old at forty-five), and when the arts of the toilet could +no longer conceal the ravages of time and license, there still +continued to exist between the Empress and her second husband a mutual +good will and a feeling of comradeship engendered by the memories of +adventure, risk, plots, and gains encountered side by side <span class="pagenum"><a id="page247" name="page247"></a>(p. 247)</span> +through a married life of thirteen years. She had little intellect and +not much character, but she had much feminine sweetness and many soft, +winning ways. Her only weapon, therefore, in the hour of defeat was +tears, and those she shed abundantly. When the paroxysms of grief were +over, the Emperor made a display of tenderness, and the Empress +manifested a gentle and affecting courage.</p> + +<p>On December fifteenth, 1809, before the grand council held in the +Tuileries, the divorce was pronounced, and the next day it was +confirmed by decree of the senate. Josephine withdrew to Malmaison to +drag out her remaining years in empty state, for the support of which +she had a grant of two million francs a year. To the hour of her +death, five years later, she asserted her love for Napoleon, and in +general she displayed great anxiety for his welfare and success. +Posterity has always felt a certain tenderness for the unfortunate +woman who was raised so high and then cast down so suddenly. She was +not virtuous, she was not strong, she was not even very beautiful. Her +wrong-doing was like the naughtiness of household pets, impulsive but +not malicious, deceitful but without rancor, determined but quickly +deprecated. For this reason her misfortune has veiled her weakness and +softened the harshness of men's judgment.</p> + +<p>Almost a month before the formal divorce Caulaincourt had received +instructions to address the Czar on the question of marriage between +his sister Anne, now sixteen years of age, and the Emperor of the +French. The ambassador was to make no formal demand, but was to ask +for some expression of general intentions and feelings. Alexander was +in the provinces, and did not return until the middle of December. +Meantime Caulaincourt, after careful inquiry, had learned that +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page248" name="page248"></a>(p. 248)</span> the young princess was frail in health and not yet of +marriageable age. The letter to his master conveying this information +was crossed by one of Napoleon's making a formal demand. The +difference in confessional adherence was of no account, he said, and +an immediate answer was desired. "Take as your standpoint that +children are wanted." This put the Czar in a serious dilemma. An +alliance with France was still near his heart. By the treaty of +Friedrichshamn, which had been signed on September ninth, 1809, he had +secured Finland at last, but of the other splendid projects suggested +at Tilsit and confirmed at Erfurt not one was realized. Aside from the +chagrin he had felt at the war with Austria, and its menacing results +in the enlargement of Poland, there was now an additional cause of +anxiety; for in the conflict with Turkey his troops had but recently +been driven back across the Danube. If he broke with Napoleon he might +even lose Moldavia and Wallachia, and realize nothing further. A few +weeks had softened the displeasure he felt after Schönbrunn, and he +now began to shower favors on Caulaincourt, expressing the greatest +anxiety for the match. The youth of the princess was, however, a +serious obstacle, and he must consult his empress-mother. Of course +the dowager made every objection to the marriage; she was an ardent +sympathizer with the old Russian party, and hated Napoleon. There is +little doubt that she was entirely right, moreover, in declaring at +last as an insuperable obstacle that her daughter was too young. +Alexander then turned his whole attention to cajoling the French +ambassador in order to gain time. He had always been more Napoleon's +friend than his ally, he said; surely the Emperor would grant a delay +for a few months.</p> + +<p>But this was exactly what the suitor would not do. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page249" name="page249"></a>(p. 249)</span> His +dignity forbade him to abide the empress-dowager's time; the divorce +had been pronounced, and state reasons made his marriage imperative. +"To adjourn is to refuse," he replied; "and besides, I want no strange +priests in my palace between my wife and me." This was apparently a +complete somersault, for it meant that either Alexander must yield or +the alliance would be jeopardized. No one can divine from the evidence +exactly which alternative Napoleon desired; but in view of his general +character, of the treaty he had made with Francis, and of subsequent +events, it was probably the latter. He could have used the Czar's +compliance to found his dynasty, but he seems to have made up his mind +that Austria was the better dependence. Besides, he had very serious +reasons of state for urgency. He recognized at every step of his +career that his power rested in the popular will, not on tradition or +theories. Hence, at every moment two purposes were immediate: first, +to keep the popular favor; second, to transform his tenure of power by +the infusion of a dynastic element.</p> + +<p>In the winter of 1809 the people of France were not comfortable. The +promised peace with England seemed again postponed; the war in the +Spanish peninsula was still raging; the Continental System was +steadily undermining public prosperity. There was stagnation in the +great French seaports; hand in hand with commerce, both industry and +trade were languishing. The great southern towns, deprived of their +Spanish market, were nearly bankrupt. In addition the clergy and their +adherents were thoroughly roused by the treatment of the Pope. On the +other hand, the Emperor's personal popularity was also suffering +serious ravages. In the new administrative system the places which led +to promotion had now for a long time been given to members of the old +nobility; the recipients looked on them as their <span class="pagenum"><a id="page250" name="page250"></a>(p. 250)</span> right, and +neither they nor their families were grateful, while the sturdy +democracy felt slighted and injured. Even the new nobility grew more +unmanageable with every day. In full possession of their estates, +titles, and incomes, they felt their independence, and refused to be +longer guided by the hand which had led them into their promised land. +They had allied themselves with the oldest families in France, and the +haughtiness of family pride led them to feel condescension for the +great adventurer whose blood so far flowed in no aristocratic veins. +It seemed to Napoleon that in order to secure popular good will he +must restore prosperity, which was not easy, and to assert a moral +ascendancy over his court he must make a suitable match, which was +easy enough. Neither must be half done; his prestige required a great +stroke, and it was better to make the match first, and thereby ease +the tension until England could be brought to terms—with Russia's aid +if possible, without it if necessary.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page251" name="page251"></a>(p. 251)</span> CHAPTER XIX.</h3> + +<h4>The Austrian Marriage.<a id="footnotetag34" name="footnotetag34"></a><a href="#footnote34" title="Go to footnote 34"><span class="smaller">[34]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Anxieties of the Austrian Court — The Plan for a Matrimonial + Alliance with Napoleon — Opening of Formal Negotiations — The + Deliberations in Paris — Napoleon's Decision — The Czar's + Indignation — The Ceremonies at Vienna — Napoleon's + Preparations — His Meeting with Maria Louisa — The Wedding — Gifts + and Rejoicings — Impressions of the New Empress — The New Dynasty.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1809-10.</p> + +<p>The court of Vienna had regarded what were apparently preparations for +a matrimonial alliance between France and Russia with nothing less +than consternation. Such an arrangement would, if consummated, +temporarily seal the political bond already existing, and might +guarantee it indefinitely. The empire of Austria, already shorn of so +many fair territories, was no longer a first-rate power. The language +used by Napoleon after the armistice of Znaim about Francis and the +necessity for his abdication, had made a deep impression in view of +the events at Bayonne. Was the ancient monarchy really to be +humiliated and remain permanently dismembered? Not if an imperial +alliance was the only thing necessary to secure Napoleon's favor. +There was an archduchess of the proper <span class="pagenum"><a id="page252" name="page252"></a>(p. 252)</span> age, and the house of +Hapsburg was far more ancient and splendid than the house of Romanoff.</p> + +<p>Among the many confidential agents of Napoleon concerned in +formulating the treaty of Schönbrunn was a certain Alexandre de +Laborde, who had once been in the Austrian service and knew Vienna +well. Remaining behind after his employer's departure, he wrote a +memoir in December, 1809, which, though sent to Maret, was intended +for the Emperor himself, and was seen by him. In it is detailed a +conversation with Metternich, in which the latter had first vaguely +and then distinctly spoken of a match between Napoleon and the +Archduchess Maria Louisa. This, it was explained, was to be considered +only in case the divorce should take place, and the Austrian minister +declared that his master knew nothing of the project. There is no +reasonable doubt that Laborde's statement was substantially true, for +as long as there was glory in being the author of the suggestion +Metternich claimed the credit of it, and, in a letter of September +eleventh, 1811, categorically asserted that it was his; but after +Napoleon's fall he declared that the scheme originated in France, and +it was then said that Napoleon had himself taken the initiative, on a +hint from Schwarzenberg, the new Austrian ambassador in Paris. Whether +Napoleon or Francis was the suitor, it soon transpired that both were +willing. When, therefore, the former learned that the fate of the +Russian alliance was in the hands of the empress-dowager, he gave the +surly answer already quoted, and turned toward Austria. During the +pathetic scene of the divorce he formally asserted that having lost +hope of offspring by his well-beloved spouse, he was about to +sacrifice the tenderest emotions of his heart for the welfare of his +people. Being but forty years old, he might still hope to bring up +children <span class="pagenum"><a id="page253" name="page253"></a>(p. 253)</span> and train them in his own ideas. Josephine gave her +consent to the dissolution of her marriage, because it was an obstacle +to the well-being of France, in that it stood in the way of her +country's future government by the descendants of a great man.</p> + +<p>To emphasize this thought, the Emperor employed two devices. The first +was to produce an effect intended for home consumption. After the +battle of Wagram, Stadion, the Austrian minister of foreign affairs, +who had advocated the war, resigned; Metternich, who had been called +from the embassy at Paris to negotiate the peace on his master's side, +remained in Vienna to succeed Stadion, and Prince Schwarzenberg was +appointed to France. But the Countess Metternich was still in Paris. +The Beauharnais family—Eugène with the Austrian ambassador, Josephine +and Queen Hortense with Frau von Metternich—opened the negotiation +for securing Maria Louisa as the second Empress of France. To remove +all religious scruples, the bishops' court of Paris met, and on +January fourteenth pronounced Napoleon's first marriage null.</p> + +<p>The second device was to lay before an extraordinary council the two +alternatives and ask their decision. Murat, Cambacérès, and probably +Fouché, voted for Russia. Fouché, like Talleyrand, had long been +suspected of playing not for Napoleon's, but for his own interest. A +certain independence of conduct and language which he had displayed in +raising the national guards to repel the Walcheren expedition had +awakened further suspicion in the Emperor's mind, and there had been +plain speaking between them. The minister of police, according to one +account, now declared that there were only two parties in +Europe—those who had gained and those who had lost by the Revolution; +that Russia belonged to the former, and was the true ally for the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page254" name="page254"></a>(p. 254)</span> French empire. It was believed that this argument was an +endeavor to regain the Emperor's favor, for the words have a +Napoleonic ring. The majority of the council, however, was under +Maret's leadership, and after a long, vague harangue from Talleyrand, +in which he seemed to concur with Maret, expressed itself in favor of +Austria. From immemorial times she had been the pivot of every +Continental coalition against France. She was now irritated, and must +be soothed.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's friends assert that he himself really favored the Russian +alliance, but looked on the request for delay as a covert refusal, and +considered himself the victim of circumstances. This is not probable, +for Maret was still his confidential man; at any rate, the Emperor +accepted the decision of the majority. Accordingly, a family council +was next called, and the matter was laid before them. There was no +doubt as to the conclusion: they declared for the Austrian marriage. +The formalities of arrangement were speedily concluded. Berthier, the +Prince of Neuchâtel, was named ambassador extraordinary to marry the +Archduchess by proxy at Vienna, and the date was fixed for March +eleventh, 1810. The news was received at the Austrian capital with +jubilation. The populace had already lost much of its bitterness +against the French, for they had convinced themselves that in the last +war their own cabinet had been the aggressor. Stadion's resignation +was probably to many minds a confession of the fact, though in reality +it merely marked a change of policy. The French wounded were nursed by +the Viennese with tender care, and even under the lash many turned to +regard the strong hand which wielded it as probably the only power +able to restore peace and bring back its blessings. In judicious minds +the French alliance, even if not a high-spirited course, was popular +because it guaranteed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page255" name="page255"></a>(p. 255)</span> Austria on the east against Russia and +on the west against France. If her identity were not destroyed, she +might hope at some distant day to regain her strength and her place in +Europe.</p> + +<p>At St. Petersburg the news produced different effects. The +conservatives were not greatly disturbed, for now they were freed from +the possible disgrace of an imperial marriage with the Bonapartes, and +they could put up with the insult if only it should break the bonds +which tied them to the hated Continental System of Napoleon. But the +Czar was outraged; he had been personally insulted, and his policy was +toppling. He had secured nothing, he would be the laughing-stock of +his people, and he could no longer justify himself in resistance to +popular tendencies. He was likewise true-hearted enough to feel the +loss of a friend, and proud enough to smart under the feeling that he +had been duped. Much of this he concealed, although his suite thought +they could discern all these emotions. In the face of both Austria and +France he could not attack the deed itself. Caulaincourt assured him +in Napoleon's name that the match had no political character, and +changed nothing in the personal friendship which his Emperor continued +to feel. He insinuated that the real cause of the decision was the +religious difference. But this Alexander would not accept. +"Congratulate the Emperor on the choice he has made," was the reply. +"He wants children; all France wants them for him. The decision was +the one which should have been taken, but it is fortunate that the +matter of age stopped us here. Where would we have been if I had not +spoken of it to my mother? What reproaches could she not have heaped +on me? What must I not have said to you? for it is clear you were +dealing in both quarters. Why," he concluded, "has anything been said +about the difference in religion, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page256" name="page256"></a>(p. 256)</span> when at the outset the +Emperor declared it would be no obstacle?" Thus was reached the second +stage in the dissolution of the famous alliance of Tilsit.</p> + +<p>The scenes in Vienna were brilliant in the extreme. On the one hand, +they marked the Austrian approach to democracy, because for the first +time the tricolor was displayed in the streets, and the rigid +etiquette of the Hapsburgs, preserved from hoary antiquity with pious +care, snapped at every turn which Berthier took. On the other hand, +they marked the approach of France to absolutism. Napoleon ordered +that his bride should receive the same presents as those which Louis +XV had ordered for Maria Leszcynska, the splendors of the ceremonial +were to be royal, the new Empress's train was arranged according to +the same model, the itinerary of her journey was marked out as a royal +progress. The civil contract was signed on the tenth; the religious +ceremony occurred on the eleventh, as appointed; and then followed a +banquet where Berthier was absolved from all the ceremonies considered +obligatory upon one of his rank in the Hofburg. Three days later the +new Empress was handed to her traveling-carriage by the Archduke +Charles, and amid salvos of artillery, mingled with the cheers of the +populace, she set forth. There were a few signs of discontent among +little knots who collected to curse their national humiliation, and +the aristocracy were not reconciled to see Prince Esterhazy in the +rôle of guide to the Prince of Wagram, as Berthier had now been styled +by imperial decree in Paris. But, on the whole, Europe was impressed +with a sense of Francis's sincerity. The father went forth a day's +journey to spend an evening alone with his daughter and bestow in +parting his paternal blessing on a child who had saved her country. +Her journey through Bavaria and Würtemberg was one long ovation, for +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page257" name="page257"></a>(p. 257)</span> these countries believed their welfare to be bound up with +that of France. On the twenty-sixth her cortège, having passed by way +of Strasburg, was moving toward Soissons.</p> + +<p>After the divorce Napoleon had withdrawn in solitude to the Trianon at +Versailles, as if to mourn his widowhood the appointed and decent time +in silence. The spot chosen had a significance with reference to the +coming celebrations. For a week he spent his days in the unaccustomed +but truly royal occupation of field sports. Once he visited Josephine +at Malmaison. The next months he had spent again in Paris conducting +the matrimonial negotiations and arranging every detail of the +etiquette to be observed in the cumbrous ceremonial which he had +devised for the celebration of his marriage in France. When all was +completed to his satisfaction he left for Compiègne to supervise the +arrangements made for the reception of his new consort, and spent the +last week of waiting there. Of all his family the giddiest and most +worldly was his sister Pauline. She and his sister-in-law, the +sensible and charming Queen of Westphalia, were chosen to advise and +counsel regarding matters of dress and behavior. The latter wrote to +her brother a full account of the Emperor's passionate expectation. +During these days his occupations were singularly human. Much of the +time was spent in trying on gorgeous clothes: gold-laced coats, and +embroidered waistcoats, which had been sent by Paris tailors. Some of +it was passed in the acquisition of accomplishments, notably in +learning to waltz. Every day he sent a letter with flowers to meet the +new Empress at every stage of her progress, and every day he received +a reply from her written in correct French.</p> + +<p>At last she reached the close of the final stage, and her bridegroom +went out to meet her. Half-way between <span class="pagenum"><a id="page258" name="page258"></a>(p. 258)</span> Soissons and +Compiègne were pitched three splendid pavilions. Her suite was to +remain in that nearest their last lodging, his in that nearest the +palace, the bridal pair were to meet in the central tent, where, +according to the custom of feudalism, she was to kneel and pay homage +to her liege as his foremost subject. But when the Emperor heard that +his bride was so near, his impatience seemed to break through all +bounds. Entering his carriage without ceremony or warning, and +attended by only a single companion, the King of Naples, he drove far +past Soissons until the carriages met, when he stepped out of his own, +tore open the door of the other, and entered with the eagerness of a +youthful lover to embrace his bride. The prearranged stops were +countermanded, and the same evening, at ten, the wedding-train reached +Compiègne. Such was the lover's ardor that he again flung propriety to +the winds, and, claiming the validity of the procuratorial ceremony at +Vienna, slept under the same roof with his bride, instead of in the +chamber furnished for his use in one of the administrative buildings. +As an excuse for this conduct he pleaded the example of Henry IV.</p> + +<p>Next day the ladies and gentlemen of the Empress's court were +presented, and formally took the oath of office. On the morrow St. +Cloud was reached in the imperial progress; and two days later, on +April first, the civil ceremony of marriage was performed in the +presence of all the great dignitaries of the empire, including all the +cardinals but two. Excepting only those who pleaded their age or +infirmities, the entire college had been transplanted from Rome to +Paris shortly after the seizure of the Pope. There was the usual +festival at night, accompanied by salvos of artillery, with +illuminations of the palace grounds and fountains. The weather, like +the date, was untoward, but the Parisian populace streamed out +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page259" name="page259"></a>(p. 259)</span> in spite of pouring rain to get a foretaste of the more +magnificent spectacles soon to follow. The solemn procession of the +bridal pair into the capital occurred next day, and the religious +ceremony was celebrated in the great gallery of the Louvre, before an +assembly declared at the time to be the most superb ever seen in +France, except for one ominous fact—the twenty-seven cardinals were +absent. They protested that their absence was an empty form, due only +to the circumstance that Pius VII had not sanctioned the divorce. But +Napoleon was as keenly sensitive to the effectiveness of forms as any +Roman prelate; the offenders were banished from Paris, stripped of +their great revenues, and forbidden to wear the color or insignia of +their office. The popular speech dubbed them black cardinals.</p> + +<p>In the first outburst of enthusiastic loyalty, Paris and the nation +could not sufficiently manifest their joy. The illuminations were +lavish, the crowds exuberant, the presents to the Empress superb. +Among the latter was a complete toilet service of silver-gilt, +including not merely small vessels, but large pieces of furniture, +such as an arm-chair and cheval glass. Apparently the French people +felt assured that they had exchanged an old, worn-out dynasty for a +new and vigorous one. They were jubilant at the thought of peace and +safety, which seemed to a generation cradled under royalty to be even +yet impossible in Europe except in connection with a great conquering +family. It was for this they poured forth their sentiment and their +substance, not for the affection they bore the new Empress.</p> + +<p>Measured by a certain standard, Maria Louisa was beautiful. Her +abundant light-brown hair softened the high color of her brilliant +complexion, her eyes were blue and mild, her features had the pretty +but uncertain fullness of her eighteen years, her glance was frank and +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page260" name="page260"></a>(p. 260)</span> untroubled; but her lips were full and heavy, her waist was +long and stiff, her form was plump like a child's, and her timidity +and self-consciousness were uncontrollable. The French taste inclines +to lines in the human form which suggest a lithe and sinewy figure; +the French instinct seeks in the expression signs of quick emotion, +not to say passion; the French eye knows but one standard of taste in +dress; that alone is natural to French feeling which is the product of +self-control and consummate art. In all these respects the Austrian +archduchess was woefully deficient. She was pious, and, as her letters +declare, had spent much of the previous winter in praying that +Providence would choose another consort for Napoleon. But with the +resignation of her faith, which some call fatalism, and with the +obedience which German life demands from all women, even those of the +highest station, she had accepted her destiny. These qualities, +combined with her capacity for motherhood, soon gained a courteous and +affectionate support from her husband, and together they defied both +irreconcilable royalists and radical republicans, who, in spite of +their ever-waning influence and ever-thinning ranks, still annoyed the +Emperor by significant whisperings and glances. Both were in despair +because the strongest indictment they had urged was now quashed. One +pretext of England, Napoleon declared, had been that he intended to +destroy the ancient dynasties of Europe. Circumstances having opened +the way to his choice of a consort, he had used the opportunity in +order to destroy the flimsy plea under which Great Britain had +disturbed the nations and had stirred up the strife which had +inundated Europe with blood. Metternich heard people wondering in +Vienna whether a new French dynasty was really to be established for +the peace and welfare of France, or whether the alliance <span class="pagenum"><a id="page261" name="page261"></a>(p. 261)</span> was +intended to throw the strength of a hitherto implacable and courageous +foe into another Napoleonic combination for the conquest of Europe and +the world.</p> + +<p>The solution of this enigma has never been found. There was at the +moment a lull in the storm; for a time it seemed as if it would +lengthen into a prolonged calm. During the ceremonies at the Louvre +the Austrian ambassador, who had taken to himself the credit of what +was passing, and had impressively accepted the congratulations +showered on him, caught up a wine-glass from the breakfast-table, and, +appearing at the window, announced in a loud voice that he drank to +the "King of Rome," a title reserved under the Holy Roman Empire for +the heir apparent. It was but a short time since Schwarzenberg's proud +master had renounced his proudest style, that of Roman emperor. The +crowd knew that the toast as now given was intended for Napoleon's +issue, and they burst into cheers at this new sign of Austrian amity. +The captive Spaniards at Valençay were not to be outdone. They chanted +a "Te Deum" in their chapel, and drank toasts to the health "of our +august sovereigns, the great Napoleon and Maria Louisa, his august +spouse." Ferdinand set a climax to his disgusting obsequiousness in a +petition begging to be adopted as a son, and asking for permission to +appear at court. Compiègne, whither the imperial pair soon returned, +was crowded with royal personages, with the most distinguished +diplomatists, and with the couriers bearing congratulatory despatches +from persons of consequence throughout Europe.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page262" name="page262"></a>(p. 262)</span> CHAPTER XX.</h3> + +<h4>Rigors of the Continental System.<a id="footnotetag35" name="footnotetag35"></a><a href="#footnote35" title="Go to footnote 35"><span class="smaller">[35]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Measures of Ecclesiastical Procedure — Reforms in the + Church — Napoleon as Suzerain of the Pope — Methods of Defying the + Continental System — Measures to Enforce it — Rearrangement of + German Lands — Napoleon as a Smuggler — "Simulated + Papers" — Evasions of the Imperial Restrictions — Visit to the + Netherlands — Napoleon and his Brother Louis — The Latter + Defiant — Louis's Negotiations with England — Fouché's + Interference — His Counterplot.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1810.</p> + +<p>The consolidation of Napoleonic power appeared to be progressing +rapidly. In February a decree of the senate had declared the Papal +States to be divided into two French departments, under the names of +Rome and Trasimenus. The Eternal City was to give her name, as second +city of the Empire, to the imperial heir. The Pope, endowed with a +royal revenue of four millions, was to have a palace in each of +several different places, and reside, according to his choice, in any +one, or in all in turn. He was to swear that he would never contravene +the judgments of the Gallican Church, and his successors were each to +be similarly bound on their accession to office. Daunou wrote a book, +which was published at the Emperor's expense, maintaining the two +theses of Machiavelli: first, that the court of Rome had always used +its spiritual power to increase its temporal estate; secondly, that +its efforts had always <span class="pagenum"><a id="page263" name="page263"></a>(p. 263)</span> been directed against the temporal +power strongest at the moment in Italy. Unconquerable as was the +resistance of Pius VII on the whole, he had nevertheless surrendered +temporarily at the beginning of what might be called the second +quarrel of investitures, by inducting into their offices the bishops +nominated by Napoleon. After he had been thrown into captivity, +however, he flatly refused to continue, and the Emperor cut the knot +by installing in the bishoprics, as they fell vacant, men of his own +choice, under the style of "vicars of the chapters."</p> + +<p>This was but the initial step to an entire destruction of the +administrative scheme devised and perfected by the Roman hierarchy. +The college of cardinals had first been brought to Paris, and its +members then banished in pairs to the great provincial towns; the +ecclesiastical courts, with all their archives, were likewise +transplanted from Rome to the French capital; the thirty episcopates +of the two new French departments were reduced to four; the army of +foreign prelates which had been supported by the papal system was +dispersed into the various lands from which its members had come. The +number of Roman parishes, too, was reduced, and all the convents were +secularized. Such of the discharged priests as were ready to swear +allegiance to the Emperor and the Gallican Church received a small +pension; the rest—and they appear to have been in a majority—saw +their personal as well as ecclesiastical goods confiscated and were +themselves exiled.</p> + +<p>These or similar measures being applied likewise to Piedmont, Liguria, +Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, the sums of money raised from +confiscated estates became enormous. A large proportion of these funds +flowed of course into the imperial coffers, and to this fact, as well +as to the restored public confidence, was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page264" name="page264"></a>(p. 264)</span> largely due the +rise in prices on the stock exchange which occurred on the +consummation of the Austrian marriage. These sweeping changes were of +great service to true religion and to the lands in which they were +made, breaking as they did the chains of an ecclesiastical oppression +under which the populace had been reduced to poverty, ignorance, and +apathy. Unfortunately the new rule, while more economical than the +old, was not less arbitrary—military despotism being as little fitted +for the development of a people as the rule of a corporation. Men +looked aghast as the papacy and papal influence crumbled together, +while the seat of real ecclesiastical power was removed from the banks +of the Tiber to those of the Seine. Time seemed to be taking its +revenge. Seven centuries earlier Lothair had been the vassal of +Innocent II; Napoleon was now the suzerain of Pius VII. So +contemptible had the Pope become, even in the eyes of devout +Catholics, that de Maistre called the inflexible but supine Pontiff a +punchinello of no importance.</p> + +<p>It had been clear since Trafalgar that though France might dominate +earth, air, and fire in Europe, she could not gain the mastery of the +sea and its islands, at least, by the ordinary means. The Emperor's +infatuation with the plausible scheme of destroying England's commerce +by paper blockades and by embargoes on British goods had not been +diminished either by his inconclusive struggle in Spain or by his +victory over Austria. It was in vain that he had changed his naval +policy from one of fleet-fighting to one of commerce-destroying; that +he had seized and was continuing to seize neutral vessels laden with +British wares; that he had expanded his political system by conquest +until he was nominally master of the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and +Baltic harbors. Since 1805 English trade with the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page265" name="page265"></a>(p. 265)</span> Continent, +so far from diminishing, had steadily increased in the hands of +contrabandists and neutral carriers, until it had now reached annual +dimensions of twenty-five millions sterling. In spite of the Tilsit +alliance, even French soldiers occasionally wore English-made shoes +and clothing. English ships carried naval stores out of Russian +harbors, and colonial wares found their way from the wharves of Riga +to the markets of Mainz. But the chief offenders in defying Napoleon's +chimerical policy were the Dutch and Hanseatic cities. The resistance +elsewhere in the Continent was passive compared with the energetic +smuggling and the clandestine evasion of decrees which went on under +the eyes of the officials in places like Amsterdam and Hamburg.</p> + +<p>These facts had not been concealed from the Emperor of the French at +any time, and he now made ready to enforce the threats which he had +uttered in the agony of the late wars. It had come to a life-or-death +struggle between the policies laid down respectively in the imperial +decrees and in the British orders in council. Neither measure was in +the strictest sense military, but it is easy to see that the two were +irreconcilable in their intent, while the success of either one meant +the ruin of the land which upheld the other. It was for the sake, +apparently, of waging this decisive though unwarlike contest that +Napoleon renounced leading his victorious legions into Spain for the +expulsion of English troops from the peninsula. What he himself called +the "Spanish ulcer" might weaken the French system, and one hundred +thousand good troops, together with the imperial guard, were to be +sent to heal it by overwhelming the great English general who had been +made Duke of Wellington, and by seizing Lisbon. But the English +commerce with the peninsula was slender in comparison with what she +carried on with the Baltic and with <span class="pagenum"><a id="page266" name="page266"></a>(p. 266)</span> Holland through the +connivance of governments which were nominally her foes. The +Continental System, therefore, must first be repaired, and it was to +convert a nominal acquiescence into a real one that Davout was +despatched to hold the fortresses from Dantzic westward, while Oudinot +was to coerce Holland.</p> + +<p>With such purposes in view, the lands taken from Austria were +apportioned among Bavaria, Italy, Würtemberg, and Baden. Each of these +vassal states was made to pay handsomely for its new acquisitions. The +principality of Ratisbon was given to Dalberg, the prince-primate, and +he in turn delivered that of Frankfort to Prince Eugène. The King of +Westphalia received Hanover and Magdeburg, promising in return about +ten millions a year of tribute, and engaging to support the eighteen +thousand French troops who occupied his new lands. The gradual +evacuation of South Germany began, and before long the entire +coast-land between the Elbe and the Weser was held by soldiers who had +fought at Essling and Wagram. Hamburg, Bremen, and the other Hanseatic +towns, East Friesland, Oldenburg, a portion of Westphalia, the canton +of Valais, and the grand duchy of Berg were destined very soon to be +incorporated with France in order to round out the imperial domain. It +might be possible for southern Europe to substitute flax and +Neapolitan cotton for American cotton, chicory for coffee, grape syrup +or beet sugar for colonial sugar, and woad for indigo, but the North +could not. Like Louis, though in a less degree, Murat and Jerome, +sympathizing with their peoples, had sinned against the Continental +System, and were soon to do penance for their sins by the loss of +important territories. But for the present the ostensible compliance +of the northern dependencies was accepted.</p> + +<p>It is a curious and amusing fact that the great smuggler <span class="pagenum"><a id="page267" name="page267"></a>(p. 267)</span> and +real delinquent was Napoleon himself. Even he felt the exigencies of +France to be so fierce that, by a system of licenses, certain +privileged traders were permitted to secure the supplies of dye-stuffs +and fish-oil essential to French industries by exporting to England +both wine and wheat in exchange. The licensed monopolists paid +handsomely for their privilege, not only in the sums which they +publicly turned over, but in those which lined the pockets of +unscrupulous ministers like Fouché, who winked at great irregularities +not contemplated by the immunities secured from Napoleon.</p> + +<p>An evasion of the British orders in council analogous to that of the +French decrees was extensively practised, and licenses to neutral +traders were also issued by the English government. But it practised +more discretion, and the regulation of the extensive commerce which +resulted was not attended by those court and private scandals so rife +in France. The worst feature of the English procedure was its adoption +of the so-called "neutralization" system. Dutch, French, and Spanish +trading vessels had long been provided by their owners with forged +papers certifying a neutral origin, generally Prussian. To these both +captains and crews swore without compunction when searched by British +cruisers. This system England made her own, issuing not merely to +real, but also to sham neutrals, licenses which insured them against +search when laden with wares for or from English ports. The firms +which engaged in the trade—and after the removal of the +non-intercourse restrictions many of them were American—compounded +morality with legality, considering themselves perfectly reputable, +even though they continued to furnish "simulated papers"—that is, +prepared forgeries—to their ships as part of the regular outfit.</p> + +<p>Such immoralities, inequalities, and absurdities were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page268" name="page268"></a>(p. 268)</span> the +necessary consequence of a fight for the means of subsistence between +two combatants one of which had no hands and the other no feet. So +extensive was the traffic, however, that although England had found it +necessary, in consequence of the Spanish rebellion, to restrict her +paper blockade to the coasts of Holland, France, and northern Italy, +she nevertheless doubled her importations of naval stores during the +season of 1808, while the prices of wool, silk, and colonial wares +gave temporary promise of a revival of manufactures. As long as +Napoleon's energy was elsewhere engaged, the ubiquity of English +war-ships on the high seas rendered the use of "simulated papers" +inordinately profitable; and even after he began to give his undivided +attention to policing the harbors and guarding the coast-line, it +continued to be fairly so. It must further be remembered that in the +treaty which Russia made with Sweden on September seventeenth, 1809, +the latter country promised not only to cede Finland, but also to shut +out from her harbors all British ships except such as brought salt and +colonial wares. In January, 1810, Napoleon had made an agreement with +the same power that he would hand back Pomerania, but in return Sweden +was to import nothing but salt.</p> + +<p>The Austrian marriage having now been consummated and Austria having +been added to his system, Napoleon was ready in June to open his novel +campaign and begin the commercial warfare which eventually furnished +one of the most important elements in his overthrow, the other two +being the national uprisings and the treachery of his friends, so +called. But the zenith had not even yet been reached by his star. It +was with undimmed sagacity and undiminished power that, accompanied by +his bride, he set out about the end of April from Compiègne, to visit +the Dutch frontier, his object being to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page269" name="page269"></a>(p. 269)</span> observe how far +Holland's well-nigh open contempt for his cherished scheme would now +justify the destruction of her autonomy and the utter overthrow of her +government. The nominal purpose of the journey was to please the young +Empress, and to gratify the peoples of Belgium and Brabant by a sight +of her charms. This aim was observed in all the arrangements, but in +well-nigh every town visited the sun's first rays saw the Emperor on +horseback inspecting troops, ships, fortifications, and arsenals; and +when its last beams faded away the unwearied man was still holding +interviews with the local authorities, in which every detail of +administration was revised and strengthened. To all appearance the end +of the journey was as prosperous as its inception. Favors were +distributed with lavish hand, the people displayed a wild enthusiasm +when the affable but distant Empress showed herself, and nothing +occurred to mar the outward state in which the Emperor returned to +Paris. But the condition of his mind cannot be depicted, such was his +rage and humiliation in regard to a revelation of treachery made +inadvertently and innocently by Louis on the eve of their separation. +To explain what had occurred a short retrospect is necessary.</p> + +<p>From earliest childhood certain qualities of Louis had endeared him to +Napoleon. The school of poverty, in which the younger brother had been +the pupil of the elder, was likewise a school of fraternal affection. +Throughout the Italian and Egyptian campaigns they stood in intimate +relations as general and aide-de-camp, and one of the earliest cares +of the First Consul was to bestow the beautiful Hortense de +Beauharnais on his favorite brother. In 1804 Louis was made general, +then councilor of state, and finally in 1806 he was elevated to the +throne of Holland. His child until its untimely death was cherished by +Napoleon as a son destined to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page270" name="page270"></a>(p. 270)</span> inherit imperial greatness. +But, like the other royal Bonapartes, the King of Holland regarded his +high estate not as a gift from the Emperor, but as a right. He ruled +the land assigned him, if not in his own interest, at least not in +that of the Empire, and from the outset filled his letters with bitter +complaints of all that entered into his lot, not excepting his wife. +Napoleon admonished and threatened, but to no avail. The interests of +his own royalty and of the Dutch were nearer to Louis than those of +the Empire.