CORNELL 
 
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 LIBRARY 
 
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
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 http ://www. arch i ve . o rg/detai Is/cu31 9240627071 65 
 
JJIHiROME IB O.MAiPArft'FJE 
 
Recollections of the ^ ^ ^ 
 Private Life of Napoleon ^ 
 ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ by Constant 
 
 Premier Valet de Chambre 
 
 Translated by Walter 
 Clark ^ ^ Illustrated 
 
 Volume III. .rv^ 
 
 # 
 
 y<R< 
 
 6V»\ 
 
 New York and Boston ^ '^''"'T^''','!''" 
 ^ ^ H. M. Caldwell Co. 
 Publishers ^ j^ ^ -^ -^ -^ ^ 
 
Copyright, i8g^. 
 By The Merriam Company. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 VOLUME m. 
 CHAPTEK I. 
 
 Journey through Flanders and Holland. — M. Marchand, son of a nurse of the 
 King of Kome. — O'Meara. — This journey of their Majesties to Holland 
 not generally known. — Correction of Contemporary Memoirs. — My 
 duty. — A little incident at Montreuil. — Napoleon crosses the stream 
 in water up to his knees. — The joiner. — The mill-pond drawn off. — 
 The wounded of Eatishon. — Boulogne. — The English frigate. — The 
 conscript's wife. — Napoleon crosses the Swine in a fisherman's boat. — 
 The two fishers. — Act of kindness. — Marie Louise at the Brussels 
 Theater. — Persons composing the suite on this journey. — Preparations 
 in Holland. — Improvised stables at Amsterdam. — M. Emery quarter- 
 master of the palace. — The mayor of the city of Breda. — Kefutation of 
 a falsehood. — Their Majesties at Brussels. — Marie Louise buys lace to 
 the value of one hundred and fifty thousand francs. — Confiscated mer- 
 chandise. — Anecdote. — The court engages in smuggling. — I am accused 
 of being a smuggler. — I defend myself against the charge. — Napoleon 
 investigating details better suited to the duties of a femme de chambre. 
 
 — A note injurious to me. — My Memoirs on the year 1814. — Arrival of 
 their Majesties at Utrecht. — Tlie rain and the crowd of curious people. 
 
 — The review. — The addresses. — False statement in Contemporary 
 Memoirs.— Feiiect refinement of Napoleon. — His conduct in Holland. 
 
 — The Dutch. — Amusing anecdote. — The Emperor's bedroom. — The 
 night-lamp. — Entrance of their Majesties into Amsterdam. — Hangings 
 of three colors. — Ee-entering the Tuileries at night a year later. — 
 Talma. — M. Alissan de Chazet. — Pretended liaison between Napoleon 
 and Madame Bourgoin. — Napoleon conceives the idea of the expedition 
 to Russia. — The piano. — The bust of the Emperor Alexander. — Visit 
 to Saardam. — Peter the Great. — Visit to the village of Broek. — The 
 Emperor Joseph the Second. — The King of Rome's first tooth. — The 
 old soldier aged one hundred and one years. — Singular harangue. — De- 
 parture. — Arrival at Saint-Cloud . Pages 21^0. 
 
 3 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Marie Louise. —Description of her. — As she appeared in public and in pri- 
 vate. —Her relations towards the ladies of her court. —Her character. 
 
 — Her sensitiveness. — Her education. — She detested idleness. — Her in- 
 formation on public matters. — The Emperor complains of her coolness 
 towards the ladies of the court. — Compared with Josephine. — Marie 
 Louise's benevolence. —Amount devoted monthly to the poor. — Napoleon 
 touched by her benevolence. —A day spent by Marie Louise. —Her first 
 breakfast. — Her morning toilet. — Her visits to Madame de Montebello. 
 
 — She plays billiards. — Her horseback rides. —Her fondness for pastry. 
 
 — Her relations towards the persons of the household. — The portrait of 
 the Duchess de Montebello removed from the apartments of the Empress 
 when the Emperor was at the chateau. — Portrait of the Emperor Fran- 
 cis. —The King of Bome. — His character. — His goodness. — Made- 
 moiselle Fanny Soufflot. — The little king. — Albert Froment. — Quarrel 
 between the little king and Albert Froment. — The woman in mourning 
 with the little boy. — Anecdote. — Docility of the King of Rome. — His 
 fits of anger. — Anecdote. — The Emperor and his son. — Grimaces before 
 the glass. — The three-cornered hat. — The Emperor plays with the 
 little king on the lawn at Trianon. — The little king in the council 
 chamber. — The little king and the hussar. — A king should 7iot be 
 afraid. — Singular caprice of the King of Rome .... Pages 41-50. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Abbe Geoffroy receives a flogging. — The Emperor's remarks on the sub- 
 ject. — M. Corvisart. — His candor. — He requires that his directions 
 shall be obeyed. — The Emperor much attached to him. — M. Corvisart 
 at the chase when the Emperor is taken with violent colic. — "What 
 results from this. — M. Corvisart's credit with the Emperor. — He speaks 
 warmly in favor of M. de Bourriemie. — His Majesty's reply. — Cardinal 
 Fesch. — His volubility. — An expression of the Emperor. — Orders given 
 by his Majesty on his departure for Russia. — The Count de Lavalette. — 
 The diamonds. — Josephine summons mo to Malmaison. — She recom- 
 mends to me the greatest care of the Emperor. — She makes me promise 
 to write her. — Gives me her picture. — Reflections on the departure of 
 the grand army. — What is my mission. — The deserter. — He is brought 
 before the Emperor. — His name and character. — Russian discipline. — 
 Disturbance in Moscow. — Barclay. — Kutuzofl. — The merchant class. — 
 Kutuzoff generalissimo. — His portrait. —What becomes of the deserter. 
 
 — The Emperor makes his entrance into a Russian village escorted by 
 two Cossacks. — The Cossacks after alighting from their horses. — They 
 drink brandy like water. — Murat. — With one sweep of his sword he 
 repulses a horde of Cossacks. — The magicians. — Platoff. — He has a 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 5 
 
 magician flogged. —Laxity of tlie police in the French bivouacs. — The 
 Emperor's discontent. — His threats. — Excursion of his Majesty before 
 the battle of the Moslcwa. — Encouragement to agriculture. — The Em- 
 peror ascends the heights of Borodino. — The rain. — Vexation of the 
 Emperor. — General Caulaiucourt. — The Emperor's words. — He hardly 
 takes time to dress. — Order of the day. — The sun of Austerlitz. — The 
 picture of the King of Rome is brought to the Emperor. — He shows it 
 to the officers and soldiers of the old guard. — The Emperor ill. — Death 
 of Count Augusts de Caulaincourt. — He had left his young wife a few 
 hours after their marriage. — "What the Emperor says of generals who 
 have died in the army. — His tears on learning of the death of Lannes. — 
 His Majesty's remarks on General Ordener. — The Emperor goes over 
 the battlefield of the Moskwa. — His grief on hearing the cries of the 
 wounded. — An anecdote. — Exclamations of the Emperor during the 
 night following the battle Pages 51-68. 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 Itinerary from France to Russia. — Magnificence of the court at Dresden. — 
 The Emperor's conversation with Berthier. — "War made on England 
 alone. — General rumor of the restoration of Poland. — Private questions 
 of the Emperor. — Passage of the Niemen. — AiTival and sojourn at 
 "Wilna. — Enthusiasm of the Poles. — Singular coincidence of dates. — 
 Polish deputation. — The Emperor's reply to the deputies. — Engage- 
 ments made with Austria. — Hopes frustrated. — M. de Balachoff at 
 "Wilna ; hopes of peace. — The Emperor first sets foot on Russian terri- 
 tory. — Continued retreat of the Russians. — Frightful storm. — Great 
 desire for a battle. — The camp at Drissa abandoned. — Departure of 
 Alexander and Constantino. — Privations of the army and first discour- 
 agements. — Peace expected as the result of a battle. — Contempt for his 
 enemies affected by the Emperor. — Government established at "Wilna. 
 — The Russian army again retreats. — Speech of the Emperor to the 
 King of Naples. — Plan announced but not executed. — The campaign 
 for three years, and a prompt march forward. — The intense heat ex- 
 hausts the Emperor. — Audiences en dishabille. — Suspense unendurable 
 to the Emperor. — Useless opposition of the Duke of Vicenza, the Count 
 of Lobau, and the grand marshal. — Departure from "Witepskand arrival 
 at Smolensk. — Remarkable buildings. — The banks of the Moskwa. 
 
 Pages 69-79. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The day after the battle of la Moskwa. — Appearance of the battlefield. — 
 Moscow ! Moscow! — False alarm. — Saxons returning from a raid. — 
 The sentinel on the cry of alarm. — Let them come, we will he ready for 
 them. — The glass of Chambertiu wine. —The Duke of Dantzic. — 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Entrance into Moscow. —Silent march of the army. —The Muscovite 
 heggars. — Reflection. —The lights are extinguished at the windows.— 
 Lodging of the Emperor at the entrance of a faubourg. — Vermin. — 
 Vinegar and aloes wood. — Two o'clock in the morning. — Fire breaks 
 out in the city. —The Emperor's anger. —He threatens Marshal Mortier 
 and the young guard.— The Kremlin. — Apartment occupied by his 
 Majesty. — The cross of the great Ivan.— Description of the Kremlin.— 
 The Emperor cannot sleep even a few hours. —Fire in the neighborhood 
 of the Kremlin. — The conflagration. —The sparks.— The park of artil- 
 lery under the Emperor's windows. — The Russians who keep up the 
 fire. — Impassibility of the Emperor. —He goes out of the Kremlin.— 
 The north staircase. —The horses rear. — The Emperor's coat and hair 
 burned. — The postern opening on the Moskwa. — An offer is made to 
 the Emperor by his escort to cover him with cloaks and carry him in 
 their arms through the midst of the flames; he refuses. —The Emperor 
 and the Prince of Eckmuhl. — Boats laden with grain are burned in the 
 Moskwa. —Shells placed in the ovens of the houses.— Incendiary women. 
 
 — The gallows.— The populace kissing the feet of the executed. — Anec- 
 dote. —The sheepskin. — The grenadiers. — The palace of Petrovskoi. — 
 A man concealed in the room which the Emperor was expected to oc- 
 cupy. — The Kremlin preserved. — The orders given to Marshal Mortier. 
 
 — The bivouac at the gates of Moscow. — Cashmeres, furs, and pieces of 
 bleeding horseflesh. — The inhabitants in the cellars, and in the midst 
 of the ruins. — Return to the Kremlin. — Despondent words of the Em- 
 peror. — The buzzards of Moscow. — Concerts at the Kremlin. — The 
 preceptors of the Russian noblemen. — They are charged with maintain- 
 ing order. — Alexander reproaches Rostopchin .... Pages 80-92. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Muscovites asking alms. — The Emperor has food and money given them. 
 — A day at the Kremlin. — The Emperor employs his time in munici- 
 pal organization. — A theater opened near the Kremlin. — The Italian 
 singer. — Retreat is discussed. — His Majesty prolongs his meals more 
 than usual. — Regulations as to French comedy. — Engagement between 
 Murat and Kutuzow. — The churches of the Kremlin stripped of their 
 ornaments. — The reviews. — The Kremlin is blown up. — The Emperor 
 takes the road to Smolensk. — Flocks of buzzards. — The wounded of 
 Oupinskoe. — Each carriage in the suit carries one. — Injustice of accu- 
 sations of cruelty against the Emperor. — Explosion of caissons. — 
 Headc[uarters. — Cossacks. — The Emperor is informed of the conspir- 
 acy of Malet. — General Savary. — Arrival at Smolensk. — The Emperor 
 and the commissary-general of the grand army. — The Emperor releases 
 the Prince of Eckmuhl. — Let us guard the safety of the Empire. — la- 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7' 
 
 def atigable activity of the Emperor. — The stragglers. — The corps of 
 Marshal Davoust. — His rage when he finds it dying of hunger. — Mar- 
 shal Ney is found. — Speech of Napoleon. — Prince Eugene weeps for 
 joy. — Marshal Lefehvre Pages 93-107. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Crossing the Beresina. — The deliberations. — The eagles burnt. — The Rus- 
 sians have only the ashes. — The Emperor lends his own horses to draw 
 the pieces of artillery. — The officers become simple cannoneers. — Gen- 
 erals Grouchy and Sebastiani. — Loud cries near Borissov. — Marshal 
 Victor. — The two army corps. — The confusion. — Voracity of the sol- 
 diers of the retreating army. — An officer deprives himself of his uniform 
 in order to give it to a poor soldier. — General anxiety. — The bridge. — 
 Credulity of the army. — Gloomy conjectures. — Courage of the pontoon 
 corps. — Floating ice. — The Emperor in a poor hut. — His deep grief. — 
 He sheds bitter tears. — His Majesty is advised to think of saving his 
 own person. — The enemy abandons his position. — The Emperor trans- 
 ported with joy. — The rafts. — M. Jacqueminot. — Count Predziecski. — 
 The horses' breasts cut by floating ice. — The Emperor puts his hand to 
 the wheel. — General Partonneaux. — The bridge breaks. — The cannon 
 passes over thousands of prostrate corpses. — Horses killed with the 
 bayonet. — Horrible scene. — "Women holding their children above the 
 water. — Striking instances of devotion. — The little orphan. — Officers 
 harnessed to sleds. — The bridge is burned. — The cabin in which the 
 Emperor sleeps. — The Russian prisoners. — They all perish with fatigue 
 and hunger. — Arrival at Malodeczno. — Confidential conversation be- 
 tween the Emperor and M. de Caulaincourt. — Twenty-ninth bulletin. — 
 The Emperor and Marshal Davoust. — The Emperor's intention of leav- 
 ing known to the army. — His agitation on coming out from the council. 
 
 — The Emperor speaks to me of his plan. — Will not permit me to go 
 on the box of his carriage. — Impressions made on the army by the news 
 of his departure. — Birds frozen by the cold. — The sleep which brings 
 death. — The powder from the cartridge-boxes used to salt pieces of 
 roasted horse. — Young Lapouriel. — Arrival at "Wilna. — The Prince of 
 Aremberg half dead with the cold. — The carriages burned. — The alarm. 
 
 — The treasure-chest of the army is pillaged Pages 108-124. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Emperor is badly lodged during the whole campaign. — Huts infested 
 with vermin. — Manner in which the apartments of the Emperor were 
 arranged. — Hall of council. — Proclamation of the Emperor. — Inhabi- 
 tants of Russian huts. — How the Emperor was lodged when houses 
 
8 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 could not be obtained. — The tent. — Marshal Berthier. — A temporary 
 coolness between the Emperor and him. — M. Colin, controller of the 
 kitchen. — Roustan. — Sleeples.sness of the Emperor. — His care of his 
 hands. — He was easily affected by the cold. — Demolition of a chapel at 
 Witepsk. — Discontent of the inhabitants. — Singular spectacle. — The 
 Soldiers of the guard mingling with the bathers. — Review of the grena^ 
 diers. — Installation of General Friant. — The Emperor gives him the 
 accolade. — Mistake of those who think the suite of the Emperor fared 
 better than the rest of the army. — Generals eating ammunition-bread. — 
 Community of suffering between the generals and soldiers. — The ma- 
 rauders. — Beds of straw. — M. de Eeausset. — Anecdote. — A night with 
 the persons of the Emperor's suite. — Cloth bags for beds. — The Empe- 
 ror's solicitude concerning the persons of his suite. — Vermin. — We 
 assign our mattresses to the wounded Pages 125-133. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Publication of the twenty-ninth bulletin at Paris. — The Emperor arrives 
 after an interval of two days. — Marie Louise and the iirst defeat. — 
 Josephine and success. — The two Empresses. — Resources of France. — 
 Influence of the Emperor's presence. — First defection, and fear of imita- 
 tors. — My departure from Smorghoni. — The king of Naples in command 
 of the army. — Route followed by the Emperor. — Hope of the Polish 
 population. — Confidence inspired by the Emperor. — My arrival at the 
 Tuileries. — I am summoned to his Majesty in my traveling clothes. — 
 Very kind welcome. — A word of the Emperor to Marie Louise, and cool- 
 ness of the Empress. — Kindness of Queen Hortense. — The Emperor's 
 questions, and veracious replies. — I resume the duties of my service. — 
 Flattering addresses. — The Emperor more occupied with Malet's enter- 
 prise than the disasters of Moscow. — Great number of persons in mourn- 
 ing. — The Emperor and Empress at the opera. — Quarrel between Talma 
 and Geoffrey. — The Emperor does injustice to Talma. — No presents for 
 persons attached to the Emperor's service. — The Emperor interested 
 in my toilet. — Presents conveyed and gratuitous services. — Eighteen 
 hundred francs income reduced to seventeen hundred. — The Emperor 
 goes out in Paris. — Monuments visited with out escort with Marshal 
 Duroc. — Passion for building. — Unusual frequency of hunting-parties. 
 — Political motives and the English journals .... Pages 13^-142. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The chase and breakfast at Grosbois. — The Empress and her ladies. — An 
 unexpected journey. — The road to Fontainebleau. — Hunting-costumes, 
 and mortification of the ladies. — Precautions taken concerning the 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9 
 
 Empress. — The pretended and the real object of the journey. — Concordat 
 ■with the Pope. — Disgraceful calumnies on the Emperor. — Preparatoiy 
 steps and the Bishop of Nantes. — False statements refuted. — The Em- 
 peror's first visit to the Pope. — The truth as to their relations. — Dis- 
 tribution of pardons and favors. — The cardinals. — The Pope repents 
 signing the Concordat. — Account given by the Emperor to Marshal 
 Kellerman. — His elevated thoughts on ancient and modern Borne. — 
 State of the pontificate in his Majesty's opinion. — Return to Paris. — 
 Accouterments and offers of armed cavalry. — The Emperor's plans for 
 making Paris the most beautiful city in the world. — The Emperor's 
 conversation with M. Fontaine in regard to the buildings of Paris. — 
 Plan of a residence for the minister of the kingdom of Italy. — Memo- 
 randum by the Emperor as to the palace of the King of Rome. — Incredi- 
 ble details which the Emperor considers. — The ^fclysee not liked by the 
 Emperor, and the Tuileries deemed barely inhabitable. — More inter- 
 ested than ever in building. — The King of Rome at the review on the 
 Champ de Mars. — Enthusiasm of the people and the soldiers. — The 
 Emperor deeply gratified. — New inquiries about Rome addressed to 
 M. Fontaine. — My salary doubled on the day of review to date from 
 the end of the year Pages 143-15S. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Murat leaves the army to return to Naples. — Eugene commanding in the 
 Emperor's name. — Headquarters at Posen. — The remains of the army. 
 
 — The tidings become more and more disquieting. — Resolution to de- 
 part. — Rumors circulated in advance. — The Empress regent. — The 
 Empress takes the oath. — We leave for the army. — Rapid march to 
 Erfurt. — Visit to the Duchess of Weimar. — The Emperor gratified 
 by his reception. — The Emperor's household in the campaign of 1813. 
 
 — The little town of Eckhartsberg transformed into headquarters. — 
 The Emperor in the midst of an unexpected tumult. — Arrival at 
 Lutzen, and battle gained next day. — Death of the Duke of Istria. — 
 Monument erected to the duke by the King of Saxony. — Handsome 
 conduct of the young conscripts. — Opinion of Ney in regard to them. 
 
 — The Prussians commanded by their king in person. — The Emperor 
 in the midst of the flre. — His Majesty enters Dresden the same day 
 the Emperor Alexander leaves that city. —A deputation and the Em- 
 peror's reply. — An explosion, and the Emperor slightly wounded. — 
 Mission of General Plahaut to the King of Saxony. — A long conference 
 between the King of Saxony and the Emperor. — Complaints of the 
 Emperor against his father-in-law. — Congratulations of the Emperor of 
 Austria after the victory. — M. de Bubna at Dresden. — The Emperor 
 takes no repose. — Faculty of sleeping in any place and at all hours. — 
 
10 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Battle of Bautzen. — Admirable display of sympathy by the Saxon 
 population. — An animated discussion between the Emperor and Baron 
 Larrej'. — Conscripts wounded by carelessness. — The Emperor's injus- 
 tice admitted by himself Pages 156-169. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Death of Marshal Duroc. — Grief of the Emperor and general consternation 
 in the army. — Particulars of this fatal event. — Impatience of the Em- 
 peror on being unable to overtake the rear guard of the Eussians. — 
 Two or three cannon-balls dig up the ground at the Emperor's feet. — A 
 number of the guard killed near his Majesty. — Announcement of the 
 death of General Bruyeres. — Duroc near the Emperor. — A tree struck 
 by a shell. — The Duke of Plaisance announces, weeping, the death of the 
 grand marshal. — Death of General Kirgener. — Assiduous but useless 
 attentions. — The marshal still breathing. — The Emperor's adieux to his 
 friend. — Indescribable consternation. — The Emperor motionless and 
 abstracted. — To-morrow everything. — The Russians completely routed. 
 — Death of the grand marshal. — Funeral inscription dictated by the 
 Emperor. — Land bought and agreement violated. — Our entrance into 
 Silesia. — Perfect self-possession of the Emperor. — His Majesty directs 
 the troops himself. — The march on Breslau. — The Emperor on a pil- 
 laged farm. — Afire destroys forty baggage- wagons. — A fictitious anec- 
 dote denied. — The Emperor neglects nothing. —Entrance into Breslau. 
 —A prediction almost fulfilled. — Armistice of the 4th of June. — Stay 
 at Gorlitz.— Losses generously repaid. —Return to Dresden. — Rumors 
 dissipated by the Emperor's presence. — The Marcolini palace.— The 
 Emperor living as he did at Schoenbrunn. — The French comedy ordered 
 to Dresden. — The composition of the troupe. — Theater of the Orangery 
 and comedy. — Tragedy at Dresden. —Employment of the Emperor's 
 days. — Distractions and Mademoiselle Georges. — Talma and Mademoi- 
 selle Mars breakfasting with the Emperor. — Happy repartee and the 
 Emperor's politeness. —Abundance diffused through Dresden by the 
 presence of his Majesty. — Camps around the town.— The Emperor's 
 fete advanced five days. —The soldiers at the Te Deum . Pages 170-184. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Desire for peace. — The honor of our arms restored. — Difficulties raised by 
 the Emperor Alexander. — Mediation of Austria. — Time lost. — De- 
 parture from Dresden. — Fine appearance of the French army. — Eng- 
 land the soul of the coalition. — The stipulations of Lune'ville. — The 
 nation in arms in Prussia. — Retrospection. — Incidents of the stay at 
 Dresden. — The Duke of Otranto with the Emperor. —Unfounded sus- 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 11 
 
 picions. — EeooUections of the Malet conspiracy. — Fouohe governor- 
 general of lUyria. — The Emperor's high opinion of the talents of the 
 Dulie of Otranto. — Devotion of the Duke of Kovigo. — Arrival of the 
 King of Naples. — Evident coolness of the Emperor. — Dresden fortified 
 and extent of the fortifications. — The maps and rehearsal of battles. — 
 Oux journey to Mayence.— Death of the Duke of Abrantes. — The Em- 
 peror's regrets. — Short interview Tvith the Empress. — The Emperor 
 three days in his cabinet. — Expiration of the armistice. — The fete of 
 Saint-Napoleon advanced five days. — The French comedy and play 
 gratis at Dresden. — The day of dinners. — Fete at the residence of 
 General Durosnel. — Baptiste junior and my Lord Bristol. — The French 
 infantry divided into fourteen corps. — Six grand divisions of cavalry. — 
 The guard of honor. — Composition and strength of the hostile armies. — 
 Two foreigners against one Frenchman. — The Emperor's mistaken feel- 
 ing of security in regard to Austria. — Declaration of war. — The count 
 of Narbonne Pages 185-194. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Emperor marching to conquer a peace. — The day following the depar- 
 ture, and the field of battle at Bautzen. — Murat at the head of the 
 Imperial Guard, and refuses royal honors. — The Emperor at Gorlitz. — 
 Interview with the Duke of Vicenza. — The gage of peace or war. — 
 Bliicher in Silesia. — Violation of the armistice by Bliicher. — General 
 Jomini at the headquarters of the Emperor Alexander. — Anecdote of 
 the Duke of Vicenza. — First news of the presence of Moreau. — General 
 Jomini is presented to Moreau. — Mutual coldness and the Emperor's 
 opinion. — The Emperor's prediction concerning deserters. — The two 
 traitors. — Changes in the plans of the Emperor. — Movements at head- 
 quarters. — Murat's mission to Dresden. — The Emperor's instructions to 
 General Gourgaud. — Dresden threatened, and consternation of the inhabi- 
 tants. — General Gourgand's report, — Eesolve to defend Dresden.— 
 General Haxo sent to General Vandamme. — Orders carefully given: — 
 The Emperor on the bridge at Dresden. —The city reassured by his 
 presence.— Fine appearance of the cuirassiers of Latour-Maubourg. — 
 A great battle. —The Emperor more exposed than he had ever been.— 
 The Emperor wet to the skin. — I find great difficulty in undressing him. 
 — The only attack of fever his Majesty had during the time I knew 
 him. — The day after the victory. — The Emperor's escort as brilliant as 
 at the Tuileries. —Grenadiers spend the night in cleaning their arms. — 
 News from Paris. — Letters personal to me. — Lawsuit between Michel 
 and Reynier. — The Empress leaves for Cherbourg. — The Emperor's at- 
 tentions to the Empress. — Efforts to make her popular. — Newspapers 
 substituted for the bulletins. —Reading the daily papers . Pages 19.5-205. 
 
12 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Prodigies of valor performed by the King of Naples. —His striking appear- 
 ance on the battlefield. — The effect produced by his presence. — Descrip- 
 tion of the king. —His horse. — The Emperor praises the King of Naples. 
 Increasing prudence of certain generals. — The Emperor on the battle- 
 field of Dresden. — Humanity towards the wounded, and aid given the 
 poor peasants. — An important personage wounded on the enemy's staff. 
 
 Details given the Emperor by a peasant. — The Prince of Schwarzen- 
 
 berg thought to be dead.— His Majesty's words. —Fatalism and recol- 
 lections of the ball at Paris. —The Emperor mistaken. — Inscription on 
 the collar of a dog sent to the Prince of Neuchatel. — / belong to General 
 Moreau. — Death of Moreau. — Particulars of bis last moments as given 
 by his valet de chambre. — The bullet found. — liesolution taken to march 
 on Berlin. — Fatal news of the catastrophe of General Vandamme.— 
 Noble words of the Emperor. — Painful resignation of his Majesty.— 
 Final departure for Dresden. — Marshal Sain1>Cyr. — The King of Saxony 
 and his family accompany the Emperor. — Exhortation to the Saxon 
 troops. — Enthusiasm and treachery. — The Cliateau at Diiben. The 
 Emperor's plans known to the army. — The times much changed. — Dis- 
 satisfaction of the generals openly expressed. — Defection of the Bava- 
 rians. — Increased discouragement. — Sadness of the stay at Diiben. — 
 Two days of solitude and indecision. — Apathetic idleness of the Em- 
 peror. — The Emperor yielding to the generals. — Departure for Leipzig. 
 
 — General joy of the staff. — Marshal Augereau alone of the Emperor's 
 opinion. — The Emperor's hopes deceived. — Resolution of the allies not 
 to fight unless the Emperor is absent. — Short stay at Leipzig. — Procla- 
 mation of the Prince Royal of Sweden to the Saxons. — M. Moldrecht 
 and the Emperor's clemency. — M. Leborgne d'Ideville. — Leipzig the 
 center of the war. — Three of the enemy to one Frenchman. — Two 
 hundred thousand discharges of cannon in five days. — Ammunition 
 exhausted. — The retreat ordered. — The Emperor and Prince Ponia- 
 towski. — Indignation of the King of Saxony against his troops, and con- 
 solation given by the Emperor. — His Majesty in imminent danger. — 
 Last and touching adieux of the two sovereigns . . . Pages 206-221. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A suggestion to bum the city rejected by the Emperor. — His desire to save 
 Leipzig. — The King of Saxony released from his oath of fidelity. — The 
 exit from Leipzig closed to the Emperor. — His Majesty recrosses the 
 city. — Noble behavior of the Duke of Ragusa and Marshal Ney. — Hor- 
 rible scene on the streets of Leipzig. — The bridge at the mill of Lin- 
 denau. — Vivid recollections. — Orders given by the Emperor in person. 
 
 — His Majesty sleeping amidst the noise of combat. — The King of 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 13 
 
 Naples and Marshal Augereau at the Imperial bivouac. —The hridge 
 cleared. — The Emperor's orders badly executed and his consequent 
 indignation. — Absurdity of certain false rumors. — Unparalleled mis- 
 fortunes. — Marshal Macdonald crosses the Elster by swimming. — Death 
 of General Dumortier and a large number of brave soldiers. — Death of 
 Prince Poniatowski. — Deep grief of the Emperor and universal regrets. 
 — Particulars of this catastrophe. — The body of the prince recovered by 
 a shepherd. — Two days at Erfurt. —The adieux of the King of Naples 
 and the Emperor. — The King of Saxony treated as a prisoner, and the 
 Emperor's indignation. — A brilliant affair at Hanau. — Arrival at May- 
 ence. — Trophies of the campaign, and the Emperor's letter to the 
 Empress. — Contrast presented by the two returns of the Emperor to 
 France. — Arrival at Saint-Cloud. — Questions addressed to me by the 
 Emperor, and truthful replies. — Hopes of a peace. — M. de. Saint- Aignan 
 is captured. — The negotiator of peace taken by force. — Vain hopes. — 
 The happiness of mediocrity Pages 222-232. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Eecent souvenirs. — The secret societies of Germany. — The Emperor and 
 the Freemasons. — The Emperor amused at Cambaceres. — The fa- 
 natical assassins. — Promenade on the banks of the Elbe. — A Saxon 
 magistrate. — Religious zeal of a Protestant. — Information as to the 
 societies of Germany. — Opposition of the government to the Tugend- 
 verein. — Origin and reorganization of the clubs of 1813. — Black cheva- 
 liers and the black chasseurs. — The Confederation of Louise. — The 
 Concordists. — The Baron de Nostitz and the Queen of Prussia's chain. 
 
 — Germany divided among the chiefs of societies. — Madame Brede and 
 the old elector of Hesse-Cassel. — Intrigue of the Baron de Nostitz. — 
 Real object of the secret societies. — Their importance. — The Emperor's 
 questions. — A history or a novel. — Reception of a Carbonari. — A French 
 oflficer in the Tyrol. — His manners, habits, and character. — A hunting- 
 party and the usual reception. — Italians and Tyrolese. — Trials of 
 patience. — Three meetings appointed. — A night in the forest. — An 
 apparent crime. — Evident proofs. — Trial, judgment, and condemnation. 
 
 — Colonel Boizard. — Revelations refused. — The executioner and the 
 scaffold. — Religious observance of the oath. — The Carbonari. 
 
 Pages 233-245. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Confusion and disturbance at Mayence. — Decrees issued from Mayence.— 
 Convocation of the Legislative Corps. — Ingratitude of General de 
 "Wrede. — His family misfortunes. — How the Emperor employs his 
 
14 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 time, and increased activity. — The works at Paris. — Troops equipped 
 as if by magic. — Anxiety of the Parisians. — First foretaste of the con- 
 scription. — Bad news from the army. — Evacuation of Holland, and 
 return of the arch-treasurer. — Capitulation of Dresden. — The treaty 
 violated, and the Emperor's indignation. — Display of anger. — I am hon- 
 ored with his Majesty's confidence. — Death of the Count de Narbonne. 
 
 — His first destination. — How he became the Emperor's aide-de-camp. 
 
 — Vain ambition of several princes. — Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. — 
 Jealousy caused by the favor shown to M. de Narbonne. — Names for- 
 gotten. — Tlio Emperor's opinion of M. de Narbonne. — Characteristic 
 speech. — General Bertrand grand marshal of the palace. — Marshal Suchet 
 colonel-general of the guard. — Change in the administration of the Em- 
 pire. — The right to name the president of the Legislative Corps granted 
 to the Emperor. — M. de Mole the youngest minister of tiie Empire. — 
 Particulars of the Emperor's excursions through Paris. — His Majesty 
 recognizes me in the crowd. — The Emperor's gayety. — The Emperor 
 shows himself oftener in public. — Their Majesties at the opera and tlie 
 ballet of Nina. — The Emperor intensely gratified by the acclamations of 
 the populace. — The Emperor and Empress at the Italian opera. — Ex- 
 traordinary representation and Madame Grassini. — The Emperor's visit 
 to the establishment of Saint-Denis. — The pages, and the Emperor's fine 
 spirits. — Serious reiiections Pages 246-256. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Last celebration of the anniversary of the coronation. — The Emperor's love 
 for France. — His Majesty more popular in misfortune. — Visits to the 
 Faubourg Saints Antoine. — Conversation with the residents. — General 
 enthusiasm. — The populace escort his Majesty. — A wrong interpreta- 
 tion. — The iron gates of the Carrousel. — The Emperor more annoyed 
 than pleased. — Fears of disorder and recollections of the revolution. — 
 Volunteer enrollments and a new regiment of the guard. — Free repre- 
 sentations at the theater. — Marriage of twelve young girls. — Residence 
 at the Tuileries. — Emile and Montmorency. — Movements of the enemy's 
 troops. — Desertion of the Emperor's last ally. — Armistice between Den- 
 mark and Russia. — Opinions of certain generals as to the French army 
 in Spain. — Adhesion of the Emperor to the basis of the alliance. — 
 Negotiations, the Duke of Vicenza and M. de Metternioh. — The Duke 
 of Massa president of the Corps Le'gislatif . — Opening of the session. — 
 The senate and the cormcil of state at the Corps Le'gislatif. — Address 
 of the Emperor. — His Majesty asserts his desire for the re-establishment 
 of peace. — Death of General Dupont Derval, and his two widows. — The 
 pension I obtained from his Majesty for one of them. — His Majesty's 
 aversion to divorce, and respect for marriage .... Pages 257-267. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 15 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 Efforts of the allies to separate France from the Emperor. — Truth of his 
 Majesty's words proved by events. — Copies of the declaration of 
 Frankfort circulating in Paris. — The declaration compared with the 
 Emperor's speech. — The insincerity of the foreigners admitted by M. 
 de Boiurienne. — Reflections on a passage in his Memoirs. — M. de Bour- 
 rienne under guard. — The Duke of Eovigo his defender. — The enemy's 
 object partly attained. — Count Regnault de Saint Jean d'Angely at the 
 Corps Legislatif. — Committee from the Corps Legislatif. — The Empe- 
 ror's remark and the five lawyers. — The Emperor's letter to the Duke of 
 Massa. — Meeting of the two commissions at the residence of the prince 
 archchancellor. — Reserve shown by the senate. — Frequent visits of 
 the Duke of Rovigo to the Emperor. — This minister tells his Majesty 
 the truth. — Fear of increasing the number of persons compromised. — 
 Authentic and unknown anecdote. — An employee of the treasury enthu- 
 siastic for the Emperor. — Forced visit to the minister of general police. 
 
 — The minister and the employee. — Dialogue. — The enthusiast threat- 
 ened with imprisonment. — Sagacious explanations of the minister. — 
 Work of the two commissions. — The address to the senate well re- 
 ceived. — His Majesty's remarkable reply. — Promise more difficult to 
 make than to keep. — Increase of taxes. — "Wise judgment in regard to 
 the conduct of the Corps Legislatif. — The report of the commission. — 
 Vehement interruption and reply. — The Emperor much disturbed, and 
 promenading with great strides. — Decision taken and condemned. — 
 Impressed with the report and the address. — The hall where the sit- 
 tings are held is violently closed. — The deputies at the Tuileries. — A 
 strong expression of dissatisfaction with the Emperor. ^ Incendiary 
 address. — Correspondence with England and the lawyer Deseze. — The 
 archchancellor protects M. Deseze. — The Emperor's calm. — Bad effects. 
 
 — Sad premonitions, and the close of the year 1813 . . Pages 268-281. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Commissioners sent into the departments. — The enemy on the soil of France. 
 
 — Frenchmen in the enemy's ranks. — The greatest crime in the eyes of 
 the Emperor. — Original plan of his Majesty in relation to Ferdinand 
 VII. — Wishes and demands of the Prince of Spain. — Plan of marriage. 
 — The Prince of Spain and additional embarrassment. — Measures taken 
 by the Emperor. — Surrender of Dantzic and agreement violated. — Sur- 
 render of Torgau. — Distressing news from the south. — Instructions to 
 the Duke of Vicenza. — Baron Capelle and the commission of inquiry. — 
 Remarkable coincidence in two events. — Calling out the National Guard 
 of Paris. — The Emperor commander-in-chief. — Composition of the gen- 
 eral staff. — ^Marshal Moncey. — The Emperor's desire to amalgamate all 
 
16 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 classes of society. — The most honorable title in the Emperor's eyes. 
 The zeal of M. de Chahrol and the Emperor's friendship. —A master of 
 request and two auditors. — Unknown particulars. — M. Allent and M. de 
 Saintc-Croix. — The wooden leg. — Enthusiasm of the citizens, and defi- 
 ciency of arms. — Invalid soldiers requesting to enter the service again. 
 
 Pages 282-291. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The campaign of miracles. — A solemn promise broken. — Violation of Swiss 
 territory. — The allied troops in the Breisgau. — The bridge of Bale. — 
 French towns occupied by the enemy. — Energy of the Emperor increas- 
 ing with the danger. — Camot governor of Antwerp, and satisfaction of 
 the Emperor. — Defection of the King of Naples. — The King of Naples 
 and the Prince Koyal of Sweden. —The Emperor's anger. —The eve 
 of departure. — The officers of the National Guard at the Tuileries. — 
 Remarkable words of the Emperor. — A touching scene. — The King of 
 Rome and the Empress under the safeguard of the Parisians. — A scene 
 of enthusiasm and emotion. — Tears of the Empress. — Spontaneous oath. 
 
 — M. de Bourrienne at the Tuileries. — Departure for the army. — Col- 
 onel Bouland and the cross of. the Legion of Honor. — The indefati- 
 gable braves. — A singular meeting. — The old country curate recognized 
 by the Emperor. — The ecclesiastical guide. — Arrival before Brienne. — 
 Bliicher in flight. — The Emperor believes Bliicher a prisoner. — Recol- 
 lections of ten years, and difference in the times. — Striking changes for 
 all. — Atrocious cruelty. — Violation, pillage, and burning. — Official 
 falsehoods concerning the allies. — Detestable makers of jokes. — The 
 Emperor Alexander's indifference as to preventing disorder. — The field 
 of La Rothiere. — A child's combat and a bloody battle. — Retreat to- 
 wards Troyes. — Imminent danger of the Emperor, and his sword cutting 
 the wind. — The war of the eagle and the ravens. — The army of Bliicher. 
 
 Pages 292-305. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Renewed prodigies in Italy. — Personal courage of the Emperor. — The Em- 
 peror's words to his soldiers. — A shell bursts near the Emperor. — 
 The Emperor awakes frequently during the night. — His Majesty's ex- 
 treme kindness to me. — No dishonorable peace. — Forgetfulness atoned 
 for. — I sleep in the Emperor's chair. — His Majesty seats himself on his 
 bed in order not to awake me. — Adorable words of the Emperor. — His 
 Majesty decides to make peace. — Success followed by renewed indecis- 
 ion. — The Emperor and the Duke of Bassano. — Departure for Se'zannc. 
 
 — A succession of triumphs. — Captured generals at the Emperor's 
 table. — Combat of Nangis. — Bliicher almost taken prisoner. — The eve 
 of the battle at Me'ry. — The Emperor on a bundle of reeds. — A flock of 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 17 
 
 snipes and the Emperor's words. — The movement towards Anglure. — 
 Burning of Me'ry. — Critical position of the allies. — Critical position of 
 M. Ansart. — An usher guides the Emperor. — Fear of cannon. — A 
 bridge constructed in an hour under the enemy's fire. — The Emperor 
 exceedingly thirsty and a young girl's courage. — The Emperor's head- 
 quarters in a wheelwright's shop. — Prisoners and banners sent to Paris. 
 — ^The delicate mission of M. de Saint- Aignan. — Extreme anger of the 
 Emperor. — Disgrace of M. Saint- Aignan and quick restoration to favor. 
 — The enemy abandons Troyes by capitulation. — A severe order. — Em- 
 blems and colors of the former dynasty. — Council of war and the death 
 penalty. — Execution of Chevalier Gonault Pages 306-318. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Negotiations for an arm.stice. — Bliicher and one hundred thousand men. — 
 The Prince von Schwarzenberg taking the oilensive. — A ruse of war. — 
 The Emperor meets Bliicher. — Halt at the village of Herbisse. — The 
 good curate. — The Emperor's politeness. — Singular quarters for a night. 
 
 — Marshal Lefebvre as a theologian. — Abb^ Maury marshal, and Mar- 
 shal Lefebvre cardinal. — The country supper. — Gayety and privation. 
 
 — Awakening of the curate and generosity of the Emperor. — General 
 readiness to furnish information. — The brave Wolil and the cross of 
 honor. — Several generals wounded. — Skill of General Drouot. — Defense 
 of the Russians. — M. de Rumigny at headquarters, and news of the Con- 
 gress. — A secret conference most unfavorable to peace. — Very animated 
 scene between the Emperor and the Duke of Vicenza. — Courageous per- 
 sistence of the minister, and advice to make peace. — You are Russian. — 
 The Emperor's vehemence. — A victory in prospect. — Tears of the Duke 
 of Vicenza. — The march towards Laon. — The French army surprised 
 by the Russians. — The Emperor's dissatisfaction. — Rheims is taken by 
 M. de Saint-Priest. — Valor of General Corbineau. — Our entry into 
 Rheims as the Russians leave. — Resignation of the inhabitants. — Good 
 discipline of the Russians. — Three days at Rheims. —Young conscripts. 
 
 — Six thousand men and General Janssens. — The affairs of the Empire. 
 —The only perfectly indefatigable man Pages 319-333. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 An habitual expression of the Emperor. —New plan of attack. — Departure 
 for Rheims. — Secret mission to King Joseph. — Precautions taken by 
 the Emperor in regard to the Empress and the King of Rome. — Conver- 
 sation of the evening before. —The Emperor Alexander and the King of 
 Prussia arrive at Troyes. — Admirable conduct at fipemay. — M. Meet and 
 the cross of honor. — Another cross given to a farmer. — Retreat of the 
 
18 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 allied army. — Engagement of La Fere. — Champenoise. — Count d' Artois 
 at Nancy. — On the 20th of March the battle of Arcis-sur-Aube. — The 
 Prince von Schwarzenberg brings up the Austrians. — Dissolution of 
 the.Congress and presence of the Austrian army. — Nocturnal battle. — 
 Flames lighting the battlefield. — Eetreat in good order. — The Emperor's 
 presence of mind, and assistance rendered the Sisters of Charity. — The 
 name of the Bourbons pronounced for the first time by the Emperor. — 
 Memoiy of the Empress Josephine. — The enemies at fipemay. — Pillage 
 and the horror it inspired in his Majesty. — The Emperor at Saint-Dizier. 
 — M. de Weissemberg at headquarters. — Verbal message to the Emperor 
 of Austria. — The Emperor of Austria compelled to retire to Dijon. — 
 Arrival at Doulevent, and secret opinion of M. de Lavalette. — News from 
 Paris. — The national guard and the schools. — The Oriflamme at the 
 opera. — Eapid flight of time. — Battle continuously waged. — Saint-Dizier 
 is captured. — Junction of General Bliicher and the Prince von Schwar- 
 zenberg. — News of King Joseph. — Will Paris be able to defend itself ? 
 — Mission of General Dejean. — The Emperor leaves for Paris. — I am 
 separated from his Majesty for the iirst time Pages 334r-342. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Sad memories. — The foreigners in Paris. — An order of the Emperor. — His 
 Majesty's departure for Troyes. — Ten leagues in two hours. — The Em- 
 peror in a chaise. — I arrive at Essonne. — Orders to return to Fontaiue- 
 bleau. — His Majesty's arrival. — The Emperor's dejection. — Marshal 
 Moncey at Fontainebleau. — Melancholy silence of the Emperor. — Con- 
 tinued preoccupation. — Only distraction of the Emperor caused by his 
 soldiers. — The first review at Fontainebleau. — Paris ! Paris ! — Neces- 
 sity of speaking of myself. —My house pillaged by the Cossacks. — A 
 gift of fifty thousand francs. — The Emperor's dejection constantly in- 
 creases. — Roustan is forbidden to give pistols to the Emperor.- The 
 Emperor's exceeding kindness to me. — Gift of a hundred thousand 
 francs. — His Majesty condescends to enter into my family affairs.— 
 Inexpressible gratitude. — One hundred thousand francs hidden in 
 the woods. — Denis, the boy of the wardrobe. — The origia of all my 
 cliagrin Pages 343-360. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVTI. 
 
 Indulgence asked. — Our position at Fontainebleau. — Impossibility of believ- 
 ing that the Emperor can be dethroned. — Numerous petitions. — Effect 
 produced on his Majesty by the journals. — The Duke of Bassano. — The 
 Emperor more affected by renoimcing the throne for his son than for 
 himself. — The Emperor, a soldier, and one louis per day. — The Empe- 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 19 
 
 ror's atdioation. — Great revelation. — A sad day and a calm evening. — 
 The Emperor's retiring. — Painful awaking. — The Emperor poisoned. — 
 Eemains of the campaign sachet. — Words addressed to me hy the dying 
 Emperor. — Frightful despair. — His Majesty's resignation. — Delay in 
 dying. — First convulsion. — Order to summon M. Caulaincourt and M. 
 Tvan. — Touching words of his Majesty to the Duke of Vicenza. — Long 
 opposition to our united prayers. — The Emperor questions M. Tvan, 
 and his sudden fright. — Second convulsion. — The Emperor at last tak- 
 ing medicine. — Drowsiness of the Emperor. — Awaking, and complete 
 silence on the events of the night. — M. Yvan leaves for Paris. — Depar- 
 ture of Eoustan. — The 12th of April. — Farewell of Marshal Macdonald 
 to the Emperor. — Breakfast as usual. — The sword of Mourad-Eey. — 
 The Emperor more talkative than usual. — Sudden variations in the 
 Emperor's humor. — Morose sadness and The Monaco. — Eepugnance 
 of the Emperor to receiving letters from Paris. — Eemarkahle proof of 
 the Emperor's dejection. — A heautiful lady at Fontainebleau. — A 
 whole night of expectation and oblivion. — Another visit to Fontaine- 
 hleau and a retrospection. — Adventure at Saint-Cloud. — The protector 
 of heautiful women for his Majesty. — My journey to Eourg-la-Eeine. — 
 The mother and daughter. — Journey to the Island of Elba, and marriage. 
 — Sad return to affairs at Fontainebleau. — A question the Emperor asks 
 me. — Candid reply. — The Emperor's remarks concerning the Duke of 
 Eassano Pages 351-363. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVIII. 
 
 The grand marshal and General Drouot the only great personages remain- 
 ing with the Emperor. — The destination of his Majesty known. — The 
 commissioners of the allies. — Demand and repugnance of the Emperor. 
 — Preference for the English commissioner. — Silent life in the palace. — 
 The Emperor more calm. — Remark of his Majesty. — The eve of depar- 
 ture and day of despair. — Fatality attending the one hundred thousand 
 francs which the Emperor had given me. — Unexpected and inexpli- 
 cable question of the grand marshal. — What I should have done. — 
 Inconceivable forgetfuluess of the Emperor. — The hundred thousand 
 francs disinterred. — Terror lest it should have been stolen. — Frightful 
 despair. — Mistake as to the place, and the treasure found. — Prompt 
 restitution. — Horror of the situation. — I leave the palace. — Mission 
 of M. Hubert to me. — Offer of three hundred thousand francs to accom- 
 pany the Emperor. — I am beside myself, and fear the accusation of 
 acting from interest. — Painful reflections. — Incredible torture. — The 
 Emperor sets out. —Astounding situation. — Physical and mental suffer- 
 ing. — Complete solitude of my life. — Visit of a friend. — False interpre- 
 tation of my conduct in a journal. — M. de Turenne wrongly accused. — 
 
20 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Impossibility of defending myself on account of my regard for his 
 Majesty. — Consolation drawn from the past. — Examples and proofs of 
 disinterestedness on my part. — Refusal of four hundred thousand francs. 
 
 — M. Marchand, by my efforts, gets a place under the Emperor. — M. 
 Marchand's gratitude Pages 364-374. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 I become a stranger to all. — Fear of the effects of malevolence. —Beading 
 the journals. — I begin to comprehend the Emperor's greatness. — His 
 Majesty disembarks. — The good master and good man. — Delicacy and 
 uncertainty of my position. — Remembrance of the Emperor's kindness. 
 
 — His Majesty inquiring news of me. — Words of appreciation. — Appro- 
 bation of my conduct. —Fruitless malevolence, and justice done me by 
 M. Marchand.- My absence from Paris prolonged. — The Emperor at 
 the Tuileries. — Circumstantial details. — A sergeant of the National 
 Guard twenty-four hours on duty. -Removal of the family portraits of 
 the Bourbons. — The people at the gate of the Carrousel. — Vive le Eoi 
 and Five I ' Empereur. — Frightful panic from the burning of a chimney. — 
 General Exelmans and the tricolored banner. — Cockades preserved. — 
 Arrival of the Emperor. — His Majesty borne on their arms. — On duty 
 in the palace. — First visits. — The archchancellor and Queen Hortense. 
 
 — Table for three hundred guests. — The father of Marshal Bertrand, and 
 the Emperor's conduct. — The Emperor's supper and the dish of lentils. 
 — An impossible order. — Two grenadiers from the Island of Elba. — A 
 deep sleep. — Four hours a night for the Emperor. — His Majesty, and 
 the officers on half-pay. — M. de Saint-Chamans. — Review on the Car- 
 rousel. — The Emperor demanded by the people. — Marshal Bertrand 
 presented to the people by his Majesty. — A touching scene and general 
 enthusiasm. — Continuation of my solitary life. — Tears for his Majesty's 
 misfortunes. — Two later events. — Princess Catharine of Wiirtemberg. 
 
 — Nobility of character and superstition. — Thirteen at table, and death 
 of the Princess Eliza. — The first cross of the Legion of Honor worn by 
 the First Consul and Captain Godeau Pages 375-388. 
 
 CHji.PTER XXX. 
 Anecdotes and incidents Pages 389-416. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 Military anecdotes Pages 417^32. 
 
RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Journey through Flanders and Holland. -^M. Marchand, son of a nurse of the 
 King of Eome. — O'Meara. — This journey of their Majesties to Holland 
 not generally known. — Correction of Contemporary Memoirs. — My 
 duty. — A little incident at Montreuil. — Napoleon crosses the stream 
 in water up to his knees. — The joiner. — The mill-pond drawn off. — 
 The wounded of Eatisbon. — Boulogne. — The English frigate. — The 
 conscript's wife. — Napoleon crosses the Swine in a fisherman's boat, — 
 The two fishers. — Act of kindness. — Marie Louise at the Brussels 
 Theater. — Persons composing the suite on this journey. — Preparations 
 in Holland. — Improvised stables at Amsterdam. — M. Emery quarter- 
 master of the palace. — The mayor of the city of Breda. — Refutation of 
 a falsehood. — Their Majesties at Brussels. — Marie Louise buys lace to 
 the value of one hundred and fifty thousand francs. — Confiscated mer- 
 chandise. — Anecdote. — The court engages in smuggling. — I am accused 
 of being a smuggler. — I defend myself against the charge. — Napoleon 
 investigating details better suited to the duties of a femme de chambre. 
 
 — A note injurious to me. —My Memoirs on the year 1814. — Arrival of 
 their Majesties at Utrecht. — The rain and the crowd of curious people. 
 
 — The review. — The addresses. — False statement in Contemporary 
 Memoirs. — Perfect refinement of Napoleon. — His conduct in Holland. 
 
 — The Dutch. — Amusing anecdote. — The Emperor's bedroom. — En- 
 trance of their Majesties into Amsterdam. — Ee-entering the Tuileries 
 at night a year later. — Talma. — M. Alissan de Chazet. — Napoleon 
 conceives the idea of the expedition to Eussia. — The piano. — Visit to 
 Saardam.. — Peter the Great. — Visit to the village of Broek. — Joseph 
 the Second. — The King of Eome's first tooth. — Singular harangue.^ 
 Departure. — Arrival at Saint-Cloud. 
 
 In September, 1811, the Emperor decided to make a 
 journey into Flanders in company with the Empress, that 
 
 21 
 
22 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 he might personally ascertain if his orders had been carried 
 out in all matters concerning both the civil and religious 
 administration. Their Majesties left Compiegne on the 
 19th, and arrived at Montreuil-sur-Mer at nine o'clock in 
 the evening. I accompanied the Emperor on this journey. 
 I have read in O'Meara's Memorial that M. Marchand vi^as 
 at that time in the service of Napoleon. This is incorrect; 
 for M. Marchand did not enter the Emperor's private ser- 
 vice until 1814, at Fontainebleau. His Majesty at that 
 time ordered me to select from the domestics of the service 
 an intelligent young man to assist me in my duties near his 
 person, since none of the ordinary valets de chamhre were 
 to remain on the island of Elba. I mentioned the name 
 of M. Marchand, son of a nurse of the King of Rome, as 
 a suitable person for the place. He was accepted by his 
 Majesty, and from that time M. Marchand formed a part 
 of the private service of the Emperor. He may have been 
 on this journey to Holland ; but Napoleon was not aware 
 of it, as his duties did not bring Mm near his Majesty's 
 person. 
 
 I wUl now relate some of the circumstances which oc- 
 curred on this journey, and are not generally known to 
 the public, and at the same time take advantage of the 
 opportunity to refute other assertions similar to those I 
 have just mentioned, and which I have read with surprise, 
 sometimes mixed with indignation, in the Contemporary 
 Memoirs. I deem it important that the public should 
 have correct information as to everything pertaining to 
 this journey, in order that light may thus be thrown on 
 certain incidents, by means of which calumny has attacked 
 the honor of Napoleon, and even my own. A devoted 
 
JOURNEY THROUGH FLANDERS AND HOLLAND. 28 
 
 though humble servant of the Emperor, it is natural that 
 I should be deeply interested in explaining all that seems 
 doubtful, in refuting all falsehoods, and in giving minute 
 corrections of many incorrect statements vfhich might influ- 
 ence the judgment of the public concerning my master and 
 myself. I shall fulfil tliis duty with perfect frankness, as I 
 have sufficiently proved in the foregoing volumes of these 
 Memoirs. 
 
 A little incident occurred at Montreuil, which I take 
 pleasure in narrating, since it proves how carefully Napoleon 
 examined both the fortifications and improvements being 
 made in the towns, either by his personal orders, or from 
 the impulse given by him to these important departments 
 of public service. After investigating the work done in 
 the past year on the fortifications of Montreuil, and having 
 made a tour of all the ramparts, the Emperor returned to 
 the citadel, whence he again emerged to visit the exterior 
 works. An arm of the river Canehe, which lies at the foot 
 of the wall on one side of the city, intercepted his route. 
 The whole suite set to work to construct a temporary 
 bridge of planks and logs; but the Emperor, impatient 
 at the delay, walked through the stream in water up to 
 his knees. The owner of a mill on the opposite shore took 
 his Majesty by the arm to assist him in mounting the bank, 
 and profited by this opportunity to explain to the Emperor 
 that his mill, being in the line of the projected fortifi- 
 cations, would necessarily be torn down; whereupon the 
 Emperor turned to the engineers and said, "This brave 
 man must be indemnified for any loss he may sustain." 
 He then continued his rounds, and did not re-enter his 
 carriage until he had examined everything at leisure, and 
 
24 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 held a long interview with the civil and military authori- 
 ties of Montreuil. On the route a soldier who had been 
 wounded at Ratisbon was presented to him ; and his Ma- 
 jesty ordered that a present should be made him on the 
 spot, and that his petition should be presented to him on 
 his arrival at Boulogne on the 20th. 
 
 This was the second time Boulogne had received the 
 Emperor within its walls. Immediately on his arrival he 
 went on board the flotilla and held a review. As an Eng- 
 hsh frigate was evidently preparing to approach in order to 
 observe more closely what was taking place in the road- 
 stead, his Majesty immediately sent out a French frigate 
 under full sail against the hostile ship, whereupon the lat^ 
 ter, taking the alarm, at once disappeared. On the 29th of 
 September his Majesty reached Flushing, and from Flush- 
 ing went to visit the fortifications at Tervueren. As he 
 was overlooking the various works at that place, a young 
 woman threw herself at his feet, her cheeks wet with tears, 
 and extended a petition to the Emperor with a trembling 
 hand. Napoleon most graciously assisted her to rise, and 
 inquired the object of her petition. " Sire," said the poor 
 woman between her sobs, " I am the mother of three chil- 
 dren, whose father is conscripted by your Majesty; the 
 children and the mother are in the deepest distress." — 
 " Monsieur," said his Majesty to some one of his suite, 
 " make a note of this man's name ; I will make him an 
 officer." The young woman tried to express her gratitude, 
 but her emotion and tears prevented the utterance of a 
 word, and the Emperor went on his way. 
 
 Another kind act marked his departure from Ostend. 
 On leaving that town he followed the course of the Estrau, 
 
m HOLLAND. 25 
 
 and as he did not care to pass througli the locks, in order 
 to cross tire Swine, entered a fishing-boat in company with 
 the Duke of Vicenza, his grand equerry, Count Lobau, one 
 of his aides-de-camp, and two cliasseurs of tlie guard. This 
 boat, which was owned by two poor fisliermen, was worth 
 only about one hundred and fifty florins,' including its 
 equipment, and was their only source of wealth. The 
 crossing required about half an hour, and his Majesty 
 alighted at Fort Orange, on the island of Cadsand, where 
 the prefect with his suite awaited him ; and as he was wet 
 and suffering with the cold, a large fire was kindled, by 
 which he warmed himself with evident enjoyment. The 
 fishermen were then asked how much they charged for the 
 passage, and upon their replying a florin for each passenger, 
 Napoleon ordered that a hundred napoleons^ should be 
 counted out to them, and they should be granted a pension 
 of three hundred francs for life. It is impossible to give 
 an idea of the joyful surprise of these poor men, who had not 
 in the least suspected the exalted rank of their passenger; 
 but no sooner were they informed than the whole country 
 was told, and thus many hearts were won for Napoleon; 
 while at the same time the Empress Marie Louise was 
 being welcomed on his account at the theater, and whenever 
 she appeared on the streets, with sincere and vociferous 
 applause. 
 
 Preparations had been made everywhere in Holland two 
 months before the arrival of their Majesties, in order that 
 they might be suitably received ; and there was no village 
 on the Emperor's route so small that it was not eager to 
 earn his approbation by the proportional magnificence of 
 
 1 About $eO. — Trans. ^ About $400, — Tkans. 
 
26 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the welcome accorded, his Majesty. Almost the whole court 
 of France accompanied him on tliis journey, and grand dig- 
 nitaries, ladies of honor, superior officers, aides-de-camp, 
 chamberlains, equerries, ladies of attire, quartermasters, 
 valets de chambre, regulators of soldiers' quarters, the 
 kitchen service — nothing was wanting. Napoleon in- 
 tended to dazzle the eyes of the good Dutchmen by the 
 magnificence of his court ; and, in truth, his gracious man- 
 ner, his affability, and the recital of the numerous benefits 
 he scattered around his path, had already had their effect in 
 conquering this population, in spite of the frowning brows 
 of a few, who, as they smoked their pipes, murmured against 
 the impediments to commerce caused by the Continental 
 system. 
 
 The city of Amsterdam, where the Emperor had decided 
 to remain some time, found itself suddenly in a condition 
 of peculiar embarrassment, owing to the following circum- 
 stance : This town had a very extensive palace, but no 
 coaches nor stables attached to them, which for the suite of 
 Napoleon was a prime necessity ; and the stables of King 
 Louis, besides their insufficiency, were placed too far from 
 the palace to be occupied by even a portion of the Em- 
 peror's service. Consequently there was great embarrass- 
 ment in the city, and much difficulty was experienced in 
 quartering the Emperor's horses ; since to improvise stables 
 in a few days, almost in a moment, was impossible, and to 
 build carriage-houses in the midst of courts would have 
 had a ludicrous effect. But fortunately this difficult situa- 
 tion was ended by one of the quartermasters of the palace 
 named M. Emery, a man of great intelligence, and an old 
 soldier, who, having learned from Napoleon and the force of 
 
IN AMSTMEDA3I. 27 
 
 circumstances never to be overcome by difficulties, con- 
 ceived the happy thought of converting the flower-market 
 into stables and coach-houses, and placing the equipages 
 of the Emperor there under immense tents. 
 
 I have read in Contemporary Memoirs an anecdote to 
 which it is my duty to give a formal contradiction, as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 " The controller of the service who preceded their Majesties received 
 from the mayor of the city of Breda a refusal to place at his disposal 
 certain things necessary to carry out his orders. The mayor, who was 
 entirely devoted to the English party, and by no means overjoyed at 
 this visit of the new sovereign, would do absolutely nothing towards 
 Napoleon's reception ; and the controller was about to have recourse to 
 the law, when the leading men of the town obtained from their first 
 magistrate a courtesy which policy rendered imperative. On the next 
 day the mayor was obliged in his official capacity to congratulate the 
 Emperor on his arrival. Napoleon was on horseback ; and the mayor, 
 disguising his political sentiments, pompously delivered his municipal 
 harangue on presenting the keys of the city. The Emperor, who was 
 well aware of the political opinions of the mayor of Breda, said to him 
 very cavalierly, while administering a kick to the plate on which the 
 keys lay, which sent them off on the ground, ' Stand back I keep your 
 keys to open the gates to your dear friends, the English ; as for me, I 
 have no difficulty in entering your town, where I am already master.' " 
 
 This anecdote is false in every particular. The 
 Emperor, though sometimes abrupt in his manner, never 
 lowered his dignity by conduct so strange, and I might add 
 so ridiculous. This may appear an amusing invention to 
 the author of those memoirs, but I must confess that it 
 seems to me to contain as little probability as wit. 
 
 The Emperor at last rejoined his august spouse at Brus- 
 sels, where the enthusiasm excited by his presence was 
 
28 ttECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 unanimous. On a suggestion from him, which was as deli- 
 cate as politic, Marie Louise during her stay bought laces 
 to the value of one hundred and fifty thousand francs, in 
 order to encourage the manufacturers. The introduction 
 into France of English merchandise was at that time 
 severely prohibited, and all that was found was indis- 
 criminately burned. 
 
 Of the whole system of offensive policy maintained by 
 Napoleon against the maritime tyranny of England, nothing 
 more nearly aroused open opposition than the vigorous ob- 
 servance of prohibitory decrees. Belgium then contained 
 a quantity of English merchandise, which was most care- 
 fully concealed, and which every one was anxious to obtain, 
 as is ever the case with forbidden fruit. All the ladies in 
 the suite of the Empress made large purchases of these 
 articles ; and one even filled several carriages with them, 
 not without fear, however, that Napoleon might be informed 
 of this, and might seize everything on its arrival in France. 
 These carriages, bearing the arms of the Emperor, passed the 
 Rhine filled with this precious luggage, and arrived at the 
 gates of Coblentz, which furnished an occasion of painful 
 uncertainty to the officers of the custom-house, while they 
 deliberated whether they should arrest and examine the 
 carriages, or should permit a convoy to pass unmolested 
 because it professed to belong to the Emperor. After ma- 
 ture deliberation, the majority adopted this alternative ; and 
 the carriages successfully passed the first line of French 
 custom-houses, and reached port in safety, — that is to say, 
 Paris, — with its cargo of prohibited merchandise. If the car- 
 riages had been stopped, it is probable that Napoleon would 
 have highly applauded the courage of the inspectors of cus- 
 
SMUGGLING. 29 
 
 toms, and would have pitilessly burned the confiscated 
 articles. 
 
 On the subject of confiscated goods, I find in Contem- 
 porary Memoirs a new anecdote, which appears to me, 
 like the first, a story simply invented to amuse. It is a 
 matter of much importance to me to call attention to this 
 fictitious anecdote, in which I am made to play a part 
 entirely foreign to my character, and, as a result, incur a 
 disgrace which has never befallen me; and however much 
 it may cost me to inform the public of what concerns 
 myself alone, I feel that I owe it to truth to explicitly 
 deny assertions which might prejudice the judgment of 
 the reader, not only in regard to my own conduct, but also 
 in regard to Napoleon, whose character is altogether misrep- 
 resented by many circumstances detailed in these remark- 
 able Memoirs. 
 
 " Marie Louise, it is said, without the knowledge of the Emperor, 
 endeavored to obtain for her own use English manufactures ; and, in 
 order to accomplish this, a lady of attire used the services of the keen- 
 est and sharpest children of Jacob she could find, who made her pay- 
 fivefold for all that she bought, in order to indemnify themselves for 
 the danger they incurred in thus openly disobeying the orders of Na- 
 poleon under his very eyes. 
 
 " Constant, first valet de chambre of the Emperor, although he well 
 knew that his master abhorred everything which came from England, 
 nevertheless had the indiscretion to purchase articles manufactured 
 there. The Emperor was informed of this, and immediately gave 
 orders to the grand chamberlain and grand marshal to send this smug- 
 gler back to France, and dismiss him from his service. Constant, who 
 knew that Marie Louise committed the same frauds, solicited her kind 
 services to obtain his pardon from Napoleon ; and, in granting it. 
 Napoleon declared that in the future he would hang to the foremast 
 of the first vessel in the roads whoever dared to infringe his orders." 
 
30 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 All which is an entire falsehood from beginning to end. 
 Is it reasonable to suppose that Marie Louise would seek 
 by underhand means to obtain English goods, knowing 
 what a horror the Emperor had of them? And apart from 
 the fact that the young Empress was not the woman to dis- 
 obey her husband in such a manner, it would have been 
 very difficult to keep the Emperor from knowing it, if 
 Marie Louise had taken a fancy to di'ess herself in these 
 forbidden articles ; for he scrutinized carefully and closely 
 the materials of which her toilets were composed, and 
 sometimes even presided in person over the selections she 
 made. Nevertheless, it did not seem in the least incom- 
 patible to see this man, who was at the height of power 
 and so preoccupied with vast ideas, descend from his high 
 sphere to discuss matters which usually occupy the mind of 
 a femme de chamhre. This arose from the fact that Napo- 
 leon so well understood how to be at the same time the 
 great man and the private citizen; for simplicity was as 
 natural to him as greatness, and I never saw him out of his 
 element in whatever position he might be placed. 
 
 As for the paragraph relating to me, I can describe it 
 only as an unmitigated falsehood. I was never guilty of 
 smuggling at any time, for it was suited neither to my 
 character nor my tastes ; and to have thus taken a mean 
 advantage of my position near the Emperor to engage in 
 shameful speculations of this kind would have been at the 
 same time both absurd and dangerous. Being so honored 
 by his august consideration, it would have been more 
 worthy of condemnation in me to have disobeyed my mas- 
 ter than in any one else ; and in any event my principles 
 would have led me to conform to the restrictions he 
 
CONSTANT ACCUSED OF SMUGGLING. 31 
 
 imposed on all alike, even had those restrictions been sac- 
 rifices. I can, then, only give the lie explicitly to this 
 passage in Contemporary/ Memoirs, in which the author ap- 
 pears to have allowed himself all the more liberty, as this 
 anecdote being entirely the creation of his own brain, he 
 could the more readily furnish at will all the consequent 
 developments, and which, though very pretty, no doubt, yet 
 lack any element of truth. 
 
 The author of these Memoirs, not satisfied with having 
 invented a fabulous anecdote, and arraigning me as a smug- 
 gler, has added at the foot of the page an insulting note, in 
 which he reproaches me for my conduct at Fontainebleau 
 in 1814. It is said in this note, that after receiving from 
 the Emperor a gratuity of fifty thousand francs to accom- 
 pany him to the island of Elba, I disgracefully abandoned 
 him, while others, uninfluenced by motives of interest, 
 thought it a duty to share the fate of their dethroned sov- 
 ereign. In its proper place in my Memoirs I shall give full 
 details of what actually occurred in that connection, and 
 the public can form its own judgment, for I have no reason 
 to recoil before the truth; therefore let it suffice me at 
 present to protest vehemently against the imputation of 
 ingratitude, which is the only reply I shall make to the 
 author of those Memoirs. I now return to my own narra- 
 tive. 
 
 Their Majesties arrived at Utrecht the 6th of October, 
 and found every house on the quays as well as the streets 
 decorated Avith ribbons and garlands. The rain was falling 
 in torrents ; but this did not prevent the authorities being 
 on foot from early in the morning, and the population 
 filling the streets. As soon as he alighted from his car- 
 
32 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 riage, Napoleon, in spite of the weather, mounted his horse, 
 and went to hold a review of several regiments stationed 
 at the gates of Utrecht, accompanied by a numerous staff, 
 and a large number of curious persons, most of them wet 
 to the skin. After the review Napoleon entered the palace, 
 where the entire deputation awaited him in an immense 
 hall, still unfurnished, though it had been built by King 
 Louis, and without changing his clothing gave audience 
 to all who were eager to congratulate him, and listened 
 with most exemplary patience to the harangues addressed 
 to him. 
 
 Here, again, the author of Contemporary Memoirs has 
 found occasion to accuse Napoleon of behavior which 
 would have been both extremely foolish and improper. 
 
 " Napoleon," says he, " returned to his apartments, and feeling 
 fatigued by his excursion retired to bed, although he was awaited in 
 the dining-room where many distinguished persons were assembled, 
 and sent word to the Empress to be seated at the table with the invited 
 guests without him. Marie Louise went to him, and attempted to 
 make him comprehend her embarrassing position among such perfect 
 strangers ; but Napoleon still refused, and the Empress was compelled 
 to do the honors alone. 
 
 " The dinner was a most lugubrious affair ; for the Empress could 
 not conceal her ill humor, and the guests appeared scandalized by the 
 Emperor's conduct. They were still more so, however, when Napoleon 
 appeared after his nap, in a plain morning-coat and slippers." 
 
 This is followed by reflections which are very philosoph- 
 ical, and a quotation in verse, which I will spare the reader. 
 This entire narrative is like the preceding, embellished with 
 details, which it is unfortunate should be an entire loss, 
 since the anecdote is as improbable as ridiculous ; for on no 
 
CONSTANT DEFENDS NAPOLEON. 33 
 
 occasion did the Emperor ever allow himself so grossly to 
 violate the laws of propriety, and in no country would 
 he have so gratuitously insulted the higher classes by 
 showing such an unnecessary contempt for high function- 
 aries invited to his table in his name. He had not only 
 too much tact, but too much good common-sense, to forget 
 himself on this point, above all in Holland, which country 
 had just come under his dominion, and in which his sub- 
 jects were so recently acquired; in Holland, where he had 
 more need than anywhere else to manifest the affability 
 which pertains to the conqueror of a subjugated popula- 
 tion; in Holland, where he obliged himself innumerable 
 times to make personal sacrifices, to exhaust every means, 
 almost to use coquetry, in order to neutralize, by gaining 
 all hearts, the grievous though unavoidable effects of his 
 commercial measures. Is it credible that he would have 
 been guilty of such an unnecessary act of rudeness, and 
 that he would voluntarily have given rise to all the unfa- 
 vorable interpretations of this strange conduct which would 
 have been made? Is it credible that he would have in- 
 sulted, in the person of its high functionaries, a people good, 
 but sensitive, and so much the more suspicious of any 
 slight, since they had been informed that a few exquisites 
 of the court of France had ridiculed their simple manners ? 
 Next to this anecdote, we find the following : — 
 
 " Wherever Napoleon miglit be, the valet de cJiambre on duty was 
 charged to have a bath always ready ; and for this purpose a kitchen 
 boy was constantly employed in keeping the water at the exact 
 temperature the Emperor preferred. 
 
 " While at Utrecht the Emperor occupied the bedroom of his 
 brother Louis on the ground floor, with a bathroom adjoining. On 
 
34 BEGOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the evening of his arrival, while the Emperor -was asleep, this kitchen- 
 boy, although worn out with fatigue, and wet like the others of his 
 suite, prepared the bath, and lay down in an adjoining closet. In 
 the night he awoke and wished to leave the room ; but not being 
 familiar with the locality, and half-asleep, encountered a small door, 
 and turning the knob, opened it, and groped around to find an outlet ; 
 in doing this he threw over a chair, and at the sound of this noise 
 a strong voice, which proved to be the Emperor's, and which he 
 immediately recognized, demanded, ' Who goes there ? ' The boy con- 
 fused by his mistake lost his head, his tongue was paralyzed ; and 
 in the darkness, knocked against and overturned other pieces of 
 fm-niture while trying in vain to retire by the door through which 
 he had entered. The Emperor repeated his demand in a still louder 
 tone, and imagining that an effort was being made to surprise him 
 in bed, jumped from it, armed only with the large silver watch which 
 always hung at his head, and seized by the throat the unfortunate 
 kitchen-boy, more dead than alive, whom Napoleon, awakened from 
 his first sleep, suspected of at least au attempt ou his life. He called, 
 shouted, swore ; and at the noise he made the valet de chambre on duty 
 rushed in with a light, and found the Emperor of the French almost 
 in a fisticuff with the poor devil, who almost choking, without daring 
 to defend himself, was attempting to remove the hands of his adver- 
 sary. To the valet de chambre succeeded the chamberlain on duty, 
 then the aide-de-camp, the grand marshal, and a prefect of the palace, 
 and in an instant the whole court was on foot. Before the real truth 
 was ascertained a thousand conjectures, each more improbable than 
 the other, were made on this affair, among which it was stated than 
 an attempt had been made to kidnap Napoleon and to slay him, but 
 he had strangled the assassin. The truth is, that if he had firearms 
 he would have tried to blow out the brains of the one who awoke him 
 in this manner, but he gave him only a few blows of the big watch 
 with which he had armed himself for defense." 
 
 I feel a delicacy in refuting an anecdote in which a 
 laudable desire to be amusing is so evident in every phrase. 
 But I publish these 3Iemoirs in order to reveal the truth in 
 
IN AMSTERDAM. 35 
 
 the smallest particulars ; and although it has cost the author 
 of the Contemporary Memoirs two pages, I must take the 
 liberty of contradicting him by this very simple reply. In 
 the first place, Roustan and a valet de chamhre on duty 
 slept in the room adjoining the Emperor's apartment, and 
 through this room alone his apartment was entered ; and 
 in the second place, a night-lamp was always burning in 
 his Majesty's room. 
 
 The entrance of their Majesties into Amsterdam was 
 most brilliant. The Empress, in a chariot drawn by splen- 
 did horses, was a few hours in advance of the Emperor, 
 who made his entry on horseback, surrounded by a bril- 
 liant staff, glittering with gold and embroideries, who ad- 
 vanced at a slow pace amid shouts of admiration and 
 astonishment from the good Hollanders. Through his 
 simple and unaffected bearing there shone a profound satis- 
 faction, and perhaps even a natural sentiment of pride, in 
 seeing the welcome accorded to his glory here as elsewhere, 
 and the universal sympathy aroused in the masses by his 
 presence alone. Drapery in three colors, wliich produced a 
 very fine effect, hung from posts erected at regular inter- 
 vals, and formed the decoration of the streets through which 
 his Majesty was to pass ; and he who three years later 
 was to enter the palace of the Tuileries by night, and as a 
 fugitive, after having with much difficulty gained admission 
 through the gates of the chateau, passed then under arches 
 of triumph, with a glory yet unsullied by defeat, and a 
 fortune still faithful. These reminiscences are painful to 
 me, but they recur to my mind even against my will ; for 
 no year of the Empire was marked by more fetes, more 
 triumphant entries, or more popular rejoicings, than that 
 which preceded the disastrous year of 1812. 
 
36 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Some of tlie actors of the French Theater at Paris had 
 accompanied the court to Holland, and Talma there played 
 the rSles of Bayard and d'Orosmane ; and M. Alissan de 
 Chazet directed at Amsterdam the performance by French 
 comedians of a vaudeville in honor of their Majesties, the 
 title of which I have forgotten. Here, again, I wish to re- 
 fute another assertion no less false made by the author of 
 these Memoirs, concerning a fictitious liaison between the 
 Emperor and Mademoiselle Bourgoin. I cite the passage 
 in question : — 
 
 " Mademoiselle Bourgoin, one of the delegates from the com-t of 
 Thalia, in order to be permitted to accompany the party on this jour- 
 ney, had thoughtlessly succumbed to the temptation of making indis- 
 creet revelations ; even boasting aloud that she attracted the Emperor 
 to the theater in which she played ; and these boasts, which were by no 
 means virtuous, having reached the Emperor's ears, he would no longer 
 attend the theater. He charged Talma, for whom he had much con- 
 sideration, to urge the pretty actress to be silent ; and to inform her 
 that on the slightest indiscretion she would be reconducted to France 
 under good escort." 
 
 This by no means agrees with what his Majesty said 
 one day in regard to this actress while at Erfurt. These 
 words, which the author of the Memoirs would do well to 
 recall, prove that the Emperor had no views in regard 
 to her; and the most important proof of all, is the great 
 discretion which the Emperor always exercised in regard 
 to his amours. 
 
 During the entire passage through Holland, the Em- 
 peror showed himself cordial and affable, welcoming every 
 one most kindly, and accosting each in a suitable manner, 
 and at no time was he ever more amiable or anxious to 
 
FIBST THOUGnXS OF THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 37 
 
 please. He visited the manufactures, inspected dock-yards, 
 reviewed troops, addressed the sailors, and attended the 
 balls given in his honor in all the towns through which he 
 passed ; and amid this life of seeming pleasure and dis- 
 traction, he exerted himself almost more than in the quiet, 
 monotonous life of the camp, and was affable, gracious, 
 and accessible to all his subjects. But in these proces- 
 sions, in the very midst of these fetes, amid all this accla- 
 mation of whole cities rushing out to meet him, eager to 
 serve as his escort, under these arches of triumph which 
 were erected to him sometimes even at the entrance of an 
 obscure village, his abstraction was deeper than ever, and 
 his heart more oppressed with care ; for his thoughts were 
 from this time filled with the expedition to Russia. And 
 perhaps into this amenity of manner, this friendliness, and 
 these acts of benevolence, most of which were foreign 
 to Ins character, there entered the design of lessening in 
 advance the discontent which this expedition would pro- 
 duce ; and perhaps in attaching all hearts to himself, in 
 exhausting every means of pleasing, he imagined he was 
 obtaining pardon in advance, by means of the enthusiasm 
 of his ■ subjects, for a war which, whatever might be the 
 result, was to cost the Empire so much blood and so many 
 tears. 
 
 During their Majesties' stay at Amsterdam, there was 
 placed in the apartments of the Empress a piano so con- 
 structed as to appear like a desk with a division in the 
 middle, and in this space was placed a small bust of the 
 Emperor of Russia. Soon after, the Emperor wished to see 
 if the apartments of the Empress were suitable, and while 
 visiting them perceived this bust, which he placed under 
 
38 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 his arm without a word. He afterwards said to one of the 
 ladies of the Empress, that he wished this bust removed; 
 and he was obeyed, though this caused considerable as- 
 tonishment, as it was not then known that any coolness had 
 arisen between the two Emperors. 
 
 A few days after his arrival at Amsterdam, the Emperor 
 made several excursions into the country, accompanied by a 
 somewhat numerous suite. He visited at Saardam the 
 thatched cottage which sheltered Peter the Great when he 
 came to Holland under the name of Pierre Michaijloff to 
 study ship-building; and after remaining there half an 
 hour, the Emperor, as he left, remarked to the grand marshal 
 of the palace. " That is the finest monument in Holland." 
 The evening before, her Majesty the Empress had visited 
 the village of Broek, which is the pride of the whole north 
 of Holland. Almost all the houses of the village are built 
 of wood, and are of one story, the fronts ornamented with 
 numerous paintings in accordance with the caprice of the 
 owners. These paintings are cared for most zealously, and 
 preserved in a state of perfect freshness. Through the 
 windows of clearest glass are seen curtains of embroidered 
 China silk, and of painted muslin and beautiful India stuffs. 
 The streets are paved with brick and very clean, and are 
 washed and rubbed daily, and covered with fine white sand, 
 in which various figures are imitated, especially flowers. 
 Placards at the end of each street forbid the entrance of 
 carriages into the village, the houses of which resemble 
 children's toys. The cattle are cared for by hirelings at 
 some distance from the town ; and there is, outside the 
 village, an inn for strangers, for they are not permitted to 
 lodge inside. In front of some houses I remarked either a 
 
THE VILLAGE OF SROEK. 39 
 
 grass plot or an arrangement of colored sand and sheUs, 
 sometimes little painted wooden statues, sometimes hedges 
 oddly cut. Even the vessels and broom-handles were 
 painted various colors, and cared for like the remainder of 
 the establishment; the inhabitants carrying their love of 
 cleanliness so far as to compel those who entered to take off 
 their shoes, and replace them with slippers, which stood at 
 the door for this singular purpose. I am reminded on this 
 subject of an anecdote relating to the Emperor Joseph the 
 Second. That prince, having presented himself in boots 
 at the door of a house in Broek, and being requested 
 to remove them before entering, exclaimed, "I am the 
 Emperor ! " — " Even if you were the burgomaster of Am- 
 sterdam, you should not enter in boots," replied the master 
 of the dwelling. The good Emperor thereupon put on the 
 slippers. 
 
