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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/3554-8.txt b/3554-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ebe162e --- /dev/null +++ b/3554-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3882 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v4, by +Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne + +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/license + + +Title: Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v4 + +Author: Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne + +Posting Date: November 24, 2012 [EBook #3554] +Release Date: December, 2002 +[This file first posted = 04/20/01] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, V4 *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net> + + + + +MEMOIRS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, VOLUME 4. + +By LOUIS ANTOINE FAUVELET DE BOURRIENNE + +His Private Secretary + +Edited by R. W. Phipps +Colonel, Late Royal Artillery + +1891 + + + +CONTENTS: +Chapter XXVII. to Chapter XXXV. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +1799-1800. + + Difficulties of a new Government--State of Europe--Bonaparte's wish + for peace--M. de Talleyrand Minister for Foreign Affairs-- + Negotiations with England and Austria--Their failure--Bonaparte's + views on the East--His sacrifices to policy--General Bonaparte + denounced to the First Consul--Kléber's letter to the Directory-- + Accounts of the Egyptian expedition published in the Moniteur-- + Proclamation to the army of the East--Favour and disgrace of certain + individuals accounted for. + +When a new Government rises on the ruins of one that has been overthrown, +its best chance of conciliating the favour of the nation, if that nation +be at war, is to hold out the prospect of peace; for peace is always dear +to a people. Bonaparte was well aware of this; and if in his heart he +wished otherwise, he knew how important it was to seem to desire peace. +Accordingly, immediately after his installation at the Luxembourg he +notified to all the foreign powers his accession to the Consulate, and, +for the same purpose, addressed letters to all the diplomatic agents of +the French Government abroad. + +The day after he got rid of his first two colleagues, Sieyès and Roger +Ducos, he prepared to open negotiations with the Cabinet of London. At +that time we were at war with almost the whole of Europe. We had also +lost Italy. The Emperor of Germany was ruled by his Ministers, who in +their turn were governed by England. It was no easy matter to manage +equally the organization of the Consular Government and the no less +important affairs abroad; and it was very important to the interests +of the First Consul to intimate to foreign powers, while at the same time +he assured himself against the return of the Bourbons, that the system +which he proposed to adopt was a system of order and regeneration, unlike +either the demagogic violence of the Convention or the imbecile artifice +of the Directory. In fulfilment of this object Bonaparte directed M. de +Talleyrand, the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, to make the first +friendly overtures to the English Cabinet: A correspondence ensued, which +was published at the time, and which showed at once the conciliatory +policy of Bonaparte and the arrogant policy of England. + +The exchange of notes which took place was attended by no immediate +result. However, the First Consul had partly attained his object: if the +British Government would not enter into negotiations for peace, there was +at least reason to presume that subsequent overtures of the Consular +Government might be listened to. The correspondence had at all events +afforded Bonaparte the opportunity of declaring his principles, and above +all, it had enabled him to ascertain that the return of the Bourbons to +France (mentioned in the official reply of Lord Grenville) would not be a +sine qua non condition for the restoration of peace between the two +powers. + +Since M. de Talleyrand had been Minister for Foreign Affairs the business +of that department had proceeded with great activity. It was an +important advantage to Bonaparte to find a nobleman of the old regime +among the republicans. The choice of M. de Talleyrand was in some sort +an act of courtesy to the foreign Courts. It was a delicate attention to +the diplomacy of Europe to introduce to its members, for the purpose of +treating with them, a man whose rank was at least equal to their own, and +who was universally distinguished for a polished elegance of manner +combined with solid good qualities and real talents. + +It was not only with England that Bonaparte and his Minister endeavoured +to open negotiations; the Consular Cabinet also offered peace to the +House of Austria; but not at the same time. The object of this offer was +to sow discord between the two powers. Speaking to me one day of his +earnest wish to obtain peace Bonaparte said, "You see, Bourrienne, I have +two great enemies to cope with. I will conclude peace with the one I +find most easy to deal with. That will enable me immediately to assail +the other. I frankly confess that I should like best to be at peace with +England. Nothing would then be more easy than to crush Austria. She has +no money except what she gets through England." + +For a long time all negotiations proved abortive. None of the European +powers would acknowledge the new Government, of which Bonaparte was the +head; and the battle of Marengo was required before the peace of Amiens +could be obtained. + +Though the affairs of the new Government afforded abundant occupation to +Bonaparte, he yet found leisure to direct attention to the East--to that +land of despotism whence, judging from his subsequent conduct, it might +be presumed he derived his first principles of government. On becoming +the head of the State he wished to turn Egypt, which he had conquered as +a general, to the advantage of his policy as Consul. If Bonaparte +triumphed over a feeling of dislike in consigning the command of the army +to Kléber, it was because he knew Kléber to be more capable than any +other of executing the plans he had formed; and Bonaparte was not the man +to sacrifice the interests of policy to personal resentment. It is +certainly true that he then put into practice that charming phrase of +Molière's--"I pardon you, but you shall pay me for this!" + +With respect to all whom he had left in Egypt Bonaparte stood in a very +singular situation. On becoming Chief of the Government he was not only +the depositary of all communications made to the Directory; but letters +sent to one address were delivered to another, and the First Consul +received the complaints made against the General who had so abruptly +quitted Egypt. In almost all the letters that were delivered to us he +was the object of serious accusation. According to some he had not +avowed his departure until the very day of his embarkation; and he had +deceived everybody by means of false and dissembling proclamations. +Others canvassed his conduct while in Egypt: the army which had triumphed +under his command he had abandoned when reduced to two-thirds of its +original force and a prey to all the horrors of sickness and want. It +must be confessed that these complaints and accusations were but too well +founded, and one can never cease wondering at the chain of fortunate +circumstances which so rapidly raised Bonaparte to the Consular seat. +In the natural order of things, and in fulfilment of the design which he +himself had formed, he should have disembarked at Toulon, where the +quarantine laws would no doubt have been observed; instead of which, the +fear of the English and the uncertainty of the pilots caused him to go to +Fréjus, where the quarantine laws were violated by the very persons most +interested in respecting them. Let us suppose that Bonaparte had been +forced to perform quarantine at Toulon. What would have ensued? The +charges against him would have fallen into the hands of the Directory, +and he would probably have been suspended, and put upon his trial. + +Among the letters which fell into Bonaparte's hands, by reason of the +abrupt change of government, was an official despatch (of the 4th +Vendemiaire, year VIII.) from General Kléber at Cairo to the Executive +Directory, in which that general spoke in very stringent terms of the +sudden departure of Bonaparte and of the state in which the army in Egypt +had been left. General Kléber further accused him of having evaded, by +his flight, the difficulties which he thus transferred to his successor's +shoulders, and also of leaving the army "without a sou in the chest," +with pay in arrear, and very little supply of munitions or clothing. + +The other letters from Egypt were not less accusatory than Kléber's; and +it cannot be doubted that charges of so precise a nature, brought by the +general who had now become commander-in-chief against his predecessor, +would have had great weight, especially backed as they were by similar +complaints from other quarters. A trial would have been inevitable; and +then, no 18th Brumaire, no Consulate, no Empire, no conquest of Europe- +but also, it may be added, no St. Helena. None of these events would +have ensued had not the English squadron, when it appeared off Corsica, +obliged the Muiron to scud about at hazard, and to touch at the first +land she could reach. + +The Egyptian expedition filled too important a place in the life of +Bonaparte for him to neglect frequently reviving in the public mind the +recollection of his conquests in the East. It was not to be forgotten +that the head of the Republic was the first of her generals. While +Moreau received the command of the armies of the Rhine, while Massena, as +a reward for the victory of Zurich, was made Commander-in-Chief in Italy, +and while Brune was at the head of the army of Batavia, Bonaparte, whose +soul was in the camps, consoled himself for his temporary inactivity by a +retrospective glance on his past triumphs. He was unwilling that Fame +should for a moment cease to blazon his name. Accordingly, as soon as he +was established at the head of the Government, he caused accounts of his +Egyptian expedition to be from time to time published in the Moniteur. +He frequently expressed his satisfaction that the accusatory +correspondence, and, above all, Kléber's letter, had fallen into his own +hands. Such was Bonaparte's perfect self-command that immediately after +perusing that letter he dictated to me the following proclamation, +addressed to the army of the East: + + SOLDIERS!--The Consuls of the French Republic frequently direct + their attention to the army of the East. + + France acknowledges all the influence of your conquests on the + restoration of her trade and the civilisation of the world. + + The eyes of all Europe are upon you, and in thought I am often with + you. + + In whatever situation the chances of war may place you, prove + yourselves still the soldiers of Rivoli and Aboukir--you will be + invincible. + + Place in Kléber the boundless confidence which you reposed in me. + He deserves it. + + Soldiers, think of the day when you will return victorious to the + sacred territory of France. That will be a glorious day for the + whole nation. + + +Nothing can more forcibly show the character of Bonaparte than the above +allusion to Kléber, after he had seen the way in which Kléber spoke of +him to the Directory. Could it ever have been imagined that the +correspondence of the army, to whom he addressed this proclamation, +teemed with accusations against him? Though the majority of these +accusations were strictly just, yet it is but fair to state that the +letters from Egypt contained some calumnies. In answer to the well- +founded portion of the charges Bonaparte said little; but he seemed to +feel deeply the falsehoods that were stated against him, one of which +was, that he had carried away millions from Egypt. I cannot conceive +what could have given rise to this false and impudent assertion. So far +from having touched the army chest, Bonaparte had not even received all +his own pay. Before he constituted himself the Government the Government +was his debtor. + +Though he knew well all that was to be expected from the Egyptian +expedition, yet those who lauded that affair were regarded with a +favourable eye by Bonaparte. The correspondence which had fallen into +his hands was to him of the highest importance in enabling him to +ascertain the opinions which particular individuals entertained of him. + +It was the source of favours and disgraces which those who were not in +the secret could not account for. It serves to explain why many men of +mediocrity were elevated to the highest dignities and honours, while +other men of real merit fell into disgrace or were utterly neglected. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +1800. + + Great and common men--Portrait of Bonaparte--The varied expression + of his countenance--His convulsive shrug--Presentiment of his + corpulency--Partiality for bathing--His temperance--His alleged + capability of dispensing with sleep--Good and bad news--Shaving, and + reading the journals--Morning business--Breakfast--Coffee and snuff + --Bonaparte's idea of his own situation--His ill opinion of mankind + --His dislike of a 'tête-à-tête'--His hatred of the Revolutionists + --Ladies in white--Anecdotes--Bonaparte's tokens of kindness, and + his droll compliments--His fits of ill humour--Sound of bells-- + Gardens of Malmaison--His opinion of medicine--His memory-- + His poetic insensibility--His want of gallantry--Cards and + conversation--The dress-coat and black cravat--Bonaparte's payments + --His religious ideas--His obstinacy. + +In perusing the history of the distinguished characters of past ages, how +often do we regret that the historian should have portrayed the hero +rather than the man! We wish to know even the most trivial habits of +those whom great talents and vast reputation have elevated above their +fellow-creatures. Is this the effect of mere curiosity, or rather is it +not an involuntary feeling of vanity which prompts us to console +ourselves for the superiority of great men by reflecting on their faults, +their weaknesses, their absurdities; in short, all the points of +resemblance between them and common men? For the satisfaction of those +who are curious in details of this sort, I will here endeavour to paint +Bonaparte, as I saw him, in person and in mind, to describe what were his +tastes and habits, and even his whims and caprices. + +Bonaparte was now in the prime of life, and about thirty. The person of +Bonaparte has served as a model for the most skilful painters and +sculptors; many able French artists have successfully delineated his +features, and yet it may be said that no perfectly faithful portrait of +him exists. His finely-shaped head, his superb forehead, his pale +countenance, and his usual meditative look, have been transferred to the +canvas; but the versatility of his expression was beyond the reach of +imitation. All the various workings of his mind were instantaneously +depicted in his countenance; and his glance changed from mild to severe, +and from angry to good-humoured, almost with the rapidity of lightning. +It may truly be said that he had a particular look for every thought that +arose in his mind. + +Bonaparte had beautiful hands, and he was very proud of them; while +conversing he would often look at them with an air of self-complacency. +He also fancied he had fine teeth, but his pretension to that advantage +was not so well founded as his vanity on the score of his hands. + +When walking, either alone or in company with any one, in his apartments +or in his gardens, he had the habit of stooping a little, and crossing +his hands behind his back. He frequently gave an involuntary shrug of +his right shoulder, which was accompanied by a movement of his mouth from +left to right. This habit was always most remarkable when his mind was +absorbed in the consideration of any profound subject. It was often +while walking that he dictated to me his most important notes. He could +endure great fatigue, not only on horseback but on foot; he would +sometimes walk for five or six hours in succession without being aware of +it. + +When walking with any person whom he treated with familiarity he would +link his arm into that of his companion, and lean on it. + +He used often to say to me, "You see, Bourrienne, how temperate, and how +thin I am; but, in spite of that, I cannot help thinking that at forty I +shall become a great eater, and get very fat. I foresee that my +constitution will undergo a change. I take a great deal of exercise; but +yet I feel assured that my presentiment will be fulfilled." This idea +gave him great uneasiness, and as I observed nothing which seemed to +warrant his apprehensions, I omitted no opportunity of assuring him that +they were groundless. But he would not listen to me, and all the time I +was about him, he was haunted by this presentiment, which, in the end, +was but too well verified. + +His partiality for the bath he mistook for a necessity. He would usually +remain in the bath two hours, during which time I used to read to him +extracts from the journals and pamphlets of the day, for he was anxious +to hear and know all that was going on. While in the bath he was +continually turning on the warm water to raise the temperature, so that I +was sometimes enveloped in such a dense vapour that I could not see to +read, and was obliged to open the door. + +Bonaparte was exceedingly temperate, and averse to all excess. He knew +the absurd stories that were circulated about him, and he was sometimes +vexed at them. It has been repeated, over and over again, that he was +subject to attacks of epilepsy; but during the eleven years that I was +almost constantly with him I never observed any symptom which in the +least degree denoted that malady. His health was good and his +constitution sound. If his enemies, by way of reproach, have attributed +to him a serious periodical disease, his flatterers, probably under the +idea that sleep is incompatible with greatness, have evinced an equal +disregard of truth in speaking of his night-watching. Bonaparte made +others watch, but he himself slept, and slept well. His orders were that +I should call him every morning at seven. I was therefore the first to +enter his chamber; but very frequently when I awoke him he would turn +himself, and say, "Ah, Bourrienne! let me lie a little longer." When +there was no very pressing business I did not disturb him again till +eight o'clock. He in general slept seven hours out of the twenty-four, +besides taking a short nap in the afternoon. + +Among the private instructions which Bonaparte gave me, one was very +curious. "During the night," said he, "enter my chamber as seldom as +possible. Do not awake me when you have any good news to communicate: +with that there is no hurry. But when you bring bad news, rouse me +instantly; for then there is not a moment to be lost." + +This was a wise regulation, and Bonaparte found his advantage in it. + +As soon as he rose his 'valet de chambre' shaved him and dressed his +hair. While he was being shaved I read to him the newspapers, beginning +always with the 'Moniteur.' He paid little attention to any but the +German and English papers. "Pass over all that," he would say, while I +was perusing the French papers; "I know it already. They say only what +they think will please me." I was often surprised that his valet did not +cut him while I was reading; for whenever he heard anything interesting +he turned quickly round towards me. + +When Bonaparte had finished his toilet, which he did with great +attention, for he was scrupulously neat in his person, we went down to +his cabinet. There he signed the orders on important petitions which had +been analysed by me on the preceding evening. On reception and parade +days he was particularly exact in signing these orders, because I used to +remind him that he would be likely to see most of the petitioners, and +that they would ask him for answers. To spare him this annoyance I used +often to acquaint them beforehand of what had been granted or refused, +and what had been the decision of the First Consul. He next perused the +letters which I had opened and laid on his table, ranging them according +to their importance. He directed me to answer them in his name; he +occasionally wrote the answers himself, but not often. + +At ten o'clock the 'maître d'hôtel' entered, and announced breakfast, +saying, "The General is served." We went to breakfast, and the repast +was exceedingly simple. He ate almost every morning some chicken, +dressed with oil and onions. This dish was then, I believe, called +'poulet à la Provençale'; but our restaurateurs have since conferred upon +it the more ambitious name of 'poulet à la Marengo.' + +Bonaparte drank little wine, always either claret or Burgundy, and the +latter by preference. After breakfast, as well as after dinner, he took +a cup of strong coffee. + + --[M. Brillat de Savarin, whose memory is dear to all gourmands, had + established, as a gastronomic principle, that "he who does not take + coffee after each meal is assuredly not a man of taste."-- + Bourrienne.]-- + +I never saw him take any between his meals, and I cannot imagine what +could have given rise to the assertion of his being particularly fond of +coffee. When he worked late at night he never ordered coffee, but +chocolate, of which he made me take a cup with him. But this only +happened when our business was prolonged till two or three in the +morning. + +All that has been said about Bonaparte's immoderate use of snuff has no +more foundation in truth than his pretended partiality for coffee. It is +true that at an early period of his life he began to take snuff, but it +was very sparingly, and always out of a box; and if he bore any +resemblance to Frederick the Great, it was not by filling his waistcoat- +pockets with snuff, for I must again observe he carried his notions of +personal neatness to a fastidious degree. + +Bonaparte had two ruling passions, glory and war. He was never more gay +than in the camp, and never more morose than in the inactivity of peace. +Plans for the construction of public monuments also pleased his +imagination, and filled up the void caused by the want of active +occupation. He was aware that monuments form part of the history of +nations, of whose civilisation they bear evidence for ages after those +who created them have disappeared from the earth, and that they likewise +often bear false-witness to remote posterity of the reality of merely +fabulous conquests. Bonaparte was, however, mistaken as to the mode of +accomplishing the object he had in view. His ciphers, his trophies, and +subsequently his eagles, splendidly adorned the monuments of his reign. +But why did he wish to stamp false initials on things with which neither +he nor his reign had any connection; as, for example the old Louvre? Did +he imagine that the letter, "N" which everywhere obtruded itself on the +eye, had in it a charm to controvert the records of history, or alter the +course of time? + + --[When Louis XVIII. returned to the Tuileries in 1814 he found that + Bonaparte had been an excellent tenant, and that he had left + everything in very good condition.]-- + +Be this as it may, Bonaparte well knew that the fine arts entail lasting +glory on great actions, and consecrate the memory of princes who protect +and encourage them. He oftener than once said to me, "A great reputation +is a great noise; the more there is made, the farther off it is heard. +Laws, institutions, monuments, nations, all fall; but the noise continues +and resounds in after ages." This was one of his favourite ideas. "My +power," he would say at other times, "depends on my glory, and my glory +on my victories. My power would fall were I not to support it by new +glory and new victories. Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest +alone can maintain me." This was then, and probably always continued to +be, his predominant idea, and that which prompted him continually to +scatter the seeds of war through Europe. He thought that if he remained +stationary he would fall, and he was tormented with the desire of +continually advancing. Not to do something great and decided was, in his +opinion, to do nothing. "A newly-born Government," said he to me, "must +dazzle and astonish. When it ceases to do that it falls." It was vain +to look for rest from a man who was restlessness itself. + +His sentiments towards France now differed widely from what I had known +them to be in his youth. He long indignantly cherished the recollection +of the conquest of Corsica, which he was once content to regard as his +country. But that recollection was effaced, and it might be said that he +now ardently loved France. His imagination was fired by the very thought +of seeing her great, happy, and powerful, and, as the first nation in the +world, dictating laws to the rest. He fancied his name inseparably +connected with France, and resounding in the ears of posterity. In all +his actions he lost sight of the present moment, and thought only of +futurity; so, in all places where he led the way to glory, the opinion of +France was ever present in his thoughts. As Alexander at Arbela pleased +himself less in having conquered Darius than in having gained the +suffrage of the Athenians, so Bonaparte at Marengo was haunted by the +idea of what would be said in France. Before he fought a battle +Bonaparte thought little about what he should do in case of success, but +a great deal about what he should do in case of a reverse of fortune. +I mention this as a fact of which I have often been a witness, and leave +to his brothers in arms to decide whether his calculations were always +correct. He had it in his power to do much, for he risked everything and +spared nothing. His inordinate ambition goaded him on to the attainment +of power; and power when possessed served only to augment his ambition. +Bonaparte was thoroughly convinced of the truth that trifles often decide +the greatest events; therefore he watched rather than provoked +opportunity, and when the right moment approached, he suddenly took +advantage of it. It is curious that, amidst all the anxieties of war and +government, the fear of the Bourbons incessantly pursued him, and the +Faubourg St. Germain was to him always a threatening phantom. + +He did not esteem mankind, whom, indeed, he despised more and more in +proportion as he became acquainted with them. In him this unfavourable +opinion of human nature was justified by many glaring examples of +baseness, and he used frequently to repeat, "There are two levers for +moving men,--interest and fear." What respect, indeed, could Bonaparte +entertain for the applicants to the treasury of the opera? Into this +treasury the gaming-houses paid a considerable sum, part of which went to +cover the expenses of that magnificent theatre. The rest was distributed +in secret gratuities, which were paid on orders signed by Duroc. +Individuals of very different characters were often seen catching the +little door in the Rue Rameau. The lady who was for a while the +favourite of the General-in-Chief in Egypt, and whose husband was +maliciously sent back by the English, was a frequent visitor to the +treasury. On an occasion would be seen assembled there a distinguished +scholar and an actor, a celebrated orator and a musician; on another, the +treasurer would have payments to make to a priest, a courtesan, and a +cardinal. + +One of Bonaparte's greatest misfortunes was, that he neither believed in +friendship not felt the necessity of loving. How often have I heard him +say, "Friendship is but a name; I love nobody. I do not even love my +brothers. Perhaps Joseph, a little, from habit and because he is my +elder; and Duroc, I love him too. But why? Because his character +pleases me. He is stern and resolute; and I really believe the fellow +never shed a tear. For my part, I know very well that I have no true +friends. As long as I continue what I am, I may have as many pretended +friends as I please. Leave sensibility to women; it is their business. +But men should be firm in heart and in purpose, or they should have +nothing to do with war or government." + +In his social relations Bonaparte's temper was bad; but his fits of ill- +humour passed away like a cloud, and spent themselves in words. His +violent language and bitter imprecations were frequently premeditated. +When he was going to reprimand any one he liked to have a witness +present. He would then say the harshest things, and level blows against +which few could bear up. But he never gave way to those violent +ebullitions of rage until be acquired undoubted proofs of the misconduct +of those against whom they were directed. In scenes of this sort I have +frequently observed that the presence of a third person seemed to give +him confidence. Consequently, in a 'tête-à-tête' interview, any one who +knew his character, and who could maintain sufficient coolness and +firmness, was sure to get the better of him. He told his friends at St. +Helena that he admitted a third person on such occasions only that the +blow might resound the farther. That was not his real motive, or the +better way would have been to perform the scene in public. He had other +reasons. I observed that he did not like a 'tête-à-tête'; and when he +expected any one, he would say to me beforehand, "Bourrienne, you may +remain;" and when any one was announced whom he did not expect, as a +minister or a general, if I rose to retire he would say in a half- +whisper, "Stay where you are." Certainly this was not done with the +design of getting what he said reported abroad; for it belonged neither +to my character nor my duty to gossip about what I had heard. Besides, +it may be presumed, that the few who were admitted as witnesses to the +conferences of Napoleon were aware of the consequences attending +indiscreet disclosures under a Government which was made acquainted with +all that was said and done. + +Bonaparte entertained a profound dislike of the sanguinary men of the +Revolution, and especially of the regicides. He felt, as a painful +burden, the obligation of dissembling towards them. He spoke to me in +terms of horror of those whole he called the assassins of Louis XVI, and +he was annoyed at the necessity of employing them and treating them with +apparent respect. How many times has he not said to Cambacérès, pinching +him by the ear, to soften, by that habitual familiarity, the bitterness +of the remark, "My dear fellow, your case is clear; if ever the Bourbons +come back you will be hanged!" A forced smile would then relax the livid +countenance of Cambacérès, and was usually the only reply of the Second +Consul, who, however, on one occasion said in my hearing, "Come, come, +have done with this joking." + +One thing which gave Bonaparte great pleasure when in the country was to +see a tall, slender woman, dressed in white, walking beneath an alley of +shaded trees. He detested coloured dresses, and especially dark ones. +To fat women he had an invincible antipathy, and he could not endure the +sight of a pregnant woman; it therefore rarely happened that a female in +that situation was invited to his parties. He possessed every requisite +for being what is called in society an agreeable man, except the will to +be so. His manner was imposing rather than pleasing, and those who did +not know him well experienced in his presence an involuntary feeling of +awe. In the drawing-room, where Josephine did the honours with so much +grace and affability, all was gaiety and ease, and no one felt the +presence of a superior; but on Bonaparte's entrance all was changed, and +every eye was directed towards him, to read his humour in his +countenance, whether he intended to be silent or talkative, dull or +cheerful. + +He often talked a great deal, and sometimes a little too much; but no one +could tell a story in a more agreeable and interesting way. His +conversation rarely turned on gay or humorous subjects, and never on +trivial matters. He was so fond of argument that in the warmth of +discussion it was easy to draw from him secrets which he was most anxious +to conceal. Sometimes, in a small circle, he would amuse himself by +relating stories of presentiments and apparitions. For this he always +chose the twilight of evening, and he would prepare his hearers for what +was coming by some solemn remark. On one occasion of this kind he said, +in a very grave tone of voice, "When death strikes a person whom we love, +and who is distant from us, a foreboding almost always denotes the event, +and the dying person appears to us at the moment of his dissolution." +He then immediately related the following anecdote: "A gentleman of the +Court of Louis XIV. was in the gallery of Versailles at the time that the +King was reading to his courtiers the bulletin of the battle of +Friedlingen gained by Villars. Suddenly the gentleman saw, at the +farther end of the gallery, the ghost of his son, who served under +Villars. He exclaimed, 'My son is no more!' and next moment the King +named him among the dead." + +When travelling Bonaparte was particularly talkative. In the warmth of +his conversation, which was always characterised by original and +interesting ideas, he sometimes dropped hints of his future views, or, at +least, he said things which were calculated to disclose what he wished to +conceal. I took the liberty of mentioning to him this indiscretion, and +far from being offended, he acknowledged his mistake, adding that he was +not aware he had gone so far. He frankly avowed this want of caution +when at St. Helena. + +When in good humour his usual tokens of kindness consisted in a little +rap on the head or a slight pinch of the ear. In his most friendly +conversations with those whom he admitted into his intimacy he would say, +"You are a fool"--"a simpleton"--"a ninny"--"a blockhead." These, and a +few other words of like import, enabled him to vary his catalogue of +compliments; but he never employed them angrily, and the tone in which +they were uttered sufficiently indicated that they were meant in +kindness. + +Bonaparte had many singular habits and tastes. Whenever he experienced +any vexation, or when any unpleasant thought occupied his mind, he would +hum something which was far from resembling a tune, for his voice was +very unmusical. He would, at the same time, seat himself before the +writing-table, and swing back in his chair so far that I have often been +fearful of his falling. + +He would then vent his ill-humour on the right arm of his chair, +mutilating it with his penknife, which he seemed to keep for no other +purpose. I always took care to keep good pens ready for him; for, as it +was my business to decipher his writing, I had a strong interest in doing +what I could to make it legible. + +The sound of bells always produced in Bonaparte pleasurable sensations, +which I could never account for. When we were at Malmaison, and walking +in the alley leading to the plain of Ruel, how many times has the bell of +the village church interrupted our most serious conversations! + +He would stop, lest the noise of our footsteps should drown any portion +of the delightful sound. He was almost angry with me because I did not +experience the impressions he did. So powerful was the effect produced +upon him by the sound of these bells that his voice would falter as he +said, "Ah! that reminds me of the first years I spent at Brienne! I was +then happy!" When the bells ceased he would resume the course of his +speculations, carry himself into futurity, place a crown on his head, and +dethrone kings. + +Nowhere, except on the field of battle, did I ever see Bonaparte more +happy than in the gardens of Malmaison. At the commencement of the +Consulate we used to go there every Saturday evening, and stay the whole +of Sunday, and sometimes Monday. Bonaparte used to spend a considerable +part of his time in walking and superintending the improvements which he +had ordered. At first he used to make excursions about the +neighbourhood, but the reports of the police disturbed his natural +confidence, and gave him reason to fear the attempts of concealed +royalist partisans. + +During the first four or five days that Bonaparte spent at Malmaison he +amused himself after breakfast with calculating the revenue of that +domain. According to his estimates it amounted to 8000 francs. "That is +not bad!" said he; "but to live here would require an income of 30,000 +livres!" I could not help smiling to see him seriously engaged in such a +calculation. + +Bonaparte had no faith in medicine. He spoke of it as an art entirely +conjectural, and his opinion on this subject was fired and +incontrovertible. His vigorous mind rejected all but demonstrative +proofs. + +He had little memory for proper names, words, or dates, but he had a +wonderful recollection of facts and places. I recollect that, on going +from Paris to Toulon, he pointed out to me ten places calculated for +great battles, and he never forgot them. They were memoranda of his +first youthful journeys. + +Bonaparte was insensible to the charms of poetic harmony. He had not +even sufficient ear to feel the rhythm of poetry, and he never could +recite a verse without violating the metre; yet the grand ideas of poetry +charmed him. He absolutely worshipped Corneille; and, one day, after +having witnessed a performance of 'Cinna', he said to me, "If a man like +Corneille were living in my time I would make him my Prime Minister. It +is not his poetry that I most admire; it is his powerful understanding, +his vast knowledge of the human heart, and his profound policy!" At St. +Helena he said that he would have made Corneille a prince; but at the +time he spoke to me of Corneille he had no thought of making either +princes or kings. + +Gallantry to women was by no means a trait in Bonaparte's character. +He seldom said anything agreeable to females, and he frequently addressed +to them the rudest and most extraordinary remarks. To one he would say, +"Heavens, how red your elbows are!" To another, "What an ugly headdress +you have got!" At another time he would say, "Your dress is none of the +cleanest..... Do you ever change your gown? I have seen you in that +twenty times!" He showed no mercy to any who displeased him on these +points. He often gave Josephine directions about her toilet, and the +exquisite taste for which she was distinguished might have helped to make +him fastidious about the costume of other ladies. At first he looked to +elegance above all things: at a later period he admired luxury and +splendour, but he always required modesty. He frequently expressed his +disapproval of the low-necked dresses which were so much in fashion at +the beginning of the Consulate. + +Bonaparte did not love cards, and this was very fortunate for those who +were invited to his parties; for when he was seated at a card-table, as +he sometimes thought himself obliged to be, nothing could exceed the +dulness of the drawing-room either at the Luxembourg or the Tuileries. +When, on the contrary, he walked about among the company, all were +pleased, for he usually spoke to everybody, though he preferred the +conversation of men of science, especially those who had been with him in +in Egypt; as for example, Monge and Berthollet. He also liked to talk +with Chaptal and Lacépède, and with Lemercier, the author of 'Agamemnon'. + +Bonaparte was seen to less advantage in a drawing-room than at the head +of his troops. His military uniform became him much better than the +handsomest dress of any other kind. His first trials of dress-coats were +unfortunate. I have been informed that the first time he wore one he +kept on his black cravat. This incongruity was remarked to him, and he +replied, "So much the better; it leaves me something of a military air, +and there is no harm in that." For my own part, I neither saw the black +cravat nor heard this reply. + +The First Consul paid his own private bills very punctually; but he was +always tardy in settling the accounts of the contractors who bargained +with Ministers for supplies for the public service. He put off these +payments by all sorts of excuses and shufflings. Hence arose immense +arrears in the expenditure, and the necessity of appointing a committee +of liquidation. In his opinion the terms contractor and rogue were +synonymous. All that he avoided paying them he regarded as a just +restitution to himself; and all the sums which were struck off from their +accounts he regarded as so much deducted from a theft. The less a +Minister paid out of his budget the more Bonaparte was pleased with him; +and this ruinous system of economy can alone explain the credit which +Decrès so long enjoyed at the expense of the French navy. + +On the subject of religion Bonaparte's ideas were very vague. +"My reason," said he, "makes me incredulous respecting many things; but +the impressions of my childhood and early youth throw me into +uncertainty." He was very fond of talking of religion. In Italy, in +Egypt, and on board the 'Orient' and the 'Muiron', I have known him to +take part in very animated conversations on this subject. + +He readily yielded up all that was proved against religion as the work of +men and time: but he would not hear of materialism. I recollect that one +fine night, when he was on deck with some persons who were arguing in +favour of materialism, Bonaparte raised his hand to heaven and, pointing +to the stars, said, "You may talk as long as you please, gentlemen, but +who made all that?" The perpetuity of a name in the memory of man was to +him the immortality of the soul. He was perfectly tolerant towards every +variety of religious faith. + +Among Bonaparte's singular habits was that of seating himself on any +table which happened to be of a suitable height for him. He would often +sit on mine, resting his left arm on my right shoulder, and swinging his +left leg, which did not reach the ground; and while he dictated to me he +would jolt the table so that I could scarcely write. + +Bonaparte had a great dislike to reconsider any decision, even when it +was acknowledged to be unjust. In little as well as in great things he +evinced his repugnance to retrograde. An instance of this occurred in +the affair of General Latour-Foissac. The First Consul felt how much he +had wronged that general; but he wished some time to elapse before he +repaired his error. His heart and his conduct were at variance; but his +feelings were overcome by what he conceived to be political necessity. +Bonaparte was never known to say, "I have done wrong:" his usual +observation was, "I begin to think there is something wrong." + +In spite of this sort of feeling, which was more worthy of an ill- +humoured philosopher than the head of a government, Bonaparte was neither +malignant nor vindictive. I cannot certainly defend him against all the +reproaches which he incurred through the imperious law of war and cruel +necessity; but I may say that he has often been unjustly accused. None +but those who are blinded by fury will call him a Nero or a Caligula. +I think I have avowed his faults with sufficient candour to entitle me to +credit when I speak in his commendation; and I declare that, out of the +field of battle, Bonaparte had a kind and feeling heart. He was very +fond of children, a trait which seldom distinguishes a bad man. In the +relations of private life to call him amiable would not be using too +strong a word, and he was very indulgent to the weakness of human nature. +The contrary opinion is too firmly fixed in some minds for me to hope to +root it out. I shall, I fear, have contradictors, but I address myself +to those who look for truth. To judge impartially we must take into +account the influence which time and circumstances exercise on men; and +distinguish between the different characters of the Collegian, the +General, the Consul, and the Emperor. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +1800. + + Bonaparte's laws--Suppression of the festival of the 21st of + January--Officials visits--The Temple--Louis XVI. and Sir Sidney + Smith--Peculation during the Directory--Loan raised--Modest budget + --The Consul and the Member of the Institute--The figure of the + Republic--Duroc's missions--The King of Prussia--The Emperor + Alexander--General Latour-Foissac--Arbitrary decree--Company of + players for Egypt--Singular ideas respecting literary property-- + The preparatory Consulate--The journals--Sabres and muskets of + honour--The First Consul and his Comrade--The bust of Brutus-- + Statues in the gallery of the Tuileries--Sections of the Council of + State--Costumes of public functionaries--Masquerades--The opera- + balls--Recall of the exiles. + +It is not my purpose to say much about the laws, decrees, and 'Senatus- +Consultes', which the First Consul either passed, or caused to be passed, +after his accession to power, what were they all, with the exception of +the Civil Code? The legislative reveries of the different men who have +from time to time ruled France form an immense labyrinth, in which +chicanery bewilders reason and common sense; and they would long since +have been buried in oblivion had they not occasionally served to +authorise injustice. I cannot, however, pass over unnoticed the happy +effect produced in Paris, and throughout the whole of France, by some of +the first decisions of the Consuls. Perhaps none but those who witnessed +the state of society during the reign of Terror can fully appreciate the +satisfaction which the first steps towards the restoration of social +order produced in the breasts of all honest men. The Directory, more +base and not less perverse than the Convention, had retained the horrible +21st of January among the festivals of the Republic. One of Bonaparte's +first ideas on attaining the possession of power was to abolish this; but +such was the ascendency of the abettors of the fearful event that he +could not venture on a straightforward course. He and his two +colleagues, who were Sieyès and Roger Ducos, signed, on the 5th Nivôse, +a decree, setting forth that in future the only festivals to be +celebrated by the Republic were the 1st Vendemiaire and the 14th of July, +intending by this means to consecrate provisionally the recollection of +the foundation of the Republic and of liberty. + +All was calculation with Bonaparte. To produce effect was his highest +gratification. Thus he let slip no opportunity of saying or doing things +which were calculated to dazzle the multitude. While at the Luxembourg, +he went sometimes accompanied by his 'aides de camp' and sometimes by a +Minister, to pay certain official visits. I did not accompany him on +these occasions; but almost always either on his return, after dinner, or +in the evening, he related to me what he had done and said. He +congratulated himself on having paid a visit to Daubenton, at the Jardin +des Plantes, and talked with great self-complacency of the distinguished +way in which he had treated the contemporary of Buffon. + +On the 24th Brumaire he visited the prisons. He liked to make these +visits unexpectedly, and to take the governors of the different public +establishments by surprise; so that, having no time to make their +preparations, he might see things as they really were. I was in his +cabinet when he returned, for I had a great deal of business to go +through in his absence. As he entered he exclaimed, "What brutes these +Directors are! To what a state they have brought our public +establishments! But, stay a little! I will put all in order. The +prisons are in a shockingly unwholesome state, and the prisoners +miserably fed. I questioned them, and I questioned the jailers, for +nothing is to be learned from the superiors. They, of course, always +speak well of their own work! When I was in the Temple I could not help +thinking of the unfortunate Louis XVI. He was an excellent man, but too +amiable, too gentle for the times. He knew not how to deal with mankind! +And Sir Sidney Smith! I made them show me his apartment. If the fools +had not let him escape I should have taken St. Jean d'Acre! There are +too many painful recollections connected with that prison! I will +certainly have it pulled down some day or other! What do you think I did +at the Temple? I ordered the jailers' books to be brought to me, and +finding that some hostages were still in confinement I liberated them. +'An unjust law,' said I, 'has deprived you of liberty; my first duty is +to restore it to you.' Was not this well done, Bourrienne? "As I was, no +less than Bonaparte himself, an enemy to the revolutionary laws, I +congratulated him sincerely; and he was very sensible to my approbation, +for I was not accustomed to greet him with "Good; very good," on all +occasions. It is true, knowing his character as I did, I avoided saying +anything that was calculated to offend him; but when I said nothing, he +knew very well how to construe my silence. Had I flattered him I should +have continued longer in favour. + +Bonaparte always spoke angrily of the Directors he had turned off. Their +incapacity disgusted and astonished him. "What simpletons! what a +government!" he would frequently exclaim when he looked into the measures +of the Directory. "Bourrienne," said he, "can you imagine anything more +pitiable than their system of finance? Can it for a moment be doubted +that the principal agents of authority daily committed the most +fraudulent peculations? What venality! what disorder! what +wastefulness! everything put up for sale: places, provisions, clothing, +and military, all were disposed of. Have they not actually consumed +75,000,000 in advance? And then, think of all the scandalous fortunes +accumulated, all the malversations! But are there no means of making +them refund? We shall see." + +In these first moments of poverty it was found necessary to raise a loan, +for the funds of M. Collot did not last long, and 12,000,000 were +advanced by the different bankers of Paris, who, I believe, were paid by +bills of the receivers-general, the discount of which then amounted to +about 33 per cent. The salaries of the first offices were not very +considerable, and did not amount to anything like the exorbitant stipends +of the Empire. + +Bonaparte's salary was fixed at 500,000 francs. What a contrast to the +300,000,000 in gold which were reported to have been concealed in 1811 in +the cellars of the Tuileries! + +In mentioning Bonaparte's nomination to the Institute, and his +affectation in putting at the head of his proclamation his title of +member of that learned body before that of General-in-Chief, I omitted to +state what value he really attached to that title. The truth is that, +when young and ambitious, he was pleased with the proffered title, which +he thought would raise him in public estimation. How often have we +laughed together when he weighed the value of his scientific titles! +Bonaparte, to be sure, knew something of mathematics, a good deal of +history, and, I need not add, possessed extraordinary military talent; +but he was nevertheless a useless member of the Institute. + +On his return from Egypt he began to grow weary of a title which gave him +so many colleagues. "Do you not think," said he one day to me, "that +there is something mean and humiliating in the words, 'I have the honour +to be, my dear Colleague'! I am tired of it!" Generally speaking, all +phrases which indicated equality displeased him. It will be recollected +how gratified he was that I did not address him in the second person +singular on our meeting at Leoben, and also what befell M. de Cominges at +Bâle because he did not observe the same precaution. + +The figure of the Republic seated and holding a spear in her hand, which +at the commencement of the Consulate was stamped on official letters, was +speedily abolished. Happy would it have been if Liberty herself had not +suffered the same treatment as her emblem! The title of First Consul +made him despise that of Member of the Institute. He no longer +entertained the least predilection for that learned body, and +subsequently he regarded it with much suspicion. It was a body, an +authorised assembly; these were reasons sufficient for him to take +umbrage at it, and he never concealed his dislike of all bodies +possessing the privilege of meeting and deliberating. + +While we were at the Luxembourg Bonaparte despatched Duroc on a special +mission to the King of Prussia. This happened, I think, at the very +beginning of the year 1800. He selected Duroc because he was a man of +good education and agreeable manners, and one who could express himself +with elegance and reserve, qualities not often met with at that period. +Duroc had been with us in Italy, in Egypt, and on board the 'Muiron', +and the Consul easily guessed that the King of Prussia would be delighted +to hear from an eye-witness the events of Bonaparte's campaigns, +especially the siege of St. Jean d'Acre, and the scenes which took place +during the months of March and May at Jaffa. Besides, the First Consul +considered it indispensable that such circumstantial details should be +given in a way to leave no doubt of their correctness. His intentions +were fully realised; for Duroc told me, on his return, that nearly the +whole of the conversation he had with the King turned upon St. Jean +d'Acre and Jaffa. He stayed nearly two whole hours with his Majesty, who, +the day after, gave him an invitation to dinner. When this intelligence +arrived at the Luxembourg I could perceive that the Chief of the Republic +was flattered that one of his aides de camp should have sat at table with +a King, who some years after was doomed to wait for him in his +antechamber at Tilsit. + +Duroc never spoke on politics to the King of Prussia, which was very +fortunate, for, considering his age and the exclusively military life he +had led, he could scarcely have been expected to avoid blunders. Some +time later, after the death of Paul I., he was sent to congratulate +Alexander on his accession to the throne. Bonaparte's design in thus +making choice of Duroc was to introduce to the Courts of Europe, by +confidential missions, a young man to whom he was much attached, and also +to bring him forward in France. Duroc went on his third mission to +Berlin after the war broke out with Austria. He often wrote to me, and +his letters convinced me how much he had improved himself within a short +time. + +Another circumstance which happened at the commencement of the Consulate +affords an example of Bonaparte's inflexibility when he had once formed a +determination. In the spring of 1799, when we were in Egypt, the +Directory gave to General Latour-Foissac, a highly distinguished officer, +the command of Mantua, the taking of which had so powerfully contributed +to the glory of the conqueror of Italy. Shortly after Latour's +appointment to this important post the Austrians besieged Mantua. It was +well known that the garrison was supplied with provisions and ammunition +for a long resistance; yet, in the month of July it surrendered to the +Austrians. The act of capitulation contained a curious article, viz. +"General Latour-Foissac and his staff shall be conducted as prisoners to +Austria; the garrison shall be allowed to return to France." This +distinction between the general and the troops entrusted to his command, +and at the same time the prompt surrender of Mantua, were circumstances +which, it must be confessed, were calculated to excite suspicions of +Latour-Foissac. The consequence was, when Bernadotte was made War +Minister he ordered an inquiry into the general's conduct by a court- +martial. Latour-Foissac had no sooner returned to France than he +published a justificatory memorial, in which he showed the impossibility +of his having made a longer defence when he was in want of many objects +of the first necessity. + +Such was the state of the affair on Bonaparte's elevation to the Consular +power. The loss of Mantua, the possession of which had cost him so many +sacrifices, roused his indignation to so high a pitch that whenever the +subject was mentioned he could find no words to express his rage. +He stopped the investigation of the court-martial, and issued a violent +decree against Latour-Foissac even before his culpability had been +proved. This proceeding occasioned much discussion, and was very +dissatisfactory to many general officers, who, by this arbitrary +decision, found themselves in danger of forfeiting the privilege of being +tried by their natural judges whenever they happened to displease the +First Consul. For my own part, I must say that this decree against +Latour-Foissac was one which I saw issued with considerable regret. I was +alarmed for the consequences. After the lapse of a few days I ventured +to point out to him the undue severity of the step he had taken; I +reminded him of all that had been said in Latour-Foissac's favour, and +tried to convince him how much more just it would be to allow the trial +to come to a conclusion. "In a country," said I, "like France, where the +point of honour stands above every thing, it is impossible Foissac can +escape condemnation if he be culpable."