</p> + +<p>At last the Emperor hinted that the air of Holland did not agree with +its monarch, indicating that circumstances required it to be +incorporated with France. In March, 1808, he offered the crown of +Spain as a substitute. A little later the suggestion was made that +Louis might have the Hanseatic towns in exchange for Brabant and +Zealand. Both propositions were scouted. When we remember who the +potentates were, by whom such offers were made and refused, we seem +forced to dismiss all notions of patriotism, uprightness, and loyalty +as the motives of either, and must attribute Louis's course to +petulance. Napoleon was highly incensed. On the failure of the +Walcheren expedition, both Brabant and Zealand were occupied by French +troops, and Louis was summoned to Paris. His first desperate thought +was one of resistance, but on reflection he obeyed. On his arrival he +learned that his fate was imminent. Napoleon announced to the +legislature that a change in the relations with Holland was +imperative. The minister of the interior explained that, as being the +alluvium of three French rivers—namely, the Rhine, the Meuse, and the +Scheldt—that land was by nature a portion of France, one of the great +imperial arteries. Louis sought to fly, but was detained. He at once +despatched the Count de Bylandt with orders to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page271" name="page271"></a>(p. 271)</span> close the +Dutch frontier fortresses and defend the capital against the French +troops. This was done, but Louis's defiance was short. After signing a +treaty which bound him, among other things, to open his fortresses, +seize all "neutralized," and even all neutral, vessels in his harbors, +including those of the United States,—a document which thus left him +only a nominal throne,—he was permitted early in April, 1810, to +return to Amsterdam.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's subsequent course was dictated by what might appear to be a +sudden change of view, but was in reality a revival of his perennial +hopes for peace with England. Having in mind the annexation of +Holland, it occurred to him that by desisting from that measure he +might wrench from Great Britain the lasting peace which she had thus +far refused. Accordingly he ordered his brother to open a negotiation +with London and represent his kingdom as in danger of annihilation +unless the British government would consent to a cessation of +hostilities and an enduring treaty of peace. This was done, and though +Labouchere, Louis's agent, had so little to offer that his +propositions were farcical, yet there was at least the show of a +diplomatic negotiation. At this juncture the superserviceable +Mephistopheles of the Empire, Fouché, intervened. By an agent of his +own he approached the cabinet of St. James with an offer of peace on +the basis of restoring the Spanish Bourbons and compensating Louis +XVIII by a kingdom to be carved from the territories of the United +States!</p> + +<p>The agent of Fouché reached London somewhat ahead of the one sent by +Louis. He was firmly sent to the right-about. Labouchere was then told +that before entering further on the question, a proposition for peace +must be formulated and presented, not by the King of Holland, but by +the Emperor. The failure of the Walcheren <span class="pagenum"><a id="page272" name="page272"></a>(p. 272)</span> expedition had +exasperated England, Canning had fallen, and Lord Wellesley, his +successor, represented a powerful sentiment for the continuation of +the war. Napoleon replied, therefore, by a note suggesting not a +definite peace, but a step toward it. If England would withdraw the +orders in council of 1807, he would evacuate Holland and the Hanseatic +towns. His note closed with a characteristic threat. If England should +delay, having already lost her trade with Naples, Spain, Portugal, and +the port of Triest, she would now lose that with Holland, the +Hanseatic towns, and Sicily.</p> + +<p>Nothing dismayed by his first rebuff, the audacious Fouché again +intervened. This time he selected Ouvrard, a friend of Labouchere's +and of his own, a man well known as a stormy petrel of intrigue, to +operate insidiously through the accredited envoy, who innocently +supposed his friend to be representing Napoleon's own views. There was +consequently but little sense of restraint in the renewed negotiation. +Virtually the entire continental situation was considered as open, and +Fouché's pet scheme of an American kingdom for Louis XVIII was further +amplified by the suggestion of an Anglo-French expedition to establish +it. Labouchere having returned to Holland, much of the negotiation had +been carried on by letter, and Napoleon, getting wind during his +Belgian visit of Ouvrard's presence at the Dutch court, suspected +trickery and called for the correspondence. Its very existence enraged +him; that such matters should have been put in writing was +compromising to his entire policy. Ouvrard afterward declared that he +personally informed the Emperor of what was going on, but he could +never prove it; the only possible basis which can be found for his +statement consists in the seizure and confiscation about this time of +some hundred and thirty American <span class="pagenum"><a id="page273" name="page273"></a>(p. 273)</span> vessels lying in +continental harbors; but, base as that deed was, it proves nothing and +was due to another cause. It is not easy to determine whether this +deed was a well-considered measure of French diplomacy, intended to +arouse the pugnacity of the United States, or a temporary shift to +fill empty coffers. In either case it was not intended to have a +direct bearing on irregular diplomatic negotiations between England +and Holland. The circumstances were a direct result of the Berlin +Decree.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page274" name="page274"></a>(p. 274)</span> CHAPTER XXI.</h3> + +<h4>The Continental System Completed.</h4> + +<p class="summary">The Bayonne and Rambouillet Decrees — Fouché Replaced by + Savary — Abdication of King Louis — Conduct of Louis and + Lucien — Holland Incorporated into the Empire — Napoleon's + Relatives Untrue to his Interests — French Empire at its Greatest + Extent — The Continental System as Perfected — Discontent in Russia + and in Sweden.</p> + +<p>The American Embargo Act of 1807 had been for manifest reasons +entirely to Napoleon's liking, as is proved by the Bayonne Decree of +1808, which ordered the seizure and sale in French harbors of all +American ships transgressing it. The Non-intercourse Act of March +first, 1809, was, however, quite another thing. It was passed by the +Democratic majority of Congress in defiance of Federalist sentiment, +and prohibited commercial intercourse with both Great Britain and +France. Napoleon declared that French vessels had been seized under +its terms in United States harbors; and it was nominally in +retaliation for this, which was not a fact, that, according to the +Rambouillet Decree, issued on March twenty-third, 1810, American +vessels with their cargoes, worth together upward of eight million +dollars, were seized and kept. In reality Napoleon regarded or +pretended to regard the Non-intercourse Act as one of open hostility +to himself, and used it to fill his depleted purse, exactly as he used +the substitutes passed by Congress in the following year to bring on +the War of 1812. Owing to the general use of "simulated" American +papers and seals, the non-intercourse <span class="pagenum"><a id="page275" name="page275"></a>(p. 275)</span> system introduced +British goods into every continental harbor. A vessel holding both a +French and a British license and "simulated papers" of the United +States or any other neutral state might by unscrupulous adroitness +trade in English goods almost without restriction, and this was far +from Napoleon's intention. Between 1802 and 1811, nine hundred and +seventeen American vessels were seized by the British and five hundred +and fifty-eight by the French in their harbors; the number seized in +the ports of Holland, Spain, Denmark, and Naples was very large, but +it is not definitely known. The dealings of Napoleon with the United +States in this matter, like those of England, were irregular and +evasive; but there is nothing in them to show that the Emperor of the +French contemplated either the dismemberment of the American republic +or the abandonment of his Continental System.</p> + +<p>Having traced the whole English-Dutch conspiracy directly to Fouché, +Napoleon contemplated bringing the treacherous minister to trial on +the charge of treason. Fearing, however, the effect not merely in +Europe, but particularly in France, of such a spectacle, and the +revelations which must necessarily accompany it, he contented himself +with degrading and banishing his unruly henchman. The important office +of police minister was filled by the appointment of Savary, an equally +unscrupulous but more obedient tool. The murderer of Enghien, and the +keeper of Ferdinand as he now was and had been since Talleyrand's +return to public life, was both feared and hated in Paris. "I +believe," he says in his memoirs, "that news of a pestilence having +broken out on some point of the coast would not have caused more +terror than did my nomination to the ministry of police."</p> + +<p>Louis, within the narrowed sphere of his activities, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page276" name="page276"></a>(p. 276)</span> +continued quite as incorrigible as before. He refused the perfect +obedience demanded, and even treated the French diplomatic agent in +Holland with indignity. Napoleon's scorn burst its bounds. "Louis," he +wrote in a letter carefully excluded from the authorized edition of +his correspondence, "you do not want to reign long; your actions +reveal your true feelings better than your personal letters. Listen to +one who has known those feelings longer than even you yourself. +Retrace your steps, be French at heart, or your people will drive you +out, and you will leave Holland, the object of pity and ridicule on +the part of the Dutch. Men govern states by the exercise of reason and +the use of a policy, and not by the impulses of an acid and vitiated +lymph." Two days later, on hearing of a studied insult from his +brother to the French minister, he wrote again: "Write no more trite +phrases; you have been repeating them for three years, and every day +proves their falseness. This is the last letter I shall write you in +my life." In a short time French troops were marching on Amsterdam. +Louis summoned his council and advised resistance; but the councilors +convinced him how useless such a course would be. The dispirited King +at once abdicated and fled.</p> + +<p>For some days Louis's whereabouts were unknown. There was much talk, +and Napoleon was agitated. He wrote beseeching Jerome to learn where +the fugitive was and send him to Paris, that he might withdraw to St. +Leu and cease to be the laughing-stock of Europe. In ten days it was +known that Louis was at Teplitz in Bohemia. A circular was at once +addressed to the French diplomatists abroad, explaining that the King +of Holland must be excused for his conduct on the ground of his being +a chronic invalid. Inasmuch as about the same time Lucien found the +air of the French department of Rome not altogether to his liking, and +besought <span class="pagenum"><a id="page277" name="page277"></a>(p. 277)</span> his brother's leave to expatriate himself to the +United States, the family relations of the Emperor were published +throughout Europe in a most unbecoming light. The ship in which Lucien +sailed was captured by an English frigate, and he was taken to +England, where he remained in an agreeable captivity until 1814.</p> + +<p>The "Moniteur" of July ninth, 1810, published a laconic imperial +decree stating that Holland was henceforth a portion of the Empire. +"What was I to do?" the Emperor exclaimed at St. Helena. "Leave +Holland to the enemy? Nominate a new king?" It is difficult from his +standpoint to answer these questions except in the negative. Louis had +viewed his royal task as if he had been a dynastic king, which of +course he never was, though much beloved by many of his subjects. He +had moved the capital from The Hague to Amsterdam, had reformed the +Dutch jurisprudence by the introduction of the Code Napoléon, had +patronized learning and the arts. In all this he had not followed his +brother's leading, and the results were excellent. But the Dutch +merchants suffered exactly in proportion to the enforcement of the +continental blockade, riots of the unemployed became frequent, and the +King, forgetting the ladder by which he had climbed, became the friend +and the ally of his people. His fate was a natural consequence of his +conduct.</p> + +<p>As a portion of the French empire, Holland was divided into eight +departments, her public debt was scaled down from eighty to twenty +millions, the French administration was put upon a basis of the most +rigid economy, and for the ensuing four years the Dutch found what +consolation they might for the loss of their independence and their +trade in a tolerable physical well-being, in the suppression of all +disorders, and in an enforced calm such as Louis, by reason of his +false position, had not been <span class="pagenum"><a id="page278" name="page278"></a>(p. 278)</span> able to secure for them—a boon +which, it must be confessed, their placid dispositions did not +undervalue. When, however, opportunity was ripe, they bravely rose to +assert once more their nationality.</p> + +<p>In this connection it is interesting to note the effect which the +conduct of the Emperor's family had finally produced in his mind. +Brothers and sisters alike had come to consider their changed fortunes +as having introduced them into the royal hierarchy of the old +absolutist Europe, which their narrowness and ignorance led them to +regard as still existent. Their behavior was distinctly that of the +old dynastic sovereigns, whose lives were their model. The Emperor at +last saw his mistake. "Relatives and cousins, male or female," he said +in September to Metternich, "are all worthless. I should not have left +a throne in existence, even for my brothers. But one grows wise only +with time. I should have appointed nothing but stadholders and +viceroys." This policy he thenceforward adopted. Carrying out the +threat made in response to Joseph's complaints, Spain as far as the +Ebro had been annexed to the Empire in March, 1810; in December the +whole North Sea coast as far as Lübeck was likewise incorporated into +the Empire. Jerome was deprived of a portion of Hanover, which he had +received only in January, and the Duke of Oldenburg, who had married +that favorite sister of Alexander for whose hand Napoleon had +tentatively sued, was dethroned.</p> + +<p>The same year Valais, the little commonwealth which had been separated +from Switzerland and made independent in order to neutralize the +highway into Italy, was likewise annexed. This new department, called +that of the Simplon, together with the four erected out of the +coast-line of the North Sea, brought the limits of Napoleonic empire +to their greatest extent. The <span class="pagenum"><a id="page279" name="page279"></a>(p. 279)</span> Illyrian provinces and the +Ionian Isles were not under direct civil administration from Paris, +being held as military outposts. Biscay, Navarre, Aragon, and +Catalonia were each likewise held as military governments. Murat was +made king of Naples, Louis's infant son became grand duke of Berg, +Elisa was already grand duchess of Tuscany and princess of Lucca and +Piombino. It will be remembered that Pauline was duchess of Guastalla, +Jerome king of Westphalia, Joseph king of Spain, Berthier prince of +Neuchâtel, Talleyrand prince of Benevento, and Eugène viceroy of the +kingdom of Italy. These states, together with the Confederation of the +Rhine, the Helvetic Republic, Bavaria, Saxony, Würtemberg, and +Denmark, with Norway, were all vassal powers. But Rome, Genoa, Parma, +Florence, Siena, Leghorn, Osnabrück, Münster, Bremen, and Hamburg were +now capitals of actual French departments, the total number of which +reached one hundred and thirty. They were directly administered by a +central bureaucracy as autocratic as any military despotism.</p> + +<p>Thus at last was carried out the program of the Revolution, whose +leaders had determined in 1796 to close the Continent to English +commerce. What republican idealism had imagined, imperial vigor at +least partially realized. According to the Trianon decree of August +fifth, 1810, and that of Fontainebleau, issued on October eighteenth +of the same year, French soldiers crossed the frontiers of the Empire, +seized every depot of English wares within a four-mile limit, and +burned all the contents except the sugar and coffee, which were +transported to the great towns, and sold at auction for the Emperor's +extraordinary expenses; the smugglers themselves were hunted down, +captured, and handed over to the tender mercies of a court created +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page280" name="page280"></a>(p. 280)</span> especially to try them. From the Pyrenees to the North Cape +the "licenses" devised by the Directory and issued by the Empire were +the only certificates under which English goods could be introduced +into the now nearly completed system. Denmark, which still held Norway +under its sway, had neither forgotten nor forgiven the bombardment of +Copenhagen in 1807; and her king, Frederick VI, hoping that in the +chapter of accidents Sweden too might fall to his crown, was only too +willing to assist the Emperor and close his ports to all British +commerce, even to "neutral" ships carrying English goods. The popular +fury against England made the people willing to forego all the +comforts and advantages of free trade in colonial wares.</p> + +<p>It was with jealous eyes that Napoleon saw Russia's growing +lukewarmness and marked her evasions of her pact. He knew also that in +spite of his decrees and his vigilance English goods were still +transported under the Turkish flag into the Mediterranean. But direct +and efficient intervention on the Baltic or in the Levant was as yet +impossible. To complete one portion of his structure, a cordon must +first be drawn about both Sweden and Spain. The former was apparently +secure, for Gustavus IV, having nearly ruined his country by +persisting in the English alliance, had made way for his uncle, who +now ruled as Charles XIII under the protection of Napoleon. The new +King, being childless, had selected as his successor Marshal +Bernadotte, whose kindly dealings with the Pomeranians had endeared +him to all Swedes. The estates of Sweden, remembering that he had +married a sister of Joseph Bonaparte's wife, and recalling his long +association with Napoleon, believed that in him they had a candidate +acceptable to the French emperor, and therefore formally accepted him. +They did not know the details <span class="pagenum"><a id="page281" name="page281"></a>(p. 281)</span> of his unfriendly relations to +Napoleon, nor with what unwillingness consent was given by the Emperor +to his candidacy. The bonds of French citizenship were most grudgingly +loosed by the Emperor, for there rankled in his breast a deep-seated +feeling of distrust. But he was forced to a distasteful compliance by +the fear of exposing unsavory details of his own policy. The new crown +prince himself was well aware of the facts. He coveted Norway and +asked for it, that on his accession he might bring Sweden a substitute +for the loss of Finland; but Napoleon would not thus alienate the King +of Denmark. The Czar was not hampered in the same way, and in +December, 1810, offered Sweden the coveted land as the price of her +alliance. When we recall the early republicanism of Bernadotte, his +repeated failures in critical moments,—as on the Marchfeld and +elsewhere,—the impatient and severe reproofs administered to the +inefficient and fiery Gascon by his commander, we are not amazed that +the crown prince Charles John, as his style now ran, began immediately +after his installation at Stockholm to vent his spleen on Napoleon. +Though there was no declared enmity, yet this fact augured ill for the +steadfastness to the French alliance of the land over which he was +soon to reign.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page282" name="page282"></a>(p. 282)</span> CHAPTER XXII.</h3> + +<h4>The Course of the Peninsular War.<a id="footnotetag36" name="footnotetag36"></a><a href="#footnote36" title="Go to footnote 36"><span class="smaller">[36]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon's Plans for Spain — Character of the Troops Sent + Thither — Conflicting Policies in England — The Battle of + Busaco — The Lines of Torres Vedras — Soult's + Dilatoriness — Consequences of the Spanish Campaign — English + Opinion Opposed to Wellington — Difficulties of Spanish + Warfare — Marmont Replaces Masséna — French Successes — Their Slight + Value — The French Character and the Spanish Invasion.</p> + +<p>But matters were much worse beyond the Pyrenees, where there was open +warfare. The seizure of the northern provinces marked the commencement +of a new policy, nothing less than the incorporation of all Spain in +France. Azanza, the envoy of Joseph at Paris, could scarcely trust his +senses when, after long and fruitless efforts to persuade Napoleon +that the troubles of Spain were due to the rapine of the French +generals and the quarrels of their unbridled soldiery, and that the +new King's moderation would be a perfect remedy if left to work its +effects, he was finally shown his master's carefully written +abdication, only waiting on events for publication, and was harshly +told in reply to his intercessions for the integrity of his country +that it was merely "the natural extension of France." It was +Talleyrand who originally said that Italy was the flank of France, +Spain its natural continuation, and Holland its alluvium.</p> + +<p>Spain was to be conquered step by step, and by a season of military +administration each new acquisition was to be made ready for the +eventual dignity of a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page283" name="page283"></a>(p. 283)</span> French department. A manifesto setting +forth this policy was prepared and was to be duly issued to the +Spanish people, but it never reached Madrid. The courier who carried +it was captured by a guerrilla, and the proclamation was at once +printed in a popular journal and copied thence into the "London +Courier." It is not difficult to imagine how its perusal intensified +the ever-growing national passion of the insurgent Spaniards for +emancipation from the French yoke.</p> + +<p>This spirit was England's powerful ally and Masséna's destructive foe. +The great marshal, second in ability only to his imperial master, had +succeeded to the command in the peninsula. The Imperial Guard was the +mainstay of the reinforcements despatched thither in order to end the +military conflict and inaugurate the new peaceful warfare by enforcing +the Continental system of commercial embargo for humiliating England. +Besides the guard there were, however, some of those regiments which +had quailed at Vienna before the supposed approach of the Archduke +John's army from Hungary after the battle of Wagram, by no means the +flower of the Emperor's troops. These newcomers, together with the +forces already in Spain under Suchet, Augereau, Reille, and Thouvenot, +and the remnant of those troops which had been under Soult, were +quickly organized for offensive warfare, first against the Spaniards +and then against the English under Wellington who were still holding +Portugal. The three army corps which were collected in Leon ready for +advance were commanded respectively by Ney, Junot, and Regnier. Their +number on paper was eighty thousand; in reality there were not more +than fifty thousand effective fighting men. By the arrival of Hill's +corps to reinforce Wellington the English numbered nearly if not quite +as many.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page284" name="page284"></a>(p. 284)</span> For three years public opinion in England had been divided, +some sustaining on the one hand Canning's policy of striving to defeat +Napoleon by rousing the Continental nations and furnishing them with +subsidies for warfare, others preferring that of Castlereagh, which +advocated the sending of English forces into the Continent. The latter +theory had temporarily prevailed. Three expeditions, one to Portugal, +one to Walcheren, and one to Sicily, had been entire or partial +failures. But Wellington's victory at Talavera having kept the +peninsular ports open to English trade, his older brother, Lord +Wellesley, who was now secretary for foreign affairs in the new +cabinet, and who ardently believed that thus alone could England win, +managed continuously to reinforce the army in Portugal until at last +it was strong in numbers and efficient as a fighting machine.</p> + +<p>From beginning to end Masséna's campaign was marked by unexpected +disaster. Such were the zeal and endurance of the Spaniards that the +old, ill-constructed fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo held out from the +beginning of June until the ninth of July. Owing to the great heat and +the preparations necessary in a hostile and deserted land, Almeida, +which next blocked the way, was not even beleaguered until August +fifteenth, and it held out for nearly a fortnight. Finally, on +September sixteenth, Masséna crossed the Portuguese frontier, and +Wellington, who lay near by but had not ventured to assume the +offensive, began a slow and cautious retreat down the valley of the +Mondego, devastating the country as he went. At last he made a stand +on the heights near Busaco, over against a gorge where the river +breaks through the hills into the plains below. Masséna attacked on +September twenty-seventh and was repulsed with a loss of four thousand +five <span class="pagenum"><a id="page285" name="page285"></a>(p. 285)</span> hundred dead and wounded. His division commanders +showed at once a spirit which soon developed into unruliness: they had +declared from the outset that their force was not sufficiently strong +for the task assigned to it, and they now demanded a retreat. But the +veteran Masséna stood firm: his scouts had brought word of a certain +unprotected vale or rather depression of the land on the English left, +which, having apparently escaped Wellington's observation, was not +fortified, and the French commander determined to outflank his foe on +that line. The movement was thoroughly successful and the British +began a rapid retreat southward before the advancing French.</p> + +<p>Masséna found easy sustenance for man and beast in the rich lowlands +about Coimbra, and halting in that town for a short time to recruit +his strength and nurse his sick, started at last in the full tide of +success for Lisbon and the sea, to drive the English to their ships +and complete the Continental embargo. As one day succeeded another, +his hopes grew higher until at last he overtook and began to skirmish +with the English rear-guard. But after a final dash on October +eleventh, that rear-guard suddenly vanished. Two days later the French +were brought suddenly to a standstill before a long, perfectly +constructed, and bristling line of fortifications of whose existence +they had known absolutely nothing. These were the famous lines of +Torres Vedras, constructed by Wellington in his recent enforced +vacation, to guard his eventual retreat and embarkment, provided Sir +John Moore's unfortunate campaign and the last Austrian war should +find a climax in a similar French victory over all Spain. These lines +effectually protected the right bank of the Tagus. They consisted of +one hundred and fifty-two redoubts, equipped with seven hundred guns +and manned by thirty thousand <span class="pagenum"><a id="page286" name="page286"></a>(p. 286)</span> English, thirty thousand +Portuguese, and eight thousand Spaniards. As Masséna now had but +forty-five thousand men, there could be no question of storming such a +fortress, and nothing was left but to await reinforcements and plan a +strategic movement by which he might cross the Tagus, threaten Lisbon +from the left bank, draw off the foe to its defense, and thus perhaps, +having weakened the garrison, secure the possibility of a successful +attack on the fortified lines in front.</p> + +<p>The notion was not visionary. Soult had been despatched with a strong +force southward into Andalusia, with orders to crush out the +resistance of that province; he was then to turn westward, join +Masséna in Portugal, and coöperate with him under his orders for the +expulsion of the English. The belated expedition had not arrived, but +in spite of the delay and disappointment it must surely come at last; +and if the Emperor would but consent to order up the troops lying in +Castile, the quickly formed and brilliant plan of Masséna would be +feasible. But, alas for the scheme, what was apparently jealousy on +the part of Soult had quenched all ardor in the Andalusian invasion. +He was at this moment before Cadiz, carrying on a siege in which +either the Spanish were displaying great courage or the French but +little heart. His sluggish progress was not unobserved at Paris, and +finally under pressure he left half his force before the walls of the +"white city," while with the other he advanced and captured the +fortress of Badajoz. There he paused of necessity, being falsely +informed that Masséna, who had only withdrawn toward Santarem, was in +full retreat, but being correctly notified that the portions of his +own force left before Cadiz were not able to hold their own. Having +been virtually defeated in his attack on Sir John Moore, his invasion +of Portugal in 1809 had been temporarily successful; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page287" name="page287"></a>(p. 287)</span> but he +had occupied Oporto only to conspire like Junot for the crown of the +country, and he had been driven out without difficulty by the English. +Made commander-in-chief after the empty victory of Wellington at +Talavera, he had won a great battle at Ocaña on November nineteenth, +1809; but since then his time had been virtually wasted, for his +bickerings with Joseph and his jealousy of Masséna made all his +successes, even this last one at Badajoz, entirely useless. In a short +time he returned to Cadiz, and the French before Lisbon remained +therefore without their auxiliaries.</p> + +<p>Both these checks displeased Napoleon greatly. It is often stated that +it was because he felt contempt alike for the Spanish guerrillas and +the English infantry that he delegated the conduct of affairs in the +peninsula to his lieutenants. Quite the reverse appears to be the +truth. Foy, Masséna's envoy, reached Paris about the end of November, +and found the Emperor in something like a dull fury. His personal +experience had now the confirmation of that undergone by Masséna and +Soult, two of his greatest lieutenants. He had himself found the +rugged and ill-cultivated country unable to support large armies. It +was a discouraging fact that neither Soult nor Masséna had succeeded +better than the great captain himself, and Napoleon was thus convinced +that the Continental System could not be enforced against such dogged +persistency as that of the unreasoning, disorganized, but courageous +and frenzied Spaniards, assisted by the cold, calculating, and lucky +Wellington: at least not without terrible cost in life and money. +Accordingly Masséna was left without immediate reinforcement, while on +December tenth, 1809, was promulgated the decree incorporating the +North Sea coast into the Empire. Alexander chose to regard this +fateful act as merely disrespectful, remonstrated with the French +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page288" name="page288"></a>(p. 288)</span> envoy at St. Petersburg, and sent a circular to the powers +reserving the rights of his house over Oldenburg; he refused the petty +indemnification of Erfurt offered by Napoleon, and a year later, in +December, 1810, issued a ukase which laid prohibitive duties on French +silks and wines, while at the same time it favored the "neutral" +traffic in English wares. But at the moment he bore the affront +without any menace of war, and merely called attention to the common +obligations of friendship between sovereigns. If the breach were to +occur, it must be plainly and manifestly Napoleon's doing.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's failure to reinforce Masséna left the situation before +Lisbon precarious. It cannot be proved that he understood all the +difficulties in Wellington's position, but it is not unlikely that he +did. Lisbon was overcrowded with fugitives, and demanded speedy relief +by offensive operations. If Masséna had opened a bombardment from the +opposite bank, its inhabitants would have risen in rebellion against +the English general. The opposition party in Westminster used what +seemed in England to be the perennial and everlasting delay of the +younger brother as ground to attack the older one's conduct and to +arraign the entire ministerial policy. The English people had heard of +the Spanish insurrection with wild delight, but the inefficiency and +stubbornness of the insurgent leaders, together with the +untrustworthiness of the provisional governments, had cooled their +ardor, and after the defeat at Ocaña—a battle which the vainglorious +Spaniards had fought in direct opposition to Wellington's advice—they +were loud in abuse of their allies. Lord Liverpool openly attacked +Wellington, popular discontent was heightened by the opposition +taunts, and it seemed for a time as if the ministry must abandon the +expedition or fall.</p> + +<p>But if Wellington required all the force of his will <span class="pagenum"><a id="page289" name="page289"></a>(p. 289)</span> and the +compulsion of a higher necessity to make him deaf to the clamor of his +allies for an advance, Masséna had equal need for strength to sustain +his forces, and to resist the clamor of his own generals for retreat. +Foy finally brought back the necessary orders for reinforcements to +come in from Castile; but, as a large proportion of the men stationed +in that province existed merely on paper, only nine thousand could be +spared from those who actually were there. Still Masséna stood like a +rock. Wellington wrote home that with all his money, and assisted by +the good will of the inhabitants, he could not have maintained one +division where all the winter long Masséna found sustenance for sixty +thousand men and twelve thousand beasts. This tribute to the +campaigning powers of the French reveals incidentally the exaggerated +conception of their strength entertained by the enemy.</p> + +<p>The return of Soult to Cadiz emboldened Wellington to advance into +Spain. After various movements on the part of both sides, Masséna was +beaten at Fuentes de Onoro, and Almeida was retaken by the English. +Badajoz was beset by the English, and Soult once more advanced to its +assistance. He, too, was defeated in a battle at Albuera, but +succeeded finally in effecting a junction with Masséna, so that +Wellington felt compelled to retreat again into Portugal before the +united army. The exasperation of Napoleon at the failure of Masséna in +the battle of Fuentes de Onoro led to the disgrace of the old marshal, +and Marmont was sent to replace him. Such was the difficulty which the +French experienced in securing commissary stores from an impoverished +land that Wellington seemed content to let want fight his battles. The +season of 1811 was marked by inactivity on both sides except in the +east, where Suchet captured Aragon and Valencia, annihilating the +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page290" name="page290"></a>(p. 290)</span> Spanish army under Blake. But at the close of the year Soult +was compelled to withdraw southward toward the coast, in the hope of +securing indispensable supplies. The Spanish guerrillas of central +Spain harassed the French soldiers and took the heart out of them. +Wellington at once resumed the offensive; Ciudad Rodrigo fell before +him on January twelfth, 1812, and on April eighth, after one of the +bravest and bloodiest assaults recorded in English annals, Badajoz +also was carried.</p> + +<p>Marmont drew back for concentration, and the English advanced to the +Duero. Thereupon the French turned again, Wellington retreated on +Salamanca, and there made his stand, defeating his enemy on July +twenty-second, in a brilliant engagement. The French commander then +marched to Burgos, but his opponent, instead of following, turned +toward Madrid, in order first to drive Joseph from his capital. By +that time Burgos had been made so strong that all efforts to capture +it proved unavailing, Soult at once abandoned Cadiz and turned +northward to aid Joseph. The English were thus between two foes, and +such was the demoralization of the British soldiery when they +understood their danger that Wellington could with difficulty lead +them back into Portugal. At the close of 1812 the French were in +control of all Spain except the south, which had been freed by Soult's +northward movement. Cadiz became the capital of the nationalists, but +they could not restrain their revolutionary impulses long enough to +form a respectable or trustworthy government, and Wellington was once +more relegated to inactivity. His enforced leisure was occupied by the +consideration of plans for the great successes with which he crowned +the following season.</p> + +<p>Viewed from a military standpoint, the French warfare <span class="pagenum"><a id="page291" name="page291"></a>(p. 291)</span> in +Spain appeared utterly disastrous.<a id="footnotetag37" name="footnotetag37"></a><a href="#footnote37" title="Go to footnote 37"><span class="smaller">[37]</span></a> Regiments melted away like ice +before an April sun; desertions became ominously numerous, and disease +laid thousands low. Guerrilla warfare demoralized the regular forces. +The new conscripts at first showed a noisy zeal, but they had been +torn too young from their home nurture, and had neither strength nor +power of resistance. The troops from vassal kingdoms and newly annexed +territories were dismayed by the sufferings they had to endure, and +beheld with interest the national uprising of the Spaniards, which, in +spite of local jealousies, of rabid and radical doctrines that could +lead to nothing but anarchy, of disastrous failure in government, of +feebleness and falsehood in the temporary rulers, seemed likely to +render of no avail the efforts and successes of a great empire.</p> + +<p>Yet in some respects the French character appeared in a stronger light +throughout the disasters of the Peninsular war than at any other time. +Marbot's tale of the beautiful young cantinière, or woman sutler, of +the Twenty-sixth regiment, who after Busaco rushed unhurt through the +English outposts in order to alleviate the sufferings of the captured +general of her brigade, and who returned on her donkey through the +lines without having suffered an insult, reflects equal credit on the +unselfish daring of the French, which she typified, and on the +pure-minded gallantry of the English. The same writer's narrative of +the French deserters who, under a leader nicknamed Marshal Stockpot, +established themselves as freebooters in a convent not far from +Masséna's headquarters at Santarem, and of the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page292" name="page292"></a>(p. 292)</span> general's +swift, condign punishment of such conduct, graphically delineates the +straits of the French, which led them into the extreme courses that +devastated the land, but it also displays the quality of the +discipline which was exercised whenever possible. Nor should it be +forgotten that the two most splendid writers of France's succeeding +age were profoundly impressed with the terrible scenes of the French +invasion of Spain. George Sand was in Madrid as an infant for a +considerable portion of 1808; Victor Hugo passed the year 1811 in a +Madrid school, fighting childish battles for "the great Emperor," whom +his Spanish schoolmates called Napoladron (Napo the robber). Upon both +the fact of their connection with the repulse of Napoleon's armies +left a profound impression. The former was irresistibly drawn to +revisit the country; the latter recalled his impressions in some of +his noblest verse.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page293" name="page293"></a>(p. 293)</span> CHAPTER XXIII.</h3> + +<h4>Birth of the King of Rome.<a id="footnotetag38" name="footnotetag38"></a><a href="#footnote38" title="Go to footnote 38"><span class="smaller">[38]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">England Under the Continental System — End of Constitutional + Government in France — Napoleon's Personal Rule — Wealth of his + High Officials — Literature and the Empire — Mme. de Staël's + Aspirations — Her Attempts to Win Napoleon — Her Genius Saved by + Defeat — The Decennial Prizes — Pregnancy of Maria Louisa — The Heir + of the Napoleon Dynasty.</p> + + +<p class="sidenote">1810-11.</p> + +<p>It would be idle to suppose that during the winter of 1810-11 the +Spanish situation was not thoroughly appreciated by the imperial +bridegroom at Paris, or that he underrated the ultimate effects of +what was taking place in the Iberian peninsula if the process were to +go on. Still less is it probable that with the direction of all his +energy toward that quarter he could not have quenched the uncertain +and spasmodic efforts of Spanish patriotism, either by arts of which +he was a master, or by making a desert to call it a peace. No; every +indication is that his eye was still fixed on England at her vital +point, and that he took his measures in the North to deal her such a +thrust that the life-blood which sustained the Peninsular war would +either flow inefficacious, or be turned away altogether from Spain, +and change the ever-doubtful success of Wellington into assured +disaster. Wealthy as England was, it was certain that her credit could +not long hold out in view of the lavish subsidies <span class="pagenum"><a id="page294" name="page294"></a>(p. 294)</span> she was +constantly granting to continental powers, while the expeditions to +Spain, Holland, and Sicily were even more costly, inconclusive as they +had so far been. In 1810 English bank-notes were twenty per cent. +below par, and the sovereign could be exchanged on the Continent for +only seventeen francs instead of the twenty-five it usually brought. +Business failures were becoming ominously frequent in London, and +panic was stalking abroad. What must be the necessary result if the +continental embargo were more thoroughly enforced? The enormous +contraband trade of the North was now virtually at an end. Where +English merchants had so far been able to secure at least half of the +prices obtained from the consumers by smugglers, they could now no +longer secure even that doubtful market at any price; the +incorporation of Holland and the North Sea shores into France left +virtually no opening into Europe for them except through Russia. The +fate of England and of the world seemed to hang on how far the Czar +could or would keep the engagements which he had made at Tilsit.