 During the journey to Holland their Majesties were 
 informed that the first tooth of the King of Rome had just 
 made its appearance, and that the health of this august 
 child was not impaired thereby. 
 
 In one of the little towns in the north of Holland, the 
 authorities requested the Emperor's permission to present 
 to him an old man aged one hundred and one years, and 
 he ordered him brought before him. This more than cen- 
 tenarian was still vigorous, and had served formerly in the 
 guards of the Stadtholder ; he presented a petition entreat- 
 ing the Emperor to exempt from conscription one of his 
 grandsons, the support of his old age. His Majesty assured, 
 him, through an interpreter, that he would not deprive him 
 of his grandson, and Marshal Duroc was ordered to leave 
 with the old man a testimonial of Imperial Hberahty. In 
 
40 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 another little town in Friesland, the authorities made the 
 Emperor this singular address : '* Sire, we were afraid you 
 would come with the whole court; you are almost alone, 
 and thereby we see you the better, and the more at our 
 ease." The Emperor applauded this loyal compliment, and 
 honored the orator by most touching thanks. After this 
 long journey, passed in fetes, reviews, and displays of aU 
 kinds, where the Emperor, under the guise of being enter- 
 tained, had made profound observations on the moral, com- 
 mercial, and mihtary situation of Holland, observations which 
 bore fruit after his return to Paris, and even wliile in the 
 country, in wise and useful decrees, their Majesties left 
 Holland, passing through Haarlem, The Hague, and Rotter- 
 dam, where they were welcomed, as they had been in the 
 whole of Holland, hj fetes. They crossed the Rhine, visited 
 Cologne and Aix-la-Chapelle, and arrived at SaiatrCloud 
 early in November, 1811. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF MARIE LOUISE. 41 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Marie Louise. —Description of her. — As she appeared in public and in pri- 
 vate.- Her relations towards the ladies of her court. —Her character. 
 
 — Her sensitiveness. — Her education. — She detested idleness. — Her in- 
 formation on public matters. — The Emperor complains of her coolness 
 towards the ladies of the court. — Compared with Josephine. — Marie 
 Louise's benevolence. — Amount devoted monthly to the poor. — Napoleon 
 touched by her benevolence. —A day spent by Marie Louise. — Her first 
 breakfast. — Her morning toilet. — Her visits to Madame de Montebello. 
 
 — She plays billiards. — Her horseback rides. —Her fondness for pastry. 
 —Her relations towards the persons of the household. — The portrait of 
 the Duchess de Montebello removed from the apartments of the Empress 
 when the Emperor was at the chateau. — Portrait of the Emperor Fran- 
 cis. — The King of Rome. — His character. — His goodness. — Made- 
 moiselle Fanny Soufflot. — The little king. — Albert Froment. — Quarrel 
 between the little king and Albert Froment. — The woman in mourning 
 with the little boy. — Anecdote. — Docility of the King of Kome. — His 
 iits of anger. — Anecdote. — The Emperor and his son. — Grimaces before 
 the glass. — The three-cornered hat. — The Emperor plays with the 
 little king on the lawn at Trianon. — The little king in the council 
 chamber. — The little king and the hussar. — A king should not be 
 afraid. — Singular caprice of the King of Eome. 
 
 Maeie Louise was a very handsome woman. She had 
 a majestic figure and noble bearing, fresh complexion, blond 
 hair, and blue eyes full of expression; her hands and feet 
 were the admiration of the court. Her figure was, perhaps, 
 a trifle too stout ; but she lost some of this superfluous flesh 
 during her stay in France, though thereby she gained as 
 much in grace and beauty. Such was her appearance. In 
 her intercourse with those immediately around her she was 
 afFable and cordial ; and the enjoyment she felt in the free- 
 dom of these conversations was depicted on her countenance, 
 
42 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 which grew animated, and took on an infinite grace. But 
 when slie was obliged to appear in public she became 
 extremely timid; formal society served of itself to isolate 
 her ; and as persons who are not naturally haughty always 
 appear so with a poor grace, Marie Louise, being always 
 much embarrassed on reception days, was often the subject 
 of unjust criticism ; for, as I have said, her coldness in 
 reality arose from an excessive timidity. 
 
 Immediately after her arrival in France, Marie Louise 
 suffered from this embarrassment to a very great degree, 
 which can be easily understood in a young princess who 
 found herself so suddenly transported into an entirely 
 new society, to whose habits and tastes she felt obliged to 
 conform, and in which, although her high position must 
 naturally attract the world to her, the circumstances of this 
 position rendered it necessary that she should take the 
 initiative in any advances made, a fact which explains the 
 awkwardness of her early relations with the ladies of her 
 court. After intimacies had been formed, and the young 
 Empress had chosen her friends with all the abandon of her 
 young heart, then haughtiness and constraint vanished, or 
 reappeared only on occasions of ceremony. 
 
 Marie Louise was of a calm, thoughtful character; it 
 took little to arouse her sensitive spirit ; and yet, although 
 easily moved, she was by no means demonstrative. The 
 Empress had received a very careful education, her mind 
 was cultivated and her tastes very simple, and she pos- 
 sessed every accomplishment. 
 
 She detested the insipid hours passed in idleness, and 
 liked occupation because it suited her tastes, and also be- 
 cause in a proper employment of her time she found the 
 
MARIE LOUISE. 43 
 
 only means of driving away ennui. I think she was, in fact, 
 a most congenial wife for the Emperor. She was too much 
 interested in the concerns of her own private life to ever 
 mingle in political intrigues, and, although she was both 
 Empress and Queen, very often was in entire ignorance of 
 public aifairs, except what knowledge she obtained from the 
 journals. The Emperor at the end of days filled with 
 agitation could find a little relaxation only in a quiet 
 domestic hearth, which restored to him the happiness of 
 family life ; and, consequently, an intriguing woman or a 
 talkative politician would have annoyed him exceedingly. 
 
 Nevertheless, the Emperor sometimes complained of the 
 want of affability the Empress showed to the ladies of her 
 court, and said that this ejccessive reserve was injurious 
 to him in a country where the opposite extreme is most 
 common. 
 
 This was because he was recalling the past somewhat, 
 and thinking of the Empress Josephine, whose constant 
 gayety was the chief charm of the court. He was neces- 
 sarily struck by the contrast ; but was there not some injus- 
 tice at the foundation of this ? The Empress Marie Louise 
 was the daughter of an Emperor, and had seen and known 
 only courtiers, and, having no acquaintance with any other 
 class, knew nothing of any world outside the walls of the 
 palace of Vienna. She arrived one fine day at the Tuileries, 
 in the midst of a people whom she had never seen except 
 as soldiers ; and on this account the constraint of her 
 manner towards the persons composing the brilliant society 
 of Paris seems to me to a certain point excusable. It seems 
 to me, besides, that the Empress was expected to show 
 a frankness and simplicity which were entirely misplaced ; 
 
44 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 and, by being cautioned over and over again to be natural, 
 she was prevented from the observance of that formahty 
 so suitable on the part of the great, who should be ap- 
 proached only when they themselves give the signal. The 
 Empress Josephine loved the people because she had been 
 one of them ; and in mounting a throne her expansive 
 nature had everything to gain, for she found it was only 
 extending her friendship among a larger circle. 
 
 Inspired by her own kind heart, the Empress Marie 
 Louise sought to make those around her happy; and her 
 benevolent deeds were long the subject of conversation, 
 arid, above all, the delicate manner in which they were per- 
 formed. Each month she took from the sum allotted for 
 her toilet ten thousand francs for the poor, which was not 
 the limit of her charities ; for she always welcomed with the 
 greatest interest those who came to tell her of distresses to 
 be alleviated. From the eagerness with which she listened 
 to those soliciting aid, it would seem that she had been 
 recalled suddenly to a duty ; and yet it was simply an evi- 
 dence that the chords of her sensitive heart had been 
 touched. 
 
 I do not know if any one ever received from her a 
 refusal of a demand of this sort. The Emperor was deeply 
 touched each time that he was informed of a benevolent 
 act of the Empress. 
 
 At eight o'clock in the morning the curtains and blinds 
 were half opened in the apartments of the Empress Marie 
 Louise, and the papers were handed her; after reading 
 which, chocolate or coffee was served, with a kind of 
 pastry called conque. This first breakfast she took in bed. 
 At nine o'clock Marie Louise arose, jnade her morning 
 
DAILY LIFE OF MARIE LOUISE. 45 
 
 toilet, and received those persons privileged to attend at 
 this hour. Every day in the Emperor's absence, the Em- 
 press ascended to the apartment of Madame de Montebello, 
 her lady of honor, followed by her service, composed of the 
 chevaher of honor, and some of the ladies of the palace; 
 and on her return to her apartments, a light breakfast was 
 served, consisting of pastry and fruits. After her lessons 
 in drawing, painting, and music, she commenced her grand 
 toilet. Between six and seven o'clock she dined with the 
 Emperor, or in his absence with Madame de Montebello, 
 the dinner comprising only one course. The evening was 
 spent in receptions, or at concerts, plays, etc. ; and the Em- 
 press retired at eleven o'clock. One of her women always 
 slept in the room in front of her bedroom, and it was 
 through this the Emperor was obliged to pass when he 
 spent the night in his wife's room. 
 
 This customary routine of the Empress was changed, 
 however, when the Emperor was at the chateau ; but when 
 alone she was punctual in all her employments, and did 
 exactly the same things at the same hours. Her personal 
 domestics seemed much attached to her; for though cool 
 and distant in her manner, they always found her good and 
 just. 
 
 In the Emperor's absence the portrait of the Duchess 
 of Montebello ornamented the Empress's room with those of 
 the entire Imperial family of Austria; but when the Em- 
 peror returned, the portrait of the duchess was removed; 
 and during the war between Napoleon and the Emperors of 
 Austria and Russia, the portrait of Francis II. was removed 
 from his daughter's room, by order of his Majesty, and was, 
 I think, consigned to some secret spot. 
 
46 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 The King of Rome was a very fine child ; and though 
 he resembled the Emperor less than the son of Hortense 
 had done, his features were an agreeable imion of those of 
 his father and mother. I never laiew him except in his 
 infancy, and what was most remarkable in him at that age 
 was the great kindness and affection he showed to those 
 around him. He was much devoted to a young and pretty 
 person named Fanny Soufflot, daughter of the first lady of 
 the bedchamber, who was his constant companion ; and, as 
 he liked to see her always well dressed, he begged of Marie 
 Louise, or his governess, Madame the Countess of Montes- 
 quiou, any finery that struck his fancy, which he wished to 
 give to his young friend. He made her promise to follow 
 lum to the war when he was grown, and said many charm- 
 ing things which showed his affectionate disposition. 
 
 There was chosen as companion for the little king (as he 
 styled himself) a young child named Albert Froment, I 
 think, the son of one of the ladies of honor. One morning 
 as they were playing together in the garden on which the 
 apartments of the Idng opened at Saint-Cloud, Mademoi- 
 selle Fanny was watching them without interfering with 
 their games, Albert tried to take the king's wheelbarrow ; 
 and, when the latter resisted, Albert struck him, whereupon 
 the king exclaimed, " Oh, suppose some one had seen you ! 
 But I will not tell ! " I consider this a fine evidence of 
 character. 
 
 One day he was at the windows of the chateau with his 
 governess, amusing himself by looking at the passers-by, 
 and pointing out with his finger those who attracted his 
 attention. While standing there he saw below a woman 
 in deep mourning, holding by the hand a little boy also 
 
THE KINO OF ROME. 47 
 
 dressed in mourning. The little child carried a petition, 
 which he waved from a distance to the prince, and seemed 
 to be entreating him to receive. Their black clothing 
 made a deep impression on the prince, and he asked why 
 the poor child was dressed all in black. " Doubtless 
 because his papa is dead," replied the governess, where- 
 upon the child expressed an earnest desire to speak to the 
 little petitioner. Madame de Montesquiou, who especially 
 desired to cultivate in her young pupil this disposition to 
 mercy, gave orders that the mother and child should be 
 brought up. She proved to be the widow of a brave man 
 who had lost liis life in the last campaign; and by his 
 death she had been reduced to poverty, and compelled to 
 solicit a pension from the Emperor. The young prince took 
 the petition, and promised to present it to his papa. And 
 next day when he went as usual to pay his respects to his 
 father, and handed him all the petitions presented to him 
 the evening before, one alone was kept apart; it was that 
 of his little protege. " Papa," said he, " here is a petition 
 from a little boy whose father was killed on your account ; 
 give him a pension." Napoleon was deeply moved, and 
 embraced his son, and orders for the pension were given 
 that day. This conduct in so young a child gives unde- 
 niable evidence of an excellent heart. 
 
 His early training was excellent ; as Madame de Mon- 
 tesquiou had an unbounded influence over him, owing 
 to the manner at once gentle and grave in which she 
 corrected his faults. The child was generally docile, 
 but, nevertheless, sometimes had violent fits of anger, 
 which his governess had adopted an excellent means of 
 correcting, wlaich was to remain perfectly unmoved until 
 
48 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 he himself controlled his fury. When the child returned 
 to liimself, a few severe and pertinent remarks transformed 
 him into a little Cato for the remainder of the day. One 
 day as he was rolling on the floor refusing to listen to 
 the remonstrances of his governess, she closed the win- 
 dows and shutters ; and the child, astonished by this per- 
 formance, forgot what had enraged him, and asked her 
 why she did this. "I did it because I was afraid you 
 would be heard ; do you suppose the French people would 
 want you as their prince, if they knew that you gave 
 way to such fits of anger?" — "Do you think they heard 
 me ? " he inquired ; " I would be very sorry if they had. 
 Pardon, Mamma Quiou [this was his name for her], I will 
 not do it again." 
 
 The Emperor was passionately devoted to his son; 
 took him in his arms every time he saw him, and jumped 
 him up and do^vn most merrily, and was delighted Avith 
 the joy he manifested. He teased him by carrying him 
 in front of the glass and making grimaces, at which the 
 child laughed till he cried. While at breakfast he took 
 him on his knee, dipped his finger in the sauce and made 
 him suck it, and smeared his face with it; and when the 
 governess scolded, the Emperor laughed still more heartily, 
 and the child, who enjoyed the sport, begged his father to 
 repeat it. This was an opportune moment for the arrival 
 of petitions at the chateau ; for they were always well 
 received at such times, thanks to the all-powerful credit 
 of the little mediator. 
 
 The Emperor in his tender moods was sometimes even 
 more childish than his son. The young prince was only 
 four months old when his father put his three-cornered hat 
 on the pretty infant. 
 
NAPOLEON'S FONDNESS FOE HIS SON. 49 
 
 • The child usually cried a good deal, and at these times 
 the Emperor embraced him with an ardor and delight 
 which none but a tender father could feel, saying to him, 
 " What, Sire, you crying ! A king weeping ; fie, then, 
 how ugly that is ! " He was just a year old Avhen I saw 
 the Emperor, on the lawn in front of the chateau, place 
 his sword-belt over the shoulders of the king, and his hat 
 on his head, and holding out his arms to the child, who 
 tottered to him, his little feet now and then entangled in 
 his father's sword; and it was beautiful to see the eager- 
 ness with which the Emperor extended his arms to keep 
 him from falling. 
 
 One day in his cabinet the Emperor was lying on the 
 floor, the king riding horseback on his knee, mounting by 
 jiunps up to his father's face, and kissing him. On another 
 occasion the child entered the council chamber after the 
 meeting had ended, and ran into his father's arms without 
 paying attention to any one else, upon which the Emperor 
 said to him, " Sire, you have not saluted these gentlemen." 
 The child turned, bowed most gracefully, and his father 
 then took him in his arms. Sometimes when going to 
 visit the Emperor, he ran so fast that he left Madame de 
 Montesquieu far behind, and said to the usher, " Open 
 the door for me, I want to see papa." The usher replied, 
 " Sire, I cannot do it." — " But I am the little king." — 
 "No, Sire, I cannot open it." At this moment his gov- 
 erness appeared ; and strong in her protection he proudly 
 repeated, " Open the door, the king desires it." 
 
 Madame de Montesquiou had added to the prayers 
 which the child repeated morning and evening, these 
 words: "My God, inspire papa to make peace for the 
 
50 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 happiness of France." One evening the Emperor was 
 present when his son was retiring, and he made the same 
 prayer, whereupon the Emperor embraced him in silence, 
 smiling most kindly on Madame de Montesquieu. 
 
 The Emperor was accustomed to say to the King of 
 Rome when he was frightened at any noise or at his 
 grimaces, " Come, come ! a king should have no fear." 
 
 I recall another anecdote concerning the young son of 
 the Emperor, which was related to me by his Majesty 
 himself one evening when I was undressing him as usual, 
 and at which the Emperor laughed most heartily. " You 
 would not believe," said he, " the singular reward my son 
 desired of liis governess for being good. Would she not 
 allow him to go and wade in the mud ? " This was true, 
 and proves, it seems to me, that the greatness which sur- 
 rounds the cradle of princes cannot eradicate from their 
 minds the singular caprices of childhood. 
 
THE ABBE GEOFFBOT. 51 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 The Abb^ Geoffrey receives a flogging. — The Emperor's remarks on the suh- 
 ject. — M. Corvisart. — His candor. — He requires that his directions 
 shall be obeyed. — The Emperor much attached to him. — M. Corvisart 
 at the chase when the Emperor is taken with violent colic. — What 
 results from this. — M. Corvisart's credit with the Emperor. — He speaks 
 warmly in favor of M. de Bourrienne. — His Majesty's reply. — Cardinal 
 Pesch. — His volubility. — An expression of the Emperor. — Orders given 
 by his Majesty on his departure for Kussia. — The Count de Lavalette. — 
 The diamonds. — Josephine summons me to Malmaison. — She recom- 
 mends to me the greatest care of the Emperor. — She makes me promise 
 to write her. — Gives me her picture. — Reflections on the departure of 
 the grand army. — What is my mission. — The deserter. — He is brought 
 before the Emperor. — His name and character. — Russian discipline. — 
 Disturbance in Moscow. — Barclay. — Kutuzoff. — The merchant class. — 
 Kutuzoff generalissimo. — His portrait. — What becomes of the deserter. 
 — The Emperor makes his entrance into a Russian village escorted by 
 two Cossacks. — The Cossacks after alighting from their horses. — They 
 drink brandy like water. — Murat. — With one sweep of his sword he 
 repulses a horde of Cossacks. — The magicians. — Platoff. — He has a 
 magician flogged. — Laxity of the police in the French bivouacs. — The 
 Emperor's discontent. — His threats. — Excursion of his Majesty before 
 the battle of the Moskwa. — Encouragement to agriculture. — The Em- 
 peror ascends the heights of Borodino. — The rain. — Vexation of the 
 Emperor. — General Caulaincourt. — The Emperor's words. — He hardly 
 takes time to dress. — Order of the day. — The sun of Austerlitz. — The 
 picture of the King of Rome is brought to the Emperor. — He shows it 
 to the of&cers and soldiers of the old guard. — The Emperor ill. — Death 
 of Count Auguste de Caulaincourt. — What the Emperor says of generals 
 who have died in the army. — The Emperor goes over the battlefield of 
 the Moskwa. — An anecdote. — Exclamations of the Emperor during the 
 night following the battle. 
 
 All the world is familiar with the name of the Abbe 
 Geoffroy ^ of satirical memory, who drove the most popular 
 
 1 Abbd Julien Louis Geoffroy, bom at Rennes, 1743; died 1814. —Trans, 
 
52 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 actors and authors of the time to desperation. This piti- 
 less Aristarchus must have been most ardently enamored of 
 tills disagreeable profession ; for he sometimes endangered 
 thereby, not his life, which many persons would have de- 
 sired earnestly perhaps, but at any rate his health and his 
 repose. It is well, doubtless, to attack those who can reply 
 with the pen, as then the consequences of the encounter 
 do not reach beyond the ridicule which is often the portion 
 of both adversaries. But Abbe Geoffroy fulfilled only one 
 of the two conditions by virtue of which one can criticise, 
 — he had much bitterness in his pen, but he was not a man 
 of the sword; and every one knows that there are persons 
 whom it is necessary to attack with both these weapons. 
 
 An actor whom Geoffroy had not exactly flattered in his 
 criticisms decided to avenge himself in a piquant style, and 
 one at which he could laugh long and loud. One evening, 
 foreseeing what would appear in the journal of the next 
 day, he could think of notliing better than to carry off 
 Geoffroy as he was returning from the theater, and conduct 
 him with bandaged eyes to a house where a schoolboy's 
 punishment would be inflicted on tliis man who consid- 
 ered himself a master in the art of writing. 
 
 This plan was carried out. Just as the abbe regained 
 his lodging, rubbing his hands perhaps as he thought of 
 some fine point for to-morrow's paper, three or four vigor- 
 ous fellows seized him, and conveyed him without a word 
 to the place of punishment ; and some time later that even- 
 ing, the abbe, well flogged, opened his eyes in the middle 
 of the street, to find himself alone far from his dwelling. 
 The Emperor, when told of this ludicrous affair, was not 
 at all amused, but, on the contrary, became very angry, 
 
DOCTOR COnVISART. 63 
 
 and said that if he knew the authors of this outrage, he 
 would have them punished. "When a man attacks with 
 the pen," he added, "he should be answered with the same 
 weapon." The truth is also that the Emperor was much 
 attached to M. Geoffroy, whose writings he did not wish 
 submitted to censure like those of other journalists. It 
 was said in Paris that this predilection of a great man for 
 a caustic critic came from the fact that these contributions 
 to the Journal of the Umpire, which attracted much atten- 
 tion at this period, were a useful diversion to the minds of 
 the capital. I know nothing positively in regard to this ; 
 but when I reflect on the character of the Emperor, who 
 wished no one to occupy themselves with his political 
 affairs, these opinions seem to me not devoid of founda- 
 tion. 
 
 Doctor Corvisart ^ was not a courtier, and came rarely 
 to the Emperor, except on his regular visits each Wednes- 
 day and Saturday. He was very candid with the Emperor, 
 insisted positively that his directions should be obeyed 
 to the letter, and made full use of the right accorded to 
 physicians to scold their negligent patients. The Emperor 
 was especially fond of him, and always detained him, seem- 
 ing to find much pleasure in his conversation. 
 
 After the journey to Holland in 1811, M. Corvisart 
 came to see the Emperor one Saturday, and found him in 
 good health. He left him after the toilet, and immediately 
 went to enjoy the pleasures of the chase, of which he was 
 exceedingly fond. He was in the habit of not announcing 
 
 1 Jean Nicholas Corvisarl^Desmarets, born in Cliampagne, 1755; ap- 
 pointed chief physician to Napoleon, 1800, and later made a baron; died 
 1821. — Trans. 
 
54 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 where he was going, solely in order that he might not be 
 interrupted for some slight cause, as had happened to him 
 sometimes, for the doctor was most obliging and consid- 
 erate. That day after his breakfast, which, accordmg to 
 custom, he had devoured rapidly, the Emperor was taken 
 suddenly with a violent colic, and was quite ill. He asked 
 for M. Corvisart, and a courier was dispatched for him, 
 who, not finding him in Paris, hastened to his country 
 house ; but the doctor was at the chase, no one knew 
 Avhere, so the courier was obliged to return without him. 
 The Emperor was deeply vexed, and as he continued to 
 suffer extremely, at last went to bed, and Marie Louise 
 came and spent a few moments with him ; at last M. Yvan 
 was summoned, and administered remedies which soon 
 relieved the Emperor. 
 
 M. Corvisart, somewhat anxious perhaps, came on 
 Monday instead of Wednesday ; and when he entered Napo- 
 leon's room, the latter, who was in his dressing-gown, ran 
 to him, and taking him by both ears, said, "Well, Mon- 
 sieur, it seems that if I were seriously ill, I should have to 
 dispense with your services." M. Corvisart excused him- 
 self, asked the Emperor how he had been affected, what 
 remedies he had used, and promised always to leave word 
 where he could be found, in order that he might be sum- 
 moned immediately on his Majesty's orders, and the Emperor 
 was soon appeased. This event was really of advantage to 
 the doctor ; for he thus abandoned a bad habit, at which it 
 is probable his patients rejoiced. 
 
 M. Corvisart had a very great influence with the Em- 
 peror, so much so that many persons who knew him gave 
 him the soubriquet of doctor of petitions ; and it was very 
 
CAHDINAL FESCH. 55 
 
 rarely lie failed to obtain a favorable answer to his requests. 
 Nevertheless, I often heard him speak warmly in favor of 
 M. de Bourrienne, in order to impress upon the Emperor's 
 mind that he was much attached to his Majesty ; but the 
 latter always replied, "No, Bourrienne is too much of an 
 Englishman; and besides, he is doing very well; I have 
 located him at Hamburg. He loves money, and he can 
 make it there." 
 
 It was during the year 1811 that Cardinal Fesch came 
 most frequently to the Emperor's apartments, and their dis- 
 cussions seemed to me very animated. The cardinal main- 
 tained his opinions most vehemently, speaking in a very 
 loud tone and with great volubility. These conversations 
 did not last more than five moments before they became 
 very bitter, and I heard the Emperor raise his voice to the 
 same pitch ; then followed an exchange of harsh terms, and 
 each time the cardinal arrived I felt distressed for the Em- 
 peror, who was always much agitated at the close of these 
 interviews. One day as the cardinal was taking leave of 
 the Emperor, I heard the latter say to him sharply, "Cardi- 
 nal, you take advantage of your position." 
 
 A few days before our departure for Russia the Em- 
 peror had me summoned during the day, and ordered me 
 to bring from the treasury the box of diamonds, and place 
 it in his room, and not to go far away, as he had some 
 important business for me. About nine o'clock in the 
 evening I was again summoned, and found M. de Lava- 
 lette, director-general of the post, in the Emperor's room. 
 His Majesty opened the box in my presence, and examined 
 the contents, saying to me, " Constant, carry this box your- 
 self to the count's carriage, and remain there till he ar- 
 
56 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 rives." The carriage was standing at the foot of the grand 
 staircase in the court of the Tuileries ; and I opened it, 
 took my seat, and waited until half-past eleven, when M. de 
 Lavalette arrived, having spent all this time in conversation 
 with the Emperor. I could not underetand these precau- 
 tions in delivering the diamonds to M. de Lavalette, but 
 they were certainly not without a motive. 
 
 The box contained the sword, on the pommel of which 
 was mounted the regent diamond, the handle also set with 
 diamonds of great value ; the grand collar of the Legion 
 of Honor; the ornaments, hat^cord, shoulder-piece, and but- 
 tons of the coronation robes, with the shoe-buckles and 
 garters, all of wliich were of immense value. 
 
 A short time before we set out for the Russian campaign, 
 Josephine sent for me, and I went at once to Malmaison, 
 where this excellent woman renewed her earnest recom- 
 mendations to watch most carefully over the Emperor's 
 health and safety; and made me promise that if any acci- 
 dent, however slight, happened to him, I would write to 
 her, as she was exceedingly anxious to know the real truth 
 concerning him. She wept much; talked to- me constantly 
 about the Emperor, and after a conversation of more than 
 an hour, in which she gave full vent to her emotions, pre- 
 sented me with her portrait painted by Saint on a gold 
 snuff-box. I felt much depressed by this interview; for 
 nothing could be more touching than to see this woman 
 disgraced, but still loving, entreating my care over the 
 man who had abandoned her, and manifesting the same 
 affectionate interest in him wliich the most beloved wife 
 would have done. 
 
 On entering Russia, a thing of which I speak here more 
 
ANECDOTE OF THE liUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 67 
 
 accorcting to the order of my reminiscences than in the 
 order of time, the Emperor sent out, on three different 
 roads, details of select police to prepare in advance lodg- 
 ings, beds, supplies, etc. These officers were Messieurs Sar- 
 razin, adjutant-lieutenant. Verges, Molene, and Lieutenant 
 Pachot. I will devote farther on an entire chapter to our 
 itinerary from Paris to Moscow. 
 
 A short time before the battle of La Moskwa, a man was 
 brought to the camp dressed in the Russian uniform, but 
 speaking French ; at least his language was a singular 
 mixture of French and Russian. This man had escaped 
 secretly from the enemy's lines ; and when he perceived 
 that our soldiers were only a short distance from him, had 
 thrown his gun on the ground, crying in a very strong 
 Russian accent, "I am French," and our soldiers had at 
 once taken him prisoner. 
 
 Never was prisoner more charmed with his change of 
 abode. This poor fellow, who seemed to have been forced 
 to take arms against his will in the service of the enemies 
 of his country, arrived at the French camp, called himself 
 the happiest of men in finding again his fellow-country- 
 men, and pressed the hand of all the soldiers with an ardor 
 which delighted them. He was brought to the Emperor, 
 and appeared much over-awed at finding himself in the 
 presence of the King of the French, as he called his Maj- 
 esty. The Emperor questioned him closely, and in his 
 reply he declared that the noise of the French cannon had 
 always made his heart beat; and that he had feared only 
 one thing, which was that he might be killed by his com- 
 patriots. From what he told the Emperor it appeared that 
 he belonged to that numerous class of men who find them- 
 
58 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 selves transplanted by tlieir family to a foreign land, with- 
 out really knowing the cause of their emigration. His 
 father had pursued at INIoscow an unremunerative indus- 
 trial profession, and had died leaving him without resources 
 for the future, and, in order to earn his bread, he had 
 become a soldier. He said that the Russian military disci- 
 pline was one of his strongest incentives to desert, adding 
 that he had strong arms and a brave heart, and would serve 
 in the French army if the general permitted. His frank- 
 ness pleased the Emperor, and he endeavored to obtain 
 from him some positive information on the state of the 
 public mind at Moscow ; and ascertained from his revela- 
 tions, more or less intelligent, that there was much disturb- 
 ance in that ancient capital. 
 
 He said that in the street could be heard cries of, " No 
 more of Barclay! ^ Down with the traitor! dismiss him! 
 Long live Kutusoff ! " ^ The merchant class, which pos- 
 sessed great influence on account of its wealth, complained 
 of a system of temporizing wliich left men in uncertainty, 
 and compromised the honor of the Russian arms ; and it 
 was thought unpardonable in the Emperor that he had 
 bestowed liis confidence on a foreigner when old Kutusoff, 
 with the blood and the heart of a Russian, was given a 
 
 1 Prince Michael Barclay de Tolly, bom in Livonia, 1755, of Scottish 
 extraction ; distinguished himself in wars against Sweden, Turkey, and 
 Poland, 1788 and 1791, and against the French, 1806; commanded Russian 
 army against Napoleon in 1812, until superseded, after battle of Smolensk, 
 by Kutusoff, and commanded the right wing at Borodino ; afterwards com- 
 manded at Bautzen and Leipsic; died 1818. — Trans. 
 
 2 jNIichael Kutusofi, born 1745, served against Poles and Turks; com- 
 mander-in-chief, under Emperor Alexander, at Austerlitz, 1805 ; succeeded 
 Barclay do Tolly in command just before battle of Borodino ; died 1813. — 
 Tbans. 
 
THE DJSSEBTEB. 59 
 
 secondary position. The Emperor Alexander had paid 
 little attention to these energetic complaints, until at last, 
 frightened by the symptoms of insurrection which began 
 to be manifest in the army, he had yielded, and Kutusoff 
 had been named generalissimo, over which important event 
 there had been rejoicings and illuminations at Moscow. A 
 great battle with the French was talked of ; enthusiasm 
 was at its height in the Russian army, and every soldier 
 had fastened to his cap a green branch. The prisoner spoke 
 with awe of Kutusoff, and said that he was an old man,i 
 with white hair and great mustaches, and eyes that struck 
 him with terror; that he lacked much of dressing like the 
 French generals ; that he wore very ordinary clothes — he 
 who could have such fine ones ; that he roared like a lion 
 when he was angry; that he never started on a march 
 without saying his prayers ; and that he crossed himself 
 frequently at different hours of the day. " The soldiers 
 love him because they say he so much resembles Suwarrow. 
 I am afraid he will do the French much harm," said he. 
 The Emperor, satisfied with this information, dismissed the 
 prisoner, and gave orders that he should be allowed the free- 
 dom of the camp ; and afterwards he fought bravely beside 
 our soldiers. The Emperor made his entrance into Gjatsk 
 with a most singular escort. 
 
 Some Cossacks had been taken in a skirmish ; and his 
 Majesty, who was at this time very eager for information 
 from every quarter, desired to question these savages, and 
 for this purpose had two or three brought to his headquar- 
 ters. These men seemed formed to be always on horse- 
 back, and their appearance when they alighted on the 
 1 He was sixty-seven years of age. — Trans. 
 
60 UECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ground was most amusing. Their legs, whicli the habit 
 of pressing tlieir liorses' sides had driven far apart, resem- 
 bled a pair of pincers, and they had a general air of being 
 out of their element. The Emperor entered Gjatsk, escorted 
 by two of these barbarians on horseback, who appeared 
 much flattered by this honor. I remarked that sometimes 
 the Emperor could with difficulty repress a smile as he wit- 
 nessed the awkward appearance made by these cavaliers 
 from the Ukraine, above all when they attempted to put 
 on airs. Their reports, which the interpreter of the Emperor 
 had some difEculty in comprehending, seemed a confirma- 
 tion of all his ^Majesty had heard concerning Moscow. 
 These barbarians made the Emperor understand by their 
 animated gestures, convulsive movements, and warlike pos- 
 tures, that there would soon be a great battle between the 
 French and the Russians. The Emperor had brandy given 
 them, which they drank like water, and presented their 
 glasses anew ■with a coolness which was very amusing. 
 Their horses were small, with cropped manes and long tails, 
 such as unfortunately can be seen without leaving Paris. 
 It is a matter of history that the King of Xaples made 
 a most favorable impression on these barbarians. When it 
 was announced to the Emperor one day that they desired 
 to appoint him their hetman, the Emperor was much 
 amused by this offer, and said jestingly that he was ready to 
 indorse this choice of a free people. The King of Xajoles 
 had something theatrical in his appearance which fasci- 
 nated these barbarians, for he always dressed magnificently. 
 When his steed bore him in front of his column, his beauti- 
 ful hair disordered by the wind, as he gave those grand 
 saber strokes which mowed down men like stubble, I can 
 
MURAT AND THE COSSACKS. 61 
 
 well comprehend the deep impression he made on the fancy 
 of these warlike people, among whom exterior qualities 
 alone can be appreciated. It is said that the King of Naples 
 by simply raising this powerful sword had put to flight a 
 horde of these barbarians. I do not know how much truth 
 there is in this statement, but it is at least possible. 
 
 The Cossacks, in common with all races still in their 
 infancy, believe in magicians. A very amusing anecdote 
 was told of the great chief of the Cossacks, the celebrated 
 Platoff. Pursued by the King of Naples, he was beating 
 a retreat, when a ball reached one of the officers beside 
 him, on which event the hetman was so much irritated 
 against his magician that he had him flogged in presence 
 of all his hordes, reproaching him most bitterly because 
 he had not turned away the balls by his witchcraft. This 
 was plain evidence of the fact that he had more faith in 
 his art than the sorcerer himself possessed. 
 
 On the 3d of September, from his headquarters at Gjatsk, 
 the Emperor ordered his army to prepare for a general 
 engagement. There had been for some days much laxity 
 in the police of the bivouacs, and he now redoubled the 
 severity of the regulations in regard to the countersigns. 
 Some detachments which had been sent for provisions 
 having too greatly prolonged their expedition, the Emperor 
 charged the colonels to express to them his dissatisfaction, 
 adding that those who had not returned by the next day 
 could not take part in the battle. These words needed no 
 commentary. 
 
 The country surrounding Gjatsk was very fertile, and 
 the fields were now co-s^ered with rye ready for the sickle, 
 through which we saw here and there broad gaps made by 
 
62 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the Cossacks in their flight. I have often since compared 
 the aspect of these fields in November and September. 
 What a horrible thing is war! A few days before the 
 battle, Napoleon, accompanied by two of his marshals, made 
 a visit of inspection on foot in the outskirts of the city. 
 
 On the eve of this great event he discussed everything 
 in the calmest manner, speaking of this country as he would 
 have done of a beautiful, fertile province of France. In 
 hearing him one might think that the granary of the army 
 had here been found, that it would consequently furnish 
 excellent winter quarters, and the first care of the govern- 
 ment he was about to establish at Gjatsk would be the en- 
 couragement of agriculture. He then pointed out to his 
 marshals the beautiful windings of the river which gives its 
 name to the village, and appeared delighted with the land- 
 scape spread before his eyes. I have never seen the Em- 
 peror abandon himself to such gentle emotions, nor seen 
 such serenity manifested both in his countenance and con- 
 versation ; and at the same time I was never more deeply 
 impressed with the greatness of his soul. 
 
 On the 5th of September the Emperor mounted the 
 heights of Borodino, hoping to take in at a glance the re- 
 spective positions of the two armies; but the sky was over- 
 cast. One of those fine, cold rains soon began to fall, which 
 so often come in the early autumn, and resemble from a 
 distance a tolerably thick fog. The Emperor tried to use 
 his glasses ; but the kind of veil which covered the whole 
 country prevented his seeing any distance, by which he was 
 much vexed. The rain, driven by the wind, fell slanting 
 against his field-glasses, and he had to dry them over and 
 over again, to his very great annoyance. 
 
BATTLE OF BORODINO. 63 
 
 The atmosphere was so cold and damp that he ordered 
 his cloak, and wrapped himself in it, saying that as it was 
 impossible to remain there, he must return to headquarters, 
 which he did, and throwing liimself on the bed slept a short 
 while. On awaking he said, " Constant, I hear a noise out- 
 side ; go see what it is." I went out, and returned to inform 
 him that General Caulaincourt had arrived; at which news 
 the Emperor rose hastily, and ran to meet the general, ask- 
 ing him anxiously, " Do you bring any prisoners ? " The 
 general replied that he had not been able to take prisoners, 
 since the Russian soldiers preferred death to surrender. 
 The Emperor immediately cried, " Let all the artillery be 
 brought forward." He had decided that in his prepara- 
 tions to make this war one of extermination, the cannon 
 would spare liis troops the fatigue of discharging their 
 muskets. 
 
 On the 6th, at midnight, it was announced to the Em- 
 peror that the fires of the Russians seemed less numerous, 
 and the flames were extinguished at several points ; and 
 some few said they had heard the muffled sound of drums. 
 The army was in a state of great anxiety. The Emperor 
 sprang wildly from his bed, repeatedly exclaiming, " It is 
 impossible ! " 
 
 I tried to hand him his garments, that he might clothe 
 himself warmly, as the night was so cold; but he was so 
 eager to assure himself personally of the truth of these 
 statements, that he rushed out of the tent with only his 
 cloak wrapped around him. It was a fact that the fires of 
 the bivouac had grown paler, and the Emperor had reason 
 for the gravest suspicions. Where would the war end if 
 the Russians fell back now ? He re-entered his tent much 
 
64 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 agitated, and retired to bed again, repeating many times, 
 " We will know the truth to-morrow morning." 
 
 On the 7th of September, the sun rose in a cloudless 
 sky, and the Emperor exclaimed, " It is the sun of Auster- 
 litz ! " These words of the Emperor were reported to the 
 army, and repeated by them amid great enthusiasm. The 
 drums were beaten, and the order of the day was read as 
 follows : — 
 
 Soldiers, — Behold the battle you have so long desired ! Hence- 
 forth that victory depends on you which is so necessary to us, since 
 it will furnish us abundant provisions, good winter quarters, and a 
 prompt return to our native land. Conduct yourselves as at Austerlitz, 
 at Friedland, at Witepsk, at Smolensk, and let the most remote pos- 
 terity refer with pride to your conduct on this day ; let it be said of 
 you, " He took part in the great battle under the walls of Moscow." 
 
 The army replied by reiterated acclamations. The Em- 
 peror, a few hours before the battle, had dictated this proc- 
 lamation, and it was read in the morning to the soldiers. 
 Napoleon was then on the heights of Borodino; and when 
 the enthusiastic cries of the army struck his ear, he was 
 standing with folded arms, the sun shining full in his eyes, 
 reflected from the French and Russian bayonets. He 
 smiled, then became more serious until the affair was 
 terminated. 
 
 On that day the portrait of the King of Rome was 
 brought to Napoleon. He needed some gentle emotion 
 to divert liis mind from this state of anxious suspense. 
 He held this portrait long on his knees, contemplating it 
 with delight, and said that it was the most agreeable sur- 
 prise he had ever received, and repeated several times 
 in a low tone, " My good Louise ! Tliis is a charming 
 
BATTLE OF BORODINO. 65 
 
 attention 1 " On the Emperor's countenance there rested 
 an expression of happiness difficult to describe, though 
 the first emotions excited were calm and even melancholy. 
 " The dear child," was all that he said. But he experienced 
 all the pride of a father and an Emperor when by his 
 orders officers, and even soldiers, of the old guard came to 
 see the King of Rome. The portrait was placed on exhibi- 
 tion in front of the tent ; and it was inexpressibly touching 
 to see these old soldiers uncover themselves with respect 
 before this image, in which they sought to find some of the 
 features of Napoleon. The Emperor had at this moment 
 the expansive joy of a father who knows well that next to 
 him his son has no better friends than his old companions 
 in endurance and glory. 
 
 At four o'clock in the morning, that is to say one hour 
 before the battle opened. Napoleon felt a great exhaustion 
 in his whole person, and had a slight chill, without fever, 
 however, and threw himself on his bed. Nevertheless, he 
 was not as ill as M. de Segur states. He had had for some 
 time a severe cold that he had somewhat neglected, and 
 which was so much increased by the fatigue of this mem- 
 orable day that he lost his voice almost entirely. He treated 
 this with the soldier's prescription, and drank light punch 
 during the whole night, which he spent working in his 
 cabinet without being able to speak. This inconvenience 
 lasted two days; but on the 9th he was well, and his 
 hoarseness almost gone. 
 
 After the battle, of every six corpses found, one would 
 be French and five Russian. At noon an aide-de-camp 
 came to inform the Emperor that Count Auguste de Cau- 
 laincourt, brother of the Duke of Vicenza, had been struck 
 
66 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 by a ball. The Emperor drew a deep sigh, but said not a 
 word ; for he well knew that his heart would most likely 
 be saddened more than once that day. After the battle, 
 he expressed his condolences to the Duke of Vicenza in 
 the most touching manner. 
 
 Count Auguste de Caulaincourti was a young man full 
 of courage, who had left his young wife a few hours after 
 his marriage to follow the French army, and to find a- 
 glorious death at the battle of La Moskwa. He was gov- 
 ernor of the pages of the Emperor, and had married the 
 sister of one of his charges. This charmmg person was 
 so young that her parents preferred that the marriage 
 should not take place until he returned from the campaign, 
 being influenced in this decision by the fate of Prince Aldo- 
 brandini after his marriage with Mademoiselle de la Roche- 
 foucault before the campaign of Wagram. General Auguste 
 de Caulaincourt was killed in a redoubt to which he had 
 led the cuirassiers of General Montbrun,^ who had just 
 been fatally wounded by a cannon-ball in the attack on this 
 same redoubt. 
 
 The Emperor often said, in speaking of generals killed 
 in the army, " Such an one is happy in having died on the 
 field of honor, while I shall perhaps be so unfortunate as 
 to die in my bed." He was less philosophical on the occa- 
 sion of ^Marshal Lannes's death, when I saw him, while at 
 breakfast, weeping such large tears that they rolled over 
 his cheeks, and fell into his plate. He mourned deeply for 
 
 1 Bom in DepartmeBt of the Somme, 1777; wounded at Marengo, 1800 ; 
 general of division, 1809; killed at Borodino, Sept. 7, 1812. — Teans. 
 
 2 Count Louis Pierre Montbrun, torn at Florensac, 1770; distinguislied 
 himself at Eckmiihl and Eaab, 1809 ; killed at BorodiQO, Sept. 7, 1812. — 
 Tkaus. 
 
THE BATTLE OF BORODINO. 67 
 
 Desaix, Poniatowski, and Bessieres, but most of all for 
 Lannes, and next to him Duroc. 
 
 During the whole of the battle of the Moskwa the Em- 
 peror had attacks resembling stone in the bladder. He had 
 been often threatened with this disease unless he was more 
 prudent in his diet, and suffered much, although he com- 
 plained little, and only when attacked by violent pain 
 uttered stifled groans. Now, nothing causes more anxi- 
 ety than to hear those complain who are unaccustomed to 
 do so ; for then one imagines the suffering most intense, 
 since it is stronger than a strong man. At Austerlitz the 
 Emperor said, " Ordener ^ is worn out. There is only one 
 time for military achievement in a man's life. I shall be 
 good for six years longer, and after that I shall retire." 
 
 The Emperor rode over the field of battle, which pre- 
 sented a horrible spectacle, nearly all the dead being cov- 
 ered with wounds ; which proved with what bitterness the 
 battle had been waged. The weather was very inclement, 
 and rain was falling, accompanied by a very high wind. 
 Poor wounded creatures, who had not yet been removed to 
 the ambulances, half rose from the ground in their desire 
 not to be overlooked and to receive aid ; while some among 
 them still cried, "Five VMnpereurf" in spite of their suf- 
 fering and exhaustion. Those of our soldiers who had been 
 killed by Russian balls showed on their corpses deep and 
 broad wounds, for the Russian balls were much larger than 
 ours. We saw a color-bearer, wrapped in his banner as a 
 winding-sheet, who seemed to give signs of life, but he 
 expired in the shock of being raised. The Emperor walked 
 
 1 General Michel Ordener; born at Saint Avoid, 1755, hence fifty years 
 old at Austerlitz ; died 1811. — Tkans. 
 
68 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 on and -said nothing, though many times when he passed 
 by the most mutilated, he put his hand over his eyes to 
 avoid the sight. This calm lasted only a short while ; for 
 there was a place on the battlefield where French and 
 Russians had fallen pell-mell, almost all of whom were 
 wounded more or less grievously. And when the Em- 
 peror heard their cries, he became enraged, and shouted at 
 those who had charge of removing the wounded, much 
 irritated by the slowness with which this was clone. It 
 was difficult to prevent the horses from trampling on the 
 corpses, so thickly did they lie. A wounded soldier was 
 struck by the shoe of a horse in the Emperor's suite, 
 and uttered a heartrending cry, upon which the Emperor 
 quickly turned, and inquired in a most vehement manner 
 who was the awkward person by whom the man was hurt. 
 He was told, thinking that it would calm his anger, that 
 the man was nothing but a Russian. " Russian or French," 
 he exclaimed, " I wish every one removed ! " 
 
 Poor young fellows who were' making their first cam- 
 paign, being wounded to the death, lost courage, and wept 
 like children crying for their mothers. The terrible pic- 
 ture will be forever engraven on my memory. 
 
 The Emperor urgently repeated his orders for removing 
 the wounded quickly, then turned his horse in silence, and 
 returned to his headquarters, the evening being now far 
 advanced. I passed the night near him, and his sleep was 
 much disturbed ; or, rather, he did not sleep at all, and 
 repeated over and over, restlessly turning on his pillow, 
 " Poor Caulaincourt ! What a day ! What a day ! " 
 
FROM FRANCE TO RUSSIA. 69 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Itinerary from France to Russia. — Magnificence of the court at Dresden. — 
 The Emperor's conversation with Bertliier. — War made on England 
 alone. — General rumor of the restoration of Poland. — Private questions 
 of the Emperor. — Pass.age of the Niemen. — Arrival and sojourn at 
 Wilna. — Enthusiasm of the Poles. ^Singular coincidence of dates. — 
 Polish deputation. — The Emperor's reply to the deputies. — Engage- 
 ments made with Austria. — Hopes frustrated. — M. de Balachoff at 
 Wilna; hopes of peace. — The Emperor first sets foot on Russian terri- 
 tory. — Continued retreat of the Russians. — Frightful storm. — Great 
 desire for a battle. — The camp at Drissa abandoned. — Departure of 
 Alexander and Constantiue. — Privations of the army and first discour- 
 agements. — Peace expected as the result of a battle. — Contempt for his 
 enemies affected by the Emperor. — Government established at Wilna. 
 — The Russian army again retreats. — Speech of the Emperor to the 
 King of Naples. — Plan announced but not executed. — The campaign 
 for tliree years, and a prompt march forward. — The intense heat ex- 
 hausts the Emperor. — Audiences en deshahiUe. — Suspense unendurable 
 to the Emperor. — Useless opposition of the Duke of Vicenza, the Count 
 of Lobau, and the grand marshal. — Departure from Witepskand arrival 
 at Smolensk. — Remarkable buildings. — The banks of the Moskwa. 
 
 As I hare announced previously, I shall endeavor to 
 record in this chapter some recollections of events personal 
 to the Emperor wliich occurred during the journey between 
 the frontiers of France and Prussia. How sad a contrast 
 results, alas ! as we attempt to compare our journey to Mos- 
 cow with that of our return. One must have seen Napo- 
 leon at Dresden, surrounded by a court of princes and of 
 kings, to form an idea of the highest point which human 
 greatness can reach. There more than ever elsewhere 
 the Emperor was affable to all ; fortune smiled upon him, 
 
70 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 and none of those who enjoyed with us the spectacle of 
 his glory could even conceive the thought that fortune 
 could soon prove unfaithful to him and in so striking a 
 manner. I remember, among other particulars of our stay 
 at Dresden, a speech I heard the Emperor make to Marshal 
 Berthier, whom he had summoned at a very early hour. 
 When the marshal arrived, Napoleon had not yet risen, 
 but I received orders to bring him in at once ; so that while 
 dressing the Emperor, I heard between him and his major- 
 general a conversation of which I wish I could remember 
 the whole, but at least I am sure of repeating correctly one 
 thought which struck me. The Emperor said in nearly 
 these words : — 
 
 " I wish no harm to Alexander ; it is not on Russia that 
 I am making war, no more than on Spain ; I have only one 
 enemy, — England, and it is her I am striving to reach in 
 Russia ; I will pursue her everywhere." During this speech 
 the marshal bit his nails, as was his constant habit. On 
 that day a magnificent review was held, at which all the 
 princes of the Confederation were present, surrounding their 
 chief as great vassals of his crown. 
 
 When the various army-corps marshaled from the other 
 side of the Elbe had advanced to the confines of Poland, 
 we left Dresden, meeting everywhere the same enthusiasm 
 on the advent of the Emperor. We were as a result sump- 
 tuously entertained in every place at which we halted, so 
 anxious were the inhabitants to testify their regard for his 
 Majesty, even in the person of those who had the honor of 
 serving him. 
 
 At this time there was a general rumor in the army, 
 and among the persons of the Emperor's household, that 
 
JOURNEY TO RUSSIA. 71 
 
 his intention was to re-establish the kingdom of Poland. 
 Ignorant as I was, and from my position should naturally 
 be, of all political matters, I heard no less than others the 
 expression of an opinion which was universal, and which 
 was discussed openly by all. Sometimes the Emperor con- 
 descended to ask me what I heard, and always smiled at 
 my report, since I could not tell the truth and say anything 
 that would have been disagreeable to him ; for he was then, 
 and I do not speak too strongly, universally adored by the 
 Polish population. 
 
 On the 23d of June we were on the banks of the Nie- 
 men, that river already become so famous by the interview 
 hetween the two Emperors, under circumstances very differ- 
 ent from those in which they now found themselves. 
 
 The passage of the army began in the evening, and 
 lasted for forty-eight hours, during which time the Emperor ' 
 was almost constantly on horseback, so well he knew that 
 his presence expedited matters. Then we continued our 
 journey to Wilna, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lith- 
 uania, and on the 27th arrived in front of this town, occu- 
 pied by the Russians ; and it may truly be said that there, 
 and there alone, military operations began, for up to thiJ 
 time the Emperor had traveled as he would have done in 
 the departments of the interior of France. The Russians, 
 being attacked, were beaten and fell back, so that two days 
 after we entered Wilna, a town of considerable size, which 
 seemed to me to contain about thirty thousand inhabitants. 
 I was struck with the incredible number of convents and 
 ■churches which are there. At Wilna the Emperor was 
 much gratified by the demand of five or six hundred stu- 
 dents that they should be formed into a regiment. It is 
 
72 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 needless to say that such solicitations were always eagerly 
 granted by his Majesty. 
 
 We rested for some time at Wilna ; the Emperor thence 
 followed the movement of his armies, and occupied himself 
 also with organizing the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, of 
 which this town, as is well known, is the capital. As the 
 Emperor was often on horseback, I had sufficient leisure t& 
 acquaint myself thoroughly with the town and its environs. 
 The Lithuanians were in a state of enthusiasm impossible 
 to describe ; and although I have seen during my life many 
 fetes, I shall never forget the joyous excitement of the 
 whole population when the grand national /e<e of the regen- 
 eration of Poland was celebrated, which owing either to a 
 singular coincidence, or the calculation of the Emperor, 
 was appointed for the 14th of July. The Poles were still 
 uncertain as to the ultimate fate which the Emperor re- 
 served for their country; but a future bright with hope 
 shone before their eyes, until these visions were rudely dis- 
 pelled by the Emperor's reply to the deputation from the 
 Polish confederation established at Warsaw. This numer- 
 ous deputation, with a count palatine at its head, demanded 
 the integral re-establishment of the ancient kingdom of 
 Poland. This was the Emperor's reply : — 
 
 " Messieurs, deputies of the Confederation of Poland, I have heard 
 with interest -what you have just said. 
 
 Were I a Pole, I should think and act as you have done, and I 
 should have voted like you in the assembly at Warsaw ; for love of 
 country is the first virtue of civilized man. 
 
 In my position I have many opposing interests to reconcile, and 
 many duties to fulfill. If I had reigned at the time of the first, 
 second, or third division of Poland, I would have armed all my people 
 to sustain you. As soon as victory permitted me to restore your 
 
NAPOLEON'S REPLY TO THE POLISH DEPUTIES^ 73 
 
 ancient laws to your capital and to a part of your provinces, I have 
 done so readily, without, however, prolonging a war which would 
 have shed the blood of my subjects. 
 
 I love your nation. For sixteen years I have seen your soldiers 
 by my side on the fields of Italy as on those of Spain. 
 
 I applaud all that you have done ; I authorize the efiorts you wish 
 to make ; and all that depends on me to carry out your resolutions 
 shall be done. 
 
 If your efforts are unanimous, you may indulge the hope of for- 
 cing your enemies to recognize your rights. But in these countries, so 
 distant and so extensive, any hope of success can be founded only on 
 the unanimous efforts of the population which occupies them. 
 
 I have maintained the same position since my first appearance in 
 Poland. I should add here that I have guaranteed to the Emperor 
 of Austria the integrity of his States, and I could authorize no move- 
 ment tending to disturb him in the peaceful possession of what 
 remains to him of the Polish provinces. Let Lithuania, Samogitia, 
 Witepsk, Polotsk, Mohilow, Wolhynia, Ukraine, and Podolia be ani- 
 mated by the same spirit I have seen in great Poland, and Providence 
 will crown with success the holiness of your cause ; it will recompense 
 this devotion to your native country which has made you such an 
 object of interest, and has obtained for you the right to my esteem 
 and protection, on which you may rely under all circumstances." 
 
 I have thought it best to give here the entire reply of 
 the Emperor to the deputies of the Polish confederation, 
 as I Y/'AS, a witness of the effect it produced at Wilna. 
 A few Poles with whom I was associated spoke to me of 
 it with sorrow; but their consternation was not loudly 
 expressed, and the air did not the less resound with cries 
 of '■'■Vive V Empereur ! '' each time the Emperor showed him- 
 self in public, which is to say almost every day. 
 
 During our stay at Wilna some hopes were entertained 
 that a new peace was about to be concluded, as an envoy 
 had arrived from the Emperor Alexander. But these hopes 
 
74 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 were of short duration ; and I have since ascertained that 
 the Russian officer, M. Balochoff, fearing, like almost all 
 of his nation, a reconciliation between the two emperors, 
 delivered his message in such a manner as to rouse the 
 pride of his Majesty, who sent him back after a cool re- 
 ception. Everything smiled on the Emperor. He was 
 then at the head of the most numerous as well as most 
 formidable army he had ever commanded. On M. Balac- 
 hoff's departure everything was set in order for the execu- 
 tion of his Majesty's plans. 
 
 When on the point of penetrating into the Russian ter- 
 ritory, his Majesty no longer maintained his customary 
 serenity; at least, I had occasion to remark that he was 
 unusually silent at the hours I had the honor to approach 
 him; and, nevertheless, as soon as his plans were made, and 
 he had brought his troops from the other side of the Vilia, 
 the river on which Wilna is situated, the Emperor took 
 possession of the Russian territory with the enthusiastic 
 ardor one would expect in a young man. One of the 
 escort which accompanied him related^ to me that the 
 Emperor spurred his horse to the front, and made him mn 
 at Jiis utmost speed nearly a league through the woods 
 alone, and notwithstanding the numerous Cossacks scat- 
 tered through these woods which lie along the right bank 
 of the Vilia. 
 
 I have more than once seen the Emperor much annoyed 
 because there was no enemy to fight. For instance, the 
 Russians had abandoned Wilna, which we had entered 
 without resistance; and again, on leaving this town scouts 
 announced the absence of hostile troops, with the exception 
 of those Cossacks of whom I have spoken. I remember one 
 
TME RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 75 
 
 day we thought we heard the distant noise of cannon, and 
 the Emperor almost shuddered with joy; but we were soon 
 undeceived, the noise was the sound of thunder, and sud- 
 denly the most frightful storm I have ever seen burst over 
 the army. The land for a space of more than four leagues 
 was so covered with water that the road could not be seen; 
 and this storm, as fatal as a battle could have been, cost us 
 a large number of men, several thousand horses, and a part 
 of the immense equipments of the expedition. 
 
 It was known in the army that the Russians had done 
 an immense amount of work at Drissa, where they had 
 constructed an enormous intrenched camp ; and the number 
 of troops collected there, the considerable sums expended 
 in the works, all gave reason to believe that the Russian 
 army would await the French at this point ; and this belief 
 was all the more reasonable since the Emperor Alexander, 
 in his numerous proclamations disseminated through the 
 army, and several of which fell into our hands, boasted of 
 conquering the French at Drissa, where (said these proc- 
 lamations) we should find our grave. It was otherwise 
 ordained by destiny; for the Russians, constantly falling 
 back towards the heart of Russia, abandoned this famous 
 camp of Drissa on the approach of the Emperor. I heard 
 it said by many general ofQcers that a great battle would 
 have been at that time a salutary event for the French 
 army, in which discontent was beginning to increase, first, 
 for want of enemies to fight, and second, because privations 
 of every kind became each day more unendurable. Whole 
 divisions lived, so to speak, by pillage. The soldiers devas- 
 tated the dwellings and cottages found at rare intervals in 
 the country; and, in spite of the severe ordera of the Em- 
 
76 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 peror against marauding and pillaging, these orders could 
 not be executed, for the officers themselves lived for the 
 most part on the booty which the soldiers obtained and 
 shared with them. 
 
 The Emperor affected before his soldiers a serenity 
 which he was far from feeling ; and from a few detached 
 words which I heard him pronounce in this grave situation, 
 I am authorized to believe that the Emperor desired a 
 battle so ardently, only in the hope that the Emperor 
 Alexander would make him new overtures leading to 
 peace. I think that he would then have accepted it after 
 the first victory; but he would never have consented to 
 retrace his steps after such immense preparations without 
 having waged one of those great battles which furnish 
 sufficient glory for a campaign ; at least, that is what I 
 heard him say repeatedly. The Emperor also often spoke 
 of the enemies he had to combat with an affected disdain 
 wliich he did not really feel ; liis object being to cheer the 
 officers and soldiers, many of whom made no concealment 
 of their discouragement. 
 
 Before leaving Wilna, the Emperor established there a 
 kind of central government, at the head of which he had 
 placed the Duke of- Bassano, with the object of having an 
 intermediate point between France and the line of opera- 
 tions he intended to carry on in the interior of Russia. 
 Disappointed, as I have said, by the abandonment of the 
 camp of Drissa by the Russian army, he marched rapidly 
 towards Witepsk, where the greater part of the French 
 forces were then collected : but here the ire of the Emperor 
 was again aroused by a new retreat of the Russians ; for 
 the encounters of Ostrovno and Moliilev, although impor- 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 77 
 
 tant, could not be considered as the kind of battle the 
 Emperor so ardently desired. On entering Witepsk, the 
 Emperor learned that the Emperor Alexander, who a few 
 days before had his headquarters there, and also the Grand 
 Duke Constantine, had quitted the army, and returned to 
 St. Petersburg. 
 
 At this period, that is to say, on our arrival at Witepsk, 
 the report was spread abroad that the Emperor would con- 
 tent himself with taking position there, and organizing 
 means of subsistence for his army, and that he would post^ 
 pone till the next year the execution of his vast designs 
 on Russia. I could not undertake to say what his inmost 
 thoughts were on this subject; but what I can certify is 
 that, being in a room adjoining his, I one day heard him 
 say to the King of Naples, that the first campaign of Russia 
 was ended, and that he would be the following year at 
 Moscow, the next at St. Petersburg, and that the Russian 
 war was a three years' campaign. Had it pleased Provi- 
 dence that his Majesty had executed this plan, which he 
 outlined to the King of Naples so earnestly, so many of the 
 brave would not have laid down their lives a few months 
 after in the frightful retreat, the horrors of which I shall 
 hereafter describe. 
 
 During our stay at Witepsk, the heat was so excessive 
 that the Emperor was much exhausted, and complained of 
 it incessantly; and I have never seen him under any cir- 
 cumstances so oppressed by the weight of his clothing. In 
 his room he rarely wore his coat, and frequently threw 
 himself on his bed to rest. This is a fact which many 
 persons can attest as well as I ; for he often received his 
 general officers thus, though it had been his custom never 
 
78 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 to appear before them without the uniform which he habit- 
 ually wore. Nevertheless, the influence which the heat had 
 on his physical condition had not affected his great soul; 
 and his genius ever on the alert embraced every branch 
 of the administration. But it was easily seen by those 
 whose positions enabled them best to know his character 
 that the source of his greatest suffering at Witepsk was 
 the uncertainty whether he should remain in Poland, or 
 should advance without delay into the heart of Russia. 
 While he was hesitating between these two decisions he 
 was nearly always sad and taciturn. 
 
 In this state of vacillation between repose and motion, 
 the Emperor's preference was not doubtful; and at the 
 end of a council where I heard it said that his Majesty 
 met with much opposition, I learned that we were to move 
 forward and advance on Moscow, from which it was said 
 that we were only twenty days' march distant. Among 
 those who opposed most vehemently this immediate march 
 on IMoscow, I heard the names cited of the Duke of 
 Vicenza ^ and the Count of Lobau ; ^ but what I can assert 
 of my own knowledge, and which I learned in a manner 
 to leave no room for doubt, is that the grand marshal of 
 the palace 3 tried on numerous occasions to dissuade the 
 Emperor from this project. But all these endeavors were 
 of no avail against his will. 
 
 We then directed our course towards the second capital 
 of Russia, and arrived after a few days march at Smolensk, 
 a large and beautiful city. The Russians, whom he thought 
 he had caught at last, had just evacuated it, after destroy- 
 ing much booty, and burning the greater part of the stores. 
 
 1 Caulaincourt. 2 Q-eneral Mouton. s Dujog. — Teahs. 
 
TBJE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 79 
 
 We entered by the light of the flames, but it was nothing 
 in comparison to what awaited us at Moscow. I remarked 
 at Smolensk two buildings which seemed to me of the 
 greatest beauty, — the cathedral and the episcopal palace, 
 which last seemed to form a village -in itself, so extensive 
 are the buildings, and being also separated from the city. 
 
 I will not make a list of the places with barbarous 
 names through which we passed after leaving Smolensk. 
 All that I shall add as to our itinerary during the first half 
 of this gigantic campaign is that on the 5th of September 
 we arrived on the banl?:s of the Moskwa, where the Em- 
 peror saw with intense satisfaction that at last the Russians 
 were determined to grant him the great battle which he 
 so ardently desired, and which he had pursued for more 
 than two hundred leagues as prey that he would not allow 
 to escape him. 
 
80 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The day after the battle of la Moskwa. — Appearance of the battlefielcl.— 
 Moscow! Moscow! — False alarm. — Saxons returning from a raid. — 
 The sentinel on the cry of alarm. — Let tliem come, we will be ready for 
 them. — The glass of Chamhertin wine. —The Duke of Dantzic. — 
 Entrance into Moscow. — Silent march of the army. — The Muscovite 
 beggars. — Keflection. — The lights are extinguished at the windows. — 
 Lodging of the Emperor at the entrance of a faubourg. — Vermin. — 
 Vinegar and aloes wood. — Two o'clock in the morning. — Fire breaks 
 out in the city. — The Emperor's anger. — He threatens Marshal Mortier 
 and the young guard. — The Kremlin. — Apartment occupied by his 
 Majesty. — The cross of the great Ivan. — Description of the Kremlin. — 
 The Emperor cannot sleep even a few hours. — Fire in the neighborhood 
 of the Kremlin. — The conflagration. — The sparks. — The park of artil- 
 lery under the Emperor's windows. — The Russians who keep up the 
 fire. — Impassibility of the Emperor. — He goes out of the Kremlin'. — 
 The north staircase. — The horses rear. — The Emperor's coat and hair 
 burned. — The po.stern opening on the Moskwa. — An offer is made to 
 the Emperor by his escort to cover him with cloaks and carry him in 
 their arms through the midst of the flames; he refuses. — The Emperor 
 and the Prince of Eckmuhl. — Boats laden with grain are burned in the 
 Moskwa. — Shells placed in the ovens of the houses. — Incendiary women. 
 — The gallows. — The populace kissing the feet of the executed. — Anec- 
 dote. — The sheepskin. — The grenadiers. — The palace of Petrovskoi.— 
 A man concealed in the room which the Emperor was expected to oc- 
 cupy. — The Kremlin preserved. — The orders given to Marshal Mortier. 
 — The bivouac at the gates of Moscow. — Cashmeres, furs, and pieces of 
 bleeding horseflesh. — The inhabitants in the cellars, and in the midst 
 of the ruins. — Return to the Kremlin. — Despondent words of the Em- 
 peror. — The buzzards of Moscow. — Concerts at the Kremlin. — The 
 preceptors of the Russian noblemen. — They are charged with maintain- 
 ing order. — Alexander reproaches Rostopchin. 
 
 The day after the battle of the Moskwa, I was with 
 the Emperor in his tent which was on the field of battle, 
 and the most perfect calm reigned around us. It was a 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 81 
 
 fine spectacle which this army presented, calmly re-forming 
 its columns in which the Russian cannon had made such 
 wide gaps, and proceeding to the repose of the bivouac 
 with the security which conquerors ever feel. The Em- 
 peror seemed overcome with fatigue. From time to time 
 he clasped his hands over his crossed knees, and I heard 
 him each time repeat, with a kind of convulsive movement, 
 '■'■Moscow! Moscoiv!" He sent me several times to see 
 what was going on outside, then rose himself, and coming 
 up behind me looked out over my shoulder. The noise 
 made by the sentinel in presenting arms each time warned 
 me of his approach. After about a quarter of an hour of 
 these silent marches to and fro, the sentinel advanced and 
 cried, " To arms ! " and hke a lightning flash the battalion 
 square was formed around the Emperor's tent. He rushed 
 out, and then re-entered to take his hat and sword. It 
 proved to be a false alarm, as a regiment of Saxons return- 
 ing from a raid had been mistaken for the enemy. 
 
 There was much laughter over this mistake, especially 
 when the raiders came in sight, some bearing quarters of 
 meat spitted on the ends of their bayonets, others with 
 half-picked fowls or hams which made the mouth water.. 
 I was standing outside the tent, and shall never forget the 
 first movement of the sentinel as he gave the cry of alarm. 
 He lowered the stock of his gun to see if the priming was 
 in place, shook the barrel by striking it with his fist, then 
 replaced the gun on his arm, saying, " Well, let them come ;, 
 we are ready for them." I told the occurrence to the 
 Emperor, who in his turn related it to Prince Berthier; 
 and in consequence the Emperor made this brave soldier 
 drink a glass of his best Chambertin wine. 
 
82 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 It was the Duke of Dantzic who first entered Moscow, 
 and the Emperor came only after him. This entry was 
 made in the night, and never was there a more depressing 
 scene. There was sometiung truly frightful in this silent 
 march of an army halted at intervals by messages from 
 inside the city, which seemed to he of a most ominous 
 character. No Muscovite figures could be distinguished 
 except those of a few beggars covered with rags, who 
 watched with stupid astonishment the army file past ; and 
 as some few of these appeared to be begging alms, our 
 soldiers threw them bread and a few pieces of money. 
 I cannot prevent a sad reflection on these unfortunate crea- 
 tures, whose condition alone remains itnchanged through 
 great political upheavals, and who are totally without 
 affection and without national sympathies. 
 
 As we advanced on the streets of the faubourgs, we 
 looked through the windows on each side, and were aston- 
 ished to perceive no human being; and if a solitary 
 light appeared in the windows of a few houses, it was soon 
 extinguished, and these signs of life so suddenly efl^aced 
 made a terrible impression. The Emperor halted at the 
 faubourg of Dorogomilow, and spent the night there, not 
 in an inn, as has been stated, but in a house so filthy and 
 wretched that next morning we found in the Emperor's 
 bed, and on his clothes, vermin which are by no means un- 
 common in Russia. We were tormented by them also to 
 our great disgust, and the Emperor did not sleep during 
 the whole night he passed there. According to custom, I 
 slept in his chamber ; and notwithstanding the precaution 
 I had taken to burn vinegar and aloes wood, the odor was 
 so disagreeable that every moment the Emperor called me. 
 
THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 83 
 
 " Are you asleep, Constant? " — » No, Sire." — " My son, 
 burn more vinegar, I cannot endure this frightful odor; it 
 is a torment; I cannot sleep." I did my best; but a mo- 
 ment after, when the fumes of the vinegar were evaporated, 
 he again recommended me to burn sugar or aloes wood. 
 
 It was two o'clock in the morning when he was in- 
 formed that a fire had broken out in the city. The news 
 was received through Frenchmen residing in this country, 
 and an officer of the Russian police confirmed the report, 
 and entered into details too precise for the Emperor to 
 doubt the fact. Nevertheless, he still persisted in not 
 believing it. " That is not possible. Do you believe that. 
 Constant? Go, and find out if it is true." And thereupon 
 he threw himself again on his bed, trying to rest a little ; 
 then he recalled me to make the same inquiries. 
 
 The Emperor passed the night in extreme agitation, 
 and when daylight came he knew all. He had Marshal 
 Mortier called, and reprimanded both him and the young 
 guard. Mortier in reply showed him houses covered with 
 iron the roofs of which were uninjured, but the Emperor 
 pointed out to him the black smoke which was issuing from 
 them, pressed his hands together, and stamped his heels on 
 the rough planks of his sleeping-room. 
 
 At six o'clock in the morning we were at the palace of 
 the Kremlin, where Napoleon occupied the apartment of the 
 Czars, which opened on a vast esplanade reached by a 
 broad stone staircase. On this same esplanade could be 
 seen the church in which were the tombs of the ancient 
 sovereigns, also the senatorial palace, the barracks, the 
 arsenal, and a splendid clock tower, the cross on which 
 towers above the whole city. This is the gilded cross of 
 
84 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Ivan. The Emperor threw a satisfied glance over the 
 beautiful scene spread out before him ; for no sign of fire 
 was yet seen in all the buildings which surrounded the 
 Kremlin. This palace is a mixture of Gothic and modern 
 architecture, and this mingling of the two styles gives it a 
 most singular appearance. 
 
 Within these walls lived and died the old dynasties of 
 the Romanoff and Ruric ; and this is the same palace which 
 has been so often stained with blood by the intrigues of a 
 ferocious court, at a period when all quarrels were settled 
 with the poniard. His Majesty could not obtain there 
 even a few hours of quiet sleep. 
 
 In fact, the Emperor, somewhat reassured by the reports 
 of Marshal Mortier, was dictating to the Emperor Alexan- 
 der words of peace, and a Russian flag of truce was about 
 to bear this letter, when the Emperor, who was promenad- 
 ing the length and breadth of his apartment, perceived from 
 his windows a brilliant light some distance from the palace. 
 It was the fire, which had burst out again fiercer than ever ; 
 and as the wind from the north was now driving the flames 
 in the direction of the Kremlin, the alarm was given by 
 two ofQcers who occupied the wing of the building nearest 
 the fire. Wooden houses of many various colors were de- 
 voured in a few moments, and had already fallen in ; mag- 
 azines of oil, brandy, and other combustible materials, threw 
 out flames of a lurid hue, which were communicated with 
 the rapidity of lightning to other adjoining buildings. A 
 shower of sparks and coals fell on the roofs of the Kremlin ; 
 and one shudders to think that one of these sparks alone 
 falling on a caisson might have produced a general explo- 
 sion, and blown up the Kremlin ; for by an inconceivable 
 
BUMNING OF MOSCOW. 85 
 
 negligence a whole park of artillery had been placed under 
 the Emperor's windows. 
 
 Soon most incredible reports reached the Emperor; some 
 said that Russians had been seen stirring the fire them- 
 selves, and throwing inflammable material into the parts of 
 houses still unburned, while those of the Russians who did 
 not mingle with the incendiaries, stood with folded arms, 
 contemplating the disaster with an imperturbability which 
 cannot be described. Except for the absence of cries of 
 joy and clapping of hands they might have been taken for 
 men who witness a brilliant display of fireworks. It was 
 soon very evident to the Emperor that it was a concerted 
 plot laid by the enemy. 
 
 He descended from his apartment by the great northern 
 staircase made famous by the massacre of the Strelitz. 
 The fire had already made such enormous progress that on 
 this side the outside doors were half burned through, and 
 the horses refused to pass, reared, and it was with much 
 difficulty they could be made to clear the gates. The 
 Emperor had his gray overcoat burned in several places, 
 and even his hair; and a moment later we were walking 
 over burning firebrands. 
 
 We were not yet out of danger, and were obliged to 
 steer clear of the burning rubbish which encumbered our 
 path. Several outlets were tried, but unsuccessfully, as 
 the hot breezes from the fire struck against our faces, and 
 drove us back in terrible confusion. At last a postern 
 opening on the Moskwa was discovered, and it was through 
 this the Emperor with his officers and guard succeeded 
 in escaping from the Kremlin, but only to re-enter narrow 
 streets, where the fire, inclosed as in a furnace, was 
 
86 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 increased in intensity, and uniting above our heads the 
 flames thus formed a burning dome, which overshad- 
 owed us, and hid from us the heavens. It was time 
 to leave this dangerous place from which one means of 
 egress alone was open to us, — a narrow, winding street 
 encumbered with debris of every kind, composed of flaming 
 beams fallen from the roofs, and burning posts. There 
 was a moment of hesitation among us, in which some 
 proposed to the Emperor to cover him from head to foot 
 with their cloaks, and transport him thus in their arms 
 through this dangerous passage. This proposition the 
 Emperor rejected, and settled the question by throwing 
 himself on foot into the midst of the blazing debris., where 
 two or three vigorous jumps put him in a place of safety. 
 
 Then ensued a touching scene between the Emperor 
 and the Prince of Eckmuhl, who, wounded at the Moskwa, 
 had himself borne back in order to attempt to save the 
 Emperor, or to die Avith him. From a distance the marshal 
 perceived him calmly emerging from so great a peril ; and 
 this good and tender friend by an immense effort hastened 
 to throw himself into tlie Emperor's arras, and his Majesty 
 pressed him to his heart as if to thank him for rousing 
 such gentle emotions at a moment when danger usually 
 renders men selfish and egotistical. 
 
 At length the air itself, filled with all these flaming 
 masses, became so heated that it could no longer be 
 breathed. The atmosphere itself was burning, the glass 
 of the windows cracked, and apartments became unten- 
 able. The Emperor stood for a moment immovable, his 
 face crimson, and great drops of perspiration rolling from 
 his brow, while the King of Naples, Prince Eugene, and 
 
RETREAT FROM MOSCOW. 87 
 
 the Prince de Neuchatel begged him to quit the palace, 
 whose entreaties he answered only by impatient gestures. 
 At this instant cries came from the wing of the palace 
 situated farthest to the north, announcing that the walls 
 had fallen, and that the fire was spreading with frightful 
 rapidity ; and seeing at last that his position was no longer 
 tenable, the Emperor admitted that it was time to leave, 
 and repaired to the imperial chateau of Petrovskoi. 
 
 On his arrival at Petrovskoi the Emperor ordered 
 M. de Narbonne to inspect a palace which I think had 
 belonged to Catherine. This was a beautiful building, and 
 the apartments handsomely furnished. M. de Narbonne 
 returned with this information; but almost immediately 
 flames burst from every side, and it was soon consumed. 
 
 Such was the fury of these wretches who were hired 
 to burn everything, that the boats which covered the 
 Moskwa laden with grain, oats, and other provisions, were 
 burned, and sunk beneath the waves -with a horrible 
 crackling sound. Soldiers of the Russian police had been 
 seen stirring up the fire with tarred lances, and in the 
 ovens of some houses shells had been placed which 
 wounded many of our soldiers in exploding. 
 
 In the streets filthy women and hideous, drunken men 
 ran to the burning houses and seized flaming brands, which 
 they carried in every direction, and which our soldiers were 
 obliged repeatedly to knock out of their hands with the 
 hilts of their swords before they would relinquish them. 
 The Emperor ordered that these incendiaries when taken 
 in the act should be hung to posts in the public squares ; 
 and the populace prostrated themselves around these 
 gallows, kissing the feet of those executed, praying, and 
 
88 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 signing themselves witli the sign of the cross. Such fanat- 
 icism is almost nnparalleled. 
 
 One incident of which I was a witness proves that 
 those hired to carry out this vast plot acted, evidently, 
 according to instructions given by higher authorities. A 
 man covered with a sheepskin, old and tattered, with 
 a miserable cap on his head, boldly mounted the steps 
 of the Kremlin. Under this filthy disguise an elegant 
 costume was concealed; and when a stricter surveillance 
 was instituted, this bold beggar himself was suspected, 
 arrested, and carried before the police, where he was 
 questioned by the officer of the post. As he made some 
 resistance, tliinldng this proceeding somewhat arbitrary, 
 the sentinel put his hand on his breast to force him to 
 enter ; and this somewhat abrupt movement pushing aside 
 the sheepskin which covered him, decorations were seen, 
 and when his disguise was removed he was recognized as 
 a Russian officer. He had on his person matches which 
 he had been distributing to the men of the people, and 
 when questioned admitted that he was specially charged 
 to keep alive the fixe of the Kremlin. Many questions 
 were asked, each eliciting new confessions, all of which 
 were made in the most indifferent manner, and he was 
 put in prison, and was, I think, punished as an incendiary ; 
 but of this I am not certain. When any of these wretches 
 v/ere brought before the Emperor, he shrugged his shoulders, 
 and with gestures of scorn and anger ordered that they 
 should be removed from his sight, and the grenadiers 
 sometimes executed justice on them with their bayonets; 
 but such exasperation can be well understood in soldiers 
 thus driven by these base and odious measures from a 
 resting-place earned by the sword. 
 
RETREAT FROM MOSCOW. 89 
 
 In Petrovskoi, a pretty residence belonging to one of 
 Alexander's chamberlains, a man was found concealed in 
 one of the apartments his Majesty was to occupy; but 
 not being armed he was released, as it was concluded 
 that fright alone had driven him into this dwelling. The 
 Emperor arrived during the night at his ncAv residence, 
 and waited there in intense anxiety till the fire should 
 be extinguished at the Kremlin, intending to return thither, 
 for the pleasure house of a chamberlain was no suitable 
 place for his Majesty. Thanks to the active and coura- 
 geous actions of a battalion of the guard, the Kremlin was 
 preserved from the flames, and the Emperor thereupon 
 gave the signal for departure. 
 