--"Perhaps you are right, +Bourrienne," rejoined he; "but the blow is struck; the decree is issued. +I have given the same explanation to every one; but I cannot so suddenly +retrace my steps. To retro-grade is to be lost. I cannot acknowledge +myself in the wrong. By and by we shall see what can be done. Time will +bring lenity and pardon. At present it would be premature." Such, word +for word, was Bonaparte's reply. If with this be compared what he said +on the subject at St. Helena it will be found that his ideas continued +nearly unchanged; the only difference is that, instead of the impetuosity +of 1800, he expressed himself with the calmness which time and adversity +naturally produce. + + --["It was," says the 'Memorial of St. Helena', "an illegal and + tyrannical act, but still it was a necessary evil. It was the fault + of the law. He was a hundred, nay, a thousand fold guilty, and yet + it was doubtful whether he would be condemned. We therefore + assailed him with the shafts of honour and public opinion. Yet I + repeat it was a tyrannical act, and one of those violent measures + which are at times necessary in great nations and in extraordinary + circumstances."]-- + +Bonaparte, as I have before observed, loved contrasts; and I remember at +the very time he was acting so violently against Latour-Foissac he +condescended to busy himself about a company of players which he wished +to send to Egypt, or rather that he pretended to wish to send there, +because the announcement of such a project conveyed an impression of the +prosperous condition of our Oriental colony. The Consuls gravely +appointed the Minister of the Interior to execute this business, and the +Minister in his turn delegated his powers to Florence, the actor. In +their instructions to the Minister the Consuls observed that it would be +advisable to include some female dancers in the company; a suggestion +which corresponds with Bonaparte's note, in which were specified all that +he considered necessary for the Egyptian expedition. + +The First Consul entertained singular notions respecting literary +property. On his hearing that a piece, entitled 'Misanthropie et +Repentir', had been brought out at the Odeon, he said to me, "Bourrienne, +you have been robbed."--"I, General? how?"--"You have been robbed, +I tell you, and they are now acting your piece." I have already +mentioned that during my stay at Warsaw I amused myself with translating +a celebrated play of Kotzebue. While we were in Italy I lent Bonaparte +my translation to read, and he expressed himself much pleased with it. +He greatly admired the piece, and often went to see it acted at the +Odeon. On his return he invariably gave me fresh reasons for my claiming +what he was pleased to call my property. I represented to him that the +translation of a foreign work belonged to any one who chose to execute +it. He would not, however, give up his point, and I was obliged to +assure him that my occupations in his service left me no time to engage +in a literary lawsuit. He then exacted a promise from me to translate +Goethe's 'Werther'. I told him it was already done, though +indifferently, and that I could not possibly devote to the subject the +time it merited. I read over to him one of the letters I had translated +into French, and which he seemed to approve. + +That interval of the Consular Government during which Bonaparte remained +at the Luxembourg may be called the preparatory Consulate. Then were +sown the seeds of the great events which he meditated, and of those +institutions with which he wished to mark his possession of power. He +was then, if I may use the expression, two individuals in one: the +Republican general, who was obliged to appear the advocate of liberty and +the principles of the Revolution; and the votary of ambition, secretly +plotting the downfall of that liberty and those principles. + +I often wondered at the consummate address with which he contrived to +deceive those who were likely to see through his designs. This +hypocrisy, which some, perhaps, may call profound policy, was +indispensable to the accomplishment of his projects; and sometimes, as if +to keep himself in practice, he would do it in matters of secondary +importance. For example, his opinion of the insatiable avarice of Sieyès +is well known; yet when he proposed, in his message to the Council of +Ancients, to give his colleague, under the title of national recompense, +the price of his obedient secession, it was, in the words of the message, +a recompense worthily bestowed on his disinterested virtues. + +While at the Luxembourg Bonaparte showed, by a Consular act, his hatred +of the liberty of the press above all liberties, for he loved none. +On the 27th Nivôse the Consuls, or rather the First Consul, published a +decree, the real object of which was evidently contrary to its implied +object. + +This decree stated that: + +The Consuls of the Republic, considering that some of the journals +printed at Paris are instruments in the hands of the enemies of the +Republic, over the safety of which the Government is specially entrusted +by the people of France to watch, decree-- + +That the Minister of Police shall, during the continuation of the war, +allow only the following journals to be printed and published, viz. +(list of 20 publications) + +.....and those papers which are exclusively devoted to science, art, +literature, commerce, and advertisements. + +Surely this decree may well be considered as preparatory; and the +fragment I have quoted may serve as a standard for measuring the greater +part of those acts by which Bonaparte sought to gain, for the +consolidation of his power, what he seemed to be seeking solely for the +interest of the friends of the Republic. The limitation to the period of +the continuance of the war had also a certain provisional air which +afforded hope for the future. But everything provisional is, in its +nature, very elastic; and Bonaparte knew how to draw it out ad infinitum. +The decree, moreover, enacted that if any of the uncondemned journals +should insert articles against the sovereignty of the people they would +be immediately suppressed. In truth, great indulgence was shown on this +point, even after the Emperor's coronation. + +The presentation of swords and muskets of honour also originated at the +Luxembourg; and this practice was, without doubt, a preparatory step to +the foundation of the Legion of Honour. + + --["Armes d'honneur," decreed 25th December 1799. Muskets for + infantry, carbines for cavalry, grenades for artillery, swords for + the officers. Gouvion St. Cyr received the first sword (Thiers, + tome i. p. 126).]-- + +A grenadier sergeant, named Léon Aune, who had been included in the first +distribution, easily obtained permission to write to the First Consul to +thank him. Bonaparte, wishing to answer him in his own name, dictated to +me the following letter for Aune:-- + + I have received your letter, my brave comrade. You needed not to + have told me of your exploits, for you are the bravest grenadier in + the whole army since the death of Benezete. You received one of the + hundred sabres I distributed to the army, and all agreed you most + deserved it. + + I wish very much again to see you. The War Minister sends you an + order to come to Paris. + +This wheedling wonderfully favoured Bonaparte's designs. His letter to +Aune could not fail to be circulated through the army. A sergeant called +my brave comrade by the First Consul--the First General of France! Who +but a thorough Republican, the stanch friend of equality, would have done +this? This was enough to wind up the enthusiasm of the army. At the +same time it must be confessed that Bonaparte began to find the +Luxembourg too little for him, and preparations were set on foot at the +Tuileries. + +Still this great step towards the re-establishment of the monarchy was to +be cautiously prepared. It was important to do away with the idea that +none but a king could occupy the palace of our ancient kings. What was +to be done? A very fine bust of Brutus had been brought from Italy. +Brutus was the destroyer of tyrants! This was the very thing; and David +was commissioned to place it in a gallery of the Tuileries. Could there +be a greater proof of the Consul's horror of tyranny? + +To sleep at the Tuileries, in the bedchamber of the kings of France, was +all that Bonaparte wanted; the rest would follow in due course. He was +willing to be satisfied with establishing a principle the consequences of +which were to be afterwards deduced. Hence the affectation of never +inserting in official acts the name of the Tuileries, but designating +that place as the Palace of the Government. The first preparations were +modest, for it did not become a good Republican to be fond of pomp. +Accordingly Lecomte, who was at that time architect of the Tuileries, +merely received orders to clean the Palace, an expression which might +bear more than one meaning, after the meetings which had been there. For +this purpose the sum of 500,000 francs was sufficient. Bonaparte's drift +was to conceal, as far as possible, the importance he attached to the +change of his Consular domicile. But little expense was requisite for +fitting up apartments for the First Consul. Simple ornaments, such as +marbles and statues, were to decorate the Palace of the Government. + +Nothing escaped Bonaparte's consideration. Thus it was not merely at +hazard that he selected the statues of great men to adorn the gallery of +the Tuileries. Among the Greeks he made choice of Demosthenes and +Alexander, thus rendering homage at once to the genius of eloquence and +the genius of victory. The statue of Hannibal was intended to recall the +memory of Rome's most formidable enemy; and Rome herself was represented +in the Consular Palace by the statues of Scipio, Cicero, Cato, Brutus and +Caesar--the victor and the immolator being placed side by side. Among +the great men of modern times he gave the first place to Gustavus +Adolphus, and the next to Turenne and the great Condé, to Turenne in +honour of his military talent, and to Condé to prove that there was +nothing fearful in the recollection of a Bourbon. The remembrance of the +glorious days of the French navy was revived by the statue of Duguai +Trouin. Marlborough and Prince Eugène had also their places in the +gallery, as if to attest the disasters which marked the close of the +great reign; and Marshal Sage, to show that Louis XV.'s reign was not +without its glory. The statues of Frederick and Washington were +emblematic of false philosophy on a throne and true wisdom founding a +free state. Finally, the names of Dugommier, Dampierre, and Joubert were +intended to bear evidence of the high esteem which Bonaparte cherished +for his old comrades,--those illustrious victims to a cause which had now +ceased to be his. + +The reader has already been informed of the attempts made by Bonaparte to +induce England and Austria to negotiate with the Consular Government, +which the King of Prussia was the first of the sovereigns of Europe to +recognise. These attempts having proved unavailing, it became necessary +to carry on the war with renewed vigour, and also to explain why the +peace, which had been promised at the beginning of the Consulate, was +still nothing but a promise. In fulfilment of these two objects +Bonaparte addressed an energetic proclamation to the armies, which was +remarkable for not being followed by the usual sacred words, "Vive la +République!" + +At the same time Bonaparte completed the formation of the Council of +State, and divided it into five sections:--(1) The Interior; (2) Finance; +(3) Marine; (4) The War Department; (5) Legislation. He fixed the +salaries of the Councillors of the State at 25,000 francs, and that of +the Precedents of Sections at 30,000. He settled the costume of the +Consuls, the Ministers, and the different bodies of the State. This led +to the re-introduction of velvet, which had been banished with the old +regime, and the encouragement of the manufactures of Lyons was the reason +alleged for employing this un-republican article in the different +dresses, such as those of the Consuls and Ministers. It was Bonaparte's +constant aim to efface the Republic, even in the utmost trifles, and to +prepare matters so well that the customs and habits of monarchy being +restored, there should only then remain a word to be changed. + +I never remember to have seen Bonaparte in the Consular dress, which he +detested, and which he wore only because duty required him to do so at +public ceremonies. The only dress he was fond of, and in which he felt +at ease, was that in which he subjugated the ancient Eridanus and the +Nile, namely, the uniform of the Guides, to which corps Bonaparte was +always sincerely attached. + +The masquerade of official dresses was not the only one which Bonaparte +summoned to the aid of his policy. At that period of the year VIII. +which corresponded with the carnival of 1800, masques began to be resumed +at Paris. Disguises were all the fashion, and Bonaparte favoured the +revival of old amusements; first, because they were old, and next, +because they were the means of diverting the attention of the people: +for, as he had established the principle that on the field of battle it +is necessary to divide the enemy in order to beat him, he conceived it no +less advisable to divert the people in order to enslave them. Bonaparte +did not say 'panem et circenses', for I believe his knowledge of Latin +did not extend even to that well-known phrase of Juvenal, but he put the +maxim in practice. He accordingly authorised the revival of balls at the +opera, which they who lived during that period of the Consulate know was +an important event in Paris. Some gladly viewed it as a little conquest +in favour of the old regime; and others, who for that very reason +disapproved it, were too shallow to understand the influence of little +over great things. The women and the young men did not bestow a thought +on the subject, but yielded willingly to the attractions of pleasure. +Bonaparte, who was delighted at having provided a diversion for the +gossiping of the Parisian salons, said to me one day, "While they are +chatting about all this, they do not babble upon politics, and that is +what I want. Let them dance and amuse themselves as long as they do not +thrust their noses into the Councils of the Government; besides, +Bourrienne," added he, "I have other reasons for encouraging this, I see +other advantages in it. Trade is languishing; Fouché tells me that there +are great complaints. This will set a little money in circulation; +besides, I am on my guard about the Jacobins. Everything is not bad, +because it is not new. I prefer the opera-balls to the saturnalia of the +Goddess of Reason. I was never so enthusiastically applauded as at the +last parade." + +A Consular decision of a different and more important nature had, shortly +before, namely, at the commencement of Nivôse, brought happiness to many +families. Bonaparte, as every one knows, had prepared the events of the +18th Fructidor that he might have some plausible reasons for overthrowing +the Directors. The Directory being overthrown, he was now anxious, at +least in part, to undo what he had done on the 18th Fructidor. He +therefore ordered a report on the persons exiled to be presented to him +by the Minister of Police. In consequence of this report he authorised +forty of them to return to France, placing them under the observation of +the Police Minister, and assigning them their place of residence. +However, they did not long remain under these restrictions, and many of +them were soon called to fill high places in the Government. It was +indeed natural that Bonaparte, still wishing, at least in appearance, to +found his government on those principles of moderate republicanism which +had caused their exile, should invite them to second his views. + +Barrère wrote a justificatory letter to the First Consul, who, however, +took no notice of it, for he could not get so far as to favour Barrère. +Thus did Bonaparte receive into the Councils of the Consulate the men who +had been exiled by the Directory, just as he afterwards appointed the +emigrants and those exiles of the Revolution to high offices under the +Empire. The time and the men alone differed; the intention in both cases +was the same. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +1800. + + Bonaparte and Paul I.--Lord Whitworth--Baron Sprengporten's arrival + at Paris--Paul's admiration of Bonaparte--Their close connection and + correspondence--The royal challenge--General Mack--The road to + Malmaison--Attempts at assassination--Death of Washington--National + mourning--Ambitious calculation--M. de Fontanel, the skilful orator + --Fete at the Temple of Mars--Murat's marriage with Caroline + Bonaparte--Madame Bonaparte's pearls. + +The first communications between Bonaparte and Paul I. commenced a short +time after his accession to the Consulate. Affairs then began to look a +little less unfavourable for France; already vague reports from +Switzerland and the banks of the Rhine indicated a coldness existing +between the Russians and the Austrians; and at the same time, symptoms of +a misunderstanding between the Courts of London and St. Petersburg began +to be perceptible. The First Consul, having in the meantime discovered +the chivalrous and somewhat eccentric character of Paul I., thought the +moment a propitious one to attempt breaking the bonds which united Russia +and England. He was not the man to allow so fine an opportunity to pass, +and he took advantage of it with his usual sagacity. The English had +some time before refused to include in a cartel for the exchange of +prisoners 7000 Russians taken in Holland. Bonaparte ordered them all to +be armed, and clothed in new uniforms appropriate to the corps to which +they had belonged, and sent them back to Russia, without ransom, without +exchange, or any condition whatever. This judicious munificence was not +thrown away. Paul I. showed himself deeply sensible of it, and closely +allied as he had lately been with England, he now, all at once, declared +himself her enemy. This triumph of policy delighted the First Consul. + +Thenceforth the Consul and the Czar became the best friends possible. +They strove to outdo each other in professions of friendship; and it may +be believed that Bonaparte did not fail to turn this contest of +politeness to his own advantage. He so well worked upon the mind of Paul +that he succeeded in obtaining a direct influence over the Cabinet of St. +Petersburg. + +Lord Whitworth, at that time the English ambassador in Russia, was +ordered to quit the capital without delay, and to retire to Riga, which +then became the focus of the intrigues of the north which ended in the +death of Paul. The English ships were seized in all the ports, and, at +the pressing instance of the Czar, a Prussian army menaced Hanover. +Bonaparte lost no time, and, profiting by the friendship manifested +towards him by the inheritor of Catherine's power, determined to make +that friendship subservient to the execution of the vast plan which he +had long conceived: he meant to undertake an expedition by land against +the English colonies in the East Indies. + +The arrival of Baron Sprengporten at Paris caused great satisfaction +among the partisans of the Consular Government, that is to say, almost +every one in Paris. M. Sprengporten was a native of Swedish Finland. +He had been appointed by Catherine chamberlain and lieutenant-general of +her forces, and he was not less in favour with Paul, who treated him in +the most distinguished manner. He came on an extraordinary mission, +being ostensibly clothed with the title of plenipotentiary, and at the +same time appointed confidential Minister to the Consul. Bonaparte was +extremely satisfied with the ambassador whom Paul had selected, and with +the manner in which he described the Emperor's gratitude for the +generous conduct of the First Consul. M. Sprengporten did not conceal +the extent of Paul's dissatisfaction with his allies. The bad issue, he +said, of the war with France had already disposed the Czar to connect +himself with that power, when the return of his troops at once determined +him. + +We could easily perceive that Paul placed great confidence in M. +Sprengporten. As he had satisfactorily discharged the mission with which +he had been entrusted, Paul expressed pleasure at his conduct in several +friendly and flattering letters, which Sprengporten always allowed us to +read. No one could be fonder of France than he was, and he ardently +desired that his first negotiations might lead to a long alliance between +the Russian and French Governments. The autograph and very frequent +correspondence between Bonaparte and Paul passed through his hands. I +read all Paul's letters, which were remarkable for the frankness with +which his affection for Bonaparte was expressed. His admiration of the +First Consul was so great that no courtier could have written in a more +flattering manner. + +This admiration was not feigned on the part of the Emperor of Russia: it +was no less sincere than ardent, and of this he soon gave proofs. The +violent hatred he had conceived towards the English Government induced +him to defy to single combat every monarch who would not declare war +against England and shut his ports against English ships. He inserted a +challenge to the King of Denmark in the St. Petersburg Court Gazette; but +not choosing to apply officially to the Senate of Hamburg to order its +insertion in the 'Correspondant', conducted by M. Stoves, he sent the +article, through Count Pahlen, to M. Schramm, a Hamburg merchant. The +Count told M. Schramm that the Emperor would be much pleased to see the +article of the St. Petersburg Court Gazette copied into the +Correspondant; and that if it should be inserted, he wished to have a +dozen copies of the paper printed on vellum, and sent to him by an +extraordinary courier. It was Paul's intention to send a copy to every +sovereign in Europe; but this piece of folly, after the manner of Charles +XII., led to no further results. + +Bonaparte never felt greater satisfaction in the whole course of his life +than he experienced from Paul's enthusiasm for him. The friendship of a +sovereign seemed to him a step by which he was to become a sovereign +himself. At the same time the affairs of La Vendée began to assume a +better aspect, and he hoped soon to effect that pacification in the +interior which he so ardently desired. + +It was during the First Consul's residence at the Luxembourg that the +first report on the civil code was made to the legislative body. It was +then, also, that the regulations for the management of the Bank of France +were adopted, and that establishment so necessary to France was founded. + +There was at this time in Paris a man who has acquired an unfortunate +celebrity, the most unlucky of modern generals--in a word, General Mack. +I should not notice that person here were it not for the prophetic +judgment which Bonaparte then pronounced on him. Mack had been obliged +to surrender himself at Championnet some time before our landing at +Fréjus. He was received as a prisoner of war, and the town of Dijon had +been appointed his place of residence, and there he remained until after +the 18th Brumaire. Bonaparte, now Consul, permitted him to come to +Paris, and to reside there on his parole. He applied for leave to go to +Vienna, pledging himself to return again a prisoner to France if the +Emperor Francis would not consent to exchange him for Generals Pérignon +and Grouchy, then prisoners in Austria. His request was not granted, but +his proposition was forwarded to Vienna. The Court of Vienna refused to +accede to it, not placing perhaps so much importance on the deliverance +of Mack as he had flattered himself it would. + +Bonaparte speaking to me of him one day said, "Mack is a man of the +lowest mediocrity I ever saw in my life; he is full of self-sufficiency +and conceit, and believes himself equal to anything. He has no talent. +I should like to see him opposed some day to one of our good generals; +we should then see fine work. He is a boaster, and that is all. He is +really one of the most silly men existing; and, besides all that, he is +unlucky." Was not this opinion of Bonaparte, formed on the past, fully +verified by the future? + +It was at Malmaison that Bonaparte thus spoke of General Mack. That +place was then far from resembling what it afterwards became, and the +road to it was neither pleasant nor sure. There was not a house on the +road; and in the evening, during the season when we were there, it was +not frequented all the way from St. Germain. Those numerous vehicles, +which the demands of luxury and an increasing population have created, +did not then, as now, pass along the roads in the environs of Paris. +Everywhere the road was solitary and dangerous; and I learned with +certainty that many schemes were laid for carrying off the First Consul +during one of his evening journeys. They were unsuccessful, and orders +were given to enclose the quarries, which were too near to the road. On +Saturday evening Bonaparte left the Luxembourg, and afterwards the +Tuileries, to go to Malmaison, and I cannot better express the joy he +then appeared to experience than by comparing it to the delight of a +school-boy on getting a holiday. + +Before removing from the Luxembourg to the Tuileries Bonaparte determined +to dazzle the eyes of the Parisians by a splendid ceremony. He had +appointed it to take place on the 'decadi', Pluviôse 20 (9th February +1800), that is to say, ten days before his final departure from the old +Directorial palace. These kinds of fetes did not resemble what they +afterwards became; their attraction consisted in the splendour of +military dress: and Bonaparte was always sure that whenever he mounted +his horse, surrounded by a brilliant staff from which he was to be +distinguished by the simplicity of his costume, his path would be crowded +and himself greeted with acclamations by the people of Paris. The object +of this fete was at first only to present to the 'Hôtel des Invalides', +then called the Temple of Mars, seventy-two flags taken from the Turks +in the battle of Aboukir and brought from Egypt to Paris; but +intelligence of Washington's death, who expired on the 14th of December +1799, having reached Bonaparte, he eagerly took advantage of that event +to produce more effect, and mixed the mourning cypress with the laurels +he had collected in Egypt. + +Bonaparte did not feel much concerned at the death of Washington, that +noble founder of rational freedom in the new world; but it afforded him +an opportunity to mask his ambitious projects under the appearance of a +love of liberty. In thus rendering honour to the memory of Washington +everybody would suppose that Bonaparte intended to imitate his example, +and that their two names would pass in conjunction from mouth to mouth. +A clever orator might be employed, who, while pronouncing a eulogium on +the dead, would contrive to bestow some praise on the living; and when +the people were applauding his love of liberty he would find himself one +step nearer the throne, on which his eyes were constantly fixed. When +the proper time arrived, he would not fail to seize the crown; and would +still cry, if necessary, "Vive la Liberté!" while placing it on his +imperial head. + +The skilful orator was found. M. de Fontanes + + --[L. de Fontanes (1767-1821) became president of the Corps + Legislatif, Senator, and Grand Master of the University. He was the + centre of the literary group of the Empire,]-- + +was commissioned to pronounce the funeral eulogium on Washington, and the +flowers of eloquence which he scattered about did not all fall on the +hero of America. + +Lannes was entrusted by Bonaparte with the presentation of the flags; and +on the 20th Pluviôse he proceeded, accompanied by strong detachments of +the cavalry then in Paris, to the council-hall of the Invalides, where he +was met by the Minister of War, who received the colours. All the +Ministers, the councillors of State, and generals were summoned to the +presentation. Lannes pronounced a discourse, to which Berthier replied, +and M. de Fontanes added his well-managed eloquence to the plain military +oratory of the two generals. In the interior of this military temple a +statue of Mars sleeping had been placed, and from the pillars and roof +were suspended the trophies of Denain, Fontenoy, and the campaign of +Italy, which would still have decorated that edifice had not the demon of +conquest possessed Bonaparte. Two Invalides, each said to be a hundred +years old, stood beside the Minister of War; and the bust of the +emancipator of America was placed under the trophy composed of the flags +of Aboukir. In a word, recourse was had to every sort of charlatanism +usual on such occasions. In the evening there was a numerous assembly at +the Luxembourg, and Bonaparte took much credit to himself for the effect +produced on this remarkable day. He had only to wait ten days for his +removal to the Tuileries, and precisely on that day the national mourning +for Washington was to cease, for which a general mourning for freedom +might well have been substituted. + +I have said very little about Murat in the course of these Memoirs except +mentioning the brilliant part he performed in several battles. Having +now arrived at the period of his marriage with one of Napoleon's sisters +I take the opportunity of returning to the interesting events which +preceded that alliance. + +His fine and well-proportioned form, his great physical strength and +somewhat refined elegance of manner,--the fire of his eye, and his fierce +courage in battle, gave to Murat rather the character of one of those +'preux chevaliers' so well described by Ariosto and Taro, than that a +Republican soldier. The nobleness of his look soon made the lowness of +his birth be forgotten. He was affable, polished, gallant; and in the +field of battle twenty men headed by Murat were worth a whole regiment. +Once only he showed himself under the influence of fear, and the reader +shall see in what circumstance it was that he ceased to be himself. + + --[Marshal Lannes, so brave and brilliant in war and so well able to + appreciate courage, one day sharply rebuked a colonel for having + punished a young officer just arrived from school at Fontainebleau + because he gave evidence of fear in his first engagement. "Know, + colonel," said he, "none but a poltroon (the term was even more + strong) will boast that he never was afraid."--Bourrienne.]-- + +When Bonaparte in his first Italian campaign had forced Wurmser to +retreat into Mantua with 28,000 men, he directed Miollis, with only 4000 +men, to oppose any sortie that might be attempted by the Austrian +general. In one of these sorties Murat, who was at the head of a very +weak detachment, was ordered to charge Wurmser. He was afraid, neglected +to execute the order, and in a moment of confusion said that he was +wounded. Murat immediately fell into disgrace with the General-in-Chief, +whose 'aide de camp' he was. + +Murat had been previously sent to Paris to present to the Directory the +first colours taken by the French army of Italy in the actions of Dego +and Mondovi, and it was on this occasion that he got acquainted with +Madame Tallien and the wife of his General. But he already knew the +beautiful Caroline Bonaparte, whom he had seen at Rome in the residence +of her brother Joseph, who was then discharging the functions of +ambassador of the Republic. It appears that Caroline was not even +indifferent to him, and that he was the successful rival of the Princess +Santa Croce's son, who eagerly sought the honour of her hand. Madame +Tallien and Madame Bonaparte received with great kindness the first 'aide +de camp', and as they possessed much influence with the Directory, they +solicited, and easily obtained for him, the rank of brigadier-general. +It was somewhat remarkable at that time Murat, notwithstanding his newly- +acquired rank, to remain Bonaparte's 'aide de camp', the regulations not +allowing a general-in-chief an 'aide de camp' of higher rank than chief +of brigade, which was equal to that of colonel. This insignificant act +was, therefore, rather a hasty anticipation of the prerogatives +everywhere reserved to princes and kings. + +It was after having discharged this commission that Murat, on his return +to Italy, fell into disfavour with the General-in Chief. He indeed +looked upon him with a sort of hostile feeling, and placed him in +Reille's division, and afterwards Baraguey d'Hilliers'; consequently, +when we went to Paris, after the treaty of Campo-Formio, Murat was not of +the party. But as the ladies, with whom he was a great favourite, were +not devoid of influence with the Minister of War, Murat was, by their +interest, attached to the engineer corps in the expedition to Egypt. +On board the Orient he remained in the most complete disgrace. Bonaparte +did not address a word to him during the passage; and in Egypt the +General-in-Chief always treated him with coldness, and often sent him +from the headquarters on disagreeable services. However, the General-in- +Chief having opposed him to Mourad Bey, Murat performed such prodigies of +valour in every perilous encounter that he effaced the transitory stain +which a momentary hesitation under the walls of Mantua had left on his +character. Finally, Murat so powerfully contributed to the success of +the day at Aboukir that Bonaparte, glad to be able to carry another +laurel plucked in Egypt to France, forgot the fault which had made so +unfavourable an impression, and was inclined to efface from his memory +other things that he had heard to the disadvantage of Murat; for I have +good reasons for believing, though Bonaparte never told me so, that +Murat's name, as well as that of Charles, escaped from the lips of Junot +when he made his indiscreet communication to Bonaparte at the walls of +Messoudiah. The charge of grenadiers, commanded by Murat on the 19th +Brumaire in the hall of the Five Hundred, dissipated all the remaining +traces of dislike; and in those moments when Bonaparte's political views +subdued every other sentiment of his mind, the rival of the Prince Santa +Croce received the command of the Consular Guard. + + --[Joachim Murat (1771-1616), the son of an innkeeper, aide de camp + to Napoleon in Italy, etc.; Marshal, 1804; Prince in 1806; Grand + Admiral; Grand Duc de Berg et de Clesves, 1808; King of Naples, + 1808. Shot by Bourbons 13th October 1815. Married Caroline + Bonaparte (third sister of Napoleon) 20th January 1800.]-- + +It may reasonably be supposed that Madame Bonaparte, in endeavouring to +win the friendship of Murat by aiding his promotion, had in view to gain +one partisan more to oppose to the family and brothers of Bonaparte; and +of this kind of support she had much need. Their jealous hatred was +displayed on every occasion; and the amiable Josephine, whose only fault +was being too much of the woman, was continually tormented by sad +presentiments. Carried away by the easiness of her character, she did +not perceive that the coquetry which enlisted for her so many defenders +also supplied her implacable enemies with weapons to use against her. + +In this state of things Josephine, who was well convinced that she had +attached Murat to herself by the bonds of friendship and gratitude, and +ardently desired to see him united to Bonaparte by a family connection, +favoured with all her influence his marriage with Caroline. She was not +ignorant that a close intimacy had already sprung up at Milan between +Caroline and Murat, and she was the first to propose a marriage. Murat +hesitated, and went to consult M. Collot, who was a good adviser in all +things, and whose intimacy with Bonaparte had initiated him into all the +secrets of the family. M. Collot advised Murat to lose no time, but to +go to the First Consul and formally demand the hand of his sister. Murat +followed his advice. Did he do well? It was to this step that he owed +the throne of Naples. If he had abstained he would not have been shot at +Pizzo. 'Sed ipsi Dei fata rumpere non possunt!' + +However that might be, Bonaparte received, more in the manner of a +sovereign than of a brother in arms, the proposal of Murat. He heard him +with unmoved gravity, said that he would consider the matter, but gave no +positive answer. + +This affair was, as may be supposed, the subject of conversation in the +evening in the salon of the Luxembourg. Madame Bonaparte employed all +her powers of persuasion to obtain the First Consul's consent, and her +efforts were seconded by Hortense, Eugène, and myself, "Murat," said he, +among other things, "Murat is an innkeeper's son. In the elevated rank +where glory and fortune have placed me, I never can mix his blood with +mine! Besides, there is no hurry: I shall see by and by." We forcibly +described to him the reciprocal affection of the two young people, and +did not fail to bring to his observation Murat's devoted attachment to +his person, his splendid courage and noble conduct in Egypt. "Yes," said +he, with warmth, "I agree with you; Murat was superb at Aboukir." We did +not allow so favourable a moment to pass by. We redoubled our +entreaties, and at last he consented. When we were together in his +cabinet in the evening, "Well, Bourrienne," said he to me, "you ought to +be satisfied, and so am I, too, everything considered. Murat is suited +to my sister, and then no one can say that I am proud, or seek grand +alliances. If I had given my sister to a noble, all your Jacobins would +have raised a cry of counter-revolution. Besides, I am very glad that my +wife is interested in this marriage, and you may easily suppose the +cause. Since it is determined on, I will hasten it forward; we have no +time to lose. If I go to Italy I will take Murat with me. I must strike +a decisive blow there. Adieu." + +When I entered the First Consul's chamber at seven o'clock the next day +he appeared even more satisfied than on the preceding evening with the +resolution he had taken. I easily perceived that in spite of all his +cunning, he had failed to discover the real motive which had induced +Josephine to take so lively an interest respecting Murat's marriage with +Caroline. Still Bonaparte's satisfaction plainly showed that his wife's +eagerness for the marriage had removed all doubt in his mind of the +falsity of the calumnious reports which had prevailed respecting her +intimacy with Murat. + +The marriage of Murat and Caroline was celebrated at the Luxembourg, but +with great modesty. The First Consul did not yet think that his family +affairs were affairs of state. But previously to the celebration a +little comedy was enacted in which I was obliged to take a part, and I +will relate how. + +At the time of the marriage of Murat Bonaparte had not much money, and +therefore only gave his sister a dowry of 30,000 francs. Still, thinking +it necessary to make her a marriage present, and not possessing the means +to purchase a suitable one, he took a diamond necklace which belonged to +his wife and gave it to the bride. Josephine was not at all pleased with +this robbery, and taxed her wits to discover some means of replacing her +necklace. + +Josephine was aware that the celebrated jeweler Foncier possessed a +magnificent collection of fine pearls which had belonged, as he said, to +the late Queen, Marie Antoinette. Having ordered them to be brought to +her to examine them, she thought there were sufficient to make a very +fine necklace. But to make the purchase 250,000 francs were required, +and how to get them was the difficulty. Madame Bonaparte had recourse to +Berthier, who was then Minister of War. Berthier, after biting his +nails according to his usual habit, set about the liquidation of the +debts due for the hospital service in Italy with as much speed as +possible; and as in those days the contractors whose claims were admitted +overflowed with gratitude towards their patrons, through whom they +obtained payment, the pearls soon passed from Foncier's shop to the +casket of Madame Bonaparte. + +The pearls being thus obtained, there was still another difficulty, which +Madame Bonaparte did not at first think of. How was she to wear a +necklace purchased without her husband's knowledge? Indeed it was the +more difficult for her to do so as the First Consul knew very well that +his wife had no money, and being, if I may be allowed the expression, +something of the busybody, he knew, or believed he knew, all Josephine's +jewels. The pearls were therefore condemned to remain more than a +fortnight in Madame Bonaparte's casket without her daring to use them. +What a punishment for a woman! At length her vanity overcame her +prudence, and being unable to conceal the jewels any longer, she one day +said to me, "Bourrienne, there is to be a large party here to-morrow, and +I absolutely must wear my pearls. But you know he will grumble if he +notices them. I beg, Bourrienne, that you will keep near me. If he asks +me where I got my pearls I must tell him, without hesitation, that I have +had them a long time." + +Everything happened as Josephine feared and hoped. + +Bonaparte, on seeing the pearls, did not fail to say to Madame, "What is +it you have got there? How fine you are to-day! Where did you get these +pearls? I think I never saw them before."--"Oh! 'mon Dieu'! you have +seen them a dozen times! It is the necklace which the Cisalpine Republic +gave me, and which I now wear in my hair."--"But I think--"--"Stay: ask +Bourrienne, he will tell you."--"Well, Bourrienne, what do you say to it? +Do you recollect the necklace?"--"Yes, General, I recollect very well +seeing it before." This was not untrue, for Madame Bonaparte had +previously shown me the pearls. Besides, she had received a pearl +necklace from the Cisalpine Republic, but of incomparably less value than +that purchased from Foncier. Josephine performed her part with charming +dexterity, and I did not act amiss the character of accomplice assigned +me in this little comedy. Bonaparte had no suspicions. When I saw the +easy confidence with which Madame Bonaparte got through this scene, I +could not help recollecting Suzanne's reflection on the readiness with +which well-bred ladies can tell falsehoods without seeming to do so. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +1800. + + Police on police--False information--Dexterity of Fouché--Police + agents deceived--Money ill applied--Inutility of political police-- + Bonaparte's opinion--General considerations--My appointment to the + Prefecture of police. + +Before taking up his quarters in the Tuileries the First Consul organised +his secret police, which was intended, at the same time, to be the rival +or check upon Fouché's police. Duroc and Moncey were at first the +Director of this police; afterwards Davoust and Junot. Madame Bonaparte +called this business a vile system of espionage. My remarks on the +inutility of the measure were made in vain. Bonaparte had the weakness +at once to fear Fouché and to think him necessary. Fouché, whose talents +at this trade are too well known to need my approbation, soon discovered +this secret institution, and the names of all the subaltern agents +employed by the chief agents. It is difficult to form an idea of the +nonsense, absurdity, and falsehood contained in the bulletins drawn up by +the noble and ignoble agents of the police. I do not mean to enter into +details on this nauseating subject; and I shall only trespass on the +reader's patience by relating, though it be in anticipation, one fact +which concerns myself, and which will prove that spies and their wretched +reports cannot be too much distrusted. + +During the second year of the Consulate we were established at Malmaison. +Junot had a very large sum at his disposal for the secret police of the +capital. He gave 3000 francs of it to a wretched manufacturer of +bulletins; the remainder was expended on the police of his stable and his +table. In reading one of these daily bulletins I saw the following +lines: + + "M. de Bourrienne went last night to Paris. He entered an hotel of + the Faubourg St. Germain, Rue de Varenne, and there, in the course + of a very animated discussion, he gave it to be understood that the + First Consul wished to make himself King." + +As it happens, I never had opened my mouth, either respecting what +Bonaparte had said to me before we went to Egypt or respecting his other +frequent conversations with me of the same nature, during this period of +his Consulship. I may here observe, too, that I never quitted, nor ever +could quit Malmaison for a moment. At any time, by night or day, I was +subject to be called for by the First Consul, and, as very often was the +case, it so happened that on the night in question he had dictated to me +notes and instructions until three o'clock in the morning. + +Junot came every day to Malmaison at eleven o'clock in the morning. I +called him that day into my cabinet, when I happened to be alone. "Have +you not read your bulletin?" said I, "Yes, I have."--"Nay, that is +impossible."--"Why?"--"Because, if you had, you would have suppressed an +absurd story which relates to me."--"Ah!" he replied, "I am sorry on your +account, but I can depend on my agent, and I will not alter a word of his +report." I then told him all that had taken place on that night; but he +was obstinate, and went away unconvinced. + +Every morning I placed all the papers which the First Consul had to read +on his table, and among the first was Junot's report. The First Consul +entered and read it; on coming to the passage concerning me he began to +smile. + +"Have you read this bulletin?"--"Yes, General."--"What an ass that Junot +is! It is a long time since I have known that."--" How he allows himself +to be entrapped! Is he still here?"--"I believe so. I have just seen +him, and made observations to him, all in good part, but he would hear +nothing."--"Tell him to come here." When Junot appeared Bonaparte began +--"Imbecile that you are! how could you send me such reports as these? +Do you not read them? How shall I be sure that you will not compromise +other persons equally unjustly? I want positive facts, not inventions. +It is some time since your agent displeased me; dismiss him directly." +Junot wanted to justify himself, but Bonaparte cut him short--"Enough!-- +It is settled!" + +I related what had passed to Fouché, who told me that, wishing to amuse +himself at Junot's expense, whose police agents only picked up what they +heard related in coffeehouses, gaming-houses, and the Bourse, he had +given currency to this absurd story, which Junot had credited and +reported, as he did many other foolish tales. Fouché often caught the +police of the Palace in the snares he laid for them, and thus increased +his own credit. + +This circumstance, and others of the same nature, induced the First +Consul to attach less importance than at first he had to his secret +police, which seldom reported anything but false and silly stories. +That wretched police! During the time I was with him it embittered his +life, and often exasperated him against his wife, his relations, and +friends. + + --[Bourrienne, it must be remembered, was a sufferer from the + vigilance of this police.]