</p> + +<p>This might not have been so completely true if the French finances had +been desperate; but they were not—that is, the Emperor's personal +finances were not. After the legislative assembly met in December, +1809, it was soon clear to France that the farce of constitutional +government under the Empire was nearly played out. Not only were the +members of the senate, who should have retired according to the +constitution, kept in their seats by a decree of the body to which +they belonged, but an imperial edict appointed the deputies for the +new departments without even the form of an election. Fontanes retired +from the presidency of the senate to become grand master of the +university; the grand chamberlain of the palace was appointed in his +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page295" name="page295"></a>(p. 295)</span> stead. The Emperor had already sold to private corporations +the canals which belonged to the state; the legislature ratified the +illegal act. The penal code was now ready. It contained the iniquitous +and dangerous penalty of confiscation for certain crimes, thus +punishing the children for the faults of their sires, and opening a +most tempting avenue to the courts for indulgence in venality under +legal forms. There was little debate, and the code was adopted in its +entirety as presented.</p> + +<p>The reason for this paralysis of constitutional government is clear. +Even the immense war indemnities taken from conquered states did not +suffice for the maintenance of the enormous armies which covered +Europe like swarms of locusts. The marshals and generals were +insatiate, and the greed of the civil administrators was scarcely +less. From the top to the bottom of the public service every official +stood with open hand and hungry eyes. This state of things was +directly due to Napoleon's policy of attaching everybody to himself by +personal ties, and in giving he had the lavish hand of a parvenu. The +recipients were never content, hoarding their fees, and becoming +opulent, pursuing all the time each his personal ambitions, and +ofttimes returning insolence for favors. To meet these enormous +expenditures there had been inaugurated throughout Europe a system of +what may be termed private confiscations, the vast dimensions of which +can never be justly estimated. German princes and Spanish grandees, +English merchants and the Italian clergy, had all been wrung dry; +timorous statesmen, crafty churchmen and sly contractors, unprincipled +financiers and ambitious politicians, not one was forgotten or +overlooked in the accumulation of hoards which, having long been +called the army chest, were now erected into the dignity of an +"extraordinary domain."</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page296" name="page296"></a>(p. 296)</span> Kept so far in a decent obscurity, these ill-gotten +possessions, which belonged, if not to their original owners, then to +the state, were, in the low condition of public morality, not merely +recognized—they were actually increased from new sources of supply. +The confiscated palaces, forests, lands, and fisheries, the proceeds +from the sale of American ships, values of every kind, were all made +the private property of the Emperor. If any of these rills of revenue +should run dry, the criminal code with its legislation of confiscation +might be relied on to supply a menace strong enough to express +inexhaustible treasure from storehouses yet untouched. One orator +declared this barbaric fund to have been in the Emperor's hands a +"French Providence, which made the laurel a fertile tree, the fruits +of which had nourished the brave whom its branches covered." Napoleon +had found the crown moneys sufficient for himself. Berthier now had a +revenue of one million three hundred and fifty thousand eight hundred +francs, and Davout was scarcely less regal with one of nine hundred +and ten thousand; Ney had only seven hundred and twenty-eight +thousand, and Masséna five hundred thousand; Soult was ambitious to +increase his income of three hundred and five thousand by securing the +Portuguese crown. What with the great public charities endowed from +this extraordinary fund, what with the great public works in Paris and +elsewhere which had been carried on by its means, the total +expenditures had been more than four hundred and thirty million +francs. The total receipts had risen to about seven hundred and sixty +millions, and there were therefore still in the Emperor's purse upward +of three hundred millions. He could not be called destitute or even +poor.</p> + +<a id="img016" name="img016"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/img016.jpg" width="400" height="470" alt="" title=""> +<p class="center smcap">NAPOLEON BONAPARTE in 1809.</p> +<p class="small center">From a painting by René-Théodore Berthon,<br> +in the possession of the painter's descendants +in Canada.</p> +</div> + +<p>The same years which saw the extinction of the remnants <span class="pagenum"><a id="page297" name="page297"></a>(p. 297)</span> of +legislative independence saw likewise the establishment of six state +prisons, in which were to be confined those disaffected persons who +were too powerful to be left at liberty, but whose trials in open +court would have revealed troublesome facts. The censorship of the +press was likewise reëstablished with iron rigidity, and the +publishers purchased the meager immunities they were permitted to +enjoy by the payment of whatever pensions the Emperor chose to grant +to needy men of letters. Chénier the poet, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, +the author of "Paul and Virginia," and others enjoyed, in addition to +decorations of the Legion of Honor, substantial incomes that were +virtually paid by their fellow-craftsmen; while a chosen +few—including Gros, Gérard, Guérin, Lagrange, Monge, and +Laplace—were elevated to the new baronage. Even Carnot did not +hesitate to accept employment and place from Napoleon. At first he +solicited a loan for the relief of his urgent necessities. This the +Emperor made unnecessary by ordering the War Office to pay all arrears +in his rations and other perquisites, by giving him a commission to +prepare a volume on fortification, and by according him a pension of +ten thousand francs. The ponderous sledge-hammer of the censorship was +apparently forged to kill a gnat. Nothing is known to the history of +literature so subservient and humble as the conduct of the great +majority of French writers and artists under the Empire.</p> + +<p>There was one exception—Mme. de Staël. That overestimated woman had +gained the halo of martyrdom by the so-called persecution of the +Emperor. But the persecution was, in the opinion of keen observers, +more on her part than his. The Committee of Public Safety had found +her an intriguer, and had called upon her husband to remove her from +Paris; the Directory kept <span class="pagenum"><a id="page298" name="page298"></a>(p. 298)</span> her under watch at Coppet, and +ordered her arrest should she return to France. Her aspirations were +boundless, and Mallet du Pan, royalist agent, said that she +shamelessly flaunted her charms on public occasions. In 1796, aspiring +to rule the country through her friends, she wrote to Bonaparte, who +was in Italy, that the widow Beauharnais was far from possessing the +necessary qualities to supplement those of a genius such as he was, +and on his return to Paris she at once made suspicious advances to win +his favor. Bourrienne declares that he saw one of her letters to +Bonaparte, in which she flatly stated that they two, she herself and +her correspondent, had been created for each other. Mention has +elsewhere been made of the coldness with which Bonaparte treated her +when by her own request she was presented to him in Talleyrand's +drawing-room. Not long afterward, at the reception given by the +minister of foreign affairs to the conqueror of Italy, the +indefatigable seeker for notoriety addressed the latter once again.</p> + +<p>The scene is given in the memoirs of Arnault. At first she plied her +suit with fulsome compliment. Bonaparte listened coldly, and the +conversation flagged. In despair she blurted out, "General, what woman +could you love the most?" "My own," was the stinging reply. ("Quelle +femme?" "La mienne.") Woman and wife being the same word in French, +Napoleon's retort was a disdainful pun. "Very well; but which would +esteem you the highest?" she persisted. "The best housekeeper." "Yes, +I understand; but which one would be for you the foremost among +women?" "She who should bear the most children, madame," was the icy +rejoinder, as the harried and disgusted soldier turned on his heel. +Somewhat later she said to Lucien in a melting voice, "I am but a fool +in my desire to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page299" name="page299"></a>(p. 299)</span> please your brother. I am at a loss when I +wish to converse with him. I choose my language and modify my +expressions; I want to make him think of me and occupy himself with +me. It ends in my being and feeling as silly as a goose." When the +complacent Lucien reported the language his brother replied: "I know +her thoroughly.... She declared to one who informed me that since I +would neither love her nor permit her to love me, there was nothing +left but for her to hate me, as she could not remain indifferent. What +a virago!" In a letter to Joseph, dated March nineteenth, 1800, the +future Emperor wrote: "M. de Staël is in the depths of misery, and his +wife is giving dinners and balls. If you should continue to see her, +would it not be well to have the woman allow her husband one thousand +or one thousand two hundred francs a month? Have we already reached a +time when, without any protest from decent people, not merely morality +but the most sacred ties which bind children to their parents can be +trampled under foot? Suppose we judge Mme. de Staël as we should a +man,—only, of course, as a man inheriting the fortune of M. de +Necker,—one who had long enjoyed the prerogatives of a distinguished +name, and who should leave his wife in misery while he lived in +abundance: could we associate with a man like that?"</p> + +<p>Soon afterward the battle of Marengo was fought. All her passion being +now turned into hate, the scheming woman openly desired Bonaparte's +defeat. Thenceforward she was an avowed and bitter enemy; he would +have called her a conspirator. The ten years of her banishment, as she +herself declared, were occupied in wandering from court to court in +England, Russia, Prussia, and Sweden, engaged in the task of +undermining the Emperor's name and fame, and in fomenting the +coalitions which eventually ruined him. As Bonaparte <span class="pagenum"><a id="page300" name="page300"></a>(p. 300)</span> became +an ultra-imperialist she became an ultra-liberal. Her book on Germany, +published in 1810, was a laudation, in the main just and fair, of a +regenerated land; but it held up to France as a model the achievements +of the country which was now her bitterest foe. The censors gave it a +fictitious renown by ordering its complete suppression.</p> + +<p>When, in November, 1810, the decennial prizes, instituted as a spur to +literature and science, were distributed, the judges could find +nothing in science later than 1803 worthy of their favor; but the +prize-winners, old as they were, were all men of real distinction. The +names of the literary men who were crowned are now known only to the +student of history. Napoleon demanded why the name of Chateaubriand +had been omitted from the list, as it was. He may have remembered, as +one of his detractors suggests, that in that writer's great book the +Roman doctrine of obedience to constituted authority was attractively +presented; or else, and more probably, he may have wished his list of +authors to be more brilliant. The Emperor may have instituted those +prizes, as his apologists declared he himself said that he did, to +keep active minds from occupying themselves with politics; but the +exhibition of how the Empire had crushed out originality and fecundity +in the French brain must have appalled him, whatever were his +thoughts.</p> + +<p>During the winter of 1810-11 Napoleon's private life was virtually +devoted to beneficence. In addition to the favors granted to Carnot, +he lavished money on other objects, some not so worthy. Canova, who +had been called from Rome to make a portrait-statue of the Empress, +obtained a substantial grant for the learned societies of that city. +Chénier, like Carnot, had been a pronounced adversary of the Empire. +He now sought <span class="pagenum"><a id="page301" name="page301"></a>(p. 301)</span> employment under it, and was made +inspector-general of the university, an office which he did not live +long to enjoy. All the old favorites were remembered in a general +distribution of good things. Talleyrand having just lost an immense +sum by the failure of a trusted bank, the Emperor came to his relief +by purchasing one of his minister's most splendid palaces for more +than two million francs. The court resided sometimes at St. Cloud, +sometimes at Rambouillet, sometimes at the Trianon, but for the most +part at Fontainebleau, where the ceremonious life, to which all +concerned were now well accustomed, was marked by none of the old +awkwardness and friction, but ran as brilliantly as lavish expenditure +could make it.</p> + +<p>The pregnancy of the Empress was celebrated with great festivities, +during which Napoleon performed one of his most applauded acts—the +endowment of a vast maternity hospital. The Empress was brought into +great prominence as the president of a society consisting of a +thousand noble ladies under whose patronage the charity was placed.</p> + +<p>The unconcealed and ecstatic delight of the prospective father found +vent in delicate and tender attention to the mother of his child, and +until her deliverance he was a gentle, devoted, and considerate +husband. His whole nature seemed transformed. When in the early +morning of March twentieth, 1811, word was brought that the Empress +was in labor, and that a false presentation made it of instant +necessity to choose between the life of the mother and that of the +child, the feelings of the Emperor can better be imagined than +described.</p> + +<p>If the expected heir should die his dynasty would be jeopardized, his +enemies would once more be making appointments over his grave, the +hopes of a lifetime might be shattered. But there was not a moment's +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page302" name="page302"></a>(p. 302)</span> wavering. "Think only of the mother," he cried. The fears of +the attending physician were vain, after all, and the man-child, +coming without a cry into the world and lying breathless for seven +minutes as if hesitating to accept or decline his destiny, finally +gave a wail as at last he caught the breath of life. Napoleon turned, +caught up his treasure, and pressed it to his bosom. A hundred guns +announced the birth, and the city burst into jubilations, which were +reëchoed throughout Europe from Dantzic to Cadiz. Festival succeeded +festival, and for an interval men believed that the temple of Janus +would be again closed. No boy ever came on the earthly stage amid such +splendors, or seemed destined to honors such as appeared to await this +one. The devotion of the father was passionate and unwavering. It +lasted even after he had been deserted and betrayed by the mother, +after the child had been estranged and turned into an Austrian prince.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page303" name="page303"></a>(p. 303)</span> CHAPTER XXIV.</h3> + +<h4>Tension Between Emperor and Czar.<a id="footnotetag39" name="footnotetag39"></a><a href="#footnote39" title="Go to footnote 39"><span class="smaller">[39]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Menaces of War — Napoleon's "Extraordinary Domain" — Rupture of the + Concordat — The Prospect of War — The Empire Prepared for a + Commercial Siege — Napoleon's Self-deception — The Empires of Ocean + and Continent — The Czar's Humiliation — Poland and the French + Empire — Alexander's Approach to Francis — Spurious Negotiations.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1811.</p> + +<p>Among other bodies which sent deputations to congratulate the Emperor +on the birth of his child was the Paris Chamber of Commerce. Their +address was sufficiently adulatory, but it contained a suggestion that +the trade and commerce of the country were not all that could be +desired. Napoleon replied in language which attracted attention +throughout Europe. There was some irritability in his tone, but there +was an unqualified assurance with regard to the future. He said, among +other things, that England was depressed. This was true; the new +measures taken to enforce the Continental system had told. British +harbors were glutted with the products of all the colonies—not only +of her own, but of those she had seized during the Napoleonic wars. +The storehouses could hold no more; and as colonial trade was +conducted by barter, all the products of English industry must remain +at home for lack of an export market. Business was at a standstill, +and the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page304" name="page304"></a>(p. 304)</span> specter of English bankruptcy stalked abroad. As to +France, the Emperor declared that he was in no sense the successor of +either Louis XIV or Louis XV, but of Charles the Great; for the +present Empire was but the continuation of the old Frankish dominion. +In four years, he said in substance, I shall have a navy. When my +fleets shall have been three or four years at sea we can hold our own +with the English. I know I may lose three or four battles; very good, +I will lose them. But we are ever courageous, ever booted and spurred, +and we shall succeed. Before ten years have expired I shall have +beaten England. No state of Europe will any longer have intercourse +with her. It is my customhouses which do the greatest harm to the +English. Her blockade has injured herself the most by teaching us how +to get on without her products, her sugar, her indigo. A few years +longer, and we shall be thoroughly accustomed to it. I shall soon have +enough beet-root sugar to supply all Europe; for your manufactures +there is an open market in France, Italy, Naples, and Germany. At the +close he added words to this effect: The Bank of France is full of +silver, while that of England has not a white sou [five francs]. Since +1806 I have taken over a milliard francs in contributions. I alone +have money. Austria is already bankrupt, and Russia and England will +be. There exist three versions of this famous allocution. In one of +them are the words: "I showed mercy to the Emperor of Russia at Tilsit +in return for promises of help; but if those promises are not kept, I +will go, if need be, to Riga, to Moscow, to St. Petersburg."</p> + +<p>Three points of the utmost significance demand attention in this, a +typical deliverance of the "imperator," uttered at the flood-tide of +imperial success: two of them, both negative, are ominous; the third +is positive and plain. There is no reference to the financial +condition <span class="pagenum"><a id="page305" name="page305"></a>(p. 305)</span> of France, or to the ecclesiastical situation. +Russia was openly threatened. The boast of wealth referred to +Napoleon's own "extraordinary domain." About this time Metternich +reported to his government that France was the richest country in +Europe, but that her treasury was empty. The budget of 1811 had nine +hundred millions on the credit side, but it had also nine hundred and +fifty-four millions on the debit. The previous year had required five +hundred and ten millions for army and navy, the present required six +hundred and fifty millions. It was a fixed principle of the Emperor to +make each generation pay its own expenses. The only source of supply +he could find was an increase of the indirect taxes and the +institution of a state monopoly in tobacco. His remedy would have been +adequate but for two causes—the drought of the ensuing summer and +Russia's hostile attitude in regard to French silks and wines. The +year 1811 closed with a deficit of forty-eight millions. This fact had +a bearing on the political situation because in general the Emperor's +remedy for an empty treasury was a new war.</p> + +<p>The ecclesiastical situation had now become acute. As one bishopric +after another had fallen vacant, bishops had been nominated by the +Emperor; but the Pope, who was still sitting in captivity at Savona, +had from the moment of his incarceration steadily refused to institute +them. For a time, as has been explained, the difficulty had been +ingeniously avoided by the process of ecclesiastical law, according to +which the chapters of the various dioceses elected the imperial +candidates as vicars capitular, and thus enabled them to perform +episcopal functions without regard to institution. But this could not +go on forever, and every effort had been made to induce the prisoner +of Savona to yield. In response he took a firmer stand, and indicated +to the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page306" name="page306"></a>(p. 306)</span> chapters both of Italy and France that they should no +longer elect the imperial nominees as vicars capitular. This was a +rupture of the Concordat, and was so regarded by Napoleon. The +attitude of all pious Catholics was becoming uneasy, and this new +declaration of war by the Church could only serve to heighten the +bellicose humor of the Emperor. The Pope was eventually brought to +terms, partly by increasing the rigors of his imprisonment, partly by +terrorizing his agents in France, but chiefly through the +representations made to him by the ablest ecclesiastics of the realm, +and by the summoning of a church council, which turned out nearly as +subservient to the secular authority as the Jewish Sanhedrim had been.</p> + +<p>With reference to the third point, it seems impossible to determine +whether the menace to Russia was actually made, as one version of the +reply has it, or whether a later speech, at the opening of the +legislature in June, and the report on the situation of France, issued +in the same month, have not both been confused with the Emperor's talk +in March. In either case the result was identical, for France and +Europe instinctively took in the situation, and clearly understood +that the Emperor was not indisposed toward the renewal of war in +northern Europe. This third point was of course the most noteworthy of +the three, for it could be only a question of time when the storm +should burst.</p> + +<p>If it were possible at that epoch of the world's history to +distinguish between Napoleon the man and Napoleon the embodied +political force of Europe, the aspect of the former would abound in +human interest. Filled with paternal tenderness, his sole ambition +appeared for a time to be that of retaining what he had gained, the +leadership of a Western empire as splendid as that of Charles the +Great. To make sure of this acquisition <span class="pagenum"><a id="page307" name="page307"></a>(p. 307)</span> and hand it on to +his heir, he seems for a moment to have dreamed of standing forth as +the pacificator of Europe. He actually withdrew the mass of his troops +from Germany for use in Spain, leaving only enough to watch Prussia +and guard Westphalia; with the former power he finally formulated his +pecuniary demands, as if thus to put an end to strife. The "rebellion" +in Spain he intended to crush out by the pacific operations of a +commercial warfare with England, which he felt certain would bring +Great Britain to terms, now that for the first time since the outbreak +of hostilities the blood of her soldiers "was flowing in a stream." He +was probably strengthened in this conviction by the reluctant consent +of the cabinet of St. James to open negotiations for the exchange of +prisoners on the very basis he had suggested long before. Believing, +moreover, that European princes had by this time lost their delicate +sensibility, it seemed no monstrous crime to consolidate his empire +for its commercial siege by the simple expedient of removing the Duke +of Oldenburg from his hereditary domains which bordered on the ocean +and offering him the inland sovereignty of Erfurt, or by adopting the +alternative expedient of leaving him to enjoy the former under French +protection. It seems presumptuous to attempt any revelation of his +feelings, but surely he might hope that then, controlling every inlet +to European commerce from Corfu around by Triest, Italy, Spain, and +the Texel as far as Lübeck, his wall of protection for French +manufactures would do its work, that in a few years France would be +the industrial and commercial center of continental Europe. With Paris +the capital of a new Western empire, the true relation between the +secular and ecclesiastical heads of the world would be reëstablished, +as it could not be while the papacy had its seat at Rome, and all +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page308" name="page308"></a>(p. 308)</span> things would work together under a strong hand to humble the +island empire of England, destroy her ascendancy on the mainland, and +thus bring in a moral and material millennium for the civilized world.</p> + +<p>But alas for such self-deception, if, indeed, it ever existed. Nature +is too complex and habit too strong for such sudden sublimations of +purpose. Had the true, complex Napoleon in his supposed communing +asked the question, What then? sincerity would have compelled him to +reply, More beyond. Men remembered to have heard him use the +expression, "Emperor of the Continent," in these very days, jocularly, +perhaps, but still with significance. Orders were issued in March, +1811, to fit out vessels for two expeditions, one against Sicily and +Egypt, one against Ireland; if these were successful he could then +work his will at the Cape of Good Hope and ultimately in the East and +West Indies. "They want to know where we are going, where I shall +plant the new Pillars of Hercules," he said. "We will make an end of +Europe, and then, as robbers fling themselves on others less bold, we +will fling ourselves on India, which the latter class have mastered." +About the same time the Bavarian minister, pleading for peace, +received the retort: "Three years more, and I am lord of the +universe." When Mollien advised against war, on account of the fiscal +disorders, the reply was: "On the contrary, the finances are falling +into disorder, and for that very reason need war." Behind Napoleon the +father was the ambitious and haughty statesman combined with the +self-reliant general, the embodiment of French ambitions as they had +consolidated in the old régime, and had been transmitted through the +Revolution, the Directory, and the Consulate to the Empire.</p> + +<p>But there were two other gladiators in the arena: England, hard +pressed but still undaunted in her mastery <span class="pagenum"><a id="page309" name="page309"></a>(p. 309)</span> of the seas which +flowed around her majestic colonial empire; Russia, grimly determined +to hold an even balance with France in Europe while reëstablishing by +the overthrow of Turkey the eastern counterpoise to Napoleon's western +dominion. The Czar of Muscovy would fain have passed for a +philosopher. Fourteen years earlier, when in his eighteenth year, he +had fallen under the charm of Prince Adam Czartoryski, a youth of +about his own age, whom the Empress Catherine had taken as a hostage +after the final dismemberment of Poland in 1795. Trained by his +grandmother to play her own rôle of enlightened despot, the young +ruler, still in those early years when generous impulses rule, +conversed with his friend, the representative of a downtrodden land, +about the possibility of a restored and regenerated Poland, avowing +his secret detestation of all that he was compelled in public to +profess. We may picture the joy of the noble Pole at the thought of +his country made whole once more, even though it were destined to be +but semi-autonomous as a member of the Russian empire. But years +rolled by, and Czartoryski, though preferred to place and honor by the +Czar, heard less and less of the young philosopher's scheme. In 1805 +he finally wrung from Alexander a promise that he would begin to act; +but it was very soon withdrawn, and Czartoryski retired to his +estates. The realities and selfishness of life eclipsed the man of +sensibility and developed the despot. For a time, however, he essayed +the rôle of European mediator, with what success Tilsit is the +witness.</p> + +<p>Disgusted from the practical point of view with the old dynasties and +their chicanery, Alexander had not only eschewed the idea of a +reconstructed Poland, but had become indifferent to the territorial +lines of all ancient Europe, and momentarily dreamed of Napoleon +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page310" name="page310"></a>(p. 310)</span> as his twin emperor. To this end he too must likewise be a +conqueror. Finland he had gained, but at the price of adhesion to a +commercial system which was gradually ruining his people. The +exhausting, slow-moving war with Turkey was still dragging on, and +neither Moldavia nor Wallachia was yet acquired. Oldenburg was +incorporated into France. The grand duchy of Warsaw was not merely the +specter of a restored Poland: the addition of Galicia to its +territories had given it solidity and substance. The Franco-Austrian +alliance was a menace to all the Czar's aspirations on the Balkan +peninsula. It was clear that he must choose between keeping his +engagements to the letter and an open rupture. He had been beaten and +humiliated at his own game.</p> + +<p>The first steps toward a rupture had already been taken before +Napoleon's second marriage. In the last days of 1809 Alexander had +negotiated with Caulaincourt, the French ambassador at St. Petersburg, +a treaty requiring from his ally a formal promise that Poland should +never be restored and the name never officially used. It is certain, +from the language used at the time, that the two questions of Poland +and the Russian marriage were not connected; the former he could raise +merely as an ally with a just expectation of a favorable reply. It is +of course possible that Alexander hoped Napoleon might connect them, +and thus sign the Polish treaty in the hope that his request for the +grand duchess would be granted as a return. In that case the Russian +emperor could still have refused his sister's hand, putting his ally's +compliance in regard to Poland on the ground of existing political +relations. He might then have laughed in his sleeve at his outwitted +dupe. Be that as it may, Napoleon was the craftier. He replied that he +would sign, not this document, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page311" name="page311"></a>(p. 311)</span> but one slightly different, +though quite as satisfactory to Russia. Accordingly he drew up, +executed, and forwarded to Russia a counter-project promising "never +to give help or assistance to any power, or to any internal rising +whatsoever, looking to a restoration of the kingdom of Poland." A few +days after its arrival at St. Petersburg came the news of the Austrian +marriage.</p> + +<p>Two courses were now open to the Czar. One was to take advantage of +the strong Russian party which existed among the Poles in Warsaw, +promise a restoration of Poland with himself as king, and enter on an +offensive campaign against France. This scheme is contained in an +extant letter addressed to him by Prince Galitzin. The other was to +negotiate further and await events. After dallying for a time with the +former idea, the Czar at length told Czartoryski that he could never +consider giving up provinces already incorporated into Russia,—which +meant of course that he would not restore the integrity of +Poland,—but that he might accept the crown of the grand duchy of +Warsaw as it was, including Galicia. Secret agents were thereupon +despatched to sound the Austrian court. If the partition of Turkey +should take place, as was already determined, could not Russia and +Austria join hands to secure each her own interests against France? In +view of the fact that Napoleon had rejected the idea of destroying +Turkey because Russia had displayed jealousy of Austria and had +refused her any share in the Turkish lands, this was a virtual +declaration of hostilities.</p> + +<p>Alexander's overture was unheeded at Vienna, at least for the moment, +because Metternich was in Paris wooing Napoleon's good will. +Simultaneously and openly, therefore, the fencing between Paris and +St. Petersburg went on. A rejoinder to the counter-project was laid +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page312" name="page312"></a>(p. 312)</span> on Napoleon's desk, containing the identical words, "that +the kingdom of Poland shall never be restored." This persistence +angered the recipient, and seemed capable of but one interpretation. +If Alexander did not consider the guarantees given by France after +Friedland and Wagram to be sufficient, could Napoleon see in this +reiterated demand anything more or less than a determination of the +Czar not to abide by the engagements of Russia unless new ones were +given by himself? He returned therefore a softly worded, non-committal +reply, and began to make unmistakable preparations: a journey to +Flanders for the purpose of rousing public opinion on his behalf, the +strengthening of certain fortresses, and a general rapprochement to +Austria in all his relations. The negotiations continued a little +longer, Russia insisting on the phrase as first written, France +declaring that its use would be a confession of the insinuation +contained in it, and therefore incompatible with her dignity. Any +other equivalent language she would use, but not that.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page313" name="page313"></a>(p. 313)</span> CHAPTER XXV.</h3> + +<h4>The Array of Nations.<a id="footnotetag40" name="footnotetag40"></a><a href="#footnote40" title="Go to footnote 40"><span class="smaller">[40]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Estrangement of France and Russia — Premonitions of + War — Alexander's Secret Policy — The Various Factors in the + Situation — Bernadotte — The Eve of a General + Conflagration — England and Prussia — Austria and Prussia — Alliance + between Sweden and Russia — England and the United States — The + Confederation of the Rhine — The State of France.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1811-12.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Metternich, confident that in the partition of Turkey better +terms could be obtained for Austria from Napoleon than from Alexander, +was doing his utmost to embitter the relations of France and Russia. A +strong Russian party in Vienna was in close touch with the numerous +Poles in Warsaw who looked to Alexander for the restoration of their +country's integrity. In both places there was much talk of the +restoration of Poland, in Warsaw especially, and the phrase was +constantly in the newspapers. Alexander's ambassador in Paris made +urgent representations concerning "a persistent rumor that the Emperor +intends to restore Poland." Napoleon retorted in fury, and threatened +war, but immediately wrote a soothing assurance that he was still true +to the engagements of Tilsit, and as to the treaty itself he would +agree to changes, but would never brand his own memory with dishonor. +On July first, while the lines were in the copyist's hands, there +occurred the incident which many thought at the time changed the +course of history. During a magnificent festival given by the Austrian +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page314" name="page314"></a>(p. 314)</span> ambassador, the decorations in an open court took fire, and +the conflagration spread, enveloping the entire embassy. All the +important guests escaped unhurt except Kourakine, the Russian +ambassador, who was so injured that he could no longer perform his +official duties. It appeared to throw a strong light on Napoleon's +character as a man that almost immediately his humor seemed to change; +his personal obligations to the much-abused but well-bred envoy could +not now be wiped out by a gentle reply to the master; hence, +apparently, he curtly dismissed the Russian chargé d'affaires, and +ended the negotiation. It was when this news reached St. Petersburg +that Alexander a second time offered Norway to Sweden.</p> + +<p>The real cause of Napoleon's abrupt manner was the news communicated +by Metternich that the Russian army had advanced successfully to the +Danube. On July seventeenth Francis despatched an envoy requesting his +new son-in-law to join him in a protest against the aggressions of the +Czar; in other words, to throw the agreements of Tilsit and Erfurt to +the winds. Napoleon returned an unhesitating and honorable refusal, +but said significantly to Metternich: "If Russia quarrels with us she +will lose Finland, Moldavia, and Wallachia," adding that if the Czar, +contrary to his engagement of 1808, should seize anything south of the +Danube, then he himself would intervene on Austria's behalf. But all +Europe seemed convinced that war was inevitable. In all the +watering-places the talk was of nothing else. The Russian party in +Vienna grew bolder; Pozzo di Borgo, Napoleon's life-long foe, who had +been temporarily under a cloud in Russia, appeared in Vienna in his +Russian uniform, courted and oracular. A French interpreter on his way +to Persia was stopped by him, and bribed to enter the Russian service. +In a terse <span class="pagenum"><a id="page315" name="page315"></a>(p. 315)</span> personal note written by his own hand, Napoleon +called Alexander's attention to the facts, but without awaiting the +reply he went further. Kourakine, partly recovered, was leaving Paris +for home. Through him the Emperor poured into his ally's ear a long +exposure of the situation, saying in substance that war was to be +avoided, that he had not the slightest intention of restoring Poland, +and that if the Czar would write what was desired as a guarantee in +the form of a newspaper article, the words should be inserted +unchanged in the "Moniteur." At the same time orders were sent +commanding Caulaincourt to end all negotiation, and the Poles were +peremptorily enjoined to silence. Simultaneously schemes for a new +naval campaign were gradually being perfected, so that they might be +realized the following year.</p> + +<p>Something of Alexander's secret diplomacy must have leaked out, but he +appeared unmoved. He was steadily preparing for war, strengthening his +fortresses, and locating fortified camps in the district between the +Dwina and the Dnieper. But his chief concern was with Poland. Relying +on the Jesuit influence at Warsaw for support against the jailer of +the Pope, he again took up his old scheme of restoring the country as +an appanage of the Russian crown, and wrote to Czartoryski. The plan +was dazzling: a national army, a national administration, and a +liberal constitution. But that nobleman, after a long residence in his +native land, had learned how strong was the conviction of his +countrymen that Napoleon would give them a more complete autonomy than +the Czar, and sent back what must have been a discouraging reply, +although it has never been found. Alexander on its receipt determined +that the coming war should be defensive on his part, and immediately +opened communications with England and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page316" name="page316"></a>(p. 316)</span> Sweden concerning the +Continental System. Finally, in the closing days of the year, he +issued a ukase excluding wines, silks, and similar luxuries from +France, but facilitating the entry of the colonial wares in which +England dealt. This was an act of open hostility to his old ally, a +declaration of commercial war. Prussia immediately made semi-official +advances to the Czar, but they were repelled.</p> + +<p>It is not easy to estimate Napoleon's responsibility for what had +happened and was about to happen. He was persistently domineering, +contemptuous of national feeling and dynastic politics, over-confident +in the unswerving devotion of France, inflexible in his policy of +territorial aggrandizement, ruthless in applying his peculiar +conceptions of finance and political economy, and pitiless in his own +self-seeking. On the other hand, Alexander, having received Prussia's +autonomy as his part, had proved an untrustworthy ally from the +outset. Having seized Finland, he would not pay the price, but first +evaded the Continental System, then rejected it, and finally declared +commercial war on France; in the latest conflict between France and +Austria he had actually wooed the latter's favor. Procrastinating in +the marriage affair, he was furious when the suppliant turned +elsewhere, and at once displayed an insulting mistrust concerning +Poland; finally, he declared diplomatic war by his overtures to +England and his secret machinations in Vienna; there was but a final +step in the evolution of complete hostility, the declaration of +military war. Austria, too, had done her utmost to bring on a +conflict, hoping to find her account in the dissensions of the two +empires. Her policy demanded her territorial aggrandizement at the +expense of Turkey; in a war between France and Russia she was sure to +find her account, and there was nothing in Metternich's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page317" name="page317"></a>(p. 317)</span> +dealings with Napoleon which tended to preserve the peace of Europe.</p> + +<p>Sweden, under Bernadotte, was manifestly anxious to find a cause of +offense, being defiant in temper, and ready to do anything for the +purpose of strengthening the hands of Alexander and escaping from +French protection. So feeble was the titular King of Sweden that the +adoptive crown prince speedily became the real ruler, and his personal +desires were soon the public policy. It was a strange transformation +which took place in the man. He had been generous and kindly in the +difficult positions he held as a French general. Avowedly a +revolutionary democrat of the most radical stripe, he was nevertheless +a true Gascon and failed to display his great abilities wherever his +heart was not engaged. He had, moreover, basked in the sunshine of +imperial favor, and in an age of atheism had remained in the fold of +the Roman Church. Having himself schemed against Napoleon under the +promptings of personal ambition, he often gave aid and comfort to the +Emperor's enemies. When adopted into the royal family of Sweden it +cost him little effort to profess Lutheranism; his republican +sympathies were quenched, and he developed into a beneficent despot +anxious to put Sweden in line with Russia. He never was able to win +the affections of his people, and when before the close of his life +they demanded a liberal constitution, this democratic sovereign, +brought up under the illumination of French revolutionary doctrines, +held back until the paper had to be wrung from him. The phases of +Napoleon's life are scarcely more startling than those of this rather +commonplace actor on a stage which was provincial when compared with +the cosmopolitan scene of the Emperor's life-drama.