 In order to re-enter Moscow it was necessary to cross 
 the camp, or rather the several camps, of the army ; and we 
 wended our way over cold and miry ground, through fields 
 where all was devastation and ruin. This camp presented 
 a most singular aspect; and I experienced feelings of bit- 
 ter melancholy as I saw our soldiers compelled to bivouac 
 at the gates of a large and beautiful city of which they were 
 the conquerors, but the fire still more than they. The 
 Emperor, on appointing Marshal Mortier governor of Mos- 
 cow, had said to him, " Above all, no pillage ; jow. will 
 answer for it with your head." The order was strictly 
 enforced up to the moment the fire began ; but when it was 
 evident that the fire would devour everything, and that 
 it was useless to abandon to the flames what would be of 
 much value to the soldiers, liberty was given them to draw 
 largely from this great storehouse of the north. 
 
 It was at once sad and amusing to see around poor plank 
 sheds, the only tents our soldiers had, the most magnificent 
 
90 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 furniture, silk canopies, priceless Siberian furs, and cashmere 
 shawls thrown pell-mell with silver dishes ; and then to see 
 the food served on these princely dishes, — miserable black 
 gruel, and pieces of horseflesh still bleeding. Good ammu- 
 nition-bread was worth at this time treble all these riches, 
 and there came a time when they had not even horseflesh. 
 
 On re-entering Moscow the wind bore to us the insuffer- 
 able odor of burning houses, vs'arm ashes tilled our mouths 
 and eyes, and freqiiently we drew back just in time before 
 great pillars which had been burned in two by the fire, and 
 fell noiselessly on this calcined soil. Moscow was not so 
 deserted as we had thought. As the first impression con- 
 quest produces is one of fright, all the inhabitants who 
 remained had concealed themselves in cellars, or in the im- 
 mense vaults which extend under the Kremlin ; and driven 
 out by the fire like wolves from their lairs, when we re-en- 
 tered the city nearly twenty thousand inhabitants were 
 wandering through the midst of the debris, a dull stupor 
 depicted on faces blackened with smoke, and pale with 
 hunger ; for they could not comprehend how having gone to 
 sleep under human roofs, they had risen next morning on 
 a plain. They were in the last extremity of want ; a few 
 vegetables only remained in the gardens, and these were 
 devoured raw, while many of these unfortunate creatures 
 threw themselves at different times into the Moskwa, en- 
 deavoring to recover some of the grain cast therein by 
 Rostopchin's ^ orders ; and a large number perished in the 
 water in these fruitless efforts. Such was the scene of dis- 
 
 1 Count Feodor Rostopchin, 1)0™ 1765 ; died 182C. He denied that Mos- 
 cow was burnt by liis authority. He claimed that it was burnt partly by the 
 French, and partly by Kussians without orders. — Trans. 
 
IN MOSCOW. 91 
 
 tress through which the Emperor was obliged to pass in 
 order to reach the Ivremlin. 
 
 The apartments which he occupied were spacious and 
 well lighted, but almost devoid of furniture ; but his iron 
 bedstead was set up there, as in all the chateaux he occupied 
 in his campaigns. His windows opened on the Moskwa, 
 and from there the fire could still be plainly seen in various 
 quarters of the city, reappearing on one side as soon as 
 extinguished on the other. His Majesty said to me one 
 evening with deep feeling, " These wretches will not leave 
 one stone upon another." I do not believe there was ever 
 in any country as many buzzards as at Moscow. The 
 Emperor was annoyed by their presence, and exclaimed, 
 " Mon Dieu ! will they follow us everywhere ? " 
 
 There were a few concerts during our stay at the 
 Emperor's residence in Moscow ; but Napoleon seemed much 
 dejected when he appeared at them, for the music of the 
 saloons made no impression on his harassed mind, and the 
 only kind that ever seemed to stir his soul was that of 
 the camp before and after a battle. 
 
 The day after the Emperor's arrival. Messieurs Ed 
 
 and V repaired to the Kremlin in order to interview 
 
 his Majesty, and after waiting some time without seeing 
 him, were expressing their mutual regret at having failed 
 in this expectation, when they suddenly heard a shutter 
 open above their heads, and, raising their eyes, recognized 
 the Emperor, who said, " Messieurs, who are you ? " — 
 "Sire, we are Frenchmen!" He requested them to mount 
 the stairs to the room he occupied, and there continued his 
 questions. " What is the nature of the occupation which 
 has detained you in Moscow?" — "We are tutors in the 
 
92 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 families of two Russian noblemen, whom the arrival of the 
 French troops have driven from their homes. We have 
 submitted to the entreaties made by them not to abandon 
 their property, and we are at present alone in their pal- 
 aces." The Emperor inquired of them if there were still 
 other Frenchmen at Moscow, and asked that they should 
 be brought to him; and then proposed that they should 
 charge themselves with maintaining order, appointing as 
 
 cliief, j\I. M , whom he decorated with a tri-colored 
 
 scarf. He recommended them to prevent the pillage of 
 the French soldiers in the churches, and to have the 
 malefactors shot, and enjoined them to use great rigor 
 towards the galley-slaves, whom RostojDchin had pardoned 
 on condition that they would set fire to the city. 
 
 A part of these Frenchmen followed our army in its 
 retreat, seeing that a longer stay at Moscow would be most 
 disagreeable to them; and those who did not follow their 
 example were condemned to work on the streets. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander, when informed of the meas- 
 ures of Rostopchin, harshly rebuked the governor, and 
 ordered him at once to restore to liberty these unfortunate 
 Frenchmen. 
 
IN MOSCOW. 93 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Muscovites asking alms. — Tlie Emperor has food and money given them. 
 — A day at the Kremlin. — The Emperor employs his time in munici- 
 pal organization. — A theater opened near the Kremlin. — The Italian 
 singer. — Retreat is discussed. — His Majesty prolongs his meals more 
 than usual. — Regulations as to French comedy. — Engagement between 
 Murat and Kutuzow. — The churches of the Kremlin stripped of their 
 ornaments. — The reviews. —The Kremlin is blown up. — The Emperor 
 takes the road to Smolensk. — Flocks of buzzards. — The wounded of 
 Oupinskoe. — Each carriage in the suit carries one. — Injustice of accu- 
 sations of cruelty against the Emperor. — Explosion of caissons. — 
 Headquarters. — Cossacks. — The Emperor is informed of the conspir- 
 acy of Malet. — General Savary. — Airrival at Smolensk. — The Emperor 
 and the commissary-general of the grand army. — The Emperor releases 
 the Prince of Eckmuhl. — Let us guard the safety of the Empire. — In- 
 defatigable activity of the Emperor. — The stragglers. — The corps of 
 Marshal Davoust. — His rage when he finds it dying of hunger. — Mar- 
 shal Ney is found. — Speech of Napoleon. — Prince Eugene weeps for 
 joy. — Marshal Lefebvre. 
 
 We re-entered tlie Kremlin the morning of the 18th of 
 September. The palace and the hospital for foundlings 
 were almost the only buildings remaining uninjured. On 
 the route our carriages were surrounded by a crowd of 
 miserable Muscovites begging alms. They followed us as 
 far as the palace, walking through hot ashes, or over the 
 heated stones, which crumbled beneath their feet. The 
 poorest were barefoot; and it was a heart-rending sight 
 to see these creatures, as their feet touched the burning 
 debris, give vent to their sufferings by screams and ges- 
 tures of despair. As the only unencumbered part of the 
 street was occupied by our carriages, this swarm threw 
 
94 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 themselves pell-mell against the wheels or under the feet 
 of our horses. Our progress was consequently very slow, 
 and we had so much the longer under our eyes this pic- 
 ture of the greatest of all miseries, that of a people burned 
 out of their homes, and without food or the means to pro- 
 cure it. The Emperor had food and money given them. 
 
 When we were again established at the Kremlin, and 
 had resumed our regular routine of living, a few days 
 passed in perfect tranquillity. The Emperor appeared less 
 sad, and in consequence those surrounding him became 
 somewhat more cheerful. It seemed as if we had returned 
 from the campaign, and taken up again the customary occu- 
 pations of city life ; but if the Emperor sometimes indulged 
 in this illusion, it was soon dispelled by the sight Moscow 
 presented as seen from the windows of his apartments, and 
 each time Napoleon's eyes turned in that direction it was 
 evident that he was oppressed by the saddest presenti- 
 ments, although he no longer manifested the same vehement 
 impatience as on liis first stay at the palace, when he saw 
 the flames surrounding him and driving him from his apart- 
 ments. But he exhibited the depressing calm of a care- 
 worn man who cannot foresee how things will result. The 
 days were long at the Kremlin while the Emperor awaited 
 Alexander's reply, which never came. At this time I 
 noticed that the Emperor kept constantly on his table 
 Voltaire's history of Charles XII. 
 
 The Emperor was a prey to his genius for administra- 
 tion, even in the midst of the ruins of this great city ; and 
 in order to divert his mind from the anxiety caused by 
 outside affairs, occupied himself with municipal organiza- 
 tion, and had already arranged that Moscow should be 
 stocked with provisions for the winter. 
 
IN MOSCOW. 95 
 
 A theater was erected near the Kremlin, but the Empe- 
 ror never attended. The troupe was composed of a few 
 unfortunate French actors, who had remained in Moscow in 
 a state of utter destitution ; but his Majesty encouraged this 
 enterprise in the hope that theatrical representations would 
 offer some diversion to both officers and soldiers. It was 
 said that the first actors of Paris had been ordered to Mos- 
 cow, but of that I know nothing positively. There was 
 at Moscow a celebrated Italian singer whom the Emperor 
 heard several times, but only in his apartments, and he did 
 not form part of the regular troupe. 
 
 Until the 18th of October the time was spent in dis- 
 cussions, more or less heated, between the Emperor and his 
 generals, as to the best course to be pursued. Every one 
 well knew that retreat had now become inevitable, and the 
 Emperor was well aware of this fact himself; but it was 
 plainly evident that it cost his pride a terrible struggle 
 to speak the decisive word. The last days preceding the 
 18th were the saddest I have ever known. In his ordinary 
 intercourse with his friends and counselors his Majesty 
 manifested much coldness of manner ; he became taciturn, 
 and entire hours passed without any one present having 
 the courage to begin a conversation. The Emperor, who 
 was generally so hurried at his meals, prolonged them 
 most surprisingly. Sometimes during the day he threw 
 himself on a sofa, a romance in his hand which he simply 
 pretended to read, and seemed absorbed in deep revery. 
 Verses were sent to him from Paris which he read aloud, 
 expressing his opinion in a brief and trenchant style; he 
 spent three days writing regulations for the French comedy 
 at Paris. It is difficult to understand this attention to 
 
96 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 such frivolous details when the future was so ominous. It 
 was generally believed, and probably not without reason,, 
 that tlie Emperor acted thus from motives of deep policy, 
 and that these regulations for the French comedy at this 
 time, when no bulletin had yet arrived to give informa- 
 tion of the disastrous position of the French army, were 
 written with the object of making an impression on the 
 inhabitants of Paris, 'who would not fail to say, " All can- 
 not be going so badly, since the Emperor has time to 
 occupy himself with the theater." 
 
 The news received on the 18th put an end to all uncer- 
 tainty. The Emperor was reviewing, in the first court of 
 the Kremlin palace, the divisions of Ney, distributing the 
 cross to the bravest among them, and addressing encoura- 
 ging words to all, when an aide-de-camp, young Beranger, 
 brought the news that a sharp engagement had taken place 
 at Winkowo between Murat and Kutusoff, and that the 
 vanguard of Murat had been overwhelmed and our position 
 taken. Russia's intention to .resume hostilities was now 
 plainly evident, and in the first excitement of the news the 
 Emperor's astonishment was at its height. There was, on 
 the contrary, among the soldiers of Marshal Ney an electric 
 movement of enthusiasm and anger which was very gratify- 
 ing to his Majesty. Charmed to see how the shame of a 
 defeat, even when sustained vsdthout dishonor, excited the 
 pride and aroused a desire to retrieve it in these impas- 
 sioned souls, the Emperor pressed the hand of the colonel 
 nearest to him, continued the review, and ordered that 
 evening a concentration of all the corps ; and before night 
 the whole army was in motion towards Woronowo. 
 
 A few days before quitting Moscow, the Emperor had 
 
IN MOSCOW. 97 
 
 the churches of the Kremlin stripped of their finest orna- 
 ments. The ravages of the fire had relaxed the protection 
 that the Emperor had extended to the property of the 
 Russians. 
 
 The most magnificent trophy in this collection was the 
 immense cross of the great Ivan. It was necessary to de- 
 mohsh a part of the tower on which it stood in order to 
 take it down, and it required stupendous efforts to break 
 this vast mass of iron. It was the Emperor's intention to 
 place it upon the dome of the Invalides, but it was sunk in 
 the waters of Lake Semlewo. 
 
 The evening before the Emperor was to hold a review, 
 the soldiers were busily employed polishing their arms and 
 putting everything in order, to conceal as far as possible 
 the destitute condition to which they were reduced. The 
 most imprudent had exchanged their winter clothing for 
 provisions, many had worn out their shoes on the march, 
 and yet each one made it a point of honor to make a good 
 appearance on review ; and when the glancing rays of the 
 sun shone on the barrels of the well-pohshed guns, the 
 Emperor felt again in witnessing this scene some slight 
 return of the emotions with which his soul was filled on 
 the glorious day of his departure for the campaign. 
 
 The Emperor left twelve hundred wounded at Moscow, 
 four hundred of whom were removed by the last corps 
 which quitted the city. Marshal Mortier was the last to 
 go. At Feminskoe, ten leagues from Moscow, we heard 
 the noise of a frightful explosion; it was the Kremlin 
 which had been blown up by the Emperor's orders. A 
 fuse was placed in the vaults of the palace, and everything 
 arranged so that the explosion should not take place within 
 
98 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 a certain time. Some Cossacks came to pillage the aban- 
 doned apartments, in ignorance that a fire was smoldering 
 under their feet, and were thrown to a prodigious height 
 in the air. Thirty thousand guns were abandoned in the 
 fortress. In an instant part of the Kremlin was a mass of 
 ruins. A part was preserved, and a circumstance which 
 contributed no little to enhance the credit of their great 
 St. Nicholas with the Russians was that an image in stone 
 of this saint remained uninjured by the explosion, in a spot 
 where almost everything else was destroyed. This fact 
 was stated to me by a reliable person, who heard Count 
 Rostopchin himself relate it during his stay in Paris. 
 
 On the 28th of October the Emperor retraced his way 
 to Smolensk, and passed near the battle-field of Borodino. 
 About thirty thousand corpses had been left on this vast 
 plain ; and on our approach flocks of buzzards, whom an 
 abundant harvest had attracted, flew away with horrible 
 croakings. These corpses of so many brave men presented 
 a sickening spectacle, half consumed, and exhahng an odor 
 which even the excessive cold could not neutralize. The 
 Emperor hastened past, and slept in the chateau of Oupin- 
 skoe which was almost in ruins ; and the next day he visited 
 a few wounded who had been left in an abbey. These poor 
 fellows seemed to recover their strength at the sight of the 
 Emperor, and forgot their sufferings, which must have been 
 very severe, as wounds are always much more painful when 
 cold weather first begins. All these pale countenances 
 drawn with suffering became more serene. These poor 
 soldiers also rejoiced to see their comrades, and questioned 
 them with anxious curiosity concerning the events which 
 had followed the battle of Borodino. When they learned 
 
RETREAT FROM MOSCOW. 99 
 
 that we had bivouacked at Moscow, they were filled with 
 joy; and it was very evident that their greatest regret was 
 that they could not have been with the others to see the fine 
 furniture of the rich Muscovites used as fuel at the biv- 
 ouac fires. Napoleon directed that each carriage of the 
 suite should convey one of these unfortunates ; and this 
 was done, everybody complying with the order with a read- 
 iness which gratified the Emperor exceedingly ; and the 
 poor wounded fellows said in accents of most ardent grati- 
 tude, that they were much more comfortable on these soft 
 cushions than in the ambulances, which we could well 
 believe. A lieutenant of the cuirassiers who had just un- 
 dergone an amputation was placed in the landau of the 
 Emperor, while he traveled on horseback. 
 
 This answers every accusation of cruelty so gratui- 
 tously made against the memory of a great man who has 
 passed away. I have read somewhere with intense disgust 
 that the Emperor sometimes ordered his carriage to pass 
 over the wounded, whose cries of agony made not the 
 slightest impression on him ; all of which is false and very 
 revolting. None of those who served the Emperor could 
 have been ignorant of his solicitude for the unfortunate 
 victims of war, and the care he had taken of them. For- 
 eigners, enemies, or Frenchmen, — all were recommended 
 to the surgeon's care with equal strictness. 
 
 From time to time frightful explosions made us turn 
 our heads, and glance behind us. They were caissons 
 which were being exploded that we might no longer be 
 encumbered with them, as the march became each day 
 more painful. It produced a sad impression to see that 
 we were reduced to such a point of distress as to be com- 
 
100 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 pelled to throw our powder to the winds to keep from leav- 
 ing it to the enemy. But a still sadder reflection came into 
 our minds at each detonation, — the grand army must be 
 rapidly hastening to dissolution when the material remain- 
 ing exceeded our needs, and the number of men still left 
 was so much short of that required to use it. On the 30th, 
 the Emperor's headquarters were in a poor hovel which had 
 neither doors nor windows. We had much difficulty in 
 inclosing even a corner sufficient for him to sleep. The 
 cold was increasing, and the nights were icy ; the small 
 fortified palisades of which a species of post relays had been 
 made, placed from point to point, marked the divisions of 
 the route, and served also each evening as Imperial head- 
 quarters. The Emperor's bed was hastily set up there, 
 and a cabinet arranged as well as possible where he could 
 work with his secretaries, or write his orders to the differ- 
 ent chiefs whom he had left on the road and in the towns. 
 
 Our retreat was often annoyed by parties of Cossacks. 
 These barbarians rushed upon us, lance in hand, and utter- 
 ing rather howls of ferocious beasts than human cries, their 
 little, long-tailed horses dashing against the flanks of the 
 different divisions. But these attacks, though often re- 
 peated, liad not, at least at the beginning of the retreat, 
 serious consequences for the army. When they heard this 
 horrible cry the infantry was not intimidated, but closed 
 ranks and presented bayonets, and the cavalry made it their 
 duty to pursue these barbarians, who fled more quickly than 
 they came. 
 
 On the 6 th of November, before leaving the army, the 
 Emperor received news of the conspiracy of Malet and 
 everything connected with it. He Avas at first astonished. 
 
TBE niSTUEAT. 101 
 
 then much dissatisfied, and ended hy making himself very 
 merry over the discomfiture of the chief of police, General 
 Savary ; and said many times that had he been at Paris no 
 one would have budged, and that he could never leave at 
 all without every one losing their heads at the least dis- 
 turbance ; and from this time he often spoke of how much 
 he was needed in Paris. 
 
 Speaking of General Savary recalls to my memory an 
 affair in which he was somewhat nonplussed. After quit- 
 ting the command of the gendarmerie, to succeed Fouche in 
 the office of minister of police, he had a little discussion 
 with one of the Emperor's aides-de-camp. As he went so 
 far as to threaten, the latter replied, " You seem to think 
 you have handcuffs always in your pockets." 
 
 On the 8 th of November the snow was falling, the sky 
 covered with clouds, the cold intense, while a violent wind 
 prevailed, and the roads were covered with sleet. The 
 horses could make no progress, for their shoes were so 
 badly worn that they could not prevent slipping on the 
 frozen ground. 
 
 The poor animals were emaciated, and it was necessary 
 that the soldiers should put their shoulders to the wheels 
 in order to lighten their burdens. 
 
 There is something in the panting breath which issues 
 from the nostrils of a tired horse, in the tension of their 
 muscles, and the prodigious efforts of their loins, which 
 gives us, in a high degree, the idea of strength; but the 
 mute resignation of these animals, when we know them to 
 be overladen, inspires us with pity, and makes us regret the 
 abuse of so much endurance. 
 
 The Emperor on foot in the midst of his household, and 
 
102 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 staff in hand, walked with difficulty over these slippery- 
 roads, meanwhile encouraging the others with kind words, 
 each of whom felt himself full of good-will ; and had any 
 one then uttered a complaint he would have been badly 
 esteemed by his comrades. We arrived in sight of Smo- 
 lensk. The Emperor was the least fatigued of all ; and 
 though he was pale, his countenance was calm, and nothing 
 in his appearance indicated his mental sufferings ; and 
 indeed they must needs have been intense to be evident 
 to the public. The roads were strewn with men and horses 
 slain by fatigue or famine ; and men as they passed turned 
 their eyes aside. As for the horses they were a prize for 
 our famished soldiers. 
 
 We at last reached Smolensk on the 9th, and the 
 Emperor lodged in a beautiful house on the Place Neuve. 
 Although this important city had suffered since we had 
 passed through before, it still had some resources, and we 
 found there provisions of all kinds for the Emperor's house- 
 hold and the officers ; but the Emperor valued but little this 
 privileged abundance, so to speak, when he learned that 
 the army needed food for man and beast. When he learned 
 of this liis rage amounted to frenzy, and I have never seen 
 him so completely beside himself. He had the commissary 
 in charge of the provisions summoned, and reproached him 
 in such unmeasured terms that the latter turned pale, and 
 could ffiid no words to justify himself, whereupon the 
 Emperor became still more violent, and uttered terrible 
 threats. I heard cries from the next room ; and I have been 
 told since that the quartermaster threw himself at the 
 feet of his Majesty, beseeching pardon, and the Emperor, 
 when his rage had spent itself, pardoned him. Never did 
 
THE RETREAT. 103 
 
 he sympathize more truly with the sufferings of his army ; 
 never did he suiTer more bitterly from his powerlessness to 
 struggle against such overwhelming misfortunes. 
 
 On the 14th we resumed the route which we had trav- 
 ersed a few months before under far different auspices. 
 The thermometer registered twenty degrees, and we were 
 still very far from France. After a slow and painful march 
 we arrived at Krasnoi. The Emperor was obliged to go 
 in person, with his guard, to meet the enemy, and release 
 the Prince of Eckmuhl. He passed through the fire of the 
 enemy, surrounded by his old guard, who pressed around 
 their chief in platoons in which the shell made large gaps, 
 furnishing one of the grandest examples in all history of 
 the devotion and love of thousands of men to one. When 
 the fire was hottest, the band played the air, " Where can 
 one he better than in the bosom of- his family f " Napoleon 
 interrupted them, exclaiming, " Play rather. Let us watch 
 over the safety of the Empire.'^ It is difficult to imagine 
 anything grander. 
 
 The Emperor returned from this combat much fatigued. 
 He had passed several nights without sleeping, listening to 
 the reports made to him on the condition of the army, ex- 
 pediting orders necessary to procure food for the soldiers, 
 and putting in motion the different corps which were to 
 sustain the retreat. Never did his stupendous activity find 
 more constant employment ; never did he show a higher 
 courage than in the midst of all these calamities of which 
 he seemed to feel the weighty responsibility. 
 
 Between Orcha and the Borysthenes those conveyances 
 for which there were no longer horses were burned, and 
 the confusion and discouragement became so great that ia 
 
104 BEGOLLECriONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the rear of the army most of the stragglers threw down 
 their arms as a heavy and useless burden. The officers of 
 the armed police had orders to return by force those who 
 abandoned their corps, and often they were obliged to 
 prick them with their swords to make them advance. The 
 intensity of their sufferings had hardened the heart of the 
 soldier, which is naturally kind and sympathizing, to such 
 an extent that the most unfortunate intentionally caused 
 commotions in order that they might seize from some better 
 equipped companion sometimes a cloak, sometimes food. 
 "There are the Cossacks ! " was their usual cry of alarm; 
 and when these guilty tricks became known, and our sol- 
 diers recovered from their surprise, there were reprisals, 
 and the confusion reached its height. 
 
 The corps of Marshal Davoust was one of those which 
 suffered most in the whole army. Of the seventy thousand 
 men with which it left France, there only remained four or 
 five thousand, and they were dying of famine. The marshal 
 himself was terribly emaciated. He had neither clothing 
 nor food. Hunger and fatigue had hollowed his cheeks, 
 and his whole appearance inspired pity. This brave mar- 
 shal, who had twenty times escaped Russian bullets, now 
 saw himself dying of hunger ; and when one of his soldiers 
 gave him a loaf, he seized it and devoured it. He was also 
 the one who was least silent ; and while thawing his mus- 
 tache, on which the rain had frozen, he railed indignantly 
 against the evil destiny which had thrown them into thirty 
 degrees of cold. Moderation in words was difficult while 
 enduring such sufferings. 
 
 For some time the Emperor had been in a state of great 
 anxiety as to the fate of Mai-shal Ney, who had been cut 
 
THE METRE AT. 105 
 
 off, and obliged to clear for himself a passage through the 
 midst of the Russians, who followed us on every side. 
 
 As time passed the alarm increased. The Emperor de- 
 manded incessantly if Ney had yet been seen, accusing 
 himself of having exposed this brave general too much, 
 asking for him as for a good friend whom one has lost. The 
 whole army shared and manifested the same anxiety, as 
 if this brave soldier were the only one in danger. A few 
 regarding him as certainly lost, and seeing the enemy 
 threaten the bridges of the Borysthenes, proposed to cut 
 them ; but the army was unanimous in their opposition to 
 this measure. 
 
 On the 20th, the Emperor, whom this idea filled with 
 the deepest dejection, arrived at Basanoni, and was dining 
 in company with the Prince of Neuchatel and the Duke of 
 Dantzic, when General Gourgaud rushed in with the an- 
 nou.ncement that Marshal Ney and his troops were only a 
 few leagues distant. The Emperor exclaimed with incon- 
 ceivable joy, " Can it be true ? " M. Gourgaud gave him 
 particulars, which were soon known throughout the camp. 
 This news brought joy to the hearts of all, each of whom 
 accosted the other eagerly, as if each had found a long-lost 
 brother; they spoke of the heroic courage which had been 
 displayed ; the talent shown in saving his corps in spite 
 of snows, floods, and the attacks of the enemy. It is due 
 Marshal Ney, to state here, that according to the opinion I 
 have heard expressed by our most illustrious warriors, his 
 safe retreat is a feat of arms to which history furnishes no 
 parallel. The heart of our soldiers palpitated with enthu- 
 siasm, and on that day they felt the emotions of the day 
 of victory! Ney and his division gained immortality by 
 
106 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 this marvelous display of valor and energy. So much 
 the better for the few survivors of this handful of braves, 
 vjrho can read of the great deeds they have done, in these 
 annals inspired by them. His Majesty said several times, 
 "I would give all the silver in the vaults of the Tuileries 
 to have my brave Ney at my side." 
 
 To Prince Eugene was given the honor of going to 
 meet Marshal Ney, with a corps of four thousand soldiers. 
 Marshal Mortier had disputed this honor with him, but 
 among these illustrious men there were never any but 
 noble rivalries. The danger was immense; the cannon of 
 Prince Eugene was used as a signal, understood by the 
 marshal, to which he replied by platoon fires. The two 
 corps met, and even before they were united. Marshal Ney 
 and Prince Eugene were in each other's arms; and it is 
 said that the latter wept for joy. Such scenes make this 
 horrible picture seem somewhat less gloomy. As far as the 
 Beresina, our march was only a succession of small skir- 
 mishes and terrible sufferings. 
 
 The Emperor passed one night at Caniwki, in a wooden 
 cabin containing only two rooms. The one at the back 
 was selected by him, and in the other the whole service 
 slept pell-mell. I was more comfortable, as I slept in his 
 Majesty's room; but several times during the night I was 
 obliged to pass into this room, and was then compelled to 
 step over the sleepers worn out by fatigue. Although I 
 took care not to hurt them, they were so close together 
 that it was impossible not to place my feet on their legs 
 or arms. 
 
 In the retreat from Moscow, the Emperor walked on 
 foot, wrapped in his pelisse, his head covered with a Rus- 
 
THE BETBEAT. 107 
 
 sian cap tied under the cliin. I marched often near the 
 brave Marshal Lefebvre, who seemed very fond of me, and 
 said to me in his German-French, in speaking of the Em- 
 peror, "He is surrounded by a set of who do not 
 
 tell the truth ; he does not distinguish sufficiently his good 
 from his bad servants. How will he get out of this, the 
 poor Emperor, whom I love so devotedly? I am always in 
 fear of his life ; if there were needed to save him only my 
 blood, I would shed it drop by drop ; but that would change 
 notliing, and perhaps he may have need of me." 
 
108 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Crossing the Beresina. ■ — The deliberations. — The eagles burnt. — The Rus- 
 sians have only the ashes. — The Emperor lends his own horses to draw 
 the pieces of artillery. — The officers become simple cannoneers. — Gen- 
 erals Grouchy and Sebastiani. — Loud cries near Borissov. — Marshal 
 Victor. — The two army corps. — The confusion. — Voracity of the sol- 
 diers of the retreating army. — An officer deprives himself of his uniform 
 in order to give it to a poor soldier. — General anxiety. — The bridge. — 
 Credulity of the army. — Gloomy conjectures. — Courage of the pontoon 
 corps. — Floating ice. — The Emperor in a poor hut. — His deep grief. — 
 He sheds bitter tears. — His Majesty is advised to think of saving Ms 
 own person. — The enemy abandons his position. — The Emperor trans- 
 ported with joy. — The rafts. — M. Jacqueminot. — Count Predziecski. — 
 The horses' breasts cut by floating ice. — The Emperor puts his hand to 
 the wheel. — General Partonneaux. — The bridge breaks. — The cannon 
 passes over tliousands of prostrate corpses. — Horses killed with the 
 bayonet. — Horrible scene. — Women holding their children above the 
 water. — Striking instances of devotion. — The little orphan. — Officers 
 harnessed to sleds. — The bridge is burned. — The cabin in which the 
 Emperor sleeps. — The Russian prisoners. — They all perish with fatigue 
 and hunger. — Arrival at Malodeczno. — Coniidential conversation be- 
 tween the Emperor and M. de Caulaincourt. — Twenty-ninth bulletin. — 
 The Emperor and Marshal Davoust. — The Emperor's intention of leav- 
 ing known to the army. — His agitation on coming out from the council. 
 
 — The Emperor speaks to me of his plan. — Will not permit me to go 
 on the box of his carriage. — Impressions made on the army by the news 
 of his departure. — Birds frozen by the cold. — The sleep which brings 
 death. — The powder from the cartridge-boxes used to salt pieces of 
 roasted horse. — Young Lapouriel. — Arrival at Wilna. — The Prince of 
 Aremberg half dead with the cold. — The carriages burned. — The alarm. 
 
 — The treasure-chest of the army is pillaged. 
 
 The day preceding the passage of the Beresina was one 
 of terrible solemnity. The Emperor appeared to have made 
 his decision with the cool resolution of a man who com- 
 
TBM RETREAT. 109 
 
 mits an act of desperation ; nevertheless, councils were held, 
 and it was resolved that the army should strip itself of all 
 useless burdens which might harass its march. Never was 
 there more unanimity of opinion, never were deliberations 
 more calm or grave. It was the calm of men who decide to 
 make one last effort, trusting in the will of God and their 
 own courage. The Emperor had the eagles brought from 
 each corps and burned, since he thought that fugitives had 
 no need of them. It was a sad sight to see these men ad- 
 vancing from the ranks one by one, and casting in the 
 flames what they valued more than their lives, and I have 
 never seen dejection more profound, or shame more keenly 
 felt ; for this seemed much like a general degradation to 
 the brave soldiers of the battle of La Moskwa. The Em- 
 peror had made these eagles talismans, and this showed only 
 too plainly he had lost faith in them. And although the 
 soldiers realized that the situation of affairs must be des- 
 perate to have come to this, it was at least some consolation 
 to think that the Russians would have only the ashes. 
 What a scene was presented by the burning of these eagles, 
 above all to those who like myself had been present at 
 the magnificent ceremonies attending their distribution to 
 the army in the camp of Boulogne before the campaign of 
 Austerlitz ! 
 
 Horses were needed for the artillery, and at this critical 
 moment the artillery was the safeguard of the army. The 
 Emperor consequently gave orders that the horses should 
 be impressed, for he estimated the loss of a single cannon or 
 caisson as irreparable. The artillery was confided to the 
 care of a corps composed entirely of officers, and numbering 
 about five hundred men. His Majesty was so much touched 
 
110 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 at seeing these brave officers become soldiers again, put 
 their hand to the camion like simple cannoneers, and resume 
 their practice of the manual of arms in their devotion to 
 duty, that he called this corps his sacred squadron. With 
 the same spirit which made these officers become soldiers 
 again, the other superior officers descended to a lower rank, 
 with no concern as to the designation of their grade. Gen- 
 erals of division Grouchy and Sebastiani took again the rank 
 of simple captain. 
 
 When near Borizow we halted at the sound of loud 
 shouts, thinking ourselves cut off by the Russian army. I 
 saw the Emperor grow pale ; it was like a thunderbolt. A 
 few lancers were hastily dispatched, and we saw them soon 
 returning waving their banners in the air. His Majesty 
 understood the signal, and even before the cuirassiers had 
 reassured us, so clearly did he keep in mind even the pos- 
 sible position of each corps of his army, he exclaimed, " / 
 bet it is Victor.^' And in fact it was Marshal Victor, who 
 awaited us with lively impatience. It seemed that the 
 marshal's army had received very vague information of our 
 disasters, and was prepared to receive the Emperor with 
 joy and enthusiasm. His soldiers still fresh and vigorous, 
 at least compared with the rest of the army, could hardly 
 believe the evidence of their own eyes when they saw our 
 wretched condition; but the cries of Vive V Empereur were 
 none the less enthusiastic. 
 
 But a different impression was made when the rear 
 guard of the army filed before them ; and great confusion 
 ensued, as each one of the marshal's army who recognized a 
 friend rushed out of the ranks and hastened to him, offer- 
 ing food and clothing, and were almost frightened by the 
 
THE BETItEAT. Ill 
 
 voracity with wliicli they ate, while many embraced each 
 other silently in tears. One of the marshal's best and 
 bravest officers stripped off his uniform to give it to a poor 
 soldier whose tattered clothing exposed him almost naked to 
 the cold, donning himself an old cloak full of holes, say- 
 ing that he had more strength to resist the freezing tem- 
 perature. If an excess of misery sometimes dries up the 
 fountains of the heart, sometimes also it elevates men to a 
 great height, as we see in this instance. Many of the most 
 wretched blew out their brains in despair ; and there was in 
 this act, the last which nature suggests as an end to misery, 
 a resignation and coolness which makes one shudder to 
 contemplate. Those who thus put an end to their hves 
 cared less for death than they did to put an end to their 
 insupportable sufferings, and I witnessed during the whole 
 of this disastrous campaign what vain tilings are physical 
 strength and human courage when the moral strength 
 springing from a determined will is lacking. The Emperor 
 marched between the armies of Marshal Victor and Marshal 
 Oudiuot ; and it was a depressing sight to see these movable 
 masses halt sometimes m succession, — first those in front, 
 then those who came next, then the last. And when Mar- 
 shal Oudinot who was in the lead suspended his march 
 from any unkno\vn cause, there was a general movement of 
 alarm, and ominous rumors were circulated ; and since men 
 who have seen much are disposed to believe anything, false 
 rumors were as readily credited as true, and the alarm lasted 
 until the front of the army again moved forward, and their 
 confidence was somewhat restored. 
 
 On the 25th, at five o'clock in the evening, there had 
 been thrown across the river temporary bridges made of 
 
112 BECOLLECTWNS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 beams taken from the cabins of the Poles. It had been 
 reported in the army tliat the bridges would be finished 
 during the night. The Emperor was much disturbed 
 when informed that the army had been thus deceived ; 
 for he knew how much more quickly discouragement en- 
 sues when hope has been frustrated, and consequently 
 took great pains to keep the rear of the army informed as 
 to every incident, so that the soldiers should never be left 
 under cruel delusions. At a little after five the beams gave 
 way, not being suificiently strong ; and as it was neces- 
 sary to wait until the next day, the army again abandoned 
 itself to gloomy forebodings. It was evident that they 
 must endure the fire of the enemy all the next day. But 
 there was no longer any choice ; for it was only at the end 
 of this night of agony and suffering of every description 
 that the first beams were secured in the river. It is hard 
 to comprehend how men could submit to stand up to 
 their moutlis in water filled with ice, and rallying all the 
 strength which nature had given them, with all that the 
 energy of devotion furnished, and drive piles several feet 
 deep into a miry bed, struggling against the most horrible 
 fatigue, pushing back with their hands enormous blocks 
 of ice, which would have submerged and sunk them with 
 their weight; in a word, warring even to the death with 
 cold, the greatest enemy of life. This marvelous feat was 
 accomplished by our French pontoon corps. Many per- 
 ished, borne away by the current or benumbed by the cold. 
 The glory of this achievement, in my opinion, exceeds in 
 value many others. 
 
 The Emperor awaited daylight in a poor hut, and in 
 the morning said to Prince Berthier, " Well, Berthier, how 
 
THE EETBEAT. 113 
 
 can we get out oi this ? " He was seated in his room, great 
 tears flowing do-\vn his cheeks, wliich were paler than usual ; 
 and the prince was seated near him. 
 
 They exchanged few words, and the Emperor appeared 
 overcome by his grief. I leave to the imagination what 
 was passing in his soul. At last the 'King of Naples 
 opened his heart to his brother-in-law, and entreated him, 
 in the name of the army, to think of his own safety, so 
 imminent had the peril become. Some brave Poles had 
 offered themselves as escort for the Emperor; he could 
 cross the Beresina higher up, and reach Wilna in five days. 
 The Emperor silently shook his head in token of refusal, 
 which the king understood, and the matter was no longer 
 considered. 
 
 Amid overwhelming disasters, the few blessings which 
 reach us are doubly felt. I observed this many times in 
 the case of his Majesty and his unfortunate army. On the 
 banks of the Beresina, just as the first supports of the 
 bridge had been thrown across, Marshal Ney and the King 
 of Naples rushed at a gallop to the Emperor, calling to 
 him that the enemy had abandoned his threatening posi- 
 tion ; and I saw the Emperor, beside himself with joy, not 
 being able to believe his ears, go himself at a run to throw 
 a searching glance in the direction they said Admiral 
 Tschitzakoff ^ had taken. This news was indeed true ; 
 and the Emperor, overjoyed and out of breath from his 
 race, exclaimed, " I have deceived the admiral." This 
 retrograde movement of the enemy was hard to under- 
 
 J Bom 1766 ; minister of marine, 1800; admiral, 1807 ; resigned on account 
 of his failure on this occasion, and spent his after life in foreign countries ; 
 died 1840, — Trans. 
 
114 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 stand, when the opportunity to overwhelm us was within 
 his reach ; and I doubt whether the Emperor, in spite of 
 his apparent satisfaction, was very sure of the happy con- 
 sequences which this retreat of the enemy might bring 
 to us. 
 
 Before the bridge was finished, about four hundred men 
 were carried part of the way across the river on two miser- 
 able rafts, which could hardly sustain themselves against 
 the current ; and we saw them from the bank rudely 
 shaken by the great blocks of ice which encumbered the 
 river. These blocks came to the very edge of the raft, 
 where, finding an obstacle, they remained stationary for 
 some time, then were suddenly ingulfed under these frail 
 planks with a terrible shock, though the soldiers stopped 
 the largest with their bayonets, and turned their course 
 aside from the rafts. 
 
 The impatience of the army was at its height. The 
 first who reached the opposite bank were the brave Jacque- 
 minot, aide-de-camp of Marshal Oudinot, and Coimt Pred- 
 zieczki, a brave Lithuanian, of whom the Emperor was very 
 fond, especially since he had shared our sufferings vnth 
 such fidelity and devotion. Both crossed the river on 
 horseback, and the army uttered shouts of admiration as 
 they saw that the chiefs were the first to set the example 
 of intrepidity. They braved enough dangers to make the 
 strongest brain reel. The current forced their horses to 
 swim diagonally across, wliich doubled the length of the 
 passage ; and as they swam, blocks of ice struck against 
 their flanks and sides, making terrible gashes. 
 
 At one o'clock General Legrand and his division were 
 crossing the bridge constructed for the infantry, while the 
 
THE RETBEAT. 115 
 
 Emperor sat on the opposite bank, and some of the cannon 
 becoming entangled had for an instant delayed the march. 
 The Emperor rushed on the bridge, put his hand to the 
 work, and assisted in separating the pieces. The enthu- 
 siasm of the soldiers was at its height; and it was amid 
 cries of " Vive I ^ Empereur " that the infantry set foot on 
 the opposite bank. 
 
 A short time after, the Emperor, learning that General 
 Partonneaux had laid down his arms, was deeply affected 
 by this news, and gave vent to reproaches which were 
 somewhat unjust to the general. Later, when he had 
 received more correct information, he understood perfectly 
 the part which necessity and despair had played in this 
 surrender. 
 
 It is a fact that the brave general did not come to this 
 decision till he had done all that a brave man could rmder 
 the circumstances ; for it is permitted a man to recoil when 
 there is nothing left but to let himself be killed to no 
 purpose. 
 
 When the artillery and baggage-wagons passed, the bridge 
 was so overloaded that it fell in ; and instantly a retrograde 
 movement took place, which crowded together all the mul- 
 titude of stragglers who were advancing, like a flock being 
 herded, in the rear of the artillery. Another bridge had 
 been constructed, as if the sad thought had occurred that 
 the first might give way. But the second was narrow and 
 without a railing; nevertheless, it at first seemed a very 
 valuable makeshift in such a calamity. But how disasters 
 follow each other ! The stragglers rushed there in crowds. 
 The artillery, the baggage-wagons, in a word, all the army 
 material, had been in the front on the first bridge when 
 
116 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 it was broken; and wlien, from the sudden panic which 
 seized on those in the rear of this multitude, the dreadful 
 catastrophe was learned, the last there found themselves 
 first in gaining the other bridge. It was urgent the artil- 
 lery should jjass first, consequently it rushed impetuously 
 towards the only road to safety which remained. No pen 
 can describe the scene of horror which now ensued ; for it 
 was literally over a road of trampled human bodies that 
 conveyances of all sorts reached the bridge. On this occa- 
 sion could be seen how much brutality, and even cold- 
 blooded ferocity, can be produced in the human mind by 
 the instinct of self-preservation. There were some strag- 
 glers most frantic of all, who wounded, and even killed, 
 with their bayonets, the unfortunate horses which obeyed 
 the lash of their guides ; and several caissons were left 
 on the road in consequence of this slaughter. 
 
 . As I have said, the bridge had no raihng ; and crowds 
 of those who forced their way across fell into the river 
 and were ingulfed beneath the ice. Others in their faU 
 tried to stop themselves by grasping the planks of the 
 bridge, and remained suspended over the abyss until their 
 hands, crushed by the wheels of the vehicles, lost their 
 grasp, and they went to join their comrades as the waves 
 closed over them. Entire caissons, with drivers and horses, 
 were precipitated into the water. 
 
 Poor women were seen holding their children out of 
 the water in the effort to delay for a few instants their 
 death, and death in such a frightful form, — a truly admi- 
 rable maternal incident, which the genius of the painter has 
 divined in painting scenes from the Deluge, and which we 
 saw in all its heartrending and frightful reality ! The 
 
THE BETH EAT. 117 
 
 Emperor wished to retrace his steps, believing that his pres- 
 ence might restore order; but he was dissuaded from this 
 project so earnestly, that he withstood the promptings of 
 his heart and remained, though certainly it was not his 
 elevated rank which kept him on the bank. All the suffer- 
 ing he endured could be seen when he inquired every 
 instant where the crossing was, if they could still hear 
 cannon rolling over the bridge, if the cries had not ceased 
 somewhat in that direction. " The reckless creatures ! 
 Why could they not wait a little?" said he. 
 
 There were fine examples of devotion under these dis- 
 tressing circumstances. A young artilleryman threw him- 
 self into the water to save a poor mother with two children, 
 who was attempting to gain the other shore in a little 
 canoe. The load was too heavy ; an enormous block of ice 
 floated against and sunk the little boat. The cannoneer 
 seized one of the children, and, swimming vigorously, bore 
 it to the bank ; but the mother and the other child perished. 
 Tliis kind young man adopted the orphan as his son. I do 
 not know if he had the happiness of regaining France. 
 
 Officers harnessed themselves to sleds to carry some 
 of their companions who were rendered helpless by their 
 wounds. They wrapped these unfortunates as warmly as 
 possible, cheered them from time to time with a glass of 
 brandy when they couid procure it, and lavished on them 
 most touching attentions. 
 
 There were many who behaved in this manner, many of 
 whose names we are ignorant; and how few returned to 
 enjoy in their own country the remembrance of the most 
 admirable deeds of their lives ! 
 
 The bridge was burned at eight o'clock in the morning. 
 
118 RJECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON: 
 
 On the 29th the Emperor quitted the banks of the Bere- 
 sina, and we slept at Kamen, where his Majesty occupied a 
 poor wooden building which the icy air penetrated from all 
 sides through the windows ; nearly all the glass of which 
 being broken, we closed the openings as well as we could 
 with bundles of hay. A short distance from us, in a large 
 lot, were penned up the wretched Russian prisoners whom 
 the army drove before it. I had much difficulty in compre- 
 hending this delusion of victory which our poor soldiers 
 still kept up by dragging after them this wretched luxury 
 of prisoners, who could only be an added burden, as they 
 required their constant surveillance. 
 
 When the conquerors are dying of famine, what be- 
 comes of the conquered ? These poor Russians, exhausted 
 by marches and famine, nearly all perished this night. In 
 the morning they were found huddled pell-mell against 
 each other, striving thus to obtain a little warmth. The 
 weakest had succumbed; and their stiffened bodies were 
 propped the whole night against the living without their 
 even being aware of it. Some in their hunger ate their 
 dead companions. The hardihood with which the Russians 
 endure pain has often been remarked. I can cite one 
 instance which surpasses belief. One of these fellows, after 
 being separated from his corps, had been struck by a can- 
 non-ball which had cut off both his legs and killed liis 
 horse. A French officer on a reconnoitering tour on the 
 bank of the river where this Russian had fallen, perceived 
 at some distance an object which appeared to be a dead 
 horse, and yet he could see that it moved. 
 
 He approached, and saw the bust of a man whose ex- 
 tremities were concealed in the stomach of the horse. 
 
THE RETREAT. 119 
 
 This poor creature had been there four days, inclosing 
 himself in his horse as a shelter against the cold, and feed- 
 ing upon infected morsels torn from this horrible retreat. 
 
 On the 3d of December we arrived at Malodeczno. 
 During the whole day the Emperor appeared thoughtful 
 and anxious. He had fi'equent confidential conversations 
 with the grand equerry, M. de Caulaincourt, and I sus- 
 pected some extraordinary measure. I was not deceived in 
 my conjectures. At two leagues from Smorghoni, the 
 Duke of Vicenza summoned me, and told me to go on in 
 front and give orders to have the six best horses harnessed 
 to my carriage, which was the lightest of all, and keep them 
 in constant readiness. I reached Smorghoni before the 
 Emperor, who did not arrive till the following night. The 
 cold was excessive ; and the Emperor alighted in a poor 
 house on a square, where he established his headquarters. 
 He took a light repast, wrote with his own hand the 
 twenty-ninth bulletin of the army, and ordered all the mar- 
 shals to be summoned. 
 
 Nothing had yet transpired as to the Emperor's plans, 
 but in great and desperate measures there is always some- 
 thing unusual which does not escape the most clear-sighted. 
 The Emperor was never so amiable nor so communicative, 
 and one felt that he was endeavoring to prepare his most 
 devoted friends for some overwhelming news. He talked 
 for some time on indifferent subjects, then spoke of the 
 great deeds performed during the campaign, referring with 
 pleasure to the retreat of General Ney tvhom they had at 
 last found. 
 
 Marshal Davoust appeared abstracted; and the Emperor 
 said to him, "At least say something. Marshal." There 
 
120 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 had been for some time a little coolness between him and 
 the Emperor, and his Majesty reproached him with the 
 rarity of his visits, but he could not dissipate the cloud 
 which darkened every brow ; for the Emperor's secret had 
 not been as well kept as he had hoped. After supper the 
 Emperor ordered Prince Eugene to read the twenty-ninth 
 bulletin, and spoke freely of his plan, saying that his 
 departure was essential in order to send help to the army. 
 He gave his orders to the marshals, all of whom appeared 
 sad and discouraged. It was ten o'clock when the Em- 
 peror, saying it was time to take some repose, embraced 
 all the marshals and retired. He felt the need of with- 
 drawing ; for he had been oppressed by the constraint of 
 this interview, as could easily be seen by the extreme 
 agitation his countenance manifested at its close. About 
 half an hour after, the Emperor called me into his room 
 and said, " Constant, I am about to leave ; I thought 
 I should be able to take you with me, but I have taken 
 into consideration the fact that several carriages would 
 attract attention ; it is essential that I experience no delay, 
 and I have given orders that you are to set out imme- 
 diately upon the return of my horses, and you will conse- 
 quently follow me at a short distance." I was suffering 
 greatly from my old malady ; hence the Emperor would 
 not allow me to go with him on the boot as I requested, 
 in order that he should receive his customary attentions 
 from me. He said, " No, Constant, you will follow me 
 in a carriage, and I hope that you will be able to arrive 
 not more than a day behind me." He departed with the 
 Duke of Vicenza, and Roustan on the box ; my carriage 
 was unharnessed, and I remained to my great regret. 
 The Emperor left in the night. 
 
THE retheat.. 121 
 
 By daybreak the army had learned the news, and the 
 impression it made cannot be depicted. Discouragement 
 was at its height; and many soldiers cursed the Emperor, 
 and reproached him for abandoning them. There was uni- 
 versal indignation. The Prince of Neuchatel was very 
 uneasy, and asked news of every one, though he would 
 naturally have been the first to receive any information. 
 He feared lest Napoleon, who had a feeble escort, should be 
 made prisoner by the Cossacks, who, if they had learned 
 his departure, would make the greatest efforts to carry 
 him off. 
 
 This night, the 6th, the cold increased greatly ; and its 
 severity may be imagined, as birds were found on the 
 ground frozen stiff with the cold. Soldiers who had 
 seated themselves with their head in their hands, and 
 bodies bent forward in order to thus feel less the empti- 
 ness of their stomachs, were found dead in this position. 
 As we breathed, the vapor from our lips froze on our 
 eyebrows, little white icicles formed on the mustaches 
 and beards of the soldiers ; and in order to melt them 
 they warmed their chins by the bivouac fire, and as may 
 be imagined a large number did not do this with im- 
 punity. Artillerymen held their hands to the horses' 
 nostrils to get a little warmth from the strong breathing 
 of these animals. Their flesh was the usual food of the 
 soldiers. Large slices of this meat were thrown on the 
 coals ; and when frozen by the cold, it was carried without 
 spoiling, like salted bacon, the powder from the cartridge- 
 boxes taking the place of salt. 
 
 This same night we had with us a young Parisian 
 belonging to a very wealthy family, who had endeavored 
 
122 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 to obtain emplojonent in the Emperor's household. He 
 was very young, and had been received among the boys 
 of the apartments, and the poor child was taking his first 
 journey. He was seized with the fever as we left Moscow, 
 and was so ill this evening that we could not remove him 
 from the wagon belonging to the wardrobe service in which 
 he had been made as comfortable as possible. He died 
 there in the night, much to be regretted by all who knew 
 him. Poor Lapouriel was a youth of charming character, 
 fine education, the hope of his family, and an only son. 
 The ground was so hard that we could not dig a grave, 
 and experienced the chagrin of leaving his remains un- 
 buried. 
 
 I set out next day armed with an order from the 
 Prince de Neuchatel that all on the road should furnish 
 me horses in preference to all others. At the first post 
 after leaving Smorghoni, whence the Emperor had set 
 out with the Duke of Vicenza, this order was of invalu- 
 able aid to me, for there were horses for only one carriage. 
 I found myself a rival to M. the Count Daru, who arrived 
 at the same time. It is useless to say that without the 
 Emperor's orders to rejoin him as quickly as possible I 
 would not have exercised my right to take precedence 
 over the intendant general of the army ; but impelled 
 by my duty I showed the order of the Prince de Neu- 
 chatel to M. the Count Daru, and the latter, after exam- 
 ining it, said to me, " You are right, M. Constant ; take 
 the horses, but I beg you send them back as quicldy as 
 possible." How crowded with disasters was this retreat ! 
 After much suffering and privation we arrived at Wilna, 
 where it was necessary to pass a long, narrow bridge before 
 
THE RETREAT. 123 
 
 entering the town. The artillery and wagons occupied 
 the whole bridge so entirely that no other carriage could 
 pass ; and it was useless to say " His Majesty's service," 
 as we received only maledictions. Seeing the impossi- 
 bility of advancing, I alighted from my carriage, and found 
 there the Prince of Aremberg, ordnance officer of the 
 Emperor, in a pitiable condition, his face, nose, ears, and 
 feet having been frozen. He was seated behind my car- 
 riage. I was cut to the heart, and said to the prince that 
 if he had informed me of his condition I would have given 
 him my place. He could hardly answer me. I helped 
 him for some time ; but seeing how necessary it was that 
 we should both advance, I undertook to carry him. He 
 was delicate, slender, and about medium height. I took 
 him in my arms ; and with this burden, elbowing, pushing, 
 hurting some, being hurt by others, I at last reached the 
 headquarters of the King of Naples, and deposited the 
 prince there, recommending that he should receive every 
 attention which his condition required. After this I re- 
 sumed my carriage. 
 
 Everything had failed us. Long before reaching Wilna, 
 the horses being dead, we had received orders to burn 
 our carriages with all the contents. I lost heavily in this 
 journey, as I had purchased several valuable articles which 
 were burned with my baggage of which I always had 
 a large quantity on our journeys. A large part of the 
 Emperor's baggage was lost in the same manner. 
 
 A very handsome carriage of Prince Berthier, which had 
 just arrived and had not been used, was also burned. At 
 these fires, four grenadiers were stationed, who with fixed 
 bayonet prevented any one from taking from the fire what 
 had been ordered to be sacrificed. 
 
124 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 The next day the carriages which had beea spared 
 were visited in order to be assured that nothing had been 
 kept back. I was allowed to keep only two shirts. We 
 slept at Wilna ; but the next day very early the alarm was 
 given that the Russians were at the gates of the town. 
 Men rushed in, beside themselves with terror, crying " We 
 are lost ! " The King of Naples was quickly aroused ; 
 sprang from his bed ; and the order was instantly given that 
 the Emperor's service should leave at once. The confusion 
 made by all this can be imagined. There was no time for 
 any arrangements ; we were obliged to start without delay. 
 The Prince of Aremberg was put into one of the king's 
 carriages with what could be secured for the most pressing 
 needs ; and we had hardly left the town before we heard 
 shouts behind us, and the thunder of cannon accompanied 
 by rapid firing. We had to climb a mountain of ice. The 
 horses were fatigued, and we made no progress. The 
 wagon with the treasure-chest of the army was abandoned ; 
 and a part of the money was pillaged by men who had not 
 gone a hundred steps before they were obliged to throw 
 it away in order to save their lives. 
 
ANECDOTES. 125 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Emperor is badly lodged during the whole campaign. — Huts infested 
 with vermin. — Manner in which the apartments of the Emperor were 
 arranged. — Hall of council. — Proclamation of the Emperor. — Inhabi- 
 tants of Russian huts. — How the Emperor was lodged when houses 
 could not be obtained. — The tent. — Marshal Berthier. — A temporary- 
 coolness between the Emperor and him. — M. Colin, controller of the 
 kitchen. — Roustan. — Sleeplessness of the Emperor. — His care of his 
 hands. — He was easily affected by the cold. — Demolition of a chapel at 
 "Witepsk. — Discontent of the inhabitants. — Singular spectacle. — The 
 Soldiers of the guard mingling with the bathers. — Review of the grena- 
 diers. — Installation of General Friant. — The Emperor gives him the 
 accolade. — Mistake of those who think the suite of the Emperor fared 
 better than the rest of the Army. — Generals eating ammunition-bread. — 
 Community of suffering between the generals and soldiers. — The ma^ 
 rauders. — Beds of straw. — M. de Beausset. — Anecdote. — A night with 
 the persons of the Emperor's suite. — Cloth bags for beds. — The Empe- 
 ror's solicitude concerning the persons of his suite. — Vermin. — We 
 assign our mattresses to the wounded. 
 
 During the whole Russian campaign, the Emperor was 
 nearly always badly lodged. It was necessary, however, to 
 accommodate himself to circumstances ; though this was a 
 somewhat difficult task to those who were accustomed to 
 lodge in palaces. The Emperor accepted the situation 
 bravely, and all his followers consequently did the same. 
 In consequence of the system of incendiarism adopted as 
 the policy of Russia, the wealthy part of the population 
 withdrew into the country, abandoning to the enemy their 
 houses already ruined. In truth, on the whole road leading 
 to Moscow, with the exception of a few unimportant towns, 
 the dwellings were very wretched; and after long and 
 
126 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 fatiguing marches, we were very happy if we found even 
 a hut at the place the Emperor indicated as headquarters. 
 The owners of these miserable hovels on quitting them 
 left there sometimes two or three seats and wooden beds, 
 in which were an abundant supply of vermin that no inva- 
 sion could drive out. The least filthy place was chosen, 
 which was usually the most airy; and we knew when the 
 cold came, icy breezes would not fail us. When the loca- 
 tion had been chosen, and we decided to halt there, a carpet 
 was spread on the ground, the Emperor's iron bedstead set 
 up, and a dressing-case containing everything necessary iu 
 a bedroom placed open on a small table. This case also 
 contained a breakfast service for several persons, which lux- 
 ury was displayed when the Emperor entertained his mar- 
 shals. It was necessary, at all events, to bring ourselves 
 down to the habits of the humblest citizens of the province. 
 If the house had two rooms, one served as sleeping and din- 
 ing room, the other for his Majesty's cabinet. The box of 
 books, geographical maps, the portfolio, and a table covered 
 with green cloth, were the entire furniture. This was also 
 the council chamber ; and from these beggarly huts were 
 sent forth those prompt and trenchant decisions which 
 changed the order of battle and often the fortunes of the 
 day, and those strong and energetic proclamations which so 
 quickly reanimated the discouraged army. When our resi- 
 dence was composed of three rooms, — an extremely rare 
 occurrence, — then the third room, or closet, was occupied 
 by the Prince de Neuchatel, who always slept as near by as 
 possible. We often found in these wretched dwellings old 
 decayed furniture of singular shapes, and little images in 
 wood or plaster of male or female saints which the proprie- 
 
TBE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN. 127 
 
 tors had left. Frequently, however, we found poor people 
 in these dwellings, who, having notliing to save from con- 
 quest, had remained. These good people seemed much 
 ashamed to entertain so badly the Emperor of the French, 
 gave us what they had, and were not, on that account, 
 less badly esteemed by us. More of the poor than rich re- 
 ceived the Emperor into their houses ; and the Kremlin was 
 the last of the foreign palaces in which the Emperor slept 
 during the Russian campaign. 
 
 When there were no houses to be found, we erected the 
 Emperor's tent, and, in order to divide it into three apart- 
 ments curtains were hung ; in one of these apartments 
 the Emperor slept, the next was the Emperor's cabinet, and 
 the tliird was occupied by his aides-de-camp and officers of 
 the service; this latter room being ordinarily used as the 
 Emperor's dining-room, his meals being prepared outside. 
 I alone slept in his room. Roustan, who accompanied his 
 Majesty on horseback, slept in the entrance room of the 
 tent, in order that the sleep which was so necessary to him 
 should not be disturbed. The secretaries slept either in 
 the cabinet or the entrance room. The higher officers and 
 those of the service ate where and when they could, and, 
 hke the simple soldiers, made no scruple of eating without 
 tables. 
 
 Prince Berthier's tent was near that of the Emperor, 
 and the prince always breakfasted and dined with him. 
 They were like two inseparable friends. This attachment 
 was very touching, and points of difference rarely arose 
 between them. Nevertheless, there was, I think, a little 
 coolness between him and the Emperor at the time his 
 Majesty left the army of Moscow. The old marshal 
 
128 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 wished to accompany him; but the Emperor refused, and 
 thereupon ensued an animated but fruitless discussion. 
 
 Tlie meals were served on the campaign by M. Colin, 
 controller of the kitchen service, and Roustan, or a bed- 
 room servant. 
 
 During this campaign more than any other the Emperor 
 rose often in the night, put on his dressing-gown, and 
 worked in his cabinet: frequently he had insomnia, which 
 he could not overcome ; and when the bed at last became 
 unbearable, he sprang from it suddenly, took a book and 
 read, walking back and forth, and when his head was 
 somewhat relieved lay down again. It was very rarely he 
 slept the whole of two nights in succession ; but often he 
 remained thus in the cabinet till the hour for his toilet, 
 when he returned to his room and I dressed him. The 
 Emperor took great care of his hands ; but on this cam- 
 paign he many times neglected this species of coquetry, 
 and during the excessive heat did not wear gloves, as they 
 inconvenienced him so greatlj^ He endured the cold hero- 
 ically, though it was easy to see he suffered much from it 
 physically. 
 
 At Witepsk the Emperor, finding the space in front of 
 the house in which he had his quarters too small to hold a 
 review of the troops, had several small buildings torn down 
 in order to enlarge it. There was a small dilapidated 
 chapel which it was also necessary to destroy in order 
 to accomplish this, and it had been already partly torn 
 down, when the inhabitants assembled in large numbers, 
 and loudly expressed their disapprobation of this measure. 
 But the Emperor having given his consent to their remov- 
 ing the sacred objects contained in the chapel, they were 
 
AT WITEPSK. 129 
 
 pacified; and, armed with this authority, several among 
 them entered the sacred place, and emerged bearing with 
 great solemnity wooden images of immense height, which 
 they deposited in the other churches. 
 
 We were witnesses while in this town of a singular 
 spectacle, and one well calculated to shock our sense of 
 decency. For many days during the intense heat we saw 
 the inhabitants, both men and women, rushing to the banks 
 of the river, removing their clothing with the greatest 
 indifference to spectators, and bathing together, most of 
 them nearly naked. The soldiers of the guard took pleas- 
 ure in mingling with these bathers of both sexes ; but as 
 the soldiers were not so decorous as the inhabitants, and as 
 the imprudencies committed by our . men soon went too 
 far, these worthy people relinquished the pleasures of their 
 bath, very much displeased because sport was made of an 
 exercise they had enjoyed with so much gravity and seri- 
 ousness. 
 
 One evening I was present at a grand review of the 
 foot grenadiers of the guard, in which all the regiments 
 seemed to take much delight, since it was in honor of the 
 installation of General Friant ^ as commander of the corps. 
 The Emperor gave him the accolade, which was the only 
 occasion on which I saw this done during the campaign ; 
 and as the general was much beloved by the army, it was 
 amidst the acclamations of all that he received this honor 
 from the Emperor. 
 
 1 Louis Friant, born in Picardy, 1758; "brigadier-general, 1794; served 
 on the Ehine and in Italy; accompanied Napoleon to Egypt, and became 
 general of division; wounded at Austerlitz (1805), and was at Jena and 
 Wagram ; commanded the grenadiers of the guard in Russian campaign, and 
 was severely woujided at Waterloo ; died 1829. — Trans. 
 
130 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Promotions were iisually ■welcomed by the soldiers with 
 great enthusiasm, for the Emperor required that they 
 should take place with much pomp and ceremony. 
 
 Many persons thought that to be near the Emperor 
 was a proof of being well provided for on the campaign. 
 This is a great mistake, as even the kings and princes who 
 accompanied his Majesty on his campaigns could easily 
 prove ; and if these great personages lacked absolute neces- 
 saries, it may well be believed that the persons comprising 
 the diiierent services fared badly. The Emperor himself 
 often dispensed with ordinary comforts which would have 
 been very agreeal^le to him after the fatigues of the day. 
 
 At the hour for the bivouac it was a general " lodge 
 tvho can;" but the poorest soldier never had in his depriva- 
 tion the chagrin of seeing his superiors enjoying abundance 
 and scandalous luxury. The first generals of the army 
 often dined on ammunition-bread with as much pleasure 
 as the simple soldier, and on the retreat the misery could 
 not have been more general. This idea of deprivations 
 shared by all did much to restore hope and energy to the 
 most discouraged ; and, I may add, never has more recip- 
 rocal sympathy between chiefs and soldiers been seen, in 
 support of which statement innumerable instances could be 
 given. 
 
 When evening came the fires were kindled, and those 
 foragers who had been most successful invited their com- 
 panions to share their good cheer. In the worst times 
 there was poor, yet still not the worst, fare to offer, con- 
 sisting of slices of broiled horse-flesh. 
 
 Many soldiers deprived themselves of some valuable 
 booty to offer it to their chief, and selfishness was not so 
 
STBAW BEDS. 131 
 
 general that this noble French courtesy did not reappear 
 from time to time to recall the happy days of France. 
 Straw was the bed of all ; and those of the marshals who 
 in Paris slept on most luxurious beds of down did not 
 find this couch too hard in Russia. 
 
 M. de Beausset has given me a very amusing account 
 of one night, when sleeping pell-mell on a little straw, in 
 very narrow quarters, the aides-de-camp attending upon 
 the Emperor stepped mercilessly on the limbs of their 
 sleeping companions, who, fortunately, did not all suffer 
 from gout like M. Beausset, and were not injured by such 
 sudden and oft-repeated onslaughts. He cried, "What 
 brutes!" and drawing his legs under him, cowered down 
 in his corner until this passing and repassing had ceased 
 for a while. 
 
 Picture to yourself large rooms, filthy, unfurnished, and 
 open to the wind, which entered through every window, 
 nearly all the glass of which was broken, with crumbling 
 walls and fetid air, which we warmed as well as possible 
 with our breath, a vast litter of straw prepared as if for 
 horses, and on this litter men shivering with cold, throwing 
 themselves about, pressing against each other, murmuring, 
 swearing, some unable to close their eyes, others more for- 
 fortunate snoring loudly, and in the midst of tliis mass of 
 legs and feet, a general awakening in the night when an 
 order from the Emperor arrived, and you may form an idea 
 of the inn and the guests. 
 
 As for myself, during the entire campaign I did not a 
 single time undress to retire to bed, for I never found one 
 anywhere. It was necessary to supply this deficiency by 
 some means ; and as it is well known that necessity is ever 
 
132 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ready with inventions, we supplied deficiency in our fur- 
 nisliings in the following manner: we had great bags of 
 coarse cloth made, into which we entered, and thus pro- 
 tected, threw ourselves on a little straw, when we were 
 fortunate enough to obtain it; and for several montlis I 
 took my rest during the night in this manner, and even 
 this I frequently could not enjoy for as many as five or 
 six nights at a time, so exacting were the requirements of 
 my position. 
 
 If it is remembered that all these sufferings continued 
 in their petty details each day, and that when night came 
 we had not even a bed on which to stretch our weary 
 limbs, some idea may be formed of the privations we 
 endured on this campaign. The Emperor never uttered 
 a word of complaint when beset by such discomforts, and 
 his example inspired us with courage; and at last we be- 
 came so accustomed to tliis fatiguing and wandering exis- 
 tence, that, in spite of the cold and privations of every sort 
 to which we were subjected, we often jested about the 
 dainty arrangements of our apartments. The Emperor on 
 the campaign was affected only by the sufferings of others, 
 though his health was sometimes so much impaired as to 
 cause anxiety, especially when he denied himself all rest 
 not absolutely required ; and yet I heard him constantly 
 inquiring if there were lodgings for all, and he would not 
 be satisfied until fully informed of every particular. 
 
 Although the Emperor nearly always had a bed, the 
 poor quarters in which it was set up were often so filthy, 
 that in spite of all the care taken to clean it, I more than 
 once found on his clothing a kind of vermin very disagree- 
 able, and very common in Russia. We suffered more than 
 
LACK OF COMFORT. 133 
 
 the Emperor from this inconvenience, being deprived as we 
 were of proper linen and other changes of clothing, since 
 the greater part of our effects had been burned with the 
 wagons containing them. This extreme measure had been 
 taken, as I have said, for good reasons, — all the horses hav- 
 ing died from cold or famine. 
 
 We were little better lodged in the palace of the Czars 
 than on the bivouac. For several daj^s we had only mat- 
 tresses ; but as a large number of wounded officers had none, 
 the Emperor ordered ours to be given them. We made the 
 sacrifice willingly, and the thought that we were assisting 
 others more unfortunate than ourselves would have made 
 the hardest bed endurable. Besides, in this war we had 
 more than one opportunity to learn how to put aside all 
 feelings of egotism and narrow personality; and had we 
 been guilty of such forgetfulness, the Emperor was ever 
 ready to recall us to this plain and simple duty. 
 
134 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Publication of the twenty-ninth bulletin at Paris. — The Emperor arrives 
 after an interval of two days. — Marie Louise and the first defeat. — 
 Josephine and success. — The two Empresses. — Resources of France. — 
 Influence of the Emperor's presence. — First defection, and fear of imita- 
 tors. — My departure from Smorghoni. — The king of Naples in command 
 of the army. — Route followed by the Emperor. — Hope of the Polish 
 population. — Confidence inspired by the Emperor. — My arrival at the 
 Tuileries. — I am summoned to his Majesty in my traveling clothes. — 
 Very kind welcome. — A word of the Emperor to Marie Louise, and cool- 
 ness of the Empress. — Kindness of Queen Hortense. — The Emperor's 
 questions, and veracious replies. — I resume the duties of my service. — 
 Flattering addresses. — The Emperor more occupied with Malet's enter- 
 prise than the disasters of Moscow. — Great number of persons in mourn- 
 ing. — The Emperor and Empress at the opera. — Quarrel between Talma 
 and Geoffroy. — The Emperor does injustice to Talma. — No presents for 
 persons attached to the Emperor's service. — The Emperor interested 
 in my toilet. — Presents conveyed and gratuitous services. — Eighteen 
 hundred francs income reduced to seventeen hundred. — The Emperor 
 goes out in Paris. — Monuments visited without escort with Marshal 
 Duroc. — Passion for building. — Unusual frequency of hunting-parties. 
 — Political motives and the English journals. 
 
 The only too famous twenty-ninth bulletin of the 
 grand army was not published in Paris, where the conster- 
 nation it spread through all classes is well known, until the 
 16th of December; and the Emperor, following close upon 
 the heels of this solemn manifesto of our disasters, arrived 
 in his capital forty-eight hours after, as if endeavoring to 
 annul by his presence the evil effects which this communi- 
 cation might produce. On the 28th, at half past eleven in 
 the evening, his Majesty alighted at the palace of the Tui- 
 leries. This was the first time since his accession to the 
 
RETURN TO PARIS. 135 
 
 consulate that Paris had witnessed his return from a cam- 
 paign without announcing a new peace conquered by the 
 glory of our arms. Under these circumstances, the numer- 
 ous persons who from attachment to the Empress Josephine 
 had always seen or imagined they saw in her a kind of pro- 
 tecting talisman of the success of the Emperor, did not fail 
 to remark that the campaign of Russia was the first which 
 had been undertaken since the Emperor's marriage to 
 Marie Louise. Without any superetition, it could not be 
 denied that, although the Emperor was always great even 
 when fortune was contrary to him, there was a Yery marked 
 difference between the reign of the two Empresses. The 
 one witnessed only victories followed by peace. And the 
 other, only wars, not devoid of glory, but devoid of results, 
 until the grand and fatal conclusion in the abdication at 
 Fontainebleau. 
 
 But it is anticipating too much to describe here events 
 which few men dared to predict directly after the disasters 
 of Moscow. All the world knows that the cold and a 
 freezing temperature contributed more to our reverses than 
 the enemy, whom we had pursued even into the heart of 
 his burning capital. France still offered immense re- 
 sources ; and the Emperor was now there in person to direct 
 their employment and increase their value. Besides, no 
 defection was as yet apparent; and, with the exception of 
 Spain, Sweden, and Russia, the Emperor considered all the 
 European powers as - allies. It is true the moment was 
 approaching when General Yorck would give the signal, — 
 for as well as I can recall, the first news came to the Em- 
 peror on the 10 th of the following January, — and it was 
 easy to see that his Majesty was profoundly affected by 
 
136 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 it, as he saw that Prussia would have many imitators in 
 the other corps of the allied armies. 
 
 At Smorghoni, where the Emperor had lef-t me setting 
 out, as I have before related, with the Duke of Vicenza in 
 the coach which had been destined for me, scarcely any- 
 thinsf was thought of but how to extricate ourselves from 
 the frightful situation in which we found ourselves placed. 
 I well remember that after a few regrets that the Emperor 
 was not in the midst of his lieutenants, the idea of being 
 assured that he had escaped from all danger became the 
 dominant sentiment, so much confidence did all place in 
 his genius. Moreover, in departing, he had given the com- 
 mand to the King of Naples, whose valor the whole army 
 admired, although it is said that a few marshals were 
 secretly jealous of his royal crown. I have learned since, 
 that the Emperor reached Warsaw on the 10th, having 
 avoided passing through Wilna by making a circuit 
 through the suburbs; and at last, after passing through 
 Silesia, he had arrived at Dresden, where the good and 
 faithful King of Saxony, although very ill, had himself 
 borne to the Emperor. From this place his Majesty had 
 followed the road by Nassau and Mayence. 
 
 I followed also the same route, but not with the same 
 rapidity, although I lost no time. Everywhere, and above 
 all in Poland at the places where I stopped, I was aston- 
 ished to find the feeling of security I saw manifested. 
 From all directions I heard the report that the Emperor 
 was to return at the head of an army of three hundred 
 thousand men. The Emperor had been known to do such 
 surprising things, that nothing seemed impossible ; and I 
 learned that he himself had spread these reports on his 
 
CONSTANT'S EETUBN. 137 
 
 passage, in order to restore the courage of the population. 
 In several places I could procure no horses ; and conse- 
 quently, in spite of all my zeal, I did not reach Paris until 
 six or eight days after the Emperor. 
 
 I had hardly alighted from my carriage, when the 
 Emperor, who had been informed of my arrival, had me 
 summoned. I observed to the messenger that I was not in 
 a condition which would allow me to present myself before 
 his Majesty. " That makes no difference," replied he ; 
 " the Emperor wishes you to come immediately, just as you 
 are." I obeyed instantly ; and went, or rather ran, to the 
 Emperor's cabinet, where I found him with the Empress, 
 Queen Hortense, and another person whose name I do not 
 perfectly recall. The Emperor deigned to give me a most 
 cordial welcome ; and as the Empress seemed to pay no 
 attention to me, said to her in a manner whose kindness I 
 shall never forget, "Louise, do you not recognize Con- 
 stant? " 
 
 "I perceived him." ^ This was the only reply of her 
 Majesty the Empress ; but such was not the case with 
 Queen Hortense, who welcomed me as kindly as her ador- 
 able mother had always done. 
 
 The Emperor was very gay, and seemed to have for- 
 gotten all his fatigue. I was about to retire respectfully ; 
 but his Majesty said to me, " No, Constant, remain a minute 
 longer, and tell me what you saw on your road." Even 
 if I had any intention to conceal from the Emperor a part 
 of the truth, taken thus unawares I should have lacked 
 the time to prepare an agreeable falsehood ; so I said to him 
 
 1 Elsewhere, Constant has stated her reply was, "I had not perceived 
 him." — Trans. 
 
138 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 that everywhere, even in Silesia, my eyes had. been struck 
 by the same frightful spectacle, for everywhere I had seen 
 the dead and the dying, and poor unfortunates struggling 
 hopelessly against cold and hunger. " That is true, that 
 is true," he said; "go and rest, my poor boy, you must be 
 in need of it. To-morrow you will resume your service." 
 
 The next day, in fact, I resumed my duties near the 
 Emperor, and I found him exactly the same as he had 
 been before entering on the campaign ; the same placidity 
 was evident on his countenance. It would have been said 
 that the past was no longer anything to him; and living 
 ever in the future, he already saw victory perched again 
 on our banner, and his enemies humiliated and vanquished. 
 It is true that the numerous addresses he received, and 
 discourses which were pronounced in his presence by the 
 presidents of the senate and the council of state, were 
 no less flattering than formerly ; but it was very evident 
 in his replies that if he pretended to forget this disastrous 
 experience in Russia, he was more deeply concerned about 
 the affair of General Malet than anything else.^ As for 
 
 1 In the reply of the Emperor to the council of state occurred the follow- 
 ing remarkable passage, which it may not be amiss to repeat at this period as 
 very singular : — 
 
 " It is to idealism and that gloomy species of metaphysics which, seeking subtilely 
 for first causes, wishes to place on such foundations the legislation of a people, instead 
 of adapting the laws to their knowledge of the human heart, and to the lessons of 
 history, that it is necessary to attribute all the misfortunes our beautiful France has 
 experienced. These errors have necessarily led to the rule of the men of blood. In 
 fact, who has proclaimed the principle of insurrection as a duty? Who has paid 
 adulation to the nation while claiming for it a sovereignty which it was incapable 
 of exercising? Who has destroyed the sanctity and respect for the laws, in making 
 them depend, not on the sacred principles of justice, or the nature of things and on 
 civil justice, but simply on the will of an assembly of men strangers to the knowledge 
 of civil, criminal, administrative, political, and military law? When one is called on 
 to regenerate a state, there are directly opposite principles by which one must neces- 
 sarily be guided." — Note by the Editor of French Edition. 
 
AT THE OP EM A. 139 
 
 myself I cannot deny the painful feelings I experienced 
 the first time I went out in Paris, and passed through the 
 public promenades during my hours of leisure ; for I was 
 struck with the large number of persons in mourning whom 
 I met, — the wives and sisters of our brave soldiers mowed 
 down on the fields of Russia; but I kept these disagree- 
 able impressions to myself. 
 
 A few days after my return to Paris their Majesties 
 were present at the opera where Jerusalem Delivered 
 was presented. I occupied a box which Count de Remusat 
 had the kindness to lend me for that evening (he was first 
 chamberlain of the Emperor, and superintendent of thea- 
 ters), and witnessed the reception given the Emperor and 
 Empress. Never have I seen more enthusiasm displayed, 
 and I must avow that the transition seemed to me most 
 sudden from the recent passage of the Beresina to those 
 truly magical scenes. It was on Sunday, and I left the 
 theater a little before the close in order to reach the 
 palace before the Emperor's return. I was there in time 
 to undress him, and I well remember that his Majesty 
 spoke to me that evening of the quarrel between Talma 
 and Geoffroy which had occurred a few days before his 
 arrival. The Emperor, although he had a high opinion 
 of Talma, thought him completely in the wrong, and re- 
 peated several times, " A man of his age ! A man of his 
 
 Claude Francois de Malet, born at Dole, 1754. In 1806 was a general 
 officer, and was dismissed the service. Plotting against the Emperor, he 
 was imprisoned from 1808 to 1812. On October 24 he issued a proclamation 
 that the Emperor had died in Russia, and that he (Malet) had been ap- 
 pointed Governor of Paris by the senate. He made Savary prisoner, and 
 shot General Hullin. He was made prisoner in turn by General Laborde, 
 and summarily shot. — Trans. 
 
140 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 age ! that is inexcusable. Zounds ! " added he, smiling, 
 "do not people speak evil of me also? Have I not also 
 critics who do not spare me ? He should not be more 
 sensitive than I." This affair, however, had no disagree- 
 able result for Talma ; for the EmjDeror was much attached 
 to him, and overwhelmed him with pensions and presents. 
 
 Talma in this respect was among the very privileged 
 few; for giving presents was not in his Majesty's 7-6le, 
 especially to those in his private service. It was then near 
 the 1st of January ; but we built no air castles at this period, 
 for the Emperor never made gifts. We knew that we could 
 not expect any emoluments ; though I, especially, could 
 exercise no economy, for the Emperor required that my 
 toilet should always be extremely elegant. It was some- 
 thing really extraordinary to see the master of half of Europe 
 not disdaining to occupy himself with the toilet of his 
 valet de chamhre ; even going so far that when he saw me 
 in a new coat which pleased him he never failed to com- 
 pliment me on it, adding, " You are very handsome. Mon- 
 sieur Constant." 
 
 Even on the occasion of the marriage of the Emperor 
 and Marie Louise, and that of the birth of the King of 
 Rome, those composing the private service of his Majesty 
 received no present, and the Emperor thought the expenses 
 of these ceremonies too great. On one occasion, however, 
 but not in consequence of any unusual circumstance, the 
 Emperor said to me one morning as I finished dressing 
 him, " Constant, go to M. Meneval ; I have given him 
 orders to allow you eighteen hundred livres of income." ^ 
 Now, it happened that the funds had gone up in the interval 
 
 1 Eoustan obtained the same favor on the same day. — Constant. 
 
GENEROSITY OF NAPOLEON. 141 
 
 between the order and its execution ; and instead of receiv- 
 ing eighteen hundred livres of rent, I received only seven- 
 teen, which I sold a short time after, and with the product 
 of this sale bought a modest piece of property in the forest 
 of Fontainebleau. 
 