-- + +Rapp, who was as frank as he was brave, tells us in his Memoirs (p. 233) +that when Napoleon, during his retreat from Moscow, while before +Smolenski, heard of the attempt of Mallet, he could not get over the +adventure of the Police Minister, Savary, and the Prefect of Police, +Pasquier. "Napoleon," says Rapp, "was not surprised that these wretches +(he means the agents of the police) who crowd the salons and the taverns, +who insinuate themselves everywhere and obstruct everything, should not +have found out the plot, but he could not understand the weakness of the +Duc de Rovigo. The very police which professed to divine everything had +let themselves be taken by surprise." The police possessed no foresight +or faculty of prevention. Every silly thing that transpired was reported +either from malice or stupidity. What was heard was misunderstood or +distorted in the recital, so that the only result of the plan was +mischief and confusion. + +The police as a political engine is a dangerous thing. It foments and +encourages more false conspiracies than it discovers or defeats real +ones. Napoleon has related "that M. de la Rochefoucauld formed at Paris +a conspiracy in favour of the King, then at Mittau, the first act of +which was to be the death of the Chief of the Government. The plot being +discovered, a trusty person belonging to the police was ordered to join +it and become one of the most active agents. He brought letters of +recommendation from an old gentleman in Lorraine who had held a +distinguished rank in the army of Condé." After this, what more can be +wanted? A hundred examples could not better show the vileness of such a +system. Napoleon, when fallen, himself thus disclosed the scandalous +means employed by his Government. + +Napoleon on one occasion, in the Isle of Elba, said to an officer who was +conversing with him about France, "You believe, then, that the police +agents foresee everything and know everything? They invent more than +they discover. Mine, I believe, was better than that they have got now, +and yet it was often only by mere chance, the imprudence of the parties +implicated, or the treachery of some of them, that something was +discovered after a week or fortnight's exertion." Napoleon, in directing +this officer to transmit letters to him under the cover of a commercial +correspondence, to quiet his apprehensions that the correspondence might +be discovered, said, "Do you think, then, that all letters are opened at +the post office? They would never be able to do so. I have often +endeavoured to discover what the correspondence was that passed under +mercantile forms, but I never succeeded. The post office, like the +police, catches only fools." + +Since I am on the subject of political police, that leprosy of modern +society, perhaps I may be allowed to overstep the order of time, and +advert to its state even in the present day. + +The Minister of Police, to give his prince a favourable idea of his +activity, contrives great conspiracies, which he is pretty sure to +discover in time, because he is their originator. The inferior agents, +to find favour in the eyes of the Minister, contrive small plots. It +would be difficult to mention a conspiracy which has been discovered, +except when the police agents took part in it, or were its promoters. +It is difficult to conceive how those agents can feed a little intrigue, +the result at first, perhaps, of some petty ill-humour and discontent +which, thanks to their skill, soon becomes a great affair. How many +conspiracies have escaped the boasted activity and vigilance of the +police when none of its agents were parties. I may instance Babeuf's +conspiracy, the attempt at the camp at Grenelle, the 18th Brumaire, the +infernal machine, Mallet, the 20th of March, the affair of Grenoble, and +many others. + +The political police, the result of the troubles of the Revolution, has +survived them. The civil police for the security of property, health, +and order, is only made a secondary object, and has been, therefore, +neglected. There are times in which it is thought of more consequence +to discover whether a citizen goes to mass or confession than to defeat +the designs of a band of robbers. Such a state of things is unfortunate +for a country; and the money expended on a system of superintendence over +persons alleged to be suspected, in domestic inquisitions, in the +corruption of the friends, relations, and servants of the man marked out +for destruction might be much better employed. The espionage of opinion, +created, as I have said, by the revolutionary troubles, is suspicious, +restless, officious, inquisitorial, vexatious, and tyrannical. +Indifferent to crimes and real offences, it is totally absorbed in the +inquisition of thoughts. Who has not heard it said in company, to some +one speaking warmly, "Be moderate, M------ is supposed to belong to the +police." This police enthralled Bonaparte himself in its snares, and +held him a long time under the influence of its power. + +I have taken the liberty thus to speak of a scourge of society of which +I have been a victim. What I here state may be relied on. I shall not +speak of the week during which I had to discharge the functions of +Prefect of Police, namely, from the 13th to the 20th of March, 1815. +It may well be supposed that though I had not held in abhorrence the +infamous system which I have described, the important nature of the +circumstances and the short period of my administration must have +prevented me from making complete use of the means placed at my disposal. +The dictates of discretion, which I consider myself bound to obey, +forbid me giving proofs of what I advance. What it was necessary to do +I accomplished without employing violent or vexatious means; and I can +take on myself to assert that no one has cause to complain of me. Were I +to publish the list of the persons I had orders to arrest, those of them +who are yet living would be astonished that the only knowledge they had +of my being the Prefect of Police was from the Moniteur. I obtained by +mild measures, by persuasion, and reasoning what I could never have got +by violence. I am not divulging any secrets of office, but I believe I +am rendering a service to the public in pointing out what I have often +observed while an unwilling confidant in the shameful manoeuvres of that +political institution. + +The word ideologue was often in Bonaparte's mouth; and in using it he +endeavoured to throw ridicule on those men whom he fancied to have a +tendency towards the doctrine of indefinite perfectibility. He esteemed +them for their morality, yet he looked on them as dreamers seeking for +the type of a universal constitution, and considering the character of +man in the abstract only. The ideologues, according to him, looked for +power in institutions; and that he called metaphysics. He had no idea of +power except in direct force. All benevolent men who speculate on the +amelioration of human society were regarded by Bonaparte as dangerous, +because their maxims and principles were diametrically opposed to the +harsh and arbitrary system he had adopted. He said that their hearts +were better than their heads, and, far from wandering with them in +abstractions, he always said that men were only to be governed by fear +and interest. The free expression of opinion through the press has been +always regarded by those who are not led away by interest or power as +useful to society. But Bonaparte held the liberty of the press in the +greatest horror; and so violent was his passion when anything was urged +in its favour that he seemed to labour under a nervous attack. Great man +as he was, he was sorely afraid of little paragraphs. + + --[Joseph Bonaparte fairly enough remarks on this that such writings + had done great harm in those extraordinary times (Erreurs, tome i, + p. 259). Metternich, writing in 1827 with distrust of the + proceedings of Louis XVIII., quotes, with approval, Napoleon's + sentiments on this point. "Napoleon, who could not have been + wanting in the feeling of power, said to me, 'You see me master of + France; well, I would not undertake to govern her for three months + with liberty of the press. Louis XVIII., apparently thinking + himself stronger than Napoleon, is not content with allowing the + press its freedom, but has embodied its liberty in the charter" + (Metternich, tome iv, p. 391.)]-- + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +1800. + + Successful management of parties--Precautions--Removal from the + Luxembourg to the Tuileries--Hackney-coaches and the Consul's white + horses--Royal custom and an inscription--The review--Bonaparte's + homage to the standards--Talleyrand in Bonaparte's cabinet-- + Bonaparte's aversion to the cap of liberty even in painting--The + state bed--Our cabinet. + +Of the three brothers to whom the 18th Brumaire gave birth Bonaparte +speedily declared himself the eldest, and hastened to assume all the +rights of primogeniture. He soon arrogated to himself the whole power. +The project he had formed, when he favoured the revolution of the 18th +Fructidor, was now about to be realized. It was then an indispensable +part of his plan that the Directory should violate the constitution in +order to justify a subsequent subversion of the Directory. The +expressions which escaped him from time to time plainly showed that his +ambition was not yet satisfied, and that the Consulship was only a state +of probation preliminary to the complete establishment of monarchy. +The Luxembourg was then discovered to be too small for the Chief of the +Government, and it was resolved that Bonaparte should inhabit the +Tuileries. Still great prudence was necessary to avoid the quicksands +which surrounded him! He therefore employed great precaution in dealing +with the susceptibilities of the Republicans, taking care to inure them +gradually to the temperature of absolute power. But this mode of +treatment was not sufficient; for such was Bonaparte's situation between +the Jacobins and the Royalists that he could not strike a blow at one +party without strengthening the other. He, however, contrived to solve +this difficult problem, and weakened both parties by alternately +frightening each. "You see, Royalists," he seemed to say, "if you do not +attach yourselves to my government the Jacobins will again rise and bring +back the reign of terror and its scaffold." To the men of the Revolution +he, on the other hand, said, "See, the counter-Revolution appears, +threatening reprisals and vengeance. It is ready to overwhelm you; my +buckler can alone protect you from its attacks." Thus both parties were +induced, from their mutual fear of each other, to attach themselves to +Bonaparte; and while they fancied they were only placing themselves under +the protection of the Chief of the Government, they were making +themselves dependent on an ambitious man, who, gradually bending them to +his will, guided them as he chose in his political career. He advanced +with a firm step; but he never neglected any artifice to conceal, as long +as possible, his designs. + +I saw Bonaparte put in motion all his concealed springs; and I could not +help admiring his wonderful address. + +But what most astonished me was the control he possessed over himself, in +repressing any premature manifestation of his intentions which might +prejudice his projects. Thus, for instance, he never spoke of the +Tuileries but under the name of "the Palace of the Government," and he +determined not to inhabit, at first, the ancient palace of the kings of +France alone. He contented himself with selecting the royal apartments, +and proposed that the Third Consul should also reside in the Tuileries, +and in consequence he occupied the Pavilion of Flora. This skilful +arrangement was perfectly in accordance with the designation of "Palace +of the Government" given to the Tuileries, and was calculated to deceive, +for a time, the most clear-sighted. + +The moment for leaving the Luxembourg having arrived, Bonaparte still +used many deceptive precautions. The day filed for the translation of +the seat of government was the 30th Pluviôse, the previous day having +been selected for publishing the account of the votes taken for the +acceptance of the new Constitution. He had, besides, caused the +insertion in the 'Moniteur' of the eulogy on Washington, pronounced, by +M. de Fontanes, the decadi preceding, to be delayed for ten days. He +thought that the day when he was about to take so large a step towards +monarchy would be well chosen for entertaining the people of Paris with +grand ideas of liberty, and for coupling his own name with that of the +founder of the free government of the United States. + +At seven o'clock on the morning of the 30th Pluviôse I entered, as usual, +the chamber of the First Consul. He was in a profound sleep, and this +was one of the days on which I had been desired to allow him to sleep a +little longer than usual. I have often observed that General Bonaparte +appeared much less moved when on the point of executing any great design +than during the time of projecting it, so accustomed was he to think +that what he had resolved on in his mind, was already done. + +When I returned to Bonaparte he said to me, with a marked air of +satisfaction, "Well, Bourrienne, to-night, at last, we shall sleep in the +Tuileries. You are better off than I: you are not obliged to make a +spectacle of yourself, but may go your own road there. I must, however, +go in procession: that disgusts me; but it is necessary to speak to the +eyes. That has a good effect on the people. The Directory was too +simple, and therefore never enjoyed any consideration. In the army +simplicity is in its proper place; but in a great city, in a palace, +the Chief of the Government must attract attention in every possible way, +yet still with prudence. Josephine is going to look out from Lebrun's +apartments; go with her, if you like; but go to the cabinet as soon as +you see me alight from my horse." + +I did not go to the review, but proceeded to the Tuileries, to arrange in +our new cabinet the papers which it was my duty to take care of, and to +prepare everything for the First Consul's arrival. It was not until the +evening that I learned, from the conversation in the salon, where there +was a numerous party, what had taken place in the course of the day. + +At one o'clock precisely Bonaparte left the Luxembourg. The procession +was, doubtless, far from approaching the magnificent parade of the +Empire: but as much pomp was introduced as the state of things in France +permitted. The only real splendour of that period consisted in fine +troops. Three thousand picked men, among whom was the superb regiment of +the Guides, had been ordered out for the occasion: all marched in the +greatest order; with music at the head of each corps. The generals and +their staffs were on horseback, the Ministers in carriages, which were +somewhat remarkable, as they were almost the only private carriages then +in Paris, for hackney-coaches had been hired to convey the Council of +State, and no trouble had been taken to alter them, except by pasting +over the number a piece of paper of the same colour as the body of the +vehicle. The Consul's carriage was drawn by six white horses. With the +sight of those horses was associated the recollection of days of glory +and of peace, for they had been presented to the General-in-Chief of the +army of Italy by the Emperor of Germany after the treaty of Campo-Formio. +Bonaparte also wore the magnificent sabre given him by the Emperor +Francis. With Cambacérès on his left, and Lebrun in the front of the +carriage, the First Consul traversed a part of Paris, taking the Rue de +Thionville, and the Quai Voltaire to the Pont Royal. Everywhere he was +greeted by acclamations of joy, which at that time were voluntary, and +needed not to be commanded by the police. + +From the wicket of the Carrousel to the gate of the Tuileries the troops +of the Consular Guard were formed in two lines, through which the +procession passed--a royal custom, which made a singular contrast with an +inscription in front of which Bonaparte passed on entering the courtyard. +Two guard-houses had been built, one on the right and another on the left +of the centre gate. On the one to the right were written these words: + + "THE TENTH of AUGUST 1792.--ROYALTY IN FRANCE + IS ABOLISHED; AND SHALL NEVER BE RE-ESTABLISHED!" + +It was already re-established! + +In the meantime the troops had been drawn up in line in the courtyard. +As soon as the Consul's carriage stopped Bonaparte immediately alighted, +and mounted, or, to speak more properly, leaped on his horse, and +reviewed his troops, while the other two Consuls proceeded to the state +apartments of the Tuileries, where the Council of State and the Ministers +awaited them. A great many ladies, elegantly dressed in Greek costume, +which was then the fashion, were seated with Madame Bonaparte at the +windows of the Third Consul's apartments in the Pavilion of Flora. It is +impossible to give an idea of the immense crowds which flowed in from all +quarters. The windows looking to the Carrousel were let for very large +sums; and everywhere arose, as if from one voice, shouts of "Long live +the First Consul!" Who could help being intoxicated by so much +enthusiasm? + +Bonaparte prolonged the review for some time, passed down all the ranks, +and addressed the commanders of corps in terms of approbation and praise. +He then took his station at the gate of the Tuileries, with Murat on his +right, and Lannes on his left, and behind him a numerous staff of young +warriors, whose complexions had been browned by the sun of Egypt and +Italy, and who had been engaged in more battles than they numbered years. +When the colours of the 96th, 43d, and 34th demi-brigades, or rather +their flagstaffs surmounted by some shreds, riddled by balls and +blackened by powder, passed before him, he raised his hat and inclined +his head in token of respect. Every homage thus paid by a great captain +to standards which had been mutilated on the field of battle was saluted +by a thousand acclamations. When the troops had finished defiling before +him, the First Consul, with a firm step, ascended the stairs of the +Tuileries. + +The General's part being finished for the day, that of the Chief of the +State began; and indeed it might already be said that the First Consul +was the whole Consulate. At the risk of interrupting my narrative of +what occurred on our arrival at the Tuileries, by a digression, which may +be thought out of place, I will relate a fact which had no little weight +in hastening Bonaparte's determination to assume a superiority over his +colleagues. It may be remembered that when Roger Ducos and Sieyès bore +the title of Consuls the three members of the Consular commission were +equal, if not in fact at least in right. But when Cambacérès and Lebrun +took their places, Talleyrand, who had at the same time been appointed to +succeed M. Reinhart as Minister of Foreign Affairs, obtained a private +audience of the First Consul in his cabinet, to which I was admitted. +The observations of Talleyrand on this occasion were highly agreeable to +Bonaparte, and they made too deep an impression on my mind to allow me to +forget them. + +"Citizen Consul," said he to him, "you have confided to me the office of +Minister for Foreign Affairs, and I will justify your confidence; but I +must declare to you that from this moment, I will not transact business +with any but yourself. This determination does not proceed from any vain +pride on my part, but is induced by a desire to serve France. In order +that France may be well governed, in order that there may be a unity of +action in the government, you must be First Consul, and the First Consul +must have the control over all that relates directly to politics; that is +to say, over the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Police, +for Internal Affairs, and over my department, for Foreign Affairs; and, +lastly, over the two great means of execution, the military and naval +forces. It will therefore be most convenient that the Ministers of those +five departments should transact business with you. The Administration +of Justice and the ordering of the Finances are objects certainly +connected with State politics by numerous links, which, however, are not +of so intimate a nature as those of the other departments. If you will +allow me, General, I should advise that the control over the +Administration of Justice be given to the Second Consul, who is well +versed in jurisprudence; and to the Third Consul, who is equally well +acquainted with Finance, the control over that department. That will +occupy and amuse them, and you, General, having at your disposal all the +vital parts of the government, will be able to reach the end you aim at, +the regeneration of France." + +Bonaparte did not hear these remarkable words with indifference. They +were too much in accordance with his own secret wishes to be listened to +without pleasure; and he said to me as soon as Talleyrand had taken +leave, "Do you know, Bourrienne, I think Talleyrand gives good advice. +He is a man of great understanding."--"Such is the opinion," I replied, +"of all who know him."--"He is perfectly right." Afterwards he added, +smiling, "Tallyrand is evidently a shrewd man. He has penetrated my +designs. What he advises you know I am anxious to do. But again I say, +he is right; one gets on quicker by oneself. Lebrun is a worthy man, but +he has no policy in his head; he is a book-maker. Cambacérès carries +with him too many traditions of the Revolution. My government must be an +entirely new one." + +Talleyrand's advice had been so punctually followed that even on the +occasion of the installation of the Consular Government, while Bonaparte +was receiving all the great civil and military officers of the State in +the hall of presentation, Cambacérès and Lebrun stood by more like +spectators of the scene than two colleagues of the First Consul. The +Minister of the Interior presented the civil authorities of Paris; the +Minister of War, the staff of the 17th military division; the Minister of +Marine, several naval officers; and the staff of the Consular Guard was +presented by Murat. As our Consular republicans were not exactly +Spartans, the ceremony of the presentations was followed by grand dinner- +parties. The First Consul entertained at his table, the two other +Consuls, the Ministers, and the Presidents of the great bodies of the +State. Murat treated the heads of the army; and the members of the +Council of State, being again seated in their hackney-coaches with +covered numbers, drove off to dine with Lucien. + +Before taking possession of the Tuileries we had frequently gone there to +see that the repairs, or rather the whitewashing, which Bonaparte had +directed to be done, was executed. On our first visit, seeing a number +of red caps of liberty painted on the walls, he said to M. Lecomte, at +that time the architect in charge, "Get rid of all these things; I do not +like to see such rubbish." + +The First Consul gave directions himself for what little alterations he +wanted in his own apartments. A state bed--not that of Louis XVI.--was +placed in the chamber next his cabinet, on the south side, towards the +grand staircase of the Pavilion of Flora. I may as well mention here +that he very seldom occupied that bed, for Bonaparte was very simple in +his manner of living in private, and was not fond of state, except as a +means of imposing on mankind. At the Luxembourg, at Malmaison, and +during the first period that he occupied the Tuileries, Bonaparte, if I +may speak in the language of common life, always slept with his wife. +He went every evening down to Josephine by a small staircase leading from +a wardrobe attached to his cabinet, and which had formerly been the +chapel of Maria de Medici. I never went to Bonaparte's bedchamber but +by this staircase; and when he came to our cabinet it was always by the +wardrobe which I have mentioned. The door opened opposite the only +window of our room, and it commanded a view of the garden. + +As for our cabinet, where so many great, and also small events were +prepared, and where I passed so many hours of my life, I can, even now, +give the most minute description of it to those who like such details. + +There were two tables. The best, which was the First Consul's, stood in +the middle of the room, and his armchair was turned with its back to the +fireplace, having the window on the right. To the right of this again +was a little closet where Duroc sat, through which we could communicate +with the clerk of the office and the grand apartments of the Court. +When the First Consul was seated at his table in his chair (the arms of +which he so frequently mutilated with his penknife) he had a large +bookcase opposite to him. A little to the right, on one side of the +bookcase, was another door, opening into the cabinet which led directly +to the state bedchamber which I have mentioned. Thence we passed into +the grand Presentation Saloon, on the ceiling of which Lebrun had painted +a likeness of Louis XIV. A tri-coloured cockade placed on the forehead +of the great King still bore witness of the imbecile turpitude of the +Convention. Lastly came the hall of the Guards, in front of the grand +staircase of the Pavilion of Flora. + +My writing-table, which was extremely plain, stood near the window, and +in summer I had a view of the thick foliage of the chestnut-trees; but in +order to see the promenaders in the garden I was obliged to raise myself +from my seat. My back was turned to the General's side, so that it +required only a slight movement of the head to speak to each other. +Duroc was seldom in his little cabinet, and that was the place where I +gave some audiences. The Consular cabinet, which afterwards became the +Imperial, has left many impressions on my mind; and I hope the reader, in +going through these volumes, will not think that they have been of too +slight a description. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +1800. + + The Tuileries--Royalty in perspective--Remarkable observation-- + Presentations--Assumption of the prerogative of mercy--M. Defeu-- + M. de Frotte--Georges Cadoudal's audience of Bonaparte--Rapp's + precaution and Bonaparte's confidence--The dignity of France-- + Napper Tandy and Blackwell delivered up by the Senate of Hamburg-- + Contribution in the Egyptian style--Valueless bill--Fifteen thousand + francs in the drawer of a secretaire--Josephine's debts--Evening + walks with Bonaparte. + +The morning after that ardently wished-for day on which we took +possession of the Palace of the Kings of France I observed to Bonaparte +on entering his chamber, "Well, General, you have got here without much +difficulty, and with the applause of the people! Do you remember what +you said to me in the Rue St. Anne nearly two years ago?"--"Ay, true +enough, I recollect. You see what it is to have the mind set on a thing. +Only two years have gone by! Don't you think we have not worked badly +since that time? Upon the whole I am very well content. Yesterday +passed off well. Do you imagine that all those who came to flatter me +were sincere? No, certainly not: but the joy of the people was real. +They know what is right. Besides, consult the grand thermometer of +opinion, the price of the funds: on the 17th Brumaire at 11 francs, on +the 20th at 16 and to-day at 21. In such a state of things I may let the +Jacobins prate as they like. But let them not talk too loudly either!" + +As soon as he was dressed we went to look through the Gallery of Diana +and examine the statues which had been placed there by his orders. We +ended our morning's work by taking complete possession of our new +residence. I recollect Bonaparte saying to me, among other things, "To +be at the Tuileries, Bourrienne, is not all. We must stay here. Who, in +Heaven's name, has not already inhabited this palace? Ruffians, +conventionalists! But hold! there is your brother's house! Was it not +from those windows I saw the Tuileries besieged, and the good Louis XVI. +carried off? But be assured they will not come here again!" + +The Ambassadors and other foreign Ministers then in Paris were presented +to the First Consul at a solemn audience. On this occasion all the +ancient ceremonials belonging to the French Court were raked up, and in +place of chamberlains and a grand master of ceremonies a Counsellor of +State, M. Benezech, who was once Minister for Foreign Affairs, +officiated. + +When the Ambassadors had all arrived M. Benezech conducted them into the +cabinet, in which were the three Consuls, the Ministers, and the Council +of State. The Ambassadors presented their credentials to the First +Consul, who handed them to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. These +presentations were followed by others; for example, the Tribunal of +Cassation, over which the old advocate, Target, who refused to defend +Louis XVI., then presided. All this passed in view of the three Consuls; +but the circumstance which distinguished the First Consul from his +colleagues was, that the official personages, on leaving the audience- +chamber, were conducted to Madame Bonaparte's apartments, in imitation of +the old practice of waiting on the Queen after presentation to the King. + +Thus old customs of royalty crept by degrees into the former abodes of +royalty. Amongst the rights attached to the Crown, and which the +Constitution of the year VIII. did not give to the First Consul, was one +which he much desired to possess, and which, by the most happy of all +usurpations, he arrogated to himself. This was the right of granting +pardon. Bonaparte felt a real pleasure in saving men under the sentence +of the law; and whenever the imperious necessity of his policy, to which, +in truth, he sacrificed everything, permitted it, he rejoiced in the +exercise of mercy. It would seem as if he were thankful to the persons +to whom he rendered such service merely because he had given them +occasion to be thankful to him. Such was the First Consul: I do not +speak of the Emperor. Bonaparte, the First Consul, was accessible to the +solicitations of friendship in favour of persons placed under +proscription. The following circumstance, which interested me much, +affords an incontestable proof of what I state:-- + +Whilst we were still at the Luxembourg, M. Defeu, a French emigrant, was +taken in the Tyrol with arms in his hand by the troops of the Republic. +He was carried to Grenoble, and thrown into the military prison of that +town. In the course of January General Ferino, then commanding at +Grenoble, received orders to put the young emigrant on his trial. The +laws against emigrants taken in arms were terrible, and the judges dared +not be indulgent. To be tried in the morning, condemned in the course of +the day, and shot in the evening, was the usual course of those +implacable proceedings. One of my cousins, the daughter of M. +Poitrincourt, came from Sens to Paris to inform me of the dreadful +situation of M. Defeu. She told me that he was related to the most +respectable families of the town of Sens, and that everybody felt the +greatest interest in his fate. + +I had escaped for a few moments to keep the appointment I made with +Mademoiselle Poitrincourt. On my return I perceived the First Consul +surprised at finding himself alone in the cabinet, which I was not in the +habit of quitting without his knowledge. "Where have you been?" said he. +"I have been to see one of my relations, who solicits a favour of you."-- +"What is it?" I then informed him of the unfortunate situation of M. +Defeu. His first answer was dreadful. "No pity! no pity for emigrants! +Whoever fights against his country is a child who tries to kill his +mother!" This first burst of anger being over, I returned to the charge. +I urged the youth of M. Defeu, and the good effect which clemency would +produce. "Well," said he, "write-- + + "The First Consul orders the judgment on M. Defeu to be suspended." + +He signed this laconic order, which I instantly despatched to General +Ferino. I acquainted my cousin with what had passed, and remained at +ease as to the result of the affair. + +Scarcely had I entered the chamber of the First Consul the next morning +when he said to me, "Well, Bourrienne, you say nothing about your M. +Defeu. Are you satisfied?"--"General, I cannot find terms to express my +gratitude."--"Ah, bah! But I do not like to do things by halves. Write +to Ferino that I wish M. Defeu to be instantly set at liberty. Perhaps I +am serving one who will prove ungrateful. Well, so much the worse for +him. As to these matters, Bourrienne, always ask them from me. When I +refuse, it is because I cannot help it." + +I despatched at my own expense an extraordinary courier, who arrived in +time to save M. Defeu's life. His mother, whose only son he was, and M. +Blanchet, his uncle, came purposely from Sens to Paris to express their +gratitude to me. I saw tears of joy fall from the eyes of a mother who +had appeared to be destined to shed bitter drops, and I said to her as I +felt, "that I was amply recompensed by the success which had attended my +efforts." + +Emboldened by this success, and by the benevolent language of the First +Consul, I ventured to request the pardon of M. de Frotte, who was +strongly recommended to me by most honourable persons. Comte Louis de +Frotte had at first opposed all negotiation for the pacification of La +Vendée. At length, by a series of unfortunate combats, he was, towards +the end of January, reduced to the necessity of making himself the +advances which he had rejected when made by others. At this period he +addressed a letter to General Guidal, in which he offered pacificatory +proposals. A protection to enable him to repair to Alençon was +transmitted to him. Unfortunately for M. de Frotte, he did not confine +himself to writing to General Guidal, for whilst the safe-conduct which +he had asked was on the way to him, he wrote to his lieutenants, advising +them not to submit or consent to be disarmed. This letter was +intercepted. It gave all the appearance of a fraudulent stratagem to his +proposal to treat for peace. Besides, this opinion appeared to be +confirmed by a manifesto of M. de Frotte, anterior, it is true, to the +offers of pacification, but in which he announced to all his partisans +the approaching end of Bonaparte's "criminal enterprise." + +I had more trouble than in M. Defeu's case to induce the First Consul to +exercise his clemency. However, I pressed him so much, I laboured so +hard to convince him of the happy effect of such indulgence, that at +length I obtained an order to suspend the judgment. What a lesson I then +experienced of the evil which may result from the loss of time! Not +supposing that matters were so far advanced as they were, I did not +immediately send off the courier with the order for the suspension of the +judgment. Besides, the Minister-of-Police had marked his victim, and he +never lost time when evil was to be done. Having, therefore, I know not +for what motive, resolved on the destruction of M. de Frotte, he sent an +order to hasten his trial. + +Comte Louis de Frotte was brought to trial on the 28th Pluviôse, +condemned the same day, and executed the next morning, the day before we +entered the Tuileries. The cruel precipitation of the Minister rendered +the result of my solicitations abortive. I had reason to think that +after the day on which the First Consul granted me the order for delay he +had received some new accusation against M. de Frotte, for when he heard +of his death he appeared to me very indifferent about the tardy arrival +of the order for suspending judgment. He merely said to me, with unusual +insensibility, "You should take your measures better. You see it is not +my fault." + +Though Bonaparte put no faith in the virtue of men, he had confidence in +their honour. I had proof of this in a matter which deserves to be +recorded in history. When, during the first period of our abode at the +Tuileries, he had summoned the principal chiefs of La Vendée to +endeavour to bring about the pacification of that unhappy country, he +received Georges Cadoudal in a private audience. The disposition in +which I beheld him the evening before the day appointed for this audience +inspired me with the most flattering hopes. Rapp introduced Georges into +the grand salon looking into the garden. Rapp left him alone with the +First Consul, but on returning to the cabinet where I was he did not +close either of the two doors of the state bedchamber which separated the +cabinet from the salon. We saw the First Consul and Georges walk from +the window to the bottom of the salon--then return--then go back again. +This lasted for a long time. The conversation appeared very animated, +and we heard several things, but without any connection. There was +occasionally a good deal of ill-humour displayed in their tone and +gestures. The interview ended in nothing. The First Consul, perceiving +that Georges entertained some apprehensions for his personal safety, gave +him assurances of security in the most noble manner, saying, "You take a +wrong view of things, and are wrong in not coming to some understanding; +but if you persist in wishing to return to your country you shall depart +as freely as you came to Paris." When Bonaparte returned to his cabinet +he said to Rapp, "Tell me, Rapp, why you left these doors open, and +stopped with Bourrienne?" Rapp replied, "If you had closed the doors I +would have opened them again. Do you think I would have left you alone +with a man like that? There would have been danger in it."--"No, Rapp," +said Bonaparte, "you cannot think so." When we were alone the First +Consul appeared pleased with Rapp's attachment, but very vexed at +Georges' refusal. He said, "He does not take a correct view of things; +but the extravagance of his principles has its source in noble +sentiments, which must give him great influence over his countrymen. +It is necessary, however, to bring this business soon to an end." + +Of all the actions of Louis XIV. that which Bonaparte most admired was +his having made the Doge of Genoa send ambassadors to Paris to apologise +to him. The slightest insult offered in a foreign country to the rights +and dignity of France put Napoleon beside himself. This anxiety to have +the French Government respected exhibited itself in an affair which made +much noise at the period, but which was amicably arranged by the soothing +influence of gold. + +Two Irishmen, Napper Tandy and Blackwell, who had been educated in +France, and whose names and rank as officers appeared in the French army +list, had retired to Hamburg. The British Government claimed them as +traitors to their country, and they were given up; but, as the French +Government held them to be subjects of France, the transaction gave rise +to bitter complaints against the Senate of Hamburg. + +Blackwell had been one of the leaders of the united Irishmen. He had +procured his naturalisation in France, and had attained the rank of chef +d'escadron. Being sent on a secret mission to Norway, the ship in which +he was embarked was wrecked on the coast of that kingdom. He then +repaired to Hamburg, where the Senate placed him under arrest on the +demand of Mr. Crawford, the English Minister. After being detained in +prison a whole year he was conveyed to England to be tried. The French +Government interfered, and preserved, if not his liberty, at least his +life. + +Napper Tandy was also an Irishman. To escape the search made after him, +on account of the sentiments of independence which had induced him to +engage in the contest for the liberty of his country, he got on board a +French brig, intending to land at Hamburg and pass into Sweden. Being +exempted from the amnesty by the Irish Parliament, he was claimed by the +British Government, and the Senators of Hamburg forgot honour and +humanity in their alarm at the danger which at that moment menaced their +little republic both from England and France. The Senate delivered up +Napper Tandy; he was carried to Ireland, and condemned to death, but owed +the suspension of his execution to the interference of France. He +remained two years in prison, when M. Otto, who negotiated with Lord +Hawkesbury the preliminaries of peace, obtained the release of Napper +Tandy, who was sent back to France. + +The First Consul spoke at first of signal vengeance; but the Senate of +Hamburg sent him a memorial, justificatory of its conduct, and backed the +apology with a sum of four millions and a half, which mollified him +considerably. This was in some sort a recollection of Egypt--one of +those little contributions with which the General had familiarised the +pashas; with this difference, that on the present occasion not a single +sous went into the national treasury. The sum was paid to the First +Consul through the hands of M. Chapeau Rouge. + + --[A solemn deputation from the Senate arrived at the Tuileries to + make public apologies to Napoleon. He again testified his + indignation: and when the envoys urged their weakness he said to + them. "Well and had you not the resource of weak states? was it not + in your power to let them escape?" (Napoleon's Memoirs).]-- + +I kept the four millions and a half in Dutch bonds in a secretaire for a +week. Bonaparte then determined to distribute them; after paying +Josephine's debts, and the whole of the great expenses incurred at +Malmaison, he dictated to me a list of persons to whom he wished to make +presents. My name did not escape his lips, and consequently I had not +the trouble to transcribe it; but some time after he said to me, with the +most engaging kindness, "Bourrienne, I have given you none of the money +which came from Hamburg, but I will make you amends for it." He took +from his drawer a large and broad sheet of printed paper, with blanks +filled up in his own handwriting, and said to me, "Here is a bill for +300,000 Italian livres on the Cisalpine Republic, for the price of cannon +furnished. It is endorsed Halter and Collot--I give it you." To make +this understood, I ought to state that cannon had been sold to the +Cisalpine Republic, for the value of which the Administrator-general of +the Italian finances drew on the Republic, and the bills were paid over +to M. Collot, a provision contractor, and other persons. M. Collot had +given one of these bills for 300,000 livres to Bonaparte in quittance of +a debt, but the latter had allowed the bill to run out without troubling +himself about it. The Cisalpine Republic kept the cannons and the money, +and the First Consul kept his bill. When I had examined it I said, +"General, it has been due for a long time; why have you not got it paid? +The endorsers are no longer liable."--"France is bound to discharge debts +of this kind;" said he; "send the paper to de Fermont: he will discount +it for three per cent. You will not have in ready money more than about +9000 francs of rentes, because the Italian livre is not equal to the +franc." I thanked him, and sent the bill to M. de Fermont. He replied +that the claim was bad, and that the bill would not be liquidated because +it did not come within the classifications made by the laws passed in the +months the names of which terminated in 'aire, ose, al, and or'. + +I showed M. de Fermont's answer to the First Consul, who said, "Ah, bah! +He understands nothing about it--he is wrong: write." He then dictated a +letter, which promised very favourably for the discounting of the bill; +but the answer was a fresh refusal. I said, "General, M. de Fermont does +not attend to you any more than to myself." Bonaparte took the letter, +read it, and said, in the tone of a man who knew beforehand what he was +about to be informed of, "Well, what the devil would you have me do, +since the laws are opposed to it? Persevere; follow the usual modes of +liquidation, and something will come of it!" What finally happened was, +that by a regular decree this bill was cancelled, torn, and deposited in +the archives. These 300,000 livres formed part of the money which +Bonaparte brought from Italy. If the bill was useless to me it was also +useless to him. This scrap of paper merely proves that he brought more +than 25,000 francs from Italy. + +I never had, from the General-in-Chief of the army of Italy, nor from the +General in-Chief of the army of Egypt, nor from the First Consul, for +ten years, nor from the Consul for life, any fixed salary: I took from +his drawer what was necessary for my expenses as well as his own. He +never asked me for any account. After the transaction of the bill on the +insolvent Cisalpine Republic he said to me, at the beginning of the +winter of 1800, "Bourrienne, the weather is becoming very bad; I will go +but seldom to Malmaison. Whilst I am at council get my papers and little +articles from Malmaison; here is the key of my secretaire, take out +everything that is there." I got into the carriage at two o'clock and +returned at six. When he had dined I placed upon the table of his +cabinet the various articles which I had found in his secretaire +including 15,000 francs (somewhere about L 600 of English money) in +banknotes which were in the corner of a little drawer. When he looked at +them he said, "Here is money--what is the meaning of this?" I replied, +"I know nothing about it, except that it was in your secretaire."-- +"Oh yes; I had forgotten it. It was for my trifling expenses. Here, +take it." I remembered well that one summer morning he had given me his +key to bring him two notes of 1000 francs for some incidental expense, +but I had no idea that he had not drawn further on his little treasure. + +I have stated the appropriation of the four millions and a half, the +result of the extortion inflicted on the Senate of Hamburg, in the affair +of Napper Tandy and Blackwell. + +The whole, however, was not disposed of in presents. A considerable +portion was reserved for paying Josephine's debts, and this business +appears to me to deserve some remarks. + +The estate of Malmaison had cost 160,000 francs. Josephine had purchased +it of M. Lecouteulx while we were in Egypt. Many embellishments, and +some new buildings, had been made there; and a park had been added, which +had now become beautiful. All this could not be done for nothing, and +besides, it was very necessary that what was due for the original +purchase should be entirely discharged; and this considerable item was +not the only debt of Josephine. The creditors murmured, which had a bad +effect in Paris; and I confess I was so well convinced that the First +Consul would be extremely displeased that I constantly delayed the moment +of speaking to him on the subject. It was therefore with extreme +satisfaction I learned that M. de Talleyrand had anticipated me. No +person was more capable than himself of gilding the pill, as one may say, +to Bonaparte. Endowed with as much independence of character as of mind, +he did him the service, at the risk of offending him, to tell him that a +great number of creditors expressed their discontent in bitter complaints +respecting the debts contracted by Madame Bonaparte during his expedition +to the East. Bonaparte felt that his situation required him promptly to +remove the cause of such complaints. It was one night about half-past +eleven o'clock that M. Talleyrand introduced this delicate subject. As +soon he was gone I entered the little cabinet; Bonaparte said to me, +"Bourrienne, Talleyrand has been speaking to me about the debts of my +wife. I have the money from Hamburg--ask her the exact amount of her +debts: let her confess all. I wish to finish, and not begin again. But +do not pay without showing me the bills of those rascals: they are a gang +of robbers." + +Hitherto the apprehension of an unpleasant scene, the very idea of which +made Josephine tremble, had always prevented me from broaching this +subject to the First Consul; but, well pleased that Talleyrand had first +touched upon it, I resolved to do all in my power to put an end to the +disagreeable affair. + +The next morning I saw Josephine. She was at first delighted with her +husband's intentions; but this feeling did not last long. When I asked +her for an exact account of what she owed she entreated me not to press +it, but content myself with what she should confess. I said to her, +"Madame, I cannot deceive you respecting the disposition of the First +Consul. He believes that you owe a considerable sum, and is willing to +discharge it. You will, I doubt not, have to endure some bitter +reproaches, and a violent scene; but the scene will be just the same for +the whole as for a part. If you conceal a large proportion of your debts +at the end of some time murmurs will recommence, they will reach the ears +of the First Consul, and his anger will display itself still more +strikingly. Trust to me--state all; the result will be the same; you +will hear but once the disagreeable things he will say to you; by +reservations you will renew them incessantly." Josephine said, "I can +never tell all; it is impossible. Do me the service to keep secret what +I say to you. I owe, I believe, about 1,200,000 francs, but I wish to +confess only 600,000; I will contract no more debts, and will pay the +rest little by little out of my savings."--"Here, Madame, my first +observations recur. As I do not believe he estimates your debts at so +high a sum as 600,000 francs, I can warrant that you will not experience +more displeasure for acknowledging to 1,200,000 than to 600,000; and by +going so far you will get rid of them for ever."