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1811 all Europe knew that war was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page318" name="page318"></a>(p. 318)</span> +inevitable. "It will occur," wrote Napoleon on April second of that +year, "in spite of me, in spite of the Emperor Alexander, in spite of +the interests of France and those of Russia. I have already so often +seen this that it is my experience of the past which unveils to me the +future.... It is all a scene in an opera, and the English control the +machinery." A week later he notified Alexander that he was aware of +the movement of Russian troops toward Poland, and declared that he +himself was likewise preparing. Lauriston was sent to replace the too +pacific Caulaincourt at St. Petersburg, and Champagny was removed from +the Foreign Office to make way for the fiery Maret. There was much to +be done before the actual outbreak of hostilities. England's history +is the story of her struggles for nationality, for religious, civil, +and political liberty, and for mercantile ascendancy. Her inborn +longings for the highest civilization were not inconsistent with her +grim determination to resist a system that stood on the Continent for +progress, but which she had come to believe meant national ruin for +her. Prussia, with a new vigor born of self-denial, education, and +passionate patriotism; Sweden, restless and uneasy under the yoke of +Napoleonic supremacy; Denmark, friendly, but independent in her +quasi-autonomy; the United States, chafing under the restrictions of +her commerce; Turkey, sick to death, but then as now pivotal in all +European politics—the relation of all these powers to the coming +conflict was still a question, and during a year much might be done in +a diplomatic way to determine it. The whole civilized world was to be +in array, although the life-and-death struggle was to be between two +insatiate despotisms, one Western and modern, the other Oriental and +theocratic. Napoleon grasped the tendency of his own career but dimly. +Goethe said of him, "He <span class="pagenum"><a id="page319" name="page319"></a>(p. 319)</span> lives entirely in the ideal, but can +never consciously grasp it." Unconsciously, too, Alexander the Great +had fought for the extension of Greek culture; Cæsar, to destroy the +stifling institutions of a worn-out system; Charles the Great, to +realize the "city of God" on earth; Napoleon, for nationality, +individual liberty, popular sovereignty. What was personal and petty +in the work of these Titans, being ephemeral, disappeared in the death +of each; what was human and large has endured and will endure. The +creative ideas of the revolutionary era with which Napoleon's name is +so closely connected are no longer called in question; his own career +was now verging to its decline, but in his fall the fundamental +conceptions of the epoch were firmly established.</p> + +<p>In January, 1812, Wellington, as has been mentioned, stormed Ciudad +Rodrigo; on April sixth Badajoz fell. On April eighteenth Napoleon +offered terms of peace, Spain to be kept intact under Joseph, Portugal +to be restored to the house of Braganza, Sicily to remain under +Ferdinand, and Naples under Murat. Considering all the circumstances, +the offer was worthy of consideration; but the English cabinet refused +it. The possibility of peace with Great Britain being thus +extinguished, Napoleon considered what course he should pursue toward +the other great Protestant land, which also felt itself to be +struggling for life. Some well-informed persons asserted that at first +the Emperor contemplated destroying the Hohenzollern power utterly. If +so, he quickly dismissed the idea as involving unnecessary risk. With +the reforms of Stein and Hardenberg successfully accomplished, with +her educational system completed and her army reorganized, with her +people electrified at last into true patriotism, Prussia was again a +redoubtable power. Her influence <span class="pagenum"><a id="page320" name="page320"></a>(p. 320)</span> permeated all Germany, and +the secret associations which ramified everywhere labored for German +unity, their members already dreaming of the Jura, Vosges, and +Ardennes as the western frontier of their fatherland. At first +Frederick William made overtures to the Czar, offering an army of a +hundred thousand men. Alexander, desiring a purely defensive war, was +cold; but late in 1811 he agreed, in case of an attack on Prussia, to +advance as far as the Vistula, "if possible."</p> + +<p>Meantime Austria had at first contemplated neutrality, but she +abandoned the policy when convinced that, whichever side should be +victorious, Prussia would be dismembered. Francis saw Alexander's +continued successes on the Danube with growing anxiety, and, learning +that Napoleon would put four hundred thousand men into the field, made +up his mind that France must win. Accordingly, in March, 1812, a +treaty was executed which put thirty thousand Austrian troops under +Napoleon's personal command, and stipulated for Austria's enlargement +by Galicia, Illyria, and even Silesia, in certain contingencies. +During these negotiations Frederick William had learned how stupendous +Napoleon's preparations were, and, with some hesitancy, he finally +sent Scharnhorst to sound Austria. The result was determinative, and +on February twenty-fourth, 1812, a treaty between France and Prussia +was signed, which gave Prussia nothing, but exacted from her twenty +thousand men for active service, with forty-two thousand for garrison +duty, and afforded the French armies free course through her +territories, with the right to charge up such requisitions as were +made against the war indemnity. To this pass Alexander's narrowness +had brought the proud, regenerated nation; its temper can be imagined.</p> + +<p>French diplomacy, triumphant elsewhere, was utterly <span class="pagenum"><a id="page321" name="page321"></a>(p. 321)</span> +unsuccessful with Sweden. Alexander offered Norway as the price of +alliance, with hints of the crown of France for Bernadotte somewhere +in the dim future. Napoleon temptingly offered Finland for forty +thousand Swedish soldiers. But the new crown prince was seemingly coy, +and dallied with both. This temporizing was brought to a sudden end in +January, 1812, when Davout occupied Swedish Pomerania. On April +twelfth the alliance between Sweden and Russia was sealed. It carried +with it an armistice between Russia and Great Britain. This was +essential to the Czar, for he would be compelled to withdraw his +troops from the Danube for service in the North, and to that end must +make some arrangement with Turkey. He offered the most favorable +terms; Napoleon, on the other hand, demanded a hundred thousand men if +he were to restore to the Sublime Porte all it had lost. England +threatened to bombard Constantinople if there should be too much +hesitancy, and on May twenty-eighth, 1812, the Sultan closed a bargain +with Russia which gave him the Pruth as a frontier.</p> + +<p>In spite of Turkey's submission, Great Britain was not to be left +passive. The neutrality of the United States had, on the whole, been +successfully maintained, but their commerce suffered. On May first, +1810, Congress enacted that trade with Great Britain should be +forbidden if France revoked her decrees, and vice versa. Madison and +the Republicans believed that this would relieve the strain under +which farmers as well as merchants were now suffering. This enabled +Napoleon, in those days of slow communication, to make a pretense of +relaxing the Berlin and Milan decrees, while continuing to seize +American ships as before. England was not for a moment deceived, and +enforced the orders in council with added indignities. This conduct so +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page322" name="page322"></a>(p. 322)</span> exasperated the American people that they demanded war with +the oppressor, and on June nineteenth the war of 1812 began. +Napoleon's diplomatic juggling had been entirely successful.</p> + +<p>A year earlier the princes of the Rhenish Confederation had received +their orders. Their peoples were unresponsive, but the zeal of the +rulers overcame all opposition. The King of Saxony was grateful in a +lively sense of favors to come, and his grand duchy of Warsaw became +an armed camp, the Poles themselves expecting their national +resurrection. The prince primate's realm was erected into a grand +duchy for Eugène, whose viceroyalty was destined for the little King +of Rome, and under the stimulus of a fresh nationality the people gave +more than was demanded. Würtemberg and Baden learned that Napoleon +"preferred enemies to uncertain friends," and both found means to +supply their respective quotas. Jerome, true to the fraternal +instincts of the Bonapartes, hesitated; but his queen was a woman of +sound sense, and both were alive to the uncertainties of tenure in +royal office, so that, receiving a peremptory summons, Westphalia fell +into line. Bavaria and Switzerland furnished their contingents as a +matter of course. Among the Germans, some hated Napoleon for his +dealings with the papacy, some as the destroyer of their petty +nationalities; some devout Protestants even thought him the +antichrist. But the great majority were in a state of expectancy, many +realizing that even the dynastic politics of Europe had been vitalized +by his advent; others, liberals like Goethe, Wieland, and Dalberg, +hoped for the complete extinction of feudalism and dynasticism before +his march.</p> + +<p>This had already been accomplished in France, and for that reason the +peasantry and the townsfolk upheld the Empire. In Paris the upper +classes had never <span class="pagenum"><a id="page323" name="page323"></a>(p. 323)</span> forgotten the Terror, and were ready for +monarchy in any form if only it brought a settled order and peace. +There were still a few radicals and many royalists, but the masses +cared only for two things, glory and security. They enjoyed the +temporary repose under a rule which protected the family, property, +and in a certain sense even religion. Family life at the Tuileries was +a model, the Emperor finding his greatest pleasure in domestic +amusements, playing billiards, riding, driving, and even romping, with +his young wife, while his tenderness for the babe was phenomenal. +Still he was no puritan, and the lapsed classes could indulge +themselves in vice if only they paid; from their purses fabulous sums +were turned into the Emperor's secret funds. Under the Continental +System industry was at a standstill, and every household felt the +privation of abstaining from the free use of sugar and other colonial +wares. There was, however, general confidence in speedy relief, and +there were worse things than waiting. The peasantry were weary of +seeing their soldier sons return from hard campaigning with neither +glory nor booty, and began to resent the conscription law, which tore +the rising generation from home while yet boys. Desertions became so +frequent that a terrible law was passed, making, first the family, +then the commune, and lastly the district, responsible for the missing +men. It was enforced mercilessly by bodies of riders known as "flying +columns." Finally, every able-bodied male was enrolled for military +service in three classes—ban, second ban, and rear ban, the last +including all between forty and sixty. Nevertheless, and in spite of +all other hardships, there was much enthusiasm at the prospect of a +speedy change for the better. In March, 1812, Napoleon could count not +far from four hundred and seventy-five thousand men ready for the +field. Berthier was retained as chief of <span class="pagenum"><a id="page324" name="page324"></a>(p. 324)</span> staff. In the guard +were forty-seven thousand picked men, the old guard under Lefebvre, +the young guard under Bessières. Davout's corps numbered seventy-two +thousand, all French; Oudinot's thirty-seven thousand, French and +Swiss; Ney's thirty-nine thousand, French and Würtembergers; Prince +Eugène's forty-five thousand, French and Italians; Poniatowski's +thirty-six thousand, all Poles; Gouvion Saint-Cyr's twenty-five +thousand, all Bavarians; Regnier's seventeen thousand, all Saxons; +Vandamme's eighteen thousand, Hessians and Westphalians; Macdonald's +thirty-two thousand, Prussians and Poles. Murat commanded the cavalry +reserve of four corps under Nansouty, Montbrun, Grouchy, and +Latour-Maubourg respectively, and numbering in all forty thousand. In +addition to this majestic array there were thirty thousand Austrians +under Schwarzenberg, and the ninth corps of thirty-three thousand +French and Germans under Victor was to follow. "I have never made +greater preparations," the Emperor wrote to Davout.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page325" name="page325"></a>(p. 325)</span> CHAPTER XXVI.</h3> + +<h4>The Congress of Kings.<a id="footnotetag41" name="footnotetag41"></a><a href="#footnote41" title="Go to footnote 41"><span class="smaller">[41]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Forebodings — Napoleon and Maria Louisa — The Czar's Ultimatum and + the Emperor's Choice — Napoleon's Last Diplomatic Move — The + Imperial Court at Dresden — Napoleon and Poland — The Health of + Napoleon — His Strategic Powers Undiminished.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1812.</p> + +<p>Ready—at least to outward appearance, Napoleon was in truth ready as +far as equipment, organization, commissariat, strategic plan, and +every nice detail of official forethought could go. But how about the +efficiency and zeal of men and officers? There had been murmurings for +some years past. It was remarked that Napoleon's studies in 1808 were +the campaigns of Rome against the Parthians from the days of Crassus +onward; from his death-bed Lannes had warned his chief in 1809 how +ready many of his most trusted servants were to betray him if he +continued his career of conquest; Decrès, another true friend, +expressed his anxiety in 1810 lest they should all be thrown into a +final horrid elemental crash; and in 1811 Regnault de +Saint-Jean-d'Angély exclaimed, "The unhappy man will undo himself, +undo us all, undo everything." The Emperor heard neither of these last +forebodings, but is doubtfully reported to have himself declared, "I +am driven onward to a goal which I know not." Caulaincourt made no +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page326" name="page326"></a>(p. 326)</span> secret of how his anxiety increased as he knew Russia +better. He was recalled because, having learned Russia's pride and +Russia's resources, he made no attempt to conceal his aversion to the +final arbitrament of bloodshed. Poniatowski believed Lithuania would +refuse to rise against her despot; Ségur and Duroc foresaw that +France, if degraded to be but one province of a great empire, would +lose her enthusiasm; even Fouché, having been permitted, on the plea +of ill-health, to return from his exile in Italy, ventured to draw up +a vigorous and comprehensive memorial against war, and instanced the +fate of Charles XII. The contents of Fouché's paper were divulged to +Napoleon by a spy, and when the author presented it he was met by +contemptuous sarcasm. The Emperor believed Prussia to be helpless, +chiding Davout for his doleful reports of the new temper which had +been developed. Jomini declared, but long afterward, that the great +captain had avowed to a confidential friend his eagerness for the +excitement of battle.</p> + +<p>But in spite of the anxiety felt by a few leading Frenchmen, there was +general confidence, and it was not until after the catastrophe that +details like those enumerated were recalled. It is customary to +attribute Napoleon's zeal for war to the fiery counsels of Maret. But +there is no necessity to seek any scapegoat. In reality the outlook in +1812 was better than in 1809. Napoleon's spirits were higher, his +conscripts were not visibly worse than any drafted since the beginning +of the Consulate, and the veteran Coignet's remark concerning the +march to Russia is that "Providence and courage never abandon the good +soldier." As to the commander-in-chief, he had largely forsaken his +licentious courses, partly from reasons of policy, partly because of +his sincere attachment to wife and child. Throughout the years of +youth and early manhood he had indulged his amorous <span class="pagenum"><a id="page327" name="page327"></a>(p. 327)</span> +passions, but until his second marriage not a single woman had been +preferred to power, not even Josephine. Maria Louisa, however, was an +imperial consort, for whom no attention, no elevation, was too great. +Pliant while an Austrian archduchess, she remained so as empress, +apparently without will or enterprise. Men felt, nevertheless, that, +remaining an Austrian externally, she was probably still one at heart, +perhaps a mere lure thrown out to keep the hawk from other quarry. +There was much in her subsequent conduct to justify such suspicions, +but the utter shamelessness of her later years argues rather the +self-abandonment of one in revolt against the rigid social restraints +and personal annihilation of early life. The hours which Napoleon +spent with her were so many that he laid himself open to the charge of +uxoriousness. The physician attendant at the birth of the infant King +of Rome declared that the mother would succumb to a second +confinement, and the father exercised a self-restraint consonant with +the consideration he had displayed at the birth of his heir. He was +the squire and constant attendant of his spouse, her riding-master +even, and often her playfellow in the romps of which she was still +fond. Scenes of idyllic bliss were daily observed by the keen eyes of +the attendants. The choice of governesses, tutors, and servants for +the little prince was personally superintended by his sire, and every +detail of the feeding, dressing, and airing of the prospective emperor +was the subject of minute inquiry and regulation. When it was clear +that war was imminent, Napoleon seemed for the first time ready to +abandon his abhorrence for female governance. Certainly his domestic +happiness had not sapped his moral power; possibly it rendered him +over-anxious at times, and, perhaps in revulsion from anxiety, +over-confident.</p> + +<p>During two years of diplomatic fencing the initiative <span class="pagenum"><a id="page328" name="page328"></a>(p. 328)</span> had +been Russian, the instigation French. For the war which followed no +single cause can be assigned. Some blamed Napoleon, claiming that with +his scheme of universal empire it was inevitable; Metternich said +Russia had brought on war in an unpardonable manner. The Tilsit +alliance was personal; the separation of the contracting parties +inevitably weakened it. The affiliations of the Russian aristocracy +with the Austrian; the smart of both under the Continental System, +which rendered their agriculture unprofitable; England's stand under +Castlereagh; the Oldenburg question—all these were cumulative in +their effect. With Alexander, Poland and the Continental System were +the real difficulties; the marriage question was only secondary. On +January twelfth, 1812, the Czar with mournful and solemn mien declared +his hands clean of blood-guiltiness and laid down his ultimatum. To +the concentration of Russian troops Napoleon had replied by sending +his own to Erfurt and Magdeburg. Alexander formally stated his +readiness to take back his own move if the Emperor would withdraw the +French soldiers; he would even accept Erfurt for Oldenburg, and permit +Warsaw to be capital of a Saxon province. But he said not a word about +the Continental System, being fully determined not to yield one jot, +and for Napoleon this was the primary matter. Alexander's ultimatum by +its clever form compelled his ally either to abandon the scheme of +Western empire or to fight. Both parties to the Tilsit alliance +understood that with European harbors shut to English trade, Great +Britain must cease to support the Spanish insurrection, which in that +case a few thousand troops could hold in check. Then the great scheme +of revolutionary extension which had been inaugurated by the +Convention and logically developed by Napoleon step by step in every +war and treaty since <span class="pagenum"><a id="page329" name="page329"></a>(p. 329)</span> Campo Formio would in a few short years +be complete. But two real powers would thus remain in continental +Europe—France and Russia. They could by united action crush British +power both by land and by sea. To dash this brimming cup from his lips +was for Napoleon an insupportable thought. With the hope, apparently, +of securing from the Czar the last essential concession, he set his +troops in motion toward the Vistula on the very day after his treaty +with Prussia was signed.</p> + +<p>The natural counter-move to Napoleon's advance would be the invasion +of Warsaw; although the new Poland was fortified for defense, yet it +might be overwhelmed before assistance could reach the garrisons. +Moreover, there were ominous signs in France at the opening of 1812. +Food supplies were scarce, and speculators were buying such as there +were. Napoleon felt he must remain yet a little while to check such an +outrage and to strengthen public confidence. Ostensibly to avoid a +final rupture, but really to prevent the premature opening of war, he +therefore summoned Czernicheff, the Czar's aide-de-camp, who, as a +kind of licensed spy, had been hovering near him for three years past, +and offered to accept every item of the Russian ultimatum, if only an +equitable treaty of commerce could be substituted for the ukase of +December, 1810; in other words, if Alexander would agree to observe +the letter and spirit of the Continental System. During the two months +intervening before the Czar's reply not a Cossack set foot on Polish +soil, while day by day Napoleon's armies flowed onward across Europe +toward the plains of Russia, and a temporary remedy for the economic +troubles of France was found. When, late in April, the answer came, it +was, as expected, a declaration that without the neutral trade Russia +could not live; she would modify the ukase somewhat, but, as a +condition <span class="pagenum"><a id="page330" name="page330"></a>(p. 330)</span> antecedent to peace, France must evacuate Prussia +and make better terms with Sweden. On May first the French army +reached the Vistula; on May ninth Napoleon and his consort started for +Dresden, whither all the allied sovereigns had been summoned to pay +their court as vassals to the second Charles the Great.</p> + +<p>The surge of German patriotism had nearly drowned Napoleon in 1809, +but for manifest reasons it had again receded. The Austrian marriage +had withdrawn the house of Hapsburg from the leadership of Germany; +the imperial progress to Dresden and the high imperial court held +there were intended to dazzle the masses of Europe, possibly to +intimidate the Czar. The French were genuinely enthusiastic; the +Germans displayed no spite; princes, potentates, and powers swelled +the train; all the monarchs of the coalition, under Francis as dean of +the corps, stood in array to receive the august Emperor. From the +spectacular standpoint Dresden is the climax of the Napoleonic drama. +Surrounded by men who at least bore the style of sovereigns, the +Corsican victor stood alone in the focus of monarchical splendor. At +his side, and resplendent, not in her own but in his glory, was the +daughter of the Cæsars, the child of a royal house second to none in +antiquity or majesty, his wife, his consort, his defiance to a passing +system. Maria Louisa was as haughty as the Western Empress should be, +patronizing her father and stepmother, and boasting how superior the +civilization of Paris was to that of Vienna. It was during these days +that she first saw Neipperg, the Austrian chamberlain, who was later +her morganatic husband. Napoleon appeared better: self-possessed, +moderate, and genial. His vassals and his relatives, his marshals and +his generals, all seemed content, and even merry. The King of Prussia +had lost his beautiful and unfortunate queen; he alone wore a +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page331" name="page331"></a>(p. 331)</span> sad countenance. Yet it was rumored that the Prussian crown +prince was a suitor for one of Napoleon's nieces. Beneath the gay +exterior were many sad, bitter, perplexed hearts. The Emperor was +seldom seen except as a lavish host at public entertainments; most of +the time he spent behind closed doors with the busy diplomats. As a +last resort, Narbonne was sent to Russia, ostensibly to invite +Alexander's presence in the interest of peace; actually, of course, to +get a final glimpse of his preparations. The Abbé de Pradt was +despatched into Poland to fan the enthusiasm for France.</p> + +<p>This unparalleled court was dismissed on May twenty-eighth, the +Empress returning by way of Prague to Paris, Napoleon hastening by +Posen and Warsaw to Thorn. The Poles were exuberant in their delight; +they little knew that their supposed liberator had bargained away +Galicia to Francis in return for Austrian support. For this betrayal, +and his general contempt of the Poles, he was to pay dearly. Had he +labored sincerely to organize a strong nucleus of Polish nationality, +a coalition of Russia, Prussia, and Austria such as finally +overwhelmed him would have been difficult, perhaps impossible. But the +founder of an imperial dynasty could not trust a Polish democracy. +When the Diet, sitting at Warsaw, besought him to declare the +existence of Poland, he criticized the taste which made them compose +their address in French instead of Polish, and gave a further inkling +of his temper by sending his Austrian contingent to serve in Volhynia, +so that neither French nor Polish enthusiasm might rouse the Russian +Poles. When he reached Vilna he found that the impassive Lithuanians +had no intention of rising against Russia, and no attempt was made to +rouse them. If, as appears, his first intention had been to wage a +frontier campaign, that plan was quickly changed. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page332" name="page332"></a>(p. 332)</span> Retaining +Venice and Triest for use against the Orient, with Austria virtually a +member of his system, he determined to force Russia back on to the +confines of Europe, perhaps into Asia, and then—Who can say? It seems +as if Poland was to have been divided into French departments instead +of being erected into another troublesome nation, vassal state, or +semi-autonomous power.</p> + +<p>At the opening of the Russian campaign the gradual change which had +been steadily going on in Napoleon's physique was complete. He was now +plethoric, and slow in all his movements. Occasionally there were +exhibitions of quickened sensibility, which have been interpreted as +symptoms of an irregular epilepsy; but in general his senses, like his +expression, were dull. He had premonitions of a painful disease +(dysuria), which soon developed fully. His lassitude was noticeable, +and when he roused himself it was often for trivialities. In other +campaigns he had stolen away from Paris in military simplicity; this +time he had brought the pomp of a court. He planned, too, to bring +theater companies and opera troupes to the very seat of war. Above +all, he was deeply concerned with his imperial state, having in his +trunks the baubles and dress he had worn at his coronation in Notre +Dame. His bearing was proud, but there was no sparkle in his eye; he +seemed spiritless and ailing; he showed no confidence in his +magnificent army.</p> + +<p>The haughty, exacting mien of 1812 was very different from the +half-jocular, half-sarcastic curl of the lip and sparkle of the eye +which had inspired his followers in former days quite as much as his +stirring, incisive harangues. Yet careful study will prove that his +sagacity as a great captain was in no way dimmed; his military +combinations were greater than any he had <span class="pagenum"><a id="page333" name="page333"></a>(p. 333)</span> ever formed. As no +parallel to the numbers engaged in this enterprise can be found in +European story, nothing comparable to its organization can be found in +the history of any land or age. Every corps had its ammunition-train, +and great reserves of supplies were stored in Modlin, Thorn, Pillau, +Dantzic, and Magdeburg. In the two last-named arsenals were +siege-trains for beleaguering Dünaburg and Riga. There were pontoons +and bridge material in abundance; one thousand three hundred and fifty +field-pieces, and eighteen thousand horses to draw them. The +commissary stores were prodigious, and there were thousands of +ox-wagons to transport them. The cattle were eventually to be +slaughtered and eaten. In various convenient strongholds there were, +besides, stores for four hundred thousand men for fifty days. Knowing +Russia, he had prepared to conquer streams and morasses, to feed the +army without fear of a devastating population, and to trust the seat +of war for nothing except forage. His strategic plan was amazing, +containing, as it did, the old elements of unexpected concentration, +of breaking through the opposing line, of conclusive victory, and +occupation of the enemy's capital. It was carried also to successful +completion, and in one respect the execution was fine. The obstacles +to be surmounted made every movement slow, and while a vast, +complicated military organization may be reliable for weeks, to make +it work for months requires qualities of greatness which increase in +geometrical ratio according to the extension of time. Twice Napoleon +bared his inmost thought, once to Metternich in Dresden, once to +Jomini at a dinner company in Vilna. The first season he intended to +seize Minsk and Smolensk, winter there, and organize his conquests. If +this should not produce a peace, he would advance in the following +season into the heart <span class="pagenum"><a id="page334" name="page334"></a>(p. 334)</span> of the country, and there await the +Czar's surrender. To his army he issued an address as direct and +ringing as that which had echoed sixteen years before across the +plains of Lombardy. Its substance is that the second Polish war would +bring the same renown to French arms as the first, but the peace would +be such as should end forever the haughty interference of Russia in +European affairs. It seemed to those who heard it as if Russia's hour +had struck.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page335" name="page335"></a>(p. 335)</span> CHAPTER XXVII.</h3> + +<h4>The Invasion of Russia—Borodino.<a id="footnotetag42" name="footnotetag42"></a><a href="#footnote42" title="Go to footnote 42"><span class="smaller">[42]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Success and Failure — The Struggle with Summer Heat — Napoleon at + Vitebsk — The Russians Over-confident — The Fight at + Smolensk — Technical Victory and Real Defeat — Napoleon's Fatal + Decision — The Russians at Borodino — The Battle Array — Napoleon's + Victory — Russian Efforts to Burn Moscow.</p> + +<p>When Napoleon left Dresden his force was so disposed that the Russians +could not tell whether he meant to strike from north or south, and +accordingly they divided theirs, Barclay de Tolly, with a hundred and +twenty-seven thousand men, standing before Vilna; Bagration, with +sixty-six thousand, ensconcing himself behind the swamps of the upper +Pripet in Volhynia. Barclay, hoping to strike a sharp, swift blow, and +open the campaign with a moral victory, was soon convinced of the +danger, and called in Bagration, who was to be replaced by an +auxiliary force. But before the long Russian line could be drawn +together Napoleon struck the first decisive blow. Disposing his +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page336" name="page336"></a>(p. 336)</span> army in echelon, with beautiful precision he suddenly turned +against the enemy's right, crossed the Niemen, and seized Vilna. This +turned the Russian flank, and Barclay fell back to the fortified camp +which had been established at Drissa in order to cover St. Petersburg. +If, then, Jerome's division had promptly advanced from Grodno, +Bagration would have been cut off and annihilated. The plan failed, +partly because Napoleon did not superintend its operation in person, +partly because Davout did not coöperate with sufficient alertness, but +chiefly through Jerome's ignorance, slowness, and self-assertion. +Bagration turned back, and, descending the Dnieper, placed himself +beyond pursuit. For a moment Napoleon contemplated a junction of Ney +and Eugène against Barclay, but the former had pushed on to seize +Dünaburg, and was out of reach. This scheme, like the other, came to +naught; Bagration, by a long, painful detour, was able to establish +communication with Drissa, and seemed likely to effect a junction with +Barclay on the road to Smolensk. As in these movements both the +Russian commanders had lost many men, there would be only a hundred +and twenty thousand in their united force, a beggarly showing in view +of the two years' preparation necessary to bring it together. +Consternation reigned in the Russian camp. The Czar could raise no +money, Drissa was painfully inadequate as a bulwark, and the people +grew desperate. The nation attributed its sorry plight to the bad +advice of the Czar's German counselors, and such was the +demoralization at the capital that Alexander was compelled to hasten +thither in order to avert complete disaster. In spite of his personal +unpopularity, he met with considerable success. The nobility and +burghers of both St. Petersburg and Moscow caught the war fever, +opened their coffers, equipped a numerous <span class="pagenum"><a id="page337" name="page337"></a>(p. 337)</span> militia, and by +the end of July all Russia was hopeful and eager for battle.</p> + +<p>This, too, was the earnest desire of Napoleon. The advance from the +Vistula to the Niemen and from the Niemen to the Dwina had been +successfully carried forward—but at what a cost! "Since we have +crossed the Niemen," wrote the artist Adam, who was at the viceroy's +headquarters, "the Emperor and his entire army are occupied by a +single thought, a single hope, a single wish—the thought of a great +battle." Men talked of a great battle as of a great festival. If the +Russian army in its own territory shriveled as it did before the +summer heat by sickness and desertion, it may be imagined how that of +the French dwindled. Their terrible sufferings could be ended only by +a battle. Heat, dust, and drought wrought havoc in their columns; the +pitiless northern sun left men and animals with little resisting +power; the flying inhabitants devastated their fields, the horses and +oxen gorged themselves on the half-rotten thatch of the abandoned +huts, and died by the wayside; the gasping soldiery had no food but +flesh. Dysentery raged, and soldiers died like flies. For a time +Saint-Cyr's Bavarian corps lost from eight to nine hundred men a day, +and it was by no means a solitary exception. Such facts account for +the dilatoriness of Napoleon's movements in part; for the rest, his +imperial plans demanded that he should organize all the territories in +his rear, and he gave himself the utmost pains to do so. Besides, he +had never before had a task so heroic in all its dimensions, and every +detail of military and political procedure required time and care in +fullest measure, the more so when preparing for a decisive, uncommon +battle.</p> + +<p>Vitebsk and Smolensk occupy analogous positions on the rivers Dwina +and Dnieper, the former of which is <span class="pagenum"><a id="page338" name="page338"></a>(p. 338)</span> to the westward and +flows north; the latter, farther inland, flows in the opposite +direction into the very heart of Russia. Barclay had planned to await +Bagration at Vitebsk, and Napoleon, arriving on July twenty-seventh, +hoped for a decisive battle there. But Davout's movements drove +Bagration farther eastward, and Barclay, instead of waiting, hurried +to Smolensk, where the junction was effected. This compulsory pursuit +had, as communications then were, thrown the extreme wings of +Napoleon's army virtually out of reach, the Prussians being near Riga, +and the Austrians in Volhynia. The long, thin line of his center must +be, therefore, drawn in for safety; and since the character of the +country had improved, he determined to concentrate near Vitebsk, and +recuperate his troops in the comparatively pleasant land which +environs that city. Both commander and officers were at first so +disheartened that they contemplated remaining for the season, Murat +alone remonstrating; but Napoleon said three years were necessary for +the Russian war. Such counsels did not long prevail; with new strength +came the old daring, and orders were sent both to Macdonald and the +Prussians on the left, and to the Austrians under Schwarzenberg on the +right, which were indicative of a great project. Napoleon's prestige +among the Poles had in fact shrunk along with his army. The latter he +could not recruit, but the former he must repair at any hazard; this +could be done only by what he designated to Jomini as a "good battle." +The success of the minor engagements to right and left, incident to +concentration, was encouraging for such a speedy and overwhelming +triumph.</p> + +<p>The Russians at Smolensk were vainglorious at having outwitted +Napoleon, and longed to fight. Barclay alone was uneasy, but, in +deference to the prevalent sentiment, he advanced to offer battle, and +on August <span class="pagenum"><a id="page339" name="page339"></a>(p. 339)</span> ninth there was a skirmish between pickets. +Napoleon at once set his army in motion, but as neither general was +really well informed or prepared, Barclay pushed on to the right, and +the two armies lost touch. Once aroused, the French spirit brooked no +further delay, and it was determined to seek the "good battle" before +Smolensk, which, lying on the right, or north, bank of the Dnieper, +could be reached only by crossing the stream. This manœuver was +brilliantly executed. Barclay was a day's march distant on the south +bank when Ney and Murat deployed on the other side for action on +August sixteenth. Bagration, nearer at hand, threw one corps across +the river into the town, and then hurried his main force down-stream +to oppose its passage by the French.</p> + +<p>Smolensk, called from its site the Key of Russia, and designated, from +its importance as a shrine, "The Sacred," was then a town of about +thirteen thousand inhabitants. Around the inner city was a line of +thick but dilapidated walls, and these were surrounded outside by +densely built faubourgs. The first attempt of Ney to storm the walls +failed, and a bombardment was ordered. By evening of the seventeenth +the French army were all drawn up on the north bank between the city +and the river; the Russians were opposite on the heights. During the +night of the seventeenth the Russian army began to cross the Dnieper +by the permanent bridge, which they held; a fresh garrison was thrown +into Smolensk, and at four in the morning of the eighteenth the van +began to retreat toward Moscow. Napoleon, foiled in his attempt to +carry Smolensk by storm, had hoped that Barclay would offer battle +under the walls of the town. He, therefore, waited until afternoon for +the expected appearance of his foe, but in vain. Puzzled and uneasy, +he then determined to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page340" name="page340"></a>(p. 340)</span> force the fighting by a fresh assault. +The suburbs were captured late in the evening, but the walls were +impregnable. Barclay then set fire to the quarter opposite that +attacked by the French, and in the resulting confusion safely drew out +his garrison; the next morning saw his rear well beyond Napoleon's +reach, with the bridges destroyed behind it. On the twenty-third he +halted and drew up for battle behind the Uscha.</p> + +<a id="img017" name="img017"></a> +<div class="figcenter"> +<a href="images/img017b.jpg"> +<img src="images/img017.jpg" width="500" height="372" alt="" title=""></a> +<p class="smcap">Map of the Russian Campaign 1812.</p> +</div> + +<p>Technically Napoleon had won, since an important frontier fortress was +captured; but he had not fought his great battle, nor had he cut off +his enemy's retreat. Ney and Murat were despatched in pursuit, but it +is charged on good authority that they acted recklessly, without +concert, and gave the first exhibition of a demoralization destined +later to be disastrous. In another land and under ordinary +circumstances the fight at Smolensk would have been, if not a decisive +victory, at least an effective one. But while Russia is despotic +politically, socially she is the least centralized of all lands, and a +wound in one portion of her loose organism does not necessarily reach +a vital point nor affect the seat of life and action. This Napoleon +perfectly understood. He could either summon back the patience he had +vaunted first at Dresden, then at Vitebsk, or he could yield to his +impulse for swift action and go on to Moscow in the hope, before +entering the capital, of fighting the "good battle" for which he so +longed. The older officers with long memories compared the Russian +Smolensk with the Syrian Acre. Murat had foreseen that an affair at +Smolensk would amount to nothing, and had begged Napoleon to avoid a +conflict. Rapp came in after the victory, and recalled the scenes of +distress which had marked every step of his long journey from the +Niemen: the numerous victims of dysentery and typhus who lay dying +along the roadsides, the desperate <span class="pagenum"><a id="page341" name="page341"></a>(p. 341)</span> bands of marauders and +deserters who were eking out a doubtful existence by ravaging the +villages, the maddened hordes of peasants and tradespeople who were +shooting or striking down the enfeebled stragglers from the army like +bullocks in the shambles. Recounting all these horrors, he pleaded +with the Emperor to desist. But Napoleon remembered that his transport +barges had been wrecked on the river bars, and that his wagon-trains +were without horses or oxen to draw them. The counterfeit paper money +he had brought from Paris would no longer pass; where was he to find +sustenance for his still numerous force of a hundred and eighty-five +thousand men at least? Only by pressing on to some populous city; and +on the twenty-fourth his army was in motion eastward. If Alexander +could be brought to terms, he would yield more quickly with one of his +capitals in the enemy's grasp. In the attempt to form a calm judgment +concerning this conclusion it must be remembered that the French base +was secure; there were garrisons of about fourteen thousand men each +in Vitebsk, Orscha, and Mohileff; another was left at Smolensk. The +line from the Niemen to Moscow was very long, yet Schwarzenberg was on +the right to prevent Tormassoff from breaking through, and Napoleon +felt sure that Wittgenstein on the left was too weak to be a menace. +If the great captain had halted at Smolensk and strengthened himself +on the double line of the Dwina and Dnieper, as was perhaps possible +in spite of all difficulties, he would have been quite as strong in a +military way as before Austerlitz or Eylau. But had Russia learned +nothing from these two experiences, and would she come on again a +third time as on those two occasions to certain defeat? To have acted +on the affirmative hypothesis would have been to expect much. The Czar +would rather take time to raise the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page342" name="page342"></a>(p. 342)</span> whole nation; if need +be, to organize, discipline, and drill his numerous levies; to wear +out the patience of the invaders and strike when the advantage was +his, not theirs. Making all allowance for troops to be left in +garrison, Napoleon would still have a hundred and fifty-seven thousand +men, hardened veterans who, though murmuring and grumbling after the +soldier's manner, were nevertheless altogether trustworthy, and would +turn sulky if compelled to retreat.