 Sometimes the Emperor made presents to the princes 
 and princesses of his family, of which I was nearly always 
 the bearer ; and I can assert that with two or three rare 
 exceptions this duty was perfectly gratuitous, a circum- 
 stance which I recall here simply as a recollection. Queen 
 Hortense and Prince Eugene were never included, accord- 
 ing to my recollection, in the distribution of Imperial gifts, 
 and the Princess Pauline was most often favored. 
 
 In spite of the numerous occupations of the Emperor, 
 who after his return from the army spent much time during 
 the day, and most of the nights, Avorking in his cabinet, he 
 showed liimself more frequently in public than heretofore, 
 going out almost without escort. On the 2d of January, 
 1813, for instance, I remember he went, accompanied only 
 by Marshal Duroc, to visit the basilica of Notre Dame, the 
 works of the archbishopric, those of the central depot of 
 wines, and then, crossing the bridge of Austerlitz, the gran- 
 aries, the fountain of the elephant, and finally the palace 
 of the Bourse, which his Majesty often said was the hand- 
 somest building then existing in Europe. Next to his 
 passion for war, that for monuments was strongest in the 
 Emperor's heart. The cold was quite severe while his 
 Majesty was taking these solitary excursions ; but in fact 
 the cold weather in Paris seemed a very mild temperature 
 to all who had just returned from Russia. 
 
 I remarked at this time, that is to say at the end of 1812 
 
142 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 and the beginning of 1813, that the Emperor had never 
 hunted so frequently. Two or three times a week I assisted 
 him to don his hunting-costume, wliich he, like all persons 
 of his suite, wore in accordance with the recently revived 
 usage of the ancient monarchy. 
 
 The Empress often accompanied him in a coach, al- 
 though the cold was intense; but when he gave an order 
 there was nothing to be said. Knowing how distasteful the 
 pleasures of the chase ordinarily were to his Majesty, I 
 was surprised at this recent fondness he manifested, but 
 soon learned that he was acting purely from political mo- 
 tives. One day Marshal Duroc was in his room, while he 
 was putting on his green coat with gold lace ; and I heard 
 the Emperor say to the marshal, " It is very necessary that 
 I should be in motion, and have the journals speak of it ; 
 for the imbeciles who write for the English journals repeat 
 every day that I am sick, that I cannot move, and am no 
 longer good for anything. Have patience ! I will soon 
 show them that I have as much strength of body as of 
 mind." Besides all this, I think that the exercise of hunt- 
 ing in moderation was very good for the Emperor's health ; 
 for I never saw him in better condition than during the 
 very time the English journals took pleasure in describing 
 him as ill, and perhaps by these false statements were con- 
 tributing to still further improve his health. 
 
HUNTING AT GROSBOIS. 143 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The chase and "breakfast at Groshois. — The Empress and her ladies. — An 
 unexpected Journey. — The road to Fontainebleau. — Hunting-costumes, 
 and mortification of the ladies. — Precautions taken concerning the 
 Empress. — The pretended and the real object of the journey. — Concordat 
 with the Pope. — Disgraceful calumnies on the Emperor. — Preparatory 
 steps and the Bishop of Kantes. — False statements refuted. — The Em- 
 peror's iirst visit to the Pope. — The truth as to their relations. — Dis- 
 tribution of pardons and favors. — The cardinals. — The Pope repents 
 signing the Concordat. — Account given by the Emperor to Marshal 
 Kellerman. — His elevated thoughts on ancient and modern Eome. — 
 State of the pontificate in his Majesty's opinion. — Return to Paris. — 
 Accouterments and offers of armed cavalry. — The Emperor's plans for 
 making Paris the most beautiful city in the world. — The Emperor's 
 conversation with M. Fontaine in regard to the buildings of Paris. — 
 Plan of a residence for the minister of the kingdom of Italy. — Memo- 
 randum by the Emperor as to the palace of the King of Kome. — Incredi- 
 ble details which the Emperor considers. — The Elyse'e not liked by the 
 Emperor, and the Tuileries deemed barely inhabitable. — More inter- 
 ested than ever in building. —The King of Eome at the review on the 
 Champ de Mars, — Enthusiasm of the people and the soldiers. — The 
 Emperor deeply gratified. — New inquiries about Rome addressed to 
 M. Fontaine, —My salary doubled on the day of review to date from 
 the end of the year. 
 
 On the 19th of January the Emperor sent to inform 
 the Empress that he was to hunt in the wood of Grosbois, 
 and would breakfast with the Princess de Neuchatel, and 
 requested that her Majesty would accompany him. The 
 Emperor ordered me also to be at Grosbois in order to 
 assist him in changing liis linen after the hunt. This hunt- 
 ing-party took place according to announcement ; but to the 
 unbounded amazement of the entire suite of the Emperor, 
 
144 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 just as we were on the point of re-entering our carriages, 
 instead of taking the road to Paris, his Majesty gave orders 
 to proceed to Fontainebleau. The Empress and the ladies 
 who accompanied lier had nothing except their hunting- 
 costumes, and the Emperor was much diverted by the 
 tribulations their vanity underwent in being unexpectedly 
 engaged in a campaign without toilet equipments. Before 
 leaving Paris the Emperor had given orders that there 
 should be sent in all haste to Fontainebleau all that the 
 Empress could need ; but her ladies found themselves totally 
 unprovided for, and it was very amusing to see them imme- 
 diately on their arrival expedite express after express for 
 objects of prime necessity which they ordered should be sent 
 posthaste. 
 
 Nevertheless, it was soon evident that the hunting-party 
 and breakfast at Grosbois had been simply a pretext, and 
 that the Emperor's object had been to put an end to the 
 differences which had for some time existed between his 
 Holiness and his Majesty. Everything having been settled 
 and prearranged, the Emperor and the Pope signed on the 
 25th an agreement under the name of Concordat, of which 
 this is the purport : — 
 
 " His Majesty, the Emperor and King, and his Holiness, wishing 
 to settle the differences which had arisen between them, and provide 
 for difficulties which have unexpectedly arisen in regard to various af- 
 fairs of the church, have agreed on the following articles as forming 
 a basis for a definite arrangement. 
 
 Art. 1. His Holiness will exercise the pontificate in France, and 
 in the Kingdom of Italy, in the same manner and under the same reg- 
 ulations as his predecessors. 
 
 2. The ambassadors, ministers, and charges d'affaires to the Holy 
 Father, and the ambassadors, ministers, and chargis d'affaires from him 
 
THE CONCOTtBAT. 145 
 
 to foreign powers, will enjoy the immunities and privileges of mem- 
 bers of the diplomatic corps. 
 
 3. The domains possessed by the Holy Father, and which have 
 not been alienated, shall be exempt from all kinds of impost ; they 
 shall be administered by his agents or representatives. Those which 
 have been alienated shall be replaced to the value of two million francs 
 of revenue. 
 
 4. During the six months which usually follow the notification of 
 appointments made by the Emperor to the archbishoprics and bishop- 
 rics of the Empire and the Kingdom of Italy the Pope shall perform 
 the canonical institution in conformity with the Concordat, and by 
 virtue of the present agreement ; previous information concerning 
 which shall be given by the archbishop. If six months shall expire 
 without the Pope having performed this institution, the archbishop, 
 and in his absence, where his duties are concerned, the senior bishop of 
 the province, shall proceed to the institution of the aforementioned 
 bishop, to the end that a see shall never be vacant more than one year. 
 
 5. The Pope shall appoint in France and in the Kingdom of 
 Italy to ten bishoprics, which shall later be designated by mutual 
 agreement. 
 
 6. The six suburban bishoprics shall be re-established, and shall 
 be appointed to by the Pope. The property now held shall be re- 
 stored, and similar measures taken in regard to that already sold. On 
 the death of the bishops of Anagni and Eieti, their dioceses shall be 
 united with that of the six bishops aforesaid, in conformity with the 
 agreement between his Majesty and the Holy Father. 
 
 7. In respect to the bishops of the Roman States, unavoidably 
 absent from their dioceses, the Holy Father shall exercise his right of 
 bestowing bishoprics in partihus. He shall give them a pension equal 
 to the revenue they formerly enjoyed, and their places in the sees thus 
 vacated shall be supplied, both in the Empire and the Kingdom of 
 Italy. 
 
 8. His Majesty and His Holiness will agree on some opportune 
 occasion as to the reduction to be made in the bishoprics of Tuscany, 
 and the province of Genoa, as well as those to be established in Hol- 
 land, and the Hanseatic departments. 
 
 9. The propaganda, the penitential court, and the court of 
 
146 ItKCOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 archives shall be established in the place of residence of the Holy 
 Father. 
 
 10. His Majesty pardons freely the cardinals, bishops, priests, 
 and laity who have incurred his disgrace in consequence of certain 
 events. 
 
 11. The Holy Father agrees to the above resolutions in consid- 
 eration of the existing condition of the church, and his confidence 
 that his Majesty will grant his powerful assistance to the needs of the 
 church, which are so numerous in the times in which we live." 
 
 Napoleon. Pius VII. 
 
 Fontainebleau, 25 January, 1813. 
 
 It has been attempted by every possible means to throw 
 odium on the conduct of the Emperor in this affair. He 
 has been accused of having insulted the Pope, and even of 
 having threatened him, all of which is most signally false. 
 Everything was arranged in the most agreeable manner. 
 M. Devoisin, bishop of Nantes, an ecclesiastic who was 
 highly esteemed by the Emperor, and was his favorite medi- 
 ator, in the frequent points of difference which arose be- 
 tween the Pope and his Majesty, had come to the Tuileries 
 on the 19th of January, and after being closeted with the 
 Emperor for two hours, had left for Fontainebleau. And 
 it was immediately after this interview that the Emperor 
 entered his carriage with the Empress in hunting costume, 
 followed Ijy the whole suite, similarly attired. 
 
 The Pope, forewarned by the Bishop of Nantes, awaited 
 his Majesty ; and as the most important points had been dis- 
 cussed and arranged in advance, and only a few clauses 
 accessory to the main body of the Concordat remained to be 
 decided, it was impossible that the interview should have 
 been otherwise than amicable, a truth which is still more 
 evident when we reflect on the Mud feelings of the Holy 
 
NAPOLEON WRONGFULLY ACCUSED. 14Y 
 
 Father towards the Emperor, their friendship for each other, 
 and the admiration inspired in the Pope by the great genius 
 of Napoleon. I affirm then, and I think with good reason, 
 that the affair was conducted in a most honorable manner, 
 and that the Concordat was signed freely and without 
 compulsion by his Holiness, in presence of the cardinals 
 assembled at Fontainebleau. It is an atrocious calumny 
 which some one has dared to make that, on the reiterated 
 refusal of the Pope, the Emperor placed in his hand a pen 
 dipped in ink, and seizing him by the arm and hair, 
 forced him to sign, sa3dng that he ordered it, and that 
 his disobedience would be punished by perpetual impris- 
 onment. The one who invented this absurd fabrication 
 must have known little of the Emperor's character. A 
 person who was present at this interview, the circumstances 
 of which have been so falsified, related them to me, and is 
 my authority on the subject. Immediately on his arrival at 
 Fontainebleau, the Emperor paid a visit to the Holy Father, 
 who returned it next day, remaining two hours at least ; and 
 during this time his Majesty's manner was calm and firm, it 
 is true, but full of respect and kind feeling for the person 
 of the venerable Pope. A few stipulations of the proposed 
 treaty alarmed the conscience of the Holy Father, which 
 the Emperor perceived ; and without waiting for any argu- 
 ments declared that he would renoimce them, and every 
 scruple remaining in the mind of the Holy Father being 
 thus satisfied, a secretary was called, who drew up the arti- 
 cles, which the Pope approved one by one, with most pater- 
 nal benignity. 
 
 On the 25th of January, after the Concordat was defi- 
 nitely settled, the Holy Father repaired to the apartments 
 
148 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 of her Majesty the Empress ; and both of the contracting 
 parties appeared equally well satisfied, which is a suffi- 
 cient proof that neither treachery nor violence had been 
 used. The Concordat was signed by the august parties in 
 the midst of a magnificent assemblage of cardinals, bishops, 
 soldiers, etc. Cardinal Doria performed the duties of grand 
 master of ceremonies, and it was he who received the signa- 
 tures. 
 
 A countless number of congratulations were given and 
 received, pardons asked and obtained, and relics, decora- 
 tions, chaplets, and tobacco-boxes distributed by both par- 
 ties. Cardinal Doria received from his Majesty the gold 
 eagle of the Legion of Honor. The great eagle was also 
 given to Cardinal Fabricio Ruffo ; Cardinal Maury, the 
 Bishop of Nantes, and the Archbishop of Tours received 
 the grand cross of the order of the Reunion ; the Bishops 
 of Evreux and Treves, the cross of officers of the Legion 
 of Honor ; and finally the Cardinal of Bayonne and the 
 Bishop of Evreux were made senators by his Majesty. 
 Doctor Porta, the Pope's physician, was presented with a 
 pension of twelve thousand francs, and the ecclesiastical 
 secretary who entered the cabinet to copy the articles of 
 the Concordat received a present of a magnificent ring set 
 with brilliants. 
 
 His Holiness had hardly signed the Concordat before 
 he repented of it. The following was related to Marshal 
 Kellerman by the Emperor at Mayence the last of April : — 
 
 " The day after the signing of the famous Concordat of 
 Fontainebleau, the Pope dined in public with me ; but in 
 the night he was ill, or pretended to be. He was a lamb- 
 like, honest, and truly good man, whom I highly esteemed 
 
ANECDOTE. 149 
 
 and loved, and who had some regard for me I am sure. 
 "Would you believe it, he wrote me a week after signing 
 the Concordat that he much regretted having done so, that 
 his conscience reproached him for it, and urged me earn- 
 estly to consider it as of no effect. This was owing to the 
 fact that immediately after leaving me he had fallen into 
 the hands of his usual advisers, who made a scarecrow out 
 of what had just occurred. If we had been together I 
 could easily have reassured him. I replied that what he 
 demanded was contrary to the interests of France ; and 
 moreover, being infallible, he could not have made a mis- 
 take, and his conscience was too quick to take the alarm 
 for him to have done wrong. 
 
 " In fact, compare the condition of Rome formerly with 
 what it is to-day. Paralyzed by the necessary consequences 
 of the Revolution, could she have risen again and main- 
 tained her position? A vicious government as to political 
 matters has taken the place of the former Roman legisla- 
 tion, which, without being perfect, nevertheless contributed 
 to form great men of every kind. Modern Rome has ap- 
 plied to its political government principles better suited to 
 a religious order, and has carried them out in a manner 
 fatal' to the happiness of the people. 
 
 " Thus charity is the most perfect of Christian virtues ; 
 it is necessary to give charity to all who ask it. This form 
 of reasoning has rendered Rome the receptacle of the dregs 
 of all nations. One sees collected there (so I am told, for I 
 have never visited it) all the idlers of the earth, who come 
 thither to take refuge, assured of finding an abundant sup- 
 port with much to spare. And thus the papal territory, 
 which nature has destined to produce immense wealth from 
 
150 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 its situation under a favorable sky, from the multiplicity 
 of streams with wliich it is watered, and above all from 
 the fertility of the soil, languishes for want of cultivation. 
 Berthier has often told me that large tracts of country may 
 be traversed without perceiving the impress of the hand of 
 man. The women even, who are regarded as the most 
 beautiful of Italy, are indolent, and their minds evince no 
 activity even in the ordinary duties of life. The inhabi- 
 tants have all the languor of Asiatic manners. 
 
 " Modern Rome limits itself to preserving a certain 
 pre-eminence by virtue of the marvelous works of art 
 which it contains; but we have greatly Aveakened this 
 claim. Our museum is enriched by all the masterpieces 
 which were a source of so much pride, and soon the mag- 
 nificent edifice of the Bourse which is to be erected at 
 Paris will eclipse all those of Europe, either ancient or 
 modern. 
 
 "France before all. 
 
 " Viewed from a political standpoint, how would the 
 papal government in these days appear compared with the 
 great kingdoms of Europe ? Formerly mediocre men suc- 
 ceeded to the pontifical throne at an age in which one 
 breathes well only after resting. At this period of life 
 routine and habit are everything ; and notliing is considered 
 but the elevated position, and how to make it redound to 
 the advantage of his family. A pope now arrives at sov- 
 ereign power with a mind sharpened by being accustomed 
 to intrigue, and with a fear of making powerful enemies 
 who may hereafter revenge themselves on his family, since 
 his successor is always unknown. In fine, he cares for 
 nothing but to live and die in peace. In the seat of Sixtus 
 
NAPOLEON AND M. FONTAINE. 151 
 
 V.i how many popes have there been who have occupied 
 themselves only with frivolous subjects, as little advanta- 
 geous to the best interests of religion as fruitful in inspir- 
 ing scorn for such a government ! But that would lead us 
 too far." 2 
 
 From the time of his return from Moscow, his Majesty 
 occupied himself with unequaled activity in seeking means 
 to arrest the invasion of the Russians, who, having united 
 with the Prussians since General Torek's defection, consti- 
 tuted a most formidable mass. New levies had been or- 
 dered. For two montlrs he had received and utilized the 
 innumerable offers of horses and cavalry made by all the 
 towns of the Empire, by official bodies, and by rich individ- 
 uals holding positions near the court, etc. The Imperial 
 Guard was reorganized under the brave Duke de Frioul, 
 who was alas ! a few months later to be torn from his 
 numerous friends. 
 
 In the midst of these grave occupations his Majesty 
 did not for a moment lose sight of his cherished plan of 
 making Paris the most beautiful city of the world; and not 
 a week passed without interviews with architects and engi- 
 neers, who presented estimates, made reports, etc. 
 
 "It is a shame," said the Emperor one day, while in- 
 specting the barracks of the guard, a species of black and 
 
 1 Sixtus v., originally Felix Peretti, torn at Montalto, 1525, and in 1585 
 succeeded Gregory XIII. as pope. He was distinguished by liis energy and 
 munificence. He constructed the Vatican Library, the great aqueduct, and 
 other public works, and placed the obelisk before St. Peter's. Died 1589. — 
 Tkans. 
 
 2 This remarkable discourse of his Majesty to Marshal Kellerman has 
 been related in another work ; but I take the liberty of reproducing it here, 
 since it so well supports the information I succeeded in obtaining as to the 
 Pope's interview at Fontainebleau described above. — Constant. 
 
152 MECOLLECriONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 smoke-begrimed shed, "it is a shame," said he to M. Fon- 
 taine, " to make buildings as frightful as those of Moscow. 
 I should never have allowed such a building to be erected. 
 Are you not my chief architect?" 
 
 M. Fontaine excused himself by pointing out to his 
 Majesty that he was not responsible for the buildings of 
 Paris, as although he had the honor of being chief architect 
 of the Emperor, it was for the Tuileries and the Louvre alone. 
 
 "That is true," replied his Majesty; "but could there 
 not be built here," pointing to the quay, "in place of this 
 wooden dockyard, wliich produces such a bad effect, a resi- 
 dence for the Italian minister?" 
 
 M. Fontaine replied that the plan was very feasible, but 
 that it would require three or four millions. 
 
 The Emperor then seemed to abandon this idea, and 
 turning his attention to the garden of the Tuileries, perhaps 
 in consequence of the conspiracy of General Malet, gave 
 orders to arrange all the entrances to the palace so that the 
 same key might serve for all the locks ; " and this key," liis 
 Majesty added, " should be put in charge of the grand mar- 
 shal after the doors were closed for the night." 
 
 A few clays after this conversation with M. Fontaine, 
 the Emperor sent to him and M. Costaz the following note, 
 a copy of which fell into my hands. His Majesty had that 
 morning visited the buildings of Chaillot. 
 
 " There is yet ample time to discuss the construction of the 
 palace for the King of Rome. 
 
 I do not wish to be led into foolisli expenditures ; I should like a 
 palace not so large as Saint-Cloud, but larger than the Luxemburg. 
 
 I wish to be able to occupy it after the sixteenth million has 
 been expended; then it will be a practicable affair. But if a more 
 
NAPOLEON'S PLANS FOR BEAUTIFYING PARIS. 153 
 
 expensive building is attempted, it will result like the Louvre, which 
 has never been finished. 
 
 The parks are first to be considered, their boundaries determined 
 and inclosed. 
 
 I wish this new palace to be somewhat handsomer than the 
 jfilysee ; and although that cost less than eight millions, it is one 
 of the most beautiful palaces of Paris. 
 
 That of the King of Kome will rank next to the Louvre, which 
 is itself a magnificent palace. It will be, so to speak, only a country 
 seat for one residing in Paris, for of course the winters would be 
 passed at the Louvre or the Tuileries. 
 
 I can with difficulty believe that Saint-Cloud cost sixteen millions. 
 
 Before inspecting the plan, I wish it to be carefully examined 
 and disciissed by the committee on buildings, so that I may have the 
 assurance that the sum of sixteen millions will not be exceeded. I do 
 not wish an ideal residence, but one constructed for my own enjoy- 
 ment, and not for the pleasure of the architect alone. Finishing the 
 Louvre will suffice for his glory ; and when the plan is once adopted, I 
 will see that it is executed. 
 
 The ]Slys6e does not suit me, and the Tuileries is barely inhabit- 
 able. Nothing will please me unless it is perfectly simple, and con- 
 structed according to my tastes and manner of living, for then the 
 palace will be useful to me. I wish it constructed in such a manner 
 that it may be a complete Sans Souci ; ^ and I especially desire that it 
 may be an agreeable palace rather than a handsome garden, — two con- 
 ditions which are incompatible. Let there be something between a 
 court and a garden, like the Tuileries, that from my apartments I may 
 promenade in the garden and the park, as at Saint-Cloud, though Saint- 
 Cloud has the inconvenience of having no park for the household. 
 
 It is necessary also to study the location, so that my apartments 
 may face north and south, in order that I may change my residence 
 according to the season. 
 
 I wish the apartments I occupy to be as handsomely furnished 
 as my small apartments at Fontainebleau. 
 
 I wish my apartments to be very near those of the Empress, and 
 on the same floor. 
 
 1 Frederick the Great's palace in the country near Berlin. Trans. 
 
154 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Finally, I wish a palace that would he comfortable for a convalescent, 
 or for a man as age approaches. 1 wish a small theater, a small chapel, 
 etc. ; and above all great care should be taken that there be no stagnant 
 water around the palace." 
 
 The Emperor carried his passion for building to excess, 
 and seemed more active, more eager in the execution of his 
 plans, and more tenacious of his ideas, than any architect I 
 have ever known. Nevertheless, the idea of putting the 
 palace of the King of Rome on the heights of Chaillot was 
 not entirely his own, and il. Fontaine might well claim to 
 have originated it. 
 
 It was mentioned the first time while discussing the 
 palace of Lyons, which in order to present a handsome ap- 
 pearance M. Fontaine remarked should be situated on an 
 elevation overlooking the city, as, for example, the heights 
 of Chaillot overlooked Paris. The Emperor did not appear 
 to notice M. Fontaine's remark, and had two or three days 
 previously given orders that the chateau of Meudon should 
 be put in a condition to receive his son, when one morning 
 he summoned the architect, and ordered liim to present a plan 
 for embellishing the Bois de Boulogne, by adding a country 
 house on the summit of Chaillot. " What do you think of 
 it ? " added he, smihng ; " does the site appear well chosen ? " 
 
 One morning in the month of March, the Emperor 
 brought his son to a review on the Champ-de-Mars ; he 
 was received with indescribable enthusiasm, the sincerity 
 of which was undoubted; and it could easily be seen that 
 these acclamations came from the heart. 
 
 The Emperor was deeply moved by this reception, and 
 returned to the Tuileries in a most charming frame of 
 mind, caressed the King of Rome, covered him with kisses, 
 
CONSTANT'S SALARY INCBEASED. 165 
 
 and dilated to M. Fontaine and myself on the precocious 
 intelligence displayed by this beloved child. " He was not 
 at all frightened; he seemed to laiow that all those brave 
 men were my friends." On that day he held a long con- 
 versation with M. Fontaine, while amusing himself with his 
 son, whom he held in his arms ; and when the conversation 
 turned on Rome and its monuments, M. Fontaine spoke of 
 the Pantheon with the most profound admiration. The 
 Emperor asked if he had ever lived at Rome ; and M. Fon- 
 taine having replied that he remained there three years on 
 his first visit, his Majesty remarked "It is a city I have 
 not seen ; " I shall certainly go there some day. It is the 
 city whose people formerly were the sovereigns of the 
 world." And his eyes were fixed on the King of Rome 
 with paternal pride. 
 
 When M. Fontaine had left, the Emperor made me a 
 sign to approach, and began by pulling my ears, according 
 to custom when in good humor. After a few personal 
 questions, he asked me what was my salary. "Sire, six 
 thousand francs." — " And Monsieur Colin, how much has 
 he ? " — " Twelve thousand francs." — " Twelve thousand 
 francs ! that is not right ; you should not have less than M. 
 Colin. I will attend to that." And his Majesty was kind 
 enough to make immediate inquiries, but was told that the 
 accounts for the year were made out ; whereupon the Em- 
 peror informed me that till the end of the year, M. le Baron 
 Fain ^ would give me each month out of his privy purse five 
 hundred francs, as he wished that my salary should equal 
 that of M. Colin. 
 
 1 Bom in Paris, 1778 ; attended Napoleon in his campaigns as Secretary of 
 the Records; wrote memoirs of the last three years of Napoleon's reign; died 
 1837. — Trans. 
 
156 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Murat leaves the army to return to Naples. — Eugene commanding in the 
 Emperor's name. — Headquarters at Posen. — The remains of the army. 
 
 — The tidings become more and more disquieting. — Resolution to de- 
 part. — Rumors circulated in advance. — The Empress regent. — The 
 Empress takes the oath. — We leave for the army. — Rapid march to 
 Erfurt. — Visit to the Duchess of Weimar. — The Emperor gratified 
 by his reception. — The Emperor's household in the campaign of 1813. 
 
 — The little town of Eckhartsberg transformed into headquarters. — 
 The Emperor in the midst of an unexpected tumult. — Arrival at 
 Lutzen, and battle gained next day. — Death of the Duke of Istria. — 
 Monument erected to the duke by the King of Saxony. — Handsome 
 conduct of the young conscripts. — Opinion of Ney in regard to them. 
 
 — The Prussians commanded by their king in person. — Tlie Emperor 
 in the midst of the fire. — His Majesty enters Dresden the same day 
 the Emperor Alexander leaves that city. — A deputation and the Em- 
 peror's reply. — An explosion, and the Emperor slightly ivounded. — 
 Mission of General Flahaut to the King of Saxony. — A long conference 
 between the King of Saxony and the Emperor. — Complaints of the 
 Emperor against his father-in-law. — Congratulations of the Emperor of 
 Austria after the victory. — M. de Eubna at Dresden. — The Emperor 
 takes no repose. — Faculty of sleeping in any place and at all hours. — 
 Battle of Bautzen. — Admirable display of sympathy by the Saxon 
 population. — An animated discussion between the Emperor and Baron 
 Larrey. — Conscripts wounded by carelessness. — The Emperor's injus- 
 tice admitted by himself. 
 
 After the Emperor left the army and committed, as 
 we have seen, the command to the King of Naples, his 
 Sicilian Majesty also abandoned the command intrusted to 
 him, and set out for his states, leaving Prince Eugene at 
 the head of the forces. The Emperor was deeply inter- 
 ested in the news he received from Posen, where the gen- 
 eral headquarters were in the latter part of February and 
 
NAPOLEON BEJOINS SIS ARMY. 157 
 
 beginning of March, and where the prince vice-Mng had 
 under his orders only the remains of different corps, some of 
 whicli were represented by a very small number of men. 
 
 Moreover, each time that the Russians appeared in force, 
 there was nothing to be done but to fall back; and each 
 day during the month of March the news became more and 
 more depressing. The Emperor consequently decided at 
 the end of March to set out at an early day for the army. 
 
 For some time previous the Emperor, much impressed 
 by Malet's conspiracy during his last absence, had expressed 
 the opinion that it was dangerous to leave his government 
 without a head; and the journals had been filled with 
 information relative to the ceremonies required when the 
 regency of the kingdom had been left in the hands of 
 queens in times past. As the public well knew the means 
 frequently adopted by his Majesty to foster in advance 
 opinions favorable to any course of conduct he intended 
 to pursue, no one was surprised to see him before leaving 
 confide the regency to the Empress Marie Louise, circum- 
 stances not having yet furnished him the opportunity of 
 having her crowned, as he had long desired. The Empress 
 took the solemn oath at the palace of the filysee, in pres- 
 ence of the princes, great dignitaries, and ministers. The 
 Duke of Cadore was made secretary of the regency, as 
 counselor to her Majesty the Empress, together with the 
 arch-chancellor ; and the command of the guard was con- 
 fided to General Caffarelli. 
 
 The Emperor left Saint-Cloud on the 15th of April, at 
 four o'clock in the morning, and at midnight of the 16th 
 entered Mayence. On his arrival his Majesty learned that 
 Erfurt and the whole of Westphalia were in a state of 
 
158 BECOLLSCTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the deepest alarm. This news added incredible speed to 
 his march, and in eight hours he was at Erfurt. His 
 Majesty remained but a short while in that town, as the 
 information that he there received set his mind at rest as 
 to the result of the campaign. On leaving Erfurt the 
 Emperor wished to pass through Weimar in order to 
 salute the grand duchess, and made his visit on the same 
 day and at the same hour that the Emperor Alexander 
 went from Dresden to Toeplitz in order to visit another 
 Duchess of Weimar (the hereditary princess, her sister). 
 
 The grand duchess received the Emperor with a grace 
 which enchanted him, and their conversation lasted nearly 
 half an hour. On leaving, his Majesty said to the Prince 
 de Neuchatel, "That is an astonishing woman; she has the 
 intellect of a great man." The Duke accompanied the 
 Emperor as far as the borough of Ecldiartsberg, where 
 his Majesty detained him to dine.^ 
 
 1 Note et Constant. — His Majesty's household, reorganized in part 
 for this campaign of 1813, "was composed of the following persons: — 
 
 Grand marshal of the palace, the Duke First chamberlain and master of the 
 of Frioul. "wardrobe, the Count of Turenne. 
 
 Grand equerry, the Duke of Vicenza. Prefect of the palace, Baron de Beausset. 
 
 Aides-de-camp : Generals Mouton, Count Quartermaster of the palace. Baron de 
 de Lobau ; Lebrun, Duke de Plai- Canouyille. 
 
 sance;* Generals Drouot, Flahaut, Equerries, Barons Van Lenneps, Mon- 
 Dejean, Corbineau, Bernard, Duros- taran, and de Mesgrigny, 
 
 nel, and Hogendorp. Private secretaries. Baron Mounier and 
 
 First ordinance officer, Colonel Gour- Baron Fain. 
 
 gaud. Clerks, Jlessieurs Jouanne and Provost. 
 
 Ordinance officers: Baron deMortemart, Secretary interpreters. Messieurs Le- 
 Baron Athalin, M. B^ranger, M. de lorgue, Dideville, and Vouzowitch, 
 
 Laurhton; Messieurs Barons Desaix, Director of the topographical bureau, 
 Laplace, andde Cararaan; Messieurs Baron Bacler d'Albe. 
 
 de Saint Marsan, de Lamezan, Pre- Geographical engineers. Messieurs La- 
 tet, and Pailhou; there "was also M. meau and Duvivier. 
 
 d'Aremberji, but at this time he was Pages, Messieurs Montarieu, Devienne, 
 a prisoner in the town of Dantzic. Sainte Perne, and Ferreri. 
 
 * He did not succeed Ills father as Duke till 1824.— Trans. 
 
BEADQUARTJSRS AT ECKHAUTSBEHG. 159 
 
 The Emperor had his headquarters on the square of 
 Eckhartsberg. He had only two rooms, and his suite slept 
 on the landing and the steps of the staircase. This little 
 town, transformed in a few hours into headquarters, pre- 
 sented a most extraordinary spectacle. On a square sur- 
 rounded by camps, bivouacs, and military parks, in the 
 midst of more than a thousand vehicles, which crossed 
 each other from every direction, mingled together, became 
 entangled in every way, could be seen slowly defiling regi- 
 ments, convoys, artillery trains, baggage wagons, etc. Fol- 
 lowing them came herds of cattle, preceded or divided by 
 the little carts of the canteen women and sutlers, — such 
 light, frail vehicles that the least jolt endangered them; 
 with these were marauders returning with their booty, 
 peasants pulling vehicles by their own strength, cursing 
 and swearing amid the laughter of our soldiers ; and 
 couriers, ordinance officers, and aides-de-camp, galloping 
 through all this, wonderfully variegated and diversified 
 multitude of men and beasts. 
 
 And when to this is added the neighing of horses, bel- 
 lowing of cattle, rumbling of wheels over the stones, cries 
 of the soldiers, sounds from trumpets, drums, fifes, and the 
 complaints of the inhabitants, with hundreds of persons all 
 together asking questions at the same time, speaking Ger- 
 man to the Italians, and French to the Germans, how could 
 it be possible that his Majesty should be as tranquil and as 
 much at his ease in the midst of this fearful uproar as in 
 his cabinet at Saint-Cloud or the Tuileries ? This was 
 nevertheless the case ; and the Emperor, seated before a 
 miserable table covered with a kind of cloth, a map spread 
 before him, compass and pen in hand, entirely given up to 
 
160 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 meditation, sliowed not the least impatience ; and it would 
 have been said that no exterior noise reached his ears. But 
 let a cry of pain be heard in any direction, the Em.peror in- 
 stantly raised his head, and gave orders to go and ascertain 
 w^hat had happened. 
 
 The power of thus isolating one's self completely from 
 all the surrounding world is very difBcult to acquire, and 
 no one possessed it to the same degree as his Majesty. 
 
 On the 1st of May the Emperor was at Lutzen, though 
 the battle did not occur till next day. On that day, at six 
 o'clock in the evening, the brave Marshal Bessieres, Duke 
 of Istria, was killed by a cannon-ball, just at the moment 
 when, mounted on a height, wrapped in a long cloak which 
 he had put on in order not to be remarked, he had just 
 given orders for the burial of a sergeant of his escort, 
 Avhom a ball had just slain a few steps in front of him. 
 
 From the first campaigns in Italy the Duke of Istria had 
 hardly left the Emperor at all ; had followed him in all his 
 campaigns ; had taken part in all his battles, and was always 
 distinguished for his well-proved bravery, and a frankness 
 and candor very rare among the high personages by whom 
 his Majesty was surrounded. He had passed through al- 
 most all grades tip to the command of the Imperial Guard; 
 and his great experience, excellent character, good heart, 
 and unalterable attachment to the Emperor, had rendered 
 him very dear to his Majesty. 
 
 The Emperor was much moved on learning of the death 
 of the marshal, and remained some time silent with bent 
 head, and eyes fastened on the ground. At last he said, 
 "He has died like Turenne; his fate is to be envied." He 
 then passed his hand over his eyes and withdrew. 
 
LETTER TO THE DUCHESS OF ISTMIA. 161 
 
 The body of the marshal was embabned and carried to 
 Paris, and the Emperor wrote the following letter to the 
 Duchess of Istria: — ■ 
 
 " My Cousin, — 
 
 Your husband has died on the field of honor. The loss sustained 
 by you and your children is doubtless great, but mine is greater still. 
 The Duke of Istria has died a most glorious death, and without suffer- 
 ing. Pie leaves a stainless reputation, the richest heritage he could 
 have left his children. My protection is assured, and they will also 
 inherit the affection I bore their father. Find in all these considera- 
 tions some source of consolation in your distress, and never doubt my 
 sentiments towards you. 
 
 This letter having no other object, I pray that God, my cousin, 
 may have you in his holy keeping. 
 
 Napoleon." 
 
 The King of Saxony reared a monument to the Duke of 
 Istria on the exact spot where he fell. The victory so long 
 disputed in this battle of Lutzen was on that account only 
 the more glorious for the Emperor, and was gained prin- 
 cipally by the young conscripts, who fought like lions. 
 Marshal Ney expected this of them ; for before the battle he 
 said to his Majesty, " Sire, give me a good many of those 
 young men, I will lead them wherever I wish. The old 
 bearded fellows know as much as we, they reflect, they are 
 too cold blooded ; but these intrepid children know no 
 difficulties, they look straight before them, and neither to 
 the right nor left." 
 
 In fact, in the midst of the battle, the Prussians, com- 
 manded by the king in person, attacked the corps of Mar- 
 shal Ney with such fury that it fell back, but the conscripts 
 did not take flight. They withstood the fire, rallied by pla- 
 toons, and flanked the enemy, crying with all their might, 
 
162 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ^'■ViveVUmpereur." The Emperor appeared ; and recovering 
 from the terrible shock they had sustained, and electrified 
 by the presence of their hero, they attacked in their turn 
 with incredible violence. His Majesty was astonished. 
 "In the twenty years," said he, "I have commanded 
 French armies I have never witnessed such remarkable 
 bravery and devotion." 
 
 It was indeed a touching sight to see those youthful 
 soldiers, although grievously wounded, some without an 
 arm, some without a leg, with but a few moments of life 
 remaining, making a last effort, as the Emperor approached, 
 to rise from the ground, and shout with their latest breath, 
 '■'■Vive VEmpereur." Tears fill my eyes as I think of those 
 youths, so brilliant, so strong, and so courageous. 
 
 The enemy displayed the same bravery and enthusiasm. 
 The light infantry of the Prussian guard were almost all 
 young men who saw fire for the first time ; they exposed 
 themselves to every hazard, and fell by hundreds before 
 they would recoil a step. 
 
 In no other battle, I think, was the Emperor so visibly 
 protected by his destiny. Balls whistled around his ears, 
 carrying away as they passed pieces of the trappings of his 
 horse, shells and grenades rolled at his feet, but nothing 
 touched him. The soldiers observed this, and their enthu- 
 siasm rose to the highest pitch. 
 
 At the beginning of the battle, the Emperor saw a 
 battalion advancing whose chief had been suspended from 
 Ills office two or three days before for some slight breach 
 of discipline. The disgraced officer marched in the second 
 rank with his soldiers, by whom he was adored. The Em- 
 peror saw him, and halting the battalion, took the officer by 
 
NAPOLEON'S REPLY TO THE DRESDEN DEPUTIES. 163 
 
 the hand, and placed him again at the head of his troop. 
 The effect produced hy this scene was indescribable. 
 
 On the 8th of May, at seven o'clock in the evening, the 
 Emperor entered Dresden, and took possession of the pal- 
 ace, which the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia 
 had quitted that very evening. A short distance from the 
 barriers the Emperor was saluted by a deputation from the 
 municipality of that town. 
 
 " You deserve," said lie to these deputies, " that I should treat 
 you as a conquered country. I know all that you have done while the 
 allies occupied your town ; I have a statement of the number of vol- 
 unteers whom you have clothed, equipped, and armed against me, 
 with a generosity which has astonished even the enemy. I know the . 
 insults you have heaped on France, and how many shameless libels 
 you have to suppress or to burn to-day. I am fully aware with 
 what transports of joy you received the Emperor of Russia and the 
 King of Prussia within your walls. Your houses are still decorated 
 with the garlands, and we stiU see lying on the earth the flowers 
 which the young girls scattered in their path. Nevertheless, I am will- 
 iug to pardon everything. Thank your king for this ; it is he who 
 saves you, and I pardon you only from love of him. Send a deputa- 
 tion to entreat him to return to you. My aide-de-camp, General 
 Durosnel, will be your governor. Your good king himself could not 
 make a better selection." 
 
 As soon as he entered the city the Emperor was in- 
 formed that a part of the Russian rear guard sought to 
 hold its ground in the new town, separated from the old 
 by the river Elbe, and had fallen into the power of our 
 army. 
 
 His Majesty immediately ordered that everything should 
 be done in order to drive out this remnant of the enemy; 
 and during an entire day there was a continued cannonad- 
 
164 EECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ing and shooting in the town from one bank to the other. 
 Bullets and shell fell like hail on the spot occupied by the 
 Emperor. A shell struck the walls of a powder-magazine 
 not far from him, and scattered the pieces around his 
 head, but fortunately the powder did not ignite. A few 
 moments after another shell fell between his Majesty and 
 several Italians ; they bent to avoid the explosion. The 
 Emperor saw this movement, and laughingly said to them, 
 " J.A, coglioni! ?ion fa male." ^ 
 
 On the 11th of May, in the morning, the Russians were 
 put to flight and pursued, the French army entering the 
 city from all sides. The Emperor remained on the bridge 
 the whole day, watching his troops as they filed in. The 
 next day at ten o'clock the Imperial Guard under arms were 
 placed in line of battle on the road from Pirna to Gross 
 Garten. The Emperor reviewed it, and ordered General 
 Flahaut to advance. 
 
 The King of Saxony arrived about noon. On meeting 
 again, the two sovereigns alighted from their horses and 
 embraced each other, and then entered Dresden amid gen- 
 eral acclamations. 
 
 General Flahaut, who had gone to meet the King of 
 Saxony with a part of the Imperial Guard, received from 
 this good king the most flattering testimonials of apprecia- 
 tion and gratitude. It is impossible to show more cordial- 
 ity and friendliness than the King of Saxony displayed. 
 The Emperor said of him and his family that they were a 
 patriarchal family, and that all who comprised it joined to 
 striking virtues an expansive kindness of manner which 
 made them adored by their subjects. His Majesty paid 
 
 i " Ah, scamps! don't behave badly." — Tkaks. 
 
NAPOLEON AND THE KING OF SAXONY. 165 
 
 this royal personage the most affectionate attentions, and 
 as long as the war lasted sent couriers each day to keep 
 the king informed of the least circumstance. He came him- 
 self as often as possible, and, in fact, constantly treated 
 him with that cordiality he so well knew how to display 
 and to render irresistible when he chose. 
 
 A few days after his arrival at Dresden his Majesty 
 held a long conversation with the King of Saxony, in which 
 the Emperor Alexander was the principal subject of con' 
 versation. 
 
 The characteristics and faults of this prince were fully 
 analyzed ; and the conclusion drawn from this conversation 
 was that the Emperor Alexander had been sincere in the 
 interview at Erfurt, and that it must have been very 
 complicated intrigues which had thus led to the rupture 
 of all their treaties of friendship. "Sovereigns are most 
 unfortunate," said his Majesty; "always deceived, always 
 surrounded by flatterers or treacherous counselors, whose 
 greatest desire is to prevent the truth from reaching the 
 ears of their masters, who have so much interest in know- 
 ing it." 
 
 The two sovereigns next spoke of the Emperor of Aus- 
 tria. His Majesty appeared profoundly grieved that his 
 union with the Archduchess Marie Louise, whom he did 
 all in his power to render the happiest of women, should 
 have failed in producing the result he had anticipated, 
 of obtaining for him the confidence and friendship of her 
 father. " It is perhaps because I was not born a sover- 
 eign," said the Emperor; "and neverthe ess, I should think 
 that this would be an additional inducement to the friend- 
 ship of my father-in-law. I shall never be convinced that 
 
166 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 such ties are not strong enough to obtain the alliance of 
 the Emperor of Austria ; for, in fact, I am his son-in-law, 
 my son is liis grandson, he loves liis daughter, and she is 
 happy; how, then, can he be my enemy? " 
 
 On learning of the victory of Lutzen, and the entrance 
 of the Emperor into Dresden, the Emperor of Austria has- 
 tened to send M. de Buhna to his son-in-law. He arrived 
 on the evening of the 16th; and the interview, which his 
 Majesty immediately granted, lasted until two hours after 
 midnight. This led us to hope that peace was about to be 
 concluded, and we consequently formed a thousand con- 
 jectures, each more encouraging than the other ; but when 
 two or three days had passed away, and we still witnessed 
 only preparations for war, we saw that our hopes were 
 cruelly deceived. Then it was I heard the unfortunate 
 Mai-shal Duroc exclaim, " This is lasting too long ! We 
 will none of us outlive it." He had a presentiment of his 
 own death. 
 
 During the whole of this campaign the Emperor had 
 not a moment of repose. The days passed away in com- 
 bats or marches, always on horseback ; the nights in labors 
 in the cabinet. I never comprehended how his body could 
 endure such fatigue, and yet he enjoyed almost continuously 
 the most perfect health. The evening before the battle of 
 Bautzen he retired very late, after visiting all the military 
 posts, and, having given all necessary orders, slept pro- 
 foundly. Early next morning, the 20th of May, move- 
 ments began, and we awaited at headquarters with eager 
 impatience the results of this day. But the battle was 
 not over even then ; and after a succession of encounters, 
 always ending in our favor, although hotly contested, the 
 
BATTLE OF BAUTZEN. 167 
 
 Emperor, at nine o'clock in the evening, returned to head- 
 quarters, took a light repast, and remained with Prince 
 Berthier until midnight. The remainder of the night was 
 passed in work, and at five o'clock in the morning he was 
 on his feet and ready to return to the combat. Three or 
 four hours after his arrival on the battlefield the Emperor 
 was overcome by an irresistible desire for sleep, and, fore- 
 seeing the issue of the day, slept on the side of a ravine, 
 in the midst of the batteries of the Duke of Ragusa, until 
 he was awaked with the information that the battle was 
 gained. 
 
 This fact, which was related to me in the evening, did 
 not astonish me in the least; for I have already remarked 
 that when he was compelled to yield to the necessity of 
 sleep, that imperious want of nature, the Emperor took the 
 repose which was so necessary to him when and where he 
 could, like a true soldier. 
 
 Although the result was decided, the battle was con- 
 tinued until five o'clock in the evening. At six o'clock the 
 Emperor had his tent erected near a solitary inn, which had 
 served as headquarters for the Emperor Alexander during 
 the two preceding days. I received orders to attend him 
 there, and did so with all speed; but his Majesty, never- 
 theless, passed the whole night receiving and congratulat- 
 ing the chief generals, and working with his secretaries. 
 
 All the wounded who were able to march were already 
 on the road to Dresden, where all necessary help awaited 
 them. But on the field of battle were stretched more 
 than ten thousand men, — Frenchmen, Russians, Prussians, 
 etc., — hardly able to breathe, mutilated, and in a most piti- 
 able condition. The unremitting labors of the kind and 
 
168 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 indefatigable Baron Larrey and the multitude of surgeons 
 encouraged by his heroic example did not suffice even to 
 dress their wounds. And what means could be found to 
 remove the wounded in this desolate country, where all 
 the vUlages had been sacked and burned, and where it 
 was no longer possible to find either horses or conveyances ? 
 Must they then let all these men perish after most horrible 
 sufferings, for lack of means to convey them to Dresden ? 
 
 It was then that this population of Saxon villagers, 
 who it might have been thought must be embittered by 
 the horrors of war, — in seeing their dwellings burned, their 
 fields ravaged, — furnished to the army an example of the 
 sublime sentiments which pity can inspire in the heart of 
 man. They perceived the cruel anxiety which M. Larrey 
 and his companions suffered concerning the fate of so 
 many unfortunate wounded, and immediately men, women, 
 children, and even old men, hastily brought wheelbarrows. 
 The wounded were lifted, and placed on these frail convey- 
 ances. Two or three persons accompanied each wheelbar- 
 row all the way to Dresden, halting if by a cry or gesture 
 even, the wounded indicated a desire to rest, stopping to 
 replace the bandages which the motion had displaced, or 
 near a spring to give them water to allay the fever which 
 devoured them. I have never seen a more touching sight. 
 
 Baron Larrey had an animated discussion with the 
 Emperor. Among the wounded, there were found a large 
 number of young soldiers with two fingers of their right 
 hand torn off; and his Majesty thought that these poor 
 young fellows had done it purposely to keep from serving. 
 Having said this to M. Larrey, the latter vehemently ex- 
 claimed that it was an impossibility, and that such base- 
 
NAPOLEON ACKNOWLEDGES HIS INJUSTICE. 169 
 
 ness was not in keeping with the character of these brave 
 young conscripts. As the Emperor still maintained his 
 position, Larrey at length became so angry that he went 
 so far as to tax the Emperor with injustice. Things were 
 in this condition when it was positively proved that these 
 uniform wounds came from the haste with which these 
 young soldiers loaded and discharged their guns, not being 
 accustomed to handling them. Whereupon his Majesty 
 saw that M. de Larrey was right, and praised him for his 
 firmness in maintaining what he knew to be the truth. 
 "You are a thoroughly good man, M. de Larrey," said the 
 Emperor. " I wish I could be surrounded only with men 
 like you ; but such men are very rare." 
 
170 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Death of Marshal Duroc. — Grief of the Emperor and general consternation 
 in the army. — Particulars of this fatal event. — Impatience of the Em- 
 peror on heing unahle to overtake the rear guard of the Russians. — 
 Two or three cannon-balls dig up the ground at the Emperor's feet. — A 
 number of the guard killed near his Majesty. — Announcement of the 
 death of General Bruyeres. — Duroc near the Emperor. — A tree struck 
 by a shell. — The Duke of Plaisance announces, weeping, the death of the 
 grand marshal. — Death of General Kirgener. — Assiduous but useless 
 attentions. — The marshal still breathing. — The Emperor's adieux to his 
 friend. — Indescribable consternation. — The Emperor motionless and 
 abstracted. — To-morrow everything. — The Russians completely routed. 
 — Death of the grand marshal. — Funeral inscription dictated by the 
 Emperor. — Land bought and agreement violated. — Our entrance into 
 Silesia. — Perfect self-possession of the Emperor. — His Majesty directs 
 the troops himself. — The march on Breslau. — The Emperor on a pil- 
 laged farm. — A fire destroys forty baggage-wagons. — A fictitious anec- 
 dote denied. — The Emperor neglects nothing. — Entrance into Breslau. 
 — A prediction almost fulfilled. — Armistice of the 4th of June. — Stay 
 at Gorlitz. — Losses generously repaid. — Return to Dresden. — Rumors 
 dissipated by the Emperor's presence. — The Marcolini palace. — The 
 Emperor living as he did at Schoenbrunn. — The French comedy ordered 
 to Dresden. — The composition of the troupe. — Theater of the Orangery 
 and comedy. — Tragedy at Dresden. — Employment of the Emperor's 
 days. — Distractions and Mademoiselle Georges. — Talma and Mademoi- 
 selle Mars breakfasting with the Emperor. — Happy repartee and the 
 Emperor's politeness. — Abundance diffused through Dresden by the 
 presence of his Majesty. — Camps around the town. — The Emperor's 
 fete advanced five days. — The soldiers at the Te Deuni. 
 
 We had now reached the eve of the day on which the 
 Emperor, still deeply affected by the loss he had sustained 
 in the death of the Duke of Istria, was to receive a blow 
 which he felt perhaps most keenly of all those which struck 
 deep into his heart as he saw his old companions in arms 
 
DEATH OF DUROC. 171 
 
 fall around him. The day following that on which the 
 Emperor had, with Baron Larrey, the discussion which I 
 related at the end of the preceding chapter was made mem- 
 orable by the irreparable loss of Marshal Duroc. The Em- 
 peror's heart was crushed; and indeed not one of us failed 
 to shed sincere tears — so just and good was he, although 
 grave and severe in his manner towards persons whom the 
 nature of their duties brought into contact with him. It 
 vras a loss not only to the Emperor, who possessed in him a 
 true friend, but, I dare to assert, also to the whole of France. 
 He loved the Emperor with a passionate devotion, and never 
 failed to bestow on him his faithful admonitions, although 
 they were not always heeded. The death of Marshal Duroc 
 was an event so grievous and so totally unexpected, that we 
 remained for some time uncertain whether to believe it, 
 even when the only too evident reality no longer permitted 
 us to remain under any delusion. 
 
 These are the circumstances under which this fatal 
 event occurred which spread consternation throughout the 
 army: The Emperor was pursuing the rear guard of the 
 Russians, who continually eluded him, and had just escaped 
 for the tenth time since the morning, after having killed 
 and taken prisoners large numbers of our brave soldiers, 
 when two or three shells dug up the ground at the Em- 
 peror's feet, and caused him to exclaim, " What ! after such 
 butchery no result ! no prisoners ! those men there will not 
 leave me a nail." Hardly had he finished speaking when a 
 shell passed, and threw a chasseur of the cavalry escort al- 
 most under the legs of his Majesty's horse. " Ah, Duroc," 
 added he, turning towards the grand marshal, "fortune 
 protects us to-day." — " Sire," said an aide-de-camp, rushing 
 
172 IlECOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 up at a gallop, " General Bruyferes ^ lias just been killed." 
 ■ — " My poor comrade of Italy ! Is it possible ? Ali ! it is 
 necessary to push on, nevertheless." And noticing on the 
 left an elevation from wliicli he could better observe what 
 was passing, the Emperor started in that direction amidst a 
 cloud of dust. The Duke of Vicenza, the Duke of Treviso, 
 Marshal Duroc, and general of engineers Kirgeuer followed 
 his Majesty closely ; but the wind raised such a cloud of 
 dust and smoke that they could hardly see each other. 
 Suddenly a tree near which the Emperor passed was struck 
 by a shell and cut in half. His Majesty, on reaching the 
 plateau, turned to ask for his field-glass, and saw no one 
 near him except the Duke of Vicenza. Duke Charles de 
 Plaisance came up, his face showing a mortal pallor, leaned 
 towards the grand equerry, and said a few words in his ear. 
 " What is it ? " vehemently inquired the Emperor ; " what 
 has happened? " — " Sire," said the Duke of Plaisance, weep- 
 ing, " the grand marshal is dead ! " — " Duroc ? But you 
 must be mistaken. He was here a moment ago by my side." 
 Several aides-de-camp arrived, and a page vnth bis Majesty's 
 field-glass. The fatal news was confirmed, in part at least. 
 The Grand Duke of Frioul was not yet dead ; but the shell 
 had wounded him in the stomach, and all surgical aid would 
 be useless. The shell after breaking the tree had glanced, 
 first striking General Kirgener,^ who was instantly killed, 
 and then the Duke of Frioul. Monsieurs Yvan and Larrey 
 were with the wounded marshal, who had been carried into 
 a house at Markersdorf. There was no hope of saving him. 
 
 1 Jean Paul Bruyeres bom in Languedoc, 1772; made general at Jena, 
 1806 ; served under Murat in Russian campaign, 1812. — Tkans. 
 
 2 Joseph Kirgener, born in Paris, 1766. — Trans. 
 
GRIEF OF THE EMPEEOR. 173 
 
 The consternation of the army and his Majesty's grief 
 on this deplorable event were indescribable. He mechani- 
 cally gave a few orders and returned to camp, and when 
 he had reached the encampment of the guard, seated him- 
 self on a bench in front of his tent, with lowered head and 
 clasped hands, and remained thus for nearly an hour with- 
 out uttering a word. Since it was nevertheless essential 
 that orders should be given for the next day, General 
 Drouot ^ approached, and in a voice interrupted by sobs 
 asked what should be done. " To-morrow, everything," 
 replied the Emperor, and said not a word more. " Poor 
 man ! " exclaimed the old watchdogs of the guard ; " he 
 has lost one of his children." Night closed in. The 
 enemy was in full retreat; and the army having taken 
 its position, the Emperor left the camp, and, accompanied 
 by the Prince de Neuchatel, M. Yvan, and the Duke 
 of Vicenza, repaired to the house where the grand marshal 
 had been conveyed. The scene was terrible. The Em- 
 peror, distracted with grief, repeatedly embraced this faith- 
 ful friend, endeavoring to cheer him; but the duke, who 
 was perfectly conscious of his condition, rephed only by 
 entreaties to have opium given him. At these words the 
 Emperor left the room; he could no longer control his 
 emotions. 
 
 The Duke de Frioul died next morning, and the Em- 
 peror ordered that his body should be conveyed to Paris, 
 
 1 Count Antoine Drouot, chief of artillery of the guard, born at Nancy, 
 1774 ; fought as captain at Hohenlinden, 1800 ; distinguished himself at Wagram 
 (1809) and Borodino (1812) ; made general of division at Bautzen, 1813 ; went 
 to Elba as commander of the guard, and was by the Emperor's side at Water- 
 loo; died in 1847. He was a Protestant, and was often seen during heavy 
 firing reading his Testament calmly. — Tkans. 
 
174 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 and p.aced under the dome of the Invahdes.^ He bought 
 the house in which the grand marshal died, and charged the 
 pastor of the village to have a stone placed in the spot where 
 his bed had stood, and these words engraved thereon : — 
 
 " HERE GENERAL DUROC, DUKE OF FRIOUL, 
 
 GRAND MARSHAL OF THE PALACE OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON, 
 
 MORTALLY WOUNDED BY A SHELL, 
 
 DIED IN THE ARMS OF HIS FRIEND, THE EMPEROR." 
 
 The preservation of this monument was imposed as an 
 obligation on the occupant of the house, who received it as a 
 gift with this condition annexed. The pastor, the magistrate 
 of the village, and the one who accepted this gift, were sum- 
 moned to his Majesty's presence ; and he made known to 
 them his wishes, which they solemnly engaged to fulfill. His 
 Majesty then drew from his privy purse the necessary funds, 
 and handed them to these gentlemen. 
 
 It is well that the reader should know how this agree- 
 ment so solemnly made was executed. This order of the 
 Russian staff will inform him. 
 
 " A copy of a receipt dated the 16th (28th) of March states that the 
 Emperor Napoleon handed to Hermann, pastor of the church at Mark- 
 ersdorf, the sum of two hundred gold napoleons for the purpose of 
 erecting a monument to the memory of Marshal Duroc, who died on 
 the field of battle. His ExceUency Prince Repnin, Governor-General 
 of Saxony, having ordered that a deputy from my office be sent to 
 Jlarkersdorf in order to bring the said sum and deposit it with me 
 until it is finally disposed of, my secretary, Meyerheim, is charged 
 with this mission, and consequently wiU go at once to Markersdorf, 
 and, as an evidence of his authority, will present to Minister Hermann 
 
 1 On either side of the entrance to the sarcophagus of porphyry which 
 holds the mortal remains of the great Emperor, rest Duroc and Bertrand, 
 who in life watched over him as marshals of his Palace. — Tkans. 
 
THE EMPEMOR ENTERS SILESIA. 175 
 
 the accompanying order, and take possession of tlie above mentioned 
 sum of two hundred gold napoleons. The secretary Meyerheim will 
 account to me alone for the execution of this order. At Dresden this 
 20th of March fist of April), 1814. 
 
 (Signed) Baron de Rosen." 
 
 This order needs no comment. After the battles of Baut- 
 zen and Wurschen, the Emperor entered Silesia. He saw 
 on every occasion combined armies of the allies put to flight 
 before his own in every encounter ; and this sight, while flat- 
 tering his vanity exceedingly, also greatly strengthened him 
 in the belief that he would soon find himself master of a 
 rich and fertile country, where the abundant means of sub- 
 sistence would be of much advantage in all his undertakings. 
 Many times a day he exclaimed, " How far are we from such 
 a town? When do we arrive at Breslau ? " His impatience 
 did not prevent him meanwliile from occupying his mind 
 with every object which struck his attention, as if he were 
 free from all care. He examined the houses, one by one, as 
 he passed through each village, remarked the direction of 
 rivers and mountain ranges, and collected the most minute 
 information which the inhabitants could or would give him. 
 On the 27th of May, his Majesty, when not more than three 
 days march from Breslau, met in front of a little town called 
 Michelsdorf several regiments of Russian cavalry who held 
 the road. They were quite near the Emperor and his staff 
 before his Majesty had even perceived them. The Prince 
 de Neuchatel, seeing the enemy so near, hastened to the 
 Emperor, and said, " Sire, they are still advancing." — ■ " Well, 
 we will advance also," replied his Majesty, smiling. " Look 
 behind yow " And he showed the prince the French in- 
 fantry approaching in close columns. A few discharges 
 
176 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 soon drove the Russians from this position ; but half a league 
 or a league farther we found them again, and this maneuver 
 was again and again repeated. The Emperor, perceiving 
 this, maneuvered accordingly, and in person directed with 
 the greatest precision the troops as they advanced. He 
 went from one height to another, and thoroughly inspected 
 the towns and villages on the route in order to reconnoiter 
 their position, and ascertain what resources he could obtain 
 from the country ; and, as a result of his attentive care and 
 indefatigable oversight, the scene changed ten times a day. 
 If a column emerged from a deep ravine, a wood, or a vil- 
 lage, it could take immediate possession of a height, since a 
 battery was found already in position to defend it. The 
 Emperor indicated every movement with admirable tact, 
 and in such a manner that it was impossible to be taken at 
 a disadvantage. He commanded only the troops as a whole, 
 transmitting either personally, or through his staff officers, 
 his orders to the commander of the corps and divisions, who 
 in their turn transmitted or had them transmitted to the 
 chiefs of battalions. All orders given by his Majesty were 
 short, precise, and so clear that it was never necessary to 
 ask explanations. 
 
 On the 29th of May, not knowing how far on the 
 road to Breslau it was prudent to advance, his Majesty 
 established himself on a little farm called Rosnig, which 
 had been pillaged, and presented a most miserable aspect. 
 As there could be found in the house only a small apart^ 
 ment with a closet suitable for the Emperor's use, the 
 Prince de Neuchatel and his suite established themselves 
 as well as they could in the surrounding cottages, bams, 
 and even in the gardens, since there was not sufficient 
 
ANECDOTE. 177 
 
 shelter for all. The next day a fire broke out in a stable 
 near the lodging of the Emperor. There were fourteen 
 or fifteen wagons in this barn, which were all burned. 
 One of these wagons contained the traveling treasury 
 chest; in another were the clothes and linen belonging 
 to the Emperor, as well as jewelry, rings, tobacco boxes, 
 and other valuable objects. We saved very few things^ 
 from this fire ; and if the reserve corps had not arrived 
 promptly, his Majesty would have been obliged to change 
 his customary toilet rules for want of stockings and shirts. 
 The Saxon Major d'Odeleben, who has written some in- 
 teresting articles on this campaign, states that everything 
 belonging to his Majesty was burned ; and that it was 
 necessary to have him some pantaloons made in the great- 
 est haste at Breslau. This is a mistake. I do not think 
 that the baggage-wagon was burned; but even if it had 
 been, the Emperor would not on that account have 
 needed clothing, since there were always four or five 
 complete suits either in advance or in -the rear of the 
 headquarters. In Russia, when the order was given to 
 burn all carriages which lacked horses, this order was 
 rigorously executed in regard to the persons of the 
 household, and they were consequently left with almost 
 nothing ; but everything was reserved which might be 
 considered indispensable to his Majesty. 
 
 At length on the 1st of June, at six o'clock in the 
 morning, the advance guard entered Breslau, having at 
 its head General Lauriston, and General Hogendorp,i 
 
 1 Count Dyrk van Hogenclorp, a Dutch general, bom at Rotterdam, 
 1761 ; minister of war to King Louis Bonaparte. In 1811, general of division, 
 and aide to the Emperor, whom he accompanied in the Russian campaign, 
 After Waterloo he went to Brazil, where he died in 1830. — Tbans, 
 
178 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 whom his Majesty had invested in advance with the 
 functions of governor of this town, whicli was the capital 
 of Silesia. Thus was fulfilled in part the promise the 
 Emperor had made in passing through Warsaw on his 
 return from Russia: "I go to seek three himdred thou- 
 sand men. Success will render the Russians bold. I will 
 dehver two battles between the Elbe and the Oder, and 
 in six months I will be again on the Niemen." 
 
 These two battles fought and gained by conscripts, 
 and without cavalry, had re-established the reputation of 
 the French army. The King of Saxony had been brought 
 back in triumph to his capital. The headquarters of the 
 Emperor were at Breslau; one of the corps of the grand 
 army was at the gates of Berhn, and the enemy driven _ 
 from Hamburg. Russia was about to be forced to with- 
 draw into its own boundaries, when the Emperor of 
 Austria, acting as mediator in the affairs of the two allied 
 sovereigns, advised them to propose an armistice. They 
 followed this advice ; and as the Emperor had the weak- 
 ness to consent to their demands, the armistice was 
 granted and signed on the fourth of June, and his Maj- 
 esty at once set out on liis return to Dresden. An hour 
 after his departure he said, " If the allies do not in good 
 faith desire peace, this armistice may become very fatal 
 to us." 
 
 On the evening of the 8th of June, his Majesty reached 
 Gorlitz. On that night fire broke out in the faubourg 
 where the guard had established its quarters ; and at one 
 o'clock one of the officials of the town came to the 
 headquarters of the Emperor to give the alarm, saying 
 that all was lost. The troops extinguished the fire, and 
 
AT OOELITZ. 179 
 
 an account was rendered the Emperor of what had 
 occurred. I dressed him in all haste, as he wished to 
 set out at break of day. " To how much does the loss 
 amount?" demanded the Emperor. "Sire, to seven or 
 eight thousand francs at least for the cases of greatest 
 need." — "Let ten thousand be given, and let it be dis- 
 tributed immediately." The inhabitants were immediately 
 informed of the generosity of the Emperor; and as he 
 left the village an hour or two after, he was saluted with 
 unanimous acclamations. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th we returned from Dresden. 
 The Emperor's arrival put an end to most singular rumors 
 which had been circulated there since the remains of 
 Grand Marshal Duroc had passed through the city. It 
 was asserted that the coffin contained the body of the 
 Emperor; that he had been killed in the last battle, and 
 his body mysteriously concealed in a room of the chateau, 
 through the windows of which lights could be seen burning 
 all night. When he arrived, some persons perfectly infat- 
 uated with this idea went so far as to repeat what had 
 already been reported, with the added circumstance that 
 it was not the Emperor who was seen in his carriage, but 
 a figure made of wax. Nevertheless, when next day he 
 appeared before the eyes of all on horseback in a meadow 
 in front of the gates of the city, they were compelled to 
 admit that he still lived. 
 
 The Emperor alighted at the Marcolini palace, a charm- 
 ing summer residence situated in the faubourg of Fried- 
 richstadt. An immense garden, the beautiful meadows 
 of Osterwise on the banks of the Elbe, in addition to an 
 extremely fine landscape, rendered this sojourn much more 
 
180 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 attractive than that of tlie winter palace ; and consequently 
 the Emperor was most grateful to the King of Saxony for 
 having prepared it for him. There he led the same life 
 as at Schoenbrunn ; reviews every morning, much work 
 during the day, and few distractions in the evening; in 
 fact, more simplicity than display. The middle of the 
 day was spent in cabinet labors ; and during that time 
 such perfect tranquillity reigned in the palace, that except 
 for the presence of two sentinels on horseback and videttes, 
 which showed that it was the dwelling of a sovereign, 
 it would have been difficult to imagine that this beauti- 
 ful residence was inhabited even by the simplest private 
 citizen. 
 
 The Emperor had chosen for his apartments the right 
 wing of the palace; the left was occupied by the Prince 
 de Neuchatel. In the center of the building were a large 
 saloon and two smaller ones which served as reception 
 rooms. 
 
 Two days after his return, his Majesty sent orders to 
 Paris that the actors of the " Comedy" Theater from Paris 
 should spend the time of the armistice at Dresden. The 
 Duke of Vicenza, charged in the interim with the 
 duties of grand marshal of the palace, was ordered to 
 make all necessary preparations to receive them. He 
 committed this duty to the care of Messieurs de Beausset 
 and de Turenne, to whom the Emperor gave the superin- 
 tendence of the theater; and a hall to be used for tliis 
 purpose was erected in the orangery of the Marcolini 
 palace. This hall communicated with the apartments, and 
 could seat about two hundred persons. It was erected 
 as if by magic, and was opened, while awaiting the arrival 
 
FBENCH ACTION IN DIiESD:EN. 181 
 
 of the French troupe, with two or three representations 
 given by the Italian comedians of the King of Saxony. 
 
 The actors from Paris were : For tragedy, Messieurs 
 Saint-Prix and Talma and Mademoiselle Georges. 
 
 For comedy: Messieurs Fleury, Saint-Fal, Baptiste 
 the younger, Armand, Thenard, Michot, Devigny, Michelot 
 and Barbier; Mesdames Mars, Bourgoin, Thenard, Emilie 
 Contat, and Mezeray. 
 
 The management of the theater was given to M. 
 Despres. 
 
 All these actors arrived on the 19th of June, and found 
 every arrangement made for their comfort, — tastefully fur- 
 nished lodgings, carriages, servants, everything which could 
 enable them to agreeably endure the ennui of a residence 
 in a foreign land, and prove to them at the same time how 
 highly his Majesty appreciated their talents ; an appreciation 
 which most of them richly merited, both on account of their 
 excellent social qualities, and the nobihty and refinement 
 of their manners. 
 
 The debut of the French troupe at the theater of the 
 Orangery took place on the 22d of June, in the Gageicre 
 Imprevue, and another piece, then much in vogue at Paris, 
 and which has often since been witnessed with much pleas- 
 ure. La Suite d \in Bal Masque. 
 
 As the theater of the Orangery would have been too 
 small for the representation of tragedy, that was reserved 
 for the grand theater of the city; and persons were ad- 
 mitted on those occasions only by cards from the Count of 
 Turenne, no admission fee being charged. 
 
 At the grand theater on the days of the French play, 
 and also in the theater at the Marcolini palace, the footmen 
 
182 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 of his Majesty attended upon the boxes, and served refresh- 
 ments while the piece was being played. 
 
 This is how the days were spent after the arrival of the 
 actors of the French theater. 
 
 Everything was quiet until eight o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, unless a courier arrived, or some aide-de-camp was 
 unexpectedly summoned. At eight o'clock I dressed the 
 Emperor ; at nine he held his levee, which all could attend 
 who held as high a rank as colonel. The civil and military 
 authorities of the country were also admitted ; the Dukes of 
 Weimar and d'Anhalt, the brothers and nephews of the 
 King of Saxony, sometimes attended. Next came break- 
 fast; then the parade in the meadows of Osterwise, about 
 one hundred paces distant from the palace, to which the 
 Emperor always went on horseback, and dismounted on 
 arriving ; the troops filed before him, and cheered him three 
 times with their customary enthusiasm. The evolutions 
 were commanded sometimes by the Emperor, sometimes 
 by the Count of Lobau. As soon as the cavalry began to 
 defile, his majesty re-entered the palace and began to work. 
 Then began that perfect stillness of which I have spoken ; 
 and dinner was not served until late, — seven or eight 
 o'clock. The Emperor often dined alone with the Prince 
 de Neuchatel, unless there were guests from the royal 
 family of Saxony. After dinner they attended the theater, 
 when there was a play; and afterwards the Emperor re- 
 turned to his cabinet to work again, either alone or with 
 his secretaries. 
 
 Each day it was the same thing, unless, which was very 
 rarely the case, fatigued beyond measure by the labors of 
 the day, the Emperor took a fancy to send for Madame 
 
AT DRESDEN. 183 
 
 Georges after the tragedy. Then she passed two or three 
 hours in his apartment, but never more. 
 
 Sometimes the Emperor invited Talma or Mademoiselle 
 Mars to brealcfast. One day, in a conversation with this 
 admirable actress, the Emperor spoke to her concerning her 
 debut. " Sire," said she, in that graceful manner which 
 every one remembers, " I began very young. I slipped in 
 without being perceived." — "Without being perceived! " 
 replied his Majesty quickly ; " you are mistaken. Be 
 assured moreover, Mademoiselle, that I have always, in 
 common with all France, highly appreciated your wonder- 
 ful talents." 
 
 The Emperor's stay at Dresden brought wealth and 
 abundance. More than six million francs of foreign money 
 were spent in this city between the 8th of May and 16th 
 of November, if one can believe the statements published 
 on Saxon authority of the number of lodgings distributed. 
 This sojourn was a harvest of gold, which keepers of board- 
 ing-houses, hotels, and merchants carefully reaped. Those 
 in charge of military lodgings furnished by the inhabitants 
 also made large profits. At Dresden could be seen Parisian 
 tailors and bootmakers, teaching the natives to work in the 
 French style. Even bootblacks were found on the bridges 
 over the Elbe, crying, as they had cried on the bridges of 
 the Seine, "Shine your boots!" 
 
 Around the city numerous camps had been established 
 for the wounded, convalescents, etc. One of these, called 
 the Westphalian camp, presented a most beautiful scene. 
 It was a succession of beautiful small gardens ; there a for- 
 tress made of turf, its bastions crowned with hortensias ; 
 here a plot had been converted into a terrace, its walks 
 
184 UEGOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ornamented with flowers, like the most carefully tended 
 parterre ; on a third was seen a statue of Pallas. The 
 whole barrack was decked Avith moss, and decorated with 
 boughs and garlands which were renewed each day. 
 
 As the armistice would end on the 15th of August, the 
 fete of his Majesty was advanced five days. The army, the 
 town, and the court had made extensive preparations in 
 order that the ceremony might be worthy of him in whose 
 honor it was given. All the richest and most distinguished 
 inhabitants of Dresden vied with each other in balls, con- 
 certs, festivities, and rejoicings of all sorts. The morning 
 before the day of the review, the King of Saxony came to 
 the residence of the Emperor with all his family, and the 
 two sovereigns manifested the warmest friendship for each 
 other. They breakfasted together, after which his Majesty, 
 accompanied by the King of Saxony, liis brothers and 
 nephews, repaired to the meadow behind the palace, where 
 fifteen thousand men of the guard awaited him in as fuie 
 condition as on the most brilliant parades on the Chanip- 
 de-Mars. 
 
 After the review, the French and Saxon troops dispersed 
 thi'ough the various churches to hear the Te Deum ; and at 
 the close of the religious ceremony, all these brave soldiers 
 seated themselves at banqueting tables already prepared, 
 and their joyous shouts with music and dancing were pro- 
 longed far into the night. 
 
DESIRE FOB PEACE. 185 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Desire for peace. — The honor of our arms restored. — Difficulties raised by 
 the Emperor Alexander. — Mediation of Austria. — Time lost. — De- 
 parture from Dresden. — Fine appearance of the French army. — Eng- 
 land the soul of the coalition. — The stipulations of Luneville. — The 
 nation in arms in Prussia. — Retrospection. — Incidents of the stay at 
 Dresden. — The Duke of Otranto with the Emperor. — Unfounded sus- 
 picions. — EecoUections of the Malet conspiracy. — Fouche governor- 
 general of lUyria. — The Emperor's high opinion of the talents of the 
 Duke of Otranto. — Devotion of the Duke of Eovigo. — Arrival of the 
 King of Naples. — Evident coolness of the Emperor. — Dresden fortified, 
 and extent of the fortifications. — The maps and rehearsal of battles. — 
 Our journey to Mayence. — Death of the Duke of Ahrantes. — The Em- 
 peror's regrets. — Short interview with the Empress. — The Emperor 
 three days in his cabinet. — Expiration of the armistice. — The fete of 
 Saint-Napoleon advanced five days. — The French comedy and play 
 gratis at Dresden. — The day of dinners. — Fete at the residence of 
 General Durosnel. — Baptiste junior and my Lord Bristol. — The French 
 infantry divided into fourteen corps. — Six grand divisions of cavalry. — 
 The guard of honor. — Composition and strength of the liostile armies. — 
 Two foreigners against one Frenchman. — The Emperor's mistaken feel- 
 ing of security in regard to Austria. — Declaration of war. — The count 
 of Narbonne. 
 
 The entire duration of the armistice was employed in 
 negotiations tending to a treaty of peace, which the Em- 
 peror ardently desired, especially since he had seen the 
 honor of his army restored on the fields of Lutzen and 
 Bautzen ; but unfortunately he desired it only on condi- 
 tions to which the enemy would not consent, and soon the 
 second series of our disasters recommenced, and rendered 
 peace more and more impossible. Besides, from the begin- 
 ning of negotiations relative to the armistice, whose limit 
 
186 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 we had now nearly reached, the emperor Alexander, not- 
 withstandmg the three battles won by Napoleon, would 
 listen to no direct proposals from France, except on the 
 sole condition that Austria should act as mediator. This 
 distrust, as might be expected, did not tend to produce a 
 final reconciliation, and, being the conquering party, the 
 Emperor was naturally irritated by it ; nevertheless, under 
 these grave circumstances he conquered the just resentment 
 caused by the conduct of the Emperor of Russia towards 
 himself. The result of the time lost at Dresden, like the 
 prolongation of our sojourn at Moscow, was a great advan- 
 tage to the enemy. 
 
 All hopes of a peaceful adjustment of affairs now having 
 vanished, on the 15th of August the Emperor ordered his 
 carriage ; we left Dresden, and the war recommenced. The 
 French army was still magnificent and imposing, with a 
 force of two hundred thousand infantry, but only forty 
 thousand cavalry, as it had been entirely impossible to re- 
 pair completely the immense loss of horses that had been 
 sustained. The most serious danger at that time arose 
 from the fact that England was the soul of the coalition of 
 Russia, Prussia, and Sweden against France. Her subsidies 
 having obtained her the supreme control, nothing could be 
 decided without consulting her; and I have since learned 
 that even during the pretended negotiations the British gov- 
 ernment had declared to the Emperor of Russia that under 
 the circumstances the conditions of the treaty of Luneville 
 would be far too favorable to France. All these complica- 
 tions might be expressed in these words : " We desire 
 war ! " War was then waged, or rather the scourge con- 
 tinued to desolate Germany, and soon threatened and in- 
 
ANECDOTE. 187 
 
 vaded France. I should, moreover, call attention to the 
 fact that what contributed to render our position extremely 
 critical in case of reverses was that Prussia waged on us 
 not simply a war of regular armies, but that it had now 
 assumed the character of a national war, by the calling out 
 of the landwehr and landsturm which made the situation 
 far more dangerous than against the tactics of the best dis- 
 ciphned army. To so many other complications was added 
 the fear, soon only too well justified, of seeing Austria from 
 an inoffensive and unbiased mediator become a declared 
 enemy. 
 
 Before going farther, I deem it best to refer again to 
 two or three occurrences I have inadvertently omitted 
 which took place during our stay at Dresden previous to 
 what might be called the second campaign of 1813. The 
 first of these was the appearance at Dresden of the Duke 
 of Otranto, whom his Majesty had summoned. 
 
 He had been very rarely seen at the Tuileries since the 
 Duke of Rovigo had replaced him as minister of general 
 police ; and I noticed that his presence at headquarters was 
 a great surprise to every one, as he was thought to be in 
 complete disgrace. Those who seek to explain the causes 
 of the smallest events tliink that his Majesty's idea was to 
 oppose the subtle expedients of the police under M. Fouche 
 to the then all-powerful police of the Baron de Stein, the 
 armed head of all the secret parties which were forming in 
 every direction, and wliich were regarded, not without rea- 
 son, as the rulers of popular opinion in Prussia and Ger- 
 many, and, above all, in the numerous schools, where the 
 students were only awaiting the moment for taking up arms. 
 These conjectures as to M. Fouche's presence at Dresden 
 
188 MEGOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 were without foundation. The Emperor in recalling him 
 had a real motive, which he, however, disguised under a 
 specious pretext. Having heen deeply impressed by the 
 conspiracy of Malet, his Majesty thought that it would not 
 be prudent to leave at Paris during his absence a person 
 so discontented and at the same time so influential as the 
 Duke of Otranto; and I heard him many times express 
 himself on this subject in a manner which left no room for 
 doubt. But in order to disguise this real motive, the Em- 
 peror appointed M. Fouche governor of the Illyrian prov- 
 inces in place of Count Bertrand, who was given the 
 command of an army-corps, and was soon after appointed 
 to succeed the adorable General Duroc in the functions of 
 grand marshal of the palace. Whatever the justice of this 
 distrust of Fouche, it is very certain that few persons were 
 so well convinced of the superiority of Ixis talents as a 
 police officer as his Majesty liimself. Several times when 
 anything extraordinary occurred at Paris, and especially 
 when he learned of the conspiracy of Malet, the Emperor, 
 recalling in the evening what had impressed him most 
 deeply during the day, ended by saying, " This would not 
 have happened if Fouche had been minister of police!" 
 Perhaps this was undue partiality; for the Emperor as- 
 suredly never had a more faithful and devoted servant 
 than the Duke of Rovigo, although many jests were made 
 in Paris over his custom of prmishing by a few hours im- 
 prisonment. 
 
 Prince Eugene having returned to Italy at the begin- 
 ning of the campaign in order to organize a new army in 
 that country, we did not see him at Dresden ; the King of 
 Naples, who had arrived on the night of the 13th or 14th 
 
THE KING OF NAPLES. 189 
 
 of August presented himself there almost alone ; and his 
 contribution to the grand army consisted of only the small 
 number of Neapolitan troops he had left there on liis depar- 
 ture for Naples. 
 