--"I can never do it, +Bourrienne; I know him; I can never support his violence." After a +quarter of an hour's further discussion on the subject I was obliged to +yield to her earnest solicitation, and promise to mention only the +600,000 francs to the First Consul. + +The anger and ill-humour of Bonaparte may be imagined. He strongly +suspected that his wife was dissembling in some respect; but he said, +"Well, take 600,000 francs, but liquidate the debts for that sum, and let +me hear nothing more on the subject. I authorise you to threaten these +tradesmen with paying nothing if they do not reduce their enormous +charges. They ought to be taught not to be so ready in giving credit." +Madame Bonaparte gave me all her bills. The extent to which the articles +had been overcharged, owing to the fear of not being paid for a long +period, and of deductions being made from the amount, was inconceivable. +It appeared to me, also, that there must be some exaggeration in the +number of articles supplied. I observed in the milliner's bill thirty- +eight new hats, of great price, in one month. There was likewise a +charge of 1800 francs for heron plumes, and 800 francs for perfumes. +I asked Josephine whether she wore out two hats in one day? She objected +to this charge for the hats, which she merely called a mistake. The +impositions which the saddler attempted, both in the extravagance of his +prices and in charging for articles which he had not furnished, were +astonishing. I need say nothing of the other tradesmen, it was the same +system of plunder throughout. + +I availed myself fully of the First Consul's permission, and spared +neither reproaches nor menaces. I am ashamed to say that the greater +part of the tradesmen were contented with the half of what they demanded. +One of them received 35,000 francs for a bill of 80,000; and he had the +impudence to tell me that he made a good profit nevertheless. Finally, I +was fortunate enough, after the most vehement disputes, to settle +everything for 600,000 francs. Madame Bonaparte, however, soon fell +again into the same excesses, but fortunately money became more +plentiful. This inconceivable mania of spending money was almost the +sole cause of her unhappiness. Her thoughtless profusion occasioned +permanent disorder in her household until the period of Bonaparte's +second marriage, when, I am informed, she became regular in her +expenditure. I could not say so of her when she was Empress in 1804. + + --[Notwithstanding her husband's wish, she could never bring her + establishment into any order or rule. He wished that no tradesmen + should ever reach her, but he was forced to yield on this point. + The small inner rooms were filled with them, as with artists of all + sorts. She had a mania for having herself painted, and gave her + portraits to whoever wished for one, relations, 'femmes de chambre', + even to tradesmen. They never ceased bringing her diamonds, jewels, + shawls, materials for dresses, and trinkets of all kinds; she bought + everything without ever asking the price; and generally forgot what + she had purchased. . . All the morning she had on a shawl which + she draped on her shoulders with a grace I have seen in no one else. + Bonaparte, who thought her shawls covered her too much, tore them + off, and sometimes threw them into the fire; then she sent for + another (Rémusat, tome ii. pp. 343-345). After the divorce her + income, large as it was, was insufficient, but the Emperor was more + compassionate then, and when sending the Comte Mollien to settle her + affairs gave him strict orders "not to make her weep" (Meneval, + tome iii. p.237]-- + +The amiable Josephine had not less ambition in little things than her +husband had in great. She felt pleasure in acquiring and not in +possessing. Who would suppose it? She grew tired of the beauty of the +park of Malmaison, and was always asking me to take her out on the high +road, either in the direction of Nanterre, or on that of Marly, in the +midst of the dust occasioned by the passing of carriages. The noise of +the high road appeared to her preferable to the calm silence of the +beautiful avenues of the park, and in this respect Hortense had the same +taste as her mother. This whimsical fancy astonished Bonaparte, and he +was sometimes vexed at it. My intercourse with Josephine was delightful; +for I never saw a woman who so constantly entered society with such an +equable disposition, or with so much of the spirit of kindness, which is +the first principle of amiability. She was so obligingly attentive as to +cause a pretty suite of apartments to be prepared at Malmaison for me and +my family. + +She pressed me earnestly, and with all her known grace, to accept it; but +almost as much a captive at Paris as a prisoner of state, I wished to +have to myself in the country the moments of liberty I was permitted to +enjoy. Yet what was this liberty? I had bought a little house at Ruel, +which I kept during two years and a half. When I saw my friends there, +it had to be at midnight, or at five o'clock in the morning; and the +First Consul would often send for me in the night when couriers arrived. +It was for this sort of liberty I refused Josephine's kind offer. +Bonaparte came once to see me in my retreat at Ruel, but Josephine and +Hortense came often. It was a favourite walk with these ladies. + +At Paris I was less frequently absent from Bonaparte than at Malmaison. +We sometimes in the evening walked together in the garden of the +Tuileries after the gates were closed. In these evening walks he always +wore a gray greatcoat, and a round hat. I was directed to answer, +"The First Consul," to the sentinel's challenge of, "Who goes there?" +These promenades, which were of much benefit to Bonaparte, and me also, +as a relaxation from our labours, resembled those which we had at +Malmaison. As to our promenades in the city, they were often very +amusing. + +At the period of our first inhabiting the Tuileries, when I saw Bonaparte +enter the cabinet at eight o'clock in the evening in his gray coat, I +knew he would say, "Bourrienne, come and take a turn." Sometimes, then, +instead of going out by the garden arcade, we would take the little gate +which leads from the court to the apartments of the Duc d'Angoulême. He +would take my arm, and we would go to buy articles of trifling value in +the shops of the Rue St. Honoré; but we did not extend our excursions +farther than Rue de l'Arbre Sec. Whilst I made the shopkeeper exhibit +before us the articles which I appeared anxious to buy he played his part +in asking questions. + +Nothing was more amusing than to see him endeavouring to imitate the +careless and jocular tone of the young men of fashion. How awkward was +he in the attempt to put on dandy airs when pulling up the corners of his +cravat he would say, "Well, Madame, is there anything new to-day? +Citizen, what say they of Bonaparte? Your shop appears to be well +supplied. You surely have a great deal of custom. What do people say of +that buffoon, Bonaparte?" He was made quite happy one day when we were +obliged to retire hastily from a shop to avoid the attacks drawn upon us +by the irreverent tone in which Bonaparte spoke of the First Consul. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +1800. + + War and monuments--Influence of the recollections of Egypt-- + First improvements in Paris--Malmaison too little--St. Cloud taken + --The Pont des Arts--Business prescribed for me by Bonaparte-- + Pecuniary remuneration--The First Consul's visit to the Pritanée-- + His examination of the pupils--Consular pensions--Tragical death of + Miackzinski--Introduction of vaccination--Recall of the members of + the Constituent Assembly--The "canary" volunteers--Tronchet and + Target--Liberation of the Austrian prisoners--Longchamps and sacred + music. + +The destruction of men and the construction of monuments were two things +perfectly in unison in the mind of Bonaparte. It may be said that his +passion for monuments almost equalled his passion for war; + + --[Take pleasure, if you can, in reading your returns. The good + condition of my armies is owing to my devoting to them one or two + hours in every day. When the monthly returns of my armies and of my + fleets, which form twenty thick volumes, are sent to me, I give up + every other occupation in order to read them in detail and to + observe the difference between one monthly return and another. + No young girl enjoys her novel so much as I do these returns! + (Napoleon to Joseph, 20th August 1806--Du Casse, tome iii. + p. 145).]-- + +but as in all things he disliked what was little and mean, so he liked +vast constructions and great battles. The sight of the colossal ruins of +the monuments of Egypt had not a little contributed to augment his +natural taste for great structures. It was not so much the monuments +themselves that he admired, but the historical recollections they +perpetuate, the great names they consecrate, the important events they +attest. What should he have cared for the column which we beheld on our +arrival in Alexandria had it not been Pompey's pillar? It is for artists +to admire or censure its proportions and ornaments, for men of learning +to explain its inscriptions; but the name of Pompey renders it an object +of interest to all. + +When endeavouring to sketch the character of Bonaparte, I ought to have +noticed his taste for monuments, for without this characteristic trait +something essential is wanting to the completion of the portrait. This +taste, or, as it may more properly be called, this passion for monuments, +exercised no small influence on his thoughts and projects of glory; yet +it did not deter him from directing attention to public improvements of +a less ostentatious kind. He wished for great monuments to perpetuate +the recollection of his glory; but at the same time he knew how to +appreciate all that was truly useful. He could very rarely be reproached +for rejecting any plan without examination; and this examination was a +speedy affair, for his natural tact enabled him immediately to see things +in their proper light. + +Though most of the monuments and embellishments of Paris are executed +from the plans of men of talent, yet some owe their origin to +circumstances merely accidental. Of this I can mention an example. + +I was standing at the window of Bonaparte's' cabinet, which looked into +the garden of the Tuileries. He had gone out, and I took advantage of +his absence to arise from my chair, for I was tired of sitting. He had +scarcely been gone a minute when he unexpectedly returned to ask me for a +paper. "What are you doing there, Bourrienne? I'll wager anything you +are admiring the ladies walking on the terrace."--"Why, I must confess I +do sometimes amuse myself in that way," replied I; "but I assure you, +General, I was now thinking of something else. I was looking at that +villainous left bank of the Seine, which always annoys me with the gaps +in its dirty quay, and the floodings which almost every winter prevent +communication with the Faubourg St. Germain; and I was thinking I would +speak to you on the subject." He approached the window, and, looking +out, said, "You are right, it is very ugly; and very offensive to see +dirty linen washed before our windows. Here, write immediately: 'The +quay of the École de Natation is to be finished during next campaign.' +Send that order to the Minister of the Interior." The quay was finished +the year following. + +An instance of the enormous difference which frequently appears between +the original estimates of architects and their subsequent accounts I may +mention what occurred in relation to the Palace of St. Cloud. But I must +first say a word about the manner in which Bonaparte originally refused +and afterwards took possession of the Queen's pleasure-house. Malmaison +was a suitable country residence for Bonaparte as long as he remained +content with his town apartments in the little Luxembourg; but that +Consular 'bagatelle' was too confined in comparison with the spacious +apartments in the Tuileries. The inhabitants of St. Cloud, well-advised, +addressed a petition to the Legislative Body, praying that their deserted +chateau might be made the summer residence of the First Consul. The +petition was referred to the Government; but Bonaparte, who was not yet +Consul for life, proudly declared that so long as he was at the head of +affairs, and, indeed, for a year afterwards, he would accept no national +recompense. Sometime after we went to visit the palace of the 18th +Brumaire. Bonaparte liked it exceedingly, but all was in a state of +complete dilapidation. It bore evident marks of the Revolution. The +First Consul did not wish, as yet, to burden the budget of the State with +his personal expenses, and he was alarmed at the enormous sum required to +render St. Cloud habitable. Flattery had not yet arrived at the degree +of proficiency which it subsequently attained; but even then his +flatterers boldly assured him he might take possession of St. Cloud for +25,000 francs. I told the First Consul that considering the ruinous +state of the place, I could to say that the expense would amount to more +than 1,200,000 francs. Bonaparte determined to have a regular estimate +of the expense, and it amounted to nearly 3,000,000. He thought it a +great sum; but as he had resolved to make St. Cloud his residence he gave +orders for commencing the repairs, the expense of which, independently of +the furniture, amounted to 6,000,000. So much for the 3,000,000 of the +architect and the 25,000 francs of the flatterers. + +When the First Consul contemplated the building of the Pont des Arts we +had a long conversation on the subject. I observed that it would be much +better to build the bridge of stone. "The first object of monuments of +this kind," said I, "is public utility. They require solidity of +appearance, and their principal merit is duration. I cannot conceive, +General, why, in a country where there is abundance of fine stone of +every quality, the use of iron should be preferred."--"Write," said +Bonaparte, "to Fontaine and Percier, the architects, and ask what they +think of it." I wrote and they stated in their answer that "bridges were +intended for public utility and the embellishment of cities. The +projected bridge between the Louvre and the Quatre-Nations would +unquestionably fulfil the first of these objects, as was proved by the +great number of persons who daily crossed the Seine at that point in +boats; that the site fixed upon between the Pont Neuf and the Tuileries +appeared to be the best that could be chosen for the purpose; and that on +the score of ornament Paris would gain little by the construction of an +iron bridge, which would be very narrow, and which, from its light form, +would not correspond with the grandeur of the two bridges between which +it would be placed." + +When we had received the answer of MM. Percier and Fontaine, we again had +a conversation on the subject of the bridge. I told the First Consul that +I perfectly concurred in the opinion of MM. Fontaine and Percier; however, +he would have his own way, and thus was authorised the construction +of the toy which formed a communication between the Louvre and the +Institute. But no sooner was the Pont des Arts finished than Bonaparte +pronounced it to be mean and out of keeping with the other bridges above +and below it. One day when visiting the Louvre he stopped at one of the +windows looking towards the Pont des Arts and said, "There is no +solidity, no grandeur about that bridge. In England, where stone is +scarce, it is very natural that iron should be used for arches of large +dimensions. But the case is different in France, where the requisite +material is abundant." + +The infernal machine of the 3d Nivôse, of which I shall presently speak +more at length, was the signal for vast changes in the quarter of the +Tuileries. That horrible attempt was at least so far attended by happy +results that it contributed to the embellishment of Paris. It was +thought more advisable for the Government to buy and pull down the houses +which had been injured by the machine than to let them be put under +repair. As an example of Bonaparte's grand schemes in building I may +mention that, being one day at the Louvre, he pointed towards St. Germain +l'Auxerrois and said to me, "That is where I will build an imperial +street. It shall run from here to the Barrière du Trône. It shall be a +hundred feet broad, and have arcades and plantations. This street shall +be the finest in the world." + +The palace of the King of Rome, which was to face the Pont de Jena and +the Champ de Mars, would have been in some measure isolated from Paris, +with which, however, it was to be connected by a line of palaces. These +were to extend along the quay, and were destined as splendid residences +for the Ambassadors of foreign sovereigns, at least as long as there +should be any sovereigns in Europe except Napoleon. The Temple of Glory, +too, which was to occupy the site of the Church of la Madeleine, was +never finished. If the plan of this monument proved the necessity. +which Bonaparte felt of constantly holding out stimulants to his +soldiers, its relinquishment was at least a proof of his wisdom. He who +had reestablished religious worship in France, and had restored to its +destination the church of the Invalides, which was for a time +metamorphosed into the Temple of Mars, foresaw that a Temple of Glory +would give birth to a sort of paganism incompatible with the ideas of the +age. + +The recollection of the magnificent Necropolis of Cairo frequently +recurred to Bonaparte's mind. He had admired that city of the dead, +which he had partly contributed to people; and his design was to make, +at the four cardinal points of Paris, four vast cemeteries on the plan +of that at Cairo. + +Bonaparte determined that all the new streets of Paris should be 40 feet +wide, and be provided with foot-pavements; in short, he thought nothing +too grand for the embellishment of the capital of a country which he +wished to make the first in the world. Next to war, he regarded the +embellishment of Paris as the source of his glory; and he never +considered a victory fully achieved until he had raised a monument to +transmit its memory to posterity. He, wanted glory, uninterrupted +glory, for France as well as for himself. How often, when talking over +his schemes, has he not said, "Bourrienne, it is for France I am doing +all this! All I wish, all I desire, the end of all my labours is, that +my name should be indissolubly connected with that of France!" + +Paris is not the only city, nor is France the only kingdom, which bears +traces of Napoleon's passion for great and useful monuments. In Belgium, +in Holland, in Piedmont, in all Italy, he executed great improvements. +At Turin a splendid bridge was built over the Po, in lieu of an old +bridge which was falling in ruins. + +How many things were undertaken and executed in Napoleon's short and +eventful reign! To obviate the difficulty of communication between Metz +and Mayence a magnificent road was made, as if by magic, across +impracticable marshes and vast forests. Mountains were cut through and +ravines filled up. He would not allow nature more than man to resist +him. One day when he was proceeding to Belgium by the way of Givet, he +was detained for a short time at Little Givet, on the right bank of the +Meuse, in consequence of an accident which happened to the ferry-boat. +He was within a gunshot of the fortress of Charlemont, on the left bank, +and in the vexation which the delay occasioned he dictated the following +decree: "A bridge shall be built over the Meuse to join Little Givet to +Great Givet. It shall be terminated during the ensuing campaign." It +was completed within the prescribed time. In the great work of bridges +and highways Bonaparte's chief object was to remove the obstacles and +barriers which nature had raised up as the limits of old France so as to +form a junction with the provinces which he successively annexed to the +Empire. Thus in Savoy a road, smooth as a garden-walk, superseded the +dangerous ascents and descents of the wood of Bramant; thus was the +passage of Mont Cenis a pleasant promenade at almost every season of the +year; thus did the Simplon bow his head, and Bonaparte might have said, +"There are now my Alps," with more reason than Louis XIV. said, "There +are now no Pyrenees." + + --[Metternich (tome iv. p. 187) says on this subject, 'If you look + closely at the course of human affairs you will make strange + discoveries. For instance, that the Simplon Pass has contributed as + surely to Napoleon's immortality as the numerous works done in the + reign of the Emperor Francis will fail to add to his.]-- + +Such was the implicit confidence which Bonaparte reposed in me that I was +often alarmed at the responsibility it obliged me to incur. + + --[Of this confidence the following instructions for me, which he + dictated to Duroc, afford sufficient proof:-- + + "1st. Citizen Bourrienne shall open all the letters addressed to + the First Consul, Vol, and present them to him three times a day, or + oftener in case of urgent business. The letters shall be deposited + in the cabinet when they are opened. Bourrienne is to analyse all + those which are of secondary interest, and write the First Consul's + decision on each letter. The hours for presenting the letters shall + be, first, when the Consul rises; second, a quarter of an hour + before dinner; and third, at eleven at night. + + "2d. He is to have the superintendence of the Topographical office, + and of an office of Translation, in which there shall be a German + and an English clerk. Every day he shall present to the First + Consul, at the hours above mentioned the German and English + journals, together with a translation. With respect to the Italian + journals, it will only be necessary to mark what the First Consul is + to read. + + "3d. He shall keep a register of appointments to offices under + Government; a second, for appointments to judicial posts; a third + for appointments to places abroad; and a fourth, for the situations + of receivers and great financial posts, where he is to inscribe the + names of all the individuals whom the First Consul may refer to him. + These registers must be written by his own hand, and must be kept + entirely private. + + "4th. Secret correspondence, and the different reports of + surveillance, are to be addressed directly to Bourrienne, and + transmitted by him to the hand of the First Consul, by whom they + will be returned without the intervention of any third party. + + "6th. There shall be a register for all that relates to secret + extraordinary expenditure. Bourrienne shall write the whole with + his own hand, in order that the business may be kept from the + knowledge of any one. + + "7th. He shall despatch all the business which may be referred to + him, either from Citizen Duroc, or from the cabinet of the First + Consul, taking care to arrange everything so as to secure secrecy. + + "(Signed) "BONAPARTE, First Council. + + "Paris, 13th Germinal, year VIII. + "(3d. April 1800.)"]-- + + +Official business was not the only labour that devolved upon me. I had +to write to the dictation of the First Consul during a great part of the +day, or to decipher his writing, which was always the most laborious part +of my duty. I was so closely employed that I scarcely ever went out; and +when by chance I dined in town, I could not arrive until the very moment +of dinner, and I was obliged to run away immediately after it. Once a +month, at most, I went without Bonaparte to the Comédie Française, but I +was obliged to return at nine o'clock, that being the hour at which we +resumed business. Corvisart, with whom I was intimately acquainted, +constantly expressed his apprehensions about my health; but my zeal +carried me through every difficulty, and during our stay at the Tuileries +I cannot express how happy I was in enjoying the unreserved confidence of +the man on whom the eyes of all Europe were filed. So perfect was this +confidence that Bonaparte, neither as General, Consul, nor Emperor, ever +gave me any fixed salary. In money matters we were still comrades: I +took from his funds what was necessary to defray my expenses, and of this +Bonaparte never once asked me for any account. + +He often mentioned his wish to regenerate public education, which he +thought was ill managed. The central schools did not please him; but he +could not withhold his admiration from the Polytechnic School, the finest +establishment of education that was ever founded, but which he afterwards +spoiled by giving it a military organisation. In only one college of +Paris the old system of study was preserved: this was the Louis-le-Grand, +which had received the name of Pritanée. The First Consul directed the +Minister of the Interior to draw up a report on that establishment; and +he himself went to pay an unexpected visit to the Pritanée, accompanied +by M. Lebrun and Duroc. He remained there upwards of an hour, and in the +evening he spoke to me with much interest on the subject of his visit. +"Do you know, Bourrienne," said he, "that I have been performing the +duties of professor?"--"You, General!"--"Yes! and I did not acquit +myself badly. I examined the pupils in the mathematical class; and I +recollected enough of my Bezout to make some demonstrations before them. +I went everywhere, into the bedrooms and the dining-room. I tasted the +soup, which is better than we used to have at Brienne. I must devote +serious attention to public education and the management of the colleges. +The pupils must have a uniform. I observed some well and others ill +dressed. That will not do. At college, above all places, there should +be equality. But I was much pleased with the pupils of the Pritanée. +I wish to know the names of those I examined, and I have desired Duroc to +report them to me. I will give them rewards; that stimulates young +people. I will provide for some of them." + +On this subject Bonaparte did not confine himself to an empty scheme. +After consulting with the headmaster of the Pritanée, he granted pensions +of 200 francs to seven or eight of the most distinguished pupils of the +establishment, and he placed three of them in the department of Foreign +Affairs, under the title of diplomatic pupils. + + --[This institution of diplomatic pupils was originally suggested by + M. de Talleyrand.]-- + +What I have just said respecting the First Consul's visit to the Pritanée +reminds me of a very extraordinary circumstance which arose out of it. +Among the pupils at the Pritanée there was a son of General Miackzinski, +who died fighting under the banners of the Republic. Young Miackzinski +was then sixteen or seventeen years of age. He soon quitted the college, +entered the army as a volunteer, and was one of a corps reviewed by +Bonaparte, in the plain of Sablons. He was pointed out to the First +Consul, who said to him, "I knew your father. Follow his example, and +in six months you shall be an officer." Six months elapsed, and +Miackzinski wrote to the First Consul, reminding him of his promise. No +answer was returned, and the young man then wrote a second letter as +follows: + + You desired me to prove myself worthy of my father; I have done so. + You promised that I should be an officer in six months; seven have + elapsed since that promise was made. When you receive this letter I + shall be no more. I cannot live under a Government the head of + which breaks his word. + +Poor Miackzinski kept his word but too faithfully. After writing the +above letter to the First Consul he retired to his chamber and blew out +his brains with a pistol. A few days after this tragical event +Miackzinski's commission was transmitted to his corps, for Bonaparte had +not forgotten him. A delay in the War Office had caused the death of +this promising young man. Bonaparte was much affected at the circumstance, +and he said to me, "These Poles have such refined notions of honour.... +Poor Sulkowski, I am sure, would have done the same." + +At the commencement of the Consulate it was gratifying to see how +actively Bonaparte was seconded in the execution of plans for the social +regeneration of France; all seemed animated with new life, and every one +strove to do good as if it were a matter of competition. + +Every circumstance concurred to favour the good intentions of the +First Consul. Vaccination, which, perhaps, has saved as many lives +as war has sacrificed, was introduced into France by M. d Liancourt; and +Bonaparte, immediately appreciating the value of such a discovery, gave +it his decided approbation. At the same time a council of Prizes was +established, and the old members of the Constituent Assembly were invited +to return to France. It was for their sake and that of the Royalists +that the First Consul recalled them, but it was to please the Jacobins, +whom he was endeavouring to conciliate, that their return was subject to +restrictions. At first the invitation to return to France extended only +to those who could prove that they had voted in favour of the abolition +of nobility. The lists of emigrants were closed, and committees were +appointed to investigate their claims to the privilege of returning. + +From the commencement of the month of Germinal the reorganisation of the +army of Italy had proceeded with renewed activity. The presence in Paris +of the fine corps of the Consular Guard, added to the desire of showing +themselves off in gay uniforms, had stimulated the military ardour of +many respectable young men of the capital. Taking advantage of this +circumstance the First Consul created a corps of volunteers destined for +the army of reserve, which was to remain at Dijon. He saw the advantage +of connecting a great number of families with his cause, and imbuing them +with the spirit of the army. This volunteer corps wore a yellow uniform +which, in some of the salons of Paris where it was still the custom to +ridicule everything, obtained for them the nickname of "canaries." +Bonaparte, who did not always relish a joke, took this in very ill part, +and often expressed to me his vexation at it. However, he was gratified +to observe in the composition of this corps a first specimen of +privileged soldiers; an idea which he acted upon when he created the +orderly gendarmes in the campaign of Jena, and when he organised the +guards of honour after the disasters of Moscow. + +In every action of his life Bonaparte had some particular object in view. +I recollect his saying to me one day, "Bourrienne, I cannot yet venture +to do anything against the regicides; but I will let them see what I +think of them. To-morrow I shall have some business with Abrial +respecting the organisation of the court of Cassation. Target, who is +the president of that court, would not defend Louis XVI. Well, whom do +you think I mean to appoint in his place? . . . Tronchet, who did +defend the king. They may say what they please; I care not." + + --[On this, as on many other occasions, the cynicism of Bonaparte's + language does not admit of a literal translation.]-- + +Tronchet was appointed. + +Nearly about the same time the First Consul, being informed of the escape +of General Mack, said to me, "Mack may go where he pleases; I am not +afraid of him. But I will tell you what I have been thinking. There are +some other Austrian officers who were prisoners with Mack; among the +number is a Count Dietrichstein, who belongs to a great family in Vienna. +I will liberate them all. At the moment of opening a campaign this will +have a good effect. They will see that I fear nothing; and who knows but +this may procure me some admirers in Austria." The order for liberating +the Austrian prisoners was immediately despatched. Thus Bonaparte's acts +of generosity, as well as his acts of severity and his choice of +individuals, were all the result of deep calculation. + +This unvarying attention to the affairs of the Government was manifest in +all he did. I have already mentioned the almost simultaneous suppression +of the horrible commemoration of the month of January, and the permission +for the revival of the opera balls. A measure something similar to this +was the authorisation of the festivals of Longchamps, which had been +forgotten since the Revolution. He at the same time gave permission for +sacred music to be performed at the opera. Thus, while in public acts he +maintained the observance of the Republican calendar, he was gradually +reviving the old calendar by seasons of festivity. Shrove-Tuesday was +marked by a ball, and Passion-week by promenades and concerts. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +1800. + + The Memorial of St. Helena--Louis XVIII.'s first letter to Bonaparte + --Josephine, Hortense, and the Faubourg St. Germain-- + Madame Bonaparte and the fortune-teller--Louis XVIII's second letter + --Bonaparte's answer--Conversation respecting the recall of Louis + XVIII.--Peace and war--A battle fought with pins--Genoa and Melas-- + Realisation of Bonaparte's military plans--Ironical letter to + Berthier--Departure from Paris--Instructions to Lucien and + Cambacérès--Joseph Bonaparte appointed Councillor of State-- + Travelling conversation--Alexander and Caesar judged by Bonaparte. + +It sometimes happens that an event which passes away unnoticed at the +time of its occurrence acquires importance from events which subsequently +ensue. This reflection naturally occurs to my mind now that I am about +to notice the correspondence which passed between Louis XVIII. and the +First Consul. This is certainly not one of the least interesting +passages in the life of Bonaparte. + +But I must first beg leave to make an observation on the 'Memorial of St. +Helena.' That publication relates what Bonaparte said respecting the +negotiations between Louis XVIII. and himself; and I find it necessary to +quote a few lines on the subject, in order to show how far the statements +contained in the Memorial differ from the autograph letters in my +possession. + +At St. Helena Napoleon said that he never thought of the princes of the +House of Bourbon. This is true to a certain point. He did not think of +the princes of the House of Bourbon with the view of restoring them to +their throne; but it has been shown, in several parts of these Memoirs, +that he thought of them very often, and on more than one occasion their +very names alarmed him. + + --[The Memorial states that "A letter was delivered to the First + Consul by Lebrun who received it from the Abbé de Montesquieu, the + secret agent of the Bourbons in Paris." This letter which was very + cautiously written, said:-- + + "You are long delaying the restoration of my throne. It is to be + feared you are suffering favourable moments to escape. You cannot + secure the happiness of France without me, and I can do nothing for + France without you. Hasten, then, to name the offices which you + would choose for your friends." + + The answer, Napoleon said, was as follows:-- + + "I have received your royal highness' letter. I have always taken a + lively interest in your misfortunes, and those of your family. You + must not think of appearing in France; you could only return here by + trampling over a hundred thousand dead bodies. I shall always be + happy to do anything that can alleviate your fate and help to banish + the recollection of your misfortunes."--Bourrienne.]-- + +The substance of the two letters given in the 'Memorial of St. Helena' is +correct. The ideas are nearly the same as those of the original letters. +But it is not surprising that, after the lapse of so long an interval, +Napoleon's memory should somewhat have failed him. However, it will not, +I presume, be deemed unimportant if I present to the reader literal +copies of this correspondence; together with the explanation of some +curious circumstances connected with it. + +The following is Louis XVIII's letter:-- + + February 20,1800. + + SIR--Whatever may be their apparent conduct, men like you never + inspire alarm. You have accepted an eminent station, and I thank + you for having done so. You know better than any one how much + strength and power are requisite to secure the happiness of a great + nation. Save France from her own violence, and you will fulfil the + first wish of my heart. Restore her King to her, and future + generations will bless your memory. You will always be too + necessary to the State for me ever to be able to discharge, by + important appointments, the debt of my family and myself. + + (Signed) Louis. + + +The First Consul was much agitated on the reception of this letter. +Though he every day declared his determination to have nothing to do with +the Princes, yet he hesitated whether or no he should reply to this +overture. The numerous affairs which then occupied his mind favoured +this hesitation. Josephine and Hortense conjured him to hold out hope to +the King, as by so doing he would in no way pledge himself, and would +gain time to ascertain whether he could not ultimately play a far greater +part than that of Monk. Their entreaties became so urgent that he said +to me, "These devils of women are mad! The Faubourg St. Germain has +turned their heads! They make the Faubourg the guardian angel of the +royalists; but I care not; I will have nothing to do with them." + +Madame Bonaparte said she was anxious he should adopt the step she +proposed in order to banish from his mind all thought of making himself +King. This idea always gave rise to a painful foreboding which she could +never overcome. + +In the First Consul's numerous conversations with me he discussed with +admirable sagacity Louis XVIII.'s proposition and its consequences. +"The partisans of the Bourbons," said he, "are deceived if they suppose +I am the man to play Monk's part." Here the matter rested, and the +King's letter remained on the table. In the interim Louis XVIII. wrote a +second letter, without any date. It was as follows: + + You must have long since been convinced, General, that you possess + my esteem. If you doubt my gratitude, fix your reward and mark out + the fortune of your friends. As to my principles, I am a Frenchman, + merciful by character, and also by the dictates of reason. + + No, the victor of Lodi, Castiglione, and Arcola, the conqueror of + Italy and Egypt, cannot prefer vain celebrity to real glory. But + you are losing precious time. We may ensure the glory of France. + + I say we, because I require the aid of Bonaparte, and he can do + nothing without me. + + General, Europe observes you. Glory awaits you, and I am impatient + to restore peace to my people. + (Signed) LOUIS. + + +This dignified letter the First Consul suffered to remain unanswered for +several weeks; at length he proposed to dictate an answer to me. I +observed, that as the King's letters were autographs, it would be more +proper that he should write himself. He then wrote with his own hand the +following: + + Sir--I have received your letter, and I thank you for the + compliments you address to me. + + You must not seek to return to France. To do so you must trample + over a hundred thousand dead bodies. + + Sacrifice your interest to the repose and happiness of France, and + history will render you justice. + + I am not insensible to the misfortunes of your family. I shall + learn with pleasure, and shall willingly contribute to ensure, the + tranquillity of your retirement. + (Signed) BONAPARTE. + + +He showed me this letter, saying, "What do you think of it? is it not +good? "He was never offended when I pointed out to him an error of +grammar or style, and I therefore replied, "As to the substance, if such +be your resolution, I have nothing to say against it; but," added I, +"I must make one observation on the style. You cannot say that you shall +learn with pleasure to ensure, etc." On reading the passage over again +he thought he had pledged himself too far in saying that he would +willingly contribute, etc. He therefore scored out the last sentence, +and interlined, "I shall contribute with pleasure to the happiness and +tranquillity of your retirement." + +The answer thus scored and interlined could not be sent off, and it lay +on the table with Bonaparte's signature affixed to it. + +Some time after he wrote another answer, the three first paragraphs of +which were exactly alike that first quoted; but far the last paragraph he +substituted the following + + "I am not insensible to the misfortunes of your family; and I shall + learn with pleasure that you are surrounded with all that can + contribute to the tranquillity of your retirement." + +By this means he did not pledge himself in any way, not even in words, +for he himself made no offer of contributing to the tranquillity of the +retirement. Every day which augmented his power and consolidated his +position diminished, he thought, the chances of the Bourbons; and seven +months were suffered to intervene between the date of the King's first +letter and the answer of the First Consul, which was written on the 2d +Vendemiaire, year IX. (24th September 1800) just when the Congress of +Luneville was on the point of opening. + +Some days after the receipt of Louis XVIII.'s letter we were walking in +the gardens of Malmaison; he was in good humour, for everything was going +on to his mind. "Has my wife been saying anything more to you about the +Bourbons?" said he.--"No, General."--"But when you converse with her you +concur a little in her opinions. Tell me why you wish the Bourbons back? +You have no interest in their return, nothing to expect from them. Your +family rank is not high enough to enable you to obtain any great post. +You would be nothing under them. Through the patronage of M. de +Chambonas you got the appointment of Secretary of Legation at Stuttgart; +but had it not been for the change you would have remained all your life +in that or some inferior post. Did you ever know men rise by their own +merit under kings? Everything depends on birth, connection, fortune, and +intrigue. Judge things more accurately; reflect more maturely on the +future."--"General," replied I, "I am quite of your opinion on one +point. I never received gift, place, or favour from the Bourbons; and +I have not the vanity to believe that I should ever have attained any +important Appointment. But you must not forget that my nomination as +Secretary of Legation at Stuttgart preceded the overthrow of the throne +only by a few days; and I cannot infer, from what took place under +circumstances unfortunately too certain, what might have happened in the +reverse case. Besides, I am not actuated by personal feelings; +I consider not my own interests, but those of France. I wish you to hold +the reins of government as long as you live; but you have no children, +and it is tolerably certain that you will have none by Josephine. What +will become of us when you are gone? You talk of the future; but what +will be the future fate of France? I have often heard you say that your +brothers are not--"--"You are right," said he, abruptly interrupting +me. "If I do not live thirty years to complete my work you will have a +long series of civil wars after my death. My brothers will not suit +France; you know what they are. A violent conflict will therefore arise +among the most distinguished generals, each of whom will think himself +entitled to succeed me."--"Well, General, why not take means to obviate +the mischief you foresee?"--"Do you imagine I do not think of it? But +look at the difficulties that stand in my way. How are so many acquired +rights and material results to be secured against the efforts of a family +restored to power, and returning with 80,000 emigrants and the influence +of fanaticism? What would become of those who voted for the death of +the King--the men who acted a conspicuous part in the Revolution--the +national domains, and a multitude of things that have been done during +twelve years? Can you see how far reaction would extend?"--"General, +need I remind you that Louis, in his letter, guarantees the contrary of +all you apprehend? I know what will be your answer; but are you not able +to impose whatever conditions you may think fit? Grant what is asked of +you only at that price. Take three or four years; in that time you may +ensure the happiness of France by institutions conformable to her wants. +Custom and habit would give them a power which it would not be easy to +destroy; and even supposing such a design were entertained, it could not +be accomplished. I have heard you say it is wished you should act the +part of Monk; but you well know the difference between a general opposing +the usurper of a crown, and one whom victory and peace have raised above +the ruins of a subverted throne, and who restores it voluntarily to those +who have long occupied it. You are well aware what you call ideology +will not again be revived; and--"--"I know what you are going to say; +but it all amounts to nothing. Depend upon it, the Bourbons will think +they have reconquered their inheritance, and will dispose of it as they +please. The most sacred pledges, the most positive promises, will be +violated. None but fools will trust them. My resolution is formed; +therefore let us say no more on the subject. But I know how these women +torment you. Let them mind their knitting, and leave me to do what I +think right." + +Every one knows the adage, 'Si vis pacem para bellum'. Had Bonaparte +been a Latin scholar he would probably have reversed it and said, 'Si vis +bellum para pacem'. While seeking to establish pacific relations with +the powers of Europe the First Consul was preparing to strike a great +blow in Italy. As long as Genoa held out, and Massena continued there, +Bonaparte did not despair of meeting the Austrians in those fields which +not four years before had been the scenes of his success. He resolved to +assemble an army of reserve at Dijon. Where there was previously nothing +he created everything. At that period of his life the fertility of his +imagination and the vigour of his genius must have commanded the +admiration of even his bitterest enemies. I was astonished at the +details into which he entered. While every moment was engrossed by the +most important occupations he sent 24,000 francs to the hospital of Mont +St. Bernard. When he saw that his army of reserve was forming, and +everything was going on to his liking, he said to me, "I hope to fall on +the rear of Melas before he is aware I am in Italy . . . that is to +say, provided Genoa holds out. But MASSENA is defending it." + +On the 17th of March, in a moment of gaiety and good humour, he desired +me to unroll Chauchard's great map of Italy. He lay down upon it, and +desired me to do likewise. He then stuck into it pins, the heads of +which were tipped with wax, some red and some black. I silently observed +him; and awaited with no little curiosity the result of this plan of +campaign. When he had stationed the enemy's corps, and drawn up the pins +with red heads on the points where he hoped to bring his own troops, he +said to me, "Where do you think I shall beat Melas?"--"How the devil +should I know?"--"Why, look here, you fool! Melas is at Alessandria with +his headquarters. There he will remain until Genoa surrenders. He has +in Alessandria his magazines, his hospitals, his artillery, and his +reserves. Crossing the Alps here (pointing to the Great Mont St. +Bernard) I shall fall upon Melas, cut off his communications with +Austria, and meet him here in the plains of Scrivia" (placing a red, pin +at San Giuliano). Finding that I looked on this manoeuvre of pins as +mere pastime, he addressed to me some of his usual compliments, such as +fool, ninny, etc., and then proceeded to demonstrate his plans more +clearly on the map. At the expiration of a quarter of an hour we rose; +I folded up the map, and thought no more of the matter. + +Four months after this, when I was at San Giuliano with Bonaparte's +portfolio and despatches, which I had saved from the rout which had taken +place during the day, and when that very evening I was writing at Torre +di Galifolo the bulletin of the battle to Napoleon's dictation, I frankly +avowed my admiration of his military plans. He himself smiled at the +accuracy of his own foresight. + +The First Consul was not satisfied with General Berthier as War Minister, +and he superseded him by Carnot, + + --[There were special reasons for the appointment of Carnot, + Berthier was required with his master in Italy, while Carnot, who + had so long ruled the armies of the Republic, was better fitted to + influence Moreau, at this time advancing into Germany. Carnot + probably fulfilled the main object of his appointment when he was + sent to Moreau, and succeeded in getting that general, with natural + reluctance, to damage his own campaign by detaching a large body of + troops into Italy. Berthier was reappointed to the Ministry on the + 8th of October 1800,--a very speedy return if he had really been + disgraced.]-- + +who had given great proofs of firmness and integrity, but who, +nevertheless, was no favourite of Bonaparte, on account of his decided +republican principles. Berthier was too slow in carrying out the +measures ordered, [duplicated line removed here D.W.] and too lenient in +the payment of past charges and in new contracts. Carnot's appointment +took place on the 2d of April 1800; and to console Berthier, who, he +knew, was more at home in the camp than in the office, he dictated to me +the following letter for him:-- + + PARIS, 2d April 1800. + + CITIZEN-GENERAL,--The military talents of which you have given so + many proofs, and the confidence of the Government, call you to the + command of an army. During the winter you have REORGANISED the War + Department, and you have provided, as far as circumstances would + permit, for the wants of our armies. During the spring and summer + it must be your task to lead our troops to victory, which is the + effectual means of obtaining peace and consolidating the Republic. + + +Bonaparte laughed heartily while he dictated this epistle, especially +when he uttered the word which I have marked in italics [CAPS]. Berthier +set out for Dijon, where he commenced the formation of the army of +reserve. + +The Consular Constitution did not empower the First Consul to command an +army out of the territory of France. Bonaparte therefore wished to keep +secret his long-projected plan of placing himself at the head of the army +of Italy, which he then for the first time called the grand army. I +observed that by his choice of Berthier nobody could be deceived, because +it must be evident that he would have made another selection had he not +intended to command in person. He laughed at my observation. + +Our departure from Paris was fixed for the 6th of May, or, according to +the republican calendar, the 16th Floréal. Bonaparte had made all his +arrangements and issued all his orders; but still he did not wish it to +be known that he was going to take the command of the army. On the eve +of our departure, being in conference with the two other Consuls and the +Ministers, he said to Lucien, "Prepare, to-morrow morning, a circular to +the prefects, and you, Fouché, will publish it in the journals. Say I am +gone to Dijon to inspect the army of reserve. You may add that I shall +perhaps go as far as Geneva; but you must affirm positively that I shall +not be absent longer than a fortnight. You, Cambacérès, will preside to- +morrow at the Council of State. In my absence you are the Head of the +Government. State that my absence will be but of short duration, but +specify nothing. Express my approbation of the Council of State; it has +already rendered great services, and I shall be happy to see it continue +in the course it has hitherto pursued. Oh! I had nearly forgotten--you +will at the same time announce that I have appointed Joseph a Councillor +of State. Should anything happen I shall be back again like a +thunderbolt. I recommend to you all the great interests of France, and I +trust that I shall shortly be talked of in Vienna and in London." + +We set out at two in the morning, taking the Burgundy road, which we had +already so often travelled under very different circumstances. + +On the journey Bonaparte conversed about the warriors of antiquity, +especially Alexander, Caesar, Scipio, and Hannibal. I asked him which he +preferred, Alexander or Caesar. "I place Alexander in the first rank," +said he, "yet I admire Caesar's fine campaign in Africa. But the ground +of my preference for the King of Macedonia is the plan, and above all the +execution, of his campaign in Asia. Only those who are utterly ignorant +of war can blame Alexander for having spent seven months at the siege of +Tyre. For my part, I would have stayed there seven years had it been +necessary. This is a great subject of dispute; but I look upon the siege +of Tyre, the conquest of Egypt, and the journey to the Oasis of Ammon as +a decided proof of the genius of that great captain. His object was to +give the King of Persia (of whose force he had only beaten a feeble +advance-guard at the Granicus and Issus) time to reassemble his troops, +so that he might overthrow at a blow the colossus which he had as yet +only shaken. By pursuing Darius into his states Alexander would have +separated himself from his reinforcements, and would have met only +scattered parties of troops who would have drawn him into deserts where +his army would have been sacrificed. By persevering in the taking of +Tyre he secured his communications with Greece, the country he loved as +dearly as I love France, and in whose glory he placed his own. By taking +possession of the rich province of Egypt he forced Darius to come to +defend or deliver it, and in so doing to march half-way to meet him. +By representing himself as the son of Jupiter he worked upon the ardent +feelings of the Orientals in a way that powerfully seconded his designs. +Though he died at thirty-three what a name he has left behind him!" + +Though an utter stranger to the noble profession of arms, yet I could +admire Bonaparte's clever military plans and his shrewd remarks on the +great captains of ancient and modern times. I could not refrain from +saying, "General, you often reproach me for being no flatterer, but now I +tell you plainly I admire you." And certainly, I really spoke the true +sentiments of my mind. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v4, by +Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, V4 *** + +***** This file should be named 3554-8.txt or 3554-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/5/3554/ + +Produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.