</p> + +<p>If this were Napoleon's reasoning, it proved to be fallacious, because +the Russians were constantly increasing their strength, while that of +the French, both on the base of operations and on the line of march, +was diminishing. The Austrian troops, moreover, behaved toward Russia +as the Russian soldiers had behaved toward Austria in the last +campaign; that is, as a friendly exploring guard, and not as hostile +invaders. It is now easy to say that to lengthen the French line of +operation was a military blunder. It was certainly wrong. The reasons +are, however, not altogether strategic; they are chiefly moral, and +were not so clearly discernible then. In the face of national feeling, +before the march of national regeneration, a single man, +world-conqueror though he may have been during a period of national +disorganization, is an object of microscopic size. The French emperor +did not know the strength of Russian feeling, the great revolutionist +was ignorant of the Europe he had unconsciously regenerated. If he +blundered as a strategist in not confessing defeat at Smolensk, he +behaved like a tyro in statesmanship when he courted an overthrow at +Moscow.</p> + +<p>Barclay was charged by the old Russians with being too German in +feeling, with manœuvering timidly when he ought to fight, +and—sacrilege of sacrileges!—with leaving the sacred image of the +Virgin at Smolensk to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page343" name="page343"></a>(p. 343)</span> fall into hostile hands. Yielding to +the storm of popular feeling, Alexander appointed in his stead +Kutusoff, the darling of the conservative Slavonic party; but Barclay +was persuaded to remain as adviser, and his policy was sustained. The +Russians withdrew before the French advance, until, on September +third, their van halted on the right bank of the Kalatscha, opposite +Borodino, to strike the decisive blow in defense of Moscow. On the +fourth Napoleon's van attacked and drove before it the Russian rear, +which was just closing in. He had a hundred and twenty-eight thousand +men at hand, and six thousand more within reach. That night he issued +a ringing address: recalling Austerlitz, he summoned the soldiers to +behave so that future generations would say of each, "He was in that +great battle under the walls of Moscow." Next morning a courier +arrived, bringing a portrait of the little King of Rome. The Emperor +hung it before his tent, and invited his officers to admire it. But at +night the sinister news of Marmont's defeat at Salamanca arrived. +Napoleon said nothing, but was heard in self-communing to deplore the +barbarity of war. All night he seemed restless, fearing lest the +Russians should elude him as they had in other crises; but, rising at +five, and discerning their lines, he called aloud: "They are ours at +last! March on; let us open the gates of Moscow."</p> + +<p>The Russians, roused by religious fervor, and elevated by a fatalistic +premonition of success, had thrown up trenches and redoubts at +advantageous points on their chosen battle-fields. In their first +onset they advanced like devotees, with the cry, "God have mercy upon +us!" and, as each forward rank went down before the relentless +invaders, those behind pressed onward over the bodies of their +comrades. But it was all in vain; throughout the fourth and fifth of +September one outpost <span class="pagenum"><a id="page344" name="page344"></a>(p. 344)</span> after another was taken, until at ten +in the evening of the latter day the whole Russian force was thrown +back on its main position, stretching from the bank of the Moskwa on +the north, behind the Kalatscha, as far as Utizy on the south, such +portions as were not naturally sheltered being protected by strong +redoubts. There were a hundred and twenty thousand in all, of which +about seventeen thousand were ununiformed peasantry. Opposite stood +the French, Poniatowski on the right, Davout, with the guard, in the +rear, then Eugène; behind Davout, to the left, Ney; and farther +behind, in the same line, Junot. The orders were for an opening +cannonade, Poniatowski to surround the Russian left, Eugène to cross +the Kalatscha by three bridges thrown over during the night, and +attack the Russian right, while Morand and Gérard, his auxiliaries, +should move on the center, and storm the defenses erected there.</p> + +<p>The battle was conducted almost to the letter of these orders, but +such was Russian valor that, instead of being a brilliant manœuver, +it developed into a bloody face-to-face conflict, determined by sheer +force. At six in the morning the artillery opened. Poniatowski +advanced, was checked, but, supported by Ney, stood firm until Junot +came in; they two then stood together, while Ney and Davout dashed at +the enemy's center. Eugène having acted in perfect concert, +Poniatowski then advanced alone, and his task was completed by nine. +But he was so weakened by his terrific exertions that he could only +hold what he had gained. At ten Ney and Davout, reinforced by Friant, +seized the central redoubts; but they, too, were exhausted, and could +only hold the Russian line, which bent inward and stood without +breaking. Eugène then massed his whole division, and charged. The +resistance was stubborn, and the fighting terrific, but by three his +opponents <span class="pagenum"><a id="page345" name="page345"></a>(p. 345)</span> yielded, his artillery opened, and he held his +gains. About the same time Junot reached Poniatowski, and their +combined efforts finally overpowered the Russian left. So superhuman +had been the exertions of both armies that they rested on their arms +in these relative positions all night, the Russians too exhausted to +flee, the French too weary to pursue. But early on the seventh the +flight of Kutusoff began, and the French started in pursuit.</p> + +<p>Between the generals of the Russian rear and those of Napoleon's van +an agreement was made that if the former were left to pass through +Moscow unmolested, the latter should gain the city without a blow. The +contracting parties kept their pact; but the governor of Moscow +rendered the agreement void. Great crowds of the inhabitants joined +the Russian columns as, six days later, they marched between the rows +of inflammable wooden houses of which the suburbs were composed; and, +while they tramped sullenly onward, thin pillars of ascending smoke +began to appear here and there on the outer lines. But when, two hours +after the last Russian soldier had disappeared, the cavalry of Murat +clattered through the streets, the fires attracted little attention, +nor at the moment was Napoleon's contentment diminished by them, as, +from the "mount of salutation," whence pious pilgrims were wont to +greet the holy city, he ordered his guard to advance and occupy the +Kremlin, that fortress which enshrines all that is holiest in Russian +faith. Kutusoff, boasting that he had held his ground overnight, had +persuaded the inhabitants of Moscow, and even the Czar, that he had +been the victor, and that he was withdrawing merely to await the +arrival of the victorious and veteran legions from the Danube, when he +would choose his field and annihilate the invaders.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page346" name="page346"></a>(p. 346)</span> CHAPTER XXVIII.</h3> + +<h4>The Evacuation of Moscow.<a id="footnotetag43" name="footnotetag43"></a><a href="#footnote43" title="Go to footnote 43"><span class="smaller">[43]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">The Reasons for Napoleon's Advance — The Importance of Moscow — The + Burning of the City — The French Occupation — The Military + Situation — Alexander's Steadfastness — Napoleon's Impatience — The + Strategic Problem — The Exaggeration of the Factors — The Plan of + Retreat — Malojaroslavetz — Napoleon's Vacillation.</p> + +<p>Some insight into the state of Napoleon's mind may be secured by +contemplating his conduct during and after the battle of Borodino. +That conflict was, on the whole, the bloodiest and most fiercely +contested of all so far fought by him. The French losses were computed +by the Emperor at twenty thousand men, those of the Russians were not +less than double the number. Yet the day was not decisive. Napoleon, +suffering from a severe cold and loss of voice, displayed an unwonted +lassitude. Setting a high value on his personal safety, he did not +intervene at crucial moments, as he was wont to do and as he asserted +was essential in the new science of war, for the purpose of +electrifying officers and men. His scheme of rolling up Kutusoff's +line by a double attack on left and center consequently <span class="pagenum"><a id="page347" name="page347"></a>(p. 347)</span> +failed, in the opinion of the greatest experts, because he did not +throw in the guard on the center at the decisive moment. This failure +was due to a disregard of his own maxim that "generals who save troops +for the next day are always beaten"; not divining a complete cessation +of hostilities by Kutusoff, he thought his reserve might be required +on the morrow. It seems, too, as if he were gradually becoming aware +of the dangers attendant on the prolongation of his base to Moscow. At +Mozhaisk he halted three days, doubtless with the hope that Alexander +would open negotiations to prevent the sack of his sacred capital. +During this pause careful orders were issued for the concentration of +a strong French reserve at Smolensk. Victor was summoned to bring in +his thirty thousand men from the Niemen so as to be ready in an +emergency to advance even as far as Moscow. It seems like a case of +wilful self-deception that on the tenth Napoleon wrote to Maret as if +convinced that the exposure of his flanks would escape Kutusoff's +notice, saying that the enemy struck in the heart was occupied only +with the heart, and not with the extremities. This would have been a +justifiable confidence had Borodino been decisive. But it was not +decisive, since the Russian army, far from being annihilated, drew off +with its files, companies, and regiments so far intact as to be easily +available for the quick incorporation of new recruits. This it was +which gave verisimilitude to Kutusoff's boast and made the French +occupation of Moscow a matter of doubtful expediency.</p> + +<p>Yet the temptation was irresistible. Mother Moscow, as runs the +caressing Russian phrase, is indeed the source of all Muscovite +inspiration. Watered by the winding stream of the same name, its heart +is the Kremlin, its citadel of Russian architecture, Russian +orthodoxy, Russian authority, and Russian learning. From its <span class="pagenum"><a id="page348" name="page348"></a>(p. 348)</span> +churches are promulgated the authoritative utterances of the Greek +Metropolitan, within its triangular walls is found the most +characteristic Muscovite architecture, behind its portals stand the +largest bell ever cast and the largest cannon ever founded until the +most recent times; statues of Russian heroes adorn its open spaces, +the splendors of its palaces are lavished with Muscovite profuseness, +the edicts of the White Czar thunder over his many million subjects +from its walls. Clustered about the Kremlin are the various quarters +of the town, which cover a space equal to the area of Paris, and +contain about one fourth as many inhabitants. The epithet of "holy +city" is amply justified by the sanctuary-citadel, but its aptness is +further sustained by the three hundred and sixty churches, each with +its tower and onion-shaped cupola, which are scattered through all the +districts. In the beginning of this century Moscow from within +appeared like a congeries of villages surrounded with groves and +gardens, each with its manor-house and parochial church. Around the +whole was a girdle of country-seats, and the beauty of the scene as +viewed by the approaching traveler was such as to kindle enthusiasm in +the coldest breast. The inhabitants had hoped that the "victory" of +Borodino would spare their home the shame of foreign occupation. When +the governor announced that in a council of war it had been decided to +abandon the city, there was first dismay, then fury, then despair. The +long trains of departing citizens wailed their church hymns with +sullen mien and joyless voices.</p> + +<p>The surrender was marked by barbarous conduct on the part of the civil +authorities. It has been recounted that by a military convention the +Russian rear-guard had been permitted to withdraw unmolested after +Borodino, in return for a promise not to destroy Moscow. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page349" name="page349"></a>(p. 349)</span> Yet +on September fourteenth, the day of the French occupation, as has also +been told, fires had been kindled in the suburbs, whether by accident +or design cannot be determined. Besides this, on receipt of the notice +to evacuate, such stores as in the short interval could be reached +were destroyed; the prison doors were opened, and a horde of maddened +criminals was set free in the streets. Nevertheless, there was fair +order throughout the fifteenth. Next day a raging conflagration burst +forth. At the time, and long afterwards, this was attributed as a deed +of dastardly incendiarism to the invaders; with the growth of modern +ideas about ruthlessness in warfare, Russian historians have begun to +attribute it to the inhabitants as a heroic measure. It is now +asserted that the governor cast the first brand into his own +country-seat. More probably, the fanaticism of the populace, +heightened by the criminal rage of the escaped prisoners, led to the +almost simultaneous firing of many buildings in various quarters. A +possibility of method in the destruction of the city begins to dawn, +however, when it is remembered that the devastation of the surrounding +country by the fleeing Russians was equally thorough, and was carried +out according to a carefully devised plan.</p> + +<p>The entry of the French into Moscow has been compared to the +appearance of great actors before an empty house. When the +conflagration broke out, every effort was made to stop it, and eight +hundred fire fiends were summarily punished. But as the burning walls +of the storehouses fell, the rabble seized the barrels of spirits thus +revealed, and drank themselves into blind fury; the French soldiery +pillaged with little restraint, not sparing even the Kremlin. Finally, +the flames were checked and order was restored, but not until three +quarters of the city proper were destroyed; the Kremlin <span class="pagenum"><a id="page350" name="page350"></a>(p. 350)</span> and +the remaining fourth were saved. On the evening of the fourth day the +French army was disposed in rude comfort within or about the site of +Moscow, and Murat's riders began to bring in reports concerning +Kutusoff's army. To soothe the peasantry of the neighboring districts, +one of the old insidious proclamations was issued, appealing to their +manhood against the tyranny of their rulers. "Die for your faith and +the Czar!" was the answering cry, as they seized the French +stragglers, surprised the garrison of Wereja, and beset the Smolensk +road. Day by day the people labored, the townsfolk helping to gather +the peasants' goods, both classes waylaying the French supply-trains, +and hiding every article of use in vast underground chambers +constructed for the purpose. Consternation filled the invaders, and +their plight became desperate when they learned of the Russian +military dispositions, and understood how Kutusoff already menaced +their safety.</p> + +<p>Instigated by Castlereagh, Bernadotte had released the Russian corps +placed at his disposal for conquering Norway, and Wittgenstein, on the +Russian right, thus suddenly acquired a force of forty thousand +wherewith to menace Napoleon's outlying left on the north. By English +mediation, also, a peace was arranged between Turkey and Russia, thus +releasing Tchitchagoff, who promptly joined Tormassoff, and opposed +Schwarzenberg on the extreme French right with nearly two to one. +Meanwhile Kutusoff had taken a position at Tarutino, where he +commanded the left flank of the main French army, and daily received +new recruits, who flocked to fill his depleted ranks. Napoleon had, +since Borodino, been in daily expectation of some communication from +the Czar. His critical situation made him impatient, and on the +twentieth he wrote, informing his strangely silent foe that Moscow was +burned, a misfortune <span class="pagenum"><a id="page351" name="page351"></a>(p. 351)</span> which might have been averted had +negotiations been opened after Borodino. There was no response. On +October fifth Lauriston was despatched to Kutusoff's camp, nominally +to secure an exchange of prisoners. The latter said that the affair +must be referred to St. Petersburg; but the French general learned +that the Russians had extended their line south toward Kaluga to +secure the fertile base behind, and further threaten the long, weak +French flank.</p> + +<p>Alexander's silent steadfastness was, indeed, remarkable. Hitherto in +every crisis—as, for example, after Austerlitz and Friedland—he had +yielded. Why was he now so firm? Stein, the Prussian patriot, was at +his side; but so was the trusted Rumianzoff, leader of the French +party, which was for peace. The Old Russian party, demoralized by +Napoleon's advance to the heart of the empire, was also clamorous for +peace negotiations. An English embassy, composed of Lord Cathcart and +the body of English officers under Sir Robert Wilson sent to +reorganize the Russian army, had so far been able to accomplish +little, for by all accounts their influence was slight. The improved +military situation no doubt accounts for much, but the best +information goes to show that Alexander moved and talked like one +dazed, feeling himself to be a storm-tossed child of fate. Destitute +of self-reliance, he appears to have been drawn toward Galitzin, whose +piety was eminent, and verged upon mysticism. It is certain that in +those days the Czar for the first time became an ardent Bible reader, +and frequently exclaimed, "The hand of God hath done this!" On leaving +St. Petersburg at last for the seat of war, his parting act was to +found the Russian Bible Society. It was with but small reliance on the +military situation, and with a feeling of providential guidance, that +he determined to renew the conflict.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page352" name="page352"></a>(p. 352)</span> Thus passed five weeks. Interminable they seemed to the +anxious conqueror at Moscow, who yawned even at the theater; who +forgot the stern abstemiousness of his table habits, and, like a +gourmet, spent hours at his meals merely to kill time; who threw +himself into vicious ways, and contracted a loathsome disease; who +lost all interest even in his troops, and finally, unkempt, +preoccupied, and feverish, seemed indifferent to everything. The +crown, scepter, and robe wherewith he had hoped to be invested as +Emperor of the West were not unpacked from the camp chests. The +pompous ceremonies of military occupation were scrupulously performed; +drills, parades, and concerts followed in due succession; but the +Emperor's interest was languid. At last the dreary waiting became +intolerable, the season, although neither early nor severe, was +rapidly advancing, the predatory excursions of the soldiers into the +surrounding country were growing longer, more difficult, and less +fruitful of results with every day. The elements of danger were hourly +increasing in an appalling ratio. Daru advised turning Moscow into an +armed camp and wintering there. "A lion's advice," said Napoleon, but +he put it aside. The question of retreat would soon be imperative, and +that he sometimes discussed, but only languidly, until, on October +eighteenth, without warning, a truce made by Murat was broken, and his +command driven in. Then at last the captain in Napoleon awakened, the +emperor vanished, the retreat was ordered, and universal empire, a +dependent Czar, the march from Tiflis to the Ganges, England +humiliated, and the ocean liberated—all were forgotten in the +presence of reality. Robe, scepter, and crown were never seen again.</p> + +<p>Political considerations prompted a movement of withdrawal toward the +northwest, as if against St. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page353" name="page353"></a>(p. 353)</span> Petersburg, but military +considerations prevailed, and between the two alternatives—a direct +retreat to Smolensk through a devastated land, or a circuit +south-westward, through fertile districts, toward Kaluga, as if to +attack Kutusoff—the choice fell on the latter. The reason is clear. +The seat of war was within a triangle marked by Riga, Brest-Litovski, +and Moscow; from Riga to Moscow, the left flank, is five hundred and +fifty miles; from Riga to Brest, the base, is three hundred and +seventy-five miles; from Brest to Moscow, the right flank, is six +hundred and fifty miles; the perpendicular from Moscow to the base, +which was the shortest line of retreat, is therefore about five +hundred and seventy-five miles. These distances are all enormous; on +the left were only forty-two thousand men, on the right, about +thirty-four thousand; along the line, forty-two thousand. The diagram, +if drawn, will display all the peculiarities of Napoleonic formation +in mass, abstractly considered, but it will likewise display the fact +that with the highest and most perfect army organization then known, +it would have been well-nigh impossible to work the combination. +Neither of the monstrous flanks could be held by the comparatively +scanty forces available; the line of operation was equally weak. What +safety was there for the army in retreat? None.</p> + +<p>There will never be complete agreement as to the causes of Napoleon's +disaster in Russia. A comparison of the relative values of +mass-formation, tactics, and organization in modern warfare, which +uses railroads and telegraphs, with the distances practicable in +present-day operations, must nevertheless reveal the chief cause—that +the Napoleonic organization had not kept pace with the development of +Napoleonic strategy. The emperor had overweighted the general, the +former <span class="pagenum"><a id="page354" name="page354"></a>(p. 354)</span> having soared into an ether which would not sustain +the pinions of the latter. The well-used plea of an "act of God" will +not stand. The autumn of 1812 was mild, the winter late in opening. +Neither cheerless steppes, nor phenomenal cold, nor unheard-of snows, +nor any reversal of nature's laws,—not even the motley nationalities +of the grand army, or an unhistoric migration from south to +north,—none of these was the chief cause of failure, which is to be +found in the attempt monstrously to exaggerate the factors of a +strategic system evolved for national, but not for continental, +proportions.</p> + +<p>The first and natural thought of a direct retreat to Smolensk was +momentarily entertained; but it had to be abandoned because, with weak +flanks and a bare country, the distance was too far. The same was true +in regard to the move toward St. Petersburg—the distance was too +great for the conditions. The circuit toward Kaluga was first +considered as a feint to throw the Russians off the scent; it became a +necessity when they assumed the offensive in the unforeseen and +unexpected attack on Murat. The Emperor did not dare to expose his +flank and rear to an advancing foe, and accordingly his army was +assembled on the road toward Kaluga. Should he advance or await a +further movement of the enemy? Evidently the former, otherwise the +entire moral effect of the first offensive would be lost. A long march +had to be extended still farther, partly for strategic reasons, but +chiefly in order to secure an additional advantage of the first +importance; to wit, sustenance from the country when the distances +were too great for the workings of any feasible commissariat +department. If the Russians should even momentarily be deceived into +believing that the French had resumed the offensive, a line from +Kaluga direct to <span class="pagenum"><a id="page355" name="page355"></a>(p. 355)</span> Smolensk would still be open for retreat +while the enemy was preparing for action.</p> + +<p>The report was spread in Moscow that Napoleon was going out to +overwhelm Kutusoff and then return. Mortier, with eight thousand of +the young guard, remained behind, his orders being to blow up the +Kremlin before leaving. The main army advanced across the river Pachra +and moved toward the Lusha. There was as yet no word of the enemy; +possibly he had been misled and was advancing directly on Moscow. +Napoleon, therefore, turned westward in the hope that he might reach +Kaluga without opposition. On the twenty-fourth the Russian van +appeared. Had Kutusoff acted on his correct information and thrown +forward his whole army, a decisive battle might have ended the +invasion. As it was, Eugène, after a bloody conflict at +Malojaroslavetz, remained master of the field, and the timid Kutusoff +drew back his force. Meantime the truth leaked out in Moscow. +Suspicion was excited, as the resident French observed not merely the +immense booty packed in the officers' baggage, but also the loads of +Muscovite art treasures under which the government wagons groaned. +They were quick to act, and soon, accompanied by women and children, +they joined the march with all the paraphernalia of their household +goods. From the first this throng, uniting with the usual horde of +stragglers and camp-followers, prevented all rapid movements by the +army; in fact, but for them the half-senile Kutusoff would not have +been able to show even his van to the French line. Mortier's effort to +destroy the Kremlin failed, and served no purpose except to exhibit +the thirst for revenge of a savage nature brought to bay.</p> + +<p>In short, every plan of Napoleon's seemed ineffectual, and indecision +marked his every act. Eugène's terrible <span class="pagenum"><a id="page356" name="page356"></a>(p. 356)</span> struggle had +resulted in a list of wounded numbering four thousand. The old +Napoleon would have abandoned them and then have attacked Kutusoff +even in the forest defiles where he was ensconced; or else he would +have pressed on past Kaluga, or would have swiftly wheeled to regain +the northern road toward Smolensk. The harried, sick, exhausted man of +1812 did none of these things, but called a council of war, and +weighed the arguments there presented for nearly a week, when, +finally, he decided, and with forced marches drove his columns toward +the northern road to Smolensk. He wrote to Junot that his motive for +delay was to provide for the suffering from his depot at Mozhaisk, +but, in fact, he had not waited long enough materially to assist the +wounded, and had secured no advantage from the bloody battle. In the +absence of trustworthy information he took (when once he did move) a +long, circuitous road. As yet there was no cold except the usual +sharpness of autumn nights; but the summer uniforms of the troops were +tattered and their shoes worn. Germans, Italians, and Illyrians began +to straggle, and the horrors of the approaching cold, as depicted by +Russian prisoners, sank deep into the minds of the dispirited French, +so far away from their pleasant homes.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page357" name="page357"></a>(p. 357)</span> CHAPTER XXIX.</h3> + +<h4>The Retreat from Russia.<a id="footnotetag44" name="footnotetag44"></a><a href="#footnote44" title="Go to footnote 44"><span class="smaller">[44]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">State of Napoleon's Mind — Destruction Imminent — The Affair at + Wiazma — Kutusoff's Timidity — Napoleon's Despair — Arrival at + Smolensk — The Army Reorganized — Napoleon's Daring at + Krasnoi — Ney's Great Feat — Sufferings of the Army — The Russian + Plan — Tchitchagoff's Capture of Borrissoff.</p> + +<p>For nine days the retreat went steadily on. Mortier came in on October +twenty-seventh; Davout was assigned to keep the rear. Napoleon was no +longer seen on horseback; sometimes he drove, but generally he trudged +among the men, to all outward appearance as spiritless as any one. To +Junot he wrote that he had taken his decision in consequence of the +cold and in order to provide for his wounded from the depot at +Mozhaisk. There was as yet no severe cold, and there was a far shorter +road to Smolensk. The writer's mind was chaotic, confusing what he +knew soon would be with present realities. His maps were worthless, +and clinging to experience, he showed none of his accustomed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page358" name="page358"></a>(p. 358)</span> +venturesomeness. The well-worn summer uniforms of his men were no +protection even against the coolness of autumn nights. What a prospect +when winter's cold should come! It was enough to stun even a Napoleon.</p> + +<p>But the present was bad enough, and momentarily grew worse. The road +was lined with charred ruins and devastated fields, and the waysides +were dotted with groups of listless, desperate soldiers who fell out +and sank on the ground as the straggling ranks of their comrades +tramped on. Skirting the battle-field of Borodino, the marching +battalions looked askance on the ghastly heaps of unburied corpses; +but the wounded survivors were dragged from field hospitals and other +cavernous shelters to be carried onward with the departing army. They +were a sight which in some cases turned melancholy into madness. In +order to transport them the wagons were lightened by throwing the +spoils of Moscow into the pond at Semlino. On the thirtieth despatches +of grave import reached the Emperor informing him that Schwarzenberg +had retreated behind the Bug, leaving an open road from Brest for +Tchitchagoff's veterans to attack the right flank of the columns +flying from Moscow. Victor, learning of Napoleon's straits, had left +fifteen thousand men in Smolensk, and was advancing to join Saint-Cyr +on the Dwina in order to assure the safety of the main army from that +side. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page359" name="page359"></a>(p. 359)</span> To him came the dismal news that Wittgenstein had +resumed the offensive against Saint-Cyr, and that the line of attack +on the French left was as open from the north as was that on the other +side from the south. Davout's rear-guard was steadily disintegrating +under hardships and before the harassing attacks of the Russian riders +under Platoff. Partizan warfare was assuming alarming dimensions. In a +single swoop two thousand French recruits under Baraguey d'Hilliers +had been made prisoners, and similar events were growing all too +frequent. In consequence of these crushing discouragements the whole +army was rearrayed. "We must march as we did in Egypt," ran the order: +"the baggage in the middle, as densely surrounded as the road will +permit, with a half battalion in front, a half battalion behind, +battalions right and left, so that when we face we can fire in every +direction." Ney's corps was then assigned to the place of danger in +the rear—a place he kept with desperate gallantry until he earned the +title "bravest of the brave."</p> + +<p>The early promise of substantially reinforcing Kutusoff's army had not +been fulfilled. The fanatic zeal at first displayed soon effervesced, +the new levies were untrustworthy, and the long marches of the +Russians told almost as terribly upon them as the retreat did upon +their enemies. Kutusoff's army therefore, though available for +defense, was a poor weapon for attack, especially when the object was +a French army under the dreaded Napoleon. The Russian commander was +only half-hearted in his pursuit; and when, having taken the short cut +which was unknown to his enemy, his van came in contact with the +French line at Wiazma on November third, the Russian soldiers had +little heart to fight. The circumstances offered every chance for a +powerful if not a decisive blow on the flying column <span class="pagenum"><a id="page360" name="page360"></a>(p. 360)</span> from +flank and rear; but the onset was feeble, the commander-in-chief held +back his main force in anxious timidity, and a second time the +opportunity was lost for annihilating the retreating foe, now reduced +in number to about sixty thousand. Napoleon was far away on the front +when Kutusoff attacked, and the battle was conducted on the French +side by the marshals in consultation with Eugène and Poniatowski. The +rear-guard was momentarily severed from the line, but these two +generals wheeled and fiercely attacked the advancing Russians, +engaging all within reach until Davout was able to evade the mêlée and +rejoin the main army.</p> + +<p>The French lost about four thousand, the Russians about half as many. +Neither of the two armies had any courage to renew the struggle next +morning, and each kept its way as best it could, both of them +exhausted, both shrinking hourly in vigor and numbers. Kutusoff's +conduct both at Malojaroslavetz and at Wiazma has been explained by +his fixed resolution to leave the destruction of the invaders to his +gaunt allies, want and winter. If, however, as was possible at either +place, he had annihilated the retreating army, this might have been +the last Napoleonic war, since it was not for a new army that the +Emperor of the French appealed to his people, but for something quite +different; namely, men to recruit the old one. As it was, Napoleon +first learned of the conflict at Wiazma on the fourth, and +contemplated a movement which might lead his pursuers into an ambush. +But he found the three columns which had been engaged so pitifully +disintegrated that he gave up in despair—a feeling heightened when, +for the first time, snowflakes came ominously fluttering through the +frosty air.</p> + +<p>The weary march was therefore resumed, and there was some semblance of +order in it, although Ney wrote <span class="pagenum"><a id="page361" name="page361"></a>(p. 361)</span> Berthier that already on the +fourth there were without exaggeration four thousand men of the grand +army who refused to march in rank. The number was increasing daily. On +the sixth Napoleon was informed that Victor, having effected a +junction with Saint-Cyr, had checked Wittgenstein in a series of +gallant struggles, but that step by step the two divisions had been +driven back until now they were only thirty miles distant, having +abandoned the line of the Dwina, including the depot of Vitebsk. +"Seize the offensive; the safety of the army depends on it," was +Napoleon's desperate reply. Terrible as this news was to the general, +it was eclipsed in horror for the Emperor by the accounts he received +at the same time from Paris describing Malet's conspiracy, a movement +to overthrow the Empire based on the false rumor of his own death. +"And Napoleon II, did no one think of him?" he cried in anguish. Grand +army, reputation, personal prestige—all these he might lose and +survive; but to lose France, that were ruin indeed.</p> + +<p>That night a heavy frost fell; then, and no sooner, did the relentless +severity of the Russian winter begin. This is proved by Napoleon's +famous twenty-ninth bulletin, and by the journal of Castellane, the +aide-de-camp who made the final copy of it; in spite of assertions put +forth later to sustain the legend of an army conquered by the +elements, the autumn had dallied far beyond its time. Next day the +weary march began again; scarcely a word escaped the Emperor. He was +pale, but his countenance gave no sign of panic; there was merely a +grim, persistent silence. The enemy hung on flank and rear, harassing +the demoralized column until it was more like a horde than an army. +With numbed limbs and in the gnawing misery of bitter cold, the French +straggled on. Men and horses died by the score; the survivors cut +strips of carrion wherewith to sustain life, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page362" name="page362"></a>(p. 362)</span> and desperately +pressed forward, for all who left the highway fell into the enemy's +hands. In some bivouacs three hundred died overnight; there are +statements in the papers of officials which seem to indicate that in +the struggle for life the weaker often perished at the hands of their +own comrades. The half-crazed, frost-bitten, disorderly soldiers of +the French van reached Smolensk on the ninth, and on the thirteenth +the remnants of the rear, with many stragglers, came up and encamped. +The heroes of the hour were Eugène and Ney. Ney's division had +well-nigh vanished in their glory. Fighting without fear, and dying +undaunted, they had saved the moiety of the grand army which reached +Smolensk; the other half had perished by the way. Eugène had taken a +long circuit, but his division had lost fewer and was less demoralized +than those of his colleagues. Murat's recklessness in fighting the +Cossacks had resulted in the loss of nearly all his horses; his men +arrived on foot.</p> + +<p>The scenes in Smolensk were shameful. At first the garrison shut the +gates in the very faces of the human wolves who clamored for food and +shelter. Discipline having been restored, the guard was admitted. The +stores were ample for a fortnight's rations to all survivors; but the +ravening mob could not be restrained, and the distribution was so +irregular that precious supplies were tumbled into the streets; in the +end it was discovered that the guard had secured sustenance for a +fortnight, while the line had scarcely sufficient for a week. The sick +and wounded were, however, housed and made fairly comfortable. These +nauseating tumults over, the Emperor seemed to regain much of his +bodily vigor, and with it returned his skill and ingenuity: stragglers +were reincorporated into regiments; supply-wagons were destroyed in +large numbers and the horses assigned to the artillery, many of the +guns being abandoned so that the service <span class="pagenum"><a id="page363" name="page363"></a>(p. 363)</span> of the remainder +might be more efficient; the army was rearrayed in four divisions, +under the Emperor, Eugène, Davout, and Ney respectively; and the +French made ready to leave Smolensk with a bold front. Napoleon's +contempt for his enemy was matched only by their palpitating fear of +him. Most men would have abandoned hope in such a crisis. Napoleon was +fertile not merely in strategic expedients, but in devices for +realizing his plans. Accordingly he arranged that the four columns +should move on parallel lines toward Lithuania, a day's march distant +from each other, he with six thousand of the guard in the van; Ney, +taking the other four thousand to strengthen his own line, was to keep +the rear. The movement began on the twelfth, that is, before the last +stragglers had come in; on the fourteenth Napoleon took his departure; +and three days later, on the seventeenth, the towers of the ramparts +having been blown up, the last of the newly ordered ranks marched out. +The sick and wounded had found shelter in houses adjacent to the +walls; many were killed by the explosions, the rest were abandoned to +the foe and found humane treatment. Disorderly and mutinous French +soldiers remained in considerable numbers to plunder; these were for +the most part caught by the entering Russians, and inhumanly done to +death. In all these days the cold had not abated, and at times the +thermometer marked fifteen degrees below zero.</p> + +<p>The further line of retreat was through Krasnoi, Borrissoff, and +Minsk, the Emperor expecting Schwarzenberg, reinforced by fourteen +thousand German recruits, to cover the crossing of the Beresina at +Borrissoff. The Russians followed doggedly on their parallel line of +pursuit, harassing the French rear and flanks. On the fifteenth their +van came in touch with Napoleon's division near Krasnoi almost as he +himself passed, and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page364" name="page364"></a>(p. 364)</span> their artillery opened fire. The balls +yelled as they sped by, and there was great excitement. Lebrun called +attention to the fact as if it were remarkable. "Bah!" said Napoleon, +as he pressed forward; "bullets have been flying about our legs these +twenty years." He well knew that his anxious foe would not seriously +attack him and his guard; but, justly considering that the case would +be different in regard to his rear, he halted to await their arrival. +Early on the morning of the seventeenth he sent out a reconnoitering +party, as if about to wheel and give battle; Kutusoff, who for the +moment was considerably inferior in numbers, fell instantly into the +snare, and drawing back his van, as Napoleon had foreseen and desired, +made ready for battle.</p> + +<p>Eugène and Davout were within reach, but Ney's position was terrible: +he was only then leaving Smolensk. Was he to be left to his fate? +Around and behind his six thousand troops were swarming almost as many +stragglers; and on the eighteenth the Russians, in spite of their +momentary halt, threw forward their van with the hope of cutting off +his hampered and sore-pressed division. But the short delay had been +precious: Ney rose to the occasion, and on the nineteenth crossed the +Dnieper over the ice, hoping to follow the right bank westward and +rejoin the main army at Orcha. This was one of his most daring feats, +perhaps his most brilliant deed of arms. Summoned by a flag of truce +to surrender, he replied: "A marshal of the Empire has never +surrendered!" Platoff and the Cossacks were hard on his heels; but +fighting and marching throughout the weary, bitter day, at night the +undaunted marshal found himself in touch with Eugène, who had turned +out on the highway from Vitebsk to Orcha to meet him. When, on the +twentieth, they effected a junction, Ney had only eight hundred men in +the ranks with him; <span class="pagenum"><a id="page365" name="page365"></a>(p. 365)</span> perhaps two thousand more were trudging +behind in disorder.