 I was in the Emperor's apartment when the King of Na- 
 ples entered, and saw him for the first time. I did not 
 laiow to what cause to attribute it, but I noticed that the 
 Emperor did not give his brother-in-law as cordial a wel- 
 come as in the past. Prince Murat said that he could no 
 longer remain idle at Naples, knowing that the French army 
 to which he still belonged was in the field, and he asked 
 only to be allowed to fight in its ranks. The Emperor took 
 him with him to the parade, and gave him the command of 
 the Imperial Guard ; and a more intrepid commander would 
 have been difficult to find. Later he was given the gen- 
 eral command of the cavalry. 
 
 During the whole time of the armistice, spun out rather 
 than filled with the slow and useless conferences of the 
 Congress of Prague, it would be impossible to describe the 
 various labors in wlilch the Emperor occupied himself from 
 morning till evening, and often far into the night. He 
 could frequently be seen bending over his maps, making, 
 so to speak, a rehearsal of the battles he meditated. Never- 
 theless, greatly exasperated by the slowness of the negotia- 
 tions as to the issue of which he could no longer delude 
 himself, he ordered, shortly before the end of July, that 
 everything should be prepared and in readiness for a jour- 
 ney he intended making as far as Mayence. He made an 
 appointment to meet the Empress there ; and as she was to 
 .arrive on the 25th, the Emperor consequently arranged his 
 departure so as to arrive only a short time after, I recall 
 
190 BECOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 this journey only as a fact, since it was signalized by noth- 
 ing remarkable, except the information the Emperor re- 
 ceived at this time of the death of the Duke of Abrantes, 
 who had just succumbed at Dijon to a violent attack of his 
 former malady. Although the Emperor was already aware 
 that he was in a deplorable state of mental alienation, and 
 must consequently have expected this loss, he felt it none 
 the less sensibly, and sincerely mourned his former aide-de- 
 camp. 
 
 The Emperor remained only a few days with the Em- 
 press, whom he met again with extreme pleasure. But as 
 important pohtical considerations recalled him, he returned 
 to Dresden, visiting several places on his route, and the 4th 
 of August we returned to the capital of Saxony. Trav- 
 elers who had seen this beautiful country only in a time of 
 peace would have recognized it with difficulty. Immense 
 fortifications had metamorphosed it into a warlike town; 
 numerous batteries had been placed in the suburbs over- 
 looldng the opposite bank of the Elbe. Everything assumed 
 a warlike attitude, and the Emperor's time became so com- 
 pletely and entirely absorbed that he remained nearly three 
 days without leaving his cabinet. 
 
 Nevertheless, in the midst of the preparations for war 
 all arrangements were made to celebrate on the 10th of 
 August the Emperor's fete, which had been advanced five 
 days, because, as I have previously observed, the armistice 
 expired precisely on the anniversary of Saint-Napoleon; and, 
 as may be readily inferred from his natural passion for war, 
 the resumption of hostilities was not an addition to his fete 
 which he would be likely to disdain. 
 
 There was at Dresden, as had been customary at Paris, 
 
AT DRESDEN. 191 
 
 a special representation at the theater on the evening before 
 the Emperor's fete. The actors of the French theater 
 played two comedies on the 9th at five o'clock in the even- 
 mg ; which representation was the last, as the actors of the 
 French Comedy received orders immediately afterwards to 
 return to Paris. The next day the King of Saxony, accom- 
 panied by all the princes of the royal family, repaired at 
 nine o'clock in the morning to the Marcolini palace, in 
 order to pay his respects to the Emperor; after which a 
 grand morning reception was held as was the custom at the 
 Tuileries, and a review, at which the Emperor inspected a 
 part of his guard, several regiments, and the Saxon troops, 
 who were invited to dine by the French troops. On that 
 day the city of Dresden without much exaggeration might 
 have been compared to a great dining-hall. In fact, while 
 his Majesty was dining in state at the palace of the King of 
 Saxony, where the whole family of this prince was assem- 
 bled, the entire diplomatic corps was seated alTthe table of 
 the Duke of Bassano ; Baron Bignon,i envoy from France 
 to Warsaw, feasted all the distinguished Poles present in 
 Dresden ; Count Daru gave a grand dinner to the French 
 authorities ; General Friant to the French and Saxon 
 generals ; and Baron de Serra, minister from France to 
 Dresden, to the chiefs of the Saxon colleges. This day of 
 dinings was concluded by a supper for nearly two hundred 
 ffuests, which General Henri Durosnel, Governor of Dres- 
 den, gave that evening at the close of a magnificent ball at 
 the residence of M. de Serra. 
 
 On our return from Mayence to Dresden I learned that 
 
 1 Born at La Meilleraye, 1771 ; minister to Baden, 1809; created a peer, 
 1837; author of a history of France ; died 1841. — Tkans. 
 
192 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the residence of General Durosnel was the rendezvous of 
 all the highest circles of society, both Saxon and French. 
 During the absence of his Majesty, the general, taking ad- 
 vantage of this leisure, gave numerous fetes, among others 
 one to the actors and actresses of French Comedy. I recall 
 in this connection an amusing anecdote which was related 
 to me at the time. Baptiste junior, with no lack either of 
 decorum or refinement, contributed greatly to the amuse- 
 ment of the evening, being presented under the name of 
 my Lord Bristol, English diplomat, en route to the Council 
 of Prague. His disguise was so perfect, his accent so natu- 
 ral, and his phlegm so imperturbable, that many persons of 
 the Saxon court were completely deceived, which did not 
 in the least astonish me ; and I thereby saw that Baptiste 
 junior's talent for mystification had lost nothing since the 
 time when I had been so highly diverted at the breakfasts 
 of Colonel Beauharnais. How many events had occurred 
 since that time ! 
 
 The Emperor, seeing that nothing could longer delay 
 the resumption of hostilities, had consequently divided the 
 two hundred thousand men of his infantry into fourteen 
 army corps, the command of which was given to Marshals 
 Victor, Ney, Marmont, Augereau, Macdonald, Oudinot, 
 Davoust, and Gouvion Saint-Cyr,i Prince Poniatowsld, and 
 Generals Reynier,^ Rapp, Lauriston, Vandamme, and Ber- 
 
 1 Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr was then the junior marshal of the Empire 
 in date of appointment, having received the marshal's haton on the hattlo- 
 fleld during the campaign of Moscow, after the combat of the 18th of August. 
 — Constant. 
 
 2 Jean Louis Keynier, bom at Lausanne, 1771 ; chief of staff to Moreau, 
 1796 ; commanded at Acre, 1799, and in 1807 King Joseph's army. Taken pris- 
 oner at Leipzig, 181.3, and died 1814. — Teans. 
 
DIVISION OF TIIE FliJENC'S ARMY. 193 
 
 trand. The forty thousand cavalry formed six grand divis- 
 ions under the command of Generals Nansoiity, Latour- 
 Maubourg, Sebastiani, Arrighi, Milhaud, and Kellermann; 
 and, as I have already said, the King of Naples had the 
 command of the Imperial Guard. Moreover, in this cam- 
 paign appeared for the first time on our fields of battle the 
 guard of honor, a select troop recruited from the richest 
 and most distinguished families, and which had been in- 
 creased to more than ten thousand men, divided into two 
 divisions under the simple title of regiments ; one of which 
 was commanded by General Count of PuUy, and the other, 
 if I am not mistaken, by General Segur.i These youths, 
 but lately idlers given up to repose and pleasure, became 
 in a short time most excellent cavalry, which signalized i1> 
 self on various occasions, notably at the battle of Dresden, 
 of which I shall soon have occasion to speak. 
 
 The strength of the French army has been previously 
 stated. The combined army of the allies amounted to four 
 hundred and twenty thousand infantry, and its cavalry to 
 hardly less than one hundred thousand, without counting 
 a reserve army corps of eighty thousand Russians, in readi- 
 ness to leave Poland under the command of General Ben- 
 ingsen. Thus the enemy's army outnumbered ours in the 
 proportion of two to one. 
 
 At the time we entered into this campaign, Austria had 
 just declared war openly against us. This blow, although 
 not unexpected, struck the Emperor deeply, and he ex- 
 pressed himself freely in regard to it before all persons 
 
 1 Count Philip Segur, born in Paris, 1780 ; author of the well-known his- 
 tory of the campaign in Russia ; died 1873, having survived that campaign, in 
 which he had been chief of the Imperial staff, more than sixty years. — Tkans. 
 
194 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 who had the honor to approach him. M. de Metternich, 
 I have heard it stated, had almost certainly forewarned 
 him of this ia the last interviews this minister had at 
 Dresden with his Majesty; but the Emperor had been 
 entirely unable to bring himself to the belief that the 
 Emperor of Austria would make common cause with the 
 coalition of the north against his own daughter and 
 grandson. Finally all doubts were solved by the arrival of 
 Count Louis de Narbonne,^ who was returning from Prague 
 to Dresden, as bearer of a declaration of war from Austria. 
 Every one foresaw that France must soon count among its 
 enemies all the countries no longer occupied by its troops, 
 and results justified this prediction only too well. Never- 
 theless, everything was not lost, for we had not yet been 
 compelled to take the defensive. 
 
 1 Born in Parma, 1755 ; in the Revolution acted with the Constitutional 
 party, and became minister o£ war in 1791 ; dismissed from office, 1792, and 
 proscribed, but escaped to England ; returned to Prance, 1800 ; lieutenant- 
 general and minister to Bavaria, 1809 ; aide-de-camp to the Emperor in Rus- 
 sian campaign (1812), and died 1813. — Tkans. 
 
RESUMPTION OF HOSTILITIES. 195 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Emperor marching to conquer a peace. — The day following the depar- 
 ture, and the field ol battle at Bautzen. — Murat at the head ol the 
 Imperial Guard, and refuses royal honors. — The Emperor at Gorlitz. — 
 Interview with the Duke of Vicenza. — The gage of peace or war. — 
 Blucher in Silesia. — Violation of the armistice by Bliicher. — General 
 Jomini at the headquarters of the Emperor Alexander. — Anecdote of 
 the Duke of Vicenza. — First news of the presence of Moreau. — General 
 Jomini is presented to Moreau. — Mutual coldness and the Emperor's 
 opinion. — The Emperor's prediction concerning deserters. — The two 
 traitors. — Changes in the plans of the Emperor. — Movements at head- 
 quarters. — Murat's mission to Dresden. — The Emperor's instructions to 
 General Gourgaud. — Dresden threatened, and consternation of the inhabi- 
 tants. — General Gourgaud's report. — Resolve to defend Dresden. — 
 General Haxo sent to General Vandamme. — Orders carefully given. — 
 The Emperor on the bridge at Dresden. — The city reassured by his 
 presence. — Pine appearance of the cuirassiers of Latour-Maubourg. — 
 A great battle. — The Emperor more exposed than he had ever been. — 
 The Emperor wet to the skin. — I find great difliculty in undressing him. 
 — The only attack of fever his Majesty had during the time I knew 
 him. — The day after the victory. — The Emperor's escort as brilliant as 
 at the Tuileries. — Grenadiers spend the night in cleaning their arms. — 
 News from Paris. — Letters personal to me. — Lawsuit between Michel 
 and Reynier. — The Empress leaves for Cherbourg. — The Emperor's at- 
 tentions to the Empress. — Efforts to make her popular. — Newspapers 
 substituted for the bulletins. — Reading the daily papers. 
 
 War recommenced before negotiations were finally 
 broken, for the Duke of Vicenza was still in communica- 
 tion with M. de Metternich. The Emperor, as he mounted 
 liis horse, said to the numerous generals surrounding him 
 that he now marched to conquer a peace. But what hope 
 could remain after the declaration of war by Austria, and 
 above all, when it was known that the allied sovereigns 
 
196 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 had incessantly increased tlieir pretensions in proportion as 
 tlie Emperor granted the concessions demanded ? The 
 Emperor left Dresden at five o'clock in the afternoon, 
 advancing on the road to Koenigstein, and passed the next 
 day at Bautzen, where he revisited the battlefield, the scene 
 of his last victory. There the king of Naples, vfho did not 
 "wish royal honors to be rendered himself, came to rejoin 
 the Emperor at the head of the Imperial Guard, who pre- 
 sented as imposing an appearance as in its pristine days. 
 We arrived at Gorlitz on the 18th, where the Emperor 
 found the Duke of Vicenza, who was returning from 
 Bohemia. He confirmed the truth of the report his Maj- 
 esty had already received at Dresden, that the Emperor 
 of Austria had already decided to make common cause 
 with the Emperor of Russia and the Kings of Prussia and 
 Sweden against the husband of his daughter, the princess 
 whom he had given to the Emperor as a pledge of peace. 
 It was also through the Duke of Vicenza that the Emperor 
 learned that General Bliicher had just entered Silesia at 
 the head of an army of one hundred thousand men, and, 
 in violation of most sacred promises, had seized on Breslau 
 the evening before the day fixed for the rupture of the 
 armistice. This same day General Jomini,^ Swiss by birth, 
 but until recently m the service of France, chief of staff to 
 Marshal Ney, and loaded with favors by the Emperor, had 
 deserted his post, and reported at the headquarters of the 
 Emperor Alexander, who had welcomed him with demon- 
 strations of most intense satisfaction. 
 
 1 Baron Henri Jomini, author of the celebrated treatise on the art of 
 war, Tvas horn in the Canton de Vaud, 1779 ; aide-de-camp to Ney, 1804 ; dis- 
 tinguished himself in several battles, and on his desertion was made lieuten- 
 ant-general and aide to Emperor Alexander; died 1869. — Trans. 
 
DESEUTION OF GENERAL JOMINI. 197 
 
 The Duke of Vicenza gave the particulars of this 
 desertion, wliich seemed to affect his Majesty more than all 
 the other news. He told him, among other things, that 
 when General Jomini had entered the presence of Alex- 
 ander, he found this monarch surrounded by his chiefs, 
 among whom Moreau was pointed out to him. This was 
 the fiist information the Emperor had received of General 
 Moreau's presence at the enemy's headquarters. The Duke 
 of Vicenza added, that when the Emperor Alexander pre- 
 sented General Jomini to Moreau the latter saluted him 
 coolly, and Jomini replied only by a slight inclination of 
 his head, and retired Avithout uttering a word, and the 
 remainder of the evening remained in gloomy silence in 
 a corner of the saloon opposite to that occupied by Gen- 
 eral Moreau. This constraint had not escaped the Emperor 
 Alexander's observation ; and the next morning, as he was 
 making his toilet, he addressed Marshal Ney's ex-chief of 
 staff: "General Jomini," said he, "what is the cause of 
 your conduct yesterday? It seems to me that it would 
 have been agreeable to you to meet General Moreau." — 
 "Anywhere else. Sire." — "What!" — "If I had been 
 bom a Frenchman, like the general, I should not be 
 to-day in the camp of your Majesty." When the Duke of 
 Vicenza had finished his report to the Emperor, his Maj- 
 esty remarked with a bitter smile, " I am sure that wretch 
 Jomini thinks he has performed a fine action ! Ah, Cau- 
 laincourt, these desertions will destroy me ! " Perhaps 
 Moreau, in welcoming General Jomini so coldly, was actu- 
 ated by the thought that were he still serving in the 
 French army he would not have betrayed it with arms in 
 his hand ; and after all it is not an unusual thing to see 
 
198 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 two traitors each blush for the other, deluding themselves 
 at the same time in regard to their own treachery, not 
 comprehending that the sentiments they feel are the same 
 as those they inspire. 
 
 However that may be, the news which M. de Caulain- 
 court brought caused the Emperor to make some changes 
 in his plans for the campaign. His Majesty entirely aban- 
 doned the idea of repairing in person to Berlin, as he had 
 expressed his intention of doing, and, realizing the necessity 
 of ascertaining first of aU the contemplated operations of 
 the grand army of Austria, commanded by the Prince of 
 Schwarzenberg, penetrated into Bohemia ; but learning 
 through the couriers of the army and his spies that eighty 
 thousand Russians still remained on the opposite side with 
 a considerable body of the Austrian army, he retraced his 
 steps after a few engagements in which his presence de- 
 cided the victory, and on the 24th we found ourselves 
 again at Bautzen. His Majesty from this place sent the 
 King of Naples to Dresden, in order to restore the courage 
 of the King of Saxony and the inhabitants when they 
 should find the enemy at the gates of their city. The 
 Emperor sent them the assurance that the enemy's forces 
 would not enter, since he had returned to defend its ap- 
 proaches, and urged them at the same time not to allow 
 themselves to be dismayed by any sudden or unexpected 
 attack made by isolated detachments. Murat arrived at 
 a most opportune moment, for we learned later that con- 
 sternation had become general in the city; but such was 
 the prestige attached to the Emperor's assurances that all 
 took courage again on learning of his presence. 
 
 After the King of Naples had gone to fulfill this mis- 
 
NAPOLEON'S INSTETTCTTONS TO GOUEGAUJD. 199 
 
 sion, Colonel Gourgaud was called during the morning into 
 the Emperor's tent, where I then was. " I will be to-mor- 
 row on the road to Pirna," said his Majesty; "but I shall 
 halt at Stolpen. As for you, hasten to Dresden ; go with 
 the utmost speed; reach it this night. Interview on your 
 arrival the King of Naples, Durosnel, the Duke of Bassano, 
 and Marshal Gouvion SaintrCyr ; reassure them all. See 
 also the Saxon minister Gersdorf. Say to him that you 
 could not see the king because you set out in such haste ; 
 but that I can to-morrow bring forty thousand men into 
 Dresden, and that I am preparing to enter with all the 
 army. Next day you will see the commandant of the en- 
 gineering corps ; you will visit the redoubts and the for- 
 tifications of the town; and when you have inspected 
 everything, you wiU return quickly and meet me at Stol- 
 pen. Report to me exactly the real state of affairs, as 
 well as the opinion of Marshal Saint-Cyr and the Duke 
 of Bassano. Set out." The colonel left immediately at 
 a gallop, though he had eaten nothing as yet that day. 
 
 The next evening at eleven o'clock, Colonel Gourgaud ^ 
 returned to the Emperor, after performing all the require- 
 ments of his mission. Meanwhile the allied army had 
 descended into the plain of Dresden, and had already made 
 some attacks upon the advance posts. It resulted from 
 information given by the colonel that when the King of 
 Naples arrived, the city, which had been in a state of 
 complete demoralization, now felt that its only hope was 
 in the Emperor's arrival. 
 
 In truth, hordes of Cossacks were already in sight of the 
 
 1 Baron Gaspard Gonrgaud, bom at Versailles, 1783 ; accompanied Napo- 
 le to St. Helena ; created a peer of France, 1841 ; died 1852. — Tkans. 
 
200 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 faubourgs, which they threatened to attack ; and their ap- 
 pearance had compelled the inhabitants of these faubourgs 
 to take refuge in the interior of the city. " As I left," 
 said Colonel Gourgaud, " I saw a village in flames half a 
 league from the great gardens, and ilarshal Gouvion Saint- 
 Cyr was preparing to evacuate that position. " But after 
 all," said the Emperor eagerly, " what is the opinion of the 
 Duke of Bassano?" — "Sire, the Duke of Bassano does 
 not think that we can hold out twenty-four hours." — "And 
 you?" — "I, Sire? I think that Dresden will be taken 
 to-morrow if your Majesty is not there." — "I can then 
 rely upon what you tell me ? " — " Sire, I will answer for 
 it with my head." 
 
 Then his Majesty summoned General Haxo,i and said 
 to Irim, his finger on the map, "Vandamme is advancing 
 by way of Pirna beyond the Elbe. The eagerness of the 
 enemy in penetrating as far as Dresden has been extreme. 
 Vandamme will find himself in his rear. I intend to sus- 
 tain his movement with my whole army ; but I am uneasy 
 as to the fate of Dresden, and am not willing to sacrifice 
 that city. T can reach it in a few hours, and I shall do 
 so, although it grieves me much to abandon a plan which 
 if well executed might furnish the means of routing all 
 the allies at one blow. Happily Vandamme is still in 
 sufficient strength to supplement the general movement 
 by attacks at special points which will annoy the enemy. 
 Order him, then, to go from Pirna to Ghiesubel, to gain 
 the defiles of Peterswalde, and when intrenched in this 
 
 1 Bom at Lune'ville, 1774; directed the operations at Saragossa, 1809; 
 general of division in Russian campaign (1812) ; iras at Waterloo. In 1832 
 conducted the siege of Antwerp as chief engineer; died 1838. — Tkans. 
 
"!hlV' r ]ya OF F;{.,TK. 
 
GENEEAL EAXO'S MISSION. 201 
 
 impregnable position, to await the result of operations 
 under the walls of Dresden. / reserve for him the duty 
 of receiving the sivords of the vanquished. But in order 
 to do this it is necessary that he should keep his wits 
 about him, and pay no attention to the tumult made by 
 the terrified inhabitants. Explain to General Vandamme 
 exactly what I expect of him. Never will he have a 
 finer opportunity to gain the marshal's baton." 
 
 General Haxo set out instantly ; and the Emperor made 
 Colonel Gourgaud re-enter his apartment, and ordered him 
 to take a fresh horse, and return to Dresden more quickly 
 than he had come, in order to announce his arrival. " The 
 old guard will precede me," said his Majesty. "I hope 
 that they will have no more fear when they see that." 
 
 On the morning of the 26th the Emperor was seated 
 on his horse on the bridge of Dresden, and began, amid 
 cries of joy from both the young and old guard, to make 
 dispositions for the terrible battle wliich lasted three days. 
 
 It was ten o'clock in the morning when the inhabitants 
 of Dresden, now reduced to despair, and speaking freely of 
 capitulation, witnessed his Majesty's arrival. The scene 
 changed suddenly; and to the most complete discourage- 
 ment succeeded most entire confidence, especially when 
 the haughty cuirassiers of Latour-Maubourg defiled over 
 the bridge, holding their heads high, and their eyes fixed 
 on the neighboring hillsides covered by the enemy's lines. 
 The Emperor immediately alighted at the palace of the 
 king, who was preparing to seek an asylumn in the new 
 town, but whose intentions were changed by the arrival of 
 this great man. The interview was extremely touching. 
 
 I cannot undertake to describe all the occurrences of 
 
202 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 those memorable days, in wMch the Emperor covered him- 
 self with glory, and was more exposed to danger than he 
 had ever been at any time. Pages, equerries, and aides-de- 
 camp fell dead around him, balls pierced the stomach of his 
 horse, but nothing could touch him. The soldiers saw this 
 and redoubled their ardor, and also their confidence and 
 admiration. I shall simply state that the Emperor did not 
 re-enter the chateau until midnight, and then spent the 
 hours until dayhght dictating orders, while promenading 
 up and down the room with great strides, until at break 
 of day he remounted his horse. The weather was horrible, 
 and the rain lasted the whole day. In the evening, the 
 enemy being completely routed, the Emperor returned to 
 the palace in a frightful condition. From the time he 
 mounted his horse, at six o'clock in the morning, the rain 
 had not ceased a single instant, and he was so wet that it 
 could be said without any figure of speech that the water 
 ran down into his boots from the collar of his coat, for they 
 were entirely filled with it. His hat of very fine beaver 
 was so ruined that it fell down over his shoulders, his buff 
 belt was perfectly soaked with water ; in fact a man just 
 drawn out of the river would not be wetter than the 
 Emperor. The King of Saxony, who awaited him, met 
 him in this condition, and embraced him as a cherished 
 son who had just escaped a great danger; and this ex- 
 cellent prince's eyes were full of tears as he pressed the 
 saviour of his capital to his heart. After a few reas- 
 suring and tender words from the Emperor, his Majesty 
 entered his apartments, leaving everywhere traces of the 
 water which dripped from every part of his clothing, and 
 I had much difficulty in undressing him. I{jio\ving that 
 
THE EMPEUOR'S FATIGUE. 203 
 
 the Emperor greatly enjoyed a bath after a fatiguing day, 
 I had it prepared ; but as he felt unusually fatigued, and 
 in addition to this began to sliiver considerably, his Maj- 
 esty preferred retiring to his bed, which I hurriedly warmed. 
 Hardly had the Emperor retired, however, than he had 
 Baron Fain, one of his secretaries, summoned to read his 
 accumulated correspondence, which was very voluminous. 
 After this he took his bath, but had remained in it only 
 a few moments when he was seized with a sudden sickness 
 accompanied by vomiting, which obhged him to retire to 
 bed. 
 
 His Majesty said to me, "My dear Constant, a little 
 rest is absolutely indispensable to me ; see that I am not 
 awaked except for matters of the gravest importance ; say 
 this to Fain." I obeyed the Emperor's orders, after which 
 I took my position in the room in front of his Majesty's 
 chamber, watching with the attention of a sentinel on duty 
 lest he should be awakened, or any one should even ap- 
 proach his apartment. 
 
 The next morning the Emperor rang very early, and I 
 entered his room immediately, anxious to know how he had 
 passed the night. I found him almost entirely restored, 
 and in fine spirits. He told me, however, that he had had a 
 short attack of fever. I must here remark that it was the 
 only time the Emperor had fever, and during the whole 
 time I was with him I never saw him ill enough to keep 
 his bed for twenty-four hours. He rose at his usual hour, 
 and when he descended was intensely gratified by the fine 
 appearance made by the battalion on duty. Those brave 
 grenadiers, who the evening before had served as his escort, 
 and re-entered Dresden with him in a most pitiable condi- 
 
204 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 tion, this morning he saw ranged in the court of the palace 
 in splendid condition, and bearing arms as brilliant as if it 
 were a day of parade on the Place du Carrousel. These 
 brave fellows had spent the night polishing their arms, and 
 drying themselves around great fires which they had 
 kindled for the purpose, having thus preferred the satisfac- 
 tion of presenting themselves in faultless condition before 
 their Emperor's eyes to the sleep and rest which they must 
 so greatly have needed. 
 
 One word of approbation repaid them for their fatigue, 
 and it may be truly said never was a military chief so 
 much beloved by his soldiers as his Majesty. 
 
 The last courier Avho had returned from Paris to Dres- 
 den, and whose cbspatches were read, as I have said, to the 
 Emperor, bore several letters for me written by my family 
 and two or three of my friends ; and all who have accom- 
 panied his Majesty on his campaigns, in whatever rank or 
 employment, well know how we valued news received from 
 home. These letters informed me, I remember, of a famous 
 lawsuit going on in the court of assizes between the 
 banker Michel and Reynier, which scandalous affair caused 
 much comment in the capital, and almost divided with the 
 news from the army the interest and attention of the pub- 
 lic ; and also of the journey the Empress was about to make 
 to Cherbourg, to be present at the opening of the dikes, 
 and filling the harbor with water from the ocean. This 
 journey, as may well be imagined, had been suggested by 
 the Emperor, who sought every opportunity of putting the 
 Empress forward, and making her perform the duties of a 
 sovereign, as regent of the Empire. She summoned and 
 presided over the council of ministers, and more than 
 
POWMli OF THE EMPRESS REGENT. 205 
 
 once 1 heard the Emperor congratulate himself after the 
 declaration of war with Austria that his Louise, as he 
 called her, acted solely for the interests of France, and had 
 notliing Austrian but her birth. He also allowed her the 
 satisfaction of herself publishing and in her own name 
 all the official news of the army. The bulletins were no 
 longer issued; but the news was transmitted to her all 
 ready for publication, which was doubtless an attention on 
 the part of his Majesty in order to render the Empress 
 Regent more popular, by making her the medium of com- 
 munication between the government and the public. JMore- 
 over, it is a fact, that we who were on the spot, although we 
 knew at once whether the battle was gained or lost, often 
 did not know the entire operations of the different corps 
 maneuvering on an immense line of battle, except through 
 the journals of Paris ; and our eagerness to read them may 
 well be imagined. 
 
206 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 iTodigies of valor performed by the King of Naples. — His striking appear- 
 ance on the battlefield. — The effect produced by his presence. — Descrip- 
 tion of the king. — His horse. — The Emperor praises the King of Naples. 
 — Increasing prudence of certain generals. — The Emperor on the battle- 
 field of Dresden. — Humanity towards the wounded, and aid given the 
 poor peasants. — An important personage wounded on the enemy's staif. 
 
 — Details given the Emperor by a peasant. — The Prince of Schwarzen- 
 berg thought to be dead. — His Majesty's words. — Fatalism and recol- 
 lections of the ball at Paris. — The Emperor mistaken. — Inscription on 
 the collar of a dog sent to the Prince of Neuchatel. — / belong to General 
 Moreau. — Death of Moreau. — Particulars of his last moments as given 
 by his valet de chambre. — The bullet found. — Resolution taken to march 
 on Berlin. — Fatal news of the catastrophe of General Vandamme. — 
 Noble words of the Emperor. — Painful resignation of his Majesty. — 
 Final departure for Dresden. — Marshal Saint^Cyr. — The King of Saxony 
 and his family accompany the Emperor. — Exhortation to the Saxon 
 troops. — Enthusiasm and treachery. — The Chateau at Diiben. The 
 Emperor's plans known to the army. — The times much changed. — Dis- 
 satisfaction of the generals openly expressed. — Defection of the Bava- 
 rians. — Increased discouragement. — Sadness of the stay at Diiben. — 
 Two days of solitude and indecision. — Apathetic idleness of the Em- 
 peror. — The Emperor yielding to the generals. — Departure for Leipzig. 
 
 — General joy of the staff. — Jlarshal Augereau alone of the Emperor's 
 opinion. — The Emperor's hopes deceived. — Eesolution of the allies not 
 to fight unless the Emperor is absent. — Short stay at Leipzig. — Procla- 
 mation of the Prince Koyal of Sweden to the Saxons. — M. Moldrecht 
 and the Emperor's clemency. — M. Leborgne d'Ideville. — Leipzig the 
 center of the war. — Three of the enemy to one Frenchman. — Two 
 hundred thousand discharges of cannon in five days. — Ammunition 
 exhausted. — The retreat ordered. — The Emperor and Prince Ponia- 
 towski. — Indignation of the King of Saxony against his troops, and con- 
 solation given by the Emperor. — His Majesty in imminent danger.— 
 Last and touching adieux of the two sovereigns. 
 
 DuniNG the second day of the battle of Dresden, at 
 the end of which the Emperor had the attack of fever I 
 
TBE KINO OF NAPLES. 207 
 
 mentioned in the preceding chapter, the King of Naples, 
 or rather Marshal Murat, performed prodigies of valor. 
 Much has been said of this truly extraordinary prince; 
 but only those who saw him personally could form a correct 
 idea of him, and even they never knew him perfectly until 
 they had seen him on a field of battle. There he seemed 
 like those great actors who produce a complete illusion 
 amid the fascinations of the stage, but in whom we no 
 longer find the hero when we encounter them in private 
 life. While at Paris I attended a representation of the 
 death of Hector by Luce de Lancival, and I could never 
 afterwards hear the verses recited in which the author 
 describes the effect produced on the Trojan army bj- the 
 appearance of Achilles without thinking of Prince Murat; 
 and it may be said without exaggeration that his presence 
 produced exactly this effect the moment he showed himself 
 in front of the Austrian lines. He had an almost gigantic 
 figure, which alone would have sufficed to make him re- 
 markable, and in addition to this sought every possible 
 means to draw attention to himself, as if he wished to 
 dazzle those who might have intended to attack him. His 
 regular and strongly marked features, his handsome blue 
 eyes rolling in their orbits, enormous mustaches, and black 
 hair falling in long ringlets over the collar of a kurtha with 
 narrow sleeves, struck the attention at first sight. Add 
 to this the richest and most elegant costume which one 
 would wear even at the theater, — a Polish coat richly em- 
 broidered, and encircled by a gilded belt from which hung, 
 the scabbard of a light sword, with a straight and pointed 
 blade, without edge and without guard ; large amaranth- 
 colored pantaloons embroidered in gold on the seams, and 
 
208 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 nankeen boots ; a large hat embroidered in gold with a 
 border of white feathers, above which floated four large 
 ostrich plumes with an exquisite heron aigrette in the 
 midst; and finally the king's horse, always selected from 
 the strongest and handsomest that could be found, was 
 covered with an elegantly embroidered sky-blue cloth which 
 extended to the ground, and was held in place by a Hun- 
 garian or Turkish saddle of the richest workmanship, to- 
 gether with a bridle and stirrups not less magnificent than 
 the rest of the equipment. All these things combined made 
 the King of Naples a being apart, an object of terror and 
 admiration. But what, so to speak, idealized him was his 
 truly chivalrous bravery, often carried to the point of reck- 
 lessness, as if danger had no existence for him. In truth, 
 this extreme courage was by no means displeasing to the 
 Emperor; and though he perhaps did not always approve 
 of the manner in which it was displayed, his Majesty rarely 
 failed to accord it his praise, especially when he thought 
 necessary to contrast it with the increasing prudence 
 shown by some of his old companions in arms. 
 
 On the 28th the Emperor visited the battlefield, which 
 presented a frightful spectacle, and gave orders that every- 
 thing possible should be done to alleviate the sufferings 
 of the wounded, and also of the inhabitants and peasants 
 who had been ravaged and pillaged, and their fields and 
 houses burned, and then ascended the heights from which 
 he could follow the course of the enemy's retreat. Almost 
 all the household followed him in this excursion. A peas- 
 ant was brought to him from Nothlitz, a small village where 
 the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia had their 
 headquarters during the two preceding days. This peas- 
 
NAPOLEON VISITS THE BATTLEFIELD. 209 
 
 ant, when questioned by the Duke of Vicenza, said he had 
 seen a great personage brought into Nothlitz, who had been 
 wounded the evening before on the staff of the allies. He 
 was on horseback, and beside the Emperor of Russia, at the 
 moment he was struck. The Emperor of Russia appeared 
 to take the deepest interest in his fate. He had been 
 carried to the headquarters of Nothlitz on lances of the 
 Cossacks interlaced, and to cover him they could find only 
 a cloak wet through with the rain. On his arrival at Noth- 
 litz the Emperor Alexander's surgeon came to perform the 
 amputation, and had him carried on an extending chair to 
 Dippoldiswalde, escorted by several Austrian, Prussian, and 
 Russian detachments. 
 
 On learning these particulars the Emperor was per- 
 suaded that the Prince von Schwarzenberg was the person 
 in question. " He was a brave man," said he ; " and I regret 
 him." Then after a silent pause, " It is then he," resumed 
 his Majesty, "who is the victim of the fatality! I have 
 always been oppressed by a feeling that the events of the 
 ball were a sinister omen, but it is very evident now that 
 it was he whom the presage indicated." 
 
 While the Emperor gave himself up to these conjec- 
 tures, and recalled his former presentiments, prisoners who 
 were brought before his Majesty had been questioned ; and 
 he learned from their reports that the Prince von Schwar- 
 enzberg had not been wounded, but was well, and was 
 directing the retreat of the Austrian grand army. Who 
 was, then, the important personage struck by a French 
 cannon-ball? Conjectures were renewed on this point, 
 when the Prince de Neuchatel received from the King of 
 Saxony a collar unfastened from the neck of a wandering 
 
210 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 dog which had been found at Nothlitz. On the collar 
 was written these words, "I belong to General Moreau." 
 This furnished, of course, only a supposition; but soon 
 exact information arrived, and confirmed this conjecture. 
 
 Thus Moreau met liis death the first occasion on which 
 he bore arms against his native country, — he who had so 
 often confronted with impunity the bullets of the enemy. 
 History has judged him severely ; nevertheless, in spite of 
 the coldness which had so long divided them, I can assert 
 that the Emperor did not learn without emotion the death 
 of Moreau, notwithstanding his indignation that so cele- 
 brated a French general could have taken up arms against 
 France, and worn the Russian cockade. This unexpected 
 death produced an evident effect in both camps, though 
 our soldiers saw in it only a just judgment from Heaven, 
 and an omen favorable to the Emperor. However that 
 may be, these are the particulars, which I learned a short 
 time after, as they were related by the valet de chambre 
 of General Moreau. 
 
 The three sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia 
 had been present on the 27th at the battle on the heights 
 of Nothlitz, but had retired as soon as they saw that 
 the battle was lost. That very day General Moreau was 
 wounded by a cannon-ball near the intrenchments in front 
 of Dresden, and aljout four o'clock in the afternoon was 
 conveyed to Nothlitz, to the country house of a merchant 
 named iSalir, where the Emperors of Austria and Russia 
 had established their headquarters. Both limbs of the 
 general were amputated above the knee. After the ampu- 
 tation, as he requested something to eat and a cup of tea, 
 three eggs were brought him on a plate ; but he took only 
 
DEATH OF MOREAU. 211 
 
 the tea. About seven o'clock he was placed on a litter, 
 and carried to Passendorf by Russian soldiers, and passed 
 the night in the country house of M. Tritschier, grand 
 master of forests. There he took only another cup of tea, 
 and complained greatly of the sufferings he endured. The 
 next day, the 28th of August, at four o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, he was conveyed, still by Russian soldiers, from Passen- 
 dorf to Dippodiswalde, where he took a httle white bread 
 and a glass of lemonade at the house of a baker named 
 Watz. An hour after he was carried nearer to the fron- 
 tiers of Bohemia, borne by Russian soldiers in the body of 
 a coach taken off the wheels. During the entire route 
 he incessantly uttered cries which the extremity of his 
 sufferings drew from him. 
 
 These are the details which I learned in regard to 
 Moreau ; and, as is well known, he did not long survive his 
 wound. The same ball which broke both his legs carried 
 off an arm from Prince Ipsilanti, then aide-de-camp to the 
 Emperor Alexander; so that if the evil that is done can 
 be repaired by the evil received, it might be said that the 
 cannon-shot which tore away from us General Kirgener and 
 Marshal Duroc was this day sent back on the enemy. But 
 alas ! it is a sad sort of consolation that is drawn from 
 reprisals. 
 
 It may be seen from the above, and especially from 
 the seemingly decisive benefits arising from the battle of 
 Dresden, that since the resumption of hostilities, in every 
 place where our troops had been sustained by the all-pow- 
 erful presence of the Emperor, they had obtained successes ; 
 but unfortunately this was not the case at points distant 
 from the main line of operations. Nevertheless, seeing the 
 
212 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 allies routed by the army which he commanded in person, 
 and certain, moreover, that General Vandamme had held 
 the position wliich he had indicated to him through Gen- 
 eral Haxo, his Majesty returned to his first idea of march- 
 ing on Berlin, and already even had disposed his troops 
 with this intention, when the fatal news arrived that Van- 
 damme, the victim of his own rashness, had disappeared 
 from the field of battle, and his ten thousand men, sur- 
 rounded on all sides, and overwhelmed by numbers, had 
 been cut to pieces. It was believed that Vandamme was 
 dead, and it was not until later we learned that he had 
 been taken prisoner with a part of his troop. It was 
 learned also that Vandamme, incited by his natural intre- 
 pidity, and unable to resist a desire to attack the enemy 
 whom he saw within his grasp, had left his intrenchments 
 to make the attack. He had conquered at first, but when 
 after his victory he attempted to resume his former position 
 he found it occupied, as the Prussians had seized it; and 
 though he fought with all the abandon of despair, it was all 
 in vain, and General Kleist,i proud of this fine trophy, con- 
 ducted him in triumph to Prague. It was while speaking 
 of tills audacious attack of Vandamme that the Emperor 
 used this expression, which has been so justly admired, 
 " For a retreating enemy it is necessary to make a bridge 
 of gold, or oppose a wall of brass." The Emperor heard 
 with his usual imperturbability the particulars of the loss 
 he had just experienced, but nevertheless repeatedly ex- 
 pressed his astonishment at the deplorable recklessness of 
 Vandamme, and said he could not comprehend how this 
 
 1 Count Erail Friedrlch Kleist, born in Berlin, 1762 ; field marshal, 1821, 
 and commander-iu-chief in Saxony; died 1823. — Traks. 
 
FINAL DEPARTURE FOR DRESDEN. 213 
 
 experienced, general could have allowed himself to be 
 drawn away from his position. But the deed was done, 
 and in such instances the Emperor never lost time in use- 
 less recriminations. " Come," said he, addressing the Duke 
 of Bassano, "you have just heard — that means war from 
 early in the morning until late in the evening." 
 
 After giving various orders to the army and his chiefs, 
 the Emperor left Dresden on the evening of the 3d of 
 September, with the intention of regaining what he had 
 lost from the audacious imprudence of General Vandamme. 
 But this defeat, the first we had sustained since the re- 
 sumption of hostilities, became the forerunner of the long 
 series of reverses which awaited us. It might have been 
 said that victory, having made one last effort in our favor 
 at Dresden, had finally grown weary; for the remainder 
 of the campaign was but a succession of disasters, aggra- 
 vated by treachery of every description, and ending in the 
 horrible catastrophe at Leipzig. Before leaving Dresden 
 we had learned of the desertion to the enemy of a "Wes1> 
 phalian regiment, with arms and baggage. 
 
 The Emperor left Marshal Saint-Cyr in Dresden with 
 thirty thousand men, with orders to hold it to the last 
 extremity, since the Emperor wished to preserve this capi- 
 tal at any price. The month of September was spent in 
 marches and countermarches around this city, with no 
 events of decided importance. Alas ! the Emperor was 
 never again to see the garrison of Dresden. Circumstances 
 becoming still more embarrassed, imperiously demanded 
 that his Majesty should promptly oppose some obstacle to 
 the progress of the allies. The King of Saxony, furnishing 
 an example of fidelity rare among kings, determined to 
 
214 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 accompany the Emperor, and entered his carriage in com- 
 pany with the queen and the Princess Augusta, having the 
 headquarters' staff as escort. Two days after his departure 
 the Saxon troops joined the French army at Eilenburg, on 
 the banks of the Mulda. The Emperor exhorted these 
 allies, whom he believed faithful, to maintain the indepen- 
 dence of their country, pointed out to them how Prussia 
 was threatening Saxony, and endeavoring to acquire her 
 most beautiful provinces, and reminded them of the proc- 
 lamation of their sovereign, his worthy and faithful ally; 
 finally he spoke to them in the name of military honor, 
 urging them, in closing, to take it always as their guide, and 
 to show themselves worthy rivals of the soldiers of the 
 grand army with whom they had made common cause, and 
 beside whom they were now about to fight. The words of 
 the Emperor were translated and repeated to the Saxons 
 by the Duke of Vicenza ; and this language from the lips of 
 one whom they regarded as the friend of their sovereign 
 and the saviour of their capital seemed to produce a pro- 
 found impression. The march was then begun in confi- 
 dence, with no premonition of the approaching defection 
 of these very men who had so often greeted the Emperor 
 with their cries of enthusiasm, swearing to fight to the 
 death rather than abandon liim. 
 
 His Majesty's plan then was to fall on BHicher and the 
 Prince Royal of Sweden, from whom the French army was 
 separated only by a river. We therefore left Eilenburg, 
 where the Emperor parted with the King of Saxony and 
 his family, the Duke of Bassano, the grand park of artil- 
 lery, and all the conveyances, and directed our course 
 towards Dliben. Bliicher and Bernadotte had retired, leav- 
 
GENERAL DISCONTENT. 215 
 
 ing Berlin uncovered. Then the Emperor's plans became 
 known ; and it was seen that he was marching on Berlin, 
 and not on Leipzig, and that Diiben was only the meeting- 
 place for the various corps, who, when united, were to 
 march on the capital of Prussia, which the Emperor had 
 already seized twice. 
 
 The time was unfortunately past when a simple indica- 
 tion of the Emperor's plans was regarded as a signal of 
 victory. The chiefs of the army, who had until now been 
 perfectly submissive, began to reflect, and even took the 
 liberty of chsapproving of plans which they were afraid to 
 execute. When the army became aware of the Emperor's 
 intention to march on Berlin, it was the signal for almost 
 unanimous discontent. The generals who had escaped the 
 disasters of Moscow, and the dangers of the double cam- 
 paign in G-ermany, were fatigued, and perhaps eager to 
 reap the benefits of their good fortune, and at last to enjoy 
 repose in the bosom of their families. A few went so far 
 as to accuse the Emperor of being anxious to still extend 
 the war. " Have there not been enough killed?" said they. 
 "Must we all share the same fate?" And these com- 
 plaints were not kept for secret confidences, but were ut> 
 tered publicly, and often even loud enough to reach the 
 ears of the Emperor ; but in that case his Majesty seemed 
 not to hear. 
 
 Amidst this disaffection of a large number of the chiefs 
 of the army, the defection of Bavaria was learned, and gave 
 an added strength to the anxiety and discontent inspired 
 by the Emperor's resolution ; and then occurred what had 
 never taken place before : his staff united their entreaties 
 that he should abandon his plans in regard to Berlin, and 
 
216 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 march on Leipzig. I saw how much the Emperor suffered 
 from the necessity of listening to such remonstrances, not- 
 withstanding the respectful language in which they were 
 couched. For two entire days his Majesty remained mide- 
 cided ; and how long these forty-eight hours were ! Never 
 did abandoned cabin or bivouac present a more mournful 
 sight than the sad chateau of Diiben. In this doleful resi- 
 dence I saw the Emperor for the first time entirely unem- 
 ployed ; the indecision to which he was a prey absorbed 
 him so entirely that his character seemed entirely changed. 
 Who could believe it? To the activity which drove him 
 on, and, so to speak, incessantly devoured him, had suc- 
 ceeded a seeming indifference whic his perfectly indescri- 
 bable. I saw him lie on the sofa nearly a whole day, the 
 table before him covered with maps and papers at which 
 he did not even glance, and with no other occupation for 
 hours than slowly tracing large letters on sheets of white 
 paper. This was while he was vacillating between his own 
 will and the entreaties of his generals. At the end of two 
 days of most painful suspense he yielded ; and from that 
 time all was lost. How much better it would have been 
 had he not listened to their complaints, but had again 
 allowed himself to be guided by the presentiments which 
 possessed him! He repeated often, with grief, while 
 recalling the concessions he made at that time, " I should 
 have avoided many disasters by continuing to follow my 
 own impulses ; I failed only by yielding to those of others." 
 The order for departure was given ; and as if the army 
 felt as much pride in triumphing over the will of its 
 Emperor as they would have felt in beating the enemy by 
 obeying the dictates of his genius, they abandoned them- 
 
MARCH TO DiJBEN. 217 
 
 selves to outbui-sts of joy which were almost beyond reason. 
 Every countenance was radiant. "We shall now," they 
 repeated on all sides, "we shall now see France again, 
 embrace our children, our parents, and our friends ! The 
 Emperor and Marshal Augereau alone did not share the 
 general light-heartedness. The Duke of Castiglione had 
 just arrived at headquarters, after having in some measure 
 avenged on the army of Bohemia, Vandamme's defeat. He, 
 like the Emperor, had dark presentiments as to the conse- 
 quences of this retrograde movement, and knew that deser- 
 tions on the way would add to the number of the enemy, 
 and were so much the more dangerous since these deserters 
 had so recently been our allies and knew our positions. 
 His Majesty yielded with a full conviction of the evil 
 which would result ; and I heard him at the end of a con- 
 versation with the marshal which had lasted more than an 
 hour, utter these words, " They would have it so." 
 
 The Emperor on his march to Diiben was at the head 
 of a force which might be estimated at one hundred and 
 twenty-iive thousand men. He had taken this direction 
 with the hope of finding Bllicher again on the ]\Iulda ; but 
 the Prussian general had recrossed the river, which con- 
 tributed much to give credit to a rumor wliich had been 
 circulated for some time. It was said that in a council of 
 the allied sovereigns held recently at Prague, and at which 
 Moreau and the Prince Royal of Sweden were present, it 
 had been agreed that as far as possible they should avoid 
 engaging in a battle whenever the Emperor commanded 
 his army in person, and that operations should be directed 
 only against smaller bodies commanded by his lieutenants. 
 It is impossible, certainly, to render more striking homage 
 
218 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 to the superiority of the Emperor's genius ; but it was at 
 the same time stopping him in his glorious career, and 
 paralyzing his usually all-powerful action. 
 
 However that may be, the evil genius of France having 
 obtained the ascendency over the good genius of the Em- 
 peror, we took the road to Leipzig, and reached it early on 
 the morning of the 15th of October. At that very moment 
 the King of Naples was in the midst of an engagement with 
 the Prince von Schwarzenberg ; and his Majesty, on hear- 
 ing the sound of cannon, crossed the town, and visited the 
 plain where the engagement was taking place. On his re- 
 turn he received the royal family of Saxony, who had come 
 to join him. During his short stay at Leipzig, the Emperor 
 performed an act of clemency which must undoubtedly be 
 considered most meritorious if we take into consideration 
 the gravity of the circumstances in which we were placed. 
 A merchant of this city named Moldrecht was accused and 
 convicted of having distributed among the inhabitants, and 
 even in the army, several thousand copies of a proclama- 
 tion in which the Prince Royal of Sweden invited the Sax- 
 ons to desert the cause of the Emperor. When arraigned 
 before a tribunal of war, M. Moldrecht could not exculpate 
 himself ; and, indeed, this was an impossibility, since several 
 packages of the fatal proclamation had been found at his 
 residence. He was condemned to death, and his family in 
 deep distress threw themselves at the feet of the King of 
 Saxony ; but, the facts being so evident and of such a na- 
 ture that no excuse was possible, the faithful king did not 
 dare to grant indulgence for a crime committed even more 
 against his ally than against himself. Only one recourse 
 remained for this unhappy family, which was to address the 
 
LEIPZIG. 219 
 
 Emperor ; but as it was difficult to reach him, M. Leborgne 
 D'Ideville, interpreting secretary, was kind enougli to un- 
 dertake to place a note on the Emperor's desk, who after 
 reading it ordered a postponement which was equivalent to 
 a full pardon. Events followed in their course, and the 
 life of M. Moldrecht was saved. 
 
 Leipzig, at this period, was the center of a circle in 
 which engagements took place at numerous points and al- 
 most incessantly. Engagements lasted during the days of 
 the 16th, 17th, and 18th; and his Majesty, as a poor return 
 for his clemency towards M. Moldrecht, reaped the bitter 
 fruits of the proclamation which had been scattered in 
 every direction through the efforts of this merchant. On 
 that day the Saxon army deserted our cause, and reported 
 to Bernadotte. This left the Emperor a force of only one 
 hundred and ten thousand men, with an opposing force of 
 three hundred and thirty thousand ; so that if when hostili- 
 ties were resumed we were only as one to two, we were now 
 only one to three. The day of the 18th was, as is well 
 known, the fatal day. In the evening the Emperor, seated 
 on a folding stool of red morocco in the midst of the biv- 
 ouac fires, was dictating to the Prince of Neuchatel his or- 
 ders for the night, when two commanders of artillery were 
 presented to his Majesty, and gave him an account of the 
 exhausted condition of the ammunition chests. In five 
 clays we had discharged more than two hundred thousand 
 cannon-balls, and the ammunition being consequently ex- 
 hausted there was barely enough left to maintain the fire 
 for two hours longer; and as the nearest supplies were at 
 Madgeburg and Erfurt, whence it would be impossible to 
 obtain help in time, retreat was rendered absolutely neces- 
 sary. 
 
220 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Orders were therefore given for a retreat, which began 
 next day, the 19th, at the end of a battle in which three 
 hundred thousand men had engaged in mortal combat, in a 
 confined space not more than seven or eight leagues in cir- 
 cumference. Before leaving Leipzig, the Emperor gave to 
 Prince Poniatowski,^ who had just earned the baton of a 
 marshal of France, the defense of one of the faubourgs. 
 " You will defend the faubourg on the south," said his 
 Majesty to liim. "Sire," replied the prince, "I have very 
 few men." — "You will defend it with those you have." — 
 " Ah, Sire, we vdll remain ; we are all ready to die for your 
 Majesty." The Emperor, moved by these words, held out 
 his arms to the prince, who threw himself into them with 
 tears in his eyes. It was really a farewell scene, for this 
 interview of the prince with the Emperor was their last; 
 and soon the nephew of the last king of Poland found, as 
 we shall soon see, a death equally as glorious as deplorable 
 under the waves of the Elster. 
 
 At nine o'clock in the morning the Emperor took leave 
 of the royal family of Saxony. The interview was short, 
 but distressing and most affectionate on the part of each. 
 The king manifested the most profound indignation at the 
 conduct of his troops. " I could never have imagined it," 
 said he ; "I thought better of my Saxons ; they are only 
 cowards ; " and his grief was so intense that the Emperor, 
 
 1 Prince Joseph Anthony Poniatowski, bom at Warsaw, 1762. Nephew 
 of Stanislas Augustus, the last king of Poland. He commanded the Polish 
 army against Russia, 1792, and served under Kosciuszko, 1794. He led an 
 army of Poles under Napoleon, 1807 and 1809, and commanded a corps in the 
 Russian campaign. Had Napoleon succeeded in that campaign, Poniatowski 
 would have been made king of Poland. Wounded, and made a marshal at 
 Ijiepzlg, he was drowned on the retreat. — Trans. 
 
THE EMPEROR LEAVES LEIPZIG. 221 
 
 notwitlistancling the immense disadvantage which had ac- 
 crued to liim from the desertion of the Saxons during the 
 battle, sought to console this excellent prince. 
 
 As his Majesty urged him to quit Leipzig in order that 
 he might not be exposed to the dangers attending the ca- 
 pitulation which had now become absolutely necessary, this 
 venerable prince replied, " No ; you have already done 
 enough, and it is carrying generosity too far to risk your 
 person by remaining a few minutes longer in order to con- 
 sole us." Whilst the King of Saxony was expressing him- 
 self thus, the sound of heavy firing of musketry was heard, 
 and the queen and Princess Augusta joined their entrea- 
 ties to those of the monarch, in their excessive fright al- 
 ready seeing the Emperor taken and slain by the Prussians. 
 Some officers entered, and announced that the Prince Royal 
 of Sweden had already forced the entrance of one of the 
 faubourgs ; that General Beningsen, General Bliicher, and 
 the Prince von Swarzenberg were entering the city on 
 every side ; and that our troops Avere reduced to the neces- 
 sity of defending themselves from house to house, and the 
 Emperor was himself exposed to imminent peril. As there 
 was not a moment to lose, he consented at last to withdraw ; 
 and the King of Saxony escorted him as far as the foot of 
 the palace staircase, where they embraced each other for the 
 last time. 
 
222 BMGOLLUOTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A suggestion to bum the city rejected by tbe Emperor. — His desire to save 
 Leipzig. — Tlie King of Saxony released from liis oath of fidelity. — The 
 exit from Leipzig closed to the Emperor. — His Majesty recrosses the 
 city. — Noble behavior of the Duke of Kagusa and Marshal Ney. — Hor- 
 rible scene on the streets of Leipzig. — The bridge at the mill of Lin- 
 flenau. — Vivid recollections. — Orders given by the Emperor in person. 
 
 — His Majesty sleeping amidst the noise of combat. — The King of 
 Naples and Marshal Augereau at the Imperial bivouac. —The bridge 
 cleared, — The Emperor's orders badly executed and his consequent 
 indignation. — Absurdity of certain false rumors. — Unparalleled mis- 
 fortunes. — Marshal Macdonald crosses the Elster by swimming. — Death 
 of General Dumortier and a large number of brave soldiers. — Death of 
 Prince Poniatowski. — Deep grief of the Emperor and universal regrets. 
 
 — Particulars of this catastrophe. — The body of the prince recovered by 
 a shepherd. — Two days at Erfurt. — The adieux of the King of Naples 
 and the Emperor. — The King of Saxony treated as a prisoner, and the 
 Emperor's indignation. — A brilliant affair at Hanau. — Arrival at May- 
 ence. — Trophies of the campaign, and the Emperor's letter to the 
 Empress. — Contrast presented by the two returns of the Emperor to 
 France. — Arrival at Saint-Cloud. — Questions addressed to me by the 
 Emperor, and truthful replies. — Hopes of a peace. — M. de. Saints Aignan 
 is captured. — The negotiator of peace taken by force. — Vain hopes. — 
 The happiness of mediocrity. 
 
 It was exceedingly difficult to find an exit from Leip- 
 zig, as this town was surrounded on every side by the 
 enemy. It had been proposed to the Emperor to burn the 
 faulDOurgs which the heads of the columns of the allied 
 armies had reached, in order to make his retreat more 
 sure ; but he indignantly rejected this proposal, being un- 
 willing to leave as a last adieu to the King of Saxony his 
 cities abandoned to the flames. After releasing him from 
 
DEFENCE OF LEIPZIG. 223 
 
 his oath of fidelity, and exliorting him to now consider only 
 his own interests, the Emperor left him, and directed his 
 course to the gate of Ramstadt ; but he found it so encum- 
 bered that it was an impossibility to clear a passage, and he 
 was compelled to retrace his steps, again cross the city, and 
 leave it through the northern gate, thus regaining the 
 only point from which he could, as he intended, march on 
 Erfurt; that is, from the boulevards on the Avest. The 
 enemy were not yet completely masters of the town, and it 
 was the general opinion that it could have been defended 
 much longer if the Emperor had not feared to expose it 
 to the horrors of a siege. The Duke of Ragusa continued 
 to offer strong resistance in the faubourg of Halle to the 
 repeated attacfe of General Blilcher ; while Marshal Ney 
 calmly saw the combined forces of General Woronzow, ^ the 
 Prussian corps under the orders of General Bulow, ^ and 
 the Swedish army, break themselves to pieces against his 
 impregnable defenses. 
 
 So much valor was nevertheless at last compelled to 
 yield to numbers, and above all to treachery; for at the 
 height of the combat before the gates of Leipzig, a battal- 
 ion from Baden, which until then had fought valiantly in 
 the French ranlts, suddenly abandoned the gate Saint-Peter, 
 which it was commissioned to defend, and at the entrance 
 to the city gave itself up to the enemy. Thereupon, accord- 
 
 1 Prince Mikhail "Woronzow, Russian statesman and general, born at 
 JIoscow, 1782; educated in England, -where his father was ambassador; 
 served against the Turks, and against Napoleon 1812-1815 ; in 1814 Governor 
 ojE the Caucasus; died 1856. — Trans. 
 
 2 Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Biilow, bom in Mecklenburg, 1755. It 
 was Billow's division of Bliicher's corps which arrived first of the Prussian 
 army at Waterloo, — Teans, 
 
224 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ing to what I have heard related by several officers who 
 were in this terrible tumult, the streets of Leipzig pre- 
 sented a most horrible sight ; and our soldiers, now com- 
 pelled to retire, could do so only by disputing every step 
 of the ground. An irreparable misfortune soon filled the 
 Emperor's soul with despair. 
 
 I shall now relate the events which signalized this 
 deplorable day just as my memory recalls them. I do not 
 know to what cause to attribute it, but none of the many 
 stirring events which I witnessed present themselves more 
 distinctly before my mind than a scene which took place 
 under the walls of Leipzig. Having triumphed over in- 
 credible obstacles, we at last succeeded in crossing the 
 Elster on the bridge at the mill of Lindenau. I can still 
 see the Emperor as he stationed officers along the road 
 charged to indicate to stragglers where they might rejoin 
 their respective commands. On this day, after the im- 
 mense loss sustained owing to a disparity of numbers, he 
 showed the same solicitude concerning everything as after a 
 decisive triumph. But he was so overcome by fatigue that 
 a few moments of sleep became absolutely necessary, and 
 he slept profoundly under the noise of the cannon which 
 thundered around him on all sides. Suddenly a terrible 
 explosion occurred, and a few moments after the King of 
 Naples entered his Majesty's barrack accompanied by Mar- 
 shal Augereau. They brought sad news — the great bridge 
 over the Elster had just been blown up. This was the last 
 point of communication with the rear guard, which con- 
 sisted of twenty thousand men now left on the other side 
 of the river under the command of Marshal Macdonald. 
 " This, then, is how my orders are executed ! " exclaimed 
 
VIVID RECOLLECTIONS. 225 
 
 the Emperor, clasping his head between his hands. He re- 
 mained a moment buried in thought and absorbed in his 
 own reflections. 
 
 The fact was, his Majesty had given orders to under- 
 mine all the bridges over the Elster and have them blown 
 up, but not until after the French army had crossed the 
 river in safety. I have since heard this event discussed 
 from many points of view, and have read many contradic- 
 tory accounts. It is not my province to shed light on a 
 point of history which forms such a subject of controversy, 
 and I have consequently limited myself to relating as I 
 have done only what came within my own knowledge. 
 Nevertheless, I may be permitted to make to my readers 
 one simple observation which presents itself to my mind 
 whenever I read or hear it said that the Emperor himself 
 had the bridge blown up in order to shelter himself from 
 the enemy's pursuit. I ask pardon for such an expression, 
 but this supposition appeared to me an absurdity so incred- 
 ible as to surpass belief ; for it is very evident that if under 
 these disastrous circumstances he could think only of his 
 own personal safety, he would not a short time before have 
 voluntarily prolonged his stay in the palace of the King 
 of Saxony, where he was exposed to much more imminent 
 danger than he could have encountered after leaving Leip- 
 zig. Moreover, the Emperor M^as far from enjoying the 
 consternation which struck him when he learned that 
 twenty thousand of his brave soldiers were separated from 
 him perhaps forever. 
 
 How many misfortunes were the inevitable results of 
 the destruction of the last bridge on the road from Leipzig 
 to Lindenau ! And how many deeds of heroism, the 
 
226 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 greater part of which will remain forever unknown, mark 
 this disaster ! Marshal Macdonald, seeing himself sepa- 
 rated from the army, plunged on horseback into the Elster, 
 and was fortunate enough to reach the other bank ; but 
 General Dumortier, attempting to follow his intrepid chief, 
 disappeared and perished in the waves with a great number 
 of officers and soldiers ; for all had sworn not to surrender 
 themselves to the enemy, and it was only a small number 
 who submitted to the cruel necessity of being made pris- 
 oners. The death of Prince Poniatowski caused intense 
 sorrow in the heart of the Emperor ; and it may be said that 
 every one at headquarters was deeply distressed at the loss 
 of our Pohsh hero, and aU were eager to learn the particu- 
 lars of so grievous and irreparable a misfortune. As was 
 well known, his Majesty had given him orders to cover the 
 retreat of the army, and all felt that the Emperor could not 
 have bestowed this trust more worthily. It is related that 
 seeing himself pressed by the enemy against the bank of 
 the river, with no means of crossing, he was heard to say 
 to those around him, " Gentlemen, here we must die with 
 honor !" It is added that putting into practice this heroic 
 resolution he swam across the waters of the Pleisse in spite 
 of the wounds he had received in the stubborn combat he 
 had sustained since morning. Then finding no longer any 
 refuge from inevitable captivity, except in the waters of 
 the Elster, the brave prince had thrown himself into it 
 without considering the impassable steepness of the oppo- 
 site bank, and in a few moments he Avith his horse was 
 ingulfed beneath the waves. His body was not found 
 until five days afterwards, and then drawn from the water 
 by a fisherman. Such was the end, both deplorable and 
 
DEATH OF PONIATOWSEI. 227 
 
 glorious, of one of the most brilliant and chivalrous of offi- 
 cers, who showed himself worthy to rank among the fore- 
 most French generals. Meanwhile the lack of ammunition 
 compelled the Emperor to retire promptly, although in re- 
 markably good order, to Erfurt, a town well furnished 
 with both provisions and forage, as well as material for 
 arming and equipping the army, — in fact with all the mate- 
 rials of war. His Majesty arrived on the 23d, having 
 engagements each day, in order to protect his retreat 
 against forces four or five times as numerous as those 
 remaining at his disposal. At Erfurt the Emperor re- 
 mained only two days, and left on the 25th after bidding 
 adieu to his brother-in-law the King of Naples, whom he 
 was never to see again. I witnessed a part of this last 
 interview, and remarked a certain constraint in the manner 
 of the King of Naples, which, however, his Majesty seemed 
 not to perceive. It is true that the king did not announce 
 his immediate departure, and his Majesty was ignorant that 
 this prince had secretly received an Austrian general. ^ 
 His Majesty was not informed of this until afterwards, and 
 manifested httle surprise. Moreover (I call attention to 
 this because I so often had occasion to remark it), so many 
 severe bloAVS repeated in such quick succession had struck 
 the Emperor for some time past, that he seemed to have 
 become almost insensible, and it might well have been said 
 that he felt himself perfectly intrenched in his ideas of 
 fatahty. Nevertheless, his Majesty, though unmoved under 
 his own misfortunes, gave full vent to his indignation on 
 
 1 This "was Count Mier, charged to guarantee to Murat the possession of 
 his kingdom if he abandoned the cause of the Emperor. He abandoned him. 
 "What did he gain? — Note et the Editor. 
 
228 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 learning that the allied sovereigns considered the King of 
 Saxony as their prisoner, and had declared him a traitor, 
 simply because he was the only one who had not betrayed 
 him. Certainly if fortune had again become favorable to 
 him, as in the past, the King of Saxony would have found 
 himself master of one of the most extensive kingdoms of 
 Europe; but fortune was hereafter to be always adverse, 
 and even our victories brought us only a barren glory. 
 
 Thus, for instance, the French army soon covered itself 
 with glory at Hanau, through which it was necessary to 
 pass by overwhelming the immense army of Austrians and 
 Bavarians collected at this point under the command of 
 General Wrede.^ Six thousand prisoners were the result 
 of this triumph, which at the same time opened to us the 
 road to Mayence, which we expected to reach without other 
 obstacles. It was on the 2d of November, after a march of 
 fourteen days from Leipzig, that we again beheld the banks 
 of the Rhine, and felt that we could breathe in safety. 
 
 Having devoted five days to reorganizing the army, giv- 
 ing his orders, and assigning to each of the marshals and 
 chiefs of the several corps the post he was to occupy during 
 his absence, the Emperor left Mayence on the 7th, and on 
 the 9th slept at Saint-Cloud, to which he returned preceded 
 by a few trophies, as both at Erfurt and Frankfort we had 
 taken twenty banners from the Bavarians. These banners, 
 presented to the minister of war by M. Lecouteulx aide-de- 
 
 1 Prince Karl Philipp Wrede, torn at Heidelberg, 1767 ; served in the Aus- 
 trian army, 1799 and 1800. In 1805, as commander-in-chief of the Bavarian 
 army, served under Napoleon, and again in 1809, being made a count and field- 
 marshal at Wagram. Commanded the Bavarian cavalry in the Russian 
 campaign. After the defection of Austria and Bavaria in 1813, he com- 
 manded the united forces of those countries, and was severely wounded at 
 Hanau. Died 1838.— Tkans. 
 
RETURN TO PARIS. 229 
 
 camp to the Prince de Neuchtitel, had preceded his Ma- 
 jesty's arrival in Paris by two days, and had already been 
 presented to the Empress, to whom the Emperor had done 
 homage in the following terms : — • 
 
 " Madame, and my very dear Wife, — 
 
 I send you twenty banners taken by my army at the battles of 
 Waohau, Leipzig, and Hanau. This is an homage it gives me pleasure 
 to render to you. I desire that you will accept it as a mark of my 
 entire satisfaction with the manner in which you have administered 
 the regency which I confided to you." 
 
 Under the Consulate and during the first six years of the 
 Empire, whenever the Emperor-had returned to Paris after 
 a campaign, it was because that campaign was finished, and 
 the news of a peace concluded in consequence of a victory 
 had always preceded him. For a second time he returned 
 from Mayence under different circumstances. In this case, 
 as on the return from Smorghoni, he left the war still in 
 progress, and returned, not for the purpose of presenting to 
 France the fruit of his victories, but to demand new sub- 
 sidies of men and money in order to repair the defeat and 
 losses sustained by our army. Notwithstanding this differ- 
 ence in the result of our wars, the welcome accorded to his 
 Majesty by the nation was still the same, apparently at 
 least; and the addresses by the different towns of the in- 
 terior were not less numerous, nor less filled with expres- 
 sions of devotion ; and those especially who were the prey 
 of fears for the future showed themselves even more de- 
 voted than all others, fearing lest their fatal premonitions 
 should be discovered. For my own part, it had never 
 occurred to me that the Emperor could finally succumb in 
 
230 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the struggle he was maintaining; for my ideas had never 
 reached this point, and it is only in reflecting upon it since 
 that I have been able to comprehend the dangers which 
 threatened him at the period we had now reached. I was 
 like a man who had passed the night on the edge of a 
 precipice, .totally unaware of the danger to which he was 
 exposed until it was revealed by the light of day. Never- 
 theless, I may say that every one was weary of the war, and 
 that all those of my friends whom I saw on the return from 
 Mayence spoke to me of the need of peace. 
 
 Within the palace itself I heard many persons attached 
 to the Emperor say the same thing when he was not pres- 
 ent, though they spoke very differently in the presence of 
 his Majesty. When he deigned to interrogate me, as he 
 frequently did, on what I had heard people say, I reported 
 to him the exact truth; and when in these confidential 
 toilet conversations of the Emperor I uttered the word 
 peace, he exclaimed again and again, " Peace ! Peace ! 
 Ah ! who can desire it more than I ? There are some, how- 
 ever, who do not desire it, and the more I concede the 
 more they demand." 
 
 An extraordinary event which took place the very day of 
 his Majesty's arrival at Saint-Cloud, when it became known, 
 led to the belief that the allies had conceived the idea of 
 entering upon new negotiations. In fact, it was learned 
 that M. de Saint-Aignan, his Majesty's minister at the ducal 
 court of Saxony, had been taken by main force and con- 
 ducted to Frankfort, where were then assembled M. de Met- 
 ternich, the Prince von Schwarzenberg, and the ministers 
 of Russia and Prussia. There overtures entirely in the 
 interests of peace were made to him on the part of the 
 
THE ALLIES BESIBE PEACE. 231 
 
 allied sovereigns, after which M. de Saint-Aignan was 
 allowed to return immediately to the Emperor to inform 
 him of the details of his seizure and the propositions which 
 had been made to him. These offers made by the allies, of 
 which I was not informed, and consequently can say noth- 
 ing, seemed to strike the Emperor as worthy of considera- 
 tion ; and there was soon a general rumor in the palace that 
 a new Congress was to be assembled at Manheim ; that the 
 Duke of Vicenza had been appointed by his Majesty as 
 minister plenipotentiary; and that in order to give more 
 dignity to his mission, the portfolio of foreign affairs had 
 been at the same time committed to him. I remember that 
 this news revived the hopes of all, and was most favorably 
 received ; for although it was doubtless the effect of preju- 
 dice, no one could be ignorant that the general public did 
 not see with pleasure the Duke of Bassano in the place to 
 which the Duke of Vicenza was called to succeed him. 
 The Duke of Bassano was said to have acted in accordance 
 with what he believed to be the secret wishes of the Em- 
 peror, and to be averse to peace. It will be seen later, by 
 an answer which his Majesty made to me at Fontainebleau, 
 how groundless and without foundation were these rumors. 
 It seemed then exceedingly probable that the enemy really 
 intended to treat for peace ; since in procuring openly by 
 force a French negotiator, they had forestalled any credit 
 which might accrue to the Emperor from making overtures 
 for peace. 
 
 What above all gave great weight to the general belief 
 in the disposition of Europe towards peace was that not 
 simply a Continental peace was in question as at Tilsit and 
 Schoenbrunn, but also a general peace, in which England 
 
232 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 was to enter as a contracting party ; so that in consequence 
 it was hoped that the gain in the permanence of such peace 
 would offset the severity of its terms. But unfortunately 
 this hope, which was indulged with the joy of anticipation, 
 lasted only a short time ; and it was soon learned that the 
 propositions made to M. de Saint-Aignan were only a bait, 
 and an old diplomatic ruse which the foreigners had made 
 use of simply in order to gain time by deluding the Em- 
 peror with vain hopes. In fact, a month had not passed 
 away, there had not even been time to complete the prelim- 
 inary correspondence usual in such cases, when the Em- 
 peror learned of the famous declaration of Frankfort, in 
 which, far from entering into negotiations with his Majesty, 
 it was attempted to separate his cause from that of France. 
 What a mass of intrigues ! Let one bless with a thankful 
 heart his mediocrity when he compares himself with men 
 condemned to live amid this labyrinth of high impostures 
 and honorable hypocrisies ! A sad certainty was obtained 
 that the foreigners wished a war of extermination, and re- 
 newed consternation ensued where hope had begun to 
 reign ; but the genius of his Majesty had not yet deserted 
 him, and from this time all his efforts were directed 
 towards the necessity of once again meeting the enemy face 
 to face, no longer in order to conquer his provinces, but to 
 prevent an invasion of the sacred soil of his own country. 
 
sour JUNIUS. 233 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Kecent souvenirs. — The secret societies of Germany. — The Emperor and 
 the Freemasons. — The Emperor amused at Cambace'rfes. — The fa- 
 natical assassins. — Promenade on the banlis of tlie Elhe. — A Saxon 
 magistrate. — Religious zeal of a Protestant. — Information as to the 
 societies of Germany. — Opposition of the government to the Tugend- 
 verein. — Origin and reorganization of tlie clubs of 1813. — Black cheva- 
 liers and the black chasseurs. — The Confederation of Louise. — The 
 Concordists. — The Baron de Nostitz and the Queen of Prussia's cliain. 
 
 — Germany divided among the chiefs of societies. — Madame Brede and 
 the old elector of Hesse-Cassel. — Intrigue of the Baron de Nostitz. — 
 Keal object of the secret societies. — Their importance. — The Emperor's 
 questions. — A history or a novel. — Reception of a Carbonari. — A French 
 
 .oiiScer in the Tyrol. — His manners, habits, and character. — A hunting- 
 party and the usual reception. — Italians and Tyrolese. — Trials of 
 patience. — Three meetings appointed. — A niglit in the forest. — An 
 apparent crime. — Evident proofs. — Trial, judgment, and condemnation. 
 
 — Colonel Boizard. — Revelations refused. — The executioner and the 
 scaffold. — Religious observance of the oath. — The Carbonari. 
 
 In speaking of the year 1813, an account of the incredi- 
 ble number of affiliations which took place at this time 
 between secret societies recently formed in Italy and Ger- 
 many should not be omitted. The Emperor from the time 
 when he was only First Consul, not only did not oppose 
 the opening of Masonic lodges, but we have every reason 
 to believe secretly favored them. He was very sure that 
 nothing originated in these meetings which could be dan- 
 gerous to his person or injurious to his government; since 
 Freemasonry counted among its votaries, and even had as 
 chiefs, the most distinguished personages of the state. 
 Moreover, it would have been impossible in these societies, 
 
234 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 where a few false brethren had slipped in, for a dangerous 
 secret, had there been one, to escape the vigilance of the 
 police. The Emperor spoke of it sometimes as pure child's 
 play, suitable to amuse idlers ; and I can affirm that he 
 laughed heartily when told that the archchancellor, in his 
 position as chief of the Grand Orient, had presided at a 
 Masonic banquet with no less dignity than would have 
 comported with the presidency of the senate or of the 
 council of state. ISTevertheless, the Emperor's indifference 
 did not extend to societies known in Italy under the name 
 of Carbonari, and in Germany under various titles. We 
 must admit, in fact, that since the undertakings of two 
 young Germans initiated in lUuminism, it was natural that 
 his jMajesty should not have seen without anxiety the prop- 
 agatioii of those bonds of virtue in which young fanatics 
 were transformed into assassins. 
 
 I know nothing remarkable in relation to the Carbonari, 
 since no circumstance connected our affairs with those of 
 Italy. In regard to the secret societies of Germany, I re- 
 member that during our stay at Dresden I heard them 
 mentioned with much interest, and not without fears for 
 the future, by a Saxon magistrate with whom I had the 
 honor of associating frequently. He was a man about 
 sixty years of age, who spoke French well, and united in 
 the highest degree German stolidity with the gravity natu- 
 ral to age. In his youth he had lived in France, and part 
 of his education had been received at the College of So- 
 reze ; and I attributed the friendship which he showed for 
 me to the pleasure he experienced in conversing about a 
 country the memory of which seemed very dear to him. I 
 remember perfectly well to-day the profound veneration with 
 
GERMAN SECItET SOCIETIES. 235 
 
 "wMch this excellent man spoke to me of one of his former 
 professors of Soreze, whom he called Don Ferlus; and I 
 must have had a defective memory indeed had I forgotten 
 a name which I heard repeated so often. 
 
 My Saxon friend was named M. Gentz, but was no re- 
 lation of the diplomat of the same name attached to the 
 Austrian chancellery. He was of the Reformed religion, 
 very faithful in the performance of his religious duties ; and 
 I can assert that I never knew a man with more simple 
 tastes, or who was more observant of his duties as a man 
 and a magistrate. I would not like to risk saying what 
 were his inmost thoughts concerning the Emperor ; for he 
 rarely spoke of him, and if he had anything unpleasant to 
 say it may be readily understood that he would not have 
 chosen me as his confidant. One day when we were to- 
 gether examining the fortifications which his Majesty had 
 erected at many points on the left bank of the Elbe, the 
 conversation for some reason happened to fall on the secret 
 societies of Germany, a subject with which I was perfectly 
 unacquainted. As I was questioning him in order to ob- 
 tain information, M. Gentz said to me, " It must not be 
 believed that the secret societies which are multiplying in 
 Germany in such an extraordinary manner have been pro- 
 tected by the sovereigns ; for the Prussian government sees 
 them grow with terror, although it now seeks to- tise them 
 in order to give a national appearance to the war it has 
 waged against you. Societies which are to-day tolerated 
 have been, even in Prussia, the object of bitter persecutions. 
 It has not been long, for instance, since the Prussian gov- 
 ernment used severe measures to suppress the society called 
 Tugendverein, taking the precaution, nevertheless, to dis- 
 
236 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 guise it under a different title. Doctor Jahn put himself 
 at the head of the Black Chevaliers, who were the precur- 
 sors of a body of partisans known under the name of the 
 Black Chasseurs, and commanded by Colonel Lutzow.i In 
 Prussia the still vivid memory of the late queen exercised 
 a great influence over the new direction given to its in- 
 stitutions, in which she occupied the place of an occult 
 divinity. During her lifetime she gave to Baron Nostitz 
 a silver chain, which as her gift became the decoration, or 
 we might rather say the rallying signal, of a new society, to 
 which was given the name of the Confederation of Louise. 
 And lastly, M. Lang declared himself the chief of an order 
 of Concordists, which he instituted in imitation of the asso- 
 ciations of that name which had for some time existed in 
 the universities. 
 
 " My duties as magistrate," added M. Gentz, " have 
 frequently enabled me to obtain exact information con- 
 cerning these new institutions ; and you may consider the 
 information which I give you on this subject as perfectly 
 authentic. The three chiefs whom I have just mentioned 
 apparently direct three separate societies ; but it is very 
 certain that the three are in reality only one, since these 
 gentlemen engage themselves to follow in every particu- 
 lar the vagaries of the Tugendverein, and are scattered 
 throughout Germany in order that by their personal pres- 
 ence they may have a more direct influence. M. Jahn 
 is more especially in control of Prussia ; M. Lang of 
 the north, and Baron de Nostitz of the south, of Germany. 
 The latter, knowing perhaps the influence of a woman over 
 
 1 A Prussian general born in 1782. He commanded the free .corps 
 known as the Black Chasseurs. Died at Berlin, 1834. — Tkans. 
 
THE CONFEDERATION OF LOUISE. 237 
 
 young converts, associated with himself a beautiful actress 
 named Madame Brede ; and she has already been the means 
 of making a very important acquisition to the Confed- 
 eration of Louise, and one which might become still more 
 so in the future if the French should meet with reverses. 
 The former Elector of Hesse, admitted through the influ- 
 ence of Madame Brede, accepted almost immediately after 
 his reception the grand chieftancy of the Confederation of 
 Louise, and the very day of his installation placed in the 
 hands of M. de Nostitz the sum necessary to create and 
 equip a free corps of seven hundred men destined to 
 enter the service of Prussia. It is true that having once 
 obtained possession of this sum the baron did nothing 
 towards the formation of the corps, which greatly in- 
 censed the ex-elector; but by dint of skill and diplomacy 
 Madame Brede succeeded in reconciling them. It has 
 been proved, in fact, that M. de Nostitz did not appro- 
 priate the funds deposited with him, but used them for 
 other purposes than the arming of a free corps. M. de 
 Nostitz is beyond doubt the most zealous, ardent, and ca- 
 pable of the three chiefs. I do not know him personally, 
 but I know he is one of those men best calculated to 
 obtain unbounded influence over all with whom he comes 
 in contact. He succeeded in gaining such dominion over 
 M. Stein, the Prussian minister, that the latter placed two 
 of his secretaries at the disposal of Baron de Nostitz to 
 prepare under his direction the pamphlets with which Ger- 
 many is flooded; but I cannot too often repeat," con- 
 tinued M. Gentz, "that the hatred against the French 
 avowed by these various societies is simply an acci- 
 dental thing, a singular creation of circumstances ; since 
 
238 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 their prime object was the overthrow of the government 
 as it existed in Germany, and their fundamental prin- 
 ciple the establishment of a system of absolute equality. 
 This is so true that the question has been earnestly 
 debated amongst the members of the Tugendverein of 
 proclaiming the sovereignty of the people throughout 
 Germany ; and they have openly declared that the war 
 should not be waged in the name of the governments, 
 which according to their belief are only the instruments. 
 I do not know what will be the final result of all these 
 machinations ; but it is very certain that by giving them- 
 selves an assumed importance these secret societies have 
 given themselves a very real one. According to their 
 version it is they alone who have decided the King of 
 Prussia to openly declare himself against France, and 
 they boast loudly that they will not stop there. After 
 all, the result will probably be the same as in nearly all 
 such cases,, — if they are found useful they will be prom- 
 ised wonderful things in order to gain their allegiance, 
 and will be abandoned when they no longer serve the 
 intended purposes ; for it is an entire impossibility that 
 reasonable governments should lose sight of the real end 
 for which they are instituted." 
 