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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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/3554-8.zip b/3554-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6567d27 --- /dev/null +++ b/3554-8.zip diff --git a/3554.txt b/3554.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..57f2566 --- /dev/null +++ b/3554.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3882 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v4, by +Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne + +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/license + + +Title: Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v4 + +Author: Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne + +Posting Date: November 24, 2012 [EBook #3554] +Release Date: December, 2002 +[This file first posted = 04/20/01] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, V4 *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.net> + + + + +MEMOIRS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, VOLUME 4. + +By LOUIS ANTOINE FAUVELET DE BOURRIENNE + +His Private Secretary + +Edited by R. W. Phipps +Colonel, Late Royal Artillery + +1891 + + + +CONTENTS: +Chapter XXVII. to Chapter XXXV. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +1799-1800. + + Difficulties of a new Government--State of Europe--Bonaparte's wish + for peace--M. de Talleyrand Minister for Foreign Affairs-- + Negotiations with England and Austria--Their failure--Bonaparte's + views on the East--His sacrifices to policy--General Bonaparte + denounced to the First Consul--Kleber's letter to the Directory-- + Accounts of the Egyptian expedition published in the Moniteur-- + Proclamation to the army of the East--Favour and disgrace of certain + individuals accounted for. + +When a new Government rises on the ruins of one that has been overthrown, +its best chance of conciliating the favour of the nation, if that nation +be at war, is to hold out the prospect of peace; for peace is always dear +to a people. Bonaparte was well aware of this; and if in his heart he +wished otherwise, he knew how important it was to seem to desire peace. +Accordingly, immediately after his installation at the Luxembourg he +notified to all the foreign powers his accession to the Consulate, and, +for the same purpose, addressed letters to all the diplomatic agents of +the French Government abroad. + +The day after he got rid of his first two colleagues, Sieyes and Roger +Ducos, he prepared to open negotiations with the Cabinet of London. At +that time we were at war with almost the whole of Europe. We had also +lost Italy. The Emperor of Germany was ruled by his Ministers, who in +their turn were governed by England. It was no easy matter to manage +equally the organization of the Consular Government and the no less +important affairs abroad; and it was very important to the interests +of the First Consul to intimate to foreign powers, while at the same time +he assured himself against the return of the Bourbons, that the system +which he proposed to adopt was a system of order and regeneration, unlike +either the demagogic violence of the Convention or the imbecile artifice +of the Directory. In fulfilment of this object Bonaparte directed M. de +Talleyrand, the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, to make the first +friendly overtures to the English Cabinet: A correspondence ensued, which +was published at the time, and which showed at once the conciliatory +policy of Bonaparte and the arrogant policy of England. + +The exchange of notes which took place was attended by no immediate +result. However, the First Consul had partly attained his object: if the +British Government would not enter into negotiations for peace, there was +at least reason to presume that subsequent overtures of the Consular +Government might be listened to. The correspondence had at all events +afforded Bonaparte the opportunity of declaring his principles, and above +all, it had enabled him to ascertain that the return of the Bourbons to +France (mentioned in the official reply of Lord Grenville) would not be a +sine qua non condition for the restoration of peace between the two +powers. + +Since M. de Talleyrand had been Minister for Foreign Affairs the business +of that department had proceeded with great activity. It was an +important advantage to Bonaparte to find a nobleman of the old regime +among the republicans. The choice of M. de Talleyrand was in some sort +an act of courtesy to the foreign Courts. It was a delicate attention to +the diplomacy of Europe to introduce to its members, for the purpose of +treating with them, a man whose rank was at least equal to their own, and +who was universally distinguished for a polished elegance of manner +combined with solid good qualities and real talents. + +It was not only with England that Bonaparte and his Minister endeavoured +to open negotiations; the Consular Cabinet also offered peace to the +House of Austria; but not at the same time. The object of this offer was +to sow discord between the two powers. Speaking to me one day of his +earnest wish to obtain peace Bonaparte said, "You see, Bourrienne, I have +two great enemies to cope with. I will conclude peace with the one I +find most easy to deal with. That will enable me immediately to assail +the other. I frankly confess that I should like best to be at peace with +England. Nothing would then be more easy than to crush Austria. She has +no money except what she gets through England." + +For a long time all negotiations proved abortive. None of the European +powers would acknowledge the new Government, of which Bonaparte was the +head; and the battle of Marengo was required before the peace of Amiens +could be obtained. + +Though the affairs of the new Government afforded abundant occupation to +Bonaparte, he yet found leisure to direct attention to the East--to that +land of despotism whence, judging from his subsequent conduct, it might +be presumed he derived his first principles of government. On becoming +the head of the State he wished to turn Egypt, which he had conquered as +a general, to the advantage of his policy as Consul. If Bonaparte +triumphed over a feeling of dislike in consigning the command of the army +to Kleber, it was because he knew Kleber to be more capable than any +other of executing the plans he had formed; and Bonaparte was not the man +to sacrifice the interests of policy to personal resentment. It is +certainly true that he then put into practice that charming phrase of +Moliere's--"I pardon you, but you shall pay me for this!" + +With respect to all whom he had left in Egypt Bonaparte stood in a very +singular situation. On becoming Chief of the Government he was not only +the depositary of all communications made to the Directory; but letters +sent to one address were delivered to another, and the First Consul +received the complaints made against the General who had so abruptly +quitted Egypt. In almost all the letters that were delivered to us he +was the object of serious accusation. According to some he had not +avowed his departure until the very day of his embarkation; and he had +deceived everybody by means of false and dissembling proclamations. +Others canvassed his conduct while in Egypt: the army which had triumphed +under his command he had abandoned when reduced to two-thirds of its +original force and a prey to all the horrors of sickness and want. It +must be confessed that these complaints and accusations were but too well +founded, and one can never cease wondering at the chain of fortunate +circumstances which so rapidly raised Bonaparte to the Consular seat. +In the natural order of things, and in fulfilment of the design which he +himself had formed, he should have disembarked at Toulon, where the +quarantine laws would no doubt have been observed; instead of which, the +fear of the English and the uncertainty of the pilots caused him to go to +Frejus, where the quarantine laws were violated by the very persons most +interested in respecting them. Let us suppose that Bonaparte had been +forced to perform quarantine at Toulon. What would have ensued? The +charges against him would have fallen into the hands of the Directory, +and he would probably have been suspended, and put upon his trial. + +Among the letters which fell into Bonaparte's hands, by reason of the +abrupt change of government, was an official despatch (of the 4th +Vendemiaire, year VIII.) from General Kleber at Cairo to the Executive +Directory, in which that general spoke in very stringent terms of the +sudden departure of Bonaparte and of the state in which the army in Egypt +had been left. General Kleber further accused him of having evaded, by +his flight, the difficulties which he thus transferred to his successor's +shoulders, and also of leaving the army "without a sou in the chest," +with pay in arrear, and very little supply of munitions or clothing. + +The other letters from Egypt were not less accusatory than Kleber's; and +it cannot be doubted that charges of so precise a nature, brought by the +general who had now become commander-in-chief against his predecessor, +would have had great weight, especially backed as they were by similar +complaints from other quarters. A trial would have been inevitable; and +then, no 18th Brumaire, no Consulate, no Empire, no conquest of Europe- +but also, it may be added, no St. Helena. None of these events would +have ensued had not the English squadron, when it appeared off Corsica, +obliged the Muiron to scud about at hazard, and to touch at the first +land she could reach. + +The Egyptian expedition filled too important a place in the life of +Bonaparte for him to neglect frequently reviving in the public mind the +recollection of his conquests in the East. It was not to be forgotten +that the head of the Republic was the first of her generals. While +Moreau received the command of the armies of the Rhine, while Massena, as +a reward for the victory of Zurich, was made Commander-in-Chief in Italy, +and while Brune was at the head of the army of Batavia, Bonaparte, whose +soul was in the camps, consoled himself for his temporary inactivity by a +retrospective glance on his past triumphs. He was unwilling that Fame +should for a moment cease to blazon his name. Accordingly, as soon as he +was established at the head of the Government, he caused accounts of his +Egyptian expedition to be from time to time published in the Moniteur. +He frequently expressed his satisfaction that the accusatory +correspondence, and, above all, Kleber's letter, had fallen into his own +hands. Such was Bonaparte's perfect self-command that immediately after +perusing that letter he dictated to me the following proclamation, +addressed to the army of the East: + + SOLDIERS!--The Consuls of the French Republic frequently direct + their attention to the army of the East. + + France acknowledges all the influence of your conquests on the + restoration of her trade and the civilisation of the world. + + The eyes of all Europe are upon you, and in thought I am often with + you. + + In whatever situation the chances of war may place you, prove + yourselves still the soldiers of Rivoli and Aboukir--you will be + invincible. + + Place in Kleber the boundless confidence which you reposed in me. + He deserves it. + + Soldiers, think of the day when you will return victorious to the + sacred territory of France. That will be a glorious day for the + whole nation. + + +Nothing can more forcibly show the character of Bonaparte than the above +allusion to Kleber, after he had seen the way in which Kleber spoke of +him to the Directory. Could it ever have been imagined that the +correspondence of the army, to whom he addressed this proclamation, +teemed with accusations against him? Though the majority of these +accusations were strictly just, yet it is but fair to state that the +letters from Egypt contained some calumnies. In answer to the well- +founded portion of the charges Bonaparte said little; but he seemed to +feel deeply the falsehoods that were stated against him, one of which +was, that he had carried away millions from Egypt. I cannot conceive +what could have given rise to this false and impudent assertion. So far +from having touched the army chest, Bonaparte had not even received all +his own pay. Before he constituted himself the Government the Government +was his debtor. + +Though he knew well all that was to be expected from the Egyptian +expedition, yet those who lauded that affair were regarded with a +favourable eye by Bonaparte. The correspondence which had fallen into +his hands was to him of the highest importance in enabling him to +ascertain the opinions which particular individuals entertained of him. + +It was the source of favours and disgraces which those who were not in +the secret could not account for. It serves to explain why many men of +mediocrity were elevated to the highest dignities and honours, while +other men of real merit fell into disgrace or were utterly neglected. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +1800. + + Great and common men--Portrait of Bonaparte--The varied expression + of his countenance--His convulsive shrug--Presentiment of his + corpulency--Partiality for bathing--His temperance--His alleged + capability of dispensing with sleep--Good and bad news--Shaving, and + reading the journals--Morning business--Breakfast--Coffee and snuff + --Bonaparte's idea of his own situation--His ill opinion of mankind + --His dislike of a 'tete-a-tete'--His hatred of the Revolutionists + --Ladies in white--Anecdotes--Bonaparte's tokens of kindness, and + his droll compliments--His fits of ill humour--Sound of bells-- + Gardens of Malmaison--His opinion of medicine--His memory-- + His poetic insensibility--His want of gallantry--Cards and + conversation--The dress-coat and black cravat--Bonaparte's payments + --His religious ideas--His obstinacy. + +In perusing the history of the distinguished characters of past ages, how +often do we regret that the historian should have portrayed the hero +rather than the man! We wish to know even the most trivial habits of +those whom great talents and vast reputation have elevated above their +fellow-creatures. Is this the effect of mere curiosity, or rather is it +not an involuntary feeling of vanity which prompts us to console +ourselves for the superiority of great men by reflecting on their faults, +their weaknesses, their absurdities; in short, all the points of +resemblance between them and common men? For the satisfaction of those +who are curious in details of this sort, I will here endeavour to paint +Bonaparte, as I saw him, in person and in mind, to describe what were his +tastes and habits, and even his whims and caprices. + +Bonaparte was now in the prime of life, and about thirty. The person of +Bonaparte has served as a model for the most skilful painters and +sculptors; many able French artists have successfully delineated his +features, and yet it may be said that no perfectly faithful portrait of +him exists. His finely-shaped head, his superb forehead, his pale +countenance, and his usual meditative look, have been transferred to the +canvas; but the versatility of his expression was beyond the reach of +imitation. All the various workings of his mind were instantaneously +depicted in his countenance; and his glance changed from mild to severe, +and from angry to good-humoured, almost with the rapidity of lightning. +It may truly be said that he had a particular look for every thought that +arose in his mind. + +Bonaparte had beautiful hands, and he was very proud of them; while +conversing he would often look at them with an air of self-complacency. +He also fancied he had fine teeth, but his pretension to that advantage +was not so well founded as his vanity on the score of his hands. + +When walking, either alone or in company with any one, in his apartments +or in his gardens, he had the habit of stooping a little, and crossing +his hands behind his back. He frequently gave an involuntary shrug of +his right shoulder, which was accompanied by a movement of his mouth from +left to right. This habit was always most remarkable when his mind was +absorbed in the consideration of any profound subject. It was often +while walking that he dictated to me his most important notes. He could +endure great fatigue, not only on horseback but on foot; he would +sometimes walk for five or six hours in succession without being aware of +it. + +When walking with any person whom he treated with familiarity he would +link his arm into that of his companion, and lean on it. + +He used often to say to me, "You see, Bourrienne, how temperate, and how +thin I am; but, in spite of that, I cannot help thinking that at forty I +shall become a great eater, and get very fat. I foresee that my +constitution will undergo a change. I take a great deal of exercise; but +yet I feel assured that my presentiment will be fulfilled." This idea +gave him great uneasiness, and as I observed nothing which seemed to +warrant his apprehensions, I omitted no opportunity of assuring him that +they were groundless. But he would not listen to me, and all the time I +was about him, he was haunted by this presentiment, which, in the end, +was but too well verified. + +His partiality for the bath he mistook for a necessity. He would usually +remain in the bath two hours, during which time I used to read to him +extracts from the journals and pamphlets of the day, for he was anxious +to hear and know all that was going on. While in the bath he was +continually turning on the warm water to raise the temperature, so that I +was sometimes enveloped in such a dense vapour that I could not see to +read, and was obliged to open the door. + +Bonaparte was exceedingly temperate, and averse to all excess. He knew +the absurd stories that were circulated about him, and he was sometimes +vexed at them. It has been repeated, over and over again, that he was +subject to attacks of epilepsy; but during the eleven years that I was +almost constantly with him I never observed any symptom which in the +least degree denoted that malady. His health was good and his +constitution sound. If his enemies, by way of reproach, have attributed +to him a serious periodical disease, his flatterers, probably under the +idea that sleep is incompatible with greatness, have evinced an equal +disregard of truth in speaking of his night-watching. Bonaparte made +others watch, but he himself slept, and slept well. His orders were that +I should call him every morning at seven. I was therefore the first to +enter his chamber; but very frequently when I awoke him he would turn +himself, and say, "Ah, Bourrienne! let me lie a little longer." When +there was no very pressing business I did not disturb him again till +eight o'clock. He in general slept seven hours out of the twenty-four, +besides taking a short nap in the afternoon. + +Among the private instructions which Bonaparte gave me, one was very +curious. "During the night," said he, "enter my chamber as seldom as +possible. Do not awake me when you have any good news to communicate: +with that there is no hurry. But when you bring bad news, rouse me +instantly; for then there is not a moment to be lost." + +This was a wise regulation, and Bonaparte found his advantage in it. + +As soon as he rose his 'valet de chambre' shaved him and dressed his +hair. While he was being shaved I read to him the newspapers, beginning +always with the 'Moniteur.' He paid little attention to any but the +German and English papers. "Pass over all that," he would say, while I +was perusing the French papers; "I know it already. They say only what +they think will please me." I was often surprised that his valet did not +cut him while I was reading; for whenever he heard anything interesting +he turned quickly round towards me. + +When Bonaparte had finished his toilet, which he did with great +attention, for he was scrupulously neat in his person, we went down to +his cabinet. There he signed the orders on important petitions which had +been analysed by me on the preceding evening. On reception and parade +days he was particularly exact in signing these orders, because I used to +remind him that he would be likely to see most of the petitioners, and +that they would ask him for answers. To spare him this annoyance I used +often to acquaint them beforehand of what had been granted or refused, +and what had been the decision of the First Consul. He next perused the +letters which I had opened and laid on his table, ranging them according +to their importance. He directed me to answer them in his name; he +occasionally wrote the answers himself, but not often. + +At ten o'clock the 'maitre d'hotel' entered, and announced breakfast, +saying, "The General is served." We went to breakfast, and the repast +was exceedingly simple. He ate almost every morning some chicken, +dressed with oil and onions. This dish was then, I believe, called +'poulet a la Provencale'; but our restaurateurs have since conferred upon +it the more ambitious name of 'poulet a la Marengo.' + +Bonaparte drank little wine, always either claret or Burgundy, and the +latter by preference. After breakfast, as well as after dinner, he took +a cup of strong coffee. + + --[M. Brillat de Savarin, whose memory is dear to all gourmands, had + established, as a gastronomic principle, that "he who does not take + coffee after each meal is assuredly not a man of taste."-- + Bourrienne.]-- + +I never saw him take any between his meals, and I cannot imagine what +could have given rise to the assertion of his being particularly fond of +coffee. When he worked late at night he never ordered coffee, but +chocolate, of which he made me take a cup with him. But this only +happened when our business was prolonged till two or three in the +morning. + +All that has been said about Bonaparte's immoderate use of snuff has no +more foundation in truth than his pretended partiality for coffee. It is +true that at an early period of his life he began to take snuff, but it +was very sparingly, and always out of a box; and if he bore any +resemblance to Frederick the Great, it was not by filling his waistcoat- +pockets with snuff, for I must again observe he carried his notions of +personal neatness to a fastidious degree. + +Bonaparte had two ruling passions, glory and war. He was never more gay +than in the camp, and never more morose than in the inactivity of peace. +Plans for the construction of public monuments also pleased his +imagination, and filled up the void caused by the want of active +occupation. He was aware that monuments form part of the history of +nations, of whose civilisation they bear evidence for ages after those +who created them have disappeared from the earth, and that they likewise +often bear false-witness to remote posterity of the reality of merely +fabulous conquests. Bonaparte was, however, mistaken as to the mode of +accomplishing the object he had in view. His ciphers, his trophies, and +subsequently his eagles, splendidly adorned the monuments of his reign. +But why did he wish to stamp false initials on things with which neither +he nor his reign had any connection; as, for example the old Louvre? Did +he imagine that the letter, "N" which everywhere obtruded itself on the +eye, had in it a charm to controvert the records of history, or alter the +course of time? + + --[When Louis XVIII. returned to the Tuileries in 1814 he found that + Bonaparte had been an excellent tenant, and that he had left + everything in very good condition.]-- + +Be this as it may, Bonaparte well knew that the fine arts entail lasting +glory on great actions, and consecrate the memory of princes who protect +and encourage them. He oftener than once said to me, "A great reputation +is a great noise; the more there is made, the farther off it is heard. +Laws, institutions, monuments, nations, all fall; but the noise continues +and resounds in after ages." This was one of his favourite ideas. "My +power," he would say at other times, "depends on my glory, and my glory +on my victories. My power would fall were I not to support it by new +glory and new victories. Conquest has made me what I am, and conquest +alone can maintain me." This was then, and probably always continued to +be, his predominant idea, and that which prompted him continually to +scatter the seeds of war through Europe. He thought that if he remained +stationary he would fall, and he was tormented with the desire of +continually advancing. Not to do something great and decided was, in his +opinion, to do nothing. "A newly-born Government," said he to me, "must +dazzle and astonish. When it ceases to do that it falls." It was vain +to look for rest from a man who was restlessness itself. + +His sentiments towards France now differed widely from what I had known +them to be in his youth. He long indignantly cherished the recollection +of the conquest of Corsica, which he was once content to regard as his +country. But that recollection was effaced, and it might be said that he +now ardently loved France. His imagination was fired by the very thought +of seeing her great, happy, and powerful, and, as the first nation in the +world, dictating laws to the rest. He fancied his name inseparably +connected with France, and resounding in the ears of posterity. In all +his actions he lost sight of the present moment, and thought only of +futurity; so, in all places where he led the way to glory, the opinion of +France was ever present in his thoughts. As Alexander at Arbela pleased +himself less in having conquered Darius than in having gained the +suffrage of the Athenians, so Bonaparte at Marengo was haunted by the +idea of what would be said in France. Before he fought a battle +Bonaparte thought little about what he should do in case of success, but +a great deal about what he should do in case of a reverse of fortune. +I mention this as a fact of which I have often been a witness, and leave +to his brothers in arms to decide whether his calculations were always +correct. He had it in his power to do much, for he risked everything and +spared nothing. His inordinate ambition goaded him on to the attainment +of power; and power when possessed served only to augment his ambition. +Bonaparte was thoroughly convinced of the truth that trifles often decide +the greatest events; therefore he watched rather than provoked +opportunity, and when the right moment approached, he suddenly took +advantage of it. It is curious that, amidst all the anxieties of war and +government, the fear of the Bourbons incessantly pursued him, and the +Faubourg St. Germain was to him always a threatening phantom. + +He did not esteem mankind, whom, indeed, he despised more and more in +proportion as he became acquainted with them. In him this unfavourable +opinion of human nature was justified by many glaring examples of +baseness, and he used frequently to repeat, "There are two levers for +moving men,--interest and fear." What respect, indeed, could Bonaparte +entertain for the applicants to the treasury of the opera? Into this +treasury the gaming-houses paid a considerable sum, part of which went to +cover the expenses of that magnificent theatre. The rest was distributed +in secret gratuities, which were paid on orders signed by Duroc. +Individuals of very different characters were often seen catching the +little door in the Rue Rameau. The lady who was for a while the +favourite of the General-in-Chief in Egypt, and whose husband was +maliciously sent back by the English, was a frequent visitor to the +treasury. On an occasion would be seen assembled there a distinguished +scholar and an actor, a celebrated orator and a musician; on another, the +treasurer would have payments to make to a priest, a courtesan, and a +cardinal. + +One of Bonaparte's greatest misfortunes was, that he neither believed in +friendship not felt the necessity of loving. How often have I heard him +say, "Friendship is but a name; I love nobody. I do not even love my +brothers. Perhaps Joseph, a little, from habit and because he is my +elder; and Duroc, I love him too. But why? Because his character +pleases me. He is stern and resolute; and I really believe the fellow +never shed a tear. For my part, I know very well that I have no true +friends. As long as I continue what I am, I may have as many pretended +friends as I please. Leave sensibility to women; it is their business. +But men should be firm in heart and in purpose, or they should have +nothing to do with war or government." + +In his social relations Bonaparte's temper was bad; but his fits of ill- +humour passed away like a cloud, and spent themselves in words. His +violent language and bitter imprecations were frequently premeditated. +When he was going to reprimand any one he liked to have a witness +present. He would then say the harshest things, and level blows against +which few could bear up. But he never gave way to those violent +ebullitions of rage until be acquired undoubted proofs of the misconduct +of those against whom they were directed. In scenes of this sort I have +frequently observed that the presence of a third person seemed to give +him confidence. Consequently, in a 'tete-a-tete' interview, any one who +knew his character, and who could maintain sufficient coolness and +firmness, was sure to get the better of him. He told his friends at St. +Helena that he admitted a third person on such occasions only that the +blow might resound the farther. That was not his real motive, or the +better way would have been to perform the scene in public. He had other +reasons. I observed that he did not like a 'tete-a-tete'; and when he +expected any one, he would say to me beforehand, "Bourrienne, you may +remain;" and when any one was announced whom he did not expect, as a +minister or a general, if I rose to retire he would say in a half- +whisper, "Stay where you are." Certainly this was not done with the +design of getting what he said reported abroad; for it belonged neither +to my character nor my duty to gossip about what I had heard. Besides, +it may be presumed, that the few who were admitted as witnesses to the +conferences of Napoleon were aware of the consequences attending +indiscreet disclosures under a Government which was made acquainted with +all that was said and done. + +Bonaparte entertained a profound dislike of the sanguinary men of the +Revolution, and especially of the regicides. He felt, as a painful +burden, the obligation of dissembling towards them. He spoke to me in +terms of horror of those whole he called the assassins of Louis XVI, and +he was annoyed at the necessity of employing them and treating them with +apparent respect. How many times has he not said to Cambaceres, pinching +him by the ear, to soften, by that habitual familiarity, the bitterness +of the remark, "My dear fellow, your case is clear; if ever the Bourbons +come back you will be hanged!" A forced smile would then relax the livid +countenance of Cambaceres, and was usually the only reply of the Second +Consul, who, however, on one occasion said in my hearing, "Come, come, +have done with this joking." + +One thing which gave Bonaparte great pleasure when in the country was to +see a tall, slender woman, dressed in white, walking beneath an alley of +shaded trees. He detested coloured dresses, and especially dark ones. +To fat women he had an invincible antipathy, and he could not endure the +sight of a pregnant woman; it therefore rarely happened that a female in +that situation was invited to his parties. He possessed every requisite +for being what is called in society an agreeable man, except the will to +be so. His manner was imposing rather than pleasing, and those who did +not know him well experienced in his presence an involuntary feeling of +awe. In the drawing-room, where Josephine did the honours with so much +grace and affability, all was gaiety and ease, and no one felt the +presence of a superior; but on Bonaparte's entrance all was changed, and +every eye was directed towards him, to read his humour in his +countenance, whether he intended to be silent or talkative, dull or +cheerful. + +He often talked a great deal, and sometimes a little too much; but no one +could tell a story in a more agreeable and interesting way. His +conversation rarely turned on gay or humorous subjects, and never on +trivial matters. He was so fond of argument that in the warmth of +discussion it was easy to draw from him secrets which he was most anxious +to conceal. Sometimes, in a small circle, he would amuse himself by +relating stories of presentiments and apparitions. For this he always +chose the twilight of evening, and he would prepare his hearers for what +was coming by some solemn remark. On one occasion of this kind he said, +in a very grave tone of voice, "When death strikes a person whom we love, +and who is distant from us, a foreboding almost always denotes the event, +and the dying person appears to us at the moment of his dissolution." +He then immediately related the following anecdote: "A gentleman of the +Court of Louis XIV. was in the gallery of Versailles at the time that the +King was reading to his courtiers the bulletin of the battle of +Friedlingen gained by Villars. Suddenly the gentleman saw, at the +farther end of the gallery, the ghost of his son, who served under +Villars. He exclaimed, 'My son is no more!' and next moment the King +named him among the dead." + +When travelling Bonaparte was particularly talkative. In the warmth of +his conversation, which was always characterised by original and +interesting ideas, he sometimes dropped hints of his future views, or, at +least, he said things which were calculated to disclose what he wished to +conceal. I took the liberty of mentioning to him this indiscretion, and +far from being offended, he acknowledged his mistake, adding that he was +not aware he had gone so far. He frankly avowed this want of caution +when at St. Helena. + +When in good humour his usual tokens of kindness consisted in a little +rap on the head or a slight pinch of the ear. In his most friendly +conversations with those whom he admitted into his intimacy he would say, +"You are a fool"--"a simpleton"--"a ninny"--"a blockhead." These, and a +few other words of like import, enabled him to vary his catalogue of +compliments; but he never employed them angrily, and the tone in which +they were uttered sufficiently indicated that they were meant in +kindness. + +Bonaparte had many singular habits and tastes. Whenever he experienced +any vexation, or when any unpleasant thought occupied his mind, he would +hum something which was far from resembling a tune, for his voice was +very unmusical. He would, at the same time, seat himself before the +writing-table, and swing back in his chair so far that I have often been +fearful of his falling. + +He would then vent his ill-humour on the right arm of his chair, +mutilating it with his penknife, which he seemed to keep for no other +purpose. I always took care to keep good pens ready for him; for, as it +was my business to decipher his writing, I had a strong interest in doing +what I could to make it legible. + +The sound of bells always produced in Bonaparte pleasurable sensations, +which I could never account for. When we were at Malmaison, and walking +in the alley leading to the plain of Ruel, how many times has the bell of +the village church interrupted our most serious conversations! + +He would stop, lest the noise of our footsteps should drown any portion +of the delightful sound. He was almost angry with me because I did not +experience the impressions he did. So powerful was the effect produced +upon him by the sound of these bells that his voice would falter as he +said, "Ah! that reminds me of the first years I spent at Brienne! I was +then happy!" When the bells ceased he would resume the course of his +speculations, carry himself into futurity, place a crown on his head, and +dethrone kings. + +Nowhere, except on the field of battle, did I ever see Bonaparte more +happy than in the gardens of Malmaison. At the commencement of the +Consulate we used to go there every Saturday evening, and stay the whole +of Sunday, and sometimes Monday. Bonaparte used to spend a considerable +part of his time in walking and superintending the improvements which he +had ordered. At first he used to make excursions about the +neighbourhood, but the reports of the police disturbed his natural +confidence, and gave him reason to fear the attempts of concealed +royalist partisans. + +During the first four or five days that Bonaparte spent at Malmaison he +amused himself after breakfast with calculating the revenue of that +domain. According to his estimates it amounted to 8000 francs. "That is +not bad!" said he; "but to live here would require an income of 30,000 +livres!" I could not help smiling to see him seriously engaged in such a +calculation. + +Bonaparte had no faith in medicine. He spoke of it as an art entirely +conjectural, and his opinion on this subject was fired and +incontrovertible. His vigorous mind rejected all but demonstrative +proofs. + +He had little memory for proper names, words, or dates, but he had a +wonderful recollection of facts and places. I recollect that, on going +from Paris to Toulon, he pointed out to me ten places calculated for +great battles, and he never forgot them. They were memoranda of his +first youthful journeys. + +Bonaparte was insensible to the charms of poetic harmony. He had not +even sufficient ear to feel the rhythm of poetry, and he never could +recite a verse without violating the metre; yet the grand ideas of poetry +charmed him. He absolutely worshipped Corneille; and, one day, after +having witnessed a performance of 'Cinna', he said to me, "If a man like +Corneille were living in my time I would make him my Prime Minister. It +is not his poetry that I most admire; it is his powerful understanding, +his vast knowledge of the human heart, and his profound policy!" At St. +Helena he said that he would have made Corneille a prince; but at the +time he spoke to me of Corneille he had no thought of making either +princes or kings. + +Gallantry to women was by no means a trait in Bonaparte's character. +He seldom said anything agreeable to females, and he frequently addressed +to them the rudest and most extraordinary remarks. To one he would say, +"Heavens, how red your elbows are!" To another, "What an ugly headdress +you have got!" At another time he would say, "Your dress is none of the +cleanest..... Do you ever change your gown? I have seen you in that +twenty times!" He showed no mercy to any who displeased him on these +points. He often gave Josephine directions about her toilet, and the +exquisite taste for which she was distinguished might have helped to make +him fastidious about the costume of other ladies. At first he looked to +elegance above all things: at a later period he admired luxury and +splendour, but he always required modesty. He frequently expressed his +disapproval of the low-necked dresses which were so much in fashion at +the beginning of the Consulate. + +Bonaparte did not love cards, and this was very fortunate for those who +were invited to his parties; for when he was seated at a card-table, as +he sometimes thought himself obliged to be, nothing could exceed the +dulness of the drawing-room either at the Luxembourg or the Tuileries. +When, on the contrary, he walked about among the company, all were +pleased, for he usually spoke to everybody, though he preferred the +conversation of men of science, especially those who had been with him in +in Egypt; as for example, Monge and Berthollet. He also liked to talk +with Chaptal and Lacepede, and with Lemercier, the author of 'Agamemnon'. + +Bonaparte was seen to less advantage in a drawing-room than at the head +of his troops. His military uniform became him much better than the +handsomest dress of any other kind. His first trials of dress-coats were +unfortunate. I have been informed that the first time he wore one he +kept on his black cravat. This incongruity was remarked to him, and he +replied, "So much the better; it leaves me something of a military air, +and there is no harm in that." For my own part, I neither saw the black +cravat nor heard this reply. + +The First Consul paid his own private bills very punctually; but he was +always tardy in settling the accounts of the contractors who bargained +with Ministers for supplies for the public service. He put off these +payments by all sorts of excuses and shufflings. Hence arose immense +arrears in the expenditure, and the necessity of appointing a committee +of liquidation. In his opinion the terms contractor and rogue were +synonymous. All that he avoided paying them he regarded as a just +restitution to himself; and all the sums which were struck off from their +accounts he regarded as so much deducted from a theft. The less a +Minister paid out of his budget the more Bonaparte was pleased with him; +and this ruinous system of economy can alone explain the credit which +Decres so long enjoyed at the expense of the French navy. + +On the subject of religion Bonaparte's ideas were very vague. +"My reason," said he, "makes me incredulous respecting many things; but +the impressions of my childhood and early youth throw me into +uncertainty." He was very fond of talking of religion. In Italy, in +Egypt, and on board the 'Orient' and the 'Muiron', I have known him to +take part in very animated conversations on this subject. + +He readily yielded up all that was proved against religion as the work of +men and time: but he would not hear of materialism. I recollect that one +fine night, when he was on deck with some persons who were arguing in +favour of materialism, Bonaparte raised his hand to heaven and, pointing +to the stars, said, "You may talk as long as you please, gentlemen, but +who made all that?" The perpetuity of a name in the memory of man was to +him the immortality of the soul. He was perfectly tolerant towards every +variety of religious faith. + +Among Bonaparte's singular habits was that of seating himself on any +table which happened to be of a suitable height for him. He would often +sit on mine, resting his left arm on my right shoulder, and swinging his +left leg, which did not reach the ground; and while he dictated to me he +would jolt the table so that I could scarcely write. + +Bonaparte had a great dislike to reconsider any decision, even when it +was acknowledged to be unjust. In little as well as in great things he +evinced his repugnance to retrograde. An instance of this occurred in +the affair of General Latour-Foissac. The First Consul felt how much he +had wronged that general; but he wished some time to elapse before he +repaired his error. His heart and his conduct were at variance; but his +feelings were overcome by what he conceived to be political necessity. +Bonaparte was never known to say, "I have done wrong:" his usual +observation was, "I begin to think there is something wrong." + +In spite of this sort of feeling, which was more worthy of an ill- +humoured philosopher than the head of a government, Bonaparte was neither +malignant nor vindictive. I cannot certainly defend him against all the +reproaches which he incurred through the imperious law of war and cruel +necessity; but I may say that he has often been unjustly accused. None +but those who are blinded by fury will call him a Nero or a Caligula. +I think I have avowed his faults with sufficient candour to entitle me to +credit when I speak in his commendation; and I declare that, out of the +field of battle, Bonaparte had a kind and feeling heart. He was very +fond of children, a trait which seldom distinguishes a bad man. In the +relations of private life to call him amiable would not be using too +strong a word, and he was very indulgent to the weakness of human nature. +The contrary opinion is too firmly fixed in some minds for me to hope to +root it out. I shall, I fear, have contradictors, but I address myself +to those who look for truth. To judge impartially we must take into +account the influence which time and circumstances exercise on men; and +distinguish between the different characters of the Collegian, the +General, the Consul, and the Emperor. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +1800. + + Bonaparte's laws--Suppression of the festival of the 21st of + January--Officials visits--The Temple--Louis XVI. and Sir Sidney + Smith--Peculation during the Directory--Loan raised--Modest budget + --The Consul and the Member of the Institute--The figure of the + Republic--Duroc's missions--The King of Prussia--The Emperor + Alexander--General Latour-Foissac--Arbitrary decree--Company of + players for Egypt--Singular ideas respecting literary property-- + The preparatory Consulate--The journals--Sabres and muskets of + honour--The First Consul and his Comrade--The bust of Brutus-- + Statues in the gallery of the Tuileries--Sections of the Council of + State--Costumes of public functionaries--Masquerades--The opera- + balls--Recall of the exiles. + +It is not my purpose to say much about the laws, decrees, and 'Senatus- +Consultes', which the First Consul either passed, or caused to be passed, +after his accession to power, what were they all, with the exception of +the Civil Code? The legislative reveries of the different men who have +from time to time ruled France form an immense labyrinth, in which +chicanery bewilders reason and common sense; and they would long since +have been buried in oblivion had they not occasionally served to +authorise injustice. I cannot, however, pass over unnoticed the happy +effect produced in Paris, and throughout the whole of France, by some of +the first decisions of the Consuls. Perhaps none but those who witnessed +the state of society during the reign of Terror can fully appreciate the +satisfaction which the first steps towards the restoration of social +order produced in the breasts of all honest men. The Directory, more +base and not less perverse than the Convention, had retained the horrible +21st of January among the festivals of the Republic. One of Bonaparte's +first ideas on attaining the possession of power was to abolish this; but +such was the ascendency of the abettors of the fearful event that he +could not venture on a straightforward course. He and his two +colleagues, who were Sieyes and Roger Ducos, signed, on the 5th Nivose, +a decree, setting forth that in future the only festivals to be +celebrated by the Republic were the 1st Vendemiaire and the 14th of July, +intending by this means to consecrate provisionally the recollection of +the foundation of the Republic and of liberty. + +All was calculation with Bonaparte. To produce effect was his highest +gratification. Thus he let slip no opportunity of saying or doing things +which were calculated to dazzle the multitude. While at the Luxembourg, +he went sometimes accompanied by his 'aides de camp' and sometimes by a +Minister, to pay certain official visits. I did not accompany him on +these occasions; but almost always either on his return, after dinner, or +in the evening, he related to me what he had done and said. He +congratulated himself on having paid a visit to Daubenton, at the Jardin +des Plantes, and talked with great self-complacency of the distinguished +way in which he had treated the contemporary of Buffon. + +On the 24th Brumaire he visited the prisons. He liked to make these +visits unexpectedly, and to take the governors of the different public +establishments by surprise; so that, having no time to make their +preparations, he might see things as they really were. I was in his +cabinet when he returned, for I had a great deal of business to go +through in his absence. As he entered he exclaimed, "What brutes these +Directors are! To what a state they have brought our public +establishments! But, stay a little! I will put all in order. The +prisons are in a shockingly unwholesome state, and the prisoners +miserably fed. I questioned them, and I questioned the jailers, for +nothing is to be learned from the superiors. They, of course, always +speak well of their own work! When I was in the Temple I could not help +thinking of the unfortunate Louis XVI. He was an excellent man, but too +amiable, too gentle for the times. He knew not how to deal with mankind! +And Sir Sidney Smith! I made them show me his apartment. If the fools +had not let him escape I should have taken St. Jean d'Acre! There are +too many painful recollections connected with that prison! I will +certainly have it pulled down some day or other! What do you think I did +at the Temple? I ordered the jailers' books to be brought to me, and +finding that some hostages were still in confinement I liberated them. +'An unjust law,' said I, 'has deprived you of liberty; my first duty is +to restore it to you.' Was not this well done, Bourrienne? "As I was, no +less than Bonaparte himself, an enemy to the revolutionary laws, I +congratulated him sincerely; and he was very sensible to my approbation, +for I was not accustomed to greet him with "Good; very good," on all +occasions. It is true, knowing his character as I did, I avoided saying +anything that was calculated to offend him; but when I said nothing, he +knew very well how to construe my silence. Had I flattered him I should +have continued longer in favour. + +Bonaparte always spoke angrily of the Directors he had turned off. Their +incapacity disgusted and astonished him. "What simpletons! what a +government!" he would frequently exclaim when he looked into the measures +of the Directory. "Bourrienne," said he, "can you imagine anything more +pitiable than their system of finance? Can it for a moment be doubted +that the principal agents of authority daily committed the most +fraudulent peculations? What venality! what disorder! what +wastefulness! everything put up for sale: places, provisions, clothing, +and military, all were disposed of. Have they not actually consumed +75,000,000 in advance? And then, think of all the scandalous fortunes +accumulated, all the malversations! But are there no means of making +them refund? We shall see." + +In these first moments of poverty it was found necessary to raise a loan, +for the funds of M. Collot did not last long, and 12,000,000 were +advanced by the different bankers of Paris, who, I believe, were paid by +bills of the receivers-general, the discount of which then amounted to +about 33 per cent. The salaries of the first offices were not very +considerable, and did not amount to anything like the exorbitant stipends +of the Empire. + +Bonaparte's salary was fixed at 500,000 francs. What a contrast to the +300,000,000 in gold which were reported to have been concealed in 1811 in +the cellars of the Tuileries! + +In mentioning Bonaparte's nomination to the Institute, and his +affectation in putting at the head of his proclamation his title of +member of that learned body before that of General-in-Chief, I omitted to +state what value he really attached to that title. The truth is that, +when young and ambitious, he was pleased with the proffered title, which +he thought would raise him in public estimation. How often have we +laughed together when he weighed the value of his scientific titles! +Bonaparte, to be sure, knew something of mathematics, a good deal of +history, and, I need not add, possessed extraordinary military talent; +but he was nevertheless a useless member of the Institute. + +On his return from Egypt he began to grow weary of a title which gave him +so many colleagues. "Do you not think," said he one day to me, "that +there is something mean and humiliating in the words, 'I have the honour +to be, my dear Colleague'! I am tired of it!" Generally speaking, all +phrases which indicated equality displeased him. It will be recollected +how gratified he was that I did not address him in the second person +singular on our meeting at Leoben, and also what befell M. de Cominges at +Bale because he did not observe the same precaution. + +The figure of the Republic seated and holding a spear in her hand, which +at the commencement of the Consulate was stamped on official letters, was +speedily abolished. Happy would it have been if Liberty herself had not +suffered the same treatment as her emblem! The title of First Consul +made him despise that of Member of the Institute. He no longer +entertained the least predilection for that learned body, and +subsequently he regarded it with much suspicion. It was a body, an +authorised assembly; these were reasons sufficient for him to take +umbrage at it, and he never concealed his dislike of all bodies +possessing the privilege of meeting and deliberating. + +While we were at the Luxembourg Bonaparte despatched Duroc on a special +mission to the King of Prussia. This happened, I think, at the very +beginning of the year 1800. He selected Duroc because he was a man of +good education and agreeable manners, and one who could express himself +with elegance and reserve, qualities not often met with at that period. +Duroc had been with us in Italy, in Egypt, and on board the 'Muiron', +and the Consul easily guessed that the King of Prussia would be delighted +to hear from an eye-witness the events of Bonaparte's campaigns, +especially the siege of St. Jean d'Acre, and the scenes which took place +during the months of March and May at Jaffa. Besides, the First Consul +considered it indispensable that such circumstantial details should be +given in a way to leave no doubt of their correctness. His intentions +were fully realised; for Duroc told me, on his return, that nearly the +whole of the conversation he had with the King turned upon St. Jean +d'Acre and Jaffa. He stayed nearly two whole hours with his Majesty, who, +the day after, gave him an invitation to dinner. When this intelligence +arrived at the Luxembourg I could perceive that the Chief of the Republic +was flattered that one of his aides de camp should have sat at table with +a King, who some years after was doomed to wait for him in his +antechamber at Tilsit. + +Duroc never spoke on politics to the King of Prussia, which was very +fortunate, for, considering his age and the exclusively military life he +had led, he could scarcely have been expected to avoid blunders. Some +time later, after the death of Paul I., he was sent to congratulate +Alexander on his accession to the throne. Bonaparte's design in thus +making choice of Duroc was to introduce to the Courts of Europe, by +confidential missions, a young man to whom he was much attached, and also +to bring him forward in France. Duroc went on his third mission to +Berlin after the war broke out with Austria. He often wrote to me, and +his letters convinced me how much he had improved himself within a short +time. + +Another circumstance which happened at the commencement of the Consulate +affords an example of Bonaparte's inflexibility when he had once formed a +determination. In the spring of 1799, when we were in Egypt, the +Directory gave to General Latour-Foissac, a highly distinguished officer, +the command of Mantua, the taking of which had so powerfully contributed +to the glory of the conqueror of Italy. Shortly after Latour's +appointment to this important post the Austrians besieged Mantua. It was +well known that the garrison was supplied with provisions and ammunition +for a long resistance; yet, in the month of July it surrendered to the +Austrians. The act of capitulation contained a curious article, viz. +"General Latour-Foissac and his staff shall be conducted as prisoners to +Austria; the garrison shall be allowed to return to France." This +distinction between the general and the troops entrusted to his command, +and at the same time the prompt surrender of Mantua, were circumstances +which, it must be confessed, were calculated to excite suspicions of +Latour-Foissac. The consequence was, when Bernadotte was made War +Minister he ordered an inquiry into the general's conduct by a court- +martial. Latour-Foissac had no sooner returned to France than he +published a justificatory memorial, in which he showed the impossibility +of his having made a longer defence when he was in want of many objects +of the first necessity. + +Such was the state of the affair on Bonaparte's elevation to the Consular +power. The loss of Mantua, the possession of which had cost him so many +sacrifices, roused his indignation to so high a pitch that whenever the +subject was mentioned he could find no words to express his rage. +He stopped the investigation of the court-martial, and issued a violent +decree against Latour-Foissac even before his culpability had been +proved. This proceeding occasioned much discussion, and was very +dissatisfactory to many general officers, who, by this arbitrary +decision, found themselves in danger of forfeiting the privilege of being +tried by their natural judges whenever they happened to displease the +First Consul. For my own part, I must say that this decree against +Latour-Foissac was one which I saw issued with considerable regret. I was +alarmed for the consequences. After the lapse of a few days I ventured +to point out to him the undue severity of the step he had taken; I +reminded him of all that had been said in Latour-Foissac's favour, and +tried to convince him how much more just it would be to allow the trial +to come to a conclusion. "In a country," said I, "like France, where the +point of honour stands above every thing, it is impossible Foissac can +escape condemnation if he be culpable."