</p> + +<p>On the eighteenth a thaw had set in; it had begun to rain, the crust +broke under the men's feet, and the roads were lines of icy clods. The +soldiers had no foot-gear but rags; every step was an agony, and +thousands who had so far endured now gave up, and flung away their +guns and equipments. There were not more than twenty-five thousand +regularly marching. Already on the previous day the guard had shown +signs of demoralization. The Emperor alone seemed impassive. For days +he had shared the common hardships; clad in a long Polish coat of +marten fur, a stout birch staff in his hand, without a sign of either +physical or nervous exhaustion he had marched silently for long +distances among his suffering men. If we picture him standing at +Krasnoi, weighing how long he dared to brave an enemy which if +consolidated and hurled upon his lines would have annihilated them, we +must feel that collapse was prevented then only by his nerve and by +the terror of his name. Once more he threw the influence of his +presence into the scale, and, stepping before the guard on this +dreadful day, he said simply: "You see the disorganization of my army. +In unhappy infatuation most of the soldiers have thrown away their +guns. If you follow this dangerous example no hope remains." The state +of the men was, if possible, worse than ever; in fact, it was +indescribable. Night after night they had bivouacked in the snow. What +with the wet, the dazzling glitter, and the insufficient food,—for at +best they had only a broth of horse-flesh thickened with flour,—some +were attacked with blindness, some with acute mania, and some with a +prostrating insensibility. Those who now remained in the ranks were +clad in rags and scarcely recognizable as soldiers. It seemed, +therefore, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page366" name="page366"></a>(p. 366)</span> as if such an appeal could only awaken an echo in +an empty vault; but such was the French character that, desperate as +were the circumstances, the cry was heard. The response was grim and +sullen, but the call was not in vain; and reaching Orcha on the +nineteenth, there was still an army. As yet, however, there was no +news of Ney.</p> + +<p>The sky seemed dark and the prospect blank when it was learned that +both Victor and Schwarzenberg had been steadily thrown back. The +Russian plan was for Wittgenstein and Tchitchagoff to drive in the +extreme left and right divisions respectively of Napoleon's attenuated +line, and then to concentrate at Borrissoff and attack the main French +army retreating before Kutusoff. So far the various parts of this +scheme had been successfully executed. Borrissoff and its bridge were +still in possession of a Polish regiment; but the garrison was very +small, and could not repulse the attack of the converging Russian +columns or of any portion of them. It behooved Napoleon, therefore, to +move swiftly if his few remaining troops were to cross the Beresina in +safety. It was in this frightful dilemma that Ney at last appeared. +Said Napoleon, when the news was brought to him: "If an hour ago I had +been asked for the three millions I have in the Tuileries vaults as +the price of this event, I would have handed them over." The marshal's +presence was in itself a splendid encouragement.</p> + +<p>Purchasing such stores as Jewish contractors offered, abandoning the +heavy pontoons, and hitching the horses to a few field-pieces found in +the park, the undaunted Emperor sent orders to both Victor and +Oudinot, enjoining them to make forced marches and meet him at +Borrissoff. On the twenty-first, amid the slush, mud, and broken cakes +of crust, he started his own army <span class="pagenum"><a id="page367" name="page367"></a>(p. 367)</span> on a swift despairing rush +for that crucial point. It was too late; that very day Tchitchagoffs +van, after a stubborn and bloody struggle, occupied the town and +captured the all-important bridge. The thaw had opened the river, and +its overflowing stream, more than sixty yards in width, was full of +floating ice. To the Russians it seemed as if Napoleon were already +taken in their snare, and Tchitchagoff issued a general order that all +captives below medium stature should be brought to him. "He is short, +stout, pale; has a short, thick neck, and black hair," ran his +description of the "author of Europe's miseries." By a special decree +of the Czar, all the French prisoners of war were kindly treated, each +being furnished with warm clothing at an expense of about twenty +dollars.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page368" name="page368"></a>(p. 368)</span> CHAPTER XXX.</h3> + +<h4>The Horrors of the Beresina.<a id="footnotetag45" name="footnotetag45"></a><a href="#footnote45" title="Go to footnote 45"><span class="smaller">[45]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon at Bay — The Enemy at Fault — The Crossing of the + Beresina — The Carnage — End of the Tragedy — Napoleon's + Departure — The Remnants of the Army at Vilna — The Russian + Generals — Napoleon's Journey — Malet's Conspiracy — The Emperor's + Anxiety — The State of France — Affairs in Spain.</p> + +<p>The situation of the French was desperate indeed. With a relentless +foe behind, and on each side, and now in front protected by the +rampart of a swollen river, which was overflowing its banks and was +bordered on both sides by dense forests, the army seemed doomed. A +single overmastering thought began to take possession of Napoleon's +mind—that of his personal safety. He appeared to take a momentous +decision—the determination to sacrifice his army bit by bit that he +might save its head. This resolution once formed, he became strong and +courageous, his head was clear, and his invention active. Oudinot was +summoned, with his eight thousand men, to drive out Tchitchagoff; and +orders were sent to Victor, commanding him to take the eleven +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page369" name="page369"></a>(p. 369)</span> thousand which he had, and at any hazard cut off +Wittgenstein from the Beresina. Schwarzenberg had been temporarily +checked by a division of Russians under Sacken, and was no longer a +factor in the problem. Oudinot accomplished his task, but the Russians +fired the bridge as they fled.</p> + +<p>Napoleon was scarcely consoled by news that his cavalry had found a +ford at Studjenka. Early on the twenty-third the French +bridge-builders, with all available assistants and material, were on +their way up the river. The remnants of the army were reorganized, and +the baggage-train was reduced to the smallest possible dimensions. +Unfortunately, Victor had not received his orders in time, and, +ignorant of the Emperor's plans, had changed his line of march to one +more southerly, thus leaving the road to Studjenka open for +Wittgenstein, who abandoned the pursuit and marched direct to the +spot. The latter's advance was, however, slow; Tchitchagoff was +completely deceived, as many of the French believe, by a feint of +Oudinot's, but, as he himself declared, both by false information +concerning the movements of Schwarzenberg, and by misrepresentations +concerning Napoleon's march as communicated through both Kutusoff and +Wittgenstein. Be this as it may, the veterans from the Danube marched +a whole day down the stream to guard against an imaginary danger. The +French therefore worked at Studjenka without disturbance, and, as the +frost set in once more, the swampy shores were hardened enough to make +easy the approach to their works. By the twenty-sixth two <span class="pagenum"><a id="page370" name="page370"></a>(p. 370)</span> +bridges were completed—a light one for infantry early in the morning, +and late in the afternoon another considered strong enough for +artillery and wagons. At one o'clock Oudinot's foot-soldiers began to +cross, and a body of cavalry successfully swam their horses over the +stream, which owing to the freshet was now in places five feet deep +instead of three and a half as when the ford was first discovered; a +few hours later artillery followed, and the opposite shore was cleared +of the enemy sufficiently to open the bridge-head entirely, and +control the direct road to Vilna, which leaves Minsk to the south. +This great success was due partly to unparalleled good fortune, but +chiefly to the gallant fellows who worked for hours without a murmur +in the freezing water, amid cakes of grinding ice.</p> + +<p>With two short interruptions, of three and four hours respectively, +due to the breaking of the heavier bridge, the crossing went forward +irregularly, at times almost intermitting, until the morning of the +twenty-eighth. About noon on the twenty-seventh the Emperor passed; +having superintended certain repairs to the bridge, he started next +morning for Zembin. The same afternoon, Victor's van reached +Borrissoff somewhat in advance of Wittgenstein, who came up a few +hours later, and attacking the former's rear, captured two thousand +men. Tchitchagoff, having finally learned the truth, appeared that +night opposite Borrissoff; communication with the opposite shore was +quickly established, and after a conference the two belated Russian +generals agreed to march up-stream, on the right and left banks +respectively. At eight next morning Tchitchagoff attacked Oudinot and +Ney—twenty-six thousand men against seventeen thousand; two hours +later Wittgenstein, with twenty-five thousand, fell upon Victor, who +now had about seven thousand. Yet the French kept the bridges.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page371" name="page371"></a>(p. 371)</span> Throughout the day a bloody fight went on; it was rendered +uncertain and disorderly by the thousands of stragglers present, and +by the intensity of the steadily increasing cold. Behind the two +heroic combats scenes were occurring which beggar description. +Incredible numbers of stragglers cumbered the roadways and approaches; +the vast mob of camp-followers held stubbornly to their possessions, +and, with loud imprecations, lashed their tired horses while they put +their own shoulders to the wagon wheels. Hundreds were trampled under +foot; families were torn asunder amid wails and shrieks that filled +the air; the weak were pushed from the bridges into the dark flood now +thickening under the fierce cold. Toward midday a cutting wind began +to blow, and by three it was a hurricane. At that instant the heavier +bridge gave way, and all upon it were engulfed. An onlooker declared +that above storm and battle a yell of mortal agony rose which rang in +his ears for weeks.</p> + +<p>The mob on the river-bank was momentarily sobered, and for a time +there was order in crossing the remaining bridge; but as dusk fell +both wind and battle raged more fiercely, and groups began to surge +out on right and left to pass those in front. Many dashed headlong +into the angry river; others, finding no opening, seated themselves in +dumb despair to wait the event. At nine the remnant of Victor's ranks +began to cross, and the Russians commenced cannonading the bridge. +Soon the beams were covered with corpses, laid like the transverse +logs on a corduroy road; but the frightful transit went on until all +the soldiers had passed. The heavy bridge was temporarily repaired, +but at last neither was safe; little knots gathered from the rabble at +intervals and rushed recklessly over the toppling structures, until at +eight next morning the French, not <span class="pagenum"><a id="page372" name="page372"></a>(p. 372)</span> daring to wait longer, +set fire to both, leaving seven thousand of their followers in +Studjenka. They burned also the wooden track they had constructed +through the swamps. The Russian accounts of what was seen in the +morning light portray scenes unparalleled in history: a thousand or +more charred corpses were frozen fast on the surface of the river, +many of the ghastly heads being those of women and children; the huts +of the town were packed with the dead. Twenty-four thousand bodies +were burned in one holocaust, and it is solemnly stated that in the +spring thaws twelve thousand more were brought to light. Ten years +afterward there were still islets in the shallows of the stream +covered with forget-me-nots which decked the moldering bones of those +who had perished during that awful night of November twenty-eighth, +1812.</p> + +<p>Next day the Emperor wrote to Maret confessing the truth. "The army is +numerous, but shockingly disorganized," he declared. "A fortnight +would be necessary to bring it once more under the standards; and how +can we find a fortnight? Cold and privation have disorganized it. We +may reach Vilna—can we maintain ourselves there? If we only could, +even for the first eight days! But suppose we were attacked within +that time, it is doubtful if we should be able to remain. Food! food! +food!—without that there are no atrocities which this unruly throng +would not commit against the town. In this situation I may regard my +presence in Paris as essential for France, for the Empire—yes, even +for the army." He also composed on the same day a bulletin, since +famous, which was dated December third. It speciously declared that +until November sixth the Emperor had been everywhere successful; +thereafter the elements had done their fell work. The only complete +truth it contained was the closing sentence: "The <span class="pagenum"><a id="page373" name="page373"></a>(p. 373)</span> health of +his Majesty was never better." As the sorry remnants of the grand army +moved toward Vilna, they grew scantier and scantier. Many were +delirious from hunger and cold, many were in the agonies of typhus +fever. On December third there were still nine thousand in the ranks; +on the fifth the marshals were assembled to hear Napoleon explain his +determination to leave at once for Paris, and immediately afterward he +took his departure.</p> + +<p>It was not a very "grand army" which was left behind under Murat's +command, with orders to form behind the Niemen. On the eighth the +thermometer marked twenty-five degrees below zero, and a few unarmed +wretches, perhaps five hundred in all, trailed after their leader into +Vilna. Their ears and throats, their legs and feet, were swathed in +rags; their bodies were wrapped in the threadbare garments of their +dead comrades, or in such cast-off woman's apparel as they had been +able to secure by the way. They were followed by Ney with four +hundred, Wrede with two thousand, and finally by two or three thousand +stragglers. After a few half-hearted and ineffectual efforts to +organize this mob into the semblance of an army, Murat abandoned the +attempt and posted away to his kingdom of Naples—a course severely +censured by the Emperor. This was the closing scene of Napoleon's +great drama of invasion. His men and horses had succumbed to summer +heats as rapidly and extensively as to winter frosts; he had brought +ruin to his enterprise by miscalculating the proportions of inanimate +nature and human strategy, and by fatal indecision at critical moments +when the statesman's delay was the soldier's ruin. Russia, like Spain, +had the strength of low organisms; her vigor was not centralized in +one member, the destruction of which would be the destruction of the +whole; Moscow was <span class="pagenum"><a id="page374" name="page374"></a>(p. 374)</span> not the Russian empire, as Berlin was the +Prussian kingdom.</p> + +<p>Yet justice requires the consideration of certain undoubted facts. +Making all due allowance, it is true that the elements were Napoleon's +worst foe when once his retreat was fairly under way, and it was not +the least of Napoleon's magnificent achievements that after the +crossing of the Beresina there was still the framework of an army +which within a few months was again that marvelous instrument with +which the campaigns of 1813 and 1814 were fought. This miracle was due +to the shortsightedness and timidity of the Russian generals. +Tchitchagoff is inexcusable both for the indifference he displayed +regarding the various points at which the Beresina might be crossed, +and for the ignorance which made him the easy dupe of feints and +misleading reports. As to Wittgenstein, the caution which he exercised +because operating alone was near in its character to cowardice; his +snail-like movements prevented any efficient coöperation in the +general plan, and he failed in grasping a situation of affairs which +left open but a single line of retreat for Napoleon. Neither of these +two had any adequate conception of the losses suffered by the French, +and they permitted the last opportunity for annihilating the invaders +to escape. As to Kutusoff, who was fully informed concerning the utter +disintegration of the "grand army," his conduct in holding back the +main Russian force at the crucial moment is utterly indefensible; he +saved thousands of his troops, perhaps, but he has passed into history +as the man who is indirectly responsible for the rivers of blood which +were still to drench the continent of Europe. Both he and Wittgenstein +unloaded all the blame on Admiral Tchitchagoff, and contemporary +opinion sustained them. "Had it not been for the admiral," said +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page375" name="page375"></a>(p. 375)</span> the commander-in-chief, replying to a toast proposed to the +conqueror of Napoleon, "the plain gentleman of Pskoff (namely, +himself) could have said: Europe breathes free again." This opinion is +one which history must reject as utterly false.</p> + +<p>When the soldiers heard that their Emperor had departed there was an +almost universal outburst of frenzied wrath. "He flies," they +shrieked, "as in Egypt! He abandons us after he has sacrificed us!" As +has been remarked, this despair was natural, but the accusation was +unjust. Napoleon's abandonment of the grand army at Smorgoni was not a +desertion like the secret flight from Egypt; for now he was chief and +not subordinate, his own judgment was the court of final appeal. +Moreover, it was necessary for the very existence of the army that its +general should once more be emperor, the head of the state. Traveling +incognito, he passed through Vilna, Warsaw, and Dresden. Maret was +left in charge of matters in Lithuania, de Pradt was carefully +instructed how to treat the Poles, and on December fourteenth, at +Dresden, despatches were written to both Francis and Frederick William +in order to assure their continued adhesion. The King of Saxony was +firmly bound in the fetters of a personal fascination never entirely +dispelled. Twice on the long, swift journey efforts were made by +disenchanted German officers to assassinate Napoleon, but he escaped +by the secrecy of his flight. Such conspiracies were the presage of +what was soon to happen in Germany. They were trivial, however, when +compared with the state of public opinion in Paris as displayed by the +Malet conspiracy. In spite of all that he had done to establish a +settled society, France was not yet cured of its revolutionary habits; +it was only too clear that the constitution, codes, and admirable +administrative system were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page376" name="page376"></a>(p. 376)</span> operative, not from political +habit, but by personal impulsion. This was the real sore; the +conspiracy itself was a grotesque affair, the work of a brain-sick +enthusiast, lightly formed and easily crushed.</p> + +<p>Malet was a fiery nobleman who, having run the gamut between royalist +and radical, had turned conspirator, having, in 1800, plotted to seize +the First Consul on his way to Marengo, and again, in 1807, having +been imprisoned in the penitentiary of La Force for attempting to +overthrow the Empire. Feigning madness, he succeeded in being +transferred to an asylum, where he successfully reknit his +conspiracies, and finally escaped. On October twenty-third, 1812, he +presented himself to the commander of the Paris guard, announcing +Napoleon's death on the seventh; by the use of a forged decree of the +senate purporting to establish a provisional republican government, +and by the display of an amazing effrontery, he secured the adhesion +of both men and officers. Marching at their heads, he liberated his +accomplices, Lahorie and Guidal, from La Force, seized both Savary and +Pasquier, minister and prefect of police respectively, and wounded +Hulin, commandant of the city, in a similar attempt. But Doucet, +Hulin's assistant, seized and overpowered the daring conspirator, +Savary and Pasquier were at once released, and almost before the facts +were known throughout the city the accomplices of the plot were all +arrested. Malet and twelve of his associates were tried and executed.</p> + +<p>The Paris wits declared that the police had made a great "tour de +force," and as far as the city was concerned the affair appeared to +have ended in a laugh. But Napoleon was dismayed, for he saw deeper. +"It is a massacre," he exclaimed, on hearing of the number shot.</p> + +<p>If the Russian campaign had been successful, it would <span class="pagenum"><a id="page377" name="page377"></a>(p. 377)</span> have +put the capstone on imperial splendor. But already its failure was +known among the French masses, and ghastly rumors were rife; the +Emperor himself was far distant; the Empress was not beloved; the +little heir was scarcely a personage; the imperial administration was +much criticized; the "system" was raising prices, depressing industry, +and increasing the privations of every household. Pius VII was now +living in comfort at Fontainebleau, but he was a prisoner, and earnest +Catholics were troubled; perhaps Heaven was visiting France with +retribution. Worst of all, ever since the nations at both extremities +of Europe had risen in arms against Napoleon's tyranny, French youth +had perished under the imperial eagles in appalling numbers, and +throughout the districts of France which were at heart royalist there +was a rising tide of bitter vindictiveness.</p> + +<p>What had occurred in Spain did not allay the general uneasiness. +Marmont, having outmanœuvered Wellington until July twenty-second, +had on that fatal day extended his left too far at Salamanca, and had +suffered overwhelming defeat; southern Spain was lost to France. +Suchet, having taken and held Tarragona, concentrated to the eastward, +so that by his holding Aragon and Catalonia for Napoleon, Joseph could +set up a government temporarily at Valencia. Wellington, hampered by +the distracted condition of English politics, had felt bound, in spite +of victory, to withdraw to the Portugal frontier.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page378" name="page378"></a>(p. 378)</span> CHAPTER XXXI.</h3> + +<h4>The Prodigal's Return.<a id="footnotetag46" name="footnotetag46"></a><a href="#footnote46" title="Go to footnote 46"><span class="smaller">[46]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">War Between Great Britain and the United States — Napoleon Renews + his Strength — His Administrative Measures — Social Forces and + Political Results — Ideas of Peace — The Military Situation — The + Czar's Resolutions — The Convention of Tauroggen — Defection of + Prussia — Supreme Exertions of France in Napoleon's + Cause — Napoleon as a Wonder-worker.</p> + +<p class="sidenote">1813.</p> + +<p>By stringently enforcing the Orders in Council Canning had seriously +injured Great Britain. It was in some sense the outcome of general +exasperation that early in May, 1812, Perceval, the Tory premier, was +assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons by Bellingham, a +bankrupt of disordered mind. In the consequent reconstruction of the +cabinet, Castlereagh had succeeded the Marquis of Wellesley. On May +thirteenth the disastrous orders were repealed, but the United States +had already declared war. By land the Americans failed dismally at the +outset; but at sea they were five times victorious in as many +different engagements, two English frigates striking their flags to +what was then considered as fairly equal force. This was a moral +victory of immense importance. It was disproportionate of course to +the actual English loss, which was easily reparable, but it was an +appalling novelty to the British, who unwillingly realized that the +sons had shown a seamanship of the highest quality and were <span class="pagenum"><a id="page379" name="page379"></a>(p. 379)</span> +not unworthy of their sires. The anxiety of Wellington and the +maritime successes of the Americans were not unwelcome lights in the +otherwise dark picture of European affairs upon which Napoleon was +forced to look after his return from Moscow.</p> + +<p>The prodigal Emperor was undismayed; as he had recuperated his +physical powers under incredible hardships, so he sharpened those of +his mind amid the greatest difficulties. His first care was to make +sure of France. To a deputation of the servile senate he roundly +denounced all faint-hearted civil officials as menacing the authority +of law. "Timid and cowardly soldiers," he said, "may cost a nation its +independence; faint-hearted officials, however, destroy the authority +of the laws. The finest death would be that of the soldier on the +field of honor, were not that of the official who dies to defend his +monarch, the throne, and the laws still more glorious." To the council +of state he scorned all such as had continued to attribute to the +people a sovereignty which it was incapable of exercising; who derived +authority, not from the principles of justice nor from the nature of +things nor from civil rights, but from the caprice of persons who +understood neither legislation nor administration. The meaning of such +language was clear, and the words of the master sufficed to bring the +entire machine into perfect order. The great officers of state were +not slow in their response—from the police, from the university, from +the courts came protestation after protestation of loyalty; the +vocabulary of the French language was ransacked for terms to express +the most fulsome adulation. Napoleon's firm front was in itself an +inspiration, and such unanimity of devotion in high quarters confirmed +the people in their changed tendency. Soon not merely the French +nation but the whole Empire was once again under the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page380" name="page380"></a>(p. 380)</span> +magician's spell. Deputations began to arrive, not only from all parts +of France itself, but from the great cities of central and western +Europe, from Rome, Florence, Turin, and Milan, from Hamburg, Mainz, +and Amsterdam, and the expressions of devotion uttered by the deputies +were limited only by the possibilities of expression. Scoffing wits +recalled the famous scene from Molière, in which the infatuated Orgon +displays indifference to his faithful wife and shows interest only in +Tartufe.</p> + +<p>But in spite of this trenchant joke, Napoleonic government stood firm +in France, and soon, this all-important point having been gained, +there was not a little infectious enthusiasm, which grew in proportion +as the Emperor deployed with every day and hour his marvelous +faculties of administration. Reduced as the appropriations were, the +public works in Paris went on; the naval station of Brest was +completed; the veterans received their Emperor's minutest care; the +destitute families of soldiers who had perished for France were +relieved; the imperial pair were everywhere conspicuous when a good +work was to be done. Finally, when a plan of regency for Maria Louisa +was divulged, the praiseworthy, genuine sentiment which underlay these +public activities was found to have reinforced their dramatic effect +sufficiently to make the scheme acceptable. This plan, while giving to +the Empress all the splendors of imperial sovereignty throughout both +the Empire and the vassal states, was carefully constructed with +wholesome checks. What she could not do was, however, less evident and +less important than what she could do. In the hands of an able, +devoted wife the regency might have been a tower of strength to an +absent husband battling for the existence of his Empire; worked by a +vain, unstable, and perhaps already disloyal nature, it had, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page381" name="page381"></a>(p. 381)</span> +with all its strength and display, but little value as a safeguard +against the complots of the Talleyrand set, who desired the crash of +the Empire that, amid the ruins, they might further pillage on their +own account.</p> + +<p>That the schemers were not sooner successful than they were is due to +a combination of small things—each perhaps trivial in itself, but the +whole most efficacious in perpetuating Napoleon's hold on the French. +During his presence in Paris all the old inquisitiveness and boundless +concern for detail seemed to return without diminution of force. +Before his last departure he had won the popular heart by the model +family life of the Tuileries, which, though never ostentatiously +displayed, was yet seen and widely discussed. In the thick of Russian +horrors he had found time to correspond with his infant's governess +concerning the difficulties and dangers of teething; it was felt that +while the emperor and general was warring on the steppes of Muscovy, +the husband and father was present in spirit on the banks of the +Seine. On his return it was generally remarked that his reception into +the bosom of his family was tender and affectionate, and that parental +pride in a thriving child was paramount to the ruler's ambition for an +established dynasty. The imperial pair were seen in company alike on +the thronged thoroughfares and on the outer boulevards of Paris. They +were always greeted with enthusiasm, sometimes there was a display of +passionate loyalty. When the Emperor visited his invalid veterans, he +tasted their food and would have the Empress taste it too; she +graciously assented and there was universal delight. In short, the +domestic bliss of the Tuileries radiated happiness into the plain +homes of the nation, and made the common people not merely tolerant +but fond of such a paternal despotism.</p> + +<p>Napoleon returned from Russia sincerely protesting <span class="pagenum"><a id="page382" name="page382"></a>(p. 382)</span> that what +he most desired was peace. Yes, peace; but of what kind? The answer +was inclusive of the whole European question. It was easy to believe +that Spain was nearly exhausted, that if the process of devastation +could be continued three years longer, her shattered society would +finally accept the gentle Joseph as its regenerator. It was not +unnatural for the Emperor to regard his Confederation of the Rhine as +safe and loyal; yet, just as in the Moscow campaign his superlative +strategy far outran the remainder of his system, so he had failed, +embodiment of the new social order as he believed himself to be, in +fully estimating the creative force of the revolution in middle and +southern Germany. Some inkling of the national movement he must have +had, for Schwarzenberg's lukewarmness had awakened suspicions of +Austria, and Prussia's new strength could not be entirely concealed. +Soon after reaching Paris he learned with dismay that his Prussian +auxiliaries had made terms with the Czar. This was done in defiance of +their king; but it indicated the national temper, which, seeing the +hand of God in the disasters of the monster who after humiliating +Prussia had dared to invade Russia, made it impossible for Prussian +troops to serve again in the ranks of a French army. The bolts of +divine wrath had fallen on the French and the French dependants, the +Prussian and the Austrian contingents had escaped unscathed; both +German armies must surely have been spared for a special purpose.</p> + +<p>In his interview at Warsaw with de Pradt, Napoleon had predicted that +he would speedily have another army of three hundred thousand men +afoot. In this rough calculation he had included both Prussians and +Austrians. With a spirit of bravado, he there referred to the narrow +escapes of his life: defeated at Marengo until six, next morning he +had been master of Italy; at <span class="pagenum"><a id="page383" name="page383"></a>(p. 383)</span> Essling, the rise of the Danube +by sixteen feet in one night had alone prevented the annihilation of +Austria; having defeated the Russians in every battle, he had expected +peace; was it possible, he asked, for him to have foreseen the Russian +character, or have foretold their heroic sacrifice of Moscow, for +which doubtless he himself would catch the blame? So now, if his +allies stood firm, he would have another great army, and still +conquer. Not all this was bluster, for his figures were in the main +correct. Moreover, Russia's strength was steadily diminishing, a fact +of which he was dimly aware. Of Kutusoff's two hundred thousand men +only forty thousand remained when he entered Vilna after the +Napoleonic forces had left it; Wittgenstein's army had suffered +proportionately, and the troops from the Danube still more. Kutusoff +wanted peace quite as much as did Napoleon, and the ineffective +Russian pursuit was intrusted to Yermoloff, an untried officer; to +Wittgenstein; and to the incapable Tchitchagoff. The bickerings and +insubordination of the French marshals had now become notorious, but +they were fully offset by the discord and inefficiency of the Russian +generals.</p> + +<p>Alexander, however, was not for peace. Out of the rude experiences he +had been undergoing there had been formed two fixed ideas: that +Napoleon could not, even if he would, surrender his preponderance in +Europe, and that he himself might hope to appear as the liberator of +European nationality. For a moment it appeared possible for the Czar +to establish himself as king of Poland by the aid of the Jesuits and +of Czartoryski's friends. But the Jesuit leader knew that Napoleon's +strength was far from exhausted, and fled to Spain. Czartoryski +entertained the idea that in case of Napoleon's overthrow he might +unite Poland under his own leadership and demand a truly liberal +constitution, such <span class="pagenum"><a id="page384" name="page384"></a>(p. 384)</span> as could not be worked by a Russian +autocrat with three hundred thousand Russian soldiers at his back. +Should the virtual independence of Poland be wrung from Alexander, and +not be secured by the French alliance, then the only available +constitutional ruler would, he thought, be a member of his own +princely family and not one of the rival Poniatowskis. The autocrat +did not clearly understand the drift of his boyhood friend, but he saw +enough to render the notion of reconstructing Poland in any form +distasteful, and finally abandoned it. He then took the sensible +resolution to recruit his strength, not by emptying his own lean +purse, but by securing the coöperation with his forces of the strong +armies built up by Prussia and Austria. It was therefore with a fairly +definite purpose that, on December eighteenth, he left St. Petersburg +for Vilna. He had in mind first to secure the fruits of victory by +energetic pursuit, then to sound the temper of Prussia and Austria.</p> + +<p>Murat had left the remnant of the grand army over the Niemen on +December fourteenth; on the nineteenth he entered Königsberg. The day +before Macdonald had learned by a despatch from Berthier of the final +disasters to the Russian expedition, and on the twenty-eighth his van +reached Tilsit. The Prussian auxiliaries were in the rear under York, +who had been for nearly two months in regular communication with the +Czar, and knew the details of Napoleon's rout, as Macdonald did not. +Wittgenstein had been despatched to cut off Macdonald's retreat. But +with the dilatoriness which characterized all the Russian movements he +came too late, a single detachment under Diebitsch falling in with the +Prussians on their own territory. The Prussian general was in a +quandary; he was quite strong enough to have beaten Diebitsch, but his +soldiers were friendly to Russia and embittered against Napoleon. His +own <span class="pagenum"><a id="page385" name="page385"></a>(p. 385)</span> sympathies being identical with those of his men, and +considering that he might in extremity plead his isolation, he +therefore, on December thirtieth, concluded the convention of +Tauroggen, in which he agreed to neutralize the district of Prussia +which he occupied, and to await orders from Berlin. Six days later an +envoy arrived from Frederick William, nominally to degrade York, in +reality to conclude a treaty of alliance with Russia.</p> + +<p>By the assistance of Stein, who had been called from Vienna to counsel +the Czar, such a document was finally composed and signed at Kalish on +February twenty-eighth, 1813. Prussia and Germany were thus born again +under the auspices of Russia. It was by the Czar's authorization that +Stein began the reorganization of the provinces held by the Prussian +troops. These circumstances left Murat's positions at Dantzic and on +the Vistula untenable. Throughout the campaign he had been vastly more +concerned for his personal prestige than for Napoleon's cause, and he +was only too ready to leave a sinking ship. On January fifteenth, as +has already been told, after surrendering his command to Eugène at +Posen, he left for Naples. He was in haste, for on the twelfth the +Russians had entered the grand duchy of Warsaw on their way to its +capital. Schwarzenberg, with his own and the remnants of two other +corps,—those of Reynier and Poniatowski,—could easily have checked +the foe; but the convention of Tauroggen had quickened the Austrian +memory of Russia's friendly lukewarmness in 1809, Francis was in no +humor to bolster the falling cause of his terrible son-in-law, and +after some show of negotiation a temporary neutrality was arranged. +When a few Cossacks appeared before Warsaw, on February sixth, the +Austrian general evacuated the city as if yielding to superior force, +and withdrew across the Vistula toward the frontier.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page386" name="page386"></a>(p. 386)</span> These blows seemed to fall lightly on the armor of Napoleon's +intrepidity. So far from feeling any dismay, the Emperor did not +contemplate curtailing his ambition. Perhaps he was not entirely +deceived; quite possibly, by the slightest exhibition of diminished +activity he might have weakened his influence in the great land which +formed the heart of his dominions. As one piece of bad news after +another reached Paris, each in turn seemed only a goad to new exertion +for Emperor and people. France was by that time not merely +enthusiastic; she was fascinated and adoring. The ordinary +conscription of 1813 yielded a hundred and forty thousand recruits; +four regiments were formed for artillery service from the idle +sailors, three thousand men were taken from the gendarmerie, some even +from the national guard. On January thirteenth the senate decreed a +further draft of a hundred thousand from the lists of 1813, and +ordered that the conscription for 1814 should be forestalled in order +that the hundred and fifty thousand boys thus collected might be +hardened by a year's camp life, and rendered available for immediate +use when their time arrived. There is truth in the charge that +Napoleon robbed the cradle and the grave. In order to officer this +mighty host, which included about a third of the able-bodied men of +France between seventeen and forty-five, such commanders as could be +spared were called home from Spain, and the rabble of non-commissioned +and commissioned officers which began to straggle in from Russia was +drawn back into the service. These survivors were treated like +conquerors, being praised and promoted until the nation became +bewildered, and thought of the Russian campaign as a series of +victories. Foreign visitors wrote that the Emperor had but to stamp +his foot and armed men sprang up on every side like Æetes' corps of +Colchian warriors on the field of Mars.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page387" name="page387"></a>(p. 387)</span> The comparison halted—Napoleon was Æetes and Jason combined; +he yoked the bulls that snorted fire and trod the fields with brazen +hoofs, he held the plow, he harrowed the field, he sowed the teeth and +reaped the harvest. We have abundant proof that literally every +department of administration felt the impulse of his will, while to +the organization of the army, to the arrangement of uniforms, to the +designing of gun-carriages, to questions concerning straps, buckles, +and commissary stores, to the temper of the common soldier, to the +opinion of the nation, to each and all these matters he gave such +attention as left nothing for others to do. By this exhibition of +giant strength there was created a true national impulse. With this +behind them, the senate in April called out another body of a hundred +and eighty thousand men, partly from the national guard and partly +from those not ordinarily taken as recruits. By this time the +farmsteads of France and western Germany had yielded up all their +available horses, a number sufficient to make a brave show of both +cavalry and artillery. Allowing for sickness, desertion, and +malingering,—and of all three there was much,—France and her wizard +Emperor had ready on May first a fairly effective force of nearly half +a million armed men. This was exclusive of the Spanish contingent, and +there were a hundred thousand more if the levies of Bavaria, Saxony, +and the Rhenish confederation be reckoned. At the time men said a +miracle had been wrought: it was the miracle of an iron will, a +majestic capacity, and a restless persistence such as have been +combined in few if any other men besides Napoleon Bonaparte. All that +he could do was done,—equipment, drill, organization,—but even he +could not supply the one thing lacking to make soldiers of his +boys—two years of age and experience.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page388" name="page388"></a>(p. 388)</span> CHAPTER XXXII.</h3> + +<h4>The Revolt of the Nations.<a id="footnotetag47" name="footnotetag47"></a><a href="#footnote47" title="Go to footnote 47"><span class="smaller">[47]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon as a Financier — Failure to Secure Aid from the + Aristocracy — The Fontainebleau Concordat — Napoleon Defiant — His + Project for the Coming Campaign — State of the Minor German + Powers — Metternich's Policy — Its Effect in Prussia — Prussia and + her King — The New Nation — The Treaty of Kalish — The Sixth + Coalition.</p> + +<p>This magic was wrought, moreover, without any assistance from the +precious army lists which Napoleon delighted to call his library, for +those volumes had either been lost, destroyed, or left behind in +distant headquarters: it was not merely by recalling his old powers, +but by a supreme effort of memory so comprehensive that not even +superlatives can describe it, that the great captain brought order +into his military estate. No wonder that under such a strain the other +tasks which demanded consideration were not so perfectly performed. +The financial situation, the social uncertainty, the religious +problem, none of these could be overlooked, and each in turn was +clamorous for attention. In the methods employed to meet these +emergencies the revolutionary training of the Emperor comes to light. +To cover the enormous expense of his new army, contributions were +"invited" from the rich corporations <span class="pagenum"><a id="page389" name="page389"></a>(p. 389)</span> and financiers, and it +was announced that any private person who was disposed to maintain a +horse and rider for the imperial service would earn the Emperor's +special gratitude. To any increase of the direct taxes the despot +would not listen. "Credit," he said, "is but a dispensation from +paying cash." In spite of Mollien's protest, however, a new issue of +paper money was ordered, but for this there was collateral security. +It was found in certain plots of land or domains belonging +respectively to each of many thousand communes, by the rentals of +which they severally diminished their direct local taxes. Worth three +hundred and seventy million francs, these properties yielded only nine +millions, although their prospective returns would be far larger. With +government five per cents. selling at seventy-five, an investment of a +hundred and thirty-five millions would yield the interest actually +received. This step was taken, the lands were seized, and the +government cleared two hundred and thirty-five millions; a hundred and +forty millions of the five per cents. were set aside to cover the +income charges, and used simultaneously as collateral for notes to pay +current expenses until the lands could be sold. These last were kept +at a fair price by taking seventy-one millions of treasure from the +Tuileries vaults for their purchase. Throughout the previous year the +moribund legislature had been left inert, the budget being decreed +without its consent, and the Emperor told Metternich at Dresden that +he contemplated its abolition. In a crisis like this latest one, +however, its aid was not to be despised; it was now galvanized, and +made to stamp these puerile measures with the "popular" approval.