 This is, I think, an exact summary, not of all M. Gentz 
 said to me concerning the secret societies of Germany, but 
 of what I recall; and I also remember that when I gave 
 the Emperor an account of this conversation, his Majesty 
 deigned to give most earnest attention, and even made 
 me repeat certain parts, which, however, I do not now 
 remember positively. As to the Carbonari, there is every 
 reason to think that they belonged by secret ramifications 
 
THE CARBONARI. 239 
 
 to the German societies; but as I have already said, I 
 have not been able to obtain exact information as to 
 them. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to repeat here what 
 I heard concerning the initiation of a Carbonari. 
 
 This story, which may perhaps be only imaginary, 
 struck my attention deeply. Moreover, I give it here 
 with much hesitation, not knowing whether some one has 
 not already profited by it, as I was by no means the only 
 auditor of this narration. I obtained it from a French- 
 man who lived in the north of Italy at the time my 
 conversation with M. Gentz occurred. 
 
 "A French officer, formerly attached to General Mo- 
 reau, a man of enthusiastic but at the same time gloomy 
 and melancholy character, left the service after the trial 
 instituted against his general at Paris. He took no part 
 in the conspiracy; but unalterably attached to republican 
 principles, this officer, whose tastes were very simple, and 
 who possessed an ample competence, left France when the 
 Empire was established, and took no pains to disguise his 
 aversion to the head of an absolute government. Finally, 
 although of most inoffensive conduct, he was one of those 
 designated under the name of malcontents. After travel- 
 ing several years in Greece, Germany, and Italy, he settled 
 himself in a little village in the Venetian Tyrol. There 
 he lived a very retired life, holding little commiinication 
 with his neighbors, occupied in the study of natural science, 
 given up to meditation, and no longer occupying himself, 
 so to speak, with public affairs. This was his position, 
 which appeared mysterious to some persons, at the time 
 the institution of the ventes of the Carbonari were mak- 
 ing such incredible progress in most of the Italian prov- 
 
240 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 inces, especially in those on the borders of the Adriatic. 
 Several notable inhabitants of the country, who were ardent 
 Carbonari, conceived the plan of enrolling in their society 
 this French officer, whom they knew, and being aware of 
 his implacable resentment against the chief of the Im- 
 perial government, whom he regarded as a great man, 
 in fact, but at the same time as the destroyer of his 
 beloved republic. In order not to rouse the supposed 
 susceptibilities of this officer, they organized a hunting- 
 party to meet in the locality where he usually took his 
 solitary rambles. This plan was adopted, and so well car- 
 ried out that the intended meeting took place apparently 
 by chance. The officer did not hesitate to engage in con- 
 versation with the hunters, some of whom he already knew ; 
 and after some desultory remarks the conversation turned 
 on the Carbonari, those new votaries of secret liberty. The 
 magic word liberty had not lost its power to stir to its 
 depths the heart of this officer, and consequently produced 
 upon him the exact effect they desired, by awaking en- 
 thusiastic memories of his youth, and a joy to which he 
 had long been a stranger ; and consequently when they pro- 
 posed to add his name to the brotherhood which was now 
 around him, no difficulty was experienced. The officer 
 was received, the secret signs and words of recognition 
 were given him, and he took the oath by which he engaged 
 to be always and at every hour at the disposal of his 
 brethren, and to perish rather than betray their secrets ; 
 and was then initiated and continued to live as in the 
 past, but expecting every moment a summons. 
 
 The adventurous character of the inhabitants of the 
 Venetian Tyi-ol afford a striking contrast to the character 
 
THU CARBONARI. 241 
 
 of the inhabitants of Italy; hut they have in common sus- 
 picious natures, and from suspicion to revenge the descent 
 is rapid. The French officer had hardly been admitted, 
 than there were found among them some who condemned 
 this action, and regarded it as dangerous ; and there were 
 some who even went so far as to say that his being a 
 Frenchman should have been a sufficient impediment, and 
 that, besides, at a time when the police were employing 
 their best men to uncover all disguises, it was necessary 
 that the firmness and constancy of the newly elected should 
 be put to some other proof than the simple formalities they 
 had required. The sponsors of the officer, those who had, 
 so to speak, earnestly desired him as a brother, raised no 
 objections, being perfectly satisfied as to the correctness of 
 their choice. 
 
 This was the state of affairs when news of the disaster 
 of the French army at Leipzig were received in the neigh- 
 boring provinces of the Adriatic, and redoubled the zeal of 
 the Carbonari. About three months had passed since the 
 reception of the French officer; and having received no 
 news from his brethren, he thought that the duties of the 
 Carbonari must be very inconsiderable, when one day he 
 received a mysterious letter enjoining him to be the follow- 
 ing night in a neighboring wood, at a certain spot exactly 
 at midnight, and to wait there until some one came to him. 
 The officer was promptly at the rendezvous at the appointed 
 hour, and remained until daylight, though no one appeared. 
 He then returned to his home, thinking that this had been 
 simply a proof of his patience. His convictions, in this re- 
 spect, were somewhat changed, however, when a few days 
 afterwards he received another letter ordering him to pre- 
 
242 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 sent himself in the same manner at the same spot; and he 
 again passed the night there in vain expectation. 
 
 Nothing further had occurred, when a tliird and similar 
 rendezvous was appointed, at which the French officer pre- 
 sented himself with the same punctuality and inexhaustible 
 patience. He had waited several hours, when suddenly, 
 instead of witnessing the arrival of his brethren, he heard 
 the clash of swords ; and moved by irresistible impulse, he 
 rushed towards the spot from which the noise issued and 
 seemed to recede as he advanced. He soon arrived at a 
 spot where a frightful crime had just been committed, 
 and saw a man weltering in his blood, attacked by two 
 assassins. Quick as lightning he threw himself, sword in 
 hand, on the two murderers ; but, as they immediately dis- 
 appeared in the thick woods, he was devoting his attention 
 to their victim, when four gendarmes arrived on the scene ; 
 and the officer then found himself alone with unsheathed 
 sword near the murdered man. The latter, who still 
 breathed, made a last effort to speak, and expired while 
 inchcating his defender as his murderer, wherepon the gen- 
 darmes arrested him; and two of them took up the corpse, 
 while the others fastened the arms of the officer with ropes, 
 and escorted him to a neighboring village, one league dis- 
 tant, where they arrived at break of day. He was there 
 conducted before a magistrate, questioned, and incarcerated 
 in the prison of the place. 
 
 Imagine the situation of this officer, with no friends in 
 that country, not daring to recommend himself to his own 
 government, by whom his well-known opinions had ren- 
 dered him suspected, accused of a horrible crime, well 
 aware of all the proofs against him, and, above all, com- 
 
TEE CARBONARI. 243 
 
 pletely crushed by the last words of the dying man ! Like 
 all men of firm and resolute character, he accepted the situ- 
 ation without complaint, saw that it was without remedy, 
 and resigned himself to his fate. Meanwhile, a special 
 commission had been appointed, in order to make at least a 
 pretense of justice ; but when he was led before this com- 
 mission, he could only repeat what he had already said; 
 that is to say, give an exact account of the occurrence, pro- 
 test his innocence, and admit at the same time that appear- 
 ances were entirely against him. "What could he reply 
 when asked wherefore, and with what motive, he had 
 been found alone in the night, armed with a sword, in the 
 thickest of the wood? Here his oath as Carbonari sealed 
 his lips, and his hesitation was taken as additional proof. 
 What could he reply to the deposition of the gendarmes 
 who had arrested him in the very act? He was conse- 
 quently unanimously condemned to death, and reconducted 
 to his prison until the time fixed for the execution of his 
 sentence. 
 
 A priest was first sent to him. The officer received him 
 with the utmost respect, but refused to make confession, 
 and was next importuned by the visit of a brotherhood of 
 penitents. At last the executioner came to conduct him to 
 the place of punishment ; and while he was on the way, 
 accompanied by several gendarmes and a long line of peni- 
 tents, the funeral procession was interrupted by the unex- 
 pected arrival of the colonel of the gendarmerie, whom 
 chance brought to the scene. This officer bore the name of 
 Colonel Boizard, a man well known in all upper Italy, and 
 the terror of all malefactors. The colonel ordered a halt, 
 for the purpose of himself questioning the condemned, and 
 
244 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 made him give an account of the circumstances of the 
 crime and the sentence. When he was alone with the offi- 
 cer, he said, " You see that all is against you, and nothing 
 can save you from the death wliich awaits you. I can, 
 nevertheless, save you, but only on one condition. I know 
 that you belong to the society of the Carbonari. Give me 
 the names of your accomplices in these terrible conspiracies 
 and your life shall be the reward." — " Never ! " — " Con- 
 sider, nevertheless." — " Never, I tell you ; lead me to 
 execution." 
 
 It was then necessary to set out anew for the place of 
 execution. The executioner was at his post; and as the 
 officer with a firm step mounted the fatal scaffold, Colonel 
 Boizard rushed up to him and begged him still to save his 
 life on the conditions he had offered. "No! no! never! " 
 Instantly the scene changed; the colonel, the executioner, 
 the gendarmes, the priest, penitents, and spectators, all gath- 
 ered round the officer, each one eager to press him to their 
 hearts, and he was conducted in triumph to his dwelling. 
 All that had passed was simply an initiation. The assassins 
 in the forest and their victim, as well as the judges and 
 the pretended Colonel Boizard, had been playing a role ; 
 and the most suspicious Carbonari now knew how far their 
 new brother would carry the constancy of his heroism and 
 the observance of his oath. 
 
 This is almost exactly the recital which I heard, as I 
 have said, with the deepest interest, and which I take the 
 liberty of repeating, though I well understand how much it 
 will lose by being written. Can it be implicitly believed ? 
 This is what I would not undertake to decide ; but I can 
 affirm that my informant gave it as the truth, and was per- 
 
THE CABBONABI. 245 
 
 fectly certain that the particuh^rs would he found in the 
 arcliives of Milan, since this extraordinary initiation was at 
 the time the subject of a circumstantial report addressed to 
 the vice-king, whom fate had determined should nevermore 
 see the Emperor. 
 
246 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Confusion and disturbance at Mayence. — Decrees issued from Mayence. — 
 Convocation of tlie Legislative Corps. — Ingratitude of General de 
 Wrede. — His family misfortunes. — How the Emperor employs his 
 time, and increased activity. — The works at Paris. — Troops equipped 
 as if by magic. — Anxiety of the Parisians. — First foretaste of the con- 
 scription. — Bad news from the army. — Evacuation of Holland, and 
 return of the arch-treasurer. — Capitulation of Dresden. — The treaty 
 violated, and the Emperor's indignation. — Display of anger. — I am hon- 
 ored with his Majesty's conindence. — Death of the Count de Narhonne. 
 
 — His first destination. — How he became the Emperor's aide-de-camp. 
 
 — Vain ambition of several princes. — Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. — 
 Jealousy caused by the favor shown to M. de Narboune. — Names for- 
 gotten. — The Einperor's opinion of M. de Narbonne. — Characteristic 
 speech. — General Bertrand grand marshal of the palace. — Marshal Suchet 
 colonel-general of the guard. — Change in the administration of the Em- 
 pire. — The right to name the president of the Legislative Corps granted 
 to the Emperor. — M. de Mole' the youngest minister of the Empire. — 
 Particulars of the Emperor's excursions through Paris. — His Majesty 
 recognizes me in the crowd. — Tlie Emperor's gayety. — The Emperor 
 shows himself oftener in public. — Their Majesties at the opera and the 
 ballet of Nina. — The Emperor intensely gratified by the acclamations of 
 the iiopulace. — The Emperor and Empress at the Italian opera. — Ex- 
 traordinary representation and Madame Grassini. — The Emperor's visit 
 to the establishment of Saint^Denis. — The pages, and the Emperor's fine 
 spirits. — Serious reflections. 
 
 I DIGP.ESSED considerably, in the preceding chapter, 
 from my recollections of Paris subsequent to our return 
 from Germany after the battle of Leipzig, and the Em- 
 peror's short sojourn at Mayence. I cannot even now write 
 the name of the latter town without recalling the spec- 
 tacle of tumult and confusion which it presented after the 
 glorious battle of Hanau, where the Bavarians fought so 
 
CONVOCATION OF COEPS LEGISLATIF. 247 
 
 bravely on this the first occasion when they presented 
 themselTes as enemies before those in whose ranks they 
 had so recently stood. It was, if I am not mistaken, in 
 this last engagement that the Bavarian general, Wrede, 
 was, with his family, the immediate victims of their treach- 
 ery. The general, whom the Emperor had overwhelmed 
 with kindness, was mortally wounded, all liis relatives in 
 the Bavarian army were slain, and his son-in-law. Prince of 
 Oettingen, met the same fate. It was one of those events 
 which never failed to make a deep impression on the mind 
 of his Majesty, since it strengthened his ideas of fatality. 
 It was also at Mayence that the Emperor gave orders for 
 the assembling of the Corps Legrslatif on the 2d of Decem- 
 ber. The opening was delayed, as we shall see ; and far 
 better would it have been had it been indefinitely post- 
 poned; since in that case his Majesty would not have ex- 
 perienced the misfortunes he afterwards endured from their 
 opposition, symptoms of which now manifested themselves 
 for the first time in a manner which was, to say the least, 
 intemperate. 
 
 One of the things which astonished me most at the 
 time, and which still astonishes me when I recall it now, 
 was the incredible activity of the Emperor, which, far from 
 diminishing, seemed to increase each day, as if the very 
 exercise of his strength redoubled it. At the period of 
 which I now speak, it is impossible to describe how com- 
 pletely every moment of his Majesty's time was filled. 
 Since he had again met the Empress and his son, the Em- 
 peror had resumed his accustomed serenity; and I rarely 
 surprised him in that open abandonment to dejection to 
 which he sometimes gave way, in the retirement of his 
 
248 BECOLLECriONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 chamber, immediately after our return from Moscow. He 
 was occupied more ostensibly than usual in the numerous 
 public works which were being prosecuted in Paris, and 
 which formed a useful distraction to his engrossing thoughts 
 of war and the distressing news which reached him from the 
 army. Almost every day, troops, equipped as if by magic, 
 were reviewed by his Majesty, and ordered immediately to 
 the Rhine, nearly the whole course of which was threat- 
 ened ; and the danger, which we then scarcely thought 
 possible, must have appeared most imminent to the inhabi- 
 tants of the capital, not infatuated, like ourselves, by 
 the kind of charm the Emperor exercised over all those 
 who had the honor of approaching his august person. In 
 fact, for the first time he was compelled to demand of 
 the senate to anticipate the levy for the ensuing year, 
 and each day also brought depressing news. The prince 
 arch-treasurer ^ returned the following autumn, forced to 
 quit Holland after the evacuation of this kingdom by our 
 troops ; whilst Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr was compelled 
 at Dresden to sign a capitulation for himself and the 
 thirty thousand men whom he had held in reserve at that 
 place. 
 
 The capitulation of Marshal Saint-Cyr will never, surely, 
 occupy an honorable place in the history of the cabinet of 
 Vienna. It is not my province to pass judgment on these 
 political combinations ; but I cannot forget the indignation 
 which was generally manifested at the palace when it was 
 learned that this capitulation had been shamelessly violated 
 
 1 Lebrun, Duke of Plaisance, formerly third consul, who had been ap- 
 pointed governor general of Holland after the abdication of King Louis. — 
 Ikaus. 
 
THE EMPEROR'S ANGER. .249 
 
 by those wlio had now become the stronger party. It was 
 stated in this capitulation that the marshal should return 
 to France with the troops under his command, carrying 
 with him a part of his artillery, and that these troops should 
 be exchanged for a like number of the allied troops ; that 
 the wounded French who remained at Dresden should be 
 returned to France on their restoration to health ; and that, 
 finally, the marshal should begin these movements on the 
 16th of November. No part of this agreement was com- 
 plied with. Imagine, then, the indignation of the Emperor, 
 already so deeply afflicted by the capitulation of Dresden, 
 when he learned that, contrary to every stipulation agreed 
 upon, these troops had been made prisoners by the Prince 
 von Swarzenberg. I remember one day the Prince de Neu- 
 chatel being in his Majesty's cabinet, wliich I happened to 
 enter at the moment, the Emperor remarked to him, with 
 considerable vehemence, "You speak to me of peace. How 
 can I believe in the good faith of those people ? You see 
 what happened at Dresden. No, I tell you, they do not 
 wish to treat with us ; they are only endeavoring to gain 
 time, and it is our business not to lose it." The prince 
 did not reply ; or, at least, I heard no more, as I just 
 then left the cabinet, having executed the duty which had 
 taken me there. Moreover, I can add, as an additional 
 proof of the confidence with which his Majesty honored 
 me, that when I " entered he never interrupted himself 
 in what he was saying, however important it might be ; 
 and I dare to affirm that if my memory were better, 
 these souvenirs would contain much more valuable infor- 
 mation. 
 
 Since I have spoken of the evil tidings which over- 
 
250 BECOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 whelmed, the Emperor in such quick succession during the 
 last months of the year 1813, there is one I should not 
 omit, since it affected his Majesty so painfully. I refer to 
 the death of Count Louis de Narbonne. Of all those who 
 had not begun their careers under the eyes of the Emperor, 
 M. de Narbonne was the one for whom he felt the deepest 
 affection; and it must be admitted that it was impossible 
 to find a man in whom genuine merit was united to more 
 attractive manners. The Emperor regarded him as a most 
 proper person to conduct a negotiation, and said of him one 
 day, " Narbonne is a born ambassador." It was known in 
 the palace why the Emperor had appointed him his aide-de- 
 camj} at the time he formed the household of the Empress 
 Marie Louise. The Emperor had at first intended to ap- 
 point him chevalier of honor to the new Empress, but a 
 skillfully concocted intrigue caused him to refuse this 
 position; and it was in some degree to make amends 
 for this that he received the aj)pointment of aide-de-camp 
 to his Majesty. There was not at that time a position 
 more higlily valued in all France ; many foreign and 
 even sovereign princes had solicited in vain this high 
 mark of favor, and amongst these I can name Prince 
 Leopold de Saxe-Coburg,i who married Princess Charlotte 
 of England, and who refused to be King of Greece, 
 after failing to obtain the position of aide-de-camjy to the 
 Emperor. 
 
 I would not dare to say, according to my recollection, 
 that no one at the court was jealous on seeing M. de Nar- 
 
 1 Later he became King of the Belgians (in 1831), and the next year mar- 
 ried the daughter of Louis Philippe. His first "wife, Princess Charlotte of 
 England, whom he married in 1810, died the same year. Leopold was born 
 1790, and died 1865. — Trans. 
 
M. BE NABBONNE. 251 
 
 bonne appointed aide-de-camp to the Emperor ; but if there 
 were any I have forgotten their names. However that may 
 have been, he soon became very popular, and each day the 
 Emperor appreciated more highly his character and services. 
 I remember on one occasion to have heard his Majesty say 
 — I think it was at Dresden — that he had never thoroughly 
 known the cabinet of Vienna until the fine nose of Nar- 
 honne — that was the Emperor's expression — had scented 
 out those old diplomats. After the pretended negotiations, 
 of which I have spoken above, and which occupied the en- 
 tire time of the armistice at Dresden, M. de Narbonne had 
 remained in Germany, where the Emperor had committed 
 to him the government of Torgau ; and it was there he died, 
 on the 17 th of November, in consequence of a fall from his 
 horse, in spite of all the attentions lavished on him by 
 Baron Desgenettes. With the exception of the death of 
 Marshal Duroc and Prince Poniatowski, I do not remember 
 to have ever seen the Emperor show more sincere sorrow 
 than on this occasion. Meanwhile, almost at the very mo- 
 ment he lost M. de Narbonne, but before he had heard of 
 his death, the Emperor had made arrangements to fill the 
 place near his person of the man he had loved most, not 
 even excepting General Desaix. He had just called Gen- 
 eral Bertrand to the high position of grand marshal of the 
 palace ; and this choice was generally approved by all who 
 had the honor of Count Bertrand's acquaintance. But 
 what is there for me to say here of a man whose name in 
 history will never be separated from that of the Emperor ? 
 This same period had seen the fall of the Duke of Istria, 
 one of the four colonel-generals of the guard, and Marshal 
 Duroc : and this same appointment included the names of 
 
252 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 their successors ; for Marshal Suchet i was appointed at the 
 same time as General Bertrand, and took the place of Mar- 
 shal Bessieres as colonel-general of the guard. 
 
 At the same time his Majesty made several other 
 changes in the higher offices of the Empire. A committee 
 of the senate having conferred on the Emperor the right to 
 appoint, of his own choice, the president of the Corps Le- 
 gislatif, his Majesty bestowed this presidency on the Duke 
 of Massa, who was replaced in liis former position as grand 
 judge by Count Mole,^ the youngest of the Emperor's mm- 
 isters. The Duke of Bassano^ became the secretary of 
 state, and the Duke of Vicenza* received the portfolio of 
 foreign relations. 
 
 As I have said, during the autumn of 1813 his Majesty 
 frequently visited the public works. He usually went al- 
 most unattended, and on foot, to visit those of the Tuile- 
 ries and the Louvre, and afterwards mounted his horse, 
 accompanied by one or two officers at most, and M. Fon- 
 tame, and went to examine those which were more distant. 
 One day, — it was about the end of November, — having 
 seized the opportunity of his Majesty's absence to take a 
 walk tlirough the Faubourg Saint Germain, I unexpectedly 
 encountered his Majesty on his way to the Luxembourg, 
 
 1 Louis Gabriel Suchet, bom at Lyons, 1770. Served In the Italian cam- 
 Ijaign in 1796. Brigadier-general, 1797 ; general of division, 1799. Governor of 
 Genoa, 1800, and served at Austerlitz, 1805. For his brilliant services in Spain 
 he was created Duke of Albufera and marshal, 1811. At St. Helena, Napoleon 
 stated he was the ablest of his generals then surviving. Suchet married the 
 niece of the wives of Joseph Bonaparte and Bernadotte, and his widow died 
 as recently as 1891. Suchet died 1826. — Trans. 
 
 2 Count Louis Mathieu Mole', bom in Paris, 1781. Minister of Marine 
 under Louis XVIII. Prime Minister under Louis Philippe. Died 1855. — 
 Trans. 
 
 s Maret. * Caulaincourt. — Trans. 
 
TBE EMPEROR'S FORCED GAYETT. 253 
 
 just as he arrived at the entrance of the Rue de Tournon ; 
 and it is impossible to describe the intense satisfaction with 
 which I heard shouts of Vive VMnpereur break forth as he 
 approached. I found myself driven by the crowd very near 
 the Emperor's horse, and yet I did not imagine for a 
 moment that he had recognized me. On his return, how- 
 ever, I had proofs to the contrary. His Majesty had seen 
 me; and as I assisted him to change his clothing the 
 Emperor gayly remarked to me, " Well, M. le Drole ! Ah ! 
 ah ! what were you doing in the Faubourg Saint Germain ? 
 I see just how it is ! A fine thing really ! You spy on me 
 when I go out," and many other jests of the same Idnd; 
 for on that day the Emperor was in such fine spirits that I 
 concluded he had been much pleased with liis visit. 
 
 Whenever at this time the Emperor experienced any 
 unusual anxiety, I noticed that in order to dispel it he took 
 pleasure in exhibiting himself in public more frequently, 
 perhaps, than during his other sojourns in Paris, but always 
 without any ostentation. He went frequently to the 
 theater; and, thanks to the obliging kindness of Count de 
 Remusat, I myself frequently attended these assemblies, 
 which at that time always had the appearance of a fete. As- 
 suredly, when on the occasion of the fii-st representation of 
 the ballet of Nina, their Majesties entered their box, it 
 would have been difficult to imagine that the Emperor had 
 already enemies among his subjects. It is true that the 
 mothers and widows in mourning were not there ; but I can 
 affirm that I have never seen more perfect enthusiasm. The 
 Emperor enjoyed this from the depths of his heart, even 
 more, perhaps, than after his victories. The conviction that 
 he was beloved by the French people impressed him deeply, 
 
254 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 and in the evening he condescended to speak to me of it — 
 shall I dare to say like a child puffed up with pride at the 
 reward he has just received? Then in the perfect free- 
 dom of privacy he said repeatedly, " My wife ! my good 
 Louise ! Truly, she should be well satisfied." The truth 
 is, that the desire to see the Emperor at the theater was so 
 great in Paris, that as he always took his place in the box 
 at the side, opening on the proscenium, each time that he 
 made liis appearance there the boxes situated on the opposite 
 side of the hall were rented at incredible figures, and even 
 the uppermost tiers were preferred to those from which they 
 could not see liim easily. No one who lived in Paris at 
 that time can fail to recognize the correctness of this state- 
 ment. 
 
 Some time after the first representation of the ballet of 
 Nma, the Emperor again attended the theater, and I was 
 also present. As formerly, the Emperor accompanied her 
 Majesty; and I could not keep back the thought, as the 
 play proceeded, that the Emperor had some memories suf- 
 ficient to distract his attention from the exquisite music. 
 It was at the Italian theater then occupying the Odeon. 
 The Cleopatra of Nazzolini was played ; and the representa- 
 tion was among the number of those called extraordinary/, 
 since it. was on the occasion of Madame Grassini's benefit. 
 It had been only a short while since this singer, celebrated 
 in more ways than one, had first appeared in public on a 
 Parisian stage, I think this was really only the third or 
 fourth time ; and I should state, in order to be exactly cor- 
 rect, that she did not produce on the Parisian public ex- 
 actly the impression which had been expected from her 
 immense reputation. It had been long since the Emperor 
 
DAUGHTERS OF THE LEGION OF HONOR. 255 
 
 had received her privately; but, nevertheless, her voice and 
 Crescentini's had been reserved until then for the privi- 
 leged ears of the spectators of Saint^Cloud and the theater 
 of the Tuileries. On this occasion the Emperor vi^as very 
 generous towards the beneficiary, but no interview re- 
 sulted ; for, in the language of a poet of that period, the 
 Cleopatra of Paris did not conquer another Antony. 
 
 Thus, as we see, the Emperor on a few occasions laid 
 aside the important affairs which occupied him, less to 
 enjoy the theater than for the purpose of showing liimself 
 in public. AU useful undertakings were the objects of his 
 care ; and he did not depend entirely even on the informa- 
 tion of men to whom he had naost worthily committed them, 
 but saw everything for himself. Among the institutions 
 especially protected by his Majesty, there was one in which 
 he took an especial interest. I do not think that in any of 
 the intervals between his wars the Emperor had come to 
 Paris without making a visit to the institution of the 
 Daughters of the Legion of Honor, of which Madame 
 Campan was in charge, first at Ecouen, and afterwards at 
 Saint-Denis. The Emperor visited it in the month of No- 
 vember, and I remember an anecdote which I heard related 
 to his Majesty on this occasion which diverted him exceed- 
 ingly. Nevertheless, I cannot remember positively whether 
 this anecdote relates to the visit of 1813, or one made 
 previously. 
 
 In the first place, it must be explained that, in accord- 
 ance with the regulation of the household of the young 
 ladies of the Legion of Honor, no man, with the exception 
 of the Emperor, was admitted into the interior of the estab- 
 lishment. But as the Emperor was always attended by an 
 
256 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 escort, his suite formed in some sort a part of himself, and 
 entered with him. Besides his ofQcers, the pages usually ac- 
 companied him. In the evening on his return from Saint- 
 Denis, the Emperor said to me, laughing, as he entered 
 his room, where I was waiting to undress him, "Well, my 
 pages wish to resemble the pages of former times ! The 
 little idiots ! Do you know what they do ? When I go 
 to Saint-Denis, they have a contest among themselves as to 
 who shall be on duty. Ha ! ha ! " The Emperor, while 
 speaking, laughed and rubbed his hands together; and then, 
 having repeated several times in the same tone, " The little 
 idiots," he added, following out one of those singular reflec- 
 tions which sometimes struck him, " I, Constant, would 
 have made a very poor page ; I would never have had such 
 an idea. Moreover, these are good young men; good of- 
 ficers have already come from among them. This will lead 
 one day to some marriages." It was very rare, in fact, that 
 a thing, though frivolous in appearance, did not lead, on 
 the Emperor's part, to some serious conclusion. Hereafter, 
 indeed, with the exception of a few remembrances of the 
 past, I shall have only serious and often very sad events 
 to relate ; for we have now arrived at the point where 
 everything has taken a serious turn, and clothed itself in 
 most somber tints. 
 
THE EMFEEOR'S LOVE FOR FRANCE. 257 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Last celebration of the anniversary of the coronation. — The Emperor's love 
 for France. — His Majesty more popular in misfortune. —Visits to the 
 Faubourg Saint- Antoine. —Conversation with the residents. — General 
 enthusiasm. —The populace escort his Majesty. — A wrong interpreta- 
 tion.— The iron gates of the Carrousel.— The Emperor more annoyed 
 than pleased. — Fears of disorder and recollections of the revolution.— 
 Volunteer enrollments and a new regiment of the guard, — Free repre- 
 sentations at the theater. —Marriage of twelve young girls, — Residence 
 at the Tuileries. — fimile and Montmorency. —Movements of the enemy's 
 troops. —Desertion of the Emperor's last ally. —Armistice between Den- 
 mark and Russia. — Opinions of certain generals as to the French army 
 in Spain. — Adhesion of the Emperor to the basis of the alliance,— 
 Negotiations, the Duke of Vicenza and M. de Metternich, — The Duke 
 of Massa president of the Corps Le'gislatif. — Opening of the session. — 
 The senate and the council of state at the Corps Le'gislatif. — Address 
 of the Emperor. — His Majesty asserts his desire for the re-establishment 
 of peace. — Death of General Dupont Derval, and his two widows. — The 
 pension I obtained from his Majesty for one of them. — His Majesty's 
 aversion to divorce, and respect for marriage. 
 
 Foe the last time we celebrated in Paris the anniversary 
 fete of his Majesty's coronation. The gifts to the Emperor 
 on this occasion were innumerable addresses made to him 
 by all the towns of the Empire, in which offers of sacrifices 
 and protestations of devotion seemed to increase in inten- 
 sity in proportion to the difQculty of the circumstances. 
 Alas ! in four months the full value of these protestations 
 was proved; and, nevertheless, how was it possible to be- 
 lieve that this enthusiasm, which was so universal, was not 
 entirely sincere? This would have been an impossibility 
 with the Emperor, who, until the very end of his reign, be- 
 
258 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 lieved himself beloved by France with the same devotion 
 vi^hich he felt for her. A truth, which was well proved by 
 succeeding events, is that the Emperor became more popular 
 among that part of the inhabitants called the people when 
 misfortunes began to overwhelm him. His Majesty had 
 proofs of this in a visit he made to the Faubourg Saint- 
 Antoine; and it is veiy certain that, if under other cir- 
 cumstances he had been able to bend from his dignity to 
 propitiate the people, a means which was most repugnant 
 to the Emperor in consequence of his remembrances of the 
 Revolution, all the faubourgs of Paris would have armed 
 themselves in his defense. How can this be doubted after 
 the event which I here describe ? 
 
 The Emperor, towards the end of 1813 or the begin- 
 ning of 1814, on one occasion visited the Faubourg Saint- 
 Antoine. I cannot to-day give the precise date of this 
 unexpected visit; but at any rate he showed himself on this 
 occasion familiar, even to the point of good fellowship, 
 which emboldened those immediately around to address 
 him. I now relate the conversation which occurred be- 
 tween his Majesty and several of the inhabitants, which has 
 been faithfully recorded, and admitted to be true by sev- 
 eral witnesses of this really touching scene. 
 
 An Inhabitant. — "Is it true, as I am told, that the condition of 
 
 affairs is so bad ? " 
 
 The Emperor. — "I cannot say that they are in a very good 
 
 condition." 
 
 The Inhahitant " But how, then, will all this end ? " 
 
 The Emperor. — " By my faith, God alone knows." 
 
 The Inhabitant. — " But what I Is it possible the enemy could really 
 
 enter France ? " 
 
AN ANECDOTE. 259 
 
 The Emperor " That might occur, and they might even pene- 
 trate as far as this place, if you do not come to my aid. I have not a 
 million arms. I cannot do everything alone." 
 
 Numerous Voices " We vrill uphold you, we will uphold you." 
 
 Still more Voices " Yes, yes. Count on us." 
 
 The Emperor " In that case the enemy will be beaten, and we 
 
 will preserve our glory untarnished." 
 
 Several Voices " But what, then, shall we do ? " 
 
 The Emperor. — " Be enrolled and fight." 
 
 A New Voice " We would do this gladly, but we would like to 
 
 make certain conditions." 
 
 The Emperor. — " Well, speak out frankly. Let us know ; what 
 are these conditions ? " 
 
 Several Voices " That we are not to pass the frontiers." 
 
 The Emperor " You shall not pass them." 
 
 Several Voices " We wish to enter the guard." 
 
 The Emperor " Well, then, you shall enter the guard." 
 
 His Majesty had hardly pronounced these last words, 
 when the immense crowd which surrounded him made the 
 air resound with cries of " Vive VUmpereur ! " and their 
 number continued to increase all the way as the Emperor 
 slowly returned to the Tuileries, until, by the time he 
 reached the gates of the Carrousel, he was accompanied by 
 an innumerable cortege. We heard these noisy acclama- 
 tions ; but they were so badly interpreted by the comman- 
 dant of the post at the palace, that he thought it was an 
 insurrection, and the iron gates of the Tuileries on that 
 side of the court were closed. 
 
 When I saw the Emperor, a few moments after his re- 
 turn, he appeared more annoyed than pleased; for every- 
 thing having an appearance of disorder was excessively 
 distasteful to him, and a popular tumult, whatever its 
 cause, had always in it something unpleasant to him. 
 
260 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Meanwhile this scene, which his Majesty might well have 
 repeated, produced a deep impression on the people ; and 
 this enthusiasm had positive and immediate results, since 
 on that day more than two thousand men were volun- 
 tarily enrolled, and formed a new regiment of the guard. 
 On the anniversary fete of the coronation and of the 
 battle of Austerlitz, there were as usual free representa- 
 tions in all the theaters of Paris ; but at these the Em- 
 peror did not appear, as he had so often done. There were 
 also amusements, a free distribution of eatables, and also 
 illuminations ; and twelve young girls, whose marriage 
 dowries were given by the city of Paris, were married to 
 old soldiers. I remember that among everything which 
 marked the ceremonials of the Empire, the custom of 
 performing these marriages was the one most pleasing 
 to the Emperor, and he often spoke of it in terms of 
 approbation; for, if I may be allowed to make the obser- 
 vation, his Majesty had what might be called a kind of 
 mania on the subject of marriage. We were now settled 
 at the Tuileries, which the Emperor had not left since 
 the 20th of November when he had returned from Saint- 
 Cloud, and which he did not leave again until his depar- 
 ture for the army. His Majesty often presided over the 
 deliberations of the council of state, which were of grave 
 interest. I learned at that time, in relation to a certain 
 decree, a circumstance which appeared to me very singu- 
 lar. The Commune of Montmorency had long since lost 
 its ancient name ; but it was not until the end of Novem- 
 ber, 1813, that the Emperor legally took away the name of 
 £mile which it had received under the republic in honor 
 of J. J. Rousseau. It may well be believed that it had 
 
DMSMETION OF NAPOLEON'S LAST ALLY. 261 
 
 retained it so long simply because the Emperor's attention 
 had not been directed to it sooner. 
 
 I do not know but I should ask pardon for relating 
 so trivial an event, when so many great measures were 
 being adopted by his Majesty. In fact, each day necessi- 
 tated new dispositions, since the enemy was making 
 progress at every point. The Russians occupied Holland 
 under the command of General Witzengerode, who had 
 opposed us so bitterly during the Russian campaign; 
 already, even, the early return to Amsterdam of the heir 
 of the House of Orange was discussed ; in Italy Prince 
 Eugene was holding out only by dint of superior skill 
 against the far more numerous army of Bellegarde,^ who 
 had just passed the Adige ; that of the Prince von Swarz- 
 enberg occupied the confines of Switzerland ; the Prus- 
 sians and the troops of the Confederation were passing 
 the Rhine at several points. There remained to the Em- 
 peror not a single ally, as the King of Denmark, the only 
 one who had until now remained faithful, had succumbed 
 to the northern torrent, and concluded an armistice with 
 Russia ; and in the south all the strategy of Marshal 
 Soult barely sufficed to delay the progress of the Duke 
 of Wellington, who was advancing on our frontiers at 
 the head of an army far more numerous than that with 
 which we could oppose him, and which, moreover, was 
 not suffering from the same privations as our own. I 
 remember well to have heard several generals blame the 
 Emperor at that time, because he had not abandoned 
 
 ' Count Henri de Bellegarde, bom at Chamt^ry, 1755 ; entered the 
 Austrian service, and was prominent in the campaigns against France, 1793- 
 1800; field marshal, 1806 ; died 1831.— Trans. 
 
262 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Spain, and recalled all his troops to France. I make a 
 note of this, but, as may well be believed, am not willing 
 to risk my judg»ment on such matters. At all events, it 
 is evident that war surrounded us on every side ; and in 
 this state of affairs, and with our ancient frontiers threat- 
 ened, it would have been strange if there had not been 
 a general cry for peace. The Emperor desired it also; 
 and no one now holds a contrary opinion. All the works 
 which I have read, written by those persons best situated 
 to learn the exact truth of these events, agree on this 
 point. It is known that liis Majesty had dictated to the 
 Duke of Bassano a letter in which he adhered to the basis 
 of the proposal for a new congress made at Frankfort 
 by the allies. It is also known that the city of Mann- 
 heim was designated for the session of this new congress, 
 to wliich the Duke of Vicenza was to be sent. The latter, 
 in a note of the 2d of December, made known again 
 the adhesion of the Emperor to the original principles 
 and summary to be submitted to the Congress of Mann- 
 heim. The Count de Metternich, on the 10th, replied to 
 this communication that the sovereigns would inform their 
 allies of his Majesty's adhesion. All these negotiations 
 were prolonged only on account of the allies, who finally 
 declared at Frankfort that they would not consent to lay 
 down their arms. On the 20th of December they openly 
 announced their intention to invade France by passing 
 through Switzerland, whose neutrality had been solemnly 
 recognized by treaty. At the period of which I speak, 
 my position kept me, I must admit, in complete igno- 
 rance of these affairs ; but, on learning them since, they 
 have awakened in me other remembrances which have 
 
THE ALLIES CONTINUE THE WAR. 268 
 
 powerfully contributed to prove their truth. Every one, 
 I hope, will admit that if the Emperor had really desired 
 war, it is not before me he would have taken the trouble 
 to express his desire for the conclusion of peace, as I heard 
 him do several times ; and this by no means falsifies what 
 I have related of a reply given by his Majesty to the 
 Prince of Neuchatel, since in this reply he attributes the 
 necessity of war to the bad faith of his enemies. Neither 
 the immense renown of the Emperor nor his glory needs 
 any support from me, and I am not deluding myself on 
 this point; but I ask to be allowed like any other man to 
 give my mite of the truth. 
 
 I have said previously, that when passing through 
 Mayence the Emperor had convened the Corps Legislatif 
 for the 2d of December; but by a new decree it was 
 postponed until the 19th of that month, and this annual 
 solemnity was marked by the introduction of unaccustomed 
 usages. In the first place, as I have said, to the Emperor 
 alone was given the right of naming the president without 
 the presentation of a triple list, as was done in former 
 times by the senate ; moreover, the senate and the 
 council of state repaired in a body to the hall of the 
 Corps Legislatif to be present at the opening of the ses- 
 sion. I also remember that this ceremony was anticipated 
 with more than usual interest; since throughout Paris all 
 were curious and eager to hear the address of the Emperor, 
 and what he would say on the situation of France. Alas, 
 we were far from supposing that this annual ceremony 
 would be the last. 
 
 The senate and the council of state, having taken 
 the places indicated to them in the hall, the Empress 
 
2G-4 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 arrived, and entered the reserved gallery, surrounded by 
 her ladies and the officers of her household. At last the 
 Emperor appeared, a quarter of an hour after the Empress, 
 and was introduced with the accustomed ceremonials. 
 When the new president, the Duke of Massa, had taken 
 the oath at the hands of the Emperor, liis Majesty pro- 
 nounced the following discourse : — 
 
 " Senators ; Councilors of State ; Deputies from tie Departments to the 
 
 Corps Ligislatif : — 
 
 Brilliant victories have made the French arms illustrious in this 
 campaign, but unexampled defections have rendered these victories 
 useless. Everything has turned against us. Even France would be 
 in danger were it not for the energy and union of the French people. 
 
 Under these momentous circumstances my first thought was to 
 summon you. My heart felt the need of the presence and affection of 
 my subjects. 
 
 I have never been seduced by prosperity ; adversity will find me 
 above the reach of its attacks. I have many times given peace to 
 nations, even when they had lost all. On a part of my conquests I 
 have erected thrones for kings who have now abandoned me. 
 
 I have conceived and executed great plans for the happiness of 
 the world. Both as a monarch and a father I feel that peace adds 
 to the security of thrones and of families. Negotiations have been 
 entered into with the Confederated Powers. I have adhered to the 
 fundamental principles which they have presented. I then hoped that, 
 before the opening of this session, the Congress of Mannheim would 
 have assembled ; but renewed delays, which cannot be attributed to 
 France, have deferred this moment, which the whole world so eagerly 
 desires. 
 
 I have ordered that all the original articles contained in the portr 
 folio of Foreign Affairs should be submitted to you. You will be 
 informed of them through a committee. The spokesmen of my 
 Council will inform you of my wishes on this subject. 
 
 Nothing has been interposed on my part to the re-establishment 
 
THE jmpmiOM'S ADVEESS. 265 
 
 of peace ; I know and share the sentiments of the French people. I 
 repeat, of the French people, since there are none among them who 
 desire peace at the expense of honor. It is with regret that I demand 
 of this generous people new sacrifices, but they are necessary for their 
 noblest and dear-est interests. I have been compelled to re-enforce my 
 armies by numerous levies, for nations treat with security only when 
 they display all their strength. An increase of receipts has become 
 indispensable. The propositions which my minister of finance will 
 submit to you are in conformity with the system of finance I have 
 established. We will meet all demands without borrowing, which 
 uses up the resources of the future, and without paper money, which 
 is the greatest enemy of social order. 
 
 I am well satisfied with the sentiments manifested towards me 
 "under these circumstances by my people of Italy. 
 
 Denmark i and Naples alone remain faithful to their alliance. 
 The Republic of the United States of America successfully continues 
 its war with England. I have recognized the neutrality of the nine- 
 teen Swiss cantons. 
 
 Senators ; Councillors of State ; Deputies of the Departments in the Corps 
 
 Ligislatif : — 
 
 You are the natural organs of the throne. It is your province to 
 display an energy which will hold our country up to the admiration of 
 all future generations. Let it not be said of us : ' They sacrifced the 
 first interests of their country ; they submitted to the control which England 
 has sought in vain for four centuries to impose on France.' 
 
 My people need not fear that the policy of their Emperor will ever 
 betray the gloiy of the nation ; and on my part I have the conviction 
 that the French people will ever prove worthy of themselves and of 
 me." 
 
 This address was received with unanimous shouts of 
 '■'■Vive l' Empereur ; " and, wlien his Majesty returned to the 
 Tuileries, he had an air of intense satisfaction, although he 
 
 1 Denmark, as I have stated, had already concluded an armistice with 
 Russia, but the news did not reach Paris till several days after this. — Con- 
 stant. 
 
266 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 had a slight headache, which disappeared after half an hour's 
 repose. In the evening it was entirely gone, and the Em- 
 peror questioned me on what I had heard people say. I 
 told him truthfully that the persons of my acquaintance 
 luianimously agreed that the desire for peace was universal. 
 "Peace, peace!" said the Emperor, "who can desire it more 
 than I ? Go, my son, go." I withdrew, and his Majesty 
 went to the Empress. 
 
 It was about this time, I do not remember the exact 
 day, that the Emperor gave a decision on a matter in which 
 I had interested myself with him ; and I affirm that it will 
 be seen from this decision what a profound respect his 
 Majesty had for the rights of a legitimate marriage, and his 
 excessive antipathy to divorced persons. But, in order to 
 support this assertion, I will give an anecdote which recurs 
 to my memory at this moment. 
 
 During the Russian campaign General Dupont>Derval 
 was slain on the battlefield, fighting valiantly. His widow, 
 after his Majesty's return to Paris, had often, but always 
 in vain, endeavored to present a petition to his Majesty 
 describing her unfortunate condition. At length some one 
 advised her to secure my services ; and, touched by her un- 
 happiness, I presented her demand to the Emperor. His 
 Majesty but rarely refused my solicitations of this kind, as 
 I conducted them with the utmost discretion ; and conse- 
 quently I was fortunate enough to obtain for Madame 
 Dupon1>Derval a very considerable pension. I do not 
 remember how the Emperor discovered that General Du- 
 pont-Derval had been divorced, and had left a daughter by 
 a former marriage, who, as well as her mother, was still 
 living. He learned besides that General Dupont-Derval's 
 
ANECDOTE. 267 
 
 second wife was the widow of a general officer by whom she 
 had two daughters. None of these circumstances, as may 
 be imagined, had been cited in the petition ; but, when they 
 came to the Emperor's knowledge, he did not withdraw the 
 pension, for which the order had not yet been given, but 
 simply changed its destination, and gave it to the first wife 
 of General Dupont-Derval, making it revertible to her 
 daughter, though she was sufficiently wealthy not to need it, 
 and the other Madame Dupont-Derval was in actual need. 
 Meanwliile, as one is always pleased to be the bearer of good 
 tidings, I had lost no time in informing my petitioner of the 
 Emperor's favorable decision. When she learned what had 
 taken place, of which I was still in entire ignorance, she 
 returned to me, and from what she said I imagined she was 
 the victim of some mistake. In this belief I took the liberty 
 of again speaking to his Majesty on the subject, and my 
 astonishment may be imagined when his Majesty himself 
 condescended to relate to me the whole affair. Then he 
 added : " My poor child, you have allowed yourself to be 
 taken for a simpleton. I promised a pension, and I gave it 
 to the wife of General Derval, that is to say, to his real wife, 
 the mother of his daughter." The Emperor was not at all 
 angry with me. I know very well that the matter would 
 not have been permitted to continue thus without my inter- 
 esting myself further in it; but events followed each other 
 in rapid succession until the abdication of his Majesty, and 
 the affair finally remained as thus settled. 
 
268 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Efforts of the allies to separate France from the Emperor. — Truth of his 
 Majesty's words proved by events. — Copies of the declaration of 
 Frankfort circulating in Paris. — The declaration compared with the 
 Emperor's speech. — The insincerity of the foreigners admitted by M. 
 de Bourrienne. — Keflections on a passage in his Memoirs. — M. de Bour- 
 rienne under guard. — The Duke of Eovigo his defender. — The enemy's 
 object partly attained. — Count Eegnault de Saint Jean d'Angely at the 
 Corps Legislatif. — Committee from the Corps Le'gislatif. — The Empe- 
 ror's remark and the five lawyers. — The Emperor's letter to the Duke of 
 Massa. — Meeting of the two commissions at the residence of the prince 
 archchancellor. — Preserve shown by the senate. — Frequent visits of 
 the Duke of Eovigo to the Emperor. — This minister tells his Majesty 
 the truth. — Fear of increasing the number of persons compromised. — 
 Authentic and unknown anecdote. — An employee of the treasury enthu- 
 siastic for the Emperor. — Forced visit to the minister of general police. 
 
 — The minister and the employee. — Dialogue. — The enthusiast threat- 
 ened with imprisonment. — Sagacious explanations of the minister. — 
 "Work of the two commissions. — The address to the senate well re- 
 ceived. — His Majesty's remarkable reply. — Promise more difiicult to 
 make than to keep. — Increase of taxes. — "Wise judgment in regard to 
 the conduct of tlie Corps Legislatif. — The report of the commission. — 
 Vehement interruption and reply. — The Emperor much disturbed, and 
 promenading with great strides. — Decision taken and condemned. — 
 Impressed with the report and the address. — The hall where the sit- 
 tings are held is violently closed. — The deputies at the Tuileries. — A 
 strong expression of dissatisfaction with the Emperor. — Incendiary 
 address. — Correspondence with England and the lawyer Deseze. — The 
 archchancellor protects M. Deseze. — The Emperor's calm. — Bad effects. 
 
 — Sad premonitions, and the close of the year 1813. 
 
 It was not only by force of arms that the enemies of 
 France endeavored at the end of 1813 to overthrow the 
 power of the Emperor. In spite of our defeats the Em- 
 peror's name still inspired a salutary terror; and it was 
 
THE FRANKFORT DECLARATION. 269 
 
 apparent that although so numerous, the foreigners still 
 despaired of victory as long as there existed a common 
 accord between the Emperor and the French people. We 
 have seen in the preceding chapter in what language he 
 expressed himself to the great united bodies of the state, 
 and events have proved whether his Majesty concealed the 
 truth from the representatives of the nation as to the real 
 condition of France. To this discourse which history has 
 recorded, I may be allowed to oppose here another made 
 at the same period. This is the famous declaration of 
 Frankfort, copies of which the enemies of the Emperor 
 caused to be circulated in Paris; and I would not dare 
 to wager that persons of his court, while performing their 
 duties near him, did not have a copy in their pockets. If 
 there still remains any doubt as to which party was acting 
 in good faith, the reading of what follows is sufficient to 
 dispel these ; for there is no question here of political con- 
 siderations, but simply the comparison of solemn promises 
 with the actions which succeeded. 
 
 " The rrencli government has just ordered a new levy of three 
 hundred thousand men ; the proclamations of the senate contain a 
 challenge to the allied powers. They find themselves called on again 
 to promulgate to the world the views by which they are guided in 
 this present war, the principles which form the basis of their conduct, 
 their wishes, and their intentions. The allied powers are not making 
 war on France, but on the openly admitted preponderance which, to 
 the great misfortune of Europe and France, the Emperor Napoleon 
 has too long maintained outside the limits of his Empire. 
 
 Victory has brought the allied armies to the Rhine. The first 
 use their imperial and royal Majesties have made of victory has been 
 to offer peace to his Majesty the Emperor of the French. A position 
 re-enforced by the accession of all the sovereigns and princes of Ger- 
 
270 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 many has had no influence on the conditions of this peace, for these 
 conditions are founded on the independence of tlie other states of 
 Europe. The objects of these powers are just in their aims, generous 
 and liberal in their application, reassuring to all, and honorable to 
 each. 
 
 The allied sovereigns desire that France should be great, strong, 
 and happy, since its greatness and power is one of the foundations of 
 the social edifice. They desire that France should be happy, that 
 French commerce should revive, that the arts, those blessings of 
 peace, should flourish, because a great people are tranquil only when 
 satisfied. The powers confirm the French Empire in the possession 
 of an extent of territory which France has never attained under her 
 kings, since a generous nation should not be punished because it has 
 experienced reverses in a bloody and well-contested struggle in which 
 it has fought with its accustomed bravery. 
 
 But the powers themselves also wish to be happy and peaceful. 
 They desire a condition of peace which, by a wise partition of force, 
 by a just equilibrium, may hereafter preserve their people from the 
 innumerable calamities which have for twenty years overwhelmed 
 Europe. 
 
 The allied powers will not lay down their arms until they have 
 obtained this grand and beneficent result, the worthy object of all 
 their efforts. They will not lay down their arms until the political 
 condition of Europe is again secure ; until immutable principles have 
 regained their ascendency over new pretensions, and the sanctity of 
 treaties has finally assured a genuine peace to Europe." 
 
 It needs only common sense to ascertain whether the 
 allied powers were sincere in this declaration, the object 
 of which evidently was to alienate from the Emperor the 
 affections of his people by holding up his Majesty before 
 them as an obstacle to peace, and separating his cause 
 from that of France ; and on this point I am glad to sup- 
 port my own opinion by that of M. de Bourrienne, whom 
 surely no one will . accuse of partiality for his Majesty. 
 
M. DE BOURRIENNE. 271 
 
 Several passages of his Memoirs, above all those in which 
 he blames the Emperor, have pained me, I must confess ; 
 but on this occasion he does not hesitate to admit the 
 insincerity of the allies, which opinion is of much weight 
 according to my poor judgment. 
 
 M. de Bourrienne was then at Paris under the special 
 surveillance of the Duke of Rovigo. I frequently heard 
 this minister mention him to the Emperor, and always 
 favorably; but the enemies of the former secretary of 
 the First Consul must have been very powerful, or his 
 Majesty's prejudices very strong, for M. de Bourrienne 
 never returned to favor. The Emperor, who, as I have 
 said, sometimes condescended to converse familiarly with 
 me, never spoke to me of M. de Bourrienne, whom I had 
 not seen since the Emperor had ceased to receive him. I 
 saw him again for the first time among the officers of the 
 National Guard, the day these gentlemen were received at 
 the palace, as we shall see later, and I have never seen him 
 since ; but as we were all much attached to him on account 
 of his kind consideration for us, he was often the subject of 
 conversation, and, I may add, of our regrets. Moreover, I 
 was long ignorant that at the period of which I am now 
 speaking, his Majesty had offered him the mission to Switz- 
 erland, as I learned this circumstance only from reading his 
 Memoirs. I would not conceal, however, that I was pain- 
 fully affected by reading this, so greatly would I have 
 desired that Bourrienne should overcome his resentment 
 against his Majesty, who in the depths of his heart really 
 loved him. 
 
 Whatever was done, it is evident now to all that the 
 object of the declaration of Frankfort was to cause aliena- 
 
272 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 tion between the Emperor and the French people, and sub- 
 sequent events have shown that this was fully understood 
 by the Emperor, but unfortunately it was soon seen that 
 the enemy had partly obtained their object. Not only in 
 private society persons could be heard expressing them- 
 selves freely in condemnation of the Emperor, but dissen- 
 sions openly arose even in the body of the Corps Legislatif . 
 
 After the opening session, the Emperor having rendered 
 a decree that a commission should be named composed of 
 five senators and five members of the Corps Legislatif, these 
 two bodies consequently assembled. This commission, as 
 has been seen from his Majesty's address, had for its object 
 the consideration of articles submitted relative to pending 
 negotiations between France and the allied powers. Count 
 Regnault de Saint Jean d'Angely bore the decree to the 
 Corps Legislatif, and supported it with his usual persuasive 
 eloquence, recalling the victories of France and the glory 
 of the Emperor; but the ballot elected as members of the 
 commission five deputies who had the reputation of being 
 more devoted to the principles of liberty than to the 
 Emperor. These were M. Raynouard, Laine, Gallois, 
 Flaugergues, and Maine de Biran. The Emperor from 
 the first moment appeared much dissatisfied with this 
 selection, not imagining, however, that this commission 
 would soon show itself so entirely hostile. I remember 
 well that I heard his Majesty say in my presence to the 
 Prince of Neuchatel, with some exasperation though with- 
 out anger, " They have appointed five lawyers." 
 
 Nevertheless, the Emperor did not allow the least symp- 
 toms of his dissatisfaction to be seen; and as soon as he 
 had officially received the list of commissioners, addressed 
 
TBE EMPEROR'S LETTER. 273 
 
 to the President of the Corps Legislatif the following letter 
 bearing the date of the 23d of December : — 
 
 " Monsieur, Duke of Massa, President of the Legislative Corps. — 
 
 We address you the inclosed letter to make known to you our in- 
 tention that you report to-morrow, the 24th instant, at the residence of 
 our cousin the prince arohchanoellor of the Empire, in company with 
 the commission appointed yesterday by the Legislative Corps in com- 
 pliance with our decree of the 20th instant, and which is composed of 
 the following gentlemen : Eaynouard, Lain6, Gallois, Flaugergues, and 
 Maine de Biran, for the purpose of considering the articles relative to 
 the negotiations, and also the declaration of the confederated powers, 
 which will be communicated by Count Eegnault minister of state, and 
 Count d'Hauterive councilor of state attached to the department of 
 foreign relations, who will be the bearer of the aforesaid articles and 
 declaration. 
 
 Our intention also is that our cousin aforesaid should preside over 
 this commission. With this " etc. 
 
 The members of the senate appointed on this commis- 
 sion were M. de Fontanes, M. tlie Prince of Benevent, 
 M. de Saint Marsan, M. de Barbe-Marbois, and M. de 
 Beurnonville. ■ 
 
 With the exception of one of these gentlemen, whose 
 disgrace and consequent opposition were publicly known, 
 the others were thought to be sincerely attached to the 
 Emperor ; and whatever may have been their opinions and 
 their subsequent conduct they had done nothing then to 
 deserve the same distrust from the Emperor as the mem- 
 bers of the committee from the Corps Legislatif. No active 
 opposition, no signs of discontent, had been shown by the 
 conservative senate. 
 
 At this time the Duke of Rovigo came frequently, or 
 
274 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 I might rather say every day, to the Emperor. His Majesty 
 was much attached to him, and that alone suffices to prove 
 that he was not afraid to hear the truth ; for since he had 
 been minister, the Duke of Rovigo liad never concealed 
 it, which fact I can affirm, having been frequently an eye- 
 witness. In Paris there was nevertheless only unanimous 
 opposition to this minister. I can, however, cite one anec- 
 dote that the Duke of Rovigo has not included in his 
 Memoirs, and of which I guarantee the authenticity; and 
 it will be seen from this incident whether or not the 
 minister of police sought to increase the number of persons 
 who compromised themselves each day by their pratings 
 against the Emperor. 
 
 Among the employees of the treasury was a former 
 receiver of the finances who led a retired and contented 
 life in this modest employment. He was a very enthu- 
 siastic man of much intelligence. His devotion to the 
 Emperor amounted to a passion, and he never mentioned 
 him without a sort of idolatry. This employee was accus- 
 tomed to pass his evenings with a circle of friends who met 
 in the Rue de Vivienne. The regular attendants of this 
 place, whom the police very naturally had their eyes upon, 
 did not all hold the same opinion as the person of whom 
 I have just spoken, and began openly to condemn the acts 
 of government, the opposing party allowing their discon- 
 tent to be plainly manifest ; and the faithful adorer of his 
 Majesty became proportionately more lavish of his expres- 
 sions of admiration, as his antagonists showed themselves 
 ready with reproaches. The Duke of Rovigo was informed 
 of these discussions, which each day became more eager and 
 animated; and one fine day our honest employee found on 
 
TEE BUKE OF ROVIGO. 275 
 
 returning to his home a letter bearing the seal of the 
 general of police. He could not believe his eyes. He, 
 a good, simple, modest man living his retired life, what 
 could the minister of general police desire of him? He 
 opens the letter, and finds that the minister orders him to 
 appear before him the next morning. He reports there as 
 may be imagined with the utmost punctuality, and then 
 a dialogue something like this ensued between these gentle- 
 men. "It appears. Monsieur," said the Duke of Rovigo, 
 " that you are very devoted to the Emperor." — " Yes, I 
 love him ; I would give him my blood, my life." — " You 
 adiuire him greatly?" — "Yes, I admire him! The Em- 
 peror has' never been so great, his glory has never" — 
 "That is all very well. Monsieur; your sentiments do you 
 honor, and I share those sentiments with you ; but I urge 
 on you to reserve the expression of them for yourself, for, 
 though I should regret it very much, you may drive me to 
 the necessity of having you arrested." — " I, my Lord, have 
 me arrested ? Ah ! but doubtless — why ? " — " Do you 
 not see that you cause the expression of opinions that might 
 remain concealed were it not for your enthusiasm; and 
 finally, you will force many good men to compromise them- 
 selves to a certain extent, who will return to us when 
 things are in better condition. Go, Monsieur, let us con- 
 tinue to love, serve, and admire the Emperor ; but at such 
 a time as this let us not proclaim our fine sentiments so 
 loudly, for fear of rendering many guilty who are only 
 a little misguided." The emp^-oyee of the treasury then 
 left the minister, after thanking him for his advice and 
 promising to follow it. I would not dare to assert that he 
 kept his word scrupulously, but I can affirm that all I have 
 
276 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 just said is tlie exact truth ; and I am sure that if this 
 passage in my Memoirs falls under the eyes of the Duke of 
 Rovigo it will remind him of an occurrence which he may 
 perhaps have forgotten, but which he will readily recall. 
 
 Meanwhile the commission, composed as I have said of 
 five senators and five members of the Corps Legislatif, de- 
 voted itself assiduously to the duty with which it was 
 charged. Each of these two grand bodies of the state 
 presented to his Majesty a separate address. The senate 
 had received the report made by M. de Fontanes; and their 
 address contained nothing which could displease the Em- 
 peror, but was on the contrary expressed in most proper 
 terms. Ip it a peace was indeed demanded, but a peace 
 which his Majesty could obtain by an effort worthy of him 
 and of the French people. " Let that hand so many times 
 victorious," they said, "lay down its arms after having 
 assured the repose of the world." The following passage 
 was also noteworthy : " No, the enemy shall not destroy 
 this beautiful and noble France, which for fourteen hundred 
 years has borne itself gloriously through such diverse for- 
 tunes, and which for the interest of the neighboring nations 
 themselves should always bear considerable weight in the 
 balance of power in Europe. We have as pledges of this 
 your heroic constancy and the national honor." Then 
 again, " Fortune does not long fail nations which do not fail 
 in their duty to themselves." 
 
 This language, worthy of true Frenchmen, and which 
 the circumstances at least required, was well pleasing to the 
 Emperor, as is evident from the answer he made on the 29th 
 of December to the deputation from the senate with the 
 prince archchancellor at its head : — • 
 
TUE EMPEHOE'S REPLY. 277 
 
 "Senators," said his Majesty, "I am deeply sensible of 
 the sentiments you express. You have seen by the articles 
 which I have communicated to you what I am doing towards 
 a peace. The sacrifices required by the preliminary basis 
 which the enemy had proposed to me I have accepted ; and 
 I shall make them without regret, since my life has only 
 one object, — the happiness of the French people. 
 
 " Meanwhile Beam, Alsace, Franche-Comte, and Bra- 
 bant have been entered, and the cries of that part of my 
 family rend my soul. I call the French to the aid of the 
 French ! I call the Frenchmen of Paris, Brittany, Nor- 
 mandy, Champagne, Burgundy, and the other departments 
 to the aid of their brothers. Will they abandon them in 
 misfortune ? Peace and the deliverance of our territory 
 should be our rallying cry. At the sight of this whole 
 people in arms the foreigner will flee, or will consent to 
 peace on the terms I have proposed to him. The question 
 is no longer the recovery of the conquests we have made." 
 
 It was necessary to be in a position to thoroughly loiow 
 the character of the Emperor to understand how much it 
 must have cost him to utter these last words ; but from a 
 knowledge of his character also resulted the certainty that 
 it would have cost him less to do what he promised than 
 to say them. It would seem that this was well understood 
 in Paris ; for the day on which the Moniteur published the 
 reply of his Majesty to the senate, stocks increased in value 
 more than two francs, which the Emperor did not fail to 
 remark with much satisfaction; for as is well known, the 
 rise and decline of stoclis was with him the real thermome- 
 ter of public opinion. 
 
 In regard to the conduct of the Corps Legislatif, I heard 
 
278 UECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 it condemned by a man of real merit deeply imbued with 
 republican principles. He uttered one day in my presence 
 these words which struck me : " The Corps Legislatif did 
 then what it should have done at all times, except under 
 these circumstances." From the language used by the 
 spokesman of the commission, it is only too evident that the 
 speaker believed in the false promises of the declaration of 
 FranHort. According to him, or rather according to the 
 commission of which he was after all only the organ, the 
 intention of the foreigners was not to humiliate France ; 
 they only wished to keep us within our proper limits, and 
 annul the effects of an ambitious activity which had been 
 so fatal for twenty years to all the nations of Europe. " The 
 propositions of the confederated powers," said the commis- 
 sion, " seem to tis honorable for the nation, since they prove 
 that foreigners both fear and respect us." Finally the 
 speaker, continuing his reading, having reached a passage in 
 which allusion was made to the Umpire of the Lily, added 
 in set phrase that the Rhine, the Alps, the Pyrenees, and 
 the two seas inclosed a vast territory, several provinces of 
 which had not belonged to ancient France, and that never- 
 theless the crown royal of France shoyie brilliantly with glory 
 and majesty among all other diadems. 
 
 At these words the Duke of Massa interrupted the 
 speaker, exclaiming, "What you say is unconstitutional ; " to 
 which the speaker vehemently replied, "I see nothing un- 
 constitutional here except your presence," and continued to 
 read his report. The Emperor was each day informed of 
 what took place in the sitting of the Corps Legislatif; and I 
 remember that the day on which their report was read he 
 appeared much disturbed, and before retiring walked up and 
 
THE ADDRESS SUPPRESSED. 279 
 
 down the room in much agitation, like one trying to make 
 some important decision. At last he decided not to allow 
 the publication of the address of the Corps Legislatif, wliich 
 had been communicated to liim according to custom. Time 
 pressed; the next day would have been too late, as the 
 address would be circulated in Paris, where the public mind 
 was already much disturbed. The order was consequently 
 given to the minister of general police to have the copy of 
 the' report and the address seized at the printing establish- 
 ment, and to break the forms already set up. Besides this 
 the order was also given to close the doors of the Corps 
 Legislatif, which was done, and the legislature thus found 
 itself adjourned. 
 
 I heard many persons at this time deeply regret that 
 his Majesty had taken these measures, and, above all, that 
 having taken them he had not stopped there. It was said 
 that since the Corps Legislatif was now adjourned by force, 
 it was better, whatever might be the result, to convoke an- 
 other chamber, and that the Emperor should not recognize 
 the members of the one he had dismissed. His Majesty 
 thought otherwise, and gave the deputies a farewell audi- 
 ence. They came to the Tuileries ; and there his only too 
 just resentment found vent in these words : — 
 
 "I have suppressed your address, as it was incendiary. 
 Eleven-twelfths of the Corps I^egislatif are composed of 
 good citizens whom I know and for whom I have much 
 regard; the other twelfth is composed of seditious persons 
 who are devoted to England. Your Commission and its 
 chairman, M. Laine, are of this number. He corresponds 
 with the Prince Regent, through the lawyer Deseze. I 
 know it, and have proof of it. The other four are of the 
 
280 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 same faction. If there are abuses to be remedied, is this a 
 time for remonstrances, when two hundred thousand Cos- 
 sacks are crossing our frontiers? Is this the moment to 
 dispute as to individual hberty and safety, when the ques- 
 tion is tire preservation of political liberty and national 
 independence? The enemy must be resisted; you must 
 follow the example of the Alsatians, Vosges, and inhabi- 
 tants of Franche-Comte, who wish to march against them, 
 and have applied to me for arms. You endeavor in your 
 address to separate the sovereign from the nation. It is I 
 who here represent the people, who have given me four mil- 
 lion of their sujf rages. If I believed you I should cede to 
 the enemy more than he demands. You shall have peace 
 in three months or I shall perish. Your address was an in- 
 sult to me and to the Corps Legislatif." 
 
 Although the journals were forbidden to repeat the de- 
 tails of this scene, the rumors of it spread through Paris 
 with the rapidity of lightning. The Emperor's words were 
 repeated and commented on ; the dismissed deputies sounded 
 them through all the departments. I remember seeing the 
 prime arch-chancellor next day come to the Emperor and 
 request an audience ; it was in favor of M. Deseze, whose 
 protector he then was. In spite of the threatening words 
 of his Majesty, he found him not disposed to take severe 
 measures ; for his anger had already exhausted itself, as 
 was always the case with the Emperor when he had aban- 
 doned himself to his first emotions of fury. However, the 
 fatal misunderstanding between the Corps Legislatif and the 
 Emperor, caused by the report of the committee of that 
 body, produced the most grievous effects ; and it is easy to 
 conceive how much the enemy must have rejoiced over this, 
 
SAD PREMONITIONS. 281 
 
 as they never failed to be promptly informed by the numer- 
 ous agents whom they employed in France. It was under 
 these sad circumstances that the year 1813 closed. We 
 will see in future what were the consequences of it, and 
 in fact the history, until now unwritten, of the Emperor's 
 inner life at Fontainebleau ; that is to say, of the most 
 painful period of my life. 
 
282 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Commissioners sent into the departments. — The enemy on the soil of Prance. 
 
 — Frenchmen in the enemy's ranks. — The greatest crime in the eyes ot 
 the Emperor. — Original plan of his Majesty in relation to Ferdinand 
 Til. — Wishes and demands of the Prince of Spain. — Plan of marriage. 
 
 — Tlie Prince of Spain and additional embarrassment. — Measures taken 
 by the Emperor. — Surrender of Dantzic and agreement violated. — Sur- 
 render of Torgau. — Distressing news from the south. — Instructions to 
 the Duke of Vicenza. — Baron Capelle and the commission of inquiry. — 
 Piemarkable coincidence in two events. — Calling out the National Guard 
 of Paris. — The Emperor commander-in-chief. — Composition of the gen- 
 eral staff. — Marslial Moncey. — The Emperor's desire to amalgamate all 
 classes of society. — The most honorable title in the Emperor's eyes. — 
 The zeal of M. de Chabrol and the Emperor's friendship. — A master of 
 request and two auditors. — Unknown particulars. — JI. AUent and M. de 
 Sainte-Croix. — The wooden leg. — Enthusiasm of tiie citizens, and defi- 
 ciency of arms. — Invalid soldiers requesting to enter the service again. 
 
 In order to neutralize the effects wHcli might he pro- 
 duced in the provinces hy the reports of the members of 
 the Corps Legislatif and tlie correspondence of tlie alarm- 
 ists, his Majesty appointed from the members of the conser- 
 vative senate a certain number of commissioners whom he 
 charged to visit the departments and restore public confi- 
 dence. This was a most salutary measure, and one which 
 circumstances imperiously demanded; for discouragement 
 began to be felt among the masses of the population, and as 
 is well known in such cases the presence of superior author- 
 ity restores confidence to those who are only timid. Never- 
 theless, the enemy were advancing at several points, and 
 had already pressed the soil of Old France. When this 
 
TRE ENEMY IN FRANCE. 283 
 
 news reached the Emperor, it afSicted him deeply without 
 overcoming him. At times, however, his indignation broke 
 forth ; above all, when he learned from the reports that 
 French emigrants had entered the enemy's ranks, whom he 
 stigmatized by the name of traitors, infamous and wretched 
 creatures, unworthy of pity. I remember that on the occa- 
 sion of the capture of Hiiningen he thus characterized a 
 certain M. de Montjoie, who was now serving in the Bava- 
 rian army after taking a German name, which I have for- 
 gotten. The Emperor added, however : " At least, he has 
 had the modesty 'not to keep his French name." In gene- 
 ral easy to conciliate on nearly all points, the Emperor was 
 pitiless towards all those who bore arms against their coun- 
 try ; and innumerable times I have heard him say that there 
 was no greater crime in his eyes. 
 
 In order not to add to the complication of so many con- 
 flicting interests which encountered and ran contrary to 
 each other still more each day, the Emperor already had 
 the thought of sending Ferdinand VII. back into Spain. I 
 have the certainty that his Majesty had even made some 
 overtures to him on this subject during his last stay in 
 Paris ; but it was the Spanish prince who objected to this, 
 not ceasing, on the contrary, to demand the Emperor's pro- 
 tection. He desired most of all to become the ally of his 
 Majesty, and it was well known that in his letters to his 
 Majesty he urged him incessantly to give him a wife of the 
 Emperor's selection. The Emperor had seriously thought 
 of marrying him to the eldest daughter of King Joseph, 
 which seemed a means of conciliating at the same time the 
 rights of Prince Joseph and those of Ferdinand VII., and 
 King Joseph asked nothing better than to be made a party 
 
284 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 to this arrangement ; and from the manner in which he had 
 used his royalty since the commencement of his reign, 
 we may be permitted to think that his Majesty did not 
 greatly object to this. Prince Ferdinand had acquiesced 
 in this alliance, which appeared very agreeable to him, 
 when suddenly at the end of the year 1813 he demanded 
 time ; and the course of events placed this affair among 
 the number of those which existed only in intention. 
 Prince Ferdinand left Valengay at last, but later than the 
 Emperor had authorized him to do, and for some time 
 his presence had been only an additional embarrassment. 
 However, the Emperor had no reason to complain of his 
 conduct towards him until after the events of Fontaine- 
 bleau. 
 
 At any rate, in the serious situation of affairs, matters 
 concerning the Prince of Spain were only an incidental 
 matter, no more important than the stay of the Pope at 
 Fontainebleau ; the great point, the object which predomi- 
 nated everything, was the defense of the soil of France, 
 which the first days of January found invaded at many 
 points. This was the one thought of his Majesty, which 
 did not prevent him, nevertheless, from entering accord- 
 ing to custom into all the duties of his administration ; 
 and we will soon see the measures he took to re-establish 
 the national guard of Paris. I have on this subject cer- 
 tain documents and particulars which are little known, from 
 a person whose name I am not permitted to give, but 
 whose position gave him the opportunity of learning all 
 the intricacies of its formation. As all these duties still 
 required for more than a month the presence of his Majesty 
 at Paris, he remained there until the 25th of January. 
 
SURRENDER OF TORGAU. 285 
 
 But what fatal news he received during those twenty-five 
 days ! 
 
 First the Emperor learned that the Russians, as un- 
 scrupulous as the Austrians in observing the conditions of 
 a capitulation which are usually considered sacred, had just 
 trampled under their feet the stipulations made at Dantzic. 
 In the name of the Emperor Alexander, the Prince of Wiir- 
 temberg who commanded the siege had acknowledged and 
 guaranteed to General Rapp and the troops placed under 
 his command the right to return to France, which agree- 
 ment was no more respected than had been a few months 
 before that made with Marshal Sainl^Cyr by the Prince of 
 Schwarzenberg ; thus the garrison of Dantzic were made 
 prisoners with the same bad faith as that of Dresden had 
 been. This news, which reached him at almost the same 
 time as that of the surrender of Torgau, distressed his Ma- 
 jesty so much the more as it contributed to prove to him 
 that these powerful enemies wished to treat of peace only 
 in name, with a resolution to retire always before a defi- 
 nite conclusion was reached. 
 
 At the same period the news from Lyons was in no wise 
 reassuring. The command of this place had been confided 
 to Marshal Augereau, and he was accused of having lacked 
 the energy necessary to foresee or arrest the invasion of the 
 south of France. Further I will not now dwell on this cir- 
 cumstance, proposing in the following chapter to collect my 
 souvenirs which relate more especially to the beginning of 
 the campaign in France, and some circumstances which 
 preceded it. I limit myself consequently to recalling, as 
 far as my memory serves, events which occurred during the 
 last days the Emperor passed in Paris. 
 
286 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 From the 4th of January his Majesty, although hav- 
 ing lost, as I said a while since, all hope of inducing the 
 invaders to conclude a peace, which the whole world so 
 much needed, gave his instructions to the Duke of Vicenza, 
 and sent him to the headquarters of the allies ; but he was 
 compelled to wait a long time for his passports. At the 
 same time special orders were sent to the prefects of de- 
 partments in the invaded territory as to the conduct they 
 should pursue under such difficult circumstances. Think- 
 ing at the same time that it was indispensable to make 
 an example in order to strengthen the courage of the 
 timid, the Emperor ordered the creation of a commission 
 of inquiry, charged to inquire into the conduct of Baron 
 Capelle, prefect of the department of the Leman at the 
 time of the entrance of the enemy into Geneva. Finally a 
 decree mobilized one hundred and twenty battahons of the 
 National Guard of the Empire, and ordered a levy en masse 
 on all the departments of the east of all men capable of bear- 
 ing arms. Excellent measures doubtless, but vain ! Des- 
 tiny was stronger than even the genius of a great man. 
 
 Meanwhile on the 8th of January appeared the decree 
 which called out for active duty thirty thousand men of 
 the National Guard of Paris on the very day when by a 
 singular and fatal coincidence the King of Naples signed 
 a treaty of alliance with Great Britain. The Emperor 
 reserved for himself the chief command of the National 
 Parisian Guard, and constituted the staif as follows : a 
 vice-commander-in-chief, four aides who were major-gen- 
 erals, four adjutant commandants, and eight assistant cap- 
 tains. A legion was formed in each district, and each 
 legion was divided into four battalions subdivided into 
 
COMPOSITION OF THE GENERAL STAFF. 287 
 
 five companies. Next the Emperor appointed the follow- 
 ing to superior grades : — 
 
 General vice-commander-in-chief. — Marshal de Moncey, Duke of 
 Conegliano. 
 
 Aides — major-generals. — General of division, Count Hullin ; 
 Count Bertrand, grand marshal of the palace ; Count of Montes- 
 quieu, grand chamberlain ; Count de Montmorency, chamberlain of 
 the Emperor. 
 
 Adjutant-commandants. — Baron Laborde, adjutant-commandant 
 of the post of Paris ; Count Albert d-e Brancas, chamberlain of the 
 Emperor; Count Germain, chamberlain of the Emperor; M. Tourton. 
 
 Assistant captains. — Count Lariboisiere ; Chevalier Adolphe de 
 Maussion ; Messieurs Jules de Montbreton, son of the equerry of the 
 Princess Borghfese ; Collin, junior, the younger ; Lecordier, junior ; 
 Lemoine, junior ; Cardon, junior ; Malet, junior. 
 
 Chiefs of the twelve Legions. — First legion. Count de Gontaut, 
 senior ; second legion. Count Kegnault de Saint Jean d'Angely ; third 
 legion. Baron Hottinguer, banker ; fourth legion. Count Jaubert, gov- 
 ernor of the bank of France ; fifth legion, M. Dauberjon de Murinais ; 
 sixth legion, J\I. de Fraguier ; seventh legion, M. Lepileur de Bre- 
 vannes ; eighth legion, M. Richard Lenoir ; ninth legion, M. Devins 
 de Gaville ; tenth legion, the Duke of Cadore ; eleventh legion. Count 
 de Choiseul-Praslin, chamberlain of the Emperor ; twelfth legion, M. 
 Salleron. 
 