--"Perhaps you are right, +Bourrienne," rejoined he; "but the blow is struck; the decree is issued. +I have given the same explanation to every one; but I cannot so suddenly +retrace my steps. To retro-grade is to be lost. I cannot acknowledge +myself in the wrong. By and by we shall see what can be done. Time will +bring lenity and pardon. At present it would be premature." Such, word +for word, was Bonaparte's reply. If with this be compared what he said +on the subject at St. Helena it will be found that his ideas continued +nearly unchanged; the only difference is that, instead of the impetuosity +of 1800, he expressed himself with the calmness which time and adversity +naturally produce. + + --["It was," says the 'Memorial of St. Helena', "an illegal and + tyrannical act, but still it was a necessary evil. It was the fault + of the law. He was a hundred, nay, a thousand fold guilty, and yet + it was doubtful whether he would be condemned. We therefore + assailed him with the shafts of honour and public opinion. Yet I + repeat it was a tyrannical act, and one of those violent measures + which are at times necessary in great nations and in extraordinary + circumstances."]-- + +Bonaparte, as I have before observed, loved contrasts; and I remember at +the very time he was acting so violently against Latour-Foissac he +condescended to busy himself about a company of players which he wished +to send to Egypt, or rather that he pretended to wish to send there, +because the announcement of such a project conveyed an impression of the +prosperous condition of our Oriental colony. The Consuls gravely +appointed the Minister of the Interior to execute this business, and the +Minister in his turn delegated his powers to Florence, the actor. In +their instructions to the Minister the Consuls observed that it would be +advisable to include some female dancers in the company; a suggestion +which corresponds with Bonaparte's note, in which were specified all that +he considered necessary for the Egyptian expedition. + +The First Consul entertained singular notions respecting literary +property. On his hearing that a piece, entitled 'Misanthropie et +Repentir', had been brought out at the Odeon, he said to me, "Bourrienne, +you have been robbed."--"I, General? how?"--"You have been robbed, +I tell you, and they are now acting your piece." I have already +mentioned that during my stay at Warsaw I amused myself with translating +a celebrated play of Kotzebue. While we were in Italy I lent Bonaparte +my translation to read, and he expressed himself much pleased with it. +He greatly admired the piece, and often went to see it acted at the +Odeon. On his return he invariably gave me fresh reasons for my claiming +what he was pleased to call my property. I represented to him that the +translation of a foreign work belonged to any one who chose to execute +it. He would not, however, give up his point, and I was obliged to +assure him that my occupations in his service left me no time to engage +in a literary lawsuit. He then exacted a promise from me to translate +Goethe's 'Werther'. I told him it was already done, though +indifferently, and that I could not possibly devote to the subject the +time it merited. I read over to him one of the letters I had translated +into French, and which he seemed to approve. + +That interval of the Consular Government during which Bonaparte remained +at the Luxembourg may be called the preparatory Consulate. Then were +sown the seeds of the great events which he meditated, and of those +institutions with which he wished to mark his possession of power. He +was then, if I may use the expression, two individuals in one: the +Republican general, who was obliged to appear the advocate of liberty and +the principles of the Revolution; and the votary of ambition, secretly +plotting the downfall of that liberty and those principles. + +I often wondered at the consummate address with which he contrived to +deceive those who were likely to see through his designs. This +hypocrisy, which some, perhaps, may call profound policy, was +indispensable to the accomplishment of his projects; and sometimes, as if +to keep himself in practice, he would do it in matters of secondary +importance. For example, his opinion of the insatiable avarice of Sieyes +is well known; yet when he proposed, in his message to the Council of +Ancients, to give his colleague, under the title of national recompense, +the price of his obedient secession, it was, in the words of the message, +a recompense worthily bestowed on his disinterested virtues. + +While at the Luxembourg Bonaparte showed, by a Consular act, his hatred +of the liberty of the press above all liberties, for he loved none. +On the 27th Nivose the Consuls, or rather the First Consul, published a +decree, the real object of which was evidently contrary to its implied +object. + +This decree stated that: + +The Consuls of the Republic, considering that some of the journals +printed at Paris are instruments in the hands of the enemies of the +Republic, over the safety of which the Government is specially entrusted +by the people of France to watch, decree-- + +That the Minister of Police shall, during the continuation of the war, +allow only the following journals to be printed and published, viz. +(list of 20 publications) + +.....and those papers which are exclusively devoted to science, art, +literature, commerce, and advertisements. + +Surely this decree may well be considered as preparatory; and the +fragment I have quoted may serve as a standard for measuring the greater +part of those acts by which Bonaparte sought to gain, for the +consolidation of his power, what he seemed to be seeking solely for the +interest of the friends of the Republic. The limitation to the period of +the continuance of the war had also a certain provisional air which +afforded hope for the future. But everything provisional is, in its +nature, very elastic; and Bonaparte knew how to draw it out ad infinitum. +The decree, moreover, enacted that if any of the uncondemned journals +should insert articles against the sovereignty of the people they would +be immediately suppressed. In truth, great indulgence was shown on this +point, even after the Emperor's coronation. + +The presentation of swords and muskets of honour also originated at the +Luxembourg; and this practice was, without doubt, a preparatory step to +the foundation of the Legion of Honour. + + --["Armes d'honneur," decreed 25th December 1799. Muskets for + infantry, carbines for cavalry, grenades for artillery, swords for + the officers. Gouvion St. Cyr received the first sword (Thiers, + tome i. p. 126).]-- + +A grenadier sergeant, named Leon Aune, who had been included in the first +distribution, easily obtained permission to write to the First Consul to +thank him. Bonaparte, wishing to answer him in his own name, dictated to +me the following letter for Aune:-- + + I have received your letter, my brave comrade. You needed not to + have told me of your exploits, for you are the bravest grenadier in + the whole army since the death of Benezete. You received one of the + hundred sabres I distributed to the army, and all agreed you most + deserved it. + + I wish very much again to see you. The War Minister sends you an + order to come to Paris. + +This wheedling wonderfully favoured Bonaparte's designs. His letter to +Aune could not fail to be circulated through the army. A sergeant called +my brave comrade by the First Consul--the First General of France! Who +but a thorough Republican, the stanch friend of equality, would have done +this? This was enough to wind up the enthusiasm of the army. At the +same time it must be confessed that Bonaparte began to find the +Luxembourg too little for him, and preparations were set on foot at the +Tuileries. + +Still this great step towards the re-establishment of the monarchy was to +be cautiously prepared. It was important to do away with the idea that +none but a king could occupy the palace of our ancient kings. What was +to be done? A very fine bust of Brutus had been brought from Italy. +Brutus was the destroyer of tyrants! This was the very thing; and David +was commissioned to place it in a gallery of the Tuileries. Could there +be a greater proof of the Consul's horror of tyranny? + +To sleep at the Tuileries, in the bedchamber of the kings of France, was +all that Bonaparte wanted; the rest would follow in due course. He was +willing to be satisfied with establishing a principle the consequences of +which were to be afterwards deduced. Hence the affectation of never +inserting in official acts the name of the Tuileries, but designating +that place as the Palace of the Government. The first preparations were +modest, for it did not become a good Republican to be fond of pomp. +Accordingly Lecomte, who was at that time architect of the Tuileries, +merely received orders to clean the Palace, an expression which might +bear more than one meaning, after the meetings which had been there. For +this purpose the sum of 500,000 francs was sufficient. Bonaparte's drift +was to conceal, as far as possible, the importance he attached to the +change of his Consular domicile. But little expense was requisite for +fitting up apartments for the First Consul. Simple ornaments, such as +marbles and statues, were to decorate the Palace of the Government. + +Nothing escaped Bonaparte's consideration. Thus it was not merely at +hazard that he selected the statues of great men to adorn the gallery of +the Tuileries. Among the Greeks he made choice of Demosthenes and +Alexander, thus rendering homage at once to the genius of eloquence and +the genius of victory. The statue of Hannibal was intended to recall the +memory of Rome's most formidable enemy; and Rome herself was represented +in the Consular Palace by the statues of Scipio, Cicero, Cato, Brutus and +Caesar--the victor and the immolator being placed side by side. Among +the great men of modern times he gave the first place to Gustavus +Adolphus, and the next to Turenne and the great Conde, to Turenne in +honour of his military talent, and to Conde to prove that there was +nothing fearful in the recollection of a Bourbon. The remembrance of the +glorious days of the French navy was revived by the statue of Duguai +Trouin. Marlborough and Prince Eugene had also their places in the +gallery, as if to attest the disasters which marked the close of the +great reign; and Marshal Sage, to show that Louis XV.'s reign was not +without its glory. The statues of Frederick and Washington were +emblematic of false philosophy on a throne and true wisdom founding a +free state. Finally, the names of Dugommier, Dampierre, and Joubert were +intended to bear evidence of the high esteem which Bonaparte cherished +for his old comrades,--those illustrious victims to a cause which had now +ceased to be his. + +The reader has already been informed of the attempts made by Bonaparte to +induce England and Austria to negotiate with the Consular Government, +which the King of Prussia was the first of the sovereigns of Europe to +recognise. These attempts having proved unavailing, it became necessary +to carry on the war with renewed vigour, and also to explain why the +peace, which had been promised at the beginning of the Consulate, was +still nothing but a promise. In fulfilment of these two objects +Bonaparte addressed an energetic proclamation to the armies, which was +remarkable for not being followed by the usual sacred words, "Vive la +Republique!" + +At the same time Bonaparte completed the formation of the Council of +State, and divided it into five sections:--(1) The Interior; (2) Finance; +(3) Marine; (4) The War Department; (5) Legislation. He fixed the +salaries of the Councillors of the State at 25,000 francs, and that of +the Precedents of Sections at 30,000. He settled the costume of the +Consuls, the Ministers, and the different bodies of the State. This led +to the re-introduction of velvet, which had been banished with the old +regime, and the encouragement of the manufactures of Lyons was the reason +alleged for employing this un-republican article in the different +dresses, such as those of the Consuls and Ministers. It was Bonaparte's +constant aim to efface the Republic, even in the utmost trifles, and to +prepare matters so well that the customs and habits of monarchy being +restored, there should only then remain a word to be changed. + +I never remember to have seen Bonaparte in the Consular dress, which he +detested, and which he wore only because duty required him to do so at +public ceremonies. The only dress he was fond of, and in which he felt +at ease, was that in which he subjugated the ancient Eridanus and the +Nile, namely, the uniform of the Guides, to which corps Bonaparte was +always sincerely attached. + +The masquerade of official dresses was not the only one which Bonaparte +summoned to the aid of his policy. At that period of the year VIII. +which corresponded with the carnival of 1800, masques began to be resumed +at Paris. Disguises were all the fashion, and Bonaparte favoured the +revival of old amusements; first, because they were old, and next, +because they were the means of diverting the attention of the people: +for, as he had established the principle that on the field of battle it +is necessary to divide the enemy in order to beat him, he conceived it no +less advisable to divert the people in order to enslave them. Bonaparte +did not say 'panem et circenses', for I believe his knowledge of Latin +did not extend even to that well-known phrase of Juvenal, but he put the +maxim in practice. He accordingly authorised the revival of balls at the +opera, which they who lived during that period of the Consulate know was +an important event in Paris. Some gladly viewed it as a little conquest +in favour of the old regime; and others, who for that very reason +disapproved it, were too shallow to understand the influence of little +over great things. The women and the young men did not bestow a thought +on the subject, but yielded willingly to the attractions of pleasure. +Bonaparte, who was delighted at having provided a diversion for the +gossiping of the Parisian salons, said to me one day, "While they are +chatting about all this, they do not babble upon politics, and that is +what I want. Let them dance and amuse themselves as long as they do not +thrust their noses into the Councils of the Government; besides, +Bourrienne," added he, "I have other reasons for encouraging this, I see +other advantages in it. Trade is languishing; Fouche tells me that there +are great complaints. This will set a little money in circulation; +besides, I am on my guard about the Jacobins. Everything is not bad, +because it is not new. I prefer the opera-balls to the saturnalia of the +Goddess of Reason. I was never so enthusiastically applauded as at the +last parade." + +A Consular decision of a different and more important nature had, shortly +before, namely, at the commencement of Nivose, brought happiness to many +families. Bonaparte, as every one knows, had prepared the events of the +18th Fructidor that he might have some plausible reasons for overthrowing +the Directors. The Directory being overthrown, he was now anxious, at +least in part, to undo what he had done on the 18th Fructidor. He +therefore ordered a report on the persons exiled to be presented to him +by the Minister of Police. In consequence of this report he authorised +forty of them to return to France, placing them under the observation of +the Police Minister, and assigning them their place of residence. +However, they did not long remain under these restrictions, and many of +them were soon called to fill high places in the Government. It was +indeed natural that Bonaparte, still wishing, at least in appearance, to +found his government on those principles of moderate republicanism which +had caused their exile, should invite them to second his views. + +Barrere wrote a justificatory letter to the First Consul, who, however, +took no notice of it, for he could not get so far as to favour Barrere. +Thus did Bonaparte receive into the Councils of the Consulate the men who +had been exiled by the Directory, just as he afterwards appointed the +emigrants and those exiles of the Revolution to high offices under the +Empire. The time and the men alone differed; the intention in both cases +was the same. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX + +1800. + + Bonaparte and Paul I.--Lord Whitworth--Baron Sprengporten's arrival + at Paris--Paul's admiration of Bonaparte--Their close connection and + correspondence--The royal challenge--General Mack--The road to + Malmaison--Attempts at assassination--Death of Washington--National + mourning--Ambitious calculation--M. de Fontanel, the skilful orator + --Fete at the Temple of Mars--Murat's marriage with Caroline + Bonaparte--Madame Bonaparte's pearls. + +The first communications between Bonaparte and Paul I. commenced a short +time after his accession to the Consulate. Affairs then began to look a +little less unfavourable for France; already vague reports from +Switzerland and the banks of the Rhine indicated a coldness existing +between the Russians and the Austrians; and at the same time, symptoms of +a misunderstanding between the Courts of London and St. Petersburg began +to be perceptible. The First Consul, having in the meantime discovered +the chivalrous and somewhat eccentric character of Paul I., thought the +moment a propitious one to attempt breaking the bonds which united Russia +and England. He was not the man to allow so fine an opportunity to pass, +and he took advantage of it with his usual sagacity. The English had +some time before refused to include in a cartel for the exchange of +prisoners 7000 Russians taken in Holland. Bonaparte ordered them all to +be armed, and clothed in new uniforms appropriate to the corps to which +they had belonged, and sent them back to Russia, without ransom, without +exchange, or any condition whatever. This judicious munificence was not +thrown away. Paul I. showed himself deeply sensible of it, and closely +allied as he had lately been with England, he now, all at once, declared +himself her enemy. This triumph of policy delighted the First Consul. + +Thenceforth the Consul and the Czar became the best friends possible. +They strove to outdo each other in professions of friendship; and it may +be believed that Bonaparte did not fail to turn this contest of +politeness to his own advantage. He so well worked upon the mind of Paul +that he succeeded in obtaining a direct influence over the Cabinet of St. +Petersburg. + +Lord Whitworth, at that time the English ambassador in Russia, was +ordered to quit the capital without delay, and to retire to Riga, which +then became the focus of the intrigues of the north which ended in the +death of Paul. The English ships were seized in all the ports, and, at +the pressing instance of the Czar, a Prussian army menaced Hanover. +Bonaparte lost no time, and, profiting by the friendship manifested +towards him by the inheritor of Catherine's power, determined to make +that friendship subservient to the execution of the vast plan which he +had long conceived: he meant to undertake an expedition by land against +the English colonies in the East Indies. + +The arrival of Baron Sprengporten at Paris caused great satisfaction +among the partisans of the Consular Government, that is to say, almost +every one in Paris. M. Sprengporten was a native of Swedish Finland. +He had been appointed by Catherine chamberlain and lieutenant-general of +her forces, and he was not less in favour with Paul, who treated him in +the most distinguished manner. He came on an extraordinary mission, +being ostensibly clothed with the title of plenipotentiary, and at the +same time appointed confidential Minister to the Consul. Bonaparte was +extremely satisfied with the ambassador whom Paul had selected, and with +the manner in which he described the Emperor's gratitude for the +generous conduct of the First Consul. M. Sprengporten did not conceal +the extent of Paul's dissatisfaction with his allies. The bad issue, he +said, of the war with France had already disposed the Czar to connect +himself with that power, when the return of his troops at once determined +him. + +We could easily perceive that Paul placed great confidence in M. +Sprengporten. As he had satisfactorily discharged the mission with which +he had been entrusted, Paul expressed pleasure at his conduct in several +friendly and flattering letters, which Sprengporten always allowed us to +read. No one could be fonder of France than he was, and he ardently +desired that his first negotiations might lead to a long alliance between +the Russian and French Governments. The autograph and very frequent +correspondence between Bonaparte and Paul passed through his hands. I +read all Paul's letters, which were remarkable for the frankness with +which his affection for Bonaparte was expressed. His admiration of the +First Consul was so great that no courtier could have written in a more +flattering manner. + +This admiration was not feigned on the part of the Emperor of Russia: it +was no less sincere than ardent, and of this he soon gave proofs. The +violent hatred he had conceived towards the English Government induced +him to defy to single combat every monarch who would not declare war +against England and shut his ports against English ships. He inserted a +challenge to the King of Denmark in the St. Petersburg Court Gazette; but +not choosing to apply officially to the Senate of Hamburg to order its +insertion in the 'Correspondant', conducted by M. Stoves, he sent the +article, through Count Pahlen, to M. Schramm, a Hamburg merchant. The +Count told M. Schramm that the Emperor would be much pleased to see the +article of the St. Petersburg Court Gazette copied into the +Correspondant; and that if it should be inserted, he wished to have a +dozen copies of the paper printed on vellum, and sent to him by an +extraordinary courier. It was Paul's intention to send a copy to every +sovereign in Europe; but this piece of folly, after the manner of Charles +XII., led to no further results. + +Bonaparte never felt greater satisfaction in the whole course of his life +than he experienced from Paul's enthusiasm for him. The friendship of a +sovereign seemed to him a step by which he was to become a sovereign +himself. At the same time the affairs of La Vendee began to assume a +better aspect, and he hoped soon to effect that pacification in the +interior which he so ardently desired. + +It was during the First Consul's residence at the Luxembourg that the +first report on the civil code was made to the legislative body. It was +then, also, that the regulations for the management of the Bank of France +were adopted, and that establishment so necessary to France was founded. + +There was at this time in Paris a man who has acquired an unfortunate +celebrity, the most unlucky of modern generals--in a word, General Mack. +I should not notice that person here were it not for the prophetic +judgment which Bonaparte then pronounced on him. Mack had been obliged +to surrender himself at Championnet some time before our landing at +Frejus. He was received as a prisoner of war, and the town of Dijon had +been appointed his place of residence, and there he remained until after +the 18th Brumaire. Bonaparte, now Consul, permitted him to come to +Paris, and to reside there on his parole. He applied for leave to go to +Vienna, pledging himself to return again a prisoner to France if the +Emperor Francis would not consent to exchange him for Generals Perignon +and Grouchy, then prisoners in Austria. His request was not granted, but +his proposition was forwarded to Vienna. The Court of Vienna refused to +accede to it, not placing perhaps so much importance on the deliverance +of Mack as he had flattered himself it would. + +Bonaparte speaking to me of him one day said, "Mack is a man of the +lowest mediocrity I ever saw in my life; he is full of self-sufficiency +and conceit, and believes himself equal to anything. He has no talent. +I should like to see him opposed some day to one of our good generals; +we should then see fine work. He is a boaster, and that is all. He is +really one of the most silly men existing; and, besides all that, he is +unlucky." Was not this opinion of Bonaparte, formed on the past, fully +verified by the future? + +It was at Malmaison that Bonaparte thus spoke of General Mack. That +place was then far from resembling what it afterwards became, and the +road to it was neither pleasant nor sure. There was not a house on the +road; and in the evening, during the season when we were there, it was +not frequented all the way from St. Germain. Those numerous vehicles, +which the demands of luxury and an increasing population have created, +did not then, as now, pass along the roads in the environs of Paris. +Everywhere the road was solitary and dangerous; and I learned with +certainty that many schemes were laid for carrying off the First Consul +during one of his evening journeys. They were unsuccessful, and orders +were given to enclose the quarries, which were too near to the road. On +Saturday evening Bonaparte left the Luxembourg, and afterwards the +Tuileries, to go to Malmaison, and I cannot better express the joy he +then appeared to experience than by comparing it to the delight of a +school-boy on getting a holiday. + +Before removing from the Luxembourg to the Tuileries Bonaparte determined +to dazzle the eyes of the Parisians by a splendid ceremony. He had +appointed it to take place on the 'decadi', Pluviose 20 (9th February +1800), that is to say, ten days before his final departure from the old +Directorial palace. These kinds of fetes did not resemble what they +afterwards became; their attraction consisted in the splendour of +military dress: and Bonaparte was always sure that whenever he mounted +his horse, surrounded by a brilliant staff from which he was to be +distinguished by the simplicity of his costume, his path would be crowded +and himself greeted with acclamations by the people of Paris. The object +of this fete was at first only to present to the 'Hotel des Invalides', +then called the Temple of Mars, seventy-two flags taken from the Turks +in the battle of Aboukir and brought from Egypt to Paris; but +intelligence of Washington's death, who expired on the 14th of December +1799, having reached Bonaparte, he eagerly took advantage of that event +to produce more effect, and mixed the mourning cypress with the laurels +he had collected in Egypt. + +Bonaparte did not feel much concerned at the death of Washington, that +noble founder of rational freedom in the new world; but it afforded him +an opportunity to mask his ambitious projects under the appearance of a +love of liberty. In thus rendering honour to the memory of Washington +everybody would suppose that Bonaparte intended to imitate his example, +and that their two names would pass in conjunction from mouth to mouth. +A clever orator might be employed, who, while pronouncing a eulogium on +the dead, would contrive to bestow some praise on the living; and when +the people were applauding his love of liberty he would find himself one +step nearer the throne, on which his eyes were constantly fixed. When +the proper time arrived, he would not fail to seize the crown; and would +still cry, if necessary, "Vive la Liberte!" while placing it on his +imperial head. + +The skilful orator was found. M. de Fontanes + + --[L. de Fontanes (1767-1821) became president of the Corps + Legislatif, Senator, and Grand Master of the University. He was the + centre of the literary group of the Empire,]-- + +was commissioned to pronounce the funeral eulogium on Washington, and the +flowers of eloquence which he scattered about did not all fall on the +hero of America. + +Lannes was entrusted by Bonaparte with the presentation of the flags; and +on the 20th Pluviose he proceeded, accompanied by strong detachments of +the cavalry then in Paris, to the council-hall of the Invalides, where he +was met by the Minister of War, who received the colours. All the +Ministers, the councillors of State, and generals were summoned to the +presentation. Lannes pronounced a discourse, to which Berthier replied, +and M. de Fontanes added his well-managed eloquence to the plain military +oratory of the two generals. In the interior of this military temple a +statue of Mars sleeping had been placed, and from the pillars and roof +were suspended the trophies of Denain, Fontenoy, and the campaign of +Italy, which would still have decorated that edifice had not the demon of +conquest possessed Bonaparte. Two Invalides, each said to be a hundred +years old, stood beside the Minister of War; and the bust of the +emancipator of America was placed under the trophy composed of the flags +of Aboukir. In a word, recourse was had to every sort of charlatanism +usual on such occasions. In the evening there was a numerous assembly at +the Luxembourg, and Bonaparte took much credit to himself for the effect +produced on this remarkable day. He had only to wait ten days for his +removal to the Tuileries, and precisely on that day the national mourning +for Washington was to cease, for which a general mourning for freedom +might well have been substituted. + +I have said very little about Murat in the course of these Memoirs except +mentioning the brilliant part he performed in several battles. Having +now arrived at the period of his marriage with one of Napoleon's sisters +I take the opportunity of returning to the interesting events which +preceded that alliance. + +His fine and well-proportioned form, his great physical strength and +somewhat refined elegance of manner,--the fire of his eye, and his fierce +courage in battle, gave to Murat rather the character of one of those +'preux chevaliers' so well described by Ariosto and Taro, than that a +Republican soldier. The nobleness of his look soon made the lowness of +his birth be forgotten. He was affable, polished, gallant; and in the +field of battle twenty men headed by Murat were worth a whole regiment. +Once only he showed himself under the influence of fear, and the reader +shall see in what circumstance it was that he ceased to be himself. + + --[Marshal Lannes, so brave and brilliant in war and so well able to + appreciate courage, one day sharply rebuked a colonel for having + punished a young officer just arrived from school at Fontainebleau + because he gave evidence of fear in his first engagement. "Know, + colonel," said he, "none but a poltroon (the term was even more + strong) will boast that he never was afraid."--Bourrienne.]-- + +When Bonaparte in his first Italian campaign had forced Wurmser to +retreat into Mantua with 28,000 men, he directed Miollis, with only 4000 +men, to oppose any sortie that might be attempted by the Austrian +general. In one of these sorties Murat, who was at the head of a very +weak detachment, was ordered to charge Wurmser. He was afraid, neglected +to execute the order, and in a moment of confusion said that he was +wounded. Murat immediately fell into disgrace with the General-in-Chief, +whose 'aide de camp' he was. + +Murat had been previously sent to Paris to present to the Directory the +first colours taken by the French army of Italy in the actions of Dego +and Mondovi, and it was on this occasion that he got acquainted with +Madame Tallien and the wife of his General. But he already knew the +beautiful Caroline Bonaparte, whom he had seen at Rome in the residence +of her brother Joseph, who was then discharging the functions of +ambassador of the Republic. It appears that Caroline was not even +indifferent to him, and that he was the successful rival of the Princess +Santa Croce's son, who eagerly sought the honour of her hand. Madame +Tallien and Madame Bonaparte received with great kindness the first 'aide +de camp', and as they possessed much influence with the Directory, they +solicited, and easily obtained for him, the rank of brigadier-general. +It was somewhat remarkable at that time Murat, notwithstanding his newly- +acquired rank, to remain Bonaparte's 'aide de camp', the regulations not +allowing a general-in-chief an 'aide de camp' of higher rank than chief +of brigade, which was equal to that of colonel. This insignificant act +was, therefore, rather a hasty anticipation of the prerogatives +everywhere reserved to princes and kings. + +It was after having discharged this commission that Murat, on his return +to Italy, fell into disfavour with the General-in Chief. He indeed +looked upon him with a sort of hostile feeling, and placed him in +Reille's division, and afterwards Baraguey d'Hilliers'; consequently, +when we went to Paris, after the treaty of Campo-Formio, Murat was not of +the party. But as the ladies, with whom he was a great favourite, were +not devoid of influence with the Minister of War, Murat was, by their +interest, attached to the engineer corps in the expedition to Egypt. +On board the Orient he remained in the most complete disgrace. Bonaparte +did not address a word to him during the passage; and in Egypt the +General-in-Chief always treated him with coldness, and often sent him +from the headquarters on disagreeable services. However, the General-in- +Chief having opposed him to Mourad Bey, Murat performed such prodigies of +valour in every perilous encounter that he effaced the transitory stain +which a momentary hesitation under the walls of Mantua had left on his +character. Finally, Murat so powerfully contributed to the success of +the day at Aboukir that Bonaparte, glad to be able to carry another +laurel plucked in Egypt to France, forgot the fault which had made so +unfavourable an impression, and was inclined to efface from his memory +other things that he had heard to the disadvantage of Murat; for I have +good reasons for believing, though Bonaparte never told me so, that +Murat's name, as well as that of Charles, escaped from the lips of Junot +when he made his indiscreet communication to Bonaparte at the walls of +Messoudiah. The charge of grenadiers, commanded by Murat on the 19th +Brumaire in the hall of the Five Hundred, dissipated all the remaining +traces of dislike; and in those moments when Bonaparte's political views +subdued every other sentiment of his mind, the rival of the Prince Santa +Croce received the command of the Consular Guard. + + --[Joachim Murat (1771-1616), the son of an innkeeper, aide de camp + to Napoleon in Italy, etc.; Marshal, 1804; Prince in 1806; Grand + Admiral; Grand Duc de Berg et de Clesves, 1808; King of Naples, + 1808. Shot by Bourbons 13th October 1815. Married Caroline + Bonaparte (third sister of Napoleon) 20th January 1800.]-- + +It may reasonably be supposed that Madame Bonaparte, in endeavouring to +win the friendship of Murat by aiding his promotion, had in view to gain +one partisan more to oppose to the family and brothers of Bonaparte; and +of this kind of support she had much need. Their jealous hatred was +displayed on every occasion; and the amiable Josephine, whose only fault +was being too much of the woman, was continually tormented by sad +presentiments. Carried away by the easiness of her character, she did +not perceive that the coquetry which enlisted for her so many defenders +also supplied her implacable enemies with weapons to use against her. + +In this state of things Josephine, who was well convinced that she had +attached Murat to herself by the bonds of friendship and gratitude, and +ardently desired to see him united to Bonaparte by a family connection, +favoured with all her influence his marriage with Caroline. She was not +ignorant that a close intimacy had already sprung up at Milan between +Caroline and Murat, and she was the first to propose a marriage. Murat +hesitated, and went to consult M. Collot, who was a good adviser in all +things, and whose intimacy with Bonaparte had initiated him into all the +secrets of the family. M. Collot advised Murat to lose no time, but to +go to the First Consul and formally demand the hand of his sister. Murat +followed his advice. Did he do well? It was to this step that he owed +the throne of Naples. If he had abstained he would not have been shot at +Pizzo. 'Sed ipsi Dei fata rumpere non possunt!' + +However that might be, Bonaparte received, more in the manner of a +sovereign than of a brother in arms, the proposal of Murat. He heard him +with unmoved gravity, said that he would consider the matter, but gave no +positive answer. + +This affair was, as may be supposed, the subject of conversation in the +evening in the salon of the Luxembourg. Madame Bonaparte employed all +her powers of persuasion to obtain the First Consul's consent, and her +efforts were seconded by Hortense, Eugene, and myself, "Murat," said he, +among other things, "Murat is an innkeeper's son. In the elevated rank +where glory and fortune have placed me, I never can mix his blood with +mine! Besides, there is no hurry: I shall see by and by." We forcibly +described to him the reciprocal affection of the two young people, and +did not fail to bring to his observation Murat's devoted attachment to +his person, his splendid courage and noble conduct in Egypt. "Yes," said +he, with warmth, "I agree with you; Murat was superb at Aboukir." We did +not allow so favourable a moment to pass by. We redoubled our +entreaties, and at last he consented. When we were together in his +cabinet in the evening, "Well, Bourrienne," said he to me, "you ought to +be satisfied, and so am I, too, everything considered. Murat is suited +to my sister, and then no one can say that I am proud, or seek grand +alliances. If I had given my sister to a noble, all your Jacobins would +have raised a cry of counter-revolution. Besides, I am very glad that my +wife is interested in this marriage, and you may easily suppose the +cause. Since it is determined on, I will hasten it forward; we have no +time to lose. If I go to Italy I will take Murat with me. I must strike +a decisive blow there. Adieu." + +When I entered the First Consul's chamber at seven o'clock the next day +he appeared even more satisfied than on the preceding evening with the +resolution he had taken. I easily perceived that in spite of all his +cunning, he had failed to discover the real motive which had induced +Josephine to take so lively an interest respecting Murat's marriage with +Caroline. Still Bonaparte's satisfaction plainly showed that his wife's +eagerness for the marriage had removed all doubt in his mind of the +falsity of the calumnious reports which had prevailed respecting her +intimacy with Murat. + +The marriage of Murat and Caroline was celebrated at the Luxembourg, but +with great modesty. The First Consul did not yet think that his family +affairs were affairs of state. But previously to the celebration a +little comedy was enacted in which I was obliged to take a part, and I +will relate how. + +At the time of the marriage of Murat Bonaparte had not much money, and +therefore only gave his sister a dowry of 30,000 francs. Still, thinking +it necessary to make her a marriage present, and not possessing the means +to purchase a suitable one, he took a diamond necklace which belonged to +his wife and gave it to the bride. Josephine was not at all pleased with +this robbery, and taxed her wits to discover some means of replacing her +necklace. + +Josephine was aware that the celebrated jeweler Foncier possessed a +magnificent collection of fine pearls which had belonged, as he said, to +the late Queen, Marie Antoinette. Having ordered them to be brought to +her to examine them, she thought there were sufficient to make a very +fine necklace. But to make the purchase 250,000 francs were required, +and how to get them was the difficulty. Madame Bonaparte had recourse to +Berthier, who was then Minister of War. Berthier, after biting his +nails according to his usual habit, set about the liquidation of the +debts due for the hospital service in Italy with as much speed as +possible; and as in those days the contractors whose claims were admitted +overflowed with gratitude towards their patrons, through whom they +obtained payment, the pearls soon passed from Foncier's shop to the +casket of Madame Bonaparte. + +The pearls being thus obtained, there was still another difficulty, which +Madame Bonaparte did not at first think of. How was she to wear a +necklace purchased without her husband's knowledge? Indeed it was the +more difficult for her to do so as the First Consul knew very well that +his wife had no money, and being, if I may be allowed the expression, +something of the busybody, he knew, or believed he knew, all Josephine's +jewels. The pearls were therefore condemned to remain more than a +fortnight in Madame Bonaparte's casket without her daring to use them. +What a punishment for a woman! At length her vanity overcame her +prudence, and being unable to conceal the jewels any longer, she one day +said to me, "Bourrienne, there is to be a large party here to-morrow, and +I absolutely must wear my pearls. But you know he will grumble if he +notices them. I beg, Bourrienne, that you will keep near me. If he asks +me where I got my pearls I must tell him, without hesitation, that I have +had them a long time." + +Everything happened as Josephine feared and hoped. + +Bonaparte, on seeing the pearls, did not fail to say to Madame, "What is +it you have got there? How fine you are to-day! Where did you get these +pearls? I think I never saw them before."--"Oh! 'mon Dieu'! you have +seen them a dozen times! It is the necklace which the Cisalpine Republic +gave me, and which I now wear in my hair."--"But I think--"--"Stay: ask +Bourrienne, he will tell you."--"Well, Bourrienne, what do you say to it? +Do you recollect the necklace?"--"Yes, General, I recollect very well +seeing it before." This was not untrue, for Madame Bonaparte had +previously shown me the pearls. Besides, she had received a pearl +necklace from the Cisalpine Republic, but of incomparably less value than +that purchased from Foncier. Josephine performed her part with charming +dexterity, and I did not act amiss the character of accomplice assigned +me in this little comedy. Bonaparte had no suspicions. When I saw the +easy confidence with which Madame Bonaparte got through this scene, I +could not help recollecting Suzanne's reflection on the readiness with +which well-bred ladies can tell falsehoods without seeming to do so. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +1800. + + Police on police--False information--Dexterity of Fouche--Police + agents deceived--Money ill applied--Inutility of political police-- + Bonaparte's opinion--General considerations--My appointment to the + Prefecture of police. + +Before taking up his quarters in the Tuileries the First Consul organised +his secret police, which was intended, at the same time, to be the rival +or check upon Fouche's police. Duroc and Moncey were at first the +Director of this police; afterwards Davoust and Junot. Madame Bonaparte +called this business a vile system of espionage. My remarks on the +inutility of the measure were made in vain. Bonaparte had the weakness +at once to fear Fouche and to think him necessary. Fouche, whose talents +at this trade are too well known to need my approbation, soon discovered +this secret institution, and the names of all the subaltern agents +employed by the chief agents. It is difficult to form an idea of the +nonsense, absurdity, and falsehood contained in the bulletins drawn up by +the noble and ignoble agents of the police. I do not mean to enter into +details on this nauseating subject; and I shall only trespass on the +reader's patience by relating, though it be in anticipation, one fact +which concerns myself, and which will prove that spies and their wretched +reports cannot be too much distrusted. + +During the second year of the Consulate we were established at Malmaison. +Junot had a very large sum at his disposal for the secret police of the +capital. He gave 3000 francs of it to a wretched manufacturer of +bulletins; the remainder was expended on the police of his stable and his +table. In reading one of these daily bulletins I saw the following +lines: + + "M. de Bourrienne went last night to Paris. He entered an hotel of + the Faubourg St. Germain, Rue de Varenne, and there, in the course + of a very animated discussion, he gave it to be understood that the + First Consul wished to make himself King." + +As it happens, I never had opened my mouth, either respecting what +Bonaparte had said to me before we went to Egypt or respecting his other +frequent conversations with me of the same nature, during this period of +his Consulship. I may here observe, too, that I never quitted, nor ever +could quit Malmaison for a moment. At any time, by night or day, I was +subject to be called for by the First Consul, and, as very often was the +case, it so happened that on the night in question he had dictated to me +notes and instructions until three o'clock in the morning. + +Junot came every day to Malmaison at eleven o'clock in the morning. I +called him that day into my cabinet, when I happened to be alone. "Have +you not read your bulletin?" said I, "Yes, I have."--"Nay, that is +impossible."--"Why?"--"Because, if you had, you would have suppressed an +absurd story which relates to me."--"Ah!" he replied, "I am sorry on your +account, but I can depend on my agent, and I will not alter a word of his +report." I then told him all that had taken place on that night; but he +was obstinate, and went away unconvinced. + +Every morning I placed all the papers which the First Consul had to read +on his table, and among the first was Junot's report. The First Consul +entered and read it; on coming to the passage concerning me he began to +smile. + +"Have you read this bulletin?"--"Yes, General."--"What an ass that Junot +is! It is a long time since I have known that."--" How he allows himself +to be entrapped! Is he still here?"--"I believe so. I have just seen +him, and made observations to him, all in good part, but he would hear +nothing."--"Tell him to come here." When Junot appeared Bonaparte began +--"Imbecile that you are! how could you send me such reports as these? +Do you not read them? How shall I be sure that you will not compromise +other persons equally unjustly? I want positive facts, not inventions. +It is some time since your agent displeased me; dismiss him directly." +Junot wanted to justify himself, but Bonaparte cut him short--"Enough!-- +It is settled!" + +I related what had passed to Fouche, who told me that, wishing to amuse +himself at Junot's expense, whose police agents only picked up what they +heard related in coffeehouses, gaming-houses, and the Bourse, he had +given currency to this absurd story, which Junot had credited and +reported, as he did many other foolish tales. Fouche often caught the +police of the Palace in the snares he laid for them, and thus increased +his own credit. + +This circumstance, and others of the same nature, induced the First +Consul to attach less importance than at first he had to his secret +police, which seldom reported anything but false and silly stories. +That wretched police! During the time I was with him it embittered his +life, and often exasperated him against his wife, his relations, and +friends. + + --[Bourrienne, it must be remembered, was a sufferer from the + vigilance of this police.]