</p> + +<p>There has always been "a mystery in the soul of state." When men +ceased to invest government with a supernatural character, they did +not for all that dispel the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page390" name="page390"></a>(p. 390)</span> mystery. Modern statesmen by the +score have chosen to believe the occult doctrine that the state's +promise to pay is payment, and Napoleon was one of these. He was +equally childish in regard to the knotty social question which +confronted him, apparently believing that his personal volition, as +the expression of political power, was or ought to be equivalent to +popular spontaneity. The mixture of the old and new aristocracies had, +in spite of all efforts, been mechanical rather than chemical, except +so far as that the former was rather the preponderating influence +giving color to the compound. In order to make the blending real, the +Emperor proposed a "spontaneous" rising of those high-born youth who +had somehow escaped the conscription. They were to be formed into four +regiments, and designated "guards of honor." The measure was found to +be so utterly unpopular that it was for the moment abandoned; the +young men had no stomach even for fancy campaigning, and their +relatives no mind to deliver them up as hostages. The guard, moreover, +displayed a violent jealousy.</p> + +<p>There remained the ecclesiastical question—that, namely, of canonical +institution. Pius VII had lost much of his obstinacy since his removal +to Fontainebleau, for the Austrian alliance was now the sheet-anchor +of France; the French ecclesiastics had threatened to depose the Pope; +but the Roman Catholics of Bavaria, Italy, and Austria were loyal, and +they were important factors in Napoleon's problem. After an exchange +of New Year's compliments, negotiations between the temporal and the +spiritual powers were reopened. At first the Emperor was exacting, and +the Pope unyielding. Finally, on January eighteenth, Napoleon appeared +in person at Fontainebleau, accompanied by Maria Louisa, and +unannounced they entered the prisoner's apartment. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page391" name="page391"></a>(p. 391)</span> The Pope +started up in pleased surprise. "My father," cried his visitor. "My +son," came the response. The Emperor caught the old man to his arms +and kissed him. Next morning began a series of personal conferences +lasting five days. What happened or what was said was never divulged +by either participant, but on January twenty-third the terms of a new +concordat were settled. Pius VII was to reside at Avignon with his +cardinals in the enjoyment of an ample revenue, and institute in due +form the bishops selected by the council. There was to be amnesty for +all prelates in disgrace, the sees of the Roman bishops were to be +reëstablished, and the Pope was to have the nominations for ten +bishoprics either in France or in Italy at his choice; his sequestered +Roman domains were likewise to be restored. The document was not to be +published without the consent of the cardinals, and Napoleon was +actively to promote the innumerable interests of the Church. The +Emperor and the Pope had scarcely separated before the former began to +profess chagrin that he had gained so little, and the latter became a +victim to real remorse. The cardinals were no sooner informed of the +new treaty than they displayed bitter resentment, and Napoleon, +foreseeing trouble, violated his promise, publishing the text of the +Fontainebleau Concordat on February fourteenth as an imperial decree. +On March twenty-fourth the Pope retracted even his qualified assent. +The Emperor had gained a temporary advantage, and had asserted a sound +position in antagonism to the temporal sovereignty of the Pope; but he +had won no permanent support either from France or from the Roman see, +with which he had dealt either too severely or too leniently.</p> + +<p>In the previous July a treaty between the Czar and the Spanish nation, +as represented by the Cortes, had been negotiated through the +intermediation of Great <span class="pagenum"><a id="page392" name="page392"></a>(p. 392)</span> Britain. The recent conduct of York +was sufficient indication of how the Prussian people felt. Napoleon +therefore knew that he was face to face with a virtual coalition +comprising Great Britain, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Spain, and Prussia. +Since his return from Russia he had displayed in private life the +utmost good sense. But in public life he seemed incapable of accepting +the situation in which he must have known himself to be, holding the +loftiest and most pretentious language both to the French nation and +to the world. In his address on the opening of the legislature he +dwelt on Wellington's reverses in the peninsula, and offered peace to +Great Britain on the old terms of "uti possidetis" in Spain. In a less +public way he had it thoroughly understood throughout Europe that he +would take no steps toward peace with Russia; that he would not yield +an inch with reference to the grand duchy of Warsaw, or regarding the +annexed lands of Italy, Holland, and the Hanseatic League. It was as +if the whole world must see that ordinary human concessions could not +be expected from one who had been conquered only by act of Providence, +and was, now as ever, invincible so far as men were concerned. He did, +however, allow the hint to escape him that Prussia, which was still +bound by her treaty, might hope for some territorial increase, and +that Austria might expect Illyria. Such ideas, expressed in +grandiloquent phrase, could not be regarded as indicating a pacific +feeling. Every social class in France had a grievance; yet amid the +din of arms, and in the dazzling splendors of military preparation, +even the retraction of the Concordat attracted little attention, and a +few riots in Dutch cities, which were the only open manifestation of +discontent throughout the whole Empire, aroused no interest at all. +The report of Napoleon's conciliatory attitude had gone <span class="pagenum"><a id="page393" name="page393"></a>(p. 393)</span> +abroad, there was money in the treasury, a vast armament was prepared, +the peace so ardently desired was evidently to be such as is made by +the lion with his prey. On April fifteenth the still haughty Emperor +of the West started for the seat of war.</p> + +<p>Around the skeleton abandoned by Murat at Posen Eugène built up out of +the stragglers an army of fourteen thousand men, which he hoped would +enable him to make a stand; but with York deserting at one end of the +line, and Schwarzenberg seeking shelter in Cracow at the other, he was +compelled to withdraw to Berlin. Finding his reception too chilly for +endurance, and being again menaced by the Russian advance, he fell +back thence beyond the Elbe, and early in March had established his +headquarters at Leipsic. By that time new forces had arrived from +France and the various garrison towns, so that on the curving line +from Bremen by Magdeburg, Bernburg, Wittenberg, Meissen, and Dresden, +there stood a force of about seventy-five thousand men in six +divisions, under Vandamme, Lauriston, Victor, Grenier, Davout, and +Reynier. Napoleon charged Eugène to take a position before Magdeburg, +whence he could protect Holland and keep Dresden. The Emperor's +general plan was to assemble an Army of the Elbe on the line of +Magdeburg, Havelberg, Wittenberg, and an Army of the Main on the line +of Würzburg, Erfurt, Leipsic; then, despatching the former through +Havelberg toward Stettin, to hurry the latter on its heels, relieve +Dantzic, and seize the lower Vistula.</p> + +<p>This would have been a plan worthy of Napoleon's genius but for one +fact. "In war," he had written four years earlier, "the moral element +and public opinion are half the battle." If he had understood these +factors in 1813, and if a sound judgment had developed his ideas, the +projected campaign would have become famous for <span class="pagenum"><a id="page394" name="page394"></a>(p. 394)</span> the boldness +of its conception and for its careful estimate of natural advantages. +But human nature as the conquering Napoleon had known it—at least +Prussian human nature—had changed, and of this change the defeated +Napoleon took no account. He was no longer fighting absolute monarchs +with hireling armies, but uprisen nations which were themselves armies +instinct with capacity and energy. On March twenty-first Eugène began +to carry out his stepfather's directions. But for the new feeling in +Prussia they might have been fully executed. The vassal princes of the +Rhine Confederacy had received the imperial behests concerning new +levies. The Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, aware of the German national +movement and furthest removed from French influence, refused to obey. +King Jerome of Westphalia pleaded poverty, and procrastinated until he +dared do so no longer. Bavaria dreamed for an instant of asserting her +neutrality, but the menace of French armaments wrung an unwilling +compliance from her. Würtemberg and Frankfurt were too near France to +hesitate at all. Saxony was in a position far different from that of +any other state in the confederation, the predicament of Frederick +Augustus, her king, being peculiar and exceptional. After his +interview with Napoleon on the latter's flight through Dresden he felt +how precarious was the future. Warsaw, the gem of his crown, was gone, +and the Prussian people were in revolt against the Emperor of the +French; he turned perforce toward Austria. But Austria also was +uneasy; the people were again hostile to Napoleon, and Francis, in an +agony of uncertainty, could only temporize. With Saxony in this +attitude, Metternich gave full course to his ingenuity.</p> + +<p>For a year past that minister had been playing a double game. Seeking +through his envoy at Stockholm to embroil Bernadotte with the Czar, he +told Hardenberg <span class="pagenum"><a id="page395" name="page395"></a>(p. 395)</span> almost simultaneously that it was all up +with Russia, that England was worn out, and that Austria was about to +assume the rôle of mediator. It was to his purpose that, on the other +hand, he promised to treat Russia as Russia had treated Austria in +1809. When, in his despair, Napoleon wrote to Francis from Dresden +demanding an increase of the Austrian contingent to check Kutusoff's +advance through Poland, Metternich suffered his master to give no +answer, but sent a special peace embassy to London, and despatched +Bubna, a favorite with Napoleon, to seek the same end at Paris. The +Emperor of the French laid down his old ultimatum, but offered a +subsidy to Austria if she would double the number of her auxiliaries. +Thereupon Metternich prepared to desert Napoleon, refused to furnish +the auxiliaries, ordered Schwarzenberg "to save his troops for the +next campaign," and secretly advised Prussia to join her cause with +that of Russia. Careful not to formulate any definite terms for the +peace he so clamorously invoked, he refused to intervene with Russia +for the restoration of Prussian Poland, thus avoiding an open rupture +with France, assuring that the seat of war would be in Saxony, and +gaining time to secure Austria's dignity as a mediator by the +preparation of armaments strong enough to enforce her suggestions.</p> + +<p>This attitude compelled Prussia to make a decision. Frederick William +could no longer wage a sham warfare nor cover hostile intentions by a +pretense of disinterestedness. A decision must be taken, and the +conduct of General York had indicated what the painful conclusion must +be. The convention of Tauroggen had been duly disavowed; but an envoy +was at Russian headquarters, and Alexander had entered Prussian +territory in his advance against Eugène; Napoleon was demanding +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page396" name="page396"></a>(p. 396)</span> an increased auxiliary force. The temporizer could temporize +no longer. He firmly believed that nothing short of a coalition +between Austria, Russia, and Prussia could annihilate France, and +Austria had virtually refused to enter such a combination. Russia, +moreover, was under no engagement in regard to Prussian Poland. What +was to be done? The King's first instinct led him to seek refuge with +Napoleon, and he despatched an envoy, offering his continued alliance +for either an increase of territory, or for ninety million francs in +payment of the commissary supplies furnished during 1812. With every +day, however, the Prussian people grew more Russian in feeling, and on +January twenty-second, 1813, before the return of the ambassador, the +court was forced by popular opinion to withdraw from Berlin to +Breslau, out of the sphere of French influence. Napoleon's answer soon +arrived; there was no word of payment, and no binding engagement as to +territory—merely a repetition of vague promises. Frederick William +was disappointed, and reluctantly consented to the mobilization of his +now regenerated and splendid army. He cherished the hope of keeping +Alexander behind the Vistula, and forcing Napoleon to an armistice +before he could cross the Elbe.</p> + +<p>But Hardenberg, Stein, and Scharnhorst were all convinced that there +could be no peace in Europe without restoring the ancient balance of +power and annihilating Napoleon's preponderance, especially since, +from every class in the nation, came addresses and petitions +expressing detestation of French rule. Moreover, the long, difficult +process of German unification was, in a sense, complete. "I have but +one fatherland, and that is Germany," wrote Stein, in December, 1812; +"the dynasties are indifferent to me in this moment of mighty +development." A born and consistent liberal, he <span class="pagenum"><a id="page397" name="page397"></a>(p. 397)</span> abhorred +alike the tyranny of Napoleon, of Francis, of Alexander, and of his +own king. But the Czar loved him, since a united Germany would be +indifferent to those Polish provinces about which Prussia cared so +much. Certain, therefore, of the Russian monarch, the great statesman +determined to join Frederick William at Breslau, and urge on the work +of mobilizing troops. Already, by Alexander's authority, he had +induced the estates of eastern Prussia to sanction York's action, and +to provide for arming the militia and reserves. Their ready compliance +was the more significant because the German patriot had to some extent +been out of touch with the general movement, having consistently and +from principle refused to work through the popular League of Virtue, +or any secret association whatsoever, and having become in his long +exile a virtual stranger among the Prussians.</p> + +<p>It is scarcely possible within moderate limits to give the faintest +conception of Prussia at the opening of 1813. The popular hatred of +Napoleon was defiant; the death of Queen Louisa had made the King +sullen. There was a splendid army of a hundred and fifty thousand men, +and the statesmen had managed so well that there were arms for every +able-bodied male between seventeen and twenty-four. Of these scarcely +any shirked; most volunteered, numbers paid, many did both. The women +sold their hair and their gold ornaments, wearing iron trinkets as a +stimulus to patriotism. In some cases the stout German maidens served +the guns of their artillery, and one of them, disguised in a uniform, +fought in the ranks until seriously wounded. The peasantry saw their +homesteads destroyed with equanimity when told that it would weaken +France. Körner sang and fought; Arndt sounded the trumpet of German +unity; Lützow gathered his famous "black troop," and the universities +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page398" name="page398"></a>(p. 398)</span> were so fervid that Professor Steffens of Breslau issued the +first call for war against Napoleon; a summons which swept the +students of that university, as well as those of Berlin, Königsberg, +Halle, Jena, and Göttingen, into the ranks. Wherever the Russians +appeared they were hailed as deliverers, not merely in the Prussian +army, but among the citizens.</p> + +<p>This was the impelling power which Frederick William could not resist. +Step by step he went forward, postponing his plans for getting back +his Polish provinces and accepting instead contingent promises. By the +treaty of Kalish, already mentioned in another connection, Old Prussia +was definitely guaranteed to him, and he was to have a strip +connecting it with Silesia, but the territorial aggrandizement of the +kingdom was to await the conquest of North Germany, all of which +except Hanover might under certain circumstances be incorporated under +his crown. Both parties agreed to use their best endeavors to win +Austria for the coalition, Russia promising likewise to seek a subsidy +from Great Britain for her impoverished ally. Another stipulation was +fulfilled when on March seventeenth Frederick William called out all +the successive services of the national army and, summoning his people +to emancipate their country from a foreign yoke, declared war. Two +days later a ringing proclamation was issued which summoned to arms +not merely Prussians but even the Germans of the Rhine Confederation. +Hesitating princes were threatened with loss of their domains, +and—what was a very pointed hint—Stein was made head of an +administrative committee to erect new governments in all occupied +lands. Kutusoff's last public act was to issue a manifesto declaring +that those German princes who were untrue to the German cause were +ripe for destruction by the power of public opinion and the might of +righteous arms.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page399" name="page399"></a>(p. 399)</span> Such a situation was terrible for the King of Saxony. Russia +already had his grand duchy, Prussia coveted his kingdom; in fact, the +Czar was currently and correctly reported to have said that Saxony was +better suited than Poland to round out Frederick William's dominions. +Dresden welcomed the Russian and Prussian sovereigns because the +citizens were smarting under the trials of military occupation. But +when the King turned to Austria, and marching with his cavalry to +Ratisbon virtually put his army at Metternich's disposal, the Saxons +in general supported him. On April twentieth was signed a secret +agreement between Saxony and Austria whereby the former in return for +thirty thousand troops secured the integrity of her dominions. This +was a triumph for the Austrian minister, but not the only one, because +European diplomacy in general soon joined hands with the national +uprisings. Napoleon, determining too late on the dismemberment of +Prussia, made a last attempt to win back his old comrade in arms, and +in February offered Bernadotte not merely Pomerania, but the lands +between the Elbe and the Weser. But the crafty Gascon had studied the +Prussian movement, and, putting aside the rather indefinite promises +of Napoleon, preferred to join the coalition for the safer, easier +prize of Norway. Great Britain abandoned her scheme for a Hanover +expanded to stretch from the Scheldt to the Elbe, and, subsidizing +both Sweden and Prussia, cemented the new coalition. This was a return +to Pitt's policy of restoring the old balance of power in the old +Europe. Bernadotte, promising thirty thousand men, transported twelve +thousand across to Germany, and joined Bülow to cover Berlin. This +force soon became the Russian right. Kutusoff died in April, and +Barclay was ultimately restored to the chief command, having Blücher +and a second Prussian army as <span class="pagenum"><a id="page400" name="page400"></a>(p. 400)</span> part of the Russian center. +Metternich saw that the coalition did not intend to conclude such a +peace as would leave Napoleon the preponderance in Europe; to secure +any peace at all he would be compelled, as Talleyrand said, to become +king of France. Accordingly a new turn was quickly given to Austrian +diplomacy, and the French emperor's definite offer of Silesia for a +hundred thousand men was rejected. With the thirty thousand which +Saxony had put at his disposal, and with such an army as Austria +herself could raise, the minister felt sure that at some critical +moment she would be able, as a well-armed mediator, to command a peace +in terms restoring to his country the prestige of immemorial empire.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page401" name="page401"></a>(p. 401)</span> CHAPTER XXXIII.</h3> + +<h4>The First Campaign in Saxony.<a id="footnotetag48" name="footnotetag48"></a><a href="#footnote48" title="Go to footnote 48"><span class="smaller">[48]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Napoleon Over-hasty — Weakness of his Army — The Low Condition of + the Allies — Napoleon's Plan Thwarted — The First Meeting a + Surprise — The Battle of Lützen — An Ordinary Victory — The + Mediation of Austria — Napoleon's Effort to Approach Russia — The + Battle of Bautzen — Death of Duroc — Napoleon's Greatest Blunder.</p> + +<p>The grim determination of Napoleon to rule or ruin can be read in his +conduct at this time. This might almost be called foolhardy, inasmuch +as when he arrived at Mainz, on April seventeenth, he knew little or +nothing of the enemy's position, force, or plans. Desirous of +anticipating his foe in opening the campaign, he spent a week of +fruitless endeavor at that place, and then started for Erfurt to +obtain a nearer view. The general aspect of his soldiers was not +reassuring, for the young recruits were still raw and the immaturity +of his preparations was evident in a lack of trained horses and +riders. He had stolen three weeks from the enemy, but he had robbed +himself of all that his indefatigable energy might have accomplished +in that time. His recklessness in diplomacy, his refusal of all +concessions, and his exaggerated cleverness in anticipating his +opponents were to prove his undoing from the military point of view. +The other elements of his failure were the political factor already +mentioned.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="page402" name="page402"></a>(p. 402)</span> At the first appearance of Tettenborn's Cossacks, Hamburg +rose and drove out the French, remaining in possession of the allies +until the end of May; but the trusty French garrisons in Dantzic, +Stettin, Küstrin, Glogau, Modlin, and Zamosc, having been reinforced +by Eugène, held their respective strongholds, and were left to do so. +The absence of these much-needed veterans was the first element of +weakness in Napoleon's army. A second was the insufficiency of real +cavalry, brave as had been the parade of horses in France. It was the +great captain's firm conviction, repeatedly and emphatically +expressed, that without active cavalry, armed with long-range guns, +offensive warfare was not possible. This defect he had hoped to remedy +in the last three weeks before opening the campaign. The third element +in a fatal triad was the temper of his generals, which was restless +and insubordinate almost from the outset. They were his mightiest men: +Berthier as chief of staff; Mortier commanding the guard; Davout, Ney, +Bertrand, Lauriston, Marmont, Reynier, Macdonald, and Oudinot, each in +readiness with a corps; Victor coming up with another; Augereau +preparing to lead the Bavarians, Rapp at Dantzic, Poniatowski in +Galicia—twelve corps in all.</p> + +<p>The French soldiers formed a great army: two hundred and thirty-five +thousand men on paper, actually two hundred thousand, of whom a +hundred and thirty-five thousand were mobile and in readiness when the +Emperor took command. Eugène had forty-seven thousand more. +Consequently when Napoleon, troubled by the exaggerated reports of his +enemy being stronger and more forward in preparation than he had +believed possible, set out for Saxony three weeks earlier than the day +originally fixed by him for the beginning of hostilities, he was +already a victim of his own nervous apprehensions. <span class="pagenum"><a id="page403" name="page403"></a>(p. 403)</span> In colder +phlegm he would have foreseen the truth. Russia had become apathetic +as soon as the seat of war was transferred beyond her borders; +strenuous as were the efforts of Prussia, Scharnhorst's means were +slender, and he could not work miracles. All told, the allies had at +the moment only seventy thousand men ready for the field. Wittgenstein +was for the moment commander-in-chief. The monarchs, utterly +uncongenial, were struggling to act in harmony, but double weakness is +not strength. They had only a single advantage—excellent horses in +abundance for both cavalry and artillery. "The worse the troops, the +greater the need of artillery"; "great battles are won with +artillery"; these were two of Napoleon's aphorisms. The great +strategist had lost his reconnoitering arm in Russia and Poland, the +artillery specialist must have scorned the antiquated guns which now +replaced the splendid field-pieces that rested on the bottom of ponds +and rivers whither he had flung them on his disastrous retreat. With +his high officers sullen, his ranks untried, his cavalry feeble, his +artillery hastily collected from arsenal stores, his staff incomplete, +and his prestige waning, the Emperor might well abdicate temporarily +and exclaim, as he did, "I shall conduct this war as General +Bonaparte." This resolution was sacredly kept.</p> + +<p>The premature opening of the campaign was certain to make Austria +pivotal in European politics once again. Her preparations were not +well advanced, but her strength was growing daily, while that of her +rivals was sure to diminish until in the end the coalition would be +powerless without her. This Napoleon saw, and he arranged his strategy +to checkmate what he now felt to be a hostile neutrality. Believing +that the enemy would meet him half way, his first plan showed all the +marks of greatness which characterized the similar one <span class="pagenum"><a id="page404" name="page404"></a>(p. 404)</span> he +had so successfully executed at Jena. Its central idea was a mass +formation with Eugène to break through the enemy's line, then by a +wheel toward the south to annihilate their left, and finally to +present himself victorious before Austria. If successful he might +dictate his own terms. But the enemy did not advance; it was perhaps +well for the Emperor of the French that they did not. An eye-witness +declared that on what was supposed to be the very eve of battle there +was little real discipline outside the sphere of the commander's +personal observation, that the officers had no confidence in their men +and the men but little in their officers, that the superiors were +absorbed in securing some measure of physical comfort, that the +inferiors were listless and disobedient. The forward movement was +successful, and the union with Eugène was effected on April +twenty-eighth. Two whole days elapsed, however, before the enemy was +found, and it was May first when the French van drove in the Russian +outposts from Lützen, ever famous as the scene of Wallenstein's +overthrow by Gustavus Adolphus a hundred and eighty-one years earlier. +The Russian center was concentrated between the Elster and the +Pleisse; Napoleon's line was more extended, overlapping his enemy's, +both right and left. In a preliminary skirmish at the pass of Rippach, +Bessières, rashly exposing himself at the head of the cavalry of the +guard, was killed. His loss in such a crisis was like the ruin of a +great cohort on the eve of a close battle. Marmont, forgiven for his +failure in Spain, was near; but close to Napoleon as he was, even he +could not replace the gallant, trusted cavalry leader who for nearly +seventeen years had scarcely quitted his Emperor's side.</p> + +<p>Owing probably to the inadequate scouting force of Napoleon, the +battle of Lützen was in the nature of a <span class="pagenum"><a id="page405" name="page405"></a>(p. 405)</span> surprise. +Wittgenstein had detached five thousand men as if to cover Leipsic, +toward which the French line was advancing; then, concentrating the +mass of his center and left, he crossed the Elster early on May second +in order to attack Ney's corps on the Emperor's right. About nine +Lauriston's corps, with which Napoleon was, came upon the enemy, and +was fiercely engaged—so hotly, indeed, that it seemed as if it must +be the Russian right wing which barred the way. A messenger was +immediately despatched to bring in Ney, who arrived about eleven. The +marshal and his emperor at once advanced to reconnoiter, and were just +remarking that there was only a small force between them and the city, +which through their field-glasses they could dimly discern in the +background, its roofs crowded with curious onlookers, when behind, on +the right, was heard the sound of heavy cannonading. General Bonaparte +was himself at once. No movement is considered more difficult than +that by which an army marching in columns wheels when attacked on its +flank, so as in turn to outflank the assailants. In a flash, and +apparently without a thought, the Emperor issued minute orders for +this intricate manœuver, and his generals accomplished it with a +masterly dexterity. Napoleon then galloped forward toward Lützen to +carry the guard behind the center as a reserve, and Ney dashed into +the thickest of the fight to take command of his boy conscripts, who +were beginning to yield.</p> + +<p>The conflict raged all day, with varying results, along the line from +Great and Little Görschen to Starsiedel, the latter hamlet being the +scene of terrific fighting. At five the Prussians withdrew from Kaja, +and began to yield along the whole line as far as the Görschens, which +they had so far held. Napoleon had from the outset been reckless, +cheering his boys by presence and <span class="pagenum"><a id="page406" name="page406"></a>(p. 406)</span> example until they fought +like veterans. As the Prussians gave signs of weakness, he brought in +his artillery, poor as it was, with the old grand style, and ordered +the young guard into the gap he felt sure of making. A Russian reserve +arrived, however, at the crucial instant, and stayed his onset until +seven. At that hour Macdonald bore down his opponents at Eisdorf, and +attacked the Russo-Prussian line on the flank; the second column was +then hurled against its center, and the battle was ended. The Russian +reserve was strong enough to prevent the retreat from becoming a rout, +but since Lauriston had occupied Leipsic as early as two in the +afternoon there was but one course open for the allies: to withdraw +behind the Elbe. Napoleon gathered his army into three columns and +followed; but slowly and circumspectly, because without cavalry he +could not harass them. When, on May eighth, the French reached +Dresden, they found that their enemy had blown up the bridges, and +were entrenched in the Neustadt on the right, or north, shore. Thus +the victory of Lützen was, after all, indecisive.</p> + +<p>And yet the utmost skill and bravery had been shown by the combatants +on both sides. The field was strewn with the corpses, not of such rude +and stalwart peasants as had hitherto filled the ranks of opposing +armies, but of gentle youth from French lyceums and Prussian +universities. There were forty thousand in all, an equal number from +each army, who remained dead or wounded on the hard-contested field. +They had fallen to little purpose. The victor captured neither +prisoners nor guns in important numbers, and to him it was slight +compensation for the loss of Bessières that Scharnhorst was killed. +The allies, though beaten, were undismayed; long experience had +sharpened their wits and toughened their purpose; there was already +much <span class="pagenum"><a id="page407" name="page407"></a>(p. 407)</span> strategical ability at their headquarters, and there +was about to be more, since Moreau, summoned from America, was soon to +take service with his splendid powers against his country. Great as +the battle was, it must therefore be reckoned as an ordinary victory; +it served to prolong existing conditions, but it did not decide an +issue. It was, however, something that it gave the French a +self-confidence bordering on enthusiasm, and it was more that after +Napoleon had commenced to rebuild the Dresden bridges, Frederick +Augustus, the King of Saxony, declared himself favorable to the +French. Abandoning Austria, he summoned his forces from Torgau, and +the allies retreated eastward behind the Spree. The lower Elbe was +also recovered. The King of Denmark had despatched an auxiliary force +to Hamburg. Their commander, believing Napoleon's fortunes submerged +already, at first assisted the Russians: but after Lützen he turned +his arms to Vandamme's assistance. The city was retaken, three +thousand of Bernadotte's force marched out, and on May thirtieth +Davout, with fifteen thousand of his own men and three thousand Danes, +marched in.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's chief purpose, however, was unfulfilled, for Austria was +neither panic-stricken nor dismayed. On the contrary, she still stood +forth as a mediator, and now with armaments to enforce her demands. +Immediately after Lützen, Stadion, sometime Austrian minister of war, +was sent to the camp of the allies. He stated that the minimum terms +of peace would be the dismemberment of Warsaw, the restoration of +Prussia, the surrender by France of Holland, Oldenburg, and the +Hanseatic lands, the abandonment of the protectorate over the +Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, and the surrender to Austria +of Illyria and Dalmatia, with a rectification of her western frontier. +Almost <span class="pagenum"><a id="page408" name="page408"></a>(p. 408)</span> simultaneously Bubna appeared at Napoleon's +headquarters with suggestions for a general armistice, during which +peace negotiations should be carried on as rapidly as possible by a +congress of the powers. Dwelling on the necessity of territorial +concessions by France for the sake of a general pacification of the +Continent, the envoy declared that if this were accomplished, Great +Britain, finding herself isolated, must yield, and grant to Napoleon a +substantial indemnification from her vast colonial system. The +propositions of Austria were received by the allies with open +eagerness, by the Emperor of the French with apparent hesitancy. Next +to the establishment of his continental empire, the humiliation of +Great Britain was Napoleon's highest ambition. Compromise with her +meant defeat. With a mixture of proud determination and anxiety, he +therefore replied to Francis that he desired a pacification as +ardently as any one; that he was ready for such a congress as was +suggested; that he would even go further, and admit to it delegates +from the insurgent Spaniards; that he would still further consent to a +truce during its sessions: but that he would rather die at the head of +his high-spirited Frenchmen than make himself ridiculous before +England. Never was the writer's statecraft unfolded to greater daring. +Long consultations were held with the King of Saxony, a man of +gentleness and refinement, who was completely won by Napoleon's almost +filial attentions, and Bubna was often kept at the council-table until +after midnight. Eugène, however, was instantly despatched to raise a +new army in Italy, with orders not to conceal his movements from +Austria.</p> + +<p>But Napoleon's chief efforts were put forth in the direction of +Russia. The adroit Caulaincourt was chosen as a fitting envoy, and +instructed not merely to reknit his personal relations with the Czar, +but also to surrender <span class="pagenum"><a id="page409" name="page409"></a>(p. 409)</span> every point which had been contested +in the previous negotiations. He was to offer, first, the surrender of +the Continental System as far as Russia was concerned; and, second, +such a reconstruction of the map of eastern Europe as would put an end +to the grand duchy of Warsaw forever. This mushroom state, with the +domain of Dantzic, was to be divided between the Duke of Oldenburg, +Alexander's near kinsman, and the King of Prussia; Prussia itself was +to be a border state under Russian influence, with a capital at either +Königsberg, Dantzic, or Warsaw. Brandenburg, with Berlin, would fall +to Jerome, and Saxony would doubtless get the territory around +Krossen. No surrender could have been more complete. "Your chief +concern," ran the final instruction, written on May seventeenth, "will +be to secure a conversation with the Emperor Alexander. My intention +is to build a golden bridge to save him from the intrigues of +Metternich." Alas for such vain hopes! A new diplomatic star had risen +at the Russian court in the person of the young Count Nesselrode, and +the personal interview so earnestly desired by Caulaincourt was +steadily refused; Napoleon's proposals, the envoy was informed, must +be made through the Austrian cabinet, or not at all.</p> + +<p>During the parleyings of Austria, Napoleon won a second great victory, +which was utterly ineffectual because he had no cavalry force +wherewith to pursue. For some days after the occupation of Dresden, +for the same reason, he had been ignorant of his enemy's whereabouts. +Learning at last that the allies had not been separated, as he had +hoped, but were standing at Bautzen in a strong defensive position +behind the Spree, he left Dresden at noon on the eighteenth of May, +determined to strike a decisive blow. His enemy, having been +reinforced by Barclay with sixteen thousand Russians <span class="pagenum"><a id="page410" name="page410"></a>(p. 410)</span> and by +Kleist with eleven thousand Prussians, was about ninety thousand +strong. On the nineteenth both Barclay and York advanced from Bautzen; +the former was defeated by Bertrand in a sharp struggle, the latter by +Lauriston in a protracted fight; and at nightfall the French were +before the place. In front was the unimportant stream, and beyond it +were the allies in a double line, their front on the bank, their rear +on the heights behind. About midday of the twentieth the French +attacked. Macdonald stormed the bridge, Marmont and Bertrand crossed +by pontoons; at three their footing was won, and the assault of the +place began. For three hours the fighting was terrific, but at six a +portion of the defenders withdrew behind the town to the second line; +at eight the rest did likewise. Next morning at five, Napoleon, after +a sleepless night, issued his orders; at eight the conflict opened all +along the line. Then first, the Mameluke body-servant having spread a +couch of skins, the Emperor sought repose; he slept to the lullaby of +cannon and musketry for several hours, calmly assured of his +combinations working perfectly. By one Ney had rolled up the Russian +right under Barclay, and Napoleon, waking, sent Marmont and Bertrand +around the right of the enemy's center. By four the allied armies were +in full retreat. Then would have been the moment for artillery to +crash and cavalry to pursue; but neither was efficient, and while the +French army did what men could do, at best they could only follow at +equal speed with the foe, and could not throw his ranks into disorder. +"What! no results from such carnage?" said Napoleon. "Not a gun? Not a +prisoner?"</p> + +<p>There was worse to come. From time to time the flying columns wheeled +and poured a heavy artillery fire into their pursuers. Near +Reichenbach, Bruyères <span class="pagenum"><a id="page411" name="page411"></a>(p. 411)</span> was killed by a ball; then Kirchener +by another, which, ricochetting from a tree, mortally wounded Duroc, +the commander's faithful aid, his second self. Such a blow was +stupefying indeed, for it was the loss of his closest confidant, of +one who through every vicissitude had been a near, true friend, almost +the only companion of a man reduced to solitude by his great +elevation. Napoleon was stricken to the heart, and, halting, gave way +until nightfall to his despair. "Poor man!" said the troopers one to +another, "he has lost his children." "Everything to-morrow," was the +sorrowing ruler's one reply to all suggestions. From time to time he +betook himself to the bedside of the dying man; at last Duroc himself +could no longer endure his Emperor's prostration, and besought him to +rejoin the soldiers. The friends parted in a long embrace. Thereupon +the pursuit was continued, but without ardor and without success.</p> + +<p>The nature of Napoleon's victory at Bautzen was his undoing. Had it +been a second Friedland, Caulaincourt no doubt would have met +Alexander; but, as it was, the allies had saved their army, and +Austria's accession to the coalition would still insure their success. +Nesselrode was convinced that Metternich would assent, and, dark as +was the hour, persisted in refusing to communicate with France except +by way of Austria. Wittgenstein lost his command, Barclay was fully +reinstated as commander-in-chief, and, to gain time for Austria to try +her vaunted mediation, a short armistice was proposed to Napoleon. Had +the latter known the weakness, the discord, the exhaustion of his foe, +wretched as was the state of his own army and depressed as were his +spirits, he might have refused, and even the monumental error of 1812 +might now have been made good. As it was, the year 1813 is the date of +his one irreparable blunder, the initiation of his final disaster. +Other mistakes <span class="pagenum"><a id="page412" name="page412"></a>(p. 412)</span> he had made, but they were all petty compared +with the great one to which he was now tempted. But his faithful +officers were falling like standing grain under a hail-storm; his boy +soldiers, though fighting like veterans, inspired little confidence, +for there was the same uneasiness among the humble privates as among +the great officers; he had neither cavalry nor artillery, and his +available force was reduced to a hundred and twenty thousand, men and +boys; Barclay might, as for a moment he contemplated doing, draw off +into the Russian steppes; the traitors in Paris were already stirring; +in short, the Emperor felt that he must at least consider. This was +the monumental blunder of his life because it put him at Austria's +mercy without her being forced to reveal her policy.