 From the names we have just read, we may judge of 
 the incredible insight by which his Majesty was enabled 
 to choose, among the most distinguished persons of the 
 different classes of society, those most popular and most 
 influential from their positions. By the side of the names 
 which had gained glory under the eyes of the Emperor, 
 and by seconding him in his great undertakings, could be 
 found those whose claim to distinction was more ancient 
 
288 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 and recalled noble memories, and finally the heads of the 
 principal industries in the capital. This species of amalga- 
 mation delighted the Emperor greatly; and he must have 
 attached to it great political importance, for this idea occu- 
 pied his attention to such an extent that I have often 
 heard him say, " I wish to confound all classes, all periods, 
 all glories. I desire that no title may he more glorious 
 than the title of Frenchman." Why is it fate decreed that 
 the Emperor should not he allowed time to carry out his 
 extensive plans for the glory and happiness of France of 
 which he so often spoke ? The staff of the National Guard 
 and the chiefs of the twelve legions being appointed, the 
 Emperor left the nomination of the other officers, as well 
 as the formation of the legions, to the selection of M. de 
 Chabrol, prefect of the Seine. This worthy magistrate, to 
 whom the Emperor was much attached, displayed under 
 these circumstances the greatest zeal and activity, and in 
 a short time the National Guard presented an imposing 
 appearance. They were armed, equipped, and clothed in 
 the best possible manner ; and this ardor, which might be 
 called general, was in these last days one of the consola- 
 tions which most deeply touched the heart of the Emperor, 
 since he saw in it a proof of the attachment of the Pari- 
 sians to his person, and an additional motive for feeling 
 secure as to the tranquillity of the capital during his ap- 
 proaching absence. Be that as it may, the bureau of the 
 National Guard was soon formed, and established in the 
 residence which Marshal Moncey inhabited on the Rue du 
 Faubourg Saint-Honore, near the square Beauveau ; and 
 one master of requests and two auditors of the council of 
 state were attached to it. The master of requests, a supe- 
 
CHEVALIER ALLENT. 289 
 
 rior officer of engineers, the Chevalier Allent, soon be- 
 came the soul of the whole administration of the National 
 Guard, no one being more capable than he of giving a 
 lively impulse to an organization wliich required great 
 promptness. The person from whom I obtained this infor- 
 mation, which I intermingle Avith my personal souvenirs, 
 has assured me that following upon, that is to say, after 
 our departure for Chalons-sur-Marne, M. Allent became 
 still more influential in the National Guard, of which 
 he was the real head. In fact, when King Joseph had 
 received the title of lieutenant-general to the Emperor, 
 which his Majesty conferred on him during the time of 
 his absence, M. Allent found himself attached on one 
 hand to the staff of King Joseph as officer of engineers, 
 and on the other to the vice-general-in-chief in his quality 
 of master of requests. It resulted that he was the media- 
 tor and counselor in all communications which were ne- 
 cessarily established between the lieutenant-general of the 
 Emperor and Marshal Moncey, and the promptness of his 
 decisions was a source of great benefit to that good and 
 grave marshal. He signed all letters, "The Marshal, Duke 
 de Conegliano ; " and wrote so slowly that M. Allent had, 
 so to speak, time to write the correspondence while the 
 marshal was signing his name. The duties of the two 
 auditors to the council of state were nothing, or nearly 
 so ; but these men were by no means nobodies, as has 
 been asserted, though a few of that character of course 
 slipped into the council, since the first condition for holding 
 this office was simply to prove an income of at least six 
 thousand francs. These were Messieurs Ducancel, the 
 dean of the auditors, and M. Robert de Sainte-Croix. A 
 
290 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 shell had broken the latter's leg during the return from 
 Moscow; and this brave young man, a captain of cavalry, 
 had returned, seated astride a cannon, from the banks of 
 the Beresina to Wilna. Having little physical strength, 
 but gifted with a strong mind, M. Robert de Sainte-Groix 
 owed it to his moral courage not to succumb; and after 
 undergoing the amputation of his leg, left the sword for 
 the pen, and it was thus he became auditor to the coun- 
 cil of state. 
 
 The week after the National Guard of the city of Paris 
 had been called into service, the chiefs of the twelve legions 
 and the general staff were admitted to take the oath of 
 fidelity at the Emperor's hands. The National Guard had 
 already been organized into legions ; but the want of arms 
 was keenly felt, and many citizens could procure only 
 lances, and those who could not obtain guns or buy them 
 found themselves thereby chilled in their ardor to equip 
 themselves. Nevertheless, the Citizen Guard soon enrolled 
 the desired number of thirty thousand men, and by degrees 
 it occupied the different posts of the capital; and whilst 
 fathers of families and citizens employed in domestic work 
 were enrolled without difficulty, those who had already paid 
 their debts to their country on the battlefield also de- 
 manded to be allowed to serve her again, and to shed for 
 her the last drop of their blood. Invalided soldiers begged 
 to resume their service. Hundreds of these brave soldiers 
 forgot their sufferings, and covered with honorable wounds 
 went forth again to confront the enemy. Alas ! very few 
 of those who then left the Hotel des Invalides were for- 
 tunate enough to return. 
 
 Meanwhile the moment of the Emperor's departure ap- 
 
J^APOLEON'S ADIEU TO THE NATIONAL GUABB. 291 
 
 preached ; but before setting out he bade a touching adieu to 
 the National Guard, as we shall see in the next chapter, and 
 confided the regency to the Empress as he had formerly 
 intrusted it to her during the campaign in Dresden. Alas ! 
 this time it was not necessary to make a long journey be- 
 fore the Emperor was at the head of his army. 
 
292 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The campaign of miracles. — A solemn promise broken. — Violation of Swiss 
 territory. — The allied troops in the Brelsgau. — The bridge of Bale. — 
 French towns occupied by the enemy. — Energy of the Emperor increas- 
 ing with the danger. — Carnot governor of Antwerp, and satisfaction of 
 the Emperor. — Defection of the King of Naples. — The King of Naples 
 and the Prince Koyal of Sweden. — The Emperor's anger. — The eve 
 of departure. — The officers of the National Guard at the Tuileries. — 
 Kemarkable words of the Emperor. — A touching scene. — The King of 
 Kome and the Empress under the safeguard of the Parisians. — A scene 
 of enthusiasm and emotion. — Tears of the Empress. — Spontaneous oath. 
 — M. de Bourrieime at the Tuileries. — Departure for the army. — Col- 
 onel Bouland and the cross of the Legion of Honor. — The indefati- 
 gable braves. — A singular meeting. — Tiie old country curate recognized 
 by the Emperor. — The ecclesiastical guide. — Arrival before Brienne. — 
 Bliicher in flight. — The Emperor believes Blucher a prisoner. — Recol- 
 lections of ten years, and difference in the times. — Striking changes for 
 all. — Atrocious cruelty. — Violation, pillage, and burning. — Official 
 falsehoods concerning the allies. — Detestable makers of jokes. — The 
 Emperor Alexander's indifference as to jireventing disorder. — The field 
 of La Bothiere. — A child's combat and a bloody battle. — Retreat to- 
 wards Troyes. — Imminent danger of the Emperor, and his sword cutting 
 the wind. — The war of the eagle and the ravens. — The army of Bliicher. 
 
 We are now about to begin the campaign of miracles ; 
 but before relating the events which I witnessed on this 
 campaign, during which I, so to speak, never left the Em- 
 peror, it is necessary that I here inscribe some souvenirs 
 which may be considered as a necessary introduction. It is 
 well known that the Swiss cantons had solemnly declared 
 to the Emperor that they would not allow their territory to 
 be violated, and that they would do everything possible to 
 oppose the passage of the allied armies who were marching 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF MIRACLES. 293 
 
 on the frontiers of France by way of the Breisgau. The 
 Emperor, in order to stop them on their marcli, relied 
 upon tlae destruction of the bridge of Bale ; but tliis bridge 
 ■was not destroyed, and Switzerland, instead of maintaining 
 her promised neutrality, entered into the coalition against 
 France. The foreign armies passed the Rhine at' Bale, at 
 Schaffhausen, and at Mannheim. Capitulations made with 
 the generals of the confederated troops in regard to the 
 French garrisons of Dantzic, Dresden, and other strong 
 towns had been, as we have seen, openly violated. Thus 
 Marshal Gouvion Saint-Cyr and his army corps had been, 
 contrary to the stipulations contained in the treaties, sur- 
 rounded by superior forces, disarmed, and conducted as 
 prisoners to Austria ; and twenty thousand men, the remains 
 of the garrison of Dantzic, were thus arrested by order of 
 the Emperor Alexander, and conveyed to the Russian des- 
 erts. Geneva opened its gates to the enemy in the fol- 
 lowing January. Vesoul, Epinal, Nancy, Langres, Dijon, 
 Chalons-sur-Saone, and Bar-sur-Aube were occupied by the 
 allies. 
 
 The Emperor, in proportion as the danger became more 
 pressing, displayed still more his energy and indefatigable 
 activity. He urged the organization of new levies, and in 
 order to pay the most urgent expenses drew thirty milhons 
 from his secret treasury in the vaults of the pavilion Mar- 
 san. The levies of conscripts were, however, made with 
 difficulty; for in the course of the year 1813 alone, one 
 million forty thousand soldiers had been summoned to the 
 field, and France could no longer sustain such enormous 
 drains. Meanwhile veterans came from all parts to be 
 enrolled; and General Carnot offered his services to the 
 
294 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Emperor, who was much touched by this proceeding, and 
 confided to liim the defense of Antwerp. The zeal and 
 courage with which the general acquitted himself of this 
 important mission is well known. Movable columns and 
 corps of partisans placed themselves under arms in the 
 departments of the east, and a few rich proprietors levied 
 and organized companies of volunteers, while select cav- 
 alry formed themselves into corps, the cavaliers of which 
 equipped themselves at their own expense. 
 
 In the midst of these preparations the Emperor received 
 news which moved him deeply, — the King of Naples had 
 just joined the enemies of the French. On a previous 
 occasion, when his Majesty had seen the Prince Royal of 
 Sweden, after having been marshal and prince of the Em- 
 pire, enter into a coalition against his native country, I 
 heard him break forth into reproaches and exclamations of 
 indignation, although the King of Sweden had more than 
 one reason to offer in liis own defense, being alone in the 
 north, and shut in by powerful enemies against whom he 
 was entirely unable to struggle, even had the interests of 
 his new country been inseparable from those of France. 
 By refusing to enter into the coalition he would have 
 drawn on Sweden the anger of her formidable neighbors, 
 and with the throne he would have sacrificed and fruit- 
 lessly ruined the nation which had adopted him. It was 
 not to the Emperor he owed his elevation. But King 
 Joachim, on the contrary, owed everything to the Emperor ; 
 for it was he who had given him one of his sisters as a 
 wife, who had given him a throne, and had treated him as well 
 as, and even better than, if he had been a brother. It was 
 consequently the duty of the King of Naples as well as his 
 
DEFECTION OF THE KING OF NAPLES. 295 
 
 interest not to separate his cause from that of France ; for 
 if the Emperor fell, how could the kings of his own family, 
 whom he had made, hope to stand? Both King Joseph and 
 Jerome had well understood this, and also the brave and 
 loyal Prince Eugene, who supported courageously in Italy 
 the cause of his adopted father. If the King of Naples 
 had united with him they could together have marched 
 on Vienna, and this audacious but at the same time per- 
 fectly practicable movement would have infallibly saved 
 France. 
 
 These are some of the reflections I heard the Emperor 
 make in speaking of the treachery of the King of Naples, 
 though in the first moments, however, he did not reason so 
 calmly. His anger was extreme, and with it was mingled 
 grief and emotions near akin to pity : " Murat ! " cried he, 
 " Murat betray me ! Murat sell himself to the English ! 
 The poor creature ! He imagines that if the allies succeed 
 in overthrowing me they would leave him the throne on 
 which I have seated him. Poor fool ! The worst fate 
 that can befall him is that his treachery should succeed; 
 for he would have less pity to expect from his new allies 
 than from me." 
 
 The evening before his departure for the army, the 
 Emperor received the corps of officers of the National Pari- 
 sian Guard, and the reception was held in the great hall of 
 the Tuileries. This ceremony was sad and imposing. His 
 Majesty presented himself before the assembly with her 
 Majesty the Empress, who held by the hand the King of 
 Rome, aged three years lacking two months. Although 
 his speech on this occasion is doubtless already well known, 
 I repeat it here, as I do not wish that these beautiful and 
 
296 RECOLLECTIOJVS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 solemn words of my former master should be wanting in 
 my Memoirs : — 
 
 " Gentlemen, Officers of the National Guard, — It is with much 
 pleasure I see you assembled around me. I leave to-night to place 
 myself at the head of the army. On leaving the capital I place with 
 confidence in your care my wife and my son on whom rests so many 
 hopes. I owe you this proof of my confidence, in return for all the 
 innumerable proofs you have repeatedly given me in the important 
 events of my life. I shall depart with my mind free from anxiety, 
 since they will be under your faithful protection. I leave with you 
 what is dearest to me in the world, next to France, and I freely com- 
 mit it to your care. 
 
 It may occur that in consequence of the maneuvers I am about 
 to make, the enemy may find the opportunity of approaching your 
 walls. If this should take place, remember that it will be an afiair of 
 only a few days, and I will soon come to your assistance. I recom- 
 mend to you to preserve unity among yourselves, and to resist all the 
 insinuations by which efforts will be made to divide you. There will 
 not be wanting endeavors to shake your fidelity to duty, but I rely 
 upon you to repel these perfidious attempts." 
 
 At the end of this discourse, the Emperor bent his 
 looks on the Empress and the King of Rome, whom his 
 august mother held in her arms, and presenting both by 
 his looks and gestures to the assembly this child whose ex- 
 pressive countenance seemed to reflect the solemnity of the 
 occasion, he added in an agitated voice, " I confide him to 
 you. Messieurs; I confide him to the love of my faithful 
 city of Paris!" At these words of his Majesty innumer- 
 able shouts were heard, and innumerable arms were raised 
 swearing to defend this priceless trust. The Empress, 
 bathed in tears and pale with the emotion by which she 
 was agitated, would have fallen if the Emperor had not 
 
■ NAPOLEON'S DEPARTURE. 297 
 
 supported her in his arms. At this sight the enthusiasm 
 reached its height, tears iiowed from all eyes, and there was 
 not one present who did not seem willing as he retired to 
 shed his blood for the Imperial family. On this occasion I 
 again saw for the first time M. de Bourrienne at the pal- 
 ace; he wore, if I am not mistaken, the uniform of captain 
 in the National Guard. 
 
 On the 25th of January the Emperor set out for the 
 army, after conferring the regency on her Majesty the Em- 
 press ; and that night we reached Chalons-sur-Marne. His 
 arrival stopped the progress of the enemy's army and the 
 retreat of our troops. Two days after he, in his turn, at- 
 tacked the allies at Saint-Dizier. His Majesty's entrance 
 into this town was marked by most touching manifestations 
 of enthusiasm and devotion. The very moment the Em- 
 peror alighted, a former colonel, M. Bouland, an old man 
 more than seventy years old, threw himself at his Majesty's 
 feet, expressing to him the deep grief which the sight of 
 foreign bayonets had caused him, and his confidence that 
 the Emperor would drive them from the soil of France. 
 His Majesty assisted the old veteran to rise, and said to 
 him cheerfully that he would spare nothing to accomplish 
 such a favorable prediction. The allies conducted them- 
 selves in the most inhuman manner at Saint-Dizier : women 
 and old men died or were made ill under the cruel treat- 
 ment which they received; and it may be imagined what 
 a cause of rejoicing his Majesty's arrival was to the 
 country. 
 
 The enemy having been repulsed at Saint-Dizier, the 
 Emperor learned that the army of Silesia was being concen- 
 trated on Brienne, and immediately set out on the march 
 
298 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 through the forest of Deo, the brave soldiers who followed 
 him appearing as indefatigable as he. He halted at the 
 village of Eclaron, where his Majesty paid a certain sum to 
 the inhabitants to repair their church, which the enemy had 
 destroyed. The surgeon of this town advanced to thank 
 the Emperor ; and his Majesty examining him attentively 
 said to him, " You have served in the army. Monsieur? " — 
 "Yes, Sire; I was in the army of Egypt." — "Why have 
 you no cross ? " — " Sire, because I have never asked for it." 
 — " Monsieirr, you are only the more worthy of it. I hope 
 you -will wear the one I shall give you." And in a few 
 moments his certificate was signed by the Emperor, and 
 handed to the new chevalier, whom the Emperor recom- 
 mended to give the most careful attention to the sick and 
 wounded of our army who might be committed to his 
 care.^ 
 
 On entering Mezieres his Majesty was received by the 
 authorities of the city, the clergy, and the National Guard. 
 " Messieurs," said the Emperor to the National Guard who 
 pressed around him, " we fight to day for our firesides ; let 
 us defend them in such a manner that the Cossacks may 
 not come to warm themselves beside them. They are bad 
 guests, who will leave no place for you. Let us show them 
 that every Frenchman is born a soldier, and a brave one ! " 
 His Majesty on receiving the homage of the curate, per- 
 ceiving that this ecclesiastic regarded him with extreme 
 
 1 It is known that the Emperor "was not lavish in the distribution of the 
 Cross of Honor. Of this fact I here give an additional proof. He was much 
 pleased with the services of M. "Veyrat, inspector general of police, and he 
 desired the Cross. I presented petitions to tliis effect to his Majesty, who said 
 to me one day, " I am well satisjied with V(^iirat. lie. serves me well, and I will 
 give him as much money as he wishes; but the Cross, never! " — Constant. 
 
BEFORE BRIENNE. 299 
 
 interest and agitation, consequently considered the good 
 priest more attentively, and soon recognized in him one of 
 the former regents of the college of Brienne. " What ! is 
 it you, my dear master? " cried the Emperor. « You have, 
 then, never left your retirement! So much the better, 
 since for that reason you will be only the better able to 
 serve the cause of your native land. I need not ask if 
 you know the country around here." — " Sire," replied the 
 curate, " I could find my way with my eyes shut." — " Come 
 ■with, us, then; you will be our guide, and we will con- 
 verse." The worthy priest immediately saddled his well- 
 broken horse, and placed himself in the center of the 
 Imperial staff. 
 
 The same day we arrived before Brienne. The Empe- 
 ror's march had been so secret and so rapid that the Prus- 
 sians had heard nothing of it until he suddenly appeared 
 before their eyes. A few general officers were made pris- 
 oners; and Bliicher himself, who was quietly coming out of 
 the chateau, had only time to turn and fly as quickly as 
 he could, under a shower of balls from our advance guard. 
 The Emperor thought for a moment that the Prussian gen- 
 eral had been taken, and exclaimed, " We have got that old 
 swash-buckler. Now the campaign will not be long." The 
 Russians who were established in the village set it on fire, 
 and an engagement took place in the midst of the flames. 
 Night arrived, but the combat still continued ; and in the 
 space of twelve hours the village was taken and retaken 
 many times. The Emperor was furious that Bliicher 
 should have escaped. As he returned to headquarters, 
 which had been established at Mezieres, his Majesty nar- 
 rowly escaped being pierced through with the lance of a 
 
300 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Cossack ; but before the Emperor perceived the movement 
 of the wretch, the brave Colonel Gourgaud, who was 
 marching behind his Majesty, shot the Cossack dead with 
 his pistol. 
 
 The Emperor had with him only fifteen thousand men, 
 and they had waged an equal struggle with eighty thou- 
 sand foreign soldiers. At the close of the combat the 
 Prussians retreated to Bar-sur-Aube ; and his Majesty es- 
 tablished himself in the chateau of Brienne, where he passed 
 two nights. I recalled during this stay the one that I 
 had made ten years before in this same chateau of Brienne, 
 when the Emperor was on his way to Milan with the inten- 
 tion of adding the title of King of Italy to that of Emperor 
 of the French. " To-day," I said to myself, " not only is 
 Italy lost to him, but here in the center of the French 
 Empire, and a few leagues from his capital, the Emperor 
 is defending himself against innumerable enemies ! " The 
 first time I saw Brienne, the Emperor was received as a 
 sovereign by a noble family who fifteen years before had 
 welcomed him as a protege. He had there revived the 
 happiest remembrances of his childhood and youth; and in 
 comparing himself in 1805 with what he had been at the 
 ificole Militaire had spoken with pride of the path he had 
 trod. In 1814, on the 31st of January, the end to which 
 this path was tending began to be seen. It is not that I 
 wish to announce myself as having foreseen the Emperor's 
 fall, for I did not go so far as that. Accustomed to see 
 him trust to his star, the greater part of those who sur- 
 rounded him trusted it no less than he; but nevertheless 
 we could not conceal from ourselves that great changes 
 had taken place. To delude ourselves in this respect it 
 
BRUTALITY OF THE ALLIES. 301 
 
 ■would have been necessary to close our eyes that we might 
 neither see nor hear this multitude of foreigners, whom we 
 had until now seen only in their own country, and who, 
 in their turn, were now in our midst. 
 
 At each step, in fact, we found terrible proofs of the 
 enemy's presence. After taking possession of the towns 
 and Tillages, they had arrested the inhabitants, maltreated 
 them with saber-strokes and the butt ends of their guns, 
 stripping them of their clothing, and compelling those to 
 follow them whom they thought capable of serving as 
 guides on their march ; and if they were not guided as they 
 expected they killed with the sword or shot their unfortu- 
 nate prisoners. Ever3rwhere the inhabitants were made to 
 furnish provisions, drink, cattle, forage, in a word, every- 
 thing that could be useful to an army making enormous 
 requisitions ; and when they had exhausted all the resources 
 of their victims, they finished their work of destruction by 
 pillage and burning. The Prussians, and above all the 
 Cossacks, were remarkable for their brutal ferocity. Some- 
 times these hideous savages entered the houses by main 
 force, shared among themselves everything that fell into 
 their hands, loaded their horses with the plunder, and broke 
 to pieces what they could not carry away. Sometimes, not 
 finding sufficient to satisfy their greed, they broke down the 
 doors and windows, demolished the ceiling in order to tear 
 out the beams, and made of these pieces and the furniture, 
 which was too heavy to be carried away, a fire, which being 
 communicated to the roofs of neighboring houses consumed 
 in a moment the dwellings of the unhappy inhabitants, and 
 forced them to take refuge in the woods. 
 
 Sometimes the more wealthy inhabitants gave them 
 
302 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 what they demanded, especially brandy, of which they 
 drank eagerly, thinking by this compliance to escape their 
 ferocity ; but these barbarians, heated by drink, then carried 
 their excesses to the last degree. They seized girls, women, 
 and servants, and beat them unmercifully, in order to com- 
 pel them to drink brandy until they fell in a complete 
 state of intoxication. Many women and young girls had 
 courage and strength to defend themselves against these 
 brigands ; but they united three or four against one, and 
 often to avenge themselves for the resistance of these poor 
 creatures mutilated and slew them, after having first vio- 
 lated them, or threw them into the midst of the bivouac 
 fires. Farms were burned up, and families recently opulent 
 or in comfortable circumstances were reduced in an instant 
 to despair and poverty. Husbands and old men were slain 
 with the sword while attempting to defend the honor of 
 their wives and daughters ; and when poor mothers at- 
 tempted to approach the fires to warm the children at their 
 breasts, they were burned or killed by the explosion of 
 packages of cartridges, which the Cossacks threw inten- 
 tionally into the fii-e ; and the cries of pain and agony were 
 stifled by the bursts of laughter from these monsters. 
 
 I should never end if I attempted to relate all the atro- 
 cities committed by these foreign hordes. It was the cus- 
 tom at the time of the Restoration to say that the complaints 
 and narrations of those who were exposed to these excesses 
 were exaggerated by fear or hatred. I have even heard 
 very dignified persons jest pleasantly over the pretty ways 
 of the Cossacks. But these wits always kept themselves 
 at a distance from the theater of war, and had the good 
 fortune to inhabit departments which suffered neither from 
 
LA ROTHIERE. 303 
 
 the first nor second invasion. I -would not advise them to 
 address their pleasantries to the unfortunate inhabitants of 
 Champagne, or of the departments of the east in general. 
 It has been maintained also that the alUed sovereigns and 
 the general officers of the Russian and Prussian army 
 severely forbade all violence in their regular troops, and 
 that the atrocities were committed by undisciplined and 
 ungovernable bands of Cossacks. I have been in a posi- 
 tion to learn, on many occasions, especially at Troyes, 
 proofs to the contrary. This town has not forgotten, 
 doubtless, how the Princes of Wiirtemberg and Hohenlohe 
 and the Emperor Alexander himself justified the burnings, 
 pillage, violations, and numerous assassinations committed 
 under their very eyes, not only by the Cossacks, but also 
 by regularly enlisted and disciplined soldiers. No measures 
 were taken by the sovereigns or by their generals to put 
 an end to such atrocities, and nevertheless when they left 
 a town there was needed only an order from them to 
 remove at once the hordes of Cossacks who devastated the 
 country. 
 
 The field of the La Rothiere was, as I have said, the 
 rendezvous of the pupils of the military school of Brienne. 
 It was there that the Emperor, when a child, had foreshad- 
 owed in his engagement with the scholars his gigantic com- 
 bats. The engagement at La Rothiere was hotly contested ; 
 and the enemy obtained, only at the price of much blood, an 
 advantage which they owed entirely to their numerical supe- 
 riority. In the night which followed this unequal struggle, 
 the Emperor ordered the retreat from Troyes. On return- 
 ing to the chateau after the battle, his Majesty narrowly 
 escaped an imminent danger. He found himself surrounded 
 
304 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 by a troop of uhlans, and drew his sword to defend him- 
 self. j\I. Jardin, junior, his equerry, who followed the Em- 
 peror closely, received a ball in his arm. Several chasseurs 
 of the escort were wounded, but they at last succeeded in 
 extricating his Majesty. I can assert that his Majesty 
 showed the greatest self-possession in all encounters of this 
 kind. On that day, as I unbuckled his sword-belt, he drew 
 it half out of the scabbard, saying, " Do you know. Con- 
 stant, the wretches have made me cut the wind with this? 
 The rascals are too impudent. It is necessary to teach 
 them a lesson, that they may learn to hold themselves at 
 a respectful distance." 
 
 It is not my intention to write the history of this cam- 
 paign in France, in which the Emperor displayed an activ- 
 ity and energy which excited to the highest point the 
 admiration of those who surrounded him. Unfortunately, 
 the advantages which he had obtained gradually exhausted 
 his own troops, while only creating losses in the enemy's, 
 which they easily repaired. It was, as M. Bourrienne has 
 well said, a combat of an Alpine eagle with a flock of ra- 
 vens : " The eagle may kill them by hundreds. Each blow 
 of his beak is the death of an enemy; but the ravens return 
 in still greater numbers, and continue their attack on the 
 eagle until they at last overcome him." At Champ-Aubert, 
 at Montmirail, at Nangis, at Montereau, and at Arcis, and 
 in twenty other engagements, the Emperor obtained the 
 advantage by his genius and by the courage of our army; 
 but it was all in vain. Hardly had these masses of the 
 enemy been scattered, before fresh ones were formed again 
 in front of our soldiers, exhausted by continuous battles 
 and forced marches. The army, especially that which 
 
THE ARMT OF BLUCHER. 305 
 
 Bliicher commanded, seemed to revive of itself, and when- 
 ever beaten reappeared with forces equal, if not superior, to 
 those which had been destroyed or dispersed. How can 
 such an immense superiority of numbers be indefinitely 
 resisted ? 
 
306 BJSCOLLECriONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Renewed prodigies in Italy. — Personal courage of the Emperor. — The Em- 
 peror's words to his soldiers. — A shell hursts near the Emperor. — 
 The Emperor awakes frequently during the night. — His Majesty's ex- 
 treme kindness to me. — No dishonorable peace. — Forgetfuliiess atoned 
 for. — I sleep in the Emperor's chair. — His Majesty seats himself on his 
 hed in order not to awake me. — Adorable words of the Emperor. — His 
 Majesty decides to make peace. — Success followed by renewed indecis- 
 ion. — The Emperor and tlie Duke of Bassano. — Departure for Se'zanne. 
 
 — A succession of triumphs. — Captured generals at the Emperor's 
 table. — Combat of Nangis. — Bliicher almost taken prisoner. — The eve 
 of the battle at Me'ry. — The Emperor on a bundle of reeds. — A flock of 
 snipes and the Emperor's words. — The movement towards Anglure. — 
 Burning of Me'ry. — Critical position of the allies. — Critical position of 
 M. Ansart. — An usher guides the Emperor. — Fear of cannon. — A 
 bridge constructed iu an hour under the enemy's fire. — The Emperor 
 exceedingly thirsty and a young girl's courage. — Tlie Emperor's head- 
 quarters in a wheelwright's shop. — Prisoners and banners sent to Paris. 
 
 — The delicate mission of M. de Saint^Aignan. — Extreme anger of the 
 Emperor. — Disgrace of M. Saint-Aignan and quick restoration to favor. 
 
 — The enemy abandons Troyes by capitulation. — A severe order. — Em- 
 blems and colors of the former dynasty. — Council of war and the death 
 penalty. — Execution of Chevalier Gonault. 
 
 The Emperor had never shown himself so worthy of 
 admiration as during this fatal campaign in France, when, 
 struggling against misfortunes, he performed over again the 
 prodigies of his first wars in Italy, when fortune smiled on 
 him. His career had begun with an attack, and the end 
 was marked by the most magnificent defense recorded in 
 the annals of war. And it may be said with truth that at 
 all times and everywhere his Majesty showed himself both 
 the perfect general and the soldier, under all circumstances 
 
PERSONAL COURAGE OF NAPOLEON. 307 
 
 furnishing an example of personal courage to such an 
 extent, indeed, that all those who surrounded him, and 
 whose existence was dependent on his own, were seriously 
 alarmed. For instance, as is well known, the Emperor, at 
 the battle of Montereau, pointed the pieces of artillery 
 himself, recklessly exposed himself to the enemy's fire, and 
 said to his soldiers, who were much alarmed at his danger 
 and attempted to remove him, " Let me alone, my friends ; 
 the bullet which is to kill me has not yet been molded." 
 
 At Arcis the Emperor again fought as a common sol- 
 dier, and more than once drew his sword in order to cut 
 his way through the midst of the enemy who surrounded 
 him. A shell fell a few steps from his horse. The animal, 
 frightened, jumped to one side, and nearly unhorsed the 
 Emperor, who, with his field-glass in his hand, was at the 
 moment occupied in examining the battlefield. His Maj- 
 esty settled himself again firmly in his saddle, stuck his 
 spurs in the hoi-se's sides, forced him to approach and put 
 his nose to it. Just then the shell burst, and, by an 
 almost incredible chance, neither the Emperor nor his horse 
 was even wounded. 
 
 In more than one similar circumstance the Emperor 
 seemed, during this campaign, to put liis life at a venture; 
 and yet it was only in the last extremity that he abandoned 
 the hope of preserving his throne. It was a painful sac- 
 rifice to him to treat with the enemy so long as they occu- 
 pied French territory ; for he wished to purge the soil of 
 France of the presence of foreigners before entering into 
 any agreement with them whatever. And this feeling was 
 the reason of his hesitation and refusal to accept the peace 
 which was offered him on various occasions. 
 
308 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 On the 8th of February, the Emperor, at the end of a 
 long discussion with two or three of his intimate advisers, 
 retired very late, and in a state of extreme preoccupation. 
 He woke me often during the night, complaining of being 
 unable to sleep, and made me extinguish and relight his 
 lamp again and again. About five o'clock in the morning 
 I was called again. I was almost fainting with fatigue, 
 which his Majesty noticed, and said to me kindly, — 
 
 " You are worn out, my poor Constant ; we are making 
 a severe campaign, are we not ? But hold out only a little 
 longer ; you will soon rest." 
 
 Encouraged by the sympathizing tones of his Majesty, I 
 took the liberty of replying that no one could think of com- 
 plaining of the fatigue or privations he endured, since they 
 were shared by his Majesty ; but that, nevertheless, the 
 desire and hope of every one were for peace. " Ah, yes," 
 replied the Emperor, with a kind of subdued violence, 
 " they will have peace ; they will realize what a dishonor- 
 able peace is ! " I kept silence ; his Majesty's chagrin dis- 
 tressed me deeply; and I wished at this moment that his 
 army could have been composed of men of iron like him- 
 self, then he would have made peace only on the frontiers 
 of France. 
 
 The tone of kindness and familiarity in which the Em- 
 peror spoke to me on this occasion recalls another circum- 
 stance which I neglected to relate in its proper place, and 
 which I must not pass over in silence, since it furnishes 
 such a fine example of his Majesty's conduct towards the 
 persons of his service, and especially myself. Roustan wit- 
 nessed the occurrence, and it was from him I learned the 
 opening details. 
 
THE EMPEliOR 'S KINDNESS. 309 
 
 In one of his campaigns beyond the Rliine (I do not 
 remember which), I had passed several nights in succession 
 without sleep, and was exhausted. The Emperor went out 
 at eleven o'clock, and remained three or four hours ; and I 
 seated myself in his armchair, near his table, to await his 
 return, intending to rise and retire as soon as I heard him 
 enter, but was so exhausted with fatigue that sleep sud- 
 denly overtook me, and I dropped into a deep slumber, my 
 head resting on my arm, and my arm on his Majesty's table. 
 The Emperor returned at last with Marshal Berthier, and 
 followed by Roustan. I heard nothing. The Prince de 
 Neuchatel wished to approach and shake me that I might 
 awake and resign to his Majesty his seat and table ; but the 
 Emperor stopped him, saying, " Let the poor fellow sleep ; 
 he has passed many nights with none." Then, as there 
 was no other chair in the apartment, the Emperor seated 
 himself on the edge of the bed, made the marshal also seat 
 himself there, and they held a long conversation wliile I 
 continued to sleep. At length, needing one of the maps 
 from the table on which my arm rested, his Majesty, 
 although he drew it out most cautiously, awoke me ; and I 
 immediately sprang to my feet, overwhelmed with confu- 
 sion, and excusing myself for the liberty I had so involun- 
 tarily taken. " Monsieur Constant," the Emperor then 
 said with an exceedingly kind smile, " I am distressed to 
 have disturbed you. Pray, excuse me." I trust that this, 
 in addition to what I have already related of the same 
 nature, may serve as an answer to those who have accused 
 him of harshness to his servants. I resume my recital of 
 the events of 1814. 
 
 On the night of the 8 th the Emperor seemed to have 
 
310 EECOLLECriONS OF NAPOLEON 
 
 decidea on making peace ; and the whole night was spent 
 in preparing dispatches, which on the morning of the 9th 
 at nine o'clock were brought to him to sign ; but he had 
 changed his mind. At seven o'clock he had received news 
 from the Russian and Prussian army; and when the Duke 
 of Bassano entered, holding in his hand the dispatches to 
 be signed, his Majesty was asleep over the maps where he 
 had stuck his pens. " Ah, it is you," said he to his minis- 
 ter ; " we will no longer need those. We are now laying 
 plans to attack Blilcher ; he has taken the road from Mont- 
 mirail. I am about to start. To-morrow I will fight, and 
 again the next day. The aspect of affairs is on the point 
 of changing, as we shall see. Let us not be precipitate ; 
 there is time enough to make such a peace as they pro- 
 pose." An hour after we were on tlie road to Sezanne. 
 
 For several days in succession after this, the heroic 
 efforts of the Emperor and his brave soldiers were crowned 
 with brilliant success. Immediately on their arrival at 
 Champ-Aubert, the army, finding itself in presence of the 
 Russian army corps, against which they had already fought 
 at Brienne, fell on it without even waiting to take repose, 
 separated it from the Prussian army, and took the general- 
 in-chief and several general officers prisoners. His Maj- 
 esty, whose conduct towards his conquered foes was always 
 honorable and generous, made them dine at his table, and 
 treated them with the greatest consideration. 
 
 The enemy were again beaten at the Farm des Frenaux 
 by Marshals Ney and Mortier, and by the Duke of 
 Ragusa at Vaux-Champs, where Bliicher again narrowly 
 escaped being made prisoner. At Nangis the Emperor 
 dispersed one hundred and fifty thousand men commanded 
 
BATTLE OF NANGI 311 
 
 by the Prince von Schwarzenberg, and ordered in pursuit 
 of them Marehals Oudinot, Kellermann, Macdonald, and 
 Generals Treilhard and Gerard. 
 
 The eve of the battle of Mery, the Emperor inspected 
 all the surroundings of this little town ; and his observing 
 glasses rested on an immense extent of marshy ground 
 in the midst of which is the village of Bagneux, and at 
 a short distance the village of Anglure, past which the 
 Aube flows. After rapidly passing over the unsafe ground 
 of these dangerous marshes, he set foot on solid ground, 
 and seated himself on a bundle of reeds, and there, lean- 
 ing against the wall of a night-hunter's hut, he unrolled 
 his map of the campaign ; and, after examining it a few 
 moments, remounted his horse and set off at a gallop. 
 
 At this moment a flock of teal and snipe flew up be- 
 fore his Majesty; and he exclaimed laughingly : "Go, go, 
 my beauties; make room for other game." His Majesty 
 said to those around him, " This time we have them ! " 
 
 The Emperor was galloping towards Anglure, in order 
 to see if the hill of Baudemont, which is near this 
 village, was occupied by the artillery, when the noise of 
 cannon heard in the direction of Mery compelled him 
 to retrace his steps ; and he accordingly returned to Mery, 
 saying to the officers who accompanied him, " Let us 
 gallop, gentlemen, our enemies are in a hurry; we should 
 not keep them waiting." A half hour after he was on 
 the battlefield. Enormous clouds of smoke from the 
 burning of Mery were driven in the faces of the Russian 
 and Prussian columns, and partly hid the maneuvers of 
 the French army. At that moment everything indicated 
 the success of the plans the Emperor had formed that 
 
312 SECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 morning in the marshes of Bagneux, for all went well. 
 His Majesty foresaAv the defeat of the allies, and France 
 saved, while at Anglur^e all were given up to despair. 
 The population of many villages shuddered at the approach 
 of the enemy; for not a piece of cannon was there to 
 cut off their retreat, not a soldier to prevent them from 
 crossing the river. 
 
 The position of the allies was so exceedingly critical 
 that the whole French army believed them destroyed, as 
 they had plunged with all their artillery into the marshes, 
 and would have been mowed down by the shower of balls 
 from our cannon if they had remained there. But suddenly 
 they were seen to make a new effort, place themselves in 
 line of battle, and prepare to pass the Aube. The Emperor, 
 Avho could pursue them no farther without exposing his 
 army to the danger of being swallowed up in the marshes, 
 arrested the impetuosity of his soldiers, believing that the 
 heights of Baudemont were covered with artillery ready 
 to overwhelm the enemy ; but hearing not a single shot 
 in this direction, he hurried to Sezanne to hasten the 
 advance of the troops, only to learn that those he expected 
 to find there had been sent toward Fere Champenoise. 
 
 During this interval, a man named Ansart, a land 
 owner at Anglure, mounted his horse, and hurried at 
 the utmost speed to Sezanne in order to inform the mar- 
 shal that the enemy were pursued by the Emperor, and 
 about to cross the Aube. Having reached the Duke, 
 and seeing that the corps he commanded was not taking 
 the road to Anglure, he hastened to speak. Apparently 
 the Emperor's orders had not been received ; for the mar- 
 shal would not listen to him, treated him as a spy, and 
 
THE GUIDE'S FEAR. 313 
 
 it was witli much, difficulty this brave man escaped being 
 shot. 
 
 While this scene was taking place, his Majesty had 
 already reached Sezanne ; and seeing many inhabitants of 
 this village around him, he requested some one to guide 
 him to Fere Champenoise, whereupon a bailiff presented 
 himself. The Emperor immediately set out, escorted by 
 the officers who had accompanied him to Sezanne, and 
 left the town, saying to his guide, " Go in front, monsieur, 
 and take the shortest road." Arrived at a short distance 
 from the battlefield of Fere Champenoise, his Majesty saw 
 that every report of the artillery made the poor bailiff 
 start. " You are afraid," said the Emperor to him. 
 " Ko, Sire." — " Then, what makes you dodge your 
 head ? " — " It is because I am not accustomed like your 
 Majesty to hearing all this uproar." — " One should 
 accustom himself to everything. Fear nothing ; keep on." 
 But the guide, more dead than alive, reined in his horse, 
 and trembled in every limb. " Come, come ; I see you 
 are really afraid. Go behind me." He obeyed, turned his 
 horse's head, and galloped as far as Sezanne without 
 stopping, promising himself most faithfully never again 
 to serve as guide to the Emperor on such an occasion. 
 
 At the battle of Mery, the Emperor, under the very 
 fire of the enemy, had a little bridge thrown over the 
 river which flows near the town. This bridge was con- 
 structed in an hour by means of ladders fastened together, 
 and supported by wooden beams ; but as this was not 
 sufficient, it was necessary that planks should be placed 
 on this. None could be found, however; for those who 
 might have been able to procure them did not dare to 
 
314 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 approach the exposed spot his Majesty occupied at this 
 moment. Impatient, and even angry, because he could 
 not obtain the planks for this bridge, his Majesty had the 
 shutters of several large houses a short distance from 
 the river taken down, and had them placed and nailed 
 down, under his own eyes. During this work he was 
 tormented by intense thirst, and was about to dip water 
 up in his hand to slake it, when a young girl, who had 
 braved danger in order to draw near the Emperor, ran 
 to a neighboring house, and brought him a glass of water 
 and some wine, which he eagerly drank. 
 
 Astonished to see this young girl in so perilous a place, 
 the Emperor said to her, smiling, "You would make a 
 brave soldier. Mademoiselle ; and if you are willing to wear 
 epaulets you shall be one of my aides-de-camp." The 
 young girl blushed, and made a courtesy to the Emperor, 
 and was going away, when he held out his hand to her, 
 and she kissed it. "Later," he said, "come to Paris, and 
 remind me of the service you have rendered me to-day. 
 You will be satisfied of my gratitude." She thanked the 
 Emperor and withdrew, very proud of his words of com- 
 mendation. 
 
 The day of the battle of Nangis an Austrian officer 
 came in the evening to headquarters, and had a long, secret 
 conference with his Majesty. Forty-eight hours after, at 
 the close of the engagement at Mery, appeared a new 
 envoy from the Prince von Schwarzenberg, with a reply 
 from the Emperor of Austria to the confidential letter 
 which his Majesty had written two days before to his 
 father-in-law. We had left Mery in flames ; and in the 
 little hammock of Chatres, where headquarters had been 
 
NAPOLEON'S HEADQUARTERS IN A WHEEL-SHOP. 315 
 
 established, there could no shelter be found for his Majesty 
 except in the shop of a wheelwright; and the Emperor 
 passed the night there, working, or lying on the bed all 
 dressed, without sleeping. It was there also he received 
 the Austrian envoy, the Prince of Lichtenstein. The prince 
 long remained in conversation with his Majesty ; and though 
 nothing was known of the subject of their conversation, no 
 one doubted that it related to peace. After the departure 
 of the prince, the Emperor Avas in extraordinarily high 
 spirits, which affected all those around him. 
 
 Our army had taken from the enemy thousands of pris- 
 oners ; Paris had just received the Russian and Prussian 
 banners taken at Nangis and Montereau ; the Emperor had 
 put to flight the foreign sovereigns, who even feared for a 
 time that they might not be able to regain the frontiers; 
 and the effect of so much success had been .to restore to 
 his Majesty his former confidence in his good fortune, 
 though this was unfortunately only a dangerous illusion. 
 
 The Prince of Lichtenstein had hardly left headquarters 
 when M. de Saint-Aignan, the brother-in-law of the Duke 
 of Vicenza, and equerry of the Emperor, arrived. M. de 
 Saint-Aignan went, I think, to his brother-in-law, who was 
 at the Congress of Chatillon, or at least had been ; for the 
 sessions of this congress had been suspended for several 
 days. It seems that before leaving Paris M. de Saint- 
 Aignan held an interview with the Duke of Rovigo and 
 another minister, and they had given him a verbal message 
 to the Emperor. This mission was both delicate and diffi- 
 cult. He would have much preferred that these gentlemen 
 should have sent in writing the communications which they 
 insisted he should bear to his Majesty, but they refused; 
 
31G RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 and as a faithful servant M. de Sainl>Aignan performed 
 his dutj'-, and prepared to speak the whole truth, whatever 
 danger he might incur by so doing. 
 
 Wlien he arrived at the wheelwright's shop at Chatres, 
 the Emperor, as we have just seen, was abandoning himself 
 to most brilliant dreams ; which circumstance was most 
 unfortunate for M. de Saint-Aignan, since he was the 
 bearer of disagreeable news. He came, as we have learned 
 since, to announce to his Majesty that he should not count 
 upon the puljlic mind at the capital, since they were mur- 
 muring at the prolongation of the war, and desired that 
 tlie Emperor should seize the occasion of making peace. It 
 has even been stated that the word disaffection was uttered 
 during tliis secret conference by the sincere and truthful 
 lips of M. de Saint-Aignan. I cannot assert that tliis is 
 true ; for the door was closely shut, and M. de Saint-Aignan 
 spoke in a low tone. It is certain, however, that his report 
 and his candor excited his Majesty's anger to the highest 
 degree ; and in dismissing him with an abruptness he had 
 certainly not merited, the Emperor raised his voice to such 
 a pitch as to be heard outside. When M. de Saint-Aignan 
 withdrew, and his Majesty summoned me to my duties near 
 him, I found him much agitated, and pale with anger. A 
 few hours after this scene the Emperor ordered his horse, 
 and ]\I. de Saint-Aignan, who had resumed his duties as 
 equerry, approached to hold his stirrup ; but as soon as the 
 Emperor perceived him he threw on him an angry glance, 
 made him a sign to withdraw, exclaiming loudly, '■'■ 3Iesgri- 
 gny ! " This was Baron de Mesgrigny, another of his Maj- 
 esty's squires. In compliance with his Majesty's wishes, M. 
 de Mesgrigny performed the duties of M. de Saint-Aignan, 
 
ARRIVAL AT TROVES. 317 
 
 who withdrew to the rear of the army to wait till the storm 
 should be past. At the end of a few days his disgrace was 
 ended, and all who knew him rejoiced; for the Baron de 
 Saint-Aignan was beloved by all for his affabiUty and 
 loyalty. 
 
 From Chatres the Emperor marched on Troyes. The 
 enemy who occupied this town seemed at first disposed to 
 defend themselves there, but soon yielded, and evacuated it 
 at the close of a capitulation. During the short time the 
 allies passed at Troyes, the Royalists had publicly announced 
 their hatred to the Emperor, and their adherence to the 
 allied powers, who came, they said, only to establish the 
 Bourbons on the throne, and even had the imprudence to 
 display the white flag and white cockade ; and the foreign 
 troops had consequently protected them, while exercising 
 extreme harshness and severity towards those inhabitants 
 who held contrary opinions. 
 
 Unfortunately for the Royalists they were in a very 
 feeble minority, and the favor shown to them by the Rus- 
 sians and Prussians led the populace oppressed by the latter 
 to hate the proteges as much as their protectors. 
 
 Even before the entrance of the Emperor into Troyes, 
 Royalist proclamations addressed to the officers of his house- 
 hold or the army had fallen into his hands. He had showed 
 no anger, but had urged those who had received, or who 
 might receive, communications of this nature, to destroy 
 them, and to inform no one of the contents. On his arrival 
 at Troyes his Majesty rendered a decree proclaiming penalty 
 of death against all Frenchmen in the service of the enemy, 
 and those who wore the emblems and decorations of the 
 ancient dynasty. An unfortunate emigre, accused before a 
 
318 HECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 council of war, was convicted of having worn the cross of 
 St. Louis and the white cockade during the stay of the 
 allies at Troyes, and of having furnished to the foreign 
 generals all the information in his power. 
 
 The council pronounced sentence of death, for the 
 proofs were positive, and the law not less so ; and Chevalier 
 Gonault fell a victim to his ill-judged devotion to a cause 
 which was still far from appearing national, especially in 
 the departments occupied by the allied armies, and was 
 executed according to military usage. 
 
NEGOTIATIONS FOB AN ARMISTICE. 319 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Negotiations for an armistice. — Bliicher and one hundred thousand men. — 
 The Prince von Schwarzenberg taking the offensive. — A ruse of war. — 
 The Emperor meets Bliicher. — Halt at the village of Herbisse. — The 
 good curate. — The Emperor's politeness. — Singular quarters for a night. 
 
 — Marshal Lefebvre as a theologian. — Abbe Maury marshal, and Mar- 
 shal Lefebvre cardinal. — The country supper. — Gayety and privation. 
 
 — Awakening of the curate, and generosity of the Emperor. — General 
 readiness to furnish information. — The brave Wolff and the cross of 
 honor. — Several generals wounded. — Skill of General Drouot. — Defense 
 of the Russians. — M. de Bumigny at headquarters, and news of the Con- 
 gress. — A secret conference most unfavorable to peace. — Very animated 
 scene between the Emperor and the Duke of Vicenza. — Courageous per- 
 sistence of the minister, and advice to make peace. — You are Russian. — 
 The Emperor's vehemence. — A victory in prospect. — Tears of the Duke 
 of Vicenza. — The march towards Laon. — The French army surprised 
 by the Russians. — The Emperor's dissatisfaction, — Rheims is taken by 
 M. de Saint-Priest. — Valor of General Corbineau. — Our entry into 
 Rheims as the Russians leave. — Resignation of the inhabitants. — Good 
 discipline of the Russians. — Three days at Rheims. — Young conscripts. 
 
 — Six thousand men and General Janssens. — The affairs of the Empire. 
 
 — The only perfectly indefatigable man. 
 
 After the brilliant successes obtained by the Emperor 
 in such a short time, and with forces so exceedingly infe- 
 rior to the great masses of the enemy, his Majesty, realizing 
 the necessity of allowing his troops to take a rest of some 
 days at Troyes, entered into negotiations for an armistice 
 with the Prince von Schwarzenberg. 
 
 At this juncture it was announced to the Emperor that 
 General Bliicher, who had been wounded at Mery, was 
 descending along both banks of the Maine, at the head of 
 an army of fresh troops, estimated at not less than one 
 
320 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 hundred thousand men, and that he was marching on 
 Meaux. The Prince von Schwarzenberg, having been in- 
 formed of this movement of Bliicher's, immediately cut short 
 the negotiations, and assumed the offensive at Bar-sur-Seine. 
 The Emperor, wliose genius followed by a single glance all 
 the marches and operations of the enemy, though he could 
 not be everywhere at once, resolved to confront Bliicher in 
 person, wliile by means of a stratagem he made it appear 
 that he was present opposite Schwarzenberg ; and two army 
 corps, commanded, one by Marshal Oudinot, the other by 
 Marshal Alacdonald, were then sent to meet the Austrians. 
 As soon as the troops approached the enemy's camp they 
 made the air resound with the shouts of confidence and 
 cheers with which they usually announced the presence of 
 his Majesty, though at' this very moment he was repairing 
 in all haste to meet General Bliicher. 
 
 We halted at the little village of Herbisse, where we 
 passed the night in the manse ; and the curate, seeing the 
 Emperor arrive with his marshals, aides-de-camp, ordnance 
 officers, service of honor, and the other services, almost lost 
 his wits. His Majesty on alighting said to him, "Mon- 
 sieur le Cure, we come to ask your hospitality for a night. 
 Do not be frightened by this visit ; we shall disturb you as 
 little as possible." The Emperor, conducted by the good 
 curate, beside himself with eagerness and embarrassment, 
 established himself in the only apartment the house con- 
 tained, which served at the same time as kitchen, dining- 
 room, bedroom, cabinet, and reception-room. In an instant 
 his Majesty had his maps and papers spread out before him, 
 and prepared himself for work with as much ease as in 
 his cabinet at the Tuileries. But the persons of his suite 
 
AT EEBBISSE. 321 
 
 needed somewhat more time to install themselves, for it 
 was no easy thing for so many persons to find a place in 
 a bakehouse which, with the room occupied by his Majesty, 
 composed the entire manse of Herbisse ; but these gentle- 
 men, although there were among them more than one digni- 
 tary and prince of the Empire, were uncomplaining, and 
 readily disposed to accommodate themselves to circum- 
 stances. The gay good humor of these gallant soldiers, 
 in spite of all the combats they had to sustain each day, 
 while events every instant took a more alarming turn, was 
 most noteworthy, and depicts well the French character. 
 
 The youngest officers formed a circle around the curate's 
 niece, who sang to them the songs of the country. The 
 good curate, in the midst of continual comings and goings, 
 and the eiiorts he made to play worthily his rSle of master 
 of the mansion, found himself attacked on his own terri- 
 tory, that is to say, on his breviary, by Marshal Lefebvre, 
 who had studied in his youth to be a priest, and said that 
 he had preserved nothing from his first vocation except the 
 shaven head, because it ivas so easy to comb. The worthy 
 marshal intermingled his Latin quotations with those mili- 
 tary expressions he so freely used, causing those present to 
 indulge in bursts of laughter, in which even the curate him- 
 self joined, and said, " Monseigneur, if you had continued 
 your studies for the priesthood you would have become a 
 cardinal at least." — " Very likely," observed one of the 
 officers ; " and if the Abbe Maury had been a sergeant-major 
 in '89, he might to-day be marshal of France." — " Or 
 dead," added the Duke of Dantzic, using a much more 
 energetic expression; "and so much the better for him, 
 since in that case he would not see the Cossacks twenty 
 
322 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 leagues from Paris." — " Oh, bah ! Monseigneur, we will 
 drive them away," said the same officer. "Yes," the mar- 
 shal muttered between his clinched teeth; "we shall see 
 what we shall see." 
 
 At this moment the mule arrived bearing the sutler's 
 supphes, which had been long and impatiently expected. 
 There was no table ; but one was made of a door placed on 
 casks, and seats were improvised with planks. The chief 
 officers seated themselves, and the others ate standing. 
 The curate took his place at tliis military table on which 
 he had himself placed his best bottles of wine, and with 
 his native bonhomie continued to entertain the guests. At 
 length the conversation turned on Herbisse and its sur- 
 roundings, and the host was overcome with astonishment 
 on finding that his guests knew the country so thoroughly. 
 
 "Ah, I have it! " exclaimed he, considering them atten- 
 tively one after the other ; " you are Champenois ! " And 
 in order to complete his surprise these gentlemen drew from 
 their pockets plans on which they made him read the names 
 of the very smallest localities. Then his astonishment only 
 changed its object, for he had never dreamed that military- 
 science required such exact study. "What labor! " replied 
 the good curate, " what pains ! and all this in order the bet- 
 ter to shoot cannon-balls at each other! " The supper over, 
 the next thought was the arrangements for sleeping ; and 
 for this purpose we found in the neighboring barns a shelter 
 and some straw. There remained outside, and near the 
 door of the room occupied by the Emperor, only the oificers 
 on duty, Roustan and myself, each of whom had a bundle of 
 straw for Ins bed. Our worthy host, having given up his 
 bed to his Majesty, remained with us, and rested like us 
 
SURRENDER OF SOISSOJSTS. 323 
 
 from the fatigues of the day, and was still sleeping soundly 
 when the staff left the manse ; for the Emperor arose, and set 
 off at break of day. The curate when he awoke expressed 
 the deepest chagrin that he had not been able to make his 
 adieux to his Majesty. A purse was handed him contain- 
 ing the sum the Emperor was accustomed to leave private 
 individuals of limited means at whose residences he halted 
 as indemnity for their expense and trouble ; and we resumed 
 our march in the steps of the Emperor, who hastened to 
 meet the Prussians. 
 
 The Emperor wished to reach Soissons before the allies ; 
 but although they had been obliged to traverse roads which 
 were practically impassable, they had arrived before our 
 troops, and as he entered La Ferte his Majesty saw them 
 retiring to Soissons. The Emperor was rejoiced at this 
 sight. Soissons was defended by a formidable garrison, 
 and could delay the enemy, while Marshals Marmont and 
 Mortier and his Majesty in person attacked Bliicher in the 
 rear and on both flanks, and would have inclosed him as 
 in a net. But this time again the enemy escaped from the 
 snare the Emperor had laid for him at the very moment 
 he thought he had seized him, for Bliicher had hardly pre- 
 sented himself in front of Soissons before the gates were 
 opened. General Moreau, commandant of the place, had 
 already surrendered the town to Biilow, and thus assured 
 to the allies the passage of the Aisne. On receiving this 
 depressing news the Emperor exclaimed, " The name of 
 Moreau has always been fatal to me ! " 
 
 Meanwhile his Majesty, continuing his pursuit of the 
 Prussians, was occupied in delaying the passage of the 
 Aisne. On the 5th of March he sent General Nansouty 
 
324 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 in advance, who with his cavalry took the bridge, drove 
 the enemy back as far as Corbeny, and made a Russian 
 colonel prisoner. After passing the night at Bery-au-Bac, 
 the Emperor was marching towards Laon when it was an- 
 nounced to him that the enemy was commg to meet us; 
 these were not Prussians, but an army corps of Russians 
 commanded by Sacken.i Qj^ advancing farther, we found 
 the Russians established on the heights of Craonne, and 
 covering the road to Laon in what appeared to be an im- 
 pregnable position ; but nevertheless the advance guard 
 of our army, commanded by Marshal Ney, rushed forward 
 and succeeded in taking Craonne. That was enough glory 
 for this time, and both sides then passed the night pre- 
 paring for the battle of next day. The Emperor spent it 
 at the village of Corbeny, but without sleeping, as uihab- 
 itants of the neighboring villages arrived at all hours to 
 give information as to the position of the enemy and the 
 geography of the country. His Majesty questioned them 
 himself, praised them or recompensed their zeal, and profited 
 by their information and services. Thus, having recog- 
 nized in the mayor of one of the communes in the suburbs 
 of Craonne one of liis former comrades in the regiment 
 of La Fere, he placed liim in the number of his aides-de- 
 camp, and arranged that he should serve as guide through 
 this country, which no one knew better than he. M. de 
 Bussy (that was the officer's name) had left France during 
 the reign of terror, and on his return had not re-entered 
 the army, but Hved in retirement on his estates. 
 
 1 Fabian "Wilhelm, Prince von Osten-Sacken, bom in Livonia, 1752 ; served 
 under Suwarrow against Poles and Turks, and commanded a corps, 1812-1815 ; 
 field-marshal, 182fi; died 1837. — Trans. 
 
ANECDOTE. 325 
 
 The Emperor met again this same night one of his old 
 companions in arms in the regiment, of La Fere, an Alsa- 
 tian named Wolff, who had been a sergeant of artillery in 
 the regiment in which the Emperor and M. de Bnssy had 
 been his superior officers. He came from Strasburg, and 
 testified to the good disposition of the inhabitants through 
 the whole extent of the country he had traversed. The 
 dismay caused in the allied armies by the first attacks of 
 the Emperor made itself felt even to the frontiers ; and on 
 each road the peasants rose, armed themselves, and cut off 
 the retreat, and killed many of the enemy. Corps of the 
 Emperor's adherents were formed in the Vosges, with offi- 
 cers of well-proved bravery at their head, who were accus- 
 tomed to this species of warfare. The garrisons of the 
 cities and fortified places of the east were full of courage 
 and resolution; and it would have well suited the wishes 
 of the population of this part of the Empire had France 
 become, according to the wish expressed by the Emperor, 
 the tomb of the foreign armies. The brave Wolff, after 
 having given this information to the Emperor, repeated it 
 before many other persons, myself among the number. 
 He took only a few hours' repose, and set out again im- 
 mediately ; but the Emperor did not dismiss him until he 
 had been decorated with the cross of honor, as the reward 
 of his devotion. 
 
 The battle of Craonne commenced, or I should say 
 recommenced, on the 7th at break of day, the infantry 
 commanded by the Prince of Moskwa^ and the Duke 
 of Belluno,^ who was wounded on this day. Generals 
 Grouchy and Nansouty, the first commanding the cavalry 
 
 1 Marshal Ney. ^ Marshal Victor. — Trans. 
 
326 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 of the army, the second at the head of the cavalry of the 
 guard, also received severe wounds. The 'difficulty was 
 not so much to take the heights, as to hold them when 
 taken. Meanwhile the French artillery, directed by the 
 modest and skillful General Drouot, forced the enemy's 
 artillery to yield their ground foot by foot. This was a 
 terribly bloody struggle ; for the sides of the heights were 
 too steep to allow of attacking the Russians on the flank, 
 and the retreat was consequently slow and murderous. 
 They fell back at length, however, and abandoned the field 
 of battle to our troops, who pursued them as far as the inn 
 of the Guardian Angel, situated on the highroad from Sois- 
 sons to Laon, when they wheeled about, and held their 
 position in this spot for several hours. 
 
 The Emperor, who in this battle as in every other of this 
 campaign, had exposed his person and incurred as many 
 dangers as the most daring soldiers, now transferred his 
 headquarters to the village of Bray. As soon as he entered 
 the room which served as his cabinet, he had me summoned, 
 and I pulled off his boots, while he leaned on my shoulder 
 without uttering a word, threw his hat and sword on the 
 table, and threw himself on his bed, uttering a deep sigh, 
 or rather one of those exclamations which we cannot tell 
 whether they arise from discouragement or simply from 
 fatigue. His Majesty's countenance was sad and careworn, 
 nevertheless he slept from sheer weariness for many hours. 
 I awoke him to announce the arrival of M. de Rumigny, 
 who was the bearer of dispatches from Chatillon. In the 
 condition of the Emperor's mind at this moment he seemed 
 ready to accept any reasonable conditions which might be 
 offered him; therefore I admit I hoped (in which many 
 
TREATY OF PEACE. 327 
 
 joined me) that we were approaching the moment when 
 we should obtain the peace which we so ardently desired. 
 The Emperor received M. de Rumigny without witnesses, 
 and the interview lasted a long while. Nothing transpired 
 of what had been said, and it occurred to me that this mys- 
 tery argued nothing good. The next day early M. de Ru- 
 migny returned to Chatillon, where the Duke of Vicenza 
 awaited him ; and from the few words his Majesty uttered 
 as he mounted his horse to return to his advance posts, it 
 was easy to see that he had not yet resigned himself to the 
 idea of making a peace which he regarded as dishonor- 
 able. 
 
 While the Duke of Vicenza was at Chatillon or Lu- 
 signy for the purpose of treating for a peace, the orders of 
 the Emperor delayed or hastened the conclusion of the 
 treaty according to his successes or repulses. On the ap- 
 pearance of a ray of hope he demanded more than they 
 were willing to grant, imitating in this respect the example 
 which the allied sovereigns had set him, whose requirements 
 since the armistice of Dresden increased in proportion as 
 they advanced towards France. At last everything was 
 finally broken off, and the Duke of Vicenza rejoined his 
 Majesty at Saint^Dizier. I was in a small room so near his 
 sleeping-room that I could not avoid hearing their conver- 
 sation. The Duke of Vicenza earnestly besought the Em- 
 peror to accede to the proposed conditions, saying that they 
 were reasonable now, but later would no longer be so. As 
 the Duke of Vicenza still returned to the charge, arguing 
 against the Emperor's postponing his positive decision, his 
 Majesty burst out vehemently, "You are a Russian, Cau- 
 laincourt!" — "No, Sire," replied the duke with spirit, 
 
328 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 " no ; I am a Frenckman ! I think that I have proved this 
 by urging your Majesty to make peace." 
 
 The discussion thus continued with much warmth in 
 terms which unfortunately I cannot recalL But I remem- 
 ber well that every time the Duke of Vicenza insisted and 
 endeavored to make his Majesty appreciate the reasons on 
 account of which peace had become indispensable, the Em- 
 peror replied, " If I gain a battle, as I am sure of doing, I 
 will be in a situation to exact the most favorable condi- 
 tions. The grave of the Russians is under the walls of 
 Paris ! My measures are all taken, and victory cannot 
 faU." 
 
 After this conversation, which lasted more than an hour, 
 and in which the Duke of Vicenza was entirely unsuccess- 
 ful, he left his Majesty's room, and rapidly crossed the 
 saloon where I was ; and I remarked as he passed that 
 his countenance showed marks of agitation, and that, over- 
 come by his deep emotion, great tears rolled from his eyes. 
 Doubtless he was deeply Avounded by what the Emperor 
 had said to him of his partiality for Russia ; and whatever 
 may have been the cause, from that day I never saw the 
 Duke of Vicenza except at Fontainebleau. 
 
 The Emperor, meanwhile, marched with the advance 
 guard, and wished to reach Laon on the evening of the 
 8 th; but in order to gain this town it was necessary to 
 pass on a narrow causeway through marshy land. The 
 enemy was in possession of this road, and opposed our pas- 
 sage. After a few cannon-shots were exchanged his Maj- 
 esty deferred till next day the attempt to force a passage, 
 and returned, not to sleep (for at this critical time he rarely 
 slept), but to pass the night in the village of Chavignon. 
 
BOLD PLANS OF NAPOLEON. 329 
 
 In the middle of this night General Flahaut^ came to an- 
 nounce to the Emperor that the commissioners of the al- 
 lied powers had broken the conferences at Lusigny. The 
 army was not informed of this, although the news would 
 probably have surprised no one. Before daylight General 
 Gourgaud set out at the head of a detachment selected 
 from the bravest soldiers of the army, and following a 
 cross road which turned to the left through the marshes, 
 fell unexpectedly on the enemy, slew many of them in the 
 darkness, and drew the attention and efforts of the allied 
 generals upon himself, while Marshal Ney, still at the head 
 of the advance guard, profited by this bold maneuver to 
 force a passage of the causeway. The whole army hast- 
 ened to follow this movement, and on the evening of the 
 9 th was in sight of Laon, and ranged in line of battle 
 before the enemy who occupied the town and its heights. 
 The army corps of the Duke of Ragusa had arrived by 
 another road, and also formed in line of battle before the 
 Russian and Prussian armies. His Majesty passed the night 
 expediting his orders, and preparing everything for the 
 grand attack which was to take place next morning at 
 daylight. 
 
 The appointed hour having arrived, I had just finished 
 in haste the toilet of the Emperor, which was very short, 
 and he had already put his foot in the stirrup, when we saw 
 running towards us on foot, with the utmost speed and all 
 out of breath, some cavalrymen belonging to the army 
 
 1 Count Auguste Charles Joseph Flahaut de la Billarderie, born in Paris, 
 1785 ; colonel in 1809 ; aide-de-camp to the Emperor, 1812 ; and made a general 
 of division for conduct at Leipzig ; was at Waterloo. Ambassador to Vienna, 
 1841-1848, and senator, 1853 ; died 1870. He was one of the lovers of Queen 
 Hortense, and father by her of the late Due de Morny. — Trans. 
 
330 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 corps of the Duke of Ragusa. His Majesty had them 
 brought before liim, and inquired angrily the meaning of 
 this disorder. They replied that their bivouacs had been 
 attacked unexpectedly by the enemy; that they and their 
 comrades had resisted to the utmost these overwhelming 
 forces, although they had barely time to seize their arms ; 
 that they had at last been compelled to yield to numbers, 
 and it was only by a miracle they had escaped the massacre. 
 " Yes," said the Emperor knitting his brow, " by a miracle 
 of agility, as we have just seen. What has become of the 
 marshal ? " One of the soldiers replied that he saw the 
 Duke of Ragusa fall dead, another that he had been taken 
 prisoner. His Majesty sent his aide-de-camp and orderly 
 officers to ascertain, and found that the report of the cavalry- 
 men was only too true. The enemy had not waited to be 
 attacked, but had fallen on the army corps of the Duke of 
 Ragusa, surrounded it, and taken a part of his artillery. 
 The marshal, however, had been neither wounded nor 
 taken prisoner, but was on the road to Rheims, endeavoring 
 to arrest and bring back the remains of his army corps. 
 
 The news of this disaster greatly increased his Majesty's 
 chagrin ; but nevertheless the enemy was driven back to the 
 gates of Laon, though the recapture of the city was im- 
 possible. After a few fruitless attempts, or rather after 
 some false attacks, the object of which was to conceal his 
 retreat from the enemy, the Emperor returned to Chavignon 
 and passed the night. The next day, the 11th, we left this 
 village, and the army fell back to Soissons. His Majesty 
 alighted at the bishopric, and immediately commanded Mar- 
 shal Mortier, together with the principal officials of the 
 place, to take measures to put the town in a state of de- 
 
CAPTURE OF UEEIMS. 331 
 
 fense. For two days the Emperor sliut Mmself up at work 
 in his cabinet, and left it only to examine the locality, visit 
 the fortifications, and everywhere give orders and see that 
 they were executed. In the midst of these preparations for 
 defense, his Majesty learned that the tovm of Rheims had 
 been taken by the Russian general, Saini^Priest,i notwith- 
 standing the vigorous resistance of General Corbineau,^ of 
 whose fate we were ignorant, but it was believed that he 
 was dead or had fallen into the hands of the Russians. His 
 Majesty confided the defense of Soissons to the Marshal 
 Duke of Treviso, and himself set out for Rheims by forced 
 marches ; and we arrived the same evening at the gates of 
 the city, where the Russians were not expecting his Majesty. 
 Our soldiers entered this battle without having taken any 
 repose, but fought with the resolution which the presence 
 and example of the Emperor never failed to inspire. The 
 combat lasted the whole evening, and was prolonged far 
 into the night; but after General Saint-Priest had been 
 grievously wounded the resistance of his troops became less 
 vigorous, and at two o'clock in the morning they abandoned 
 the town. The Emperor and his army entered by one gate 
 while the Russians were emerging from the other; and as 
 the inhabitants pressed in crowds around his Majesty, he 
 inquired before alighting from his horse what havoc the 
 enemy was supposed to have made. It was answered that 
 
 1 Count Guillaume Emmannel de Saint-Priest ■was bom at Constantinople 
 ("where his father was French minister), 1776. Having entered the Kussiau 
 service, he fought against France at Austerlitz and in other engagements, at- 
 taining the rank of general; he was killed at Kheims, 1814. — Trans. 
 
 2 John Baptist Corbineau, bom at Marchiennes, 1776 ; in Kussian cam- 
 paign aide-de-camp to the Emperor, and general of division, 1813. He is said 
 to have saved the Emperor's life at Montmirail, 1814. He directed the arrest 
 of Louis Napoleon at Boulogne, 1840; died 1848. — Tkans, 
 
66Z RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the town had suffered only the amount of injury which was 
 the inevitable result of a bloody nocturnal struggle, and 
 that moreover the enemy had maintained severe discipline 
 among the troops during their stay and up to the moment 
 of retreat. Among those who pressed around his Majesty 
 at this moment was the brave General Corbineau. He wore 
 a citizen's coat, and had remained disguised and concealed 
 in a private house of the town. On the morning of the 
 next day he again presented himself before the Emperor, 
 who welcomed him cordially, and complimented him on the 
 courage he had displayed under such trying circumstances. 
 The Duke of Ragusa had rejoined his Majesty under the 
 walls of Rheims, and had contributed with his army corps 
 to the capture of the town. When he appeared before the 
 Emperor, the latter burst out in harsh and severe reproaches 
 regarding the affair at Laon ; but his anger was not of long 
 duration, and his Majesty soon resumed towards the mar- 
 shal the tone of friendship with wliich he habitually honored 
 him. They held a long conference, and the Duke of Ragusa 
 remained to dine with the Emperor. 
 
 His Majesty spent three days at Rheims in order to give 
 his troops time to rest and recuperate before continuing 
 this arduous campaign. They were in sore need of this; 
 for even old soldiers would have had great difficulty in en- 
 during such continued forced marches, which often ended 
 only in a bloody battle ; nevertheless, the greater part of the 
 brave men who obeyed with such unwearied ardor the 
 Emperor's orders, and who never refused to endure any 
 fatigue or any danger, were conscripts who had been levied 
 in haste, and fought against the most warlike and best dis- 
 ciplined troops in Europe. The greater part had not had 
 
NEW LEVIES. 333 
 
 even svifficient time to learn the chill, and took their first 
 lessons in the presence of the enemy, brave young fellows 
 who sacrificed themselves without a murmur, and to whom 
 the Emperor once only did injustice, — in the circumstance 
 which I have formerly related, and in which M. Larrey 
 played such a heroic part. It is a well-known fact that the 
 wonderful campaign of 1814 was made almost entirely with 
 conscripts newly levied. 
 
 During the halt of three days which we made at Rheims, 
 the Emperor saw with intense joy, which he openly mani- 
 fested, the arrival of an army corps of six thousand men, 
 whom the brave Dutch General Janssens^ brought to his 
 aid. This re-enforcement of experienced troops could not 
 have come more opportunely. While our soldiers were tak- 
 ing breath before recommencing a desperate struggle, his 
 Majesty was giving himself up to the most varied labors 
 with his accustomed ardor. In the midst of the cares and 
 dangers of war the Emperor neglected none of the affairs 
 of the Empire, but worked for several hours each day with 
 the Duke of Bassano, received couriers from Paris, dictated 
 his replies, and fatigued his secretaries almost as much as 
 his generals and soldiers. As for himself, he was indefati- 
 able as of yore. 
 
 1 Jan Willem Janssens, 130111 at Nymwegen, 1762 ; governor of Colony of 
 Cape of Good Hope, 1802, till driven out ty English in 1806 ; governor-gen- 
 eral of Dutch East Indies, and captured hy English in Batavia, 1811 ; died 
 1835.— Tkans. 
 
334 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 An habitual expression of the Emperor. — New plan of attack. — Departure 
 for Bheims. — Secret mission to King Joseph. — Precautions taken by 
 the Emperor in regard to the Empress and the King of Rome. — Conver- 
 sation of the evening before. — The Emperor Alexander and the King of 
 Prussia arrive at Troyes. — Admirable conduct at Epemay. — M. Meet and 
 the cross of honor. — Another cross given to a farmer. — Retreat of the 
 allied army. — Engagement of La Fere. — Champenoise. — Count d' Artois 
 at Nancy. — On the 20th of March the battle of Arcis-sur-Auhe. — The 
 Prince von Schwarzenberg brings up the Austrians. — Dissolution of 
 the Congress and presence of the Austrian army. — Nocturnal battle. — 
 Flames lighting the battlefield. — Retreat in good order. — The Emperor's 
 presence of mind, and assistance rendered the Sisters of Charity. — The 
 name of the Bourbons pronounced for the first time by the Emperor. — 
 Memory of the Empress Josephine. — The enemies at fipemay. — Pillage 
 and the horror it inspired in his Majesty. — The Emperor at Saint-Dizier. 
 — M. de Weissemberg at headquarters. — Verbal message to the Emperor 
 of Austria. — The Emperor of Austria compelled to retire to Dijon. — 
 Arrival at Doulevent, and secret opinion of M. de Lavalette. — News from 
 Paris. — The national guard and the schools. — The Oriflamme at the 
 opera. — Rapid flight of time. — Battle continuously waged. — Saint-Dizier 
 is captured. — Junction of General Bliicher and the Prince von Schwar- 
 zenberg. — News of King Joseph. — Will Paris be able to defend itself ? 
 — Mission of General Dejean. — The Emperor leaves for Paris. — I am 
 separated from his Majesty for the first time. 
 
 Affairs had reached a point where the great question 
 of triumph or defeat could not long remain undecided. 
 According to one of the habitual expressions of the Em- 
 peror, the pear was ripe ; but who was to gather it ? The 
 Emperor while at Rheims appeared to have no doubt that 
 the result would be in his favor. By one of those bold 
 combinations which astonish the world, and change in a 
 single battle the face of affairs, although the enemy had 
 
NEW PLAN OF ATTACK. 835 
 
 approached the capital, his Majesty being unable to prevent 
 it, he nevertheless resolved to attack them in the rear, com- 
 pel them to wheel about, and place themselves in opposition 
 to the army which he commanded in person, and thus save 
 Paris from their invasion. With the intention of executing 
 this bold combination the Emperor left Rheims. Mean- 
 while, being anxious concerning his wife and son, the Em- 
 peror, before attempting tliis great enterprise, wrote in the 
 greatest secrecy to his brother. Prince Joseph, lieutenant- 
 general of the Empire, to have them conveyed to a place of 
 safety in case the danger became imminent. I knew noth- 
 ing of this order the day it was sent, as the Emperor kept 
 it a secret from every one ; but when I learned afterwards 
 that it was from Rheims that tliis command had been ad- 
 dressed to Prince Joseph, I thought that I could without 
 fear of being mistaken fix the date at March 15th. That 
 evening, in fact, his Majesty had talked to me as he retired 
 of the Empress and the King of Rome ; and as usual, when- 
 ever he had during the day been deeply impressed with 
 any idea, it always recurred to him in the evening ; and 
 for that reason I conclude that this was the day on which 
 his mind had been occupied with putting in a place of 
 shelter from the dangers of the war the two objects of his 
 most devoted affection. 
 
 From Rheims we directed our course to ]5pernay, the 
 garrison and inhabitants of which had just repulsed the 
 enemy, who the evening before had attempted to capture 
 it. There the Emperor learned of the arrival at Troyes of 
 the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prussia. His 
 Majesty, in order to testify to the inhabitants of fipernay 
 his satisfaction with their admirable conduct, rewarded 
 
336 BECOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 them in the person of their mayor by giving him the cross 
 of the Legion of Honor. This was M. Moet, whose reputa- 
 tion has become almost as European as that of Champagne 
 wine. 
 
 During tliis campaign, without being too lavish of the 
 cross of honor, his Majesty presented it on several occasions 
 to those of the inhabitants who were foremost in resisting 
 the enemy. Thus, for example, I remember that before 
 leaving Rheims he gave one to a simple farmer of the vil- 
 lage of Selles whose name I have forgotten. This brave 
 man, on learning that a detachment of Prussians was ap- 
 proaching his commune, put himself at the head of the 
 National Guard, whom he encouraged both by word and 
 example ; and the result of his enterprise was forty-five pris- 
 oners, among them three officers, whom he brought into the 
 town. 
 
 How many deeds similar to this occurred which it is 
 impossible to remember ! However all that may be, the 
 Emperor on leaving Epernay marched towards Fere-Cham- 
 penoise, I will not say in all haste, for that is a term which 
 might be used concerning all his Majesty's movements, who 
 sprang with the rapidity of an eagle on the point where his 
 presence seemed most necessary. Nevertheless, the enemy's 
 army, which had crossed the Seine at Pont and Nogent, hav- 
 ing learned of the re-occupation of Rheims by the Emperor, 
 and understanding the movement he wished to make on 
 their rear, began their retreat on the 17th, and retook suc- 
 cessively the bridges which he had constructed at Pont, 
 Nogent, and Arcis-sur-Aube. On the 18th occurred the 
 battle of Fere-Champenoise, which his Majesty fought to 
 clear the road intervening between him and Arcis-sur-Aube, 
 
AUSTRIA JOINS THE ALLIES. 337 
 
 where were the Emperor Alexander and the King of Prus- 
 sia, who, on learning of this new success of the Emperor, 
 quickly fell back to Troyes. The pronounced intention of 
 his Majesty was then to go as far as Bar-sur-Aube. We 
 had already passed the Aube at Plancy, and the Seine at 
 Mery, but it was necessary to return to Plancy. This was 
 on the 19th, the same day on which the Count d'Artois ar- 
 rived at Nancy, and on which the rupture of the Congress 
 of Chatillon occurred, which I mentioned in the preceding 
 chapter, following the order in which my souvenirs recurred 
 to my mind. 
 
 The 20th March was, as I have said, an eventful date 
 in the Emperor's life, and was to become still more so one 
 year later. The 20th March, 1814, the King of Rome 
 completed his third year, while the Emperor was exposing 
 himself, if it were possible, even more than was his usual 
 custom. At the battle of Arcis-sur-Aube, which took place 
 on that day, his Majesty saw that at last he would have 
 new enemies to encounter. The Austrians themselves en- 
 tered the line of battle ; and an immense army, under the 
 command of the Prince von Schwarzenberg, spread itself 
 out before him, when he supposed he had only an advance 
 guard to resist. The coincidence may not perhaps appear 
 unimportant that the Austrian army did not begin to fight 
 seriously or attack the Emperor in person until the day 
 after the rupture of the Congress of Chatillon. Was this 
 the result of chance, or did the Emperor of Austria indeed 
 prefer to remain in the second line, and spare the person of 
 his son-in-law, so long as peace appeared possible to him ? 
 This is a question which it is not my province to answer. 
 
 The battle of Arcis-sur-Aube was terrible, and ended 
 
838 BECOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 only with the close of day. The Emperor still occupied 
 the city in spite of the combined efforts of an army of one 
 hundred and thirty thousand fresh troops, who attacked 
 thirty thousand worn out by fatigue. The battle stiU 
 continued during the night, while the fire of the faubourgs 
 lighted our defenses and the works of the besieging-party. 
 It was at last found impossible to hold our position longer, 
 and only one bridge remained by which the army could 
 effect its retreat. The Emperor had another constructed; 
 and the retreat commenced, but in good order, in spite of 
 the numerous masses which closely threatened us. This 
 unfortunate affair was the most disastrous his Majesty had 
 experienced during the whole campaign, since the roads 
 leading to the capital had been left uncovered; and the 
 prodigies of his genius and valor were unavailing against 
 such overwhelming numbers. An instance which furnishes 
 an excellent proof of the presence of mind which the Em- 
 peror preserved in- the most critical positions was, that be- 
 fore evacuating Arcis he committed to the Sisters of Charity 
 a sum sufficient for the first needs of the wounded. 
 
 On the evening of the 21st we arrived at Sommepuis, 
 where the Emperor passed the night. There I heard him 
 for the first time pronounce the name of the Bourbons. 
 His Majesty was extremely agitated, and spoke in such 
 broken tones that I understood only these words, which 
 he repeated many times: "Recall them myself — recall 
 the Bourbons ! What would the enemy say ? No, no ! it 
 is impossible ! Never ! " These words which escaped the 
 Emperor in one of those attacks of preoccupation to which 
 he was subject whenever his soul was deeply moved aston- 
 ished me inexpressibly ; for the idea had never once en- 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 339 
 
 tered my mind that there could be any other government 
 in France than that of his Majesty. Besides, it may be 
 easily understood that in the position I then occupied I 
 had scarcely heard the Bourbons mentioned, except to the 
 Empress Josephine in the early days of the Consulate, 
 while I was still in her service. 
 