-- + +Rapp, who was as frank as he was brave, tells us in his Memoirs (p. 233) +that when Napoleon, during his retreat from Moscow, while before +Smolenski, heard of the attempt of Mallet, he could not get over the +adventure of the Police Minister, Savary, and the Prefect of Police, +Pasquier. "Napoleon," says Rapp, "was not surprised that these wretches +(he means the agents of the police) who crowd the salons and the taverns, +who insinuate themselves everywhere and obstruct everything, should not +have found out the plot, but he could not understand the weakness of the +Duc de Rovigo. The very police which professed to divine everything had +let themselves be taken by surprise." The police possessed no foresight +or faculty of prevention. Every silly thing that transpired was reported +either from malice or stupidity. What was heard was misunderstood or +distorted in the recital, so that the only result of the plan was +mischief and confusion. + +The police as a political engine is a dangerous thing. It foments and +encourages more false conspiracies than it discovers or defeats real +ones. Napoleon has related "that M. de la Rochefoucauld formed at Paris +a conspiracy in favour of the King, then at Mittau, the first act of +which was to be the death of the Chief of the Government. The plot being +discovered, a trusty person belonging to the police was ordered to join +it and become one of the most active agents. He brought letters of +recommendation from an old gentleman in Lorraine who had held a +distinguished rank in the army of Conde." After this, what more can be +wanted? A hundred examples could not better show the vileness of such a +system. Napoleon, when fallen, himself thus disclosed the scandalous +means employed by his Government. + +Napoleon on one occasion, in the Isle of Elba, said to an officer who was +conversing with him about France, "You believe, then, that the police +agents foresee everything and know everything? They invent more than +they discover. Mine, I believe, was better than that they have got now, +and yet it was often only by mere chance, the imprudence of the parties +implicated, or the treachery of some of them, that something was +discovered after a week or fortnight's exertion." Napoleon, in directing +this officer to transmit letters to him under the cover of a commercial +correspondence, to quiet his apprehensions that the correspondence might +be discovered, said, "Do you think, then, that all letters are opened at +the post office? They would never be able to do so. I have often +endeavoured to discover what the correspondence was that passed under +mercantile forms, but I never succeeded. The post office, like the +police, catches only fools." + +Since I am on the subject of political police, that leprosy of modern +society, perhaps I may be allowed to overstep the order of time, and +advert to its state even in the present day. + +The Minister of Police, to give his prince a favourable idea of his +activity, contrives great conspiracies, which he is pretty sure to +discover in time, because he is their originator. The inferior agents, +to find favour in the eyes of the Minister, contrive small plots. It +would be difficult to mention a conspiracy which has been discovered, +except when the police agents took part in it, or were its promoters. +It is difficult to conceive how those agents can feed a little intrigue, +the result at first, perhaps, of some petty ill-humour and discontent +which, thanks to their skill, soon becomes a great affair. How many +conspiracies have escaped the boasted activity and vigilance of the +police when none of its agents were parties. I may instance Babeuf's +conspiracy, the attempt at the camp at Grenelle, the 18th Brumaire, the +infernal machine, Mallet, the 20th of March, the affair of Grenoble, and +many others. + +The political police, the result of the troubles of the Revolution, has +survived them. The civil police for the security of property, health, +and order, is only made a secondary object, and has been, therefore, +neglected. There are times in which it is thought of more consequence +to discover whether a citizen goes to mass or confession than to defeat +the designs of a band of robbers. Such a state of things is unfortunate +for a country; and the money expended on a system of superintendence over +persons alleged to be suspected, in domestic inquisitions, in the +corruption of the friends, relations, and servants of the man marked out +for destruction might be much better employed. The espionage of opinion, +created, as I have said, by the revolutionary troubles, is suspicious, +restless, officious, inquisitorial, vexatious, and tyrannical. +Indifferent to crimes and real offences, it is totally absorbed in the +inquisition of thoughts. Who has not heard it said in company, to some +one speaking warmly, "Be moderate, M------ is supposed to belong to the +police." This police enthralled Bonaparte himself in its snares, and +held him a long time under the influence of its power. + +I have taken the liberty thus to speak of a scourge of society of which +I have been a victim. What I here state may be relied on. I shall not +speak of the week during which I had to discharge the functions of +Prefect of Police, namely, from the 13th to the 20th of March, 1815. +It may well be supposed that though I had not held in abhorrence the +infamous system which I have described, the important nature of the +circumstances and the short period of my administration must have +prevented me from making complete use of the means placed at my disposal. +The dictates of discretion, which I consider myself bound to obey, +forbid me giving proofs of what I advance. What it was necessary to do +I accomplished without employing violent or vexatious means; and I can +take on myself to assert that no one has cause to complain of me. Were I +to publish the list of the persons I had orders to arrest, those of them +who are yet living would be astonished that the only knowledge they had +of my being the Prefect of Police was from the Moniteur. I obtained by +mild measures, by persuasion, and reasoning what I could never have got +by violence. I am not divulging any secrets of office, but I believe I +am rendering a service to the public in pointing out what I have often +observed while an unwilling confidant in the shameful manoeuvres of that +political institution. + +The word ideologue was often in Bonaparte's mouth; and in using it he +endeavoured to throw ridicule on those men whom he fancied to have a +tendency towards the doctrine of indefinite perfectibility. He esteemed +them for their morality, yet he looked on them as dreamers seeking for +the type of a universal constitution, and considering the character of +man in the abstract only. The ideologues, according to him, looked for +power in institutions; and that he called metaphysics. He had no idea of +power except in direct force. All benevolent men who speculate on the +amelioration of human society were regarded by Bonaparte as dangerous, +because their maxims and principles were diametrically opposed to the +harsh and arbitrary system he had adopted. He said that their hearts +were better than their heads, and, far from wandering with them in +abstractions, he always said that men were only to be governed by fear +and interest. The free expression of opinion through the press has been +always regarded by those who are not led away by interest or power as +useful to society. But Bonaparte held the liberty of the press in the +greatest horror; and so violent was his passion when anything was urged +in its favour that he seemed to labour under a nervous attack. Great man +as he was, he was sorely afraid of little paragraphs. + + --[Joseph Bonaparte fairly enough remarks on this that such writings + had done great harm in those extraordinary times (Erreurs, tome i, + p. 259). Metternich, writing in 1827 with distrust of the + proceedings of Louis XVIII., quotes, with approval, Napoleon's + sentiments on this point. "Napoleon, who could not have been + wanting in the feeling of power, said to me, 'You see me master of + France; well, I would not undertake to govern her for three months + with liberty of the press. Louis XVIII., apparently thinking + himself stronger than Napoleon, is not content with allowing the + press its freedom, but has embodied its liberty in the charter" + (Metternich, tome iv, p. 391.)]-- + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +1800. + + Successful management of parties--Precautions--Removal from the + Luxembourg to the Tuileries--Hackney-coaches and the Consul's white + horses--Royal custom and an inscription--The review--Bonaparte's + homage to the standards--Talleyrand in Bonaparte's cabinet-- + Bonaparte's aversion to the cap of liberty even in painting--The + state bed--Our cabinet. + +Of the three brothers to whom the 18th Brumaire gave birth Bonaparte +speedily declared himself the eldest, and hastened to assume all the +rights of primogeniture. He soon arrogated to himself the whole power. +The project he had formed, when he favoured the revolution of the 18th +Fructidor, was now about to be realized. It was then an indispensable +part of his plan that the Directory should violate the constitution in +order to justify a subsequent subversion of the Directory. The +expressions which escaped him from time to time plainly showed that his +ambition was not yet satisfied, and that the Consulship was only a state +of probation preliminary to the complete establishment of monarchy. +The Luxembourg was then discovered to be too small for the Chief of the +Government, and it was resolved that Bonaparte should inhabit the +Tuileries. Still great prudence was necessary to avoid the quicksands +which surrounded him! He therefore employed great precaution in dealing +with the susceptibilities of the Republicans, taking care to inure them +gradually to the temperature of absolute power. But this mode of +treatment was not sufficient; for such was Bonaparte's situation between +the Jacobins and the Royalists that he could not strike a blow at one +party without strengthening the other. He, however, contrived to solve +this difficult problem, and weakened both parties by alternately +frightening each. "You see, Royalists," he seemed to say, "if you do not +attach yourselves to my government the Jacobins will again rise and bring +back the reign of terror and its scaffold." To the men of the Revolution +he, on the other hand, said, "See, the counter-Revolution appears, +threatening reprisals and vengeance. It is ready to overwhelm you; my +buckler can alone protect you from its attacks." Thus both parties were +induced, from their mutual fear of each other, to attach themselves to +Bonaparte; and while they fancied they were only placing themselves under +the protection of the Chief of the Government, they were making +themselves dependent on an ambitious man, who, gradually bending them to +his will, guided them as he chose in his political career. He advanced +with a firm step; but he never neglected any artifice to conceal, as long +as possible, his designs. + +I saw Bonaparte put in motion all his concealed springs; and I could not +help admiring his wonderful address. + +But what most astonished me was the control he possessed over himself, in +repressing any premature manifestation of his intentions which might +prejudice his projects. Thus, for instance, he never spoke of the +Tuileries but under the name of "the Palace of the Government," and he +determined not to inhabit, at first, the ancient palace of the kings of +France alone. He contented himself with selecting the royal apartments, +and proposed that the Third Consul should also reside in the Tuileries, +and in consequence he occupied the Pavilion of Flora. This skilful +arrangement was perfectly in accordance with the designation of "Palace +of the Government" given to the Tuileries, and was calculated to deceive, +for a time, the most clear-sighted. + +The moment for leaving the Luxembourg having arrived, Bonaparte still +used many deceptive precautions. The day filed for the translation of +the seat of government was the 30th Pluviose, the previous day having +been selected for publishing the account of the votes taken for the +acceptance of the new Constitution. He had, besides, caused the +insertion in the 'Moniteur' of the eulogy on Washington, pronounced, by +M. de Fontanes, the decadi preceding, to be delayed for ten days. He +thought that the day when he was about to take so large a step towards +monarchy would be well chosen for entertaining the people of Paris with +grand ideas of liberty, and for coupling his own name with that of the +founder of the free government of the United States. + +At seven o'clock on the morning of the 30th Pluviose I entered, as usual, +the chamber of the First Consul. He was in a profound sleep, and this +was one of the days on which I had been desired to allow him to sleep a +little longer than usual. I have often observed that General Bonaparte +appeared much less moved when on the point of executing any great design +than during the time of projecting it, so accustomed was he to think +that what he had resolved on in his mind, was already done. + +When I returned to Bonaparte he said to me, with a marked air of +satisfaction, "Well, Bourrienne, to-night, at last, we shall sleep in the +Tuileries. You are better off than I: you are not obliged to make a +spectacle of yourself, but may go your own road there. I must, however, +go in procession: that disgusts me; but it is necessary to speak to the +eyes. That has a good effect on the people. The Directory was too +simple, and therefore never enjoyed any consideration. In the army +simplicity is in its proper place; but in a great city, in a palace, +the Chief of the Government must attract attention in every possible way, +yet still with prudence. Josephine is going to look out from Lebrun's +apartments; go with her, if you like; but go to the cabinet as soon as +you see me alight from my horse." + +I did not go to the review, but proceeded to the Tuileries, to arrange in +our new cabinet the papers which it was my duty to take care of, and to +prepare everything for the First Consul's arrival. It was not until the +evening that I learned, from the conversation in the salon, where there +was a numerous party, what had taken place in the course of the day. + +At one o'clock precisely Bonaparte left the Luxembourg. The procession +was, doubtless, far from approaching the magnificent parade of the +Empire: but as much pomp was introduced as the state of things in France +permitted. The only real splendour of that period consisted in fine +troops. Three thousand picked men, among whom was the superb regiment of +the Guides, had been ordered out for the occasion: all marched in the +greatest order; with music at the head of each corps. The generals and +their staffs were on horseback, the Ministers in carriages, which were +somewhat remarkable, as they were almost the only private carriages then +in Paris, for hackney-coaches had been hired to convey the Council of +State, and no trouble had been taken to alter them, except by pasting +over the number a piece of paper of the same colour as the body of the +vehicle. The Consul's carriage was drawn by six white horses. With the +sight of those horses was associated the recollection of days of glory +and of peace, for they had been presented to the General-in-Chief of the +army of Italy by the Emperor of Germany after the treaty of Campo-Formio. +Bonaparte also wore the magnificent sabre given him by the Emperor +Francis. With Cambaceres on his left, and Lebrun in the front of the +carriage, the First Consul traversed a part of Paris, taking the Rue de +Thionville, and the Quai Voltaire to the Pont Royal. Everywhere he was +greeted by acclamations of joy, which at that time were voluntary, and +needed not to be commanded by the police. + +From the wicket of the Carrousel to the gate of the Tuileries the troops +of the Consular Guard were formed in two lines, through which the +procession passed--a royal custom, which made a singular contrast with an +inscription in front of which Bonaparte passed on entering the courtyard. +Two guard-houses had been built, one on the right and another on the left +of the centre gate. On the one to the right were written these words: + + "THE TENTH of AUGUST 1792.--ROYALTY IN FRANCE + IS ABOLISHED; AND SHALL NEVER BE RE-ESTABLISHED!" + +It was already re-established! + +In the meantime the troops had been drawn up in line in the courtyard. +As soon as the Consul's carriage stopped Bonaparte immediately alighted, +and mounted, or, to speak more properly, leaped on his horse, and +reviewed his troops, while the other two Consuls proceeded to the state +apartments of the Tuileries, where the Council of State and the Ministers +awaited them. A great many ladies, elegantly dressed in Greek costume, +which was then the fashion, were seated with Madame Bonaparte at the +windows of the Third Consul's apartments in the Pavilion of Flora. It is +impossible to give an idea of the immense crowds which flowed in from all +quarters. The windows looking to the Carrousel were let for very large +sums; and everywhere arose, as if from one voice, shouts of "Long live +the First Consul!" Who could help being intoxicated by so much +enthusiasm? + +Bonaparte prolonged the review for some time, passed down all the ranks, +and addressed the commanders of corps in terms of approbation and praise. +He then took his station at the gate of the Tuileries, with Murat on his +right, and Lannes on his left, and behind him a numerous staff of young +warriors, whose complexions had been browned by the sun of Egypt and +Italy, and who had been engaged in more battles than they numbered years. +When the colours of the 96th, 43d, and 34th demi-brigades, or rather +their flagstaffs surmounted by some shreds, riddled by balls and +blackened by powder, passed before him, he raised his hat and inclined +his head in token of respect. Every homage thus paid by a great captain +to standards which had been mutilated on the field of battle was saluted +by a thousand acclamations. When the troops had finished defiling before +him, the First Consul, with a firm step, ascended the stairs of the +Tuileries. + +The General's part being finished for the day, that of the Chief of the +State began; and indeed it might already be said that the First Consul +was the whole Consulate. At the risk of interrupting my narrative of +what occurred on our arrival at the Tuileries, by a digression, which may +be thought out of place, I will relate a fact which had no little weight +in hastening Bonaparte's determination to assume a superiority over his +colleagues. It may be remembered that when Roger Ducos and Sieyes bore +the title of Consuls the three members of the Consular commission were +equal, if not in fact at least in right. But when Cambaceres and Lebrun +took their places, Talleyrand, who had at the same time been appointed to +succeed M. Reinhart as Minister of Foreign Affairs, obtained a private +audience of the First Consul in his cabinet, to which I was admitted. +The observations of Talleyrand on this occasion were highly agreeable to +Bonaparte, and they made too deep an impression on my mind to allow me to +forget them. + +"Citizen Consul," said he to him, "you have confided to me the office of +Minister for Foreign Affairs, and I will justify your confidence; but I +must declare to you that from this moment, I will not transact business +with any but yourself. This determination does not proceed from any vain +pride on my part, but is induced by a desire to serve France. In order +that France may be well governed, in order that there may be a unity of +action in the government, you must be First Consul, and the First Consul +must have the control over all that relates directly to politics; that is +to say, over the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Police, +for Internal Affairs, and over my department, for Foreign Affairs; and, +lastly, over the two great means of execution, the military and naval +forces. It will therefore be most convenient that the Ministers of those +five departments should transact business with you. The Administration +of Justice and the ordering of the Finances are objects certainly +connected with State politics by numerous links, which, however, are not +of so intimate a nature as those of the other departments. If you will +allow me, General, I should advise that the control over the +Administration of Justice be given to the Second Consul, who is well +versed in jurisprudence; and to the Third Consul, who is equally well +acquainted with Finance, the control over that department. That will +occupy and amuse them, and you, General, having at your disposal all the +vital parts of the government, will be able to reach the end you aim at, +the regeneration of France." + +Bonaparte did not hear these remarkable words with indifference. They +were too much in accordance with his own secret wishes to be listened to +without pleasure; and he said to me as soon as Talleyrand had taken +leave, "Do you know, Bourrienne, I think Talleyrand gives good advice. +He is a man of great understanding."--"Such is the opinion," I replied, +"of all who know him."--"He is perfectly right." Afterwards he added, +smiling, "Tallyrand is evidently a shrewd man. He has penetrated my +designs. What he advises you know I am anxious to do. But again I say, +he is right; one gets on quicker by oneself. Lebrun is a worthy man, but +he has no policy in his head; he is a book-maker. Cambaceres carries +with him too many traditions of the Revolution. My government must be an +entirely new one." + +Talleyrand's advice had been so punctually followed that even on the +occasion of the installation of the Consular Government, while Bonaparte +was receiving all the great civil and military officers of the State in +the hall of presentation, Cambaceres and Lebrun stood by more like +spectators of the scene than two colleagues of the First Consul. The +Minister of the Interior presented the civil authorities of Paris; the +Minister of War, the staff of the 17th military division; the Minister of +Marine, several naval officers; and the staff of the Consular Guard was +presented by Murat. As our Consular republicans were not exactly +Spartans, the ceremony of the presentations was followed by grand dinner- +parties. The First Consul entertained at his table, the two other +Consuls, the Ministers, and the Presidents of the great bodies of the +State. Murat treated the heads of the army; and the members of the +Council of State, being again seated in their hackney-coaches with +covered numbers, drove off to dine with Lucien. + +Before taking possession of the Tuileries we had frequently gone there to +see that the repairs, or rather the whitewashing, which Bonaparte had +directed to be done, was executed. On our first visit, seeing a number +of red caps of liberty painted on the walls, he said to M. Lecomte, at +that time the architect in charge, "Get rid of all these things; I do not +like to see such rubbish." + +The First Consul gave directions himself for what little alterations he +wanted in his own apartments. A state bed--not that of Louis XVI.--was +placed in the chamber next his cabinet, on the south side, towards the +grand staircase of the Pavilion of Flora. I may as well mention here +that he very seldom occupied that bed, for Bonaparte was very simple in +his manner of living in private, and was not fond of state, except as a +means of imposing on mankind. At the Luxembourg, at Malmaison, and +during the first period that he occupied the Tuileries, Bonaparte, if I +may speak in the language of common life, always slept with his wife. +He went every evening down to Josephine by a small staircase leading from +a wardrobe attached to his cabinet, and which had formerly been the +chapel of Maria de Medici. I never went to Bonaparte's bedchamber but +by this staircase; and when he came to our cabinet it was always by the +wardrobe which I have mentioned. The door opened opposite the only +window of our room, and it commanded a view of the garden. + +As for our cabinet, where so many great, and also small events were +prepared, and where I passed so many hours of my life, I can, even now, +give the most minute description of it to those who like such details. + +There were two tables. The best, which was the First Consul's, stood in +the middle of the room, and his armchair was turned with its back to the +fireplace, having the window on the right. To the right of this again +was a little closet where Duroc sat, through which we could communicate +with the clerk of the office and the grand apartments of the Court. +When the First Consul was seated at his table in his chair (the arms of +which he so frequently mutilated with his penknife) he had a large +bookcase opposite to him. A little to the right, on one side of the +bookcase, was another door, opening into the cabinet which led directly +to the state bedchamber which I have mentioned. Thence we passed into +the grand Presentation Saloon, on the ceiling of which Lebrun had painted +a likeness of Louis XIV. A tri-coloured cockade placed on the forehead +of the great King still bore witness of the imbecile turpitude of the +Convention. Lastly came the hall of the Guards, in front of the grand +staircase of the Pavilion of Flora. + +My writing-table, which was extremely plain, stood near the window, and +in summer I had a view of the thick foliage of the chestnut-trees; but in +order to see the promenaders in the garden I was obliged to raise myself +from my seat. My back was turned to the General's side, so that it +required only a slight movement of the head to speak to each other. +Duroc was seldom in his little cabinet, and that was the place where I +gave some audiences. The Consular cabinet, which afterwards became the +Imperial, has left many impressions on my mind; and I hope the reader, in +going through these volumes, will not think that they have been of too +slight a description. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +1800. + + The Tuileries--Royalty in perspective--Remarkable observation-- + Presentations--Assumption of the prerogative of mercy--M. Defeu-- + M. de Frotte--Georges Cadoudal's audience of Bonaparte--Rapp's + precaution and Bonaparte's confidence--The dignity of France-- + Napper Tandy and Blackwell delivered up by the Senate of Hamburg-- + Contribution in the Egyptian style--Valueless bill--Fifteen thousand + francs in the drawer of a secretaire--Josephine's debts--Evening + walks with Bonaparte. + +The morning after that ardently wished-for day on which we took +possession of the Palace of the Kings of France I observed to Bonaparte +on entering his chamber, "Well, General, you have got here without much +difficulty, and with the applause of the people! Do you remember what +you said to me in the Rue St. Anne nearly two years ago?"--"Ay, true +enough, I recollect. You see what it is to have the mind set on a thing. +Only two years have gone by! Don't you think we have not worked badly +since that time? Upon the whole I am very well content. Yesterday +passed off well. Do you imagine that all those who came to flatter me +were sincere? No, certainly not: but the joy of the people was real. +They know what is right. Besides, consult the grand thermometer of +opinion, the price of the funds: on the 17th Brumaire at 11 francs, on +the 20th at 16 and to-day at 21. In such a state of things I may let the +Jacobins prate as they like. But let them not talk too loudly either!" + +As soon as he was dressed we went to look through the Gallery of Diana +and examine the statues which had been placed there by his orders. We +ended our morning's work by taking complete possession of our new +residence. I recollect Bonaparte saying to me, among other things, "To +be at the Tuileries, Bourrienne, is not all. We must stay here. Who, in +Heaven's name, has not already inhabited this palace? Ruffians, +conventionalists! But hold! there is your brother's house! Was it not +from those windows I saw the Tuileries besieged, and the good Louis XVI. +carried off? But be assured they will not come here again!" + +The Ambassadors and other foreign Ministers then in Paris were presented +to the First Consul at a solemn audience. On this occasion all the +ancient ceremonials belonging to the French Court were raked up, and in +place of chamberlains and a grand master of ceremonies a Counsellor of +State, M. Benezech, who was once Minister for Foreign Affairs, +officiated. + +When the Ambassadors had all arrived M. Benezech conducted them into the +cabinet, in which were the three Consuls, the Ministers, and the Council +of State. The Ambassadors presented their credentials to the First +Consul, who handed them to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. These +presentations were followed by others; for example, the Tribunal of +Cassation, over which the old advocate, Target, who refused to defend +Louis XVI., then presided. All this passed in view of the three Consuls; +but the circumstance which distinguished the First Consul from his +colleagues was, that the official personages, on leaving the audience- +chamber, were conducted to Madame Bonaparte's apartments, in imitation of +the old practice of waiting on the Queen after presentation to the King. + +Thus old customs of royalty crept by degrees into the former abodes of +royalty. Amongst the rights attached to the Crown, and which the +Constitution of the year VIII. did not give to the First Consul, was one +which he much desired to possess, and which, by the most happy of all +usurpations, he arrogated to himself. This was the right of granting +pardon. Bonaparte felt a real pleasure in saving men under the sentence +of the law; and whenever the imperious necessity of his policy, to which, +in truth, he sacrificed everything, permitted it, he rejoiced in the +exercise of mercy. It would seem as if he were thankful to the persons +to whom he rendered such service merely because he had given them +occasion to be thankful to him. Such was the First Consul: I do not +speak of the Emperor. Bonaparte, the First Consul, was accessible to the +solicitations of friendship in favour of persons placed under +proscription. The following circumstance, which interested me much, +affords an incontestable proof of what I state:-- + +Whilst we were still at the Luxembourg, M. Defeu, a French emigrant, was +taken in the Tyrol with arms in his hand by the troops of the Republic. +He was carried to Grenoble, and thrown into the military prison of that +town. In the course of January General Ferino, then commanding at +Grenoble, received orders to put the young emigrant on his trial. The +laws against emigrants taken in arms were terrible, and the judges dared +not be indulgent. To be tried in the morning, condemned in the course of +the day, and shot in the evening, was the usual course of those +implacable proceedings. One of my cousins, the daughter of M. +Poitrincourt, came from Sens to Paris to inform me of the dreadful +situation of M. Defeu. She told me that he was related to the most +respectable families of the town of Sens, and that everybody felt the +greatest interest in his fate. + +I had escaped for a few moments to keep the appointment I made with +Mademoiselle Poitrincourt. On my return I perceived the First Consul +surprised at finding himself alone in the cabinet, which I was not in the +habit of quitting without his knowledge. "Where have you been?" said he. +"I have been to see one of my relations, who solicits a favour of you."-- +"What is it?" I then informed him of the unfortunate situation of M. +Defeu. His first answer was dreadful. "No pity! no pity for emigrants! +Whoever fights against his country is a child who tries to kill his +mother!" This first burst of anger being over, I returned to the charge. +I urged the youth of M. Defeu, and the good effect which clemency would +produce. "Well," said he, "write-- + + "The First Consul orders the judgment on M. Defeu to be suspended." + +He signed this laconic order, which I instantly despatched to General +Ferino. I acquainted my cousin with what had passed, and remained at +ease as to the result of the affair. + +Scarcely had I entered the chamber of the First Consul the next morning +when he said to me, "Well, Bourrienne, you say nothing about your M. +Defeu. Are you satisfied?"--"General, I cannot find terms to express my +gratitude."--"Ah, bah! But I do not like to do things by halves. Write +to Ferino that I wish M. Defeu to be instantly set at liberty. Perhaps I +am serving one who will prove ungrateful. Well, so much the worse for +him. As to these matters, Bourrienne, always ask them from me. When I +refuse, it is because I cannot help it." + +I despatched at my own expense an extraordinary courier, who arrived in +time to save M. Defeu's life. His mother, whose only son he was, and M. +Blanchet, his uncle, came purposely from Sens to Paris to express their +gratitude to me. I saw tears of joy fall from the eyes of a mother who +had appeared to be destined to shed bitter drops, and I said to her as I +felt, "that I was amply recompensed by the success which had attended my +efforts." + +Emboldened by this success, and by the benevolent language of the First +Consul, I ventured to request the pardon of M. de Frotte, who was +strongly recommended to me by most honourable persons. Comte Louis de +Frotte had at first opposed all negotiation for the pacification of La +Vendee. At length, by a series of unfortunate combats, he was, towards +the end of January, reduced to the necessity of making himself the +advances which he had rejected when made by others. At this period he +addressed a letter to General Guidal, in which he offered pacificatory +proposals. A protection to enable him to repair to Alencon was +transmitted to him. Unfortunately for M. de Frotte, he did not confine +himself to writing to General Guidal, for whilst the safe-conduct which +he had asked was on the way to him, he wrote to his lieutenants, advising +them not to submit or consent to be disarmed. This letter was +intercepted. It gave all the appearance of a fraudulent stratagem to his +proposal to treat for peace. Besides, this opinion appeared to be +confirmed by a manifesto of M. de Frotte, anterior, it is true, to the +offers of pacification, but in which he announced to all his partisans +the approaching end of Bonaparte's "criminal enterprise." + +I had more trouble than in M. Defeu's case to induce the First Consul to +exercise his clemency. However, I pressed him so much, I laboured so +hard to convince him of the happy effect of such indulgence, that at +length I obtained an order to suspend the judgment. What a lesson I then +experienced of the evil which may result from the loss of time! Not +supposing that matters were so far advanced as they were, I did not +immediately send off the courier with the order for the suspension of the +judgment. Besides, the Minister-of-Police had marked his victim, and he +never lost time when evil was to be done. Having, therefore, I know not +for what motive, resolved on the destruction of M. de Frotte, he sent an +order to hasten his trial. + +Comte Louis de Frotte was brought to trial on the 28th Pluviose, +condemned the same day, and executed the next morning, the day before we +entered the Tuileries. The cruel precipitation of the Minister rendered +the result of my solicitations abortive. I had reason to think that +after the day on which the First Consul granted me the order for delay he +had received some new accusation against M. de Frotte, for when he heard +of his death he appeared to me very indifferent about the tardy arrival +of the order for suspending judgment. He merely said to me, with unusual +insensibility, "You should take your measures better. You see it is not +my fault." + +Though Bonaparte put no faith in the virtue of men, he had confidence in +their honour. I had proof of this in a matter which deserves to be +recorded in history. When, during the first period of our abode at the +Tuileries, he had summoned the principal chiefs of La Vendee to +endeavour to bring about the pacification of that unhappy country, he +received Georges Cadoudal in a private audience. The disposition in +which I beheld him the evening before the day appointed for this audience +inspired me with the most flattering hopes. Rapp introduced Georges into +the grand salon looking into the garden. Rapp left him alone with the +First Consul, but on returning to the cabinet where I was he did not +close either of the two doors of the state bedchamber which separated the +cabinet from the salon. We saw the First Consul and Georges walk from +the window to the bottom of the salon--then return--then go back again. +This lasted for a long time. The conversation appeared very animated, +and we heard several things, but without any connection. There was +occasionally a good deal of ill-humour displayed in their tone and +gestures. The interview ended in nothing. The First Consul, perceiving +that Georges entertained some apprehensions for his personal safety, gave +him assurances of security in the most noble manner, saying, "You take a +wrong view of things, and are wrong in not coming to some understanding; +but if you persist in wishing to return to your country you shall depart +as freely as you came to Paris." When Bonaparte returned to his cabinet +he said to Rapp, "Tell me, Rapp, why you left these doors open, and +stopped with Bourrienne?" Rapp replied, "If you had closed the doors I +would have opened them again. Do you think I would have left you alone +with a man like that? There would have been danger in it."--"No, Rapp," +said Bonaparte, "you cannot think so." When we were alone the First +Consul appeared pleased with Rapp's attachment, but very vexed at +Georges' refusal. He said, "He does not take a correct view of things; +but the extravagance of his principles has its source in noble +sentiments, which must give him great influence over his countrymen. +It is necessary, however, to bring this business soon to an end." + +Of all the actions of Louis XIV. that which Bonaparte most admired was +his having made the Doge of Genoa send ambassadors to Paris to apologise +to him. The slightest insult offered in a foreign country to the rights +and dignity of France put Napoleon beside himself. This anxiety to have +the French Government respected exhibited itself in an affair which made +much noise at the period, but which was amicably arranged by the soothing +influence of gold. + +Two Irishmen, Napper Tandy and Blackwell, who had been educated in +France, and whose names and rank as officers appeared in the French army +list, had retired to Hamburg. The British Government claimed them as +traitors to their country, and they were given up; but, as the French +Government held them to be subjects of France, the transaction gave rise +to bitter complaints against the Senate of Hamburg. + +Blackwell had been one of the leaders of the united Irishmen. He had +procured his naturalisation in France, and had attained the rank of chef +d'escadron. Being sent on a secret mission to Norway, the ship in which +he was embarked was wrecked on the coast of that kingdom. He then +repaired to Hamburg, where the Senate placed him under arrest on the +demand of Mr. Crawford, the English Minister. After being detained in +prison a whole year he was conveyed to England to be tried. The French +Government interfered, and preserved, if not his liberty, at least his +life. + +Napper Tandy was also an Irishman. To escape the search made after him, +on account of the sentiments of independence which had induced him to +engage in the contest for the liberty of his country, he got on board a +French brig, intending to land at Hamburg and pass into Sweden. Being +exempted from the amnesty by the Irish Parliament, he was claimed by the +British Government, and the Senators of Hamburg forgot honour and +humanity in their alarm at the danger which at that moment menaced their +little republic both from England and France. The Senate delivered up +Napper Tandy; he was carried to Ireland, and condemned to death, but owed +the suspension of his execution to the interference of France. He +remained two years in prison, when M. Otto, who negotiated with Lord +Hawkesbury the preliminaries of peace, obtained the release of Napper +Tandy, who was sent back to France. + +The First Consul spoke at first of signal vengeance; but the Senate of +Hamburg sent him a memorial, justificatory of its conduct, and backed the +apology with a sum of four millions and a half, which mollified him +considerably. This was in some sort a recollection of Egypt--one of +those little contributions with which the General had familiarised the +pashas; with this difference, that on the present occasion not a single +sous went into the national treasury. The sum was paid to the First +Consul through the hands of M. Chapeau Rouge. + + --[A solemn deputation from the Senate arrived at the Tuileries to + make public apologies to Napoleon. He again testified his + indignation: and when the envoys urged their weakness he said to + them. "Well and had you not the resource of weak states? was it not + in your power to let them escape?" (Napoleon's Memoirs).]-- + +I kept the four millions and a half in Dutch bonds in a secretaire for a +week. Bonaparte then determined to distribute them; after paying +Josephine's debts, and the whole of the great expenses incurred at +Malmaison, he dictated to me a list of persons to whom he wished to make +presents. My name did not escape his lips, and consequently I had not +the trouble to transcribe it; but some time after he said to me, with the +most engaging kindness, "Bourrienne, I have given you none of the money +which came from Hamburg, but I will make you amends for it." He took +from his drawer a large and broad sheet of printed paper, with blanks +filled up in his own handwriting, and said to me, "Here is a bill for +300,000 Italian livres on the Cisalpine Republic, for the price of cannon +furnished. It is endorsed Halter and Collot--I give it you." To make +this understood, I ought to state that cannon had been sold to the +Cisalpine Republic, for the value of which the Administrator-general of +the Italian finances drew on the Republic, and the bills were paid over +to M. Collot, a provision contractor, and other persons. M. Collot had +given one of these bills for 300,000 livres to Bonaparte in quittance of +a debt, but the latter had allowed the bill to run out without troubling +himself about it. The Cisalpine Republic kept the cannons and the money, +and the First Consul kept his bill. When I had examined it I said, +"General, it has been due for a long time; why have you not got it paid? +The endorsers are no longer liable."--"France is bound to discharge debts +of this kind;" said he; "send the paper to de Fermont: he will discount +it for three per cent. You will not have in ready money more than about +9000 francs of rentes, because the Italian livre is not equal to the +franc." I thanked him, and sent the bill to M. de Fermont. He replied +that the claim was bad, and that the bill would not be liquidated because +it did not come within the classifications made by the laws passed in the +months the names of which terminated in 'aire, ose, al, and or'. + +I showed M. de Fermont's answer to the First Consul, who said, "Ah, bah! +He understands nothing about it--he is wrong: write." He then dictated a +letter, which promised very favourably for the discounting of the bill; +but the answer was a fresh refusal. I said, "General, M. de Fermont does +not attend to you any more than to myself." Bonaparte took the letter, +read it, and said, in the tone of a man who knew beforehand what he was +about to be informed of, "Well, what the devil would you have me do, +since the laws are opposed to it? Persevere; follow the usual modes of +liquidation, and something will come of it!" What finally happened was, +that by a regular decree this bill was cancelled, torn, and deposited in +the archives. These 300,000 livres formed part of the money which +Bonaparte brought from Italy. If the bill was useless to me it was also +useless to him. This scrap of paper merely proves that he brought more +than 25,000 francs from Italy. + +I never had, from the General-in-Chief of the army of Italy, nor from the +General in-Chief of the army of Egypt, nor from the First Consul, for +ten years, nor from the Consul for life, any fixed salary: I took from +his drawer what was necessary for my expenses as well as his own. He +never asked me for any account. After the transaction of the bill on the +insolvent Cisalpine Republic he said to me, at the beginning of the +winter of 1800, "Bourrienne, the weather is becoming very bad; I will go +but seldom to Malmaison. Whilst I am at council get my papers and little +articles from Malmaison; here is the key of my secretaire, take out +everything that is there." I got into the carriage at two o'clock and +returned at six. When he had dined I placed upon the table of his +cabinet the various articles which I had found in his secretaire +including 15,000 francs (somewhere about L 600 of English money) in +banknotes which were in the corner of a little drawer. When he looked at +them he said, "Here is money--what is the meaning of this?" I replied, +"I know nothing about it, except that it was in your secretaire."-- +"Oh yes; I had forgotten it. It was for my trifling expenses. Here, +take it." I remembered well that one summer morning he had given me his +key to bring him two notes of 1000 francs for some incidental expense, +but I had no idea that he had not drawn further on his little treasure. + +I have stated the appropriation of the four millions and a half, the +result of the extortion inflicted on the Senate of Hamburg, in the affair +of Napper Tandy and Blackwell. + +The whole, however, was not disposed of in presents. A considerable +portion was reserved for paying Josephine's debts, and this business +appears to me to deserve some remarks. + +The estate of Malmaison had cost 160,000 francs. Josephine had purchased +it of M. Lecouteulx while we were in Egypt. Many embellishments, and +some new buildings, had been made there; and a park had been added, which +had now become beautiful. All this could not be done for nothing, and +besides, it was very necessary that what was due for the original +purchase should be entirely discharged; and this considerable item was +not the only debt of Josephine. The creditors murmured, which had a bad +effect in Paris; and I confess I was so well convinced that the First +Consul would be extremely displeased that I constantly delayed the moment +of speaking to him on the subject. It was therefore with extreme +satisfaction I learned that M. de Talleyrand had anticipated me. No +person was more capable than himself of gilding the pill, as one may say, +to Bonaparte. Endowed with as much independence of character as of mind, +he did him the service, at the risk of offending him, to tell him that a +great number of creditors expressed their discontent in bitter complaints +respecting the debts contracted by Madame Bonaparte during his expedition +to the East. Bonaparte felt that his situation required him promptly to +remove the cause of such complaints. It was one night about half-past +eleven o'clock that M. Talleyrand introduced this delicate subject. As +soon he was gone I entered the little cabinet; Bonaparte said to me, +"Bourrienne, Talleyrand has been speaking to me about the debts of my +wife. I have the money from Hamburg--ask her the exact amount of her +debts: let her confess all. I wish to finish, and not begin again. But +do not pay without showing me the bills of those rascals: they are a gang +of robbers." + +Hitherto the apprehension of an unpleasant scene, the very idea of which +made Josephine tremble, had always prevented me from broaching this +subject to the First Consul; but, well pleased that Talleyrand had first +touched upon it, I resolved to do all in my power to put an end to the +disagreeable affair. + +The next morning I saw Josephine. She was at first delighted with her +husband's intentions; but this feeling did not last long. When I asked +her for an exact account of what she owed she entreated me not to press +it, but content myself with what she should confess. I said to her, +"Madame, I cannot deceive you respecting the disposition of the First +Consul. He believes that you owe a considerable sum, and is willing to +discharge it. You will, I doubt not, have to endure some bitter +reproaches, and a violent scene; but the scene will be just the same for +the whole as for a part. If you conceal a large proportion of your debts +at the end of some time murmurs will recommence, they will reach the ears +of the First Consul, and his anger will display itself still more +strikingly. Trust to me--state all; the result will be the same; you +will hear but once the disagreeable things he will say to you; by +reservations you will renew them incessantly." Josephine said, "I can +never tell all; it is impossible. Do me the service to keep secret what +I say to you. I owe, I believe, about 1,200,000 francs, but I wish to +confess only 600,000; I will contract no more debts, and will pay the +rest little by little out of my savings."--"Here, Madame, my first +observations recur. As I do not believe he estimates your debts at so +high a sum as 600,000 francs, I can warrant that you will not experience +more displeasure for acknowledging to 1,200,000 than to 600,000; and by +going so far you will get rid of them for ever."