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3><span class="pagenum"><a id="page413" name="page413"></a>(p. 413)</span> CHAPTER XXXIV.</h3> + +<h4>The Nations in Grand Array.<a id="footnotetag49" name="footnotetag49"></a><a href="#footnote49" title="Go to footnote 49"><span class="smaller">[49]</span></a></h4> + +<p class="summary">Condition of Affairs after Bautzen — The Armistice of + Poischwitz — Austria's New Terms — Napoleon's Reliance on his + Dynastic Influence — Intervention of British Agents — Napoleon's + Interview with Metternich — The Emperor's Wrath — Metternich's + Determination — Wellington's Victories — Napoleon at Mainz — The + Coalition Completed — Diplomatic Fencing — Renewal of + Hostilities — The Responsibility.</p> + +<p>Napoleon determined, however, to deliberate on the strongest possible +vantage-ground, and for this reason continued his pursuit as far as +Breslau, which was occupied by the end of the month. Simultaneously +Berlin was threatened by Oudinot, Victor had relieved Glogau, and +Vandamme was marching to Davout's assistance, so that Hamburg was +safely in hand. The allied forces stood behind Schweidnitz, and by the +same marvelous strategy as of old the various corps of the French army +were disposed, under Ney, Lauriston, Reynier, Macdonald, and Bertrand, +so as virtually to engirdle the enemy. Napoleon was at Neumarkt with +the guard; a single bold dash southward toward the Eulen Mountains +with his concentering force, and he would have crushed his opponents. +But another victory like Lützen and Bautzen would reduce his army +still further, and then in his weakness he would be confronted by the +hundred thousand Austrians which, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page414" name="page414"></a>(p. 414)</span> according to the best +advices, his father-in-law had assembled in Bohemia. In that juncture +Francis might risk a battle, and if successful he could dictate not +merely an armistice, but the terms of peace—a contingency more +terrible than any other. Time, moreover, seemed quite as valuable to +the Emperor of the French as to his foe: while they were calling in +reserves and strengthening their ranks, his hundred and eighty +thousand conscripts of 1814 could be marched to the Elbe, and Eugène +could complete his work in Italy. Ignorant of the panic at his enemy's +headquarters, the uneasy conqueror decided therefore that his best +course was, by exhibiting a desire for peace and assenting to an +armistice, to avoid the general reprobation of Europe. Accordingly, he +took another disastrous step, and accepted the proposal of the allies +for a conference.</p> + +<p>How earnestly Napoleon desired peace appears from his spontaneous +concessions. He would agree to the evacuation of Breslau for the sake +of harmony, and would consent to such a truce as the majesty of a +ruler and the rights of a successful general might alike exact; but he +would not be treated like a besieged commander. Hamburg should remain +as it was at the conclusion of negotiations, and the duration of the +armistice must be longer than the term proposed—six weeks at the +least. On these two points he took his stand. The fatal armistice of +Poischwitz was signed at that village on June fourth by three +commissioners, Shuvaloff for Russia, Kleist for Prussia, and +Caulaincourt for France. It was a compromise providing for a neutral +zone, stretching from the mouth of the Elbe southeastward to Bohemia, +which was to separate the combatants until July twentieth. Hostilities +might not be renewed until August first. Breslau was to be evacuated; +Hamburg was to remain as the truce found it. These terms were +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page415" name="page415"></a>(p. 415)</span> reached only after much bluster, the allies, weak and +disorganized as they were, demanding at first the evacuation of both +Breslau and Hamburg, with a cessation of arms for a month. This stand +they took in reliance partly on England, partly on Austria. The +compromise, as mutually accepted, was reached in spite of British +influence when Francis, apparently nervous and anxious, arrived at +Gitschin, near the Bohemian frontier, and opened a conference with +Nesselrode.</p> + +<p>At Vienna men had said, when the news of Bautzen came, that the +conqueror was perhaps an angel, perhaps a devil—certainly not a man. +The cabinet had seen with alarm his attempt to negotiate directly with +the Czar. Success in winning Russia would put Austria again at +Napoleon's mercy; Alexander must be kept in warlike humor at all +hazards. Nesselrode demanded nothing less than Austria's adherence to +the coalition; Francis was still unready to fight; and Metternich, +displaying all his adroitness, finally wrung from Nesselrode a basis +for mediation comprising six articles: the extinction of Warsaw, the +enlargement of Prussia by her Polish provinces and Dantzic, the +restoration of Illyria to Austria, the independence of the Hanseatic +towns, the dissolution of the Rhenish Confederacy, and the restoration +of Prussia's western boundaries to the lines of 1806. This was a +"minimum" considerably smaller than that proposed before Bautzen; but +the allies could well accept it if Austria would promise never to take +sides with France, as Metternich is said to have verbally assured the +Czar in a secret meeting would be the case. On June twenty-seventh it +was formally arranged that a congress to pacify the Continent on this +basis should be held preliminary to a general peace including England; +and the treaty binding Russia, Prussia, and Austria to alliance in +case of Napoleon's refusal was signed that <span class="pagenum"><a id="page416" name="page416"></a>(p. 416)</span> day in secret at +Reichenbach. Should Napoleon reject Austria's articles of mediation, +she was, on July twentieth, to join the coalition, and fight not only +until he was driven behind the Rhine, but until the fortresses on the +Oder and the Vistula were evacuated, Italy liberated, Spain restored +to the Bourbons, and Austria reënlarged to her boundaries of 1805.</p> + +<p>"If the allies do not in good faith desire peace," said Napoleon on +June fifth, as he left his headquarters for Dresden, "this armistice +may prove fatal to us." Late in life he believed that if he had in his +great crisis marched right on, Austria would not have declared against +him. Shrewd as he was, he was a tyro in dynastic politics. Austria has +been made, aggrandized, and saved by marriages; but no conception of +the duty imposed on families by that relation as understood in private +life has ever controlled her politics. Francis was never unwilling to +use his daughter for public ends, and seems to have delighted in the +construction of family feeling formed in his son-in-law's mind by +homely sentiment. It is preposterous to suppose that Napoleon really +entertained such a view of his marriage as that of the Parisian +bourgeois; but viewing himself as an established dynastic ruler, he +could well imagine that when Austria had her choice between two purely +dynastic alliances, she would, for the sake of Maria Louisa, have +chosen that with France. This rather simple conception he seems to +have entertained for a time, because when Maret and Metternich met, +the former urged the matrimonial bond as a consideration. "The +marriage," rejoined the latter, with a cough—"yes, the marriage; it +was a match founded on political considerations, but—" and the +conclusion of the sentence was a significant wag of the head.</p> + +<p>Napoleon's first instinct of treachery was that of the <span class="pagenum"><a id="page417" name="page417"></a>(p. 417)</span> +general, and it was sound. His suspicions were fully aroused as soon +as he reached Dresden; for Bubna began at once to stickle for +antiquated formalities in negotiation, and stung Napoleon to +exasperation by his evident determination to procrastinate. +Accordingly the Emperor summoned Metternich to a personal meeting. The +minister could not well explain. Since Castlereagh's return to power +in January, 1812, Great Britain had kept at Berlin, St. Petersburg, +and Vienna able diplomats ready, with purse in hand, to pay almost any +sum for a strong coalition. It had been the appearance of Sir Charles +Stewart from Berlin, and of Lord Cathcart from St. Petersburg, at the +allied headquarters which accounted for the arrogant firmness of +Shuvaloff and Kleist, and determined the character of the armistice. +On June fourteenth and fifteenth those envoys further concluded +treaties with Prussia and Russia respectively which explain the +performances of Bubna at Dresden, and of the congress which later met +at Prague. Prussia promised, in return for a subsidy of two thirds of +a million pounds sterling, to cede a certain portion of lower Saxony, +with the bishopric of Hildesheim, to the electorate of Hanover, and +agreed to keep on foot eighty thousand men; Russia was to maintain a +hundred and sixty thousand men, in return for one and a third million +pounds, and for the care of English vessels in her harbors she was to +receive a further sum of half a million. Great Britain and Russia were +in conjunction to emit an issue of paper money to the amount of five +millions sterling, and this loan was to be guaranteed by England, +Prussia, and Russia conjointly. In conclusion it was solemnly +stipulated that neither Russia nor Great Britain should negotiate +separately with France.</p> + +<p>In view of the successive stages of Napoleon's isolation,—namely, the +armistice, these two subsidy treaties, <span class="pagenum"><a id="page418" name="page418"></a>(p. 418)</span> and the secret treaty +of June twenty-seventh signed at Reichenbach,—it seems futile to +discuss the question whether or not Napoleon really wished peace in +his famous interview with Metternich on June twenty-seventh—an +interview which lasted from a quarter before twelve at midday until +nearly nine at night, and has improperly been considered as the +turning-point in Napoleon's career. Up to that moment Metternich's +intervention had amounted to nothing short of selfish double-dealing. +Of this Napoleon had written evidence. No wonder the shifty minister +described his interview as "a most curious mixture of most +heterogeneous subjects, of intermitting friendliness with the most +passionate outbreaks," and strove in his account to deepen the shadows +of his picture by discreet silence as to certain points—a trick he +may have learned from Whitworth. The unfriendly narrator declares that +Napoleon, when told that his soldiers were only boys, flung his hat +into a corner, and hissed, "You do not know what passes in a soldier's +mind; I grew up in the field, and a man like me troubles himself +little about a million men." The Austrian statesman further reported +the French emperor to have characterized his second marriage as a +piece of stupidity, and to have charged his princely interlocutor with +venality!</p> + +<p>Probably all this is true: the professional soldier's point of view is +terrible to the laity. Kossuth declared to a trustworthy witness that +he had seen the letters of Maria Louisa which betrayed her husband to +her father; and no one has ever denied that Napoleon was a fair judge +of character, and called a spade a spade when he was angry. And angry +he was. Here was the man who had plumed himself on the +Bonaparte-Hapsburg alliance, who had hitherto professed the most +ardent personal esteem for Napoleon himself, and who <span class="pagenum"><a id="page419" name="page419"></a>(p. 419)</span> had so +far found Austria's highest welfare in supporting the Napoleonic +system. And what was his conduct? A complete and sudden reversal of +his previous behavior, personal insolence, and public scorn. Then and +there he demanded the suspension, at least temporarily, of the treaty +of alliance between Austria and France—a paper solemnly negotiated by +himself but little more than one short year earlier; then, too, he +demanded a further prolongation of the armistice while the peace +congress held its sessions, and, coldly throwing every other +consideration to the winds, gave his victim to understand that Austria +was no longer a mediator, but an armed arbiter, determined to regain +her glory by the line of least resistance—that is, by alliance with +Russia, in order to secure a continental peace, to which Great Britain +should not be a party.</p> + +<p>Is it wonderful that under such provocation Napoleon's hot Corsican +blood boiled over, or that his unruly tongue uttered startling +language? The time had come when he must recognize masters and laws, +and it was not easy. At thirty, as he liked to boast, he had gained +victories, appeased a popular storm, fused parties, and rallied a +nation. Further, for years he had made sport of European dynasties, +and in particular had found that of Austria both double-faced and +time-serving. Having taken a leaf from her book, he had become her +dupe, and it was hard to bear the consequences. The stormy side of the +famous interview is therefore unimportant historically; its only +significance is that it marks the last stage in the evolution of +Austrian diplomacy. Being now strong enough to reassert equality with +France in the councils of Europe, the Hapsburg empire was about to +act. Metternich believed that Alexander's aid would be more valuable +than Napoleon's, and in a letter to his master, written <span class="pagenum"><a id="page420" name="page420"></a>(p. 420)</span> two +days after the famous interview, he explained that through a +continental peace lay the line of least resistance. The arrangement he +suggested to Napoleon would leave England and France to renew the +struggle and fight until exhausted, while Austria, Russia, and Prussia +were recuperating. Napoleon's one weapon against England was his +Continental System; on the morrow of a victorious campaign he could +not so easily throw it down. If there was to be a continental peace, +and not a general one, it must be made after a final decisive victory; +and to assemble his troops for a grand battle with Austria, Russia, +and Prussia, he needed time. The Poischwitz armistice was his first +fatal blunder; before the close of the interview he consented to its +prolongation until August tenth, ostensibly that the Congress of +Prague might arrange terms for a continental peace; and this was his +undoing.</p> + +<p>The Congress of Prague was a puppet-show, and has no place in history +except as it displayed the character of Metternich, deceiving himself +to its close with the belief that he was what he professed to be—an +armed mediator turning the course of European politics back into +dynastic channels. In reality it was as Napoleon said—he believed +himself to be directing everybody, when everything was directing him. +Behind the puppets were Alexander's fatalism, Prussia's regenerated +nationality, the half-awakened sensibility of Austria, and lastly, +British gold with British victories. Wellington had finally focused +the national power of Spain, and was actually menacing the soil of +France. His famous "march to Vitoria," as it has been called because +of the decisive battle fought at that place on June twenty-first, +1813, forced Napoleon finally to abandon Spain. Already the Emperor +had withdrawn his choicest veterans thence, and he was well aware +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page421" name="page421"></a>(p. 421)</span> how futile any further struggles for Joseph's throne must +be. His conduct, therefore, was perfectly consistent; with a bold +front he laid down the ultimatum of <i>uti possidetis</i> for the congress, +and left for Mainz, where he remained from July twenty-fifth to August +first, arranging his military plans for the defense of the Pyrenees, +and despatching Soult, who went against his will, for the campaign +which sealed the marshal's reputation as a great soldier. Doubtless, +too, Napoleon felt that distance from the absurd congress would +absolve him from the guilt of its empty pretense.</p> + +<p>There, too, he met his empress; perhaps he fondly dreamed that she +might intercede with her sire; in the long interviews they held he was +probably drilling her in the functions of a regent chosen to sustain +in Paris the tottering cause of her consort and her child. Fouché, +too, was recalled from his suspicious retirement to untangle the +thread of Austrian duplicity. But the long hours of consultation, +arrangement, and execution were mainly concerned, we may suppose, with +the hurrying in of new levies, the raising of cavalry, the creation of +artillery, and the general preparation for the life-and-death struggle +which was soon to take place. The Danish alliance was strengthened, +and Murat by strenuous efforts was kept within the shadowy lines of +the vanishing Napoleonic system. Beugnot, then head of the French +regency of Berg, was one day called at a moment's notice to act as +amanuensis, and in a flurry twice took his Emperor's chair. "So you +are determined to sit in my seat," was Napoleon's simple remark; "you +have chosen a bad time for it." The mayor of Mainz was St. André, a +stanch conventional of the old school; another day he and Beugnot, +with the Prince of Nassau, accompanied the visitor on a river +excursion, and the Emperor, scanning with intense <span class="pagenum"><a id="page422" name="page422"></a>(p. 422)</span> interest +the castle of Biberich, leaned far over the boat. "What a curious +attitude," whispered the veteran revolutionary to the terrified +Beugnot; "the fate of the world depends on a kick or two."</p> + +<p>The fate of the world was not in jeopardy, and the seat of Napoleon as +Emperor of the West was not to be occupied by another; but the affairs +of the Continent were to be readjusted, the beneficent work of the +Revolution was to be transferred to other hands, and the notion of +Western empire was to vanish like other baseless fabrics. The +diplomacy of Lord Aberdeen, Castlereagh's envoy at Vienna, had +succeeded before Napoleon returned to Dresden, and the treaty of +eventual triple alliance, signed at Reichenbach on June +twenty-seventh, was made good on August first by Francis, who agreed, +in return for an enormous subsidy from Great Britain, to join Russia +and Prussia with two hundred thousand men. The rosters of Austria's +army had been surreptitiously obtained by French agents in Prague. +Napoleon was aghast as he read the proof of her gigantic efforts. At +once he redoubled his own, and began to unfold a marvelous diplomatic +shrewdness. With Poland's three despoilers thus united in England's +pay, his isolation would be complete; a few days only remained until +the expiration of the armistice; he had but one arrow left in his +quiver, and he determined to speed it: to bribe Austria into +neutrality by accepting her conditions and restoring the national +equilibrium of Europe.</p> + +<p>The proposition was made, and staggered Francis; for two days he +dallied, and then made a counter-proposition with a new clause, which +secured, not the emancipation of states, but dynastic independence for +the sovereigns of the Rhine Confederation. This drew the veil from +Metternich's policy. Afraid of a German <span class="pagenum"><a id="page423" name="page423"></a>(p. 423)</span> nationality in which +Prussia would inevitably secure the hegemony, he was determined to +perpetuate the rivalries of petty potentates, and regain Austria's +ascendancy in Germany as well as in Italy. This, too, would strip +Napoleon of his German troops, and confine France to the west shore of +the Rhine, even though it left Westphalia and Berg under French +rulers. Such a contingency was abhorrent to one still pretending to +Western empire, and Napoleon in turn procrastinated until the evening +of the ninth, when, as a final compromise, he offered the +dismemberment of Warsaw, the freedom of Dantzic and Illyria, including +Fiume, but retaining Triest. But by this time dynastic jealousy had +done its work at Prague, and when these terms were communicated to the +plenipotentiaries unofficially, Cathcart's bellicose humor, which was +heightened by the news from Wellington, served to complement +Alexander's jealousy of Austria's rising power. The Prussian +nationalists, too, saw their emancipation indefinitely postponed; and +since the communication of Napoleon's ultimatum was unofficial, and an +official notification had not arrived at midnight on the tenth, the +commissioners of Russia and Prussia rose at the stroke of the clock, +and informed Metternich that, their powers having expired, he was +bound by the terms of Reichenbach.</p> + +<p>Metternich kept up his mask, and continued to discuss with +Caulaincourt the items of Napoleon's proposition, but the other +diplomats gave vent to their delight. Humboldt lingered until +Austria's formal declaration of war was under way to Dresden; +simultaneously beacons, prearranged for the purpose on Bohemian hills, +flashed the welcome news to the expectant armies of Russia and +Prussia. Napoleon still stood undismayed by forms, for under the terms +of the armistice a week's <span class="pagenum"><a id="page424" name="page424"></a>(p. 424)</span> notice must be given before the +renewal of hostilities. On the thirteenth he offered Austria +everything except Hamburg and Triest; on the fifteenth he offered even +these great ports. But technical right was on the side of war, and his +proposals were refused.</p> + +<p>Where the blame or merit for the renewal of hostilities rests will +ever remain a matter of opinion. Amid the tangles of negotiation, it +must be remembered that on March twenty-fourth, 1812, Russia and +Sweden began the coalition; that Russia and Prussia were forced into +union on February twenty-eighth, 1813, by the element of interest +common to Alexander's dynasty and the Prussian people; that Great +Britain entered on the scene in her commercial agreement with Sweden +on March third, 1813; and that English diplomacy combined with the +interests of Austrian diplomacy to complete and cement the coalition +with the necessary subsidies. If we view the negotiations of +Poischwitz and Prague in connection with Napoleon's whole career, they +appear to have run in a channel prepared by his boundless ambition; if +we isolate them and scrutinize their course, we must think him the +moral victor. Whatever he may have been before, he was now eager for +peace, and sincere in his professions. Believing himself to have acted +generously when Austria was under his feet, he was outraged when he +saw that he had been duped by her subsequent course. The concessions +to which he was forced appear to have been made slowly, because what +he desired was not a continental peace in the interests of the +Hapsburgs, but a general peace in the interest of all Europe as +represented by the Empire and the dynasty which he had founded. At +this distance of time, and in the light of intervening history, some +credit should be given to his insight, which convinced him that +strengthened nationality, as well as renewed <span class="pagenum"><a id="page425" name="page425"></a>(p. 425)</span> dynastic +influence, might retard the liberalizing influences of the Revolution, +which he falsely believed himself still to represent. For the duration +of the Holy Alliance this was to a certain extent true. It will be +noticed that throughout the closing negotiations no mention was made +of the "Continental System." That malign concept of the revolutionary +epoch perished in Napoleon's decline, and history knows its name no +more.<a href="#toc"><span class="small">[Back to Contents]</span></a></p> + +<h3>END OF VOLUME III</h3> + + +<p class="p4"><a id="footnote1" name="footnote1"></a> +<strong>Footnote 1:</strong> References as before.<a href="#footnotetag1"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote2" name="footnote2"></a> +<strong>Footnote 2:</strong> References more specifically valuable for this and the +next chapter are Häusser, Czartoryski, Marbot, Lejeune, Oudinot, +Lettow-Vorbeck, Sir R. Wilson, with the Castlereagh Letters and +Napoleon's Correspondence.<a href="#footnotetag2"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote3" name="footnote3"></a> +<strong>Footnote 3:</strong> On the refusal of Russia and Prussia to join Austria, see +Vandal: Napoléon et Alexandre I<sup>er</sup>, Vol. I, Chapitre Préliminaire.<a href="#footnotetag3"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote4" name="footnote4"></a> +<strong>Footnote 4:</strong> References as before.<a href="#footnotetag4"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote5" name="footnote5"></a> +<strong>Footnote 5:</strong> Oudinot: Mémoires, Ch. II.<a href="#footnotetag5"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote6" name="footnote6"></a> +<strong>Footnote 6:</strong> Yorck von Wartenburg: Napoleon als Feldherr, I, XIII.<a href="#footnotetag6"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote7" name="footnote7"></a> +<strong>Footnote 7:</strong> On the character of Alexander, see Vandal: Napoléon et +Alexandre, Vol. I, Ch. I.<a href="#footnotetag7"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote8" name="footnote8"></a> +<strong>Footnote 8:</strong> For the years of the Franco-Russian alliance the French +archives contain a wealth of documentary material: regular despatches, +verbatim reports of conversations between the French ambassadors and +the Czar, the news of the day in St. Petersburg and the gossip of +society. Savary and Caulaincourt may be said to have kept their master +in personal touch with their friend and ally. There is likewise the +ordinary regular diplomatic correspondence with Austria, Prussia, +Turkey, and the other European states. An interesting and invaluable +peculiarity of French archives is, that bound up with despatches +received are the outlines of those sent, and generally not merely a +sketch, but the first draft with all annotations and corrections, +these quite often in Napoleon's almost cryptic but still decipherable +handwriting. Much of course is in cipher, but the key is available and +sometimes the official decipherment. The archives of St. Petersburg +are also available for properly accredited searchers; Tratchefski has +gone a considerable distance in publishing the decisive papers, and +Tatistcheff has printed many important documents in various +periodicals. Other sources have been already indicated: the published +correspondence of Napoleon and of Pozzo di Borgo, the histories of +Bignon, Lefebvre, and Rambaud, and the monumental work of Vandal: +Napoléon et Alexandre I<sup>er</sup>, are all of the first importance. Bertrand: +Lettres inédites de Talleyrand à Napoléon, contains the replies of the +minister to his chief. Duckworth's check at Constantinople is fully +explained by Juchereau de Saint Denys: Révolutions de Constantinople +en 1807 et 1808. Cf. also Hassel: Geschichte der Preussischen Politik, +1807 bis 1815. Choiseul-Gouffier: Réminiscences sur Napoléon I<sup>er</sup> et +Alexandre I<sup>er</sup>. Adami: Louise de Prusse, Erinnerungen der Gräfen von +Voss. Savary: Mémoires. Life of Sir Robert Wilson.<a href="#footnotetag8"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote9" name="footnote9"></a> +<strong>Footnote 9:</strong> On this point, see Vandal: Napoléon et Alexandre I<sup>er</sup>, +Ch. I.<a href="#footnotetag9"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote10" name="footnote10"></a> +<strong>Footnote 10:</strong> The importance of American commerce at that time has not +usually had due recognition; statement of its value see Mahan: The +Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution and Empire, Vol. II, +pp. 231-2.<a href="#footnotetag10"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote11" name="footnote11"></a> +<strong>Footnote 11:</strong> References as before. Further: Lefebvre: Histoire des +cabinets de l'Europe. Tatistcheff: Alexandre I<sup>er</sup> et Napoléon. Ranke: +Hardenberg und die Geschichte des Preussischen Staates von 1793-1813. +Pingaud: Les Français en Russie et les Russes en France.<a href="#footnotetag11"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote12" name="footnote12"></a> +<strong>Footnote 12:</strong> For an interesting comment on Talleyrand's diplomacy, +see Sorel: L'Europe et la Révolution Française, Vol. VI, pp. 23-25.<a href="#footnotetag12"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote13" name="footnote13"></a> +<strong>Footnote 13:</strong> References: Jauffret: Mémoires historiques sur les +affaires ecclésiastiques de France pendant les premières années du +XIX<sup>e</sup> siècle. Thorsoë: Den danske Statspolitiske Historie 1800-1864. +Lemoine: Napoléon et les Juifs. Lémann: Napoléon et les Israélites; La +prépondérance juive.<a href="#footnotetag13"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote14" name="footnote14"></a> +<strong>Footnote 14:</strong> See discussion of this question by J. H. Rose, "A +British Agent at Tilsit," in English Historical Review, Oct., 1901.<a href="#footnotetag14"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote15" name="footnote15"></a> +<strong>Footnote 15:</strong> See Lemoine: Napoléon et les Juifs.<a href="#footnotetag15"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote16" name="footnote16"></a> +<strong>Footnote 16:</strong> See Blanc: Napoléon I<sup>er</sup>. Taine: Le régime moderne. +Pasquier: Mémoires, Histoire de mon temps. Méneval: Napoléon et +Marie-Louise. V<sup>te</sup> de Broc: La vie en France sous le premier empire. +Metternich: Mémoires. Mme. de Rémusat: Mémoires.<a href="#footnotetag16"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote17" name="footnote17"></a> +<strong>Footnote 17:</strong> In general, for the censorship of the press see +Welschinger: La censure sous le Premier Empire. Sorel: Essais +d'histoire et de critique.<a href="#footnotetag17"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote18" name="footnote18"></a> +<strong>Footnote 18:</strong> Sorel, Vol. VII, pp. 191-2.<a href="#footnotetag18"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote19" name="footnote19"></a> +<strong>Footnote 19:</strong> References as before, and Mahan: Influence of Sea Power +upon the French Revolution and Empire. Loir: Études d'histoire +maritime. Clowes: The Royal Navy. Stanhope: Life of Hon. William +Pitt.<a href="#footnotetag19"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote20" name="footnote20"></a> +<strong>Footnote 20:</strong> See Oman: Peninsular War. Martins: Historia de Portugal. +Delagrave: La Campagne de Portugal. Also Memoirs, etc., by Barkhäusen, +Brandt, Gomm, Moore, Naylies, Roveréa, Savary, Miot de Melito.<a href="#footnotetag20"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote21" name="footnote21"></a> +<strong>Footnote 21:</strong> See Baumgarten: Geschichte Spaniens vom Ausbruch der +Französischen Revolution bis auf unsere Tage. Manini: Historia de la +marina real española. Arteche y Maro: Guerra de la Independencia. +Toriño: Guerra de la Independencia.</p> + +<p>On the question of the national rising in Spain see an article by J. +B. Rye and R. A. Bence-Pembroke, of Oxford, in the Army Service Corps +Quarterly, October, 1905.<a href="#footnotetag21"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote22" name="footnote22"></a> +<strong>Footnote 22:</strong> For a discussion of this letter see Murat, by Murat, +Paris, 1897, p. 139. Rosebery: The Last Phase, pp. 10 and 11.<a href="#footnotetag22"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote23" name="footnote23"></a> +<strong>Footnote 23:</strong> Originals will be found in Oman, Vol. I, pp. 616-18.<a href="#footnotetag23"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote24" name="footnote24"></a> +<strong>Footnote 24:</strong> See Yorck: Napoleon als Feldherr. Correspondence of +Napoleon, vols. 17 and 18. Ducasse: Les rois frères de Napoleon I<sup>er</sup>. +Krones: Geschichte Österreich im Zeitalter der französischen Kriege. +Pelet: Mémoires sur la guerre de 1809 en Allemagne. Maxwell: Life of +Wellington. Schlesier: Erinnerungen an W. von Humboldt. Arndt: Geist +der Zeit. Fichte: Fichtes Leben.<a href="#footnotetag24"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote25" name="footnote25"></a> +<strong>Footnote 25:</strong> Masson: Joséphine répudiée. Welschinger, La divorce de +Napoléon.<a href="#footnotetag25"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote26" name="footnote26"></a> +<strong>Footnote 26:</strong> See Vandal, Vol. I, Chapitre Préliminaire.<a href="#footnotetag26"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote27" name="footnote27"></a> +<strong>Footnote 27:</strong> See Fischer: Goethe und Napoleon. Pingaud: Bernadotte, +Napoléon et les Bourbons. Rose: Napoleonic Studies. Bernhardi: +Geschichte Russlands und der europäischen Politik im XIX<sup>ten</sup> +Jahrhundert. Schilder: The Emperor Alexander I, his Life and Reign.<a href="#footnotetag27"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote28" name="footnote28"></a> +<strong>Footnote 28:</strong> See Jomini: Napoleon, III. Cevallos: Exposicion de los +hechos y maquinaciones que han preparado la usurpation de la corona de +España, y los medios que el emperador de los franzeses ha puesto en +obra para realizarla. Suchet: Mémoires sur ses campagnes en Espagne, +1808-1814. Rocca: Memoirs, 1808-1812. Also Memoirs of Godoy, Marbot, +Masséna, and Murat.<a href="#footnotetag28"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote29" name="footnote29"></a> +<strong>Footnote 29:</strong> See Metternich: Nachgelassene Papiere (English +translation as Memoirs). Mazade: Alexandre I<sup>er</sup> et le Prince +Czartoryski. Duncker: Friedr. Wilhelm im Jahre 1809. Ranke: Hardenberg +und die Geschichte des preussischen Staates von 1793-1813. Rapp: +Mémoires.<a href="#footnotetag29"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote30" name="footnote30"></a> +<strong>Footnote 30:</strong> See Saski: Campagne de 1809, Lejeune, Mémoires du +général. Fournier: Österreich nach dem Frieden von Wien. Beer: Zehn +Jahre österreichischer Politik (1801-10).<a href="#footnotetag30"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote31" name="footnote31"></a> +<strong>Footnote 31:</strong> See Marbot: Memoirs. Smekal: Die Schlacht bei Aspern und +Essling. Strobl: Aspern und Wagram. Cadet de Gassicourt: Voyage en +Autriche. Schmölzer: Hofer und seine Kampfgenossen.<a href="#footnotetag31"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote32" name="footnote32"></a> +<strong>Footnote 32:</strong> See Majol de Lupe: Fournier: Gentz und der Friede von +Schönbrunn in Deutsche Rundschau, tom. 44. Un pape prisonnier à +Savone, d'après des documents inédits. In Le Correspondant, 6 +articles, du 10 mars au 25 mai. Clair: Hofer et l'insurrection du +Tyrol.<a href="#footnotetag32"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote33" name="footnote33"></a> +<strong>Footnote 33:</strong> See Welschinger: Le divorce de Napoléon. Vandal: +Négociations avec la Russie relatives au second mariage de Napoléon, +in the Revue historique, tom. 44, pp. 1-42.<a href="#footnotetag33"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote34" name="footnote34"></a> +<strong>Footnote 34:</strong> See Welschinger: Le Divorce de Napoléon. Vandal: +Napoléon et Alexandre I<sup>er</sup>, Vol. II, Le second mariage de Napoléon. +Correspondance de Marie Louise 1799-1847. Lettres intimes et inédites +à la C<sup>tesse</sup> de Colloredo et à M<sup>lle</sup> de Poutet, depuis 1810 C<sup>tesse</sup> de +Crenneville. Welschinger: Le mariage de Napoléon et de Marie Louise, +in Revue de la révolution, Paris, Nov., 1788. Durand, Madame la +Générale, A Memoir, Napoleon and Marie-Louise ("Mémoires sur Napoléon +et Marie-Louise").<a href="#footnotetag34"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote35" name="footnote35"></a> +<strong>Footnote 35:</strong> References: Marbot, Memoirs, ch. 28. Mahan: Influence of +Sea Power. Sloane: Political Science Quarterly, The Continental System +of Napoleon, XIII, pp. 213 <i>et seq.</i><a href="#footnotetag35"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote36" name="footnote36"></a> +<strong>Footnote 36:</strong> See Napier, Peninsular War.<a href="#footnotetag36"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote37" name="footnote37"></a> +<strong>Footnote 37:</strong> Oman, History of the Peninsular War, furnishes much +valuable material on this period. His point of view in one feature is +corrected by J. B. Rye and R. A. Bence-Pembroke of Oxford. See the +Army Service Corps Quarterly, October, 1905.<a href="#footnotetag37"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote38" name="footnote38"></a> +<strong>Footnote 38:</strong> References as before, and Helfert: Marie Louise. +Welschinger: La censure sous le premier empire. Wertheimer: Die Heirat +der Erzherzogin Marie Louise mit Napoleon I. Montbel: Le duc de +Reichstadt. Welschinger: Le roi de Rome.<a href="#footnotetag38"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote39" name="footnote39"></a> +<strong>Footnote 39:</strong> References: Bernhardi, Geschichte Russlands, II. Ranke, +Hardenberg u. Preussen (vol. 48 of his complete works, 1879). +Lefebvre, Histoire des Cabinets de l'Europe. Vandal, Napoléon et +Alexandre I<sup>er</sup>, parts of Vols. II and III.<a href="#footnotetag39"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote40" name="footnote40"></a> +<strong>Footnote 40:</strong> References as before, to which add Lehmann: Scharnhorst, +Vol. II.<a href="#footnotetag40"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote41" name="footnote41"></a> +<strong>Footnote 41:</strong> References: Bittard des Portes: Les préliminaires de +l'entrevue d'Erfurt (1808). In Revue d'histoire diplomatique, tom. IV, +pp. 95-144. Sklower: Entrevue de Napoleon I<sup>er</sup> et de Goethe suivie de +notes et commentaires.<a href="#footnotetag41"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote42" name="footnote42"></a> +<strong>Footnote 42:</strong> References: Tatistcheff: Alexandre I<sup>er</sup> et Napoléon. +Czartoryski: Memoirs. De Chambray: Œuvres. Ségur: La campagne de +Russie. Labaume: Relation circonstanciée de la campagne de Russie. +Wilson: A Narrative of the Campaign in Russia during the Year 1812. Du +Casse: Mémoires et Correspondance du Prince Eugène. Rapp: Mémoires. +Bausset: Mémoires. Davout: Correspondance (ed. Mazade, 1885), Vol. +III. Lossberg, V., Briefe in die Heimat geschrieben während d. +Feldzugs 1812 in Russland. Yorck von Wartenburg: Napoleon als +Feldherr. Stoltyk: Napoléon en Russie.<a href="#footnotetag42"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote43" name="footnote43"></a> +<strong>Footnote 43:</strong> References: Marguerou: Campagne de Russie, specially +part III. Bertin: La campagne de 1812 d'après des témoins oculaires. +Mosbach: Der Übergang über die Beresina aus ungedruckten Denkw. d. +polnischen Obersten Bialkowski, Streffleur's "Österr. militär. +Zeitschrift," 1875. Clausewitz: "Über die Schlacht a.d. Beresina," +letter to Stein, published in the "Hist. Zeitschrift" for 1888. +George: Napoleon's Invasion of Russia. Fabry: Campagne de Russie,1812, +Opérations Militaires.<a href="#footnotetag43"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote44" name="footnote44"></a> +<strong>Footnote 44:</strong> References as in the preceding chapter. Also: Cathcart: +Commentaries on the War in Russia and Germany, 1812 to 1813. +Clausewitz: Der Feldzug von 1812 in Russland, der Feldzug von 1813 bis +zum Waffenstillstand und der Feldzug von 1814 in Frankreich. Combe: +Mémoires sur les campagnes de Russie 1812, de Saxe 1813, de France +1814 et 1815. Jomini: Précis politique et militaire des campagnes de +1812 à 1814. Labaume: Relation circonstanciée de la campagne de +Russie. Gentz: Österreichs Theilnahme an den Befreiungskriegen. Ein +Beitrag zur Geschichte der Jahre 1813-1815, nach Aufzeichnungen von F. +von Gentz, nebst einem Anhang: "Briefwechsel zwischen dem Fürsten +Schwarzenberg und Metternich." Porter: A Narrative of the Campaign in +Russia in 1812. Ségur: Histoire de Napoléon et de la grande armée +pendant l'année 1812. Gourgaud: Napoléon et la grande armée en Russie, +ou examen critique de l'ouvrage de M. le C<sup>te</sup> Ph. de Ségur. Vandal: +Napoléon et Alexandre I<sup>er</sup>. Wilson: Private diary of travels, personal +services and public events during mission and employment with the +European armies in the campaigns of 1812, 1813 and 1814; ed. by his +nephew, H. Murray. Wolseley: The Decline and Fall of Napoleon.<a href="#footnotetag44"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote45" name="footnote45"></a> +<strong>Footnote 45:</strong> References: Bertin, La campagne de 1812, d'après des +témoins oculaires. Du Casse, Mémoires à l'histoire de la campagne de +1812 en Russie. Exner, Der Antheil der Königl. Sächsischen Armee am +Feldzuge gegen Russland, 1812. Lafon, Histoire de la conjuration du +Gén. Malet, avec des détails officiels sur cette affaire. Labaume, +Relation circonstanciée de la campagne de Russie. Lecointe de Laveau, +Moscou avant et après l'incendie, ou notice contenant une description +de cette capitale, des mœurs de ses habitants, des événements qui +se passèrent pendant l'incendie, et des malheurs qui accablèrent +l'armée française pendant la retraite de 1812. +Mikhailowsky-Danilewsky, Le passage de la Beresina. von Pfuel, E., Der +Ruckzug der Franzosen aus Russland. de Puibusque, Lettres sur la +guerre de Russie, en 1812, sur la ville de Saint-Pétersbourg, les +mœurs et les usages des habitants de la Russie et de la Pologne.<a href="#footnotetag45"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote46" name="footnote46"></a> +<strong>Footnote 46:</strong> References: Foucart: Bautzen, une bataille de deux +jours, 20-21 mai, 1813. Fiévée: Correspondance et relations avec +Bonaparte, Mémoires of Savary. Rousset: La grande armée de 1813.<a href="#footnotetag46"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote47" name="footnote47"></a> +<strong>Footnote 47:</strong> References: Haussonville: L'Église romaine et le premier +empire. de Pradt: Les quatre concordats. de Fallois: L'Empereur +Napoleon I<sup>er</sup> et le Pape Pie VII. Séché: Les origines du concordat. +Theiner: Histoire des deux concordats de la république française et de +la république cisalpine conclus en 1801 et 1813, entre Napoléon +Bonaparte et le Saint-Siège.<a href="#footnotetag47"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote48" name="footnote48"></a> +<strong>Footnote 48:</strong> References: Fain: Manuscrit de l'an 1813. Müffling: Aus +meinem Leben. Bade: Napoleon im Jahre 1813. Schimpf: 1813; Napoleon in +Sachsen. Foucart: Bautzen une bataille de deux jours. Metternich's +Memoirs, Memoirs of Hardenberg.<a href="#footnotetag48"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + +<p><a id="footnote49" name="footnote49"></a> +<strong>Footnote 49:</strong> References: Von Odeleben, Napoleons Feldzug in Sachsen +im Jahre 1813. Yorck, Napoleon als Feldherr. Weil, Campagne de 1813.<a href="#footnotetag49"><span class="small">[Back to Main Text]</span></a></p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, by +William Milligan Sloane + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE *** + +***** This file should be named 27289-h.htm or 27289-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/2/8/27289/ + +Produced by Thierry Alberto, Henry Craig, Christine P. +Travers and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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