 The various divisions of the French army and the 
 masses of the enemy were then so closely pressed against 
 each other, that the enemy occupied each point the mo- 
 ment we were compelled to abandon it; thus, on the 
 22d the allies seized ilpernay, and, in order to punish 
 this faithful town for the heroic defense it had previously 
 made, orders were given that it should be pillaged. Pil- 
 lage ! The Emperor called it the crz'me of tear ; and I 
 heard him often express in most vehement terms the 
 horror with which it inspired him, which was so extreme 
 that at no time did he authorize it during his long series 
 of triumphs. Pillage ! And yet every proclamation of 
 our devastators declared boldly that they made war only 
 on the Emperor ; they had the audacity to repeat this 
 statement, and some were foolish enough to believe them. 
 On this point I saw too plainly what actually occurred 
 to have ever believed in the ideal magnanimity which 
 has siace been so much vaunted. 
 
 On the 28d we were at Saint^Dizier, where the Em- 
 peror returned to his first plan of attacking the enemy's 
 rear. The next day, just as his Majesty mounted his horse 
 to go to Doulevent, a general officer of the Austrians was 
 brought to him, whose arrival caused a great sensation at 
 headquarters, as it delayed the Emperor's departure for a 
 few moments. I soon learned that it was Baron de Weis- 
 
340 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 semberg, ambassador from Austria to London, who was 
 returning from England. The Emperor ordered that he 
 should follow him to Doulevent, where his Majesty gave 
 him a verbal message to the Emperor of Austria, while 
 Colonel Galbois was charged with a letter which the 
 Emperor had the Duke of Vicenza write. But after a 
 movement by the French army towards Chaumont, by the 
 road of Langres, the Emperor of Austria, finding himself 
 separated from the Emperor Alexander, was forced to faU 
 back as far as Dijon. I remember that on his arrival at 
 Doulevent his Majesty received secret information from his 
 faithful director-general of the post, M. de Lavalette. This 
 information, the purport of which I did not know, appeared 
 to produce the deepest impression on the Emperor ; but he 
 soon resumed before the eyes of those around his accus- 
 tomed serenity, though for some time past I had seen that 
 this was only assumed. I have learned since that M. de 
 Lavalette informed the Emperor that there was not a mo- 
 ment to lose if he would save the capital. Such an opinion 
 from such a man could only be an expression of the real 
 truth, and it was this conviction which contributed to 
 increase the Emperor's anxiety. Until then the news from 
 Paris had been favorable ; and much had been said of the 
 zeal and devotion of the National Guard, which nothing 
 could dismay. At the various theaters patriotic pieces had 
 been played, and notably the Oriflamme ^ at the Opera, 
 a very trivial circumstance apparently, but which never- 
 theless acted very powerfully on the minds of enthusiasts, 
 
 1 It singularly happened that this opera of the Oriflamme was the sub- 
 ject of Geoffrey's last critique, for this celebrated critic died a few days later; 
 and if he did not thus secure the repose of his own soul, he at least added to 
 that of the actors. — Constant. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 341 
 
 and for this reason was not to be disdained. Indeed, 
 the small amount of news that we had received represented 
 Paris as entirely devoted to his Majesty, and ready to de- 
 fend itself against any attacks. And in fact, this news was 
 not untrue ; and the handsome conduct of the National 
 Guard under the orders of Marshal Moncey, the enthusiasm 
 of the different schools, and the bravery of the pupUs of 
 the polytechnic schools, soon furnished proof of this. But 
 events were stronger than men. Meanwhile, time passed 
 on, and we were approaching the fatal conclusion; each 
 day, each moment, saw those immense masses collecting 
 from the extremities of Europe, inclosing Paris, and press- 
 ing it with a thousand arms, and during these last days it 
 might well be said that the battle raged incessantly. On 
 the 26th the Emperor, led by the noise of a fierce cannon- 
 ade, again repaired to Saint-Dizier, where his rear-guard was 
 attacked by very superior forces, and compelled to evacuate 
 the town ; but General Milhaud and General Sebastiani 
 repulsed the enemy on the Marne at the ford of Valcourt ; 
 the presence of the Emperor produced its accustomed 
 effect, and we re-entered Saint-Dizier, while the enemy fled 
 in the greatest disorder over the road to Vitry-le-Fran§ais 
 and that of Bar-sur-Ornain. The Emperor moved towards 
 the latter town, thinking that he now had the Prince of 
 Schwarzenberg in his power ; but just as he arrived there 
 learned that it was not the Austrian general-in-chief whom 
 he had fought, but only one of his lieutenants, Count Wit- 
 zingerode. Schwarzenberg had deceived him ; on the 23d 
 he had made a junction with General Bliicher, and these 
 two generals at the head of the coalition had rushed with 
 their masses of soldiers upon the capital. 
 
342 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 HoTvever disastrous might be the news brought to head- 
 quarters, the Emperor wished to verify its truth in person, 
 and on his return from Saint-Dizier made a detour to 
 Vitry, in order to assure himself of the march of the allies 
 on Paris ; and all his doubts were dissipated by what he 
 saw. Could Paris hold out long enough for him to crush 
 the enemy against its walls ? Thereafter this was his sole 
 and engrossing thought. He immediately placed himself at 
 the head of his army, and we marched on Paris by the road 
 to Troyes. At Doulencourt he received a courier from 
 King Joseph, who announced to him the march of the allies 
 on Paris. That very moment he sent General Dejean i in 
 haste to his brother to inform him of his speedy arrival. If 
 he could defend himself for two days, only two days, the 
 allied armies would enter Paris, only to find there a tomb. 
 In what a state of anxiety the Emperor then was ! He set 
 out with his headquarters squadrons. I accompanied him, 
 and left him for the first time at Troyes, on the morning of 
 the 30th, as will be seen in the following chapter. 
 
 1 There were two generals of this name, father and son. The father, 
 Count John Francis Dejean, horn at Castelnaudary, 1749, became in 1800 
 councillor of State, and minister of war 1802, and inspector-general of engi- 
 neer in 1808. In 1814, created by the Bourbons a peer and governor of the 
 Polytechnic, he served in 1815 as aide-de-camp to the Emperor. Died 1824. 
 The son. Count Peter Francis Dejean (who is probably referred to above), 
 born at Amiens, 1780, became general of division, 1814, and distinguished him- 
 self at Waterloo, 1815. Became subsequently a distinguished writer on ento- 
 mology, and died 1845. — Teaks. 
 
SAD MEMORIES. 343 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Sad memories. — The foreigners in Paris. — An order of the Emperor. — His 
 Majesty's departure for Troyes. — Ten leagues in two hours. — The Em- 
 peror in a chaise. — I arrive at Essonne. — Orders to return to Fontaine- 
 hleau. — His Majesty's arrival. — The Emperor's dejection. — Marshal 
 Moncey at Eontainebleau. — Melancholy silence of the Emperor. — Con- 
 tinued preoccupation. — Only distraction of the Emperor caused by his 
 soldiers. — The first review at Fontainebleau. — Paris I Paris ! — Neces- 
 sity of speaking of myself. — My house pillaged by the Cossacks. — A 
 gift of fifty thousand francs. — The Emperor's dejection constantly in- 
 creases. — Eoustan is forbidden to give pistols to the Emperor. — The 
 Emperor's exceeding kindness to me. — Gift of a hundred thousand 
 francs. — His Majesty condescends to enter into my family affairs. — 
 Inexpressible gratitude. — One hundred thousand francs hidden in 
 the woods. — Denis, the boy of the wardrobe. — The origin of all my 
 chagrin. 
 
 What a time was this ! How sad tlie period and 
 events of wMcli I have now to recall the sad memory ! 
 I have now arrived at the fatal day when the combined 
 armies of Europe were to sully the soil of Paris, of that 
 capital, free for so many years from the presence of the in- 
 vader. What a blow to the Emperor ! And what cruel 
 expiation his great soul now made for his triumphant entries 
 into Vienna and Berlin ! It was, then, all in vain that he 
 had displayed such incredible activity during the admirable 
 campaign of France, in which his genius had displayed 
 itself as brilliantly as during his Italian campaign. The 
 first time I saw him on the day after a battle was at Marengo ; 
 and what a contrast his attitude of dejection presented when 
 I saw him again on the 31st of March at Fontainebleau. 
 
344 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Having accompanied liis Majesty everywhere, I was near 
 him at Troyes on the morning of the 30th of March. 
 
 The Emperor set out at ten o'clock, accompanied only by 
 the grand marshal and the Duke of Vicenza. It was then 
 known at headquarters that the allied troops were advan- 
 cing on Paris ; but we were far from suspecting that at the 
 very moment of the Emperor's hurried departure the battle 
 before Paris was being most bitterly waged. At least I had 
 heard nothing to lead me to believe it. I received an order 
 to move to Essonne, and, as means of transportation had 
 become scarce and hard to obtain, did not arrive there until 
 the morning of the 31st, and had been there only a short 
 time when the courier brought me an order to repair to 
 Fontainebleau, which I immediately did. It was then I 
 learned that the Emperor had gone from Troyes to Monte- 
 reau in two hours, having made the journey of ten leagues 
 in that short space of time. I also learned that the Emperor 
 and his small suite had been obliged to make use of a chaise 
 on the road to Paris, between Essonne and Villejuif. He 
 advanced as far as the Cour de France with the intention 
 of marching on Paris ; but there, verifying the news and the 
 cruel certainty of the surrender of Paris, had sent to me the 
 courier whom I mentioned above. 
 
 I had been at Fontainebleau only a short while when the 
 Emperor arrived. His countenance was pale and harassed 
 to a greater degree than I had ever seen it; and he who 
 knew so well how to control all the emotions of his soul 
 did not seem to attempt to conceal the dejection which was 
 so manifest both in his attitude and in his countenance. It 
 was evident how greatly he was suffering from all the dis- 
 astrous events which had accumulated one after the other in 
 
AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 345 
 
 terrible progression. The Emperor said nothing to any one, 
 and closeted himself immediately in his cabinet, with the 
 Dukes of Bassano and Vicenza and the Prince of Neuchatel. 
 These generals remained a long while with the Emperor, 
 who afterwards received some general officers. His Majesty 
 retired very late, and appeared to me entirely crushed.' From 
 time to time I heard stifled sighs escape from his breast, 
 with which were mingled the name of Marmont, which I 
 could not then understand, as I had heard nothing of the 
 terms of the surrender, and knew that the Duke of Ragusa 
 was a marshal to whom the Emperor seemed always deeply 
 attached. I saw that evening, at Fontainebleau, Marshal 
 Moncey, who the evening before had bravely commanded 
 the national guard at the barricade of Clichy, and also the 
 Duke of Dantzic. 
 
 A gloomy and silent sadness which is perfectly inde- 
 scribable reigned at Fontainebleau during the two days 
 which followed. Overcome by so many repeated blows, the 
 Emperor seldom entered his cabinet, where he usually passed 
 so many hours engaged in work. He was so absorbed in 
 his conflicting thoughts, that often he did not notice the 
 arrival of persons whom he had summoned, looked at them, 
 so to speak, without seeing them, and sometimes remained 
 nearly half an hour without addressing them; then, as if 
 awaking from this state of stupefaction, asked them ques- 
 tions without seeming to hear the reply ; and even the pres- 
 ence of the Duke of Bassano and the Duke of Vicenza, 
 whom he summoned more frequently, did not interrupt this 
 condition of preoccupation or lethargy, so to speak. The 
 hours for meals were the same, and they were served as 
 usual ; but all took place amid complete silence, broken only 
 
346 BEGOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 by the necessary noise of tlie service. At the Emperor's 
 toilet the same silence ; not a word issued from his lips ; and 
 if in the morning I suggested to him one of the drinks that 
 he usually took, he not only did not reply, but nothing in 
 his countenance which I attentively observed could make me 
 believe that he had heard me. This situation was terrible 
 for all the persons attached to his Majesty. 
 
 Was the Emperor really so overwhelmed by his evil for- 
 tune ? Was his genius as benumbed as his body ? I must 
 admit, in all candor, that seeing him so different from what 
 he appeared after the disasters of Moscow, and even when 
 I had left him at Troyes a few days before, I strongly be- 
 lieved it. But this was by no means the case ; his soul was 
 a prey to one fixed idea — that of taking the offensive and 
 marching on Paris. And though, indeed, he remained over- 
 whelmed with consternation in his intimate intercourse with 
 his most faithful ministers and most skillful generals, he 
 revived at sight of his soldiers, thinking, doubtless, that the 
 one would suggest only prudent counsels while the others 
 would never reply aught but in shouts of " Vive I 'Umpereur ! ' ' 
 to the most daring orders he might give. For instance, on 
 the 2d of April he momentarily, so to speak, shook off his 
 dejection, and in the court of the palace held a review of 
 his guard, who had just rejoined him at Fontainebleau. He 
 addressed his soldiers in a firm voice, saying : — 
 
 " Soldiers ! the enemy has stolen three inarches on lis, and has 
 taken possession of Paris ; Tve must drive them out. Unworthy 
 Frenchmen, emigris to whom we have extended pardon, have donned 
 the white cockade, and gone over to our enemies. The cowards ! 
 They will reap the reward of this new treason. Let us swear to 
 conquer or to die, and to have respect shown to this tricolored cock- 
 ade, which for twenty-five years we have borne on the road to glory 
 and honor.' 
 
AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 347 
 
 The troops were roused to enthusiasm at the sound of 
 their chief's voice, and shouted in unison, " Paris ! Paris !" 
 But the Emperor, nevertheless, resumed his former dejec- 
 tion on crossing the threshold of the palace, which arose 
 no doubt from the fear, only too well founded, of seeing his 
 desire to march on Paris thwarted by his lieutenants. It 
 is only since, that reflecting on the events of that time, I am 
 enabled to conjecture as to the struggles which passed in 
 the soul of the Emperor; for then, as during my entire 
 period of service, I would not have dared to think of 
 going outside the limits of my ordinary duties and func- 
 tions. 
 
 Meanwhile, the situation became more and more unfa- 
 vorable to the wishes and plans of the Emperor. The 
 Duke of Vicenza had been sent to Paris, where a provis- 
 ional government had been formed under the presidency 
 of the Prince of Benevento, without having succeeded in 
 his mission to the Emperor Alexander ; and each day his 
 Majesty with deep grief witnessed the adhesion of the mar- 
 shals and a large number of generals to the new govern- 
 ment. He felt the Prince de Neuchatel's desertion deeply ; 
 and I must say that, unaccustomed as we were to political 
 combinations, we were overcome with astonishment. 
 
 Here I find that I am compelled to speak of myself, 
 which I have done as little as possible in the course of 
 these memoirs, and I think this is a justice which aU my 
 readers will do me; but what I have to say is too inti- 
 mately connected with the last days I passed with the Em- 
 peror, and concerns my personal honor too nearly, for me 
 to suppose that I can be reproached for so doing. I was, 
 as may well be supposed, very anxious as to the fate of my 
 
348 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 family, of whom I had received no news for a long while ; 
 and, at the same time, the cruel disease from which I had 
 long suffered had made frightful progress, owing to the 
 fatigue of the last campaign. Nevertheless, the mental 
 suffering to which I saw the Emperor a victim so entirely 
 absorbed all my thoughts, that I took no precautions 
 against the physical suffering which I endured; and I 
 had not even thought of asking for a safeguard for the 
 country-house I possessed in the environs of Fontaine- 
 bleau. A free corps having seized it, had established 
 themselves there, after having pillaged and destroyed every- 
 thing, even the httle flock of merino sheep which I owed to 
 the kindness of the Empress Josephine. The Emperor, 
 having been informed of it by othere than myself, said to 
 me one morning at his toilet, " Constant, I owe you indem- 
 nity." — " Sire ? " — " Yes, my child, I know that your 
 place has been pillaged, I know that you have incurred 
 considerable losses in the Russian campaign ; I have given 
 an order that fifty thousand francs should be handed you 
 to cover the whole." I thanked his Majesty, who more 
 than indemnified me for my losses. 
 
 This occurred during the first days of our last stay at 
 Fontainebleau. At the sanje period the Emperor's removal 
 to the Island of Elba having been already discussed, the 
 grand marshal of the palace asked me if I would follow his 
 Majesty to this residence. God is my witness that I had 
 no other wish than to consecrate all my life to the service 
 of the Emperor ; therefore I did not need a moment's reflec- 
 tion to reply that this could not be a matter of doubt ; and 
 I occupied myself almost immediately with preparations for 
 the sojoui-n, which proved to be not a long one, but the 
 
AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 349 
 
 duration of which no human intelhgence could then have 
 been able to foretell. 
 
 Meanwhile, in the retirement of his chamber, the Em- 
 peror became each day more sad and careworn ; and when 
 I saw him alone, which often occurred, for I tried to be near 
 him as much as possible, I remarked the extreme agita- 
 tion which the reading of the dispatches he received from 
 Paris caused him ; this agitation was many times so great 
 that I noticed he had torn his leg with his nails until the 
 blood flowed, without being aware of it. I then took the 
 liberty of informing him of the fact as gently as possible, 
 with the hope of putting an end to this intense preoccupa- 
 tion, which cut me to the heart. Several times also the 
 Emperor asked Roustan for his pistols ; fortunately I had 
 taken the precaution, seeing his Majesty so unnerved, to 
 recommend him not to give them to him, however much 
 the Emperor might insist. I thought it my duty to give an 
 account of all this to the Dulce of Vicenza, who entirely 
 approved of my conduct. One morning, I do not recall 
 whether it was the 10th or 11th of April, but it was cer- 
 tainly on one of those days, the Emperor, who had said 
 nothing to me in the morning, had me called during the 
 day. I had hardly entered his room when he said to me, 
 in a tone of most winning kindness, " My dear Constant, 
 there is a hundred thousand francs waiting for you at Pey- 
 rache's ; if your wife arrives before our departure, you will 
 give them to her; if she should not, put them in the cor- 
 ner of your country-place, note the exact location of the 
 spot, which you will send to her by some safe person. 
 When one has served me well he should not be in want. 
 Your wife will buy a farm, in which she will invest this 
 
350 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 money; she will live with your mother and sister, and 
 you wiU not \\&-\^e the fear of leaving her in need." Even 
 more moved by the provident kindness of the Emperor, who 
 thus deigned to consider the interests of my family affairs, 
 than delighted with the great value of the present he had 
 made me, I could hardly find words to express to him my 
 gratitude ; and such was, besides, my carelessness of the 
 future, so far from me had been the thought that this great 
 Empire could come to an end, that this was the first time 
 I had really considered the embarrassed condition in which 
 I would have left my family, if the Emperor had not thus 
 generously provided for them. I had, in fact, no fortune, 
 and possessed in all the world only my pillaged house, and 
 the fifty thousand francs destined to repair it. 
 
 Under these circumstances, not knowing when I should 
 see my wife again, I made arrangements to follow the 
 advice his Majesty had been kind enough to give me ; 
 converted my hundred thousand francs into gold, which 
 I put into five bags ; and taking with me the wardrobe boy 
 Denis, whose honesty was above suspicion, we followed the 
 road through the forest to avoid being seen by any of the 
 persons who occupied my house. We cautiously entered a 
 little inclosure belonging to me, the gate of which could 
 not be seen on account of the trees, although they were 
 now without foliage ; and with the aid of Denis I succeeded 
 in burying my treasure, after taking an exact note of the 
 place, and then returned to the palace, being certainly very 
 far from foreseeing how much chagrin and tribulation those 
 hundred thousand francs would cause me, as we shall see 
 in the succeeding chapters. 
 
CONSTANT ASKS INDULGENCE. 851 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Indulgence asked, — Our position at Fontainebleau. — Impossibility of believ- 
 ing that the Emperor can be dethroned. — Numerous petitions. — Effect 
 produced on his Majesty by the journals. — The Duke of Bassano. — The 
 Emperor more affected by renouncing the throne for his son than for 
 himself. — The Emperor, a soldier, and one louis per day. — The Empe- 
 ror's abdication. — Great revelation. — A sad day and a calm evening. — 
 . The Emperor's retiring, — Painful awaking. — The Emperor poisoned. — 
 Remains of the campaign sachet. — Words addressed to me by the dying 
 Emperor. — Frightful despair, — His Majesty's resignation. — Delay in 
 dying. — First convulsion. — Order to summon M. Caulaincourt and M. 
 Tvan. — Touching words of his Majesty to the Duke of Vicenza. — Long 
 opposition to our united prayers. — The Emperor questions M. Yvan, 
 and his sudden fright. — Second convulsion. — The Emperor at last tak- 
 ing medicine. — Drowsiness of the Emperor. — Awaking, and complete 
 silence on the events of the night. — M. Yvan leaves for Paris. — Depar- 
 ture of Eoustan, — The 12th of April. — Farewell of Marshal Macdonald 
 to the Emperor. — Breakfast as usual. — The sword of Mourad-Bey. — 
 The Emperor more talkative than usual. — Sudden variations m the 
 Emperor's humor. — Morose sadness and The Monaco. — Repugnance 
 of the Emperor to receiving letters from Paris. — Remarkable proof of 
 the Emperor's dejection. — A beautiful lady at Fontainebleau. — A 
 whole night of expectation and oblivion. — Another visit to Fontaine- 
 bleau and a retrospection. — Adventure at Saint^Cloud. — The protector 
 of beautiful women for his Majesty. — My journey to Bourg-lar-Reine. — 
 The mother and daughter. — Journey to the Island of Elba, and marriage. 
 — Sad return to affairs at Fontainebleau. — A question the Emperor asks 
 me. — Candid reply, — The Emperor's remarks concerning the Duke of 
 Bassano. 
 
 Herb more than ever I must beg the indulgence of my 
 readers as to the order in which I relate the events I wit- 
 nessed during the Emperor's stay at Fontainebleau, and 
 those connected with them which did not come to my 
 knowledge until later. I must also apologize for any inac- 
 
352 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 curacy in dates of which I may be guilty, though I remem- 
 ber collectively, so to speak, all that occurred during the 
 unhappy twenty days which ensued between the occupation 
 of Paris and the departure of his Majesty for the Island of 
 Elba; for I was so completely absorbed in the unhappy 
 condition of my good master that all my faculties hardly 
 sufficed for the sensations I experienced every moment. 
 We suffered in the Emperor's sufferings ; it occurred to 
 none of us to imprint on his memory the recollection of so 
 much agony, for we lived, so to speak, only provisionally. 
 During the first days of our stay at Fontainebleau the 
 idea that the Emperor would soon cease to reign over 
 France was very far from entering the minds of any of 
 those around him, for every one was possessed with the 
 conviction that the Emperor of Austria would not consent 
 that his son-in-law, daughter, and grandson should be de- 
 throned; in this they were strangely mistaken. I remarked 
 during these first days that even more petitions than usual 
 were addressed to his Majesty ; but I am ignorant whether 
 he responded favorably, or even if he replied at all. The 
 Emperor often took up the daily papers, but after casting 
 his eyes over them threw them down angrily; and if we 
 recall the shameless abuse in which those writers indulged 
 who had so often lavished fulsome praises on him, it may 
 well be understood that such a transition would naturally 
 excite his Majesty's disgust. The Emperor usually re- 
 mained alone ; and the person whom he saw most fre- 
 quently was the Duke of Bassano, the only one of his 
 ministers then at Fontainebleau ; for the Duke of Vicenza, 
 being charged continually with missions, was, so to speak, 
 constantly on the wing, especially as long as his Majesty 
 
AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 353 
 
 retained the hope of seeing a regency in favor of his son 
 succeed liim in the government. In seeking to recall the 
 varied feelings whose impress I remarked on his Majesty's 
 countenance, I think I may affirm that he was even more 
 deeply affected by being compelled to renounce the throne 
 for his son than in resigning it for himself. When the 
 marshals or the Duke of Vicenza spoke to his Majesty of 
 arrangements relating to his person, it was easy to see that 
 he forced himself to listen to them only with the great- 
 est repugnance. One day when they spoke of the Island 
 of Elba, and I do not laiow what sum per year, I heard his 
 Majesty reply vehemently: "That is too much, much too 
 much for me. If I am no longer anything more than a 
 common soldier, I do not need more than one louis per 
 day." 
 
 Nevertheless, the time arrived when, pressed on every 
 side, his Majesty submitted to sign the act of abdication 
 pure and simple, which was demanded of him. This mem- 
 orable act was conceived in these terms : — 
 
 " The allied powers having proclaimed that the Emperor Napoleon 
 is the only obstacle to the re-establishment of peace in Europe, the 
 Emperor Napoleon, faithful to his oath, declares that he renounces for 
 himself and his heirs the thrones of France and Italy, and that there 
 is no personal sacrifice, even his life, which he is not wilhng to make 
 for the interests of France. 
 
 " Done at the palace of Fontainebleau, 11th of April, 1814. 
 
 " Napoleon." 
 
 I do not need to say that I then had no knowledge of 
 the act of abdication above given ; it was one of those state 
 secrets which emanated from the cabinet, and hardly entered 
 
354 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 into the confidence of the bedroom. I only recall that there 
 was some discussion of the matter, though very vague, that 
 same day in the household ; and, besides, it was evident that 
 something extraordinary was taking place, and the whole 
 day liis Majesty seemed more depressed than at any pre- 
 vious time ; but, nevertheless, I was far from anticipating 
 the agony which followed this fatal day ! 
 
 I beg the reader in advance to give earnest attention to 
 the event which I shall now relate. I now become a his- 
 torian, since I inscribe the painful remembrance of a strik- 
 ing act in the career of the Emperor; of an event which 
 has been the subject of innumerable controversies, though 
 it has been necessarily only a matter of surmise, since I 
 alone knew all the painful details. I refer to the poisoning 
 of the Emperor at Fontainebleau. I trust I do not need to 
 protest my perfect truthfulness ; I feel too keenly the great 
 importance of such a revelation to allow myself to omit or 
 add the least circumstance to the truth. I shall- therefore 
 relate events just as they occurred, just as I saw them, and 
 as memory has engraved the painful details indehbly on 
 my mind. 
 
 On the 11th of April I undressed the Emperor as usual, 
 I think rather earlier than usual ; for, if I remember aright, 
 it was not quite half-past ten. As he retired he appeared 
 to me better than during the day, and in nearly the same 
 condition he had been on previous evenings. I slept in a 
 room on the next floor, situated behind the Emperor's room, 
 with which it communicated by a small, dark staircase. 
 For some time past I had slept in my clothes, in order to 
 attend the Emperor more promptly if he should caU. me; 
 and I was sleeping soundly, when at midnight I was awaked 
 
THE EMPEROR POISONED. 355 
 
 by M. Pelard, who was on duty. He told me that the 
 Emperor had asked for me, and on opening my eyes I saw 
 on his face an expression of alarm which astounded me. 
 I threw myself out of the bed, and rapidly descended the 
 staircase, as M. Pelard added, " The Emperor has poured 
 something in a glass and dTunk it." I entered his Majes- 
 ty's room, a prey to indescribable anxiety. The Emperor 
 had lain down ; but in advancing towards his bed I saw on 
 the floor between the fireplace and the bed the little bag of 
 black silk and skin, of which I spoke some time since. It 
 was the same he had worn on his neck since the campaign 
 in Spain, and which I had guarded so carefully from one 
 campaign to another. Ah ! if I had suspected what it con- 
 tained. In this terrible moment the truth was suddenly 
 revealed to me ! 
 
 Meanwhile, I was at the head of the Emperor's bed. 
 " Constant," said he, in a voice painfully weak and broken, 
 " Constant, I am dying ! I cannot endure the agony I 
 suffer, above all the humiliation of seeing myself sur- 
 rounded by foreign emissaries ! My eagles have been 
 trailed in the dust ! I have not been understood ! My 
 poor Constant, they will regret me when I am no more ! 
 Marmont dealt me the finishing stroke. The wretch ! I 
 loved him ! Berthier's desertion has ruined me ! My old 
 friends, my old companions in arms ! " The Emperor said 
 to me many other things which I fear I might not repeat 
 correctly; and it may well be understood that, over- 
 whelmed as I was with despair, I did not attempt to en- 
 grave in my memory the words which at intervals escaped 
 the Emperor's lips ; for he did not speak continuously, and 
 the complaints I have related were uttered only between 
 
356 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 intervals of repose, or rather of stupor. While my eyes 
 were fastened on the Emperor's countenance, I noticed on 
 it a sudden contraction, which was the premonition of a 
 convulsion which frightened me terribly; fortunately this 
 convulsion brought on a slight attack of vomiting, which 
 gave me some hope. The Emperor, amidst his complicated 
 physical and mental sufferings, maintained perfect self-pos- 
 session, and said to me, after the first vomiting spell, " Con- 
 stant, call M. Yvan and Caulaincourt." I half opened the 
 door, and gave the order to M. Pelard, without leaving the 
 Emperor's room, and returning to his bed, besought and 
 entreated him to take a sootliing potion ; but all my efforts 
 were in vain, so strong was his determination to die, even 
 when in the presence of death. 
 
 In spite of the obstinate refusal of the Emperor, I was 
 still entreating him when M. de Caulaincourt and M. 
 Yvan entered the room. His Majesty made a sign to the 
 Duke of Vicenza to approach his bed, and said to him, 
 " Caulaincourt, I recommend to you my wife and child ; 
 serve them as you have served me. I have not long to 
 live ! " At this moment the Emperor was interrupted by 
 another fit of vomiting, but slighter than the first, during 
 which I tried to tell the duke that the Emperor had taken 
 poison ; he understood rather than heard me, for sobs stifled 
 my voice to such an extent that I could not pronounce a 
 word distinctly. M. Yvan drew near, and the Emperor said 
 to him, " Do you believe the dose was strong enough ? " 
 These words were really an enigma to M. Yvan ; for he was 
 not aware of the existence of this sachet, at least not to my 
 knowledge, and therefore answered, " I do not know what 
 your Majesty means ;" to which his Majesty made no reply. 
 
THE EMPEEOB POISONED. 357 
 
 The Duke of Vicenza, M. Yvan, and I, having united 
 our entreaties to the Emperor, were so fortunate at length 
 as to induce him, though not without much difficulty, to 
 drink a cup of tea, which he had refused when I had made 
 it in much haste and presented it to him, saying, " Let me 
 alone, Constant ; let me alone." But, as a result of our 
 redoubled efforts, he drank it at last, and the vomiting 
 ceased. Soon after taking the tea the Emperor appeared 
 calmer and fell asleep. These gentlemen quietly retired ; 
 and I remained alone in his room, where I awaited until he 
 woke. 
 
 After a sleep of a few hours the Emperor awoke, seem- 
 ing almost as usual, although his face still bore traces of 
 what he had suffered, and while I assisted him in his morn- 
 ing toilet did not utter a word relating in the most indirect 
 manner to the frightful night he had just passed. He 
 breakfasted as usual, only a little later than ordinary. His 
 appearance had resumed its usual calm, and he seemed 
 more cheerful than for a long time past. Was it the 
 result of his satisfaction at having escaped death, which 
 a momentary despair had made him desire ? Or did it 
 not rather arise from the certainty of no longer fearing it 
 in his bed more than on the battlefield? However that 
 may be, I attribute the remarkable preservation of the Em- 
 peror's life to the fact that the poison contained in the bag 
 had lost its efficacy. 
 
 When everything had returned to its usual order, with- 
 out any one in the palace except those I have named sus- 
 pecting what had occurred, I learned that M. Yvan had 
 left Fontainebleau. Overwhelmed by the question the 
 Emperor had addressed to him in the presence of the Duke 
 
358 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 of Vicenza, and fearing that he might suspect that he had 
 given liis Majesty the means of attempting his life, this 
 skillful physician, so long and so faithfully attached to the 
 Emperor's person, had, so to speak, lost his head in thinking 
 of the responsibility resting on him. Hastily descending 
 the stairs from the Emperor's apartments, and finding a 
 horse ready saddled and bridled in one of the courts of the 
 palace, he threw himself upon it, and hastily took the road 
 to Paris. This was the morning of the same day that 
 Roustan left Fontainebleau. 
 
 On the 12th of April, the Emperor also received the 
 last adieux of Marshal Macdonald. When he was intro- 
 duced, the Emperor was still feeling the effects of the 
 events of the preceding night; and I am sure the Duke 
 of Tarentuni perceived, without divining the cause, that 
 his Majesty was not in his usual condition. He was 
 accompanied by the Duke of Vicenza ; and at this moment 
 the Emperor was still so much depressed, and seemed so 
 entirely absorbed in thought, that he did not at first per- 
 ceive these gentlemen, although he was perfectly vsdde 
 awake. The Duke of Tarentuip brought to the Emperor 
 the treaty with the allies, and I left the room as he was 
 preparing to sign it. A few moments after the Duke of 
 Vicenza summoned me ; and his Majesty said, " Constant, 
 bring me the saber which Mourad-Bey presented to me in 
 Egypt. You know which it is?" — "Yes, Sire." I went 
 out, and immediately returned with this magnificent sword, 
 which the Emperor had worn at the battle of Mount Tabor, 
 as I have heard many times. I handed it to the Duke 
 of Vicenza, from whose hands the Emperor took it, and 
 presented it to Marshal Macdonald; and as I retired I 
 
LAST DAYS AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 359 
 
 heard the Emperor speaking to him most affectionately, 
 and calling him his worthy friend. 
 
 These gentlemen, according to my recollection, were 
 present at the Emperor's breakfast, where he appeared 
 calmer and more cheerful than for a long time past ; and 
 we were all surprised to see him conyerse familiarly and 
 in the most amiable manner with persons to whom for some 
 time past he had usually addressed very brief and distant 
 remarks. However, this gayety was only momentary; and, 
 indeed, the manner in which the Emperor's mood varied 
 from one moment to another during the whole time of our 
 stay at Fontainebleau was perfectly indescribable. I have 
 seen him on the same day plunged for several hours into 
 the most terrible depression; then, a moment after, walk- 
 ing with great strides up and down his room, whistling 
 or humming La Monaco ; after which he suddenly fell 
 into a kind of stupor, seeing nothing around him, and for- 
 getting even the orders he had given. A fact which im- 
 pressed me forcibly was the remarkable effect produced 
 on him by letters addressed to him from Paris. As soon 
 as he perceived them his agitation became extreme, — ^I 
 might say convulsive, without fear of being taxed with 
 exaggeration. 
 
 In support of what I have said of the incredible pre- 
 occupation of the Emperor, I will mention an occurrence 
 which comes to my memory. During our sojourn at Fon- 
 tainebleau the Countess Walewska, of whom I have here- 
 tofore spoken, came, and having summoned me, told me 
 how anxious she was to see the Emperor. Thinking that 
 this would be sure to distract his Majesty, I mentioned it 
 to him that very evening, and received orders to have her 
 
360 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 come at ten o'clock. Madame Walewska was, as may well 
 be believed, promptly on hand at the appointed hour, and 
 I entered the Emperor's room to announce her arrival. 
 He was lying on his bed, and plunged so deeply in medi- 
 tation that it was only on a second reminder from me he 
 rephed, "Ask her to wait." She then waited in the apart- 
 ment in front of his Majesty's, and I remained to keep her 
 company. Meanwhile the night passed on, and the hours 
 seemed long to the beautiful visitor ; and her distress that 
 the Emperor did not summon her became so evident that 
 I took pity on her, and re-entered the Emperor's room to 
 remind him again. He was not asleep, but was so deeply 
 absorbed in thought that he made no reply. At last day 
 began to break ; and the countess, fearing to be seen by the 
 people of the household, withdrew in despair at not having 
 bidden adieu to the object of her affections ; and she had 
 been gone more than an hour when the Emperor remem- 
 bered that she was waiting, and asked for her. I told his 
 Majesty how it was, and did not conceal the state of despair 
 in which the countess ^ took her departure. The Emperor 
 was much affected. " Poor woman, she thinks herself 
 humiliated ! Constant, I am really grieved. If you see 
 her again, tell her so. But I have so many things there ! " 
 added he in a very energetic tone, striking his brow with 
 his hand. 
 
 The visit of this lady to Fontainebleau recalls another 
 of almost the same kind, but to describe which it is neces- 
 
 ^ I have learned since that the Countess de Walewska went with her son 
 to visit the Emperor on the Island of Elba. This child resembled his Majesty 
 so greatly that the report was started that the King of Rome had visited his 
 father. Madame de Walewska remained only a short time at the Island of 
 Elba. — Constant. 
 
ANECDOTE. 361 
 
 sary that I take up the thread of events a little further 
 back. 
 
 A short time after his marriage with the Archduchess 
 Marie Louise, although she was a young and beautiful 
 woman, and although he really loved her devotedly, the 
 Emperor was no more careful than in the time of the Em- 
 press Josephine to scrupulously observe conjugal fidelity. 
 During one of our stays at Saint-Cloud he took a fancy to 
 
 Madamoiselle L , whose mother's second husband was 
 
 a chief of squadron. These ladies then stayed at Bourg-la- 
 
 Reine, where they were discovered by M. de , one of 
 
 the most zealous protectors of the pretty women who were 
 presented to his Majesty, and who spoke to him of this 
 young person, then seventeen years old. She was a bru- 
 nette of ordinary height, but with a beautiful figure, and 
 pretty feet and hands, her whole person full of grace, and 
 was indeed perfectly charming in all respects, and, besides, 
 xmited with most enticing coquetry every accomplishment, 
 danced with much grace, played on several instruments, 
 and was full of intelligence; in fact, she had received 
 that kind of showy education which forms the most charm- 
 ing mistresses and the worst wives. The Emperor told 
 me one day, at eight o'clock in the evening, to seek her at 
 her mother's, to bring her and return at eleven o'clock at 
 latest. My visit caused no surprise ; and I saw that these 
 ladies had been forewarned, no doubt by their obliging pa- 
 tron, for they awaited me with an impatience they did not 
 seek to conceal. The young person was dazzling with 
 ornaments and beauty, and the mother radiant with joy at 
 the idea of the honor destined for her daughter. I saw 
 well that she imagined the Emperor could not fail to be 
 
362 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 captivated by so many charms, and that he would be seized 
 with a great passion ; but all this was only a dream, for the 
 Emperor was amorous only when all things suited. How- 
 ever, we arrived at Saint-Cloud at eleven o'clock, and 
 entered the chateau by the orangery, for fear of indiscreet 
 eyes. As I had a pass-key to all the gates of the chateau, 
 I conducted her into the Emperor's apartments without 
 being seen by any one, where she remained about three 
 hours. At the end of this time I escorted her to her home, 
 taking the same precautions on leaving the chateau. 
 
 This young person, whom the Emperor had since seen 
 three or four times at most, also came to Fontainebleau, 
 accompanied by her mother; but, being unable to see his 
 Majesty, this lady, like the Countess Walewska, determined 
 to make the voyage to the Island of Elba, where it is said 
 
 the Emperor married Mademoiselle L to a colonel of 
 
 artillery. 
 
 What I have just written has carried me back almost 
 unconsciously to happier times. It is necessary, however, 
 to return to the sad stay at Fontainebleau ; and, after what 
 I have said of the dejection in which the Emperor lived, it 
 is not surprising that, overwhelmed by such crushing blows, 
 his mind was not disposed to gallantry. It seems to me I 
 can still see the evidences of the gloomy melancholy which 
 devoured him ; and in the midst of so many sorrows the 
 kindness of heart of the man seemed to increase in propor- 
 tion to the sufferings of the dethroned sovereign. With 
 what amenity he spoke to us in these last days ! He then 
 frequently deigned to question me as to what was said 
 of recent events. With my usual artless candor I related 
 to him exactly what I had heard ; and I remember that one 
 
THE EMPEUOR DEFENDS MARET. 363 
 
 day, having told him I had heard many persons remark that 
 the continuation of the last wars which had been so fatal to 
 us was generally attributed to the Duke of Bassano, " They 
 do poor Maret gross injustice," said he. " They accuse 
 him wrongfully. He has never done anything but execute 
 orders which I gave." Then, according to his usual habit, 
 when he had spoken to me a moment of these serious affairs, 
 he added, " What a shame ! what humiliation ! To think 
 that I should have in my very palace itself a lot of foreign 
 emissaries ! " 
 
364 BEOOLLECriONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 The grand marshal and General Drouot the only great personages remain- 
 ing with the Emperor. — The destination of his Majesty known. — The 
 commissioners of the allies. — Demand and repugnance of the Emperor. 
 
 — Preference for the English commissioner. — Silent life in the palace. — 
 The Emperor more calm. — Remark of his Majesty. — The eve of depar- 
 ture and day of despair. — Fatality attending the one hundred thousand 
 francs which the Emperor had given me. — Unexpected and inexpli- 
 cable question of the grand marshal. — "What I should have done. — 
 Inconceivable forgetfulness of the Emperor. — The hundred thousand 
 francs disinterred. — Terror lest it should have been stolen. — Frightful 
 despair. — Mistake as to the place, and the treasure found. — Prompt 
 restitution. — Horror of the situation. — I leave the palace. — Mission 
 of M. Hubert to me. — Offer of three hundred thousand francs to accom- 
 pany the Emperor. — I am beside myself, and fear the accusation of 
 acting from interest. — Painful reflections. — Incredible torture. — The 
 Emperor sets out. — Astounding situation. — Physical and mental suffer- 
 ing. — Complete solitude of my life. — Visit of a friend. — False interpre- 
 tation of my conduct in a journal. — M. de Turenne wrongly accused. — 
 Impossibility of defending myself on account of my regard for his 
 Majesty. — Consolation drawn from the past. — Examples and proofs of 
 disinterestedness on my part. — Refusal of four hundred thousand francs. 
 
 — M. Marchand, by my efforts, gets a place under the Emperor. — M. 
 Marchand's gratitude. 
 
 After the 12th of April there remained with the Em- 
 peror, of all the great personages who usually surrounded 
 him, only the grand marshal of the palace and Count 
 Drouot. The destination reserved for the Emperor, and 
 the fact that he had accepted it, was not long a secret in 
 the palace. On the 16th we witnessed the arrival of the 
 commissioners of the allies deputed to accompany his Maj- 
 esty to the place of his embarkment for the Island of 
 
LAST DATS AT FONTAINEBLEAU. 365 
 
 Elba. These were Count Schuwaloff, aide-de-camp of the 
 Emperor Alexander from Russia ; Colonel Neil Campbell ^ 
 from England; General Kohler from Austria; and finally 
 Count of Waldburg-Truchsess for Prussia. Although his 
 Majesty had himself demanded that he should be accom- 
 panied by these four commissioners, their presence at Fon- 
 tainebleau seemed to make a most disagreeable impression 
 on him. However, each of these gentlemen received from 
 the Emperor a different welcome ; and after a few words 
 that I heard his Majesty say, I was convinced on this, as 
 on many previous occasions, that he esteemed the English 
 far more than all his other enemies, and Colonel Campbell 
 was, therefore, welcomed with more distinction' than the 
 other ministers ; while the ill-humor of the Emperor vented 
 itself especially on the commissioner of the King of Prussia, 
 who took no notice of it, and put on the best possible 
 countenance. 
 
 With the exception of the very slight apparent change 
 made at Fontainebleau by the presence of these gentlemen, 
 no remarkable incident, none at least in my knowledge, 
 came to disturb the sad and monotonous life of the Empe- 
 ror in the palace. Everything remained gloomy and silent 
 among the inhabitants of this last imperial residence ; but, 
 nevertheless, the Emperor personally seemed to me more 
 calm since he had come to a definite conclusion than at the 
 time he was wavering in painful indecision. He spoke 
 
 1 Bom 1770; served witli distinction as a colonel in Spain, 1810-1812; 
 wounded at Ffere-Champenoise by a Cossack, who mistook him for a French- 
 man. He accompanied Napoleon to Elba, as above stated, but was absent on 
 a visit to Florence when the Emperor escaped. He wrote a volume on his 
 recollections of the Emperor. Explored the sources of the Niger, 1816, and 
 died, 1827, while Governor of Sierra Leone. —Trans. 
 
366 BECOLLEGTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 sometimes in my presence of the Empress and his son, but 
 not as often as might laave been expected. But one tiling 
 which struck me deeply was, that never a single time did a 
 a word escape liis lips which could recall the act of despera- 
 tion of the night of the 11th, which fortunately, as we have 
 seen, had not the fatal results we feared. What a night! 
 What a night ! In my whole life since I have never been 
 able to think of it without shuddering. 
 
 After the arrival of the commissioners of the allied 
 powers, the Emperor seemed by degrees to acclimate liim- 
 self, so to speak, to their presence ; and the chief occupation 
 of the whole household consisted of duties relating to our 
 preparations for departure. One day, as I was dressing his 
 Majesty, he said to me smiling, " Ah, well, my son, prepare 
 your cart ; we will go and plant our cabbages." Alas ! I 
 was very far from thinking, as I heard these familiar words 
 of his Majesty, that by an inconceivable concurrence of 
 events, I should be forced to yield to an inexplicable fatal- 
 ity, which did not will that in spite of my ardent desire I 
 should accompany the Emperor to his place of exile. 
 
 The evening before the day fixed for our departure the 
 grand marshal of the palace had me called. After giving 
 me some orders relative to the voyage, he said to me that 
 the Emperor wished to know what was the sum of money 
 I had in charge for him. I immediately gave an account 
 to the grand marshal ; and he saw that the sum total was 
 abou^t three hundred thousand francs, including the gold 
 in a box which Baron Fain had sent me, since he would 
 not be on the journey. The grand marshal said he would 
 present the account to the Emperor. An hour after he 
 again summoned me, and said that his Majesty thought he 
 
THE HUNDRED THOUSAND FRANCS. 367 
 
 had one hundred thousand francs more. I replied that I 
 had in my possession one hundred thousand francs, which 
 the Emperor had presented to me, teUing me to bury it in 
 my garden; in fact, I related to him all the particulars I 
 have described above, and begged him to inquire of the 
 Emperor if it was these one hundred thousand francs to 
 which his Majesty referred. Count Bertrand promised to 
 do this, and I then made the great mistake of not address- 
 ing myself directly to the Emperor. Nothing would have 
 been easier in my position; and I had often found that it 
 was always better, when possible, to go directly to him than 
 to have recourse to any intermediate person whatever. It 
 would have been much better for me to act thus, since, 
 if the Emperor had demanded the one hundred thou- 
 sand francs which he had given me, which, after all, was 
 hardly possible, I was more than disposed to restore them 
 to him without a moment's hesitation. My astonishment 
 may be imagined when the grand marshal reported to me 
 that the Emperor did not remember having given me the 
 sum in question. I instantly became crimson with anger. 
 What! the Emperor had allowed it to be believed by 
 Count Bertrand that I had attempted — I, his faithful ser- 
 vant — to appropriate a sum which he had given me under 
 all the circumstances I have related ! I was beside myself 
 at this thought. I left in a state impossible to be described, 
 assuring the grand marshal that in an hour at most I would 
 restore to him the fatal present of his Majesty. 
 
 While rapidly crossing the court of the palace I met 
 M. de Turenne, to whom I related all that had occurred. 
 " That does not astonish me," he replied, " and we will 
 see many other similar cases," A prey to a sort of moral 
 
368 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 fever, my head distracted, my heart oppressed, I sought 
 Denis, the wardrobe boy, of whom I have spoken pre- 
 viously ; I found him most fortunately, and hastened with 
 him to my country place ; and God is my witness that 
 the loss of the hundred thousand francs was not the cause 
 of my distress, and I hardly thought of it. As on the 
 fii'st occasion, we passed along the side of the woods in 
 order not to be seen ; and began to dig up the earth to 
 find the money we had placed there ; and in the eagerness 
 with which I hunted for this miserable gold, in order to 
 restore it to the grand marshal, I dug i;p more than was 
 necessary. I cannot describe my despair when I saw that 
 we had found nothing ; I thought that some one had seen 
 and followed us, in fact, that I had been robbed. This 
 was a more crushing blow to me than the first, and I 
 foresaw the consequences with horror; what would be 
 said, what would be thought, of me ? Would my word 
 be taken ? The grand marshal, already prejudiced by the 
 inexplicable reply of the Emperor, would consider me 
 a person totally devoid of honor. I was overwhelmed by 
 these fatal thoughts when Denis suggested to me that we 
 had not dug in the right spot, and had made a mistake 
 of some feet. I eagerly embraced this ray of hope ; we 
 began again to dig up the earth with more eagerness than 
 ever, and I can say without exaggeration that my joy 
 bordered almost on delirium when I saw the first of the 
 bags. We drew out in succession all the five ; and with 
 the assistance of Denis I carried them to the palace, and 
 placed them without delay in the hands of the grand 
 marshal, with the keys of the Emperor's trunk, and the 
 casket which M. Fain had committed to me. I said to 
 
CONSTANT LEAVES THE EMPEROR. 369 
 
 him as I left, " Monseigneur, be good enough to say to 
 his Majesty that I will not accompany him." — "I will 
 tell him." 
 
 After this cold and laconic reply I immediately left 
 the palace, and was soon after in Eue du Coq-Gris, with 
 M. Clement, a bailiff, who for a long time had been 
 charged with my small affairs, and had given the neces- 
 sary attention to my farm during the long absences which 
 the journeys and campaigns of the Emperor necessitated. 
 Then I gave full vent to my despair. I was choking 
 with rage as I remembered that my honesty had been 
 suspected, — I, who for fourteen years had served the Em- 
 peror with a disinterestedness which was so scrupulous, 
 and even carried to such a point that many persons called 
 it silliness ; I, who had never demanded anything of the 
 Emperor, either for myself or my people ! My brain 
 reeled as I tried to explain to myself how the Emperor, 
 who knew all this so well, could have allowed me to 
 appear to a third person as a dishonorable man ; the 
 more I thought of it the more extreme became my irrita- 
 tion, and yet it was not possible to find the shadow of 
 a motive for the blow aimed at me. My despair was 
 at its height, when M. Hubert, ordinary valet de chamhre 
 of the Emperor, came to tell me that his Majesty would 
 give me all I wished if I would follow him, and that 
 three hundred thousand francs would be immediately 
 handed me. In these circumstances, I ask of all honest 
 men, what could I do, and what would they have done in 
 my place ? I replied that when I had resolved to conse- 
 crate my whole hfe to the service of the unfortunate Em- 
 peror, it was not from views of vile interest ; but I was in 
 
370 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 despair at the thought that he should have made me appear 
 before Count Bertrand as an impostor and a dishonest 
 man. Ah ! how happy would it then have been for me 
 had the Emperor never thought of giving me those 
 accursed one hundred thousand francs ! These ideas 
 tortured me. Ah ! if I could only have taken twenty- 
 four hours for reflection, however just might have been 
 my resentment, how gladly would I have sacrificed it! 
 I would have thought of the Emperor alone, and would 
 have followed him ; but a sad and inexphcable fatality had 
 not decreed this. 
 
 This took place on the 19th of April, the most miserable 
 day of my life. What an evening, what a night I passed ! 
 What was my grief on learning the next day that the Em- 
 peror had departed at noon, after making his adieux to his 
 guard ! When I awoke that morning, all my resentment 
 had been appeased in thinking of the Emperor. Twenty 
 times I wished to return to the palace ; twenty times 
 after his departure I wished to take post horses and over- 
 take him; but I was deterred by the offer he had made 
 me through M. Hubert. " Perhaps," I thought, " he will 
 think it is the money wliich influences me ; this will, doubts 
 less, be said by those around him; and what an opinion 
 he will have of me ! " In this cruel perplexity I did not 
 dare to decide. I suffered all that it is possible for a man 
 to suffer; and, at times, that which was only too true 
 seemed like a dream to me, so impossible did it seem 
 that I could be where the Emperor was not. Everything 
 in this terrible situation contributed to aggravate my dis- 
 tress. I knew the Emperor well enough to be aware that 
 even had I returned to him then, he would never have 
 
CONSTANT FALSELY ACCUSED. 371 
 
 forgotten that I had wished to leave him; I felt that I 
 had not the strength to bear this reproach from his lips. 
 On the other side, the physical suffering caused by my 
 disease had greatly increased, and I was compelled to 
 remain in bed a long wliile. I could, indeed, have tri- 
 umphed over these physical sufferings however cruel they 
 might have been, but in the frightful comphcations of 
 my position I was reduced to a condition of idiocy; I 
 saw nothing of what was around me; I heard nothing 
 of what was said; and after this statement the reader 
 will surely not expect that I shall have anything to say 
 about the farewell of the Emperor to his old and faith- 
 ful guard, an account of which, moreover, has been often 
 enough published for the facts to be well known con- 
 cerning this event, which, besides, took place in public. 
 Here my Memoirs might well close ; but the reader, I 
 well believe, cannot refuse me his attention a few mo- 
 ments longer, that I may recall some facts which I have 
 a right to explain, and to relate some incidents concern- 
 ing the return from the Island of Elba. I, therefore, now 
 continue my remarks on the first of these heads, and the 
 second will be the subject of the next chapter. 
 
 The Emperor had then already started ; and as for my- 
 self, shut up alone, my country house became henceforth 
 a sad residence to me. I held no communication with any 
 one whatever, read no news, and sought to learn none. 
 At the end of a short time I received a visit from one 
 of my friends from Paris, who said to me that the jour- 
 nals spoke of my conduct without understanding it, and 
 that they condemned it severely. He added that it was 
 M. de Turenne who had sent to the editors the note in 
 
372 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ■which I had been so heavily censured. I must say that 
 I did not believe this ; I knew M. de Turenne too weU 
 to think him capable of a proceeding so dishonorable, 
 inasmuch as I had frankly explained everything to him, 
 when he made the answer I gave above. But however 
 the evil came, it was nevertheless done; and by the in- 
 credible complications of my position I found myself com- 
 pelled to keep silence. Nothing certainly would have been 
 easier than to repel the calumny by an exact rehearsal 
 of the facts ; but should I justify myself in this manner 
 by, so to speak, accusing the Emperor at a moment espe- 
 cially when the Emperor's enemies manifested much bit- 
 terness? When I saw such a great man made a mark 
 for the shafts of calumny, I, who was so contemptible 
 and insignificant among the crowd, could surely allow a 
 few of these envenomed shafts to fall on me. To-day 
 the time has come to tell the truth, and I have done so 
 without restriction ; not to excuse myself, for on the con- 
 trary I blame myself for not having completely sacrificed 
 myself, and for not having accompanied the Emperor 
 to the Island of Elba regardless of what might have 
 been said. Nevertheless, I may be allowed to say in my 
 own defense, that in this combination of physical and 
 mental sufferings which overwhelmed me all at once, a 
 person must be very sure of infalhbility himself to con- 
 demn completely this sensitiveness so natural in a man 
 of honor when accused of a fraudulent transaction. This, 
 then, I said to myself, is the recompense for all my care, 
 for the endurance of so much suffering, for unbounded 
 devotion, and a refinement of feeling for which the Em- 
 peror had often praised me, and for which he rendered 
 
CONSTANT DEFENDS HIMSELF. 873 
 
 me justice later, as will be seen when I shall have oc- 
 casion to speak of certain circumstances occurring about 
 the 20th of March of the following year. 
 
 But gratuitously, and even malevolently, interested mo- 
 tives have been attributed to me for the decision I made to 
 leave the Emperor. The simplest common-sense, on the 
 contrary, would suffice to see that, had I allowed myself to 
 be guided by my interests, everything would have influ- 
 enced me to accompany his Majesty. In fact, the chagrin 
 which the incident I have mentioned caused me, and the 
 manner in which I was completely overwhelmed by it, have 
 injured my fortune more than any determination to follow 
 the Emperor could possibly have done. What could I 
 hope for in France, where I had no right to anything ? Is 
 it not, besides, very evident to whoever would recall my 
 position, wliich was one of confidence near the Emperor, 
 that, if I had been actuated by a love of money, this position 
 would have given me an opportunity to reap an abundant 
 harvest without injuring my reputation ; but my disinter- 
 estedness was so well known that, whatever may be said to 
 the contrary, I can assert that during the whole time my 
 favor with the Emperor continued, I on no occasion used 
 it to render any other but imselfish services, and often 
 I refused to support a demand for the sole reason that the 
 petition had been accompanied by offers of money, which 
 were often of very considerable amount. Allow me to cite 
 one example among many others of the same nature. I 
 received one day an offer of the sum of four hundred thou- 
 sand francs, which was made me by a lady of a very noble 
 family, if I would influence the Emperor to consider favor- 
 ably a petition in which she claimed indemnity for a piece 
 
374 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 of property belonging to her, on wliich tlie port of Bayonne 
 had been constructed. I had succeeded in obtaining favor- 
 able answers to applications more difficult than this, but I 
 refused to agree to support her petition solely on account 
 of the offer which had been made to me ; I would have been 
 glad to obhge this lady, but only for the pleasure of being 
 obliging, and it was for this reason alone I allowed myself 
 to solicit of the Emperor the pardons which he nearly always 
 granted. Neither can it be said that I ever demanded of the 
 Emperor licenses for lottery drawings, or anything else of 
 this kind, in which, as is well known, a scandalous commerce 
 is often made, and which, no doubt, if I had demanded 
 them of the Emperor he would have readily granted. 
 
 The confidence in me which the Emperor had always 
 shown was such that even at Fontainebleau, when it had 
 been decided that none of the ordinary valets de chamlre 
 were to accompany him to the Island of Elba, the Emperor 
 left to my choice the selection of a young man to assist me 
 in my duties. I selected a boy of the apartments, whose 
 upright character was well known to me, and who was, 
 moreover, the son of Madame Marchand, the head nurse of 
 the King of Rome. I sjjoke of him to the Emperor, who 
 accepted him ; and I went immediately to inform M. Mar- 
 chand, who received the position most gratefully, and 
 proved to me, by his thanks, how delighted he would be to 
 accompany us. I say us, for at this moment I was very 
 far from foreseeing the succession of fatal events which I 
 have faithfully narrated ; and it may be seen afterwards, 
 from the manner in which M. Marchand expressed himself 
 concerning me at the Tuileries during the Hundred Days, 
 that I had not bestowed my confidence unworthily. 
 
CONSTANT IN SECLUSION. 375 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 I become a stranger to all. — Pear of tin effects of malevolence. — Beading 
 the journals. — I begin to comprehend the Emperor's greatness. — His 
 Majesty disembarks. — The good master and good man. — Delicacy and 
 uncertainty of my position. — Remembrance of the Emperor's kindness. 
 
 — His Majesty inquiring news of me. — "Words of appreciation. — Appro- 
 bation of my conduct. — Fruitless malevolence, and justice done me by 
 M. Marchand. — My absence from Paris prolonged. — The Emperor at 
 the Tuileries. — Circumstantial details. — A sergeant of the National 
 Guard twenty-four hours on duty. — Removal of the family portraits of 
 the Bourbons. — The people at the gate of the Carrousel. — Vive le Roi 
 and Vive I 'Empereur. — Frightful panic from the burning of a chimney. — 
 General Exelmans and the tricolored banner. — Cockades preserved. — 
 Arrival of the Emperor. — His Majesty borne on their arms. — On duty 
 in the palace. — First visits. — The archchancellor and Queen Hortense. 
 
 — Table for three hundred guests. — The father of Marshal Eertrand, and 
 the Emperor's conduct. — The Emperor's supper and the dish of lentils. 
 — An impossible order. — Two grenadiers from the Island of Elba. — A 
 deep sleep. — Four hours a night for the Emperor. — His Majesty, and 
 the oliEicers on half-pay. — M. de Saint-Chamans. — Review on the Car- 
 rousel. — The Emperor demanded by the people. — Marshal Eertrand 
 presented to the people by his Majesty. — A touching scene and general 
 enthusiasm. — Continuation of my solitary life. — Tears for his Majesty's 
 misfortunes. — Two later events. — Princess Catharine of Wiirtemberg. 
 — Nobility of character and superstition . — Thirteen at table, and death 
 of the Princess Eliza. — The first cross of the Legion of Honor worn by 
 the First Consul and Captain Godeau. 
 
 I BECAME a stranger to all the world after the departure 
 of the Emperor for the Island of Elba, and, filled with a 
 deep sense of gratitude for the kindness with which his 
 Majesty had overwhelmed me during the fourteen years 
 I had passed in his service, thought incessantly of this 
 great man, and took pleasure in renewing in memory all 
 
376 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 the events, even tlie most trivial, of my life with him. I 
 thought it best suited my former position to live in retire- 
 ment, and passed my time most tranquilly in the bosom 
 of my family in the country-house belonging to me. At 
 the same time a fatal idea preoccupied my mind involun- 
 tarily; for I feared that persoiis who were jealous of my 
 former favor might succeed in deceiving the Emperor as 
 to my unalterable devotion to Ins person, and strengthen 
 in his mind the false opinion that they had for a time 
 succeeded in giving him of me. This opinion, although 
 my conscience told me that it was unjust, was not the less 
 painful to me ; but, as will soon be seen, I was fortunate 
 enough to obtain the certainty that my fears in tliis respect 
 were without foundation. 
 
 Although an entire stranger to politics, I had read with 
 deep interest the newspapers I received in my retreat, since 
 the great political change to which the name of the Resto- 
 ration was given ; and it seemed to me to need only the 
 simplest common-sense to see the marked difference which 
 existed between the government which had been overthrown 
 and the new. In all departments I saw a succession of titled 
 men take the places of the long list of distinguished men 
 who had given under the Empire so many proofs of merit 
 and courage ; but I was far from tlunking, notwithstanding 
 the large number of discontented, that the fortunes of the 
 Emperor and the wishes of the army would ever restore 
 him to that throne which he had voluntarily abdicated in 
 order that he might not be the cause of a civil war in 
 France. Therefore, it would be impossible to describe my 
 astonishment, and the multiplicity of varied feelings which 
 agitated me, when I received the first news of the landing 
 
NEWS OF THE EMPEROK' S liETVRN. 377 
 
 of the Emperor on the coast of Provence. I read with 
 enthusiasm the admirable proclamation in which he an- 
 nounced that his eagles would % from steeple to steeple, 
 and that he himself would follow so closely in his triumphal 
 march from the Bay of Juan to Paris. 
 
 Here I must make a confession, wliich is, that only 
 since I had left the Emperor, had I fully comprehended 
 the umnensity of his greatness. Attached to his service 
 almost from the beginning of the Consulate, at a time when 
 I was still very young, he had grown, so to speak, without 
 my having perceived it, and I had above all seen in him, 
 from the nature of my duties, the excellent master rather 
 than the great man; consequently, in this instance the 
 effects of distance were very cUfferent from what it usually 
 produces. It was with difficulty I could realize, and I 
 am often astonished to-day in recalhng the frank candor 
 with which I had dared to defend to the Emperor what 
 I knew to be the truth; his kindness, however, seemed to 
 encourage me in this, for often, instead of becoming irri- 
 tated by my vehemence, he said to me gently, with a benev- 
 olent smile, " Come, come ! M. Constant, don't excite 
 yourself." Adorable kindness in a man of such elevated 
 rank ! Ah, well ! this was the only impression it made on 
 me in the privacy of his chamber, but since then I have 
 learned to estimate it at its true value. 
 
 On learning that the Emperor was to be restored to us, 
 my first impulse was to repair at once to the palace, that 
 I might be there on his arrival ; but more mature reflection 
 ' and the advice of my family made me realize that it would 
 be more suitable for me to await his orders, in case he 
 wished to recall me to my former service. I congratulated 
 
378 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 myself on deciding to take the latter course, since I had 
 the happiness to learn that his Majesty had been kind enough 
 to express his approval of my former conduct. I learned 
 from most reliable authority, that he had hardly arrived 
 at the Tuileries, when he condescended to inquire of M. 
 Eible, then concierge of the palace, "Well, what is Con- 
 stant doing? How is he succeeding? Where is he?" — 
 " Sire, he is at his country-place, which he has not left." 
 — " Ah, very good. He is happy raising his cabbages." 
 I learned also that, during the first days of the Emperor's 
 return, his Majesty had been investigating the list of pen- 
 sions, and had been good enough to make a note that mine 
 should be increased. Finally, I experienced an intense sat- 
 isfaction of another kind, no doubt, but none the less sin- 
 cere in the certainty of not being considered an ingrate. 
 I have stated that I had been fortunate enough to procure 
 a position for M. Marchand with the Emperor; and this 
 is what was related to me by an eye-witness. M. Mar- 
 chand, in the beginning of the Hundred Days, happened to 
 be in one of the saloons of the palace of the Tuileries, 
 where several persons were assembled, and some of them 
 were expressing themselves most unkindly in regard to 
 me. My successor with the Emperor interrupted them 
 brusquely, saying that there was not a word of truth in 
 the calumnies which were asserted of me ; and added that, 
 while I held the position, I had uniformly been most obli- 
 ging to all persons of the household who had addressed 
 themselves to me, and had done no injury to any one. In 
 this respect I can affirm that M. Marchand told only the 
 truth; but I was none the less deeply grateful to him for 
 so honorably defending me, especially in my absence. 
 
RETURN TO PARIS. 379 
 
 Not being in Paris on the 20th of March, 1815, as we 
 have just seen, I could have nothing to say of the circum- 
 stances of this memorable epoch, had I not collected from 
 some of my friends particulars of what occurred on the 
 night following the re-entrance of the Emperor into the 
 palace, once again become Imperial ; and it may be ima- 
 gined how eager I was to know everything relating to the 
 great man whom we regarded at this moment as the savior 
 of France. 
 
 I will begin by repeating exactly the account which 
 was given me by one of my friends, a brave and excellent 
 man, at that time sergeant in the National Guard of Paris, 
 who happened to be on duty at the Tuileries exactly on the 
 20th of March. "At noon," he said, "three companies of 
 National Guards entered the court of the Tuileries, to oc- 
 cupy all the interior and exterior posts of the palace. I 
 belonged to one of these companies, which formed a part of 
 the fourth legion. My comrades and I were struck with 
 the inexpressible sadness produced by the sight of an 
 abandoned palace. Everything, in fact, was deserted. 
 Only a few men were seen here and there in the livery of 
 the king, occupied in taking down and removing portraits 
 of the various members of the Bourbon family. Outside 
 could be heard the clamorous shouts of a frantic mob, who 
 climbed on the gates, tried to scale them, and pressed 
 against them with such force that at last they bent in 
 several places so far that it was feared they would be 
 thrown down. This multitude of people presented a 
 frightful spectacle, and seemed as if determined to pil- 
 lage the palace. 
 
 "Hardly a quarter of an hour after we entered the 
 
380 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 interior court an accident occurred which, though not seri- 
 ous in itself, threw consternation into our ranks, as well 
 as among those who were pressing against the grating 
 of the Carrousel. We saw flames issuing from the chim- 
 ney of the King's apartments, which had been accidentally 
 set on fire by a quantity of papers which had just been 
 burned therein. This accident gave rise to most sinister 
 conjectures, and soon the rumor spread that the Tuileries 
 had been undermined ready for an explosion before the 
 departure of Louis XVIII. A patrol was immediately 
 formed of fifteen men of the National Guard, commanded 
 by a sergeant; they explored the chateau most thoroughly, 
 visited each apartment, descended into the cellars, and 
 assured themselves that there was nowhere the shghtest 
 indication of danger. 
 
 " Reassured on this point, we were nevertheless not with- 
 out anxiety. In returning to our posts we had heard 
 numerous groups shouting, ' Vive le Hoi ! Vivent les Bour- 
 bons ! ' and we soon had proofs of the exasperation and 
 fury of a part of the people against Napoleon ; for we 
 witnessed the arrival in our midst, in a most pitiable con- 
 dition, of a superior officer who had imprudently donned 
 too soon the tricolored cockade, and consequently had been 
 pursued by the mob from the Rue Sainl^Denis. We took 
 him under our protection, and made him enter the interior 
 of the palace, as he was almost exhausted. At this moment 
 we received orders to force the people to withdi-aw, as they 
 had become still more determined to scale the gates ; and in 
 order to accomplish this we were compelled to have recourse 
 to arms. 
 
 " We had occupied the post at the Tuileries an hour at 
 
RETURN TO PARIS. 381 
 
 most when General Excelmans,! who had received the chief 
 command of the guard at the chateau, gave ordera to raise 
 the tricolored banner over the middle pavilion. 
 
 " The reappearance of the national colors excited among 
 us all emotions of the most intense satisfaction ; and immedi- 
 ately the populace substituted the cry of ' Vive I 'Umpereur ' 
 for that of ^Vive le Hoi,' and nothing else was heard the 
 whole day. As for us, when we were ordered to don the tri- 
 colored cockade it was a very easy performance, as a large 
 number of the guard had preserved their old ones, wliich they 
 had simply covered with a piece of white cambric. We 
 were ordered to stack arms in front of the arch of triumph, 
 and nothing extraordinary occurred until six o'clock ; then 
 lights began to shine on the expected route of the Em- 
 peror, and a large number of officers on half pay collected 
 near the pavilion of Flora ; and I learned from one of them, 
 M. Saunier, a decorated officer, that it was on that side the 
 Emperor would re-enter the palace of the Tuileries. I 
 repaired there in all haste ; and as I was hurrying to place 
 myself on his route, I was so fortunate as to meet a com- 
 manding officer, who assigned me to duty at the very door 
 of Napoleon's apartment, and to this circumstance I owe 
 the fact that I witnessed what now remains to be related. 
 
 "I had for some time remained in expectation, and in al- 
 most perfect sohtude, when, at fifteen minutes before nine, 
 an extraordinary noise that I heard outside announced to 
 me the Emperor's arrival ; and a few moments after I saw 
 
 1 Baron Eemi Joseph Isidore Excelmans, bom at Bar-le-Duc, 1775. Aide- 
 de-camp to Murat, 1801 ; made a colonel at Austerlitz, 1805 ; and general o£ 
 brigade at Eylau, 1807 ; commanded a division in Russian campaign, 1812, 
 and a corps of cavalry at Waterloo ; marshal of France, 1850. Died 1852. — 
 Trans. 
 
382 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 him appear, amidst cries of enthusiasm, borne on the arms 
 of the officers who had escorted him from the island of 
 Elba. The Emperor begged them earnestly to let him 
 walk; but his entreaties were useless, and they bore him 
 thus to the very door of his apartment, where they depos- 
 ited him near me. I had not seen the Emperor since the 
 day of his farewell to the National Guard in the great court 
 of the palace ; and in spite of the great agitation into which 
 I was thrown by all this commotion, I could not help noti- 
 cing how much stouter he had become. 
 
 " The Emperor had hardly entered his apartments than 
 I was, assigned to duty in the interior. Marshal Bertrand, 
 who had just replaced General Excelmans in the command 
 of the Tuileries, gave me an order to allow no one to enter 
 without informing him, and to give him the names of all who 
 requested to see the Emperor. One of the first to present 
 himself was Cambaceres, who appeared to me even more 
 pallid than usual. A short time after came the father of 
 General Bertrand ; and as tliis venerable old man attempted 
 to pay liis respects first to the Emperor, Napoleon said to 
 him, ' No, monsieur ! nature first ; ' and in saying this, with 
 a movement as quick as his words, the Emperor, so to 
 speak, threw liim into the arms of his son. Next came 
 Queen Hortense, accompanied by her two children ; then. 
 Count Regnault de Saiu1>Jean d'Angely, and many other 
 persons whose names have escaped me. I did not see again 
 those I announced to Marshal Bertrand, as they all went 
 out by another door. I continued this duty till eleven 
 o'clock in the evening, at which time I was relieved of my 
 duties, and was invited to supper at an immense table of 
 about three hundred covers. All the persons presented 
 
EETUBN TO PABIS. 383 
 
 at the palace took tlieir places at this table, one after the 
 other. I there saw the Duke of Vicenza, and found my- 
 self placed opposite General Excelmans. The Emperor 
 supped alone in his room with Marshal Bertrand, and their 
 supper was by no means so splendid as ours, for it con- 
 sisted only of a roast chicken and a dish of lentils ; and 
 yet I learned from an officer who had attended him con- 
 stantly since he left Fontamebleau, that his Majesty had 
 eaten nothing since morning. The Emperor was exceed- 
 ingly fatigued; I had opportunity to mark this each time 
 his door was opened. He was seated on a chair in front 
 of the fire, with his feet on the mantelpiece. 
 
 " As we all remained at the Tuileries, word was sent us 
 about one o'clock that the Emperor had just retired, and 
 that in case any soldiers should arrive during the night 
 who had accompanied liim, he had given orders that they 
 should be on duty at the palace conjointly with the Na- 
 tional Guard. The poor creatures were hardly in a con- 
 dition to obey such an order. At two o'clock in the 
 morning we saw two of them arrive in a most pitiable 
 condition; they were perfectly emaciated, and their feet 
 blistered. All that they could do was to throw themselves 
 on their bags, on which they fell sound asleep ; and they did 
 not even awake while the duty of bandaging their feet was 
 attended to in the room which they had reached with so 
 much difficulty. AH were eager to lavish every attention 
 on them; and I admit that I have always regretted not 
 having inquired the names of these two brave grenadiers, 
 who inspired in all of us an interest I cannot describe. 
 
 " After retiring at one o'clock, the Emperor was on his 
 feet at five o'clock in the morning ; and the order was im- 
 
384 MEOOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 mediately given to the soldiers on half pay to hold them- 
 selves ready for a review, and at break of day they were 
 ranged in three ranks. At this moment I was deputed to 
 watch over an officer who was pointed out as suspicious, and 
 who, it was said, had come from Sain1>Denis. This was M. 
 de Saint-Chamans. At the end of a quarter of an hour of 
 arrest, which had nothing disagreeable in it, he was simply 
 asked to leave. Meanwhile, the Emperor had descended 
 from the palace, and passed through the ranks of the sol- 
 diers on half pay, speaking to each one, taking many of 
 them by the hand, and saying to them, " My friends, I 
 need your services ; I rely on you as you may rely on 
 me." Magic words on the lips of Napoleon, and which 
 drew tears of emotion from all those brave soldiers whose 
 services had been ignored for a year. 
 
 " From the morning the crowd increased rapidly on all 
 the approaches to the Tuileries, and a mass of people as- 
 sembled under the windows of the chateau, demanding with 
 loud shouts to see Napoleon. Marshal Bertrand having 
 informed him of this, the Emperor showed himself at the 
 window, where he was saluted by the shouts which his 
 presence had so often excited. After showing himself to 
 the peojDle, the Emperor himself presented to them Marshal 
 Bertrand, his arm resting on the marshal's shoulder, whom 
 he pressed to his heart with demonstrations of the liveliest 
 affection. During this scene, which deeply affected all the 
 witnesses, who cheered with all their might, officers, stand- 
 ing behind the Emperor and his friend, held above their 
 heads banners surmounted by their eagles, of which they 
 formed a kind of national canopy. At eleven o'clock the 
 Emperor mounted his horse, and reviewed the various regi- 
 
CATHERINE OF WURTEMBERG. 385 
 
 ments which were arriving from every direction, and the 
 heroes of the island of Elba who had returned to the 
 Tuileries during the night. All seemed deeply impressed 
 with the appearance of these brave men, whom the sun of 
 Italy had tanned, and who had traveled nearly two hun- 
 dred leagues in twenty days." 
 
 These are the curious details which were given to me 
 by a friend ; and I can guarantee the truth of his recital 
 the same as if I myself had been an eye-witness of all that 
 occurred during the memorable night of the 20th and 21st 
 March, 1815. Continuing in my retreat during the hun- 
 dred days, and long after, I have nothing to say which all 
 the world would not know as well as I concerning this im- 
 portant epoch in the hfe of the Emperor. I have shed 
 many tears over his sufferings at the time of his second 
 abdication, and the tortures inflicted on him at St. He- 
 lena by the miserable Hudson Lowe, whose infamy will go 
 down through the ages side by side with the glory of the 
 Emperor. I wiU simply content myself by adding to the 
 preceding a certain document which was confided to me 
 by the former Queen of Westphalia, and saying a word in 
 conclusion as to the destination I thought best to give to 
 the first cross of the Legion of Honor which the First Con- 
 sul had worn. 
 
 Princess Catharine of Wiirtemberg, the wife of Prince 
 JerSme, is, as is well known, a woman of great beauty, 
 gifted at the same time with more solid qualities, which 
 time increases instead of diminishing. She joins, to much 
 natural intelligence, a highly cultivated mind, a character 
 truly worthy of a sister-in-law of the Emperor, and carries 
 even to enthusiasm her love of duty. Events did not 
 
386 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 allow her to become a great queen, but they have not pre- 
 vented her remaining an accomplished wife. Her senti- 
 ments are noble and elevated ; but she shows haughtiness to 
 none, and all who surround her take pleasure in boasting of 
 the charms of her kindness towards her household, and she 
 possesses the happiest gift of nature, which consists in 
 making herself beloved by every one. Prince Jerome is 
 not without a certain grandeur of manner and formal gene- 
 rosity, wliich he learned while on the throne of Cassel, but 
 he is generally very haughty. Although in consequence of 
 the great changes which have taken place in Europe since 
 the fall of the Emperor, Prince Jerome owes the comforta- 
 ble maintenance which he still enjoys to the love of the 
 princess, she does not any the less show a truly exem- 
 plary submission to his will. Princess Catharine occupies 
 herself almost exclusively with her three children, two 
 boys and one girl, all of whom are very beautiful. The 
 eldest ^ was born in the month of August, 1814. Her 
 daughter, the Princess Mathilde, owes her superior educa- 
 tion to the care her mother exercised over it ; she is pretty, 
 but less so than her brothers, who all have their mother's 
 features. 
 
 After the description, which is not at all flattered, which 
 I have just given of Princess Catharine, it may seem sur- 
 prising that, provided as she is with so many solid qualities, 
 she has never been able to conquer an inexplicable weak- 
 ness regarding petty superstitions. Thus, for instance, she 
 is extremely afraid to seat herself at a table where there are 
 thirteen guests. I will relate an anecdote of which I can 
 
 1 The late Prince Napoleon. Contrary to what Constant says, he stri- 
 kingly resembled the Emperor. — Tkajts. 
 
THE CROSS OF BONOM. 387 
 
 guarantee the authenticity, and which, perhaps, may foster 
 the weakness of persons subject to the same superstitions 
 as the Princess of Wiirtemberg. One day at Florence, 
 being present at a family dinner, she perceived that there 
 were exactly thirteen plates, suddenly grew pale, and obsti- 
 nately refused to take her seat. Princess Eliza Bacciochi 
 ridiculed her sister-in-law, shrugged her shoulders, and said 
 to her, smiling, "There is no danger, there are in truth 
 fourteen, since I am enceinte" Princess Catharine yielded, 
 but with extreme repugnance. A short time after she had 
 to put on mourning for her sister-in-law ; and the death of 
 the Princess Eliza, as may well be believed, contributed no 
 httle to render her more superstitious than ever as to the 
 number thirteen. Well ! let strong minds boast themselves 
 as they may ; but I can console the weak, as I dare to af- 
 firm that, if the Emperor had witnessed such an occurrence 
 in his own family, an instinct stronger than any other con- 
 sideration, stronger even than his all-powerful reason, would 
 have caused him some moments of vague anxiety. 
 
 Now, it only remains for me to render an account of the 
 bestowal I made of the first cross of honor the First Consul 
 wore.. The reader need not be alarmed ; I did not make a 
 bad use of it ; it is on the breast of a brave soldier of our 
 old army. In 1817 I made the acquaintance of M. Godeau, 
 a former captain in the Imperial Guard. He had been 
 severely wounded at Leipzig by a cannon-ball, which broke 
 his knee. I found in him an admiration for the Emperor 
 so intense and so sincere, he urged me so earnestly to 
 give him something, whatever it might be, which had be- 
 longed to his Majesty, that I made him a present of the 
 cross of honor of which I have spoken, as he had long ago 
 
888 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 been decorated with that order. This cross is, I might say, 
 a historical memento, being the first, as I have stated, which 
 his Majesty wore. It is of silver, medium size, and is not 
 surmounted with the imperial crown. The Emperor wore 
 it a year ; it decorated his breast for the last time the day 
 of the battle of Austerlitz. From that day, in fact, his 
 Majesty wore an officer's cross of gold with the crown, and 
 no longer wore the cross of a simple member of the legion. 
 Here my souvenirs would end if, in re-reading the first 
 volumes of my memoirs, the facts I have there related had 
 not recalled to me some others which may be of interest. 
 With the impossibihty of presenting them in the proper 
 order and connection, I have decided, in order that the 
 reader may not be deprived of them, to offer them as de- 
 tached anecdotes, which I have endeavored to class, as far 
 as possible, according to the order of time. 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 389 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 
 
 As I have often had occasion to remark, the Emperor's 
 tastes were extremely simple in everything relating to his 
 person ; moreover, he manifested a decided aversion to the 
 usages of fashion; he did not like, so to speak, to turn 
 night into day, as was done in the most of the brilliant 
 circles of society in Paris under the Consulate, and at the 
 commencement of the Empire. Unfortunately, the Em- 
 press Josephine did not hold the same views, and being a 
 submissive slave of fashion, liked to prolong her evenings 
 after the Emperor had retired. 
 
 She had the habit of then collecting around her her 
 most intimate ladies and a few friends, and giving them