--"I can never do it, +Bourrienne; I know him; I can never support his violence." After a +quarter of an hour's further discussion on the subject I was obliged to +yield to her earnest solicitation, and promise to mention only the +600,000 francs to the First Consul. + +The anger and ill-humour of Bonaparte may be imagined. He strongly +suspected that his wife was dissembling in some respect; but he said, +"Well, take 600,000 francs, but liquidate the debts for that sum, and let +me hear nothing more on the subject. I authorise you to threaten these +tradesmen with paying nothing if they do not reduce their enormous +charges. They ought to be taught not to be so ready in giving credit." +Madame Bonaparte gave me all her bills. The extent to which the articles +had been overcharged, owing to the fear of not being paid for a long +period, and of deductions being made from the amount, was inconceivable. +It appeared to me, also, that there must be some exaggeration in the +number of articles supplied. I observed in the milliner's bill thirty- +eight new hats, of great price, in one month. There was likewise a +charge of 1800 francs for heron plumes, and 800 francs for perfumes. +I asked Josephine whether she wore out two hats in one day? She objected +to this charge for the hats, which she merely called a mistake. The +impositions which the saddler attempted, both in the extravagance of his +prices and in charging for articles which he had not furnished, were +astonishing. I need say nothing of the other tradesmen, it was the same +system of plunder throughout. + +I availed myself fully of the First Consul's permission, and spared +neither reproaches nor menaces. I am ashamed to say that the greater +part of the tradesmen were contented with the half of what they demanded. +One of them received 35,000 francs for a bill of 80,000; and he had the +impudence to tell me that he made a good profit nevertheless. Finally, I +was fortunate enough, after the most vehement disputes, to settle +everything for 600,000 francs. Madame Bonaparte, however, soon fell +again into the same excesses, but fortunately money became more +plentiful. This inconceivable mania of spending money was almost the +sole cause of her unhappiness. Her thoughtless profusion occasioned +permanent disorder in her household until the period of Bonaparte's +second marriage, when, I am informed, she became regular in her +expenditure. I could not say so of her when she was Empress in 1804. + + --[Notwithstanding her husband's wish, she could never bring her + establishment into any order or rule. He wished that no tradesmen + should ever reach her, but he was forced to yield on this point. + The small inner rooms were filled with them, as with artists of all + sorts. She had a mania for having herself painted, and gave her + portraits to whoever wished for one, relations, 'femmes de chambre', + even to tradesmen. They never ceased bringing her diamonds, jewels, + shawls, materials for dresses, and trinkets of all kinds; she bought + everything without ever asking the price; and generally forgot what + she had purchased. . . All the morning she had on a shawl which + she draped on her shoulders with a grace I have seen in no one else. + Bonaparte, who thought her shawls covered her too much, tore them + off, and sometimes threw them into the fire; then she sent for + another (Remusat, tome ii. pp. 343-345). After the divorce her + income, large as it was, was insufficient, but the Emperor was more + compassionate then, and when sending the Comte Mollien to settle her + affairs gave him strict orders "not to make her weep" (Meneval, + tome iii. p.237]-- + +The amiable Josephine had not less ambition in little things than her +husband had in great. She felt pleasure in acquiring and not in +possessing. Who would suppose it? She grew tired of the beauty of the +park of Malmaison, and was always asking me to take her out on the high +road, either in the direction of Nanterre, or on that of Marly, in the +midst of the dust occasioned by the passing of carriages. The noise of +the high road appeared to her preferable to the calm silence of the +beautiful avenues of the park, and in this respect Hortense had the same +taste as her mother. This whimsical fancy astonished Bonaparte, and he +was sometimes vexed at it. My intercourse with Josephine was delightful; +for I never saw a woman who so constantly entered society with such an +equable disposition, or with so much of the spirit of kindness, which is +the first principle of amiability. She was so obligingly attentive as to +cause a pretty suite of apartments to be prepared at Malmaison for me and +my family. + +She pressed me earnestly, and with all her known grace, to accept it; but +almost as much a captive at Paris as a prisoner of state, I wished to +have to myself in the country the moments of liberty I was permitted to +enjoy. Yet what was this liberty? I had bought a little house at Ruel, +which I kept during two years and a half. When I saw my friends there, +it had to be at midnight, or at five o'clock in the morning; and the +First Consul would often send for me in the night when couriers arrived. +It was for this sort of liberty I refused Josephine's kind offer. +Bonaparte came once to see me in my retreat at Ruel, but Josephine and +Hortense came often. It was a favourite walk with these ladies. + +At Paris I was less frequently absent from Bonaparte than at Malmaison. +We sometimes in the evening walked together in the garden of the +Tuileries after the gates were closed. In these evening walks he always +wore a gray greatcoat, and a round hat. I was directed to answer, +"The First Consul," to the sentinel's challenge of, "Who goes there?" +These promenades, which were of much benefit to Bonaparte, and me also, +as a relaxation from our labours, resembled those which we had at +Malmaison. As to our promenades in the city, they were often very +amusing. + +At the period of our first inhabiting the Tuileries, when I saw Bonaparte +enter the cabinet at eight o'clock in the evening in his gray coat, I +knew he would say, "Bourrienne, come and take a turn." Sometimes, then, +instead of going out by the garden arcade, we would take the little gate +which leads from the court to the apartments of the Duc d'Angouleme. He +would take my arm, and we would go to buy articles of trifling value in +the shops of the Rue St. Honore; but we did not extend our excursions +farther than Rue de l'Arbre Sec. Whilst I made the shopkeeper exhibit +before us the articles which I appeared anxious to buy he played his part +in asking questions. + +Nothing was more amusing than to see him endeavouring to imitate the +careless and jocular tone of the young men of fashion. How awkward was +he in the attempt to put on dandy airs when pulling up the corners of his +cravat he would say, "Well, Madame, is there anything new to-day? +Citizen, what say they of Bonaparte? Your shop appears to be well +supplied. You surely have a great deal of custom. What do people say of +that buffoon, Bonaparte?" He was made quite happy one day when we were +obliged to retire hastily from a shop to avoid the attacks drawn upon us +by the irreverent tone in which Bonaparte spoke of the First Consul. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +1800. + + War and monuments--Influence of the recollections of Egypt-- + First improvements in Paris--Malmaison too little--St. Cloud taken + --The Pont des Arts--Business prescribed for me by Bonaparte-- + Pecuniary remuneration--The First Consul's visit to the Pritanee-- + His examination of the pupils--Consular pensions--Tragical death of + Miackzinski--Introduction of vaccination--Recall of the members of + the Constituent Assembly--The "canary" volunteers--Tronchet and + Target--Liberation of the Austrian prisoners--Longchamps and sacred + music. + +The destruction of men and the construction of monuments were two things +perfectly in unison in the mind of Bonaparte. It may be said that his +passion for monuments almost equalled his passion for war; + + --[Take pleasure, if you can, in reading your returns. The good + condition of my armies is owing to my devoting to them one or two + hours in every day. When the monthly returns of my armies and of my + fleets, which form twenty thick volumes, are sent to me, I give up + every other occupation in order to read them in detail and to + observe the difference between one monthly return and another. + No young girl enjoys her novel so much as I do these returns! + (Napoleon to Joseph, 20th August 1806--Du Casse, tome iii. + p. 145).]-- + +but as in all things he disliked what was little and mean, so he liked +vast constructions and great battles. The sight of the colossal ruins of +the monuments of Egypt had not a little contributed to augment his +natural taste for great structures. It was not so much the monuments +themselves that he admired, but the historical recollections they +perpetuate, the great names they consecrate, the important events they +attest. What should he have cared for the column which we beheld on our +arrival in Alexandria had it not been Pompey's pillar? It is for artists +to admire or censure its proportions and ornaments, for men of learning +to explain its inscriptions; but the name of Pompey renders it an object +of interest to all. + +When endeavouring to sketch the character of Bonaparte, I ought to have +noticed his taste for monuments, for without this characteristic trait +something essential is wanting to the completion of the portrait. This +taste, or, as it may more properly be called, this passion for monuments, +exercised no small influence on his thoughts and projects of glory; yet +it did not deter him from directing attention to public improvements of +a less ostentatious kind. He wished for great monuments to perpetuate +the recollection of his glory; but at the same time he knew how to +appreciate all that was truly useful. He could very rarely be reproached +for rejecting any plan without examination; and this examination was a +speedy affair, for his natural tact enabled him immediately to see things +in their proper light. + +Though most of the monuments and embellishments of Paris are executed +from the plans of men of talent, yet some owe their origin to +circumstances merely accidental. Of this I can mention an example. + +I was standing at the window of Bonaparte's' cabinet, which looked into +the garden of the Tuileries. He had gone out, and I took advantage of +his absence to arise from my chair, for I was tired of sitting. He had +scarcely been gone a minute when he unexpectedly returned to ask me for a +paper. "What are you doing there, Bourrienne? I'll wager anything you +are admiring the ladies walking on the terrace."--"Why, I must confess I +do sometimes amuse myself in that way," replied I; "but I assure you, +General, I was now thinking of something else. I was looking at that +villainous left bank of the Seine, which always annoys me with the gaps +in its dirty quay, and the floodings which almost every winter prevent +communication with the Faubourg St. Germain; and I was thinking I would +speak to you on the subject." He approached the window, and, looking +out, said, "You are right, it is very ugly; and very offensive to see +dirty linen washed before our windows. Here, write immediately: 'The +quay of the Ecole de Natation is to be finished during next campaign.' +Send that order to the Minister of the Interior." The quay was finished +the year following. + +An instance of the enormous difference which frequently appears between +the original estimates of architects and their subsequent accounts I may +mention what occurred in relation to the Palace of St. Cloud. But I must +first say a word about the manner in which Bonaparte originally refused +and afterwards took possession of the Queen's pleasure-house. Malmaison +was a suitable country residence for Bonaparte as long as he remained +content with his town apartments in the little Luxembourg; but that +Consular 'bagatelle' was too confined in comparison with the spacious +apartments in the Tuileries. The inhabitants of St. Cloud, well-advised, +addressed a petition to the Legislative Body, praying that their deserted +chateau might be made the summer residence of the First Consul. The +petition was referred to the Government; but Bonaparte, who was not yet +Consul for life, proudly declared that so long as he was at the head of +affairs, and, indeed, for a year afterwards, he would accept no national +recompense. Sometime after we went to visit the palace of the 18th +Brumaire. Bonaparte liked it exceedingly, but all was in a state of +complete dilapidation. It bore evident marks of the Revolution. The +First Consul did not wish, as yet, to burden the budget of the State with +his personal expenses, and he was alarmed at the enormous sum required to +render St. Cloud habitable. Flattery had not yet arrived at the degree +of proficiency which it subsequently attained; but even then his +flatterers boldly assured him he might take possession of St. Cloud for +25,000 francs. I told the First Consul that considering the ruinous +state of the place, I could to say that the expense would amount to more +than 1,200,000 francs. Bonaparte determined to have a regular estimate +of the expense, and it amounted to nearly 3,000,000. He thought it a +great sum; but as he had resolved to make St. Cloud his residence he gave +orders for commencing the repairs, the expense of which, independently of +the furniture, amounted to 6,000,000. So much for the 3,000,000 of the +architect and the 25,000 francs of the flatterers. + +When the First Consul contemplated the building of the Pont des Arts we +had a long conversation on the subject. I observed that it would be much +better to build the bridge of stone. "The first object of monuments of +this kind," said I, "is public utility. They require solidity of +appearance, and their principal merit is duration. I cannot conceive, +General, why, in a country where there is abundance of fine stone of +every quality, the use of iron should be preferred."--"Write," said +Bonaparte, "to Fontaine and Percier, the architects, and ask what they +think of it." I wrote and they stated in their answer that "bridges were +intended for public utility and the embellishment of cities. The +projected bridge between the Louvre and the Quatre-Nations would +unquestionably fulfil the first of these objects, as was proved by the +great number of persons who daily crossed the Seine at that point in +boats; that the site fixed upon between the Pont Neuf and the Tuileries +appeared to be the best that could be chosen for the purpose; and that on +the score of ornament Paris would gain little by the construction of an +iron bridge, which would be very narrow, and which, from its light form, +would not correspond with the grandeur of the two bridges between which +it would be placed." + +When we had received the answer of MM. Percier and Fontaine, we again had +a conversation on the subject of the bridge. I told the First Consul that +I perfectly concurred in the opinion of MM. Fontaine and Percier; however, +he would have his own way, and thus was authorised the construction +of the toy which formed a communication between the Louvre and the +Institute. But no sooner was the Pont des Arts finished than Bonaparte +pronounced it to be mean and out of keeping with the other bridges above +and below it. One day when visiting the Louvre he stopped at one of the +windows looking towards the Pont des Arts and said, "There is no +solidity, no grandeur about that bridge. In England, where stone is +scarce, it is very natural that iron should be used for arches of large +dimensions. But the case is different in France, where the requisite +material is abundant." + +The infernal machine of the 3d Nivose, of which I shall presently speak +more at length, was the signal for vast changes in the quarter of the +Tuileries. That horrible attempt was at least so far attended by happy +results that it contributed to the embellishment of Paris. It was +thought more advisable for the Government to buy and pull down the houses +which had been injured by the machine than to let them be put under +repair. As an example of Bonaparte's grand schemes in building I may +mention that, being one day at the Louvre, he pointed towards St. Germain +l'Auxerrois and said to me, "That is where I will build an imperial +street. It shall run from here to the Barriere du Trone. It shall be a +hundred feet broad, and have arcades and plantations. This street shall +be the finest in the world." + +The palace of the King of Rome, which was to face the Pont de Jena and +the Champ de Mars, would have been in some measure isolated from Paris, +with which, however, it was to be connected by a line of palaces. These +were to extend along the quay, and were destined as splendid residences +for the Ambassadors of foreign sovereigns, at least as long as there +should be any sovereigns in Europe except Napoleon. The Temple of Glory, +too, which was to occupy the site of the Church of la Madeleine, was +never finished. If the plan of this monument proved the necessity. +which Bonaparte felt of constantly holding out stimulants to his +soldiers, its relinquishment was at least a proof of his wisdom. He who +had reestablished religious worship in France, and had restored to its +destination the church of the Invalides, which was for a time +metamorphosed into the Temple of Mars, foresaw that a Temple of Glory +would give birth to a sort of paganism incompatible with the ideas of the +age. + +The recollection of the magnificent Necropolis of Cairo frequently +recurred to Bonaparte's mind. He had admired that city of the dead, +which he had partly contributed to people; and his design was to make, +at the four cardinal points of Paris, four vast cemeteries on the plan +of that at Cairo. + +Bonaparte determined that all the new streets of Paris should be 40 feet +wide, and be provided with foot-pavements; in short, he thought nothing +too grand for the embellishment of the capital of a country which he +wished to make the first in the world. Next to war, he regarded the +embellishment of Paris as the source of his glory; and he never +considered a victory fully achieved until he had raised a monument to +transmit its memory to posterity. He, wanted glory, uninterrupted +glory, for France as well as for himself. How often, when talking over +his schemes, has he not said, "Bourrienne, it is for France I am doing +all this! All I wish, all I desire, the end of all my labours is, that +my name should be indissolubly connected with that of France!" + +Paris is not the only city, nor is France the only kingdom, which bears +traces of Napoleon's passion for great and useful monuments. In Belgium, +in Holland, in Piedmont, in all Italy, he executed great improvements. +At Turin a splendid bridge was built over the Po, in lieu of an old +bridge which was falling in ruins. + +How many things were undertaken and executed in Napoleon's short and +eventful reign! To obviate the difficulty of communication between Metz +and Mayence a magnificent road was made, as if by magic, across +impracticable marshes and vast forests. Mountains were cut through and +ravines filled up. He would not allow nature more than man to resist +him. One day when he was proceeding to Belgium by the way of Givet, he +was detained for a short time at Little Givet, on the right bank of the +Meuse, in consequence of an accident which happened to the ferry-boat. +He was within a gunshot of the fortress of Charlemont, on the left bank, +and in the vexation which the delay occasioned he dictated the following +decree: "A bridge shall be built over the Meuse to join Little Givet to +Great Givet. It shall be terminated during the ensuing campaign." It +was completed within the prescribed time. In the great work of bridges +and highways Bonaparte's chief object was to remove the obstacles and +barriers which nature had raised up as the limits of old France so as to +form a junction with the provinces which he successively annexed to the +Empire. Thus in Savoy a road, smooth as a garden-walk, superseded the +dangerous ascents and descents of the wood of Bramant; thus was the +passage of Mont Cenis a pleasant promenade at almost every season of the +year; thus did the Simplon bow his head, and Bonaparte might have said, +"There are now my Alps," with more reason than Louis XIV. said, "There +are now no Pyrenees." + + --[Metternich (tome iv. p. 187) says on this subject, 'If you look + closely at the course of human affairs you will make strange + discoveries. For instance, that the Simplon Pass has contributed as + surely to Napoleon's immortality as the numerous works done in the + reign of the Emperor Francis will fail to add to his.]-- + +Such was the implicit confidence which Bonaparte reposed in me that I was +often alarmed at the responsibility it obliged me to incur. + + --[Of this confidence the following instructions for me, which he + dictated to Duroc, afford sufficient proof:-- + + "1st. Citizen Bourrienne shall open all the letters addressed to + the First Consul, Vol, and present them to him three times a day, or + oftener in case of urgent business. The letters shall be deposited + in the cabinet when they are opened. Bourrienne is to analyse all + those which are of secondary interest, and write the First Consul's + decision on each letter. The hours for presenting the letters shall + be, first, when the Consul rises; second, a quarter of an hour + before dinner; and third, at eleven at night. + + "2d. He is to have the superintendence of the Topographical office, + and of an office of Translation, in which there shall be a German + and an English clerk. Every day he shall present to the First + Consul, at the hours above mentioned the German and English + journals, together with a translation. With respect to the Italian + journals, it will only be necessary to mark what the First Consul is + to read. + + "3d. He shall keep a register of appointments to offices under + Government; a second, for appointments to judicial posts; a third + for appointments to places abroad; and a fourth, for the situations + of receivers and great financial posts, where he is to inscribe the + names of all the individuals whom the First Consul may refer to him. + These registers must be written by his own hand, and must be kept + entirely private. + + "4th. Secret correspondence, and the different reports of + surveillance, are to be addressed directly to Bourrienne, and + transmitted by him to the hand of the First Consul, by whom they + will be returned without the intervention of any third party. + + "6th. There shall be a register for all that relates to secret + extraordinary expenditure. Bourrienne shall write the whole with + his own hand, in order that the business may be kept from the + knowledge of any one. + + "7th. He shall despatch all the business which may be referred to + him, either from Citizen Duroc, or from the cabinet of the First + Consul, taking care to arrange everything so as to secure secrecy. + + "(Signed) "BONAPARTE, First Council. + + "Paris, 13th Germinal, year VIII. + "(3d. April 1800.)"]-- + + +Official business was not the only labour that devolved upon me. I had +to write to the dictation of the First Consul during a great part of the +day, or to decipher his writing, which was always the most laborious part +of my duty. I was so closely employed that I scarcely ever went out; and +when by chance I dined in town, I could not arrive until the very moment +of dinner, and I was obliged to run away immediately after it. Once a +month, at most, I went without Bonaparte to the Comedie Francaise, but I +was obliged to return at nine o'clock, that being the hour at which we +resumed business. Corvisart, with whom I was intimately acquainted, +constantly expressed his apprehensions about my health; but my zeal +carried me through every difficulty, and during our stay at the Tuileries +I cannot express how happy I was in enjoying the unreserved confidence of +the man on whom the eyes of all Europe were filed. So perfect was this +confidence that Bonaparte, neither as General, Consul, nor Emperor, ever +gave me any fixed salary. In money matters we were still comrades: I +took from his funds what was necessary to defray my expenses, and of this +Bonaparte never once asked me for any account. + +He often mentioned his wish to regenerate public education, which he +thought was ill managed. The central schools did not please him; but he +could not withhold his admiration from the Polytechnic School, the finest +establishment of education that was ever founded, but which he afterwards +spoiled by giving it a military organisation. In only one college of +Paris the old system of study was preserved: this was the Louis-le-Grand, +which had received the name of Pritanee. The First Consul directed the +Minister of the Interior to draw up a report on that establishment; and +he himself went to pay an unexpected visit to the Pritanee, accompanied +by M. Lebrun and Duroc. He remained there upwards of an hour, and in the +evening he spoke to me with much interest on the subject of his visit. +"Do you know, Bourrienne," said he, "that I have been performing the +duties of professor?"--"You, General!"--"Yes! and I did not acquit +myself badly. I examined the pupils in the mathematical class; and I +recollected enough of my Bezout to make some demonstrations before them. +I went everywhere, into the bedrooms and the dining-room. I tasted the +soup, which is better than we used to have at Brienne. I must devote +serious attention to public education and the management of the colleges. +The pupils must have a uniform. I observed some well and others ill +dressed. That will not do. At college, above all places, there should +be equality. But I was much pleased with the pupils of the Pritanee. +I wish to know the names of those I examined, and I have desired Duroc to +report them to me. I will give them rewards; that stimulates young +people. I will provide for some of them." + +On this subject Bonaparte did not confine himself to an empty scheme. +After consulting with the headmaster of the Pritanee, he granted pensions +of 200 francs to seven or eight of the most distinguished pupils of the +establishment, and he placed three of them in the department of Foreign +Affairs, under the title of diplomatic pupils. + + --[This institution of diplomatic pupils was originally suggested by + M. de Talleyrand.]-- + +What I have just said respecting the First Consul's visit to the Pritanee +reminds me of a very extraordinary circumstance which arose out of it. +Among the pupils at the Pritanee there was a son of General Miackzinski, +who died fighting under the banners of the Republic. Young Miackzinski +was then sixteen or seventeen years of age. He soon quitted the college, +entered the army as a volunteer, and was one of a corps reviewed by +Bonaparte, in the plain of Sablons. He was pointed out to the First +Consul, who said to him, "I knew your father. Follow his example, and +in six months you shall be an officer." Six months elapsed, and +Miackzinski wrote to the First Consul, reminding him of his promise. No +answer was returned, and the young man then wrote a second letter as +follows: + + You desired me to prove myself worthy of my father; I have done so. + You promised that I should be an officer in six months; seven have + elapsed since that promise was made. When you receive this letter I + shall be no more. I cannot live under a Government the head of + which breaks his word. + +Poor Miackzinski kept his word but too faithfully. After writing the +above letter to the First Consul he retired to his chamber and blew out +his brains with a pistol. A few days after this tragical event +Miackzinski's commission was transmitted to his corps, for Bonaparte had +not forgotten him. A delay in the War Office had caused the death of +this promising young man. Bonaparte was much affected at the circumstance, +and he said to me, "These Poles have such refined notions of honour.... +Poor Sulkowski, I am sure, would have done the same." + +At the commencement of the Consulate it was gratifying to see how +actively Bonaparte was seconded in the execution of plans for the social +regeneration of France; all seemed animated with new life, and every one +strove to do good as if it were a matter of competition. + +Every circumstance concurred to favour the good intentions of the +First Consul. Vaccination, which, perhaps, has saved as many lives +as war has sacrificed, was introduced into France by M. d Liancourt; and +Bonaparte, immediately appreciating the value of such a discovery, gave +it his decided approbation. At the same time a council of Prizes was +established, and the old members of the Constituent Assembly were invited +to return to France. It was for their sake and that of the Royalists +that the First Consul recalled them, but it was to please the Jacobins, +whom he was endeavouring to conciliate, that their return was subject to +restrictions. At first the invitation to return to France extended only +to those who could prove that they had voted in favour of the abolition +of nobility. The lists of emigrants were closed, and committees were +appointed to investigate their claims to the privilege of returning. + +From the commencement of the month of Germinal the reorganisation of the +army of Italy had proceeded with renewed activity. The presence in Paris +of the fine corps of the Consular Guard, added to the desire of showing +themselves off in gay uniforms, had stimulated the military ardour of +many respectable young men of the capital. Taking advantage of this +circumstance the First Consul created a corps of volunteers destined for +the army of reserve, which was to remain at Dijon. He saw the advantage +of connecting a great number of families with his cause, and imbuing them +with the spirit of the army. This volunteer corps wore a yellow uniform +which, in some of the salons of Paris where it was still the custom to +ridicule everything, obtained for them the nickname of "canaries." +Bonaparte, who did not always relish a joke, took this in very ill part, +and often expressed to me his vexation at it. However, he was gratified +to observe in the composition of this corps a first specimen of +privileged soldiers; an idea which he acted upon when he created the +orderly gendarmes in the campaign of Jena, and when he organised the +guards of honour after the disasters of Moscow. + +In every action of his life Bonaparte had some particular object in view. +I recollect his saying to me one day, "Bourrienne, I cannot yet venture +to do anything against the regicides; but I will let them see what I +think of them. To-morrow I shall have some business with Abrial +respecting the organisation of the court of Cassation. Target, who is +the president of that court, would not defend Louis XVI. Well, whom do +you think I mean to appoint in his place? . . . Tronchet, who did +defend the king. They may say what they please; I care not." + + --[On this, as on many other occasions, the cynicism of Bonaparte's + language does not admit of a literal translation.]-- + +Tronchet was appointed. + +Nearly about the same time the First Consul, being informed of the escape +of General Mack, said to me, "Mack may go where he pleases; I am not +afraid of him. But I will tell you what I have been thinking. There are +some other Austrian officers who were prisoners with Mack; among the +number is a Count Dietrichstein, who belongs to a great family in Vienna. +I will liberate them all. At the moment of opening a campaign this will +have a good effect. They will see that I fear nothing; and who knows but +this may procure me some admirers in Austria." The order for liberating +the Austrian prisoners was immediately despatched. Thus Bonaparte's acts +of generosity, as well as his acts of severity and his choice of +individuals, were all the result of deep calculation. + +This unvarying attention to the affairs of the Government was manifest in +all he did. I have already mentioned the almost simultaneous suppression +of the horrible commemoration of the month of January, and the permission +for the revival of the opera balls. A measure something similar to this +was the authorisation of the festivals of Longchamps, which had been +forgotten since the Revolution. He at the same time gave permission for +sacred music to be performed at the opera. Thus, while in public acts he +maintained the observance of the Republican calendar, he was gradually +reviving the old calendar by seasons of festivity. Shrove-Tuesday was +marked by a ball, and Passion-week by promenades and concerts. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV + +1800. + + The Memorial of St. Helena--Louis XVIII.'s first letter to Bonaparte + --Josephine, Hortense, and the Faubourg St. Germain-- + Madame Bonaparte and the fortune-teller--Louis XVIII's second letter + --Bonaparte's answer--Conversation respecting the recall of Louis + XVIII.--Peace and war--A battle fought with pins--Genoa and Melas-- + Realisation of Bonaparte's military plans--Ironical letter to + Berthier--Departure from Paris--Instructions to Lucien and + Cambaceres--Joseph Bonaparte appointed Councillor of State-- + Travelling conversation--Alexander and Caesar judged by Bonaparte. + +It sometimes happens that an event which passes away unnoticed at the +time of its occurrence acquires importance from events which subsequently +ensue. This reflection naturally occurs to my mind now that I am about +to notice the correspondence which passed between Louis XVIII. and the +First Consul. This is certainly not one of the least interesting +passages in the life of Bonaparte. + +But I must first beg leave to make an observation on the 'Memorial of St. +Helena.' That publication relates what Bonaparte said respecting the +negotiations between Louis XVIII. and himself; and I find it necessary to +quote a few lines on the subject, in order to show how far the statements +contained in the Memorial differ from the autograph letters in my +possession. + +At St. Helena Napoleon said that he never thought of the princes of the +House of Bourbon. This is true to a certain point. He did not think of +the princes of the House of Bourbon with the view of restoring them to +their throne; but it has been shown, in several parts of these Memoirs, +that he thought of them very often, and on more than one occasion their +very names alarmed him. + + --[The Memorial states that "A letter was delivered to the First + Consul by Lebrun who received it from the Abbe de Montesquieu, the + secret agent of the Bourbons in Paris." This letter which was very + cautiously written, said:-- + + "You are long delaying the restoration of my throne. It is to be + feared you are suffering favourable moments to escape. You cannot + secure the happiness of France without me, and I can do nothing for + France without you. Hasten, then, to name the offices which you + would choose for your friends." + + The answer, Napoleon said, was as follows:-- + + "I have received your royal highness' letter. I have always taken a + lively interest in your misfortunes, and those of your family. You + must not think of appearing in France; you could only return here by + trampling over a hundred thousand dead bodies. I shall always be + happy to do anything that can alleviate your fate and help to banish + the recollection of your misfortunes."--Bourrienne.]-- + +The substance of the two letters given in the 'Memorial of St. Helena' is +correct. The ideas are nearly the same as those of the original letters. +But it is not surprising that, after the lapse of so long an interval, +Napoleon's memory should somewhat have failed him. However, it will not, +I presume, be deemed unimportant if I present to the reader literal +copies of this correspondence; together with the explanation of some +curious circumstances connected with it. + +The following is Louis XVIII's letter:-- + + February 20,1800. + + SIR--Whatever may be their apparent conduct, men like you never + inspire alarm. You have accepted an eminent station, and I thank + you for having done so. You know better than any one how much + strength and power are requisite to secure the happiness of a great + nation. Save France from her own violence, and you will fulfil the + first wish of my heart. Restore her King to her, and future + generations will bless your memory. You will always be too + necessary to the State for me ever to be able to discharge, by + important appointments, the debt of my family and myself. + + (Signed) Louis. + + +The First Consul was much agitated on the reception of this letter. +Though he every day declared his determination to have nothing to do with +the Princes, yet he hesitated whether or no he should reply to this +overture. The numerous affairs which then occupied his mind favoured +this hesitation. Josephine and Hortense conjured him to hold out hope to +the King, as by so doing he would in no way pledge himself, and would +gain time to ascertain whether he could not ultimately play a far greater +part than that of Monk. Their entreaties became so urgent that he said +to me, "These devils of women are mad! The Faubourg St. Germain has +turned their heads! They make the Faubourg the guardian angel of the +royalists; but I care not; I will have nothing to do with them." + +Madame Bonaparte said she was anxious he should adopt the step she +proposed in order to banish from his mind all thought of making himself +King. This idea always gave rise to a painful foreboding which she could +never overcome. + +In the First Consul's numerous conversations with me he discussed with +admirable sagacity Louis XVIII.'s proposition and its consequences. +"The partisans of the Bourbons," said he, "are deceived if they suppose +I am the man to play Monk's part." Here the matter rested, and the +King's letter remained on the table. In the interim Louis XVIII. wrote a +second letter, without any date. It was as follows: + + You must have long since been convinced, General, that you possess + my esteem. If you doubt my gratitude, fix your reward and mark out + the fortune of your friends. As to my principles, I am a Frenchman, + merciful by character, and also by the dictates of reason. + + No, the victor of Lodi, Castiglione, and Arcola, the conqueror of + Italy and Egypt, cannot prefer vain celebrity to real glory. But + you are losing precious time. We may ensure the glory of France. + + I say we, because I require the aid of Bonaparte, and he can do + nothing without me. + + General, Europe observes you. Glory awaits you, and I am impatient + to restore peace to my people. + (Signed) LOUIS. + + +This dignified letter the First Consul suffered to remain unanswered for +several weeks; at length he proposed to dictate an answer to me. I +observed, that as the King's letters were autographs, it would be more +proper that he should write himself. He then wrote with his own hand the +following: + + Sir--I have received your letter, and I thank you for the + compliments you address to me. + + You must not seek to return to France. To do so you must trample + over a hundred thousand dead bodies. + + Sacrifice your interest to the repose and happiness of France, and + history will render you justice. + + I am not insensible to the misfortunes of your family. I shall + learn with pleasure, and shall willingly contribute to ensure, the + tranquillity of your retirement. + (Signed) BONAPARTE. + + +He showed me this letter, saying, "What do you think of it? is it not +good? "He was never offended when I pointed out to him an error of +grammar or style, and I therefore replied, "As to the substance, if such +be your resolution, I have nothing to say against it; but," added I, +"I must make one observation on the style. You cannot say that you shall +learn with pleasure to ensure, etc." On reading the passage over again +he thought he had pledged himself too far in saying that he would +willingly contribute, etc. He therefore scored out the last sentence, +and interlined, "I shall contribute with pleasure to the happiness and +tranquillity of your retirement." + +The answer thus scored and interlined could not be sent off, and it lay +on the table with Bonaparte's signature affixed to it. + +Some time after he wrote another answer, the three first paragraphs of +which were exactly alike that first quoted; but far the last paragraph he +substituted the following + + "I am not insensible to the misfortunes of your family; and I shall + learn with pleasure that you are surrounded with all that can + contribute to the tranquillity of your retirement." + +By this means he did not pledge himself in any way, not even in words, +for he himself made no offer of contributing to the tranquillity of the +retirement. Every day which augmented his power and consolidated his +position diminished, he thought, the chances of the Bourbons; and seven +months were suffered to intervene between the date of the King's first +letter and the answer of the First Consul, which was written on the 2d +Vendemiaire, year IX. (24th September 1800) just when the Congress of +Luneville was on the point of opening. + +Some days after the receipt of Louis XVIII.'s letter we were walking in +the gardens of Malmaison; he was in good humour, for everything was going +on to his mind. "Has my wife been saying anything more to you about the +Bourbons?" said he.--"No, General."--"But when you converse with her you +concur a little in her opinions. Tell me why you wish the Bourbons back? +You have no interest in their return, nothing to expect from them. Your +family rank is not high enough to enable you to obtain any great post. +You would be nothing under them. Through the patronage of M. de +Chambonas you got the appointment of Secretary of Legation at Stuttgart; +but had it not been for the change you would have remained all your life +in that or some inferior post. Did you ever know men rise by their own +merit under kings? Everything depends on birth, connection, fortune, and +intrigue. Judge things more accurately; reflect more maturely on the +future."--"General," replied I, "I am quite of your opinion on one +point. I never received gift, place, or favour from the Bourbons; and +I have not the vanity to believe that I should ever have attained any +important Appointment. But you must not forget that my nomination as +Secretary of Legation at Stuttgart preceded the overthrow of the throne +only by a few days; and I cannot infer, from what took place under +circumstances unfortunately too certain, what might have happened in the +reverse case. Besides, I am not actuated by personal feelings; +I consider not my own interests, but those of France. I wish you to hold +the reins of government as long as you live; but you have no children, +and it is tolerably certain that you will have none by Josephine. What +will become of us when you are gone? You talk of the future; but what +will be the future fate of France? I have often heard you say that your +brothers are not--"--"You are right," said he, abruptly interrupting +me. "If I do not live thirty years to complete my work you will have a +long series of civil wars after my death. My brothers will not suit +France; you know what they are. A violent conflict will therefore arise +among the most distinguished generals, each of whom will think himself +entitled to succeed me."--"Well, General, why not take means to obviate +the mischief you foresee?"--"Do you imagine I do not think of it? But +look at the difficulties that stand in my way. How are so many acquired +rights and material results to be secured against the efforts of a family +restored to power, and returning with 80,000 emigrants and the influence +of fanaticism? What would become of those who voted for the death of +the King--the men who acted a conspicuous part in the Revolution--the +national domains, and a multitude of things that have been done during +twelve years? Can you see how far reaction would extend?"--"General, +need I remind you that Louis, in his letter, guarantees the contrary of +all you apprehend? I know what will be your answer; but are you not able +to impose whatever conditions you may think fit? Grant what is asked of +you only at that price. Take three or four years; in that time you may +ensure the happiness of France by institutions conformable to her wants. +Custom and habit would give them a power which it would not be easy to +destroy; and even supposing such a design were entertained, it could not +be accomplished. I have heard you say it is wished you should act the +part of Monk; but you well know the difference between a general opposing +the usurper of a crown, and one whom victory and peace have raised above +the ruins of a subverted throne, and who restores it voluntarily to those +who have long occupied it. You are well aware what you call ideology +will not again be revived; and--"--"I know what you are going to say; +but it all amounts to nothing. Depend upon it, the Bourbons will think +they have reconquered their inheritance, and will dispose of it as they +please. The most sacred pledges, the most positive promises, will be +violated. None but fools will trust them. My resolution is formed; +therefore let us say no more on the subject. But I know how these women +torment you. Let them mind their knitting, and leave me to do what I +think right." + +Every one knows the adage, 'Si vis pacem para bellum'. Had Bonaparte +been a Latin scholar he would probably have reversed it and said, 'Si vis +bellum para pacem'. While seeking to establish pacific relations with +the powers of Europe the First Consul was preparing to strike a great +blow in Italy. As long as Genoa held out, and Massena continued there, +Bonaparte did not despair of meeting the Austrians in those fields which +not four years before had been the scenes of his success. He resolved to +assemble an army of reserve at Dijon. Where there was previously nothing +he created everything. At that period of his life the fertility of his +imagination and the vigour of his genius must have commanded the +admiration of even his bitterest enemies. I was astonished at the +details into which he entered. While every moment was engrossed by the +most important occupations he sent 24,000 francs to the hospital of Mont +St. Bernard. When he saw that his army of reserve was forming, and +everything was going on to his liking, he said to me, "I hope to fall on +the rear of Melas before he is aware I am in Italy . . . that is to +say, provided Genoa holds out. But MASSENA is defending it." + +On the 17th of March, in a moment of gaiety and good humour, he desired +me to unroll Chauchard's great map of Italy. He lay down upon it, and +desired me to do likewise. He then stuck into it pins, the heads of +which were tipped with wax, some red and some black. I silently observed +him; and awaited with no little curiosity the result of this plan of +campaign. When he had stationed the enemy's corps, and drawn up the pins +with red heads on the points where he hoped to bring his own troops, he +said to me, "Where do you think I shall beat Melas?"--"How the devil +should I know?"--"Why, look here, you fool! Melas is at Alessandria with +his headquarters. There he will remain until Genoa surrenders. He has +in Alessandria his magazines, his hospitals, his artillery, and his +reserves. Crossing the Alps here (pointing to the Great Mont St. +Bernard) I shall fall upon Melas, cut off his communications with +Austria, and meet him here in the plains of Scrivia" (placing a red, pin +at San Giuliano). Finding that I looked on this manoeuvre of pins as +mere pastime, he addressed to me some of his usual compliments, such as +fool, ninny, etc., and then proceeded to demonstrate his plans more +clearly on the map. At the expiration of a quarter of an hour we rose; +I folded up the map, and thought no more of the matter. + +Four months after this, when I was at San Giuliano with Bonaparte's +portfolio and despatches, which I had saved from the rout which had taken +place during the day, and when that very evening I was writing at Torre +di Galifolo the bulletin of the battle to Napoleon's dictation, I frankly +avowed my admiration of his military plans. He himself smiled at the +accuracy of his own foresight. + +The First Consul was not satisfied with General Berthier as War Minister, +and he superseded him by Carnot, + + --[There were special reasons for the appointment of Carnot, + Berthier was required with his master in Italy, while Carnot, who + had so long ruled the armies of the Republic, was better fitted to + influence Moreau, at this time advancing into Germany. Carnot + probably fulfilled the main object of his appointment when he was + sent to Moreau, and succeeded in getting that general, with natural + reluctance, to damage his own campaign by detaching a large body of + troops into Italy. Berthier was reappointed to the Ministry on the + 8th of October 1800,--a very speedy return if he had really been + disgraced.]-- + +who had given great proofs of firmness and integrity, but who, +nevertheless, was no favourite of Bonaparte, on account of his decided +republican principles. Berthier was too slow in carrying out the +measures ordered, [duplicated line removed here D.W.] and too lenient in +the payment of past charges and in new contracts. Carnot's appointment +took place on the 2d of April 1800; and to console Berthier, who, he +knew, was more at home in the camp than in the office, he dictated to me +the following letter for him:-- + + PARIS, 2d April 1800. + + CITIZEN-GENERAL,--The military talents of which you have given so + many proofs, and the confidence of the Government, call you to the + command of an army. During the winter you have REORGANISED the War + Department, and you have provided, as far as circumstances would + permit, for the wants of our armies. During the spring and summer + it must be your task to lead our troops to victory, which is the + effectual means of obtaining peace and consolidating the Republic. + + +Bonaparte laughed heartily while he dictated this epistle, especially +when he uttered the word which I have marked in italics [CAPS]. Berthier +set out for Dijon, where he commenced the formation of the army of +reserve. + +The Consular Constitution did not empower the First Consul to command an +army out of the territory of France. Bonaparte therefore wished to keep +secret his long-projected plan of placing himself at the head of the army +of Italy, which he then for the first time called the grand army. I +observed that by his choice of Berthier nobody could be deceived, because +it must be evident that he would have made another selection had he not +intended to command in person. He laughed at my observation. + +Our departure from Paris was fixed for the 6th of May, or, according to +the republican calendar, the 16th Floreal. Bonaparte had made all his +arrangements and issued all his orders; but still he did not wish it to +be known that he was going to take the command of the army. On the eve +of our departure, being in conference with the two other Consuls and the +Ministers, he said to Lucien, "Prepare, to-morrow morning, a circular to +the prefects, and you, Fouche, will publish it in the journals. Say I am +gone to Dijon to inspect the army of reserve. You may add that I shall +perhaps go as far as Geneva; but you must affirm positively that I shall +not be absent longer than a fortnight. You, Cambaceres, will preside to- +morrow at the Council of State. In my absence you are the Head of the +Government. State that my absence will be but of short duration, but +specify nothing. Express my approbation of the Council of State; it has +already rendered great services, and I shall be happy to see it continue +in the course it has hitherto pursued. Oh! I had nearly forgotten--you +will at the same time announce that I have appointed Joseph a Councillor +of State. Should anything happen I shall be back again like a +thunderbolt. I recommend to you all the great interests of France, and I +trust that I shall shortly be talked of in Vienna and in London." + +We set out at two in the morning, taking the Burgundy road, which we had +already so often travelled under very different circumstances. + +On the journey Bonaparte conversed about the warriors of antiquity, +especially Alexander, Caesar, Scipio, and Hannibal. I asked him which he +preferred, Alexander or Caesar. "I place Alexander in the first rank," +said he, "yet I admire Caesar's fine campaign in Africa. But the ground +of my preference for the King of Macedonia is the plan, and above all the +execution, of his campaign in Asia. Only those who are utterly ignorant +of war can blame Alexander for having spent seven months at the siege of +Tyre. For my part, I would have stayed there seven years had it been +necessary. This is a great subject of dispute; but I look upon the siege +of Tyre, the conquest of Egypt, and the journey to the Oasis of Ammon as +a decided proof of the genius of that great captain. His object was to +give the King of Persia (of whose force he had only beaten a feeble +advance-guard at the Granicus and Issus) time to reassemble his troops, +so that he might overthrow at a blow the colossus which he had as yet +only shaken. By pursuing Darius into his states Alexander would have +separated himself from his reinforcements, and would have met only +scattered parties of troops who would have drawn him into deserts where +his army would have been sacrificed. By persevering in the taking of +Tyre he secured his communications with Greece, the country he loved as +dearly as I love France, and in whose glory he placed his own. By taking +possession of the rich province of Egypt he forced Darius to come to +defend or deliver it, and in so doing to march half-way to meet him. +By representing himself as the son of Jupiter he worked upon the ardent +feelings of the Orientals in a way that powerfully seconded his designs. +Though he died at thirty-three what a name he has left behind him!" + +Though an utter stranger to the noble profession of arms, yet I could +admire Bonaparte's clever military plans and his shrewd remarks on the +great captains of ancient and modern times. I could not refrain from +saying, "General, you often reproach me for being no flatterer, but now I +tell you plainly I admire you." And certainly, I really spoke the true +sentiments of my mind. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte, v4, by +Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE, V4 *** + +***** This file should be named 3554.txt or 3554.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/5/3554/ + +Produced by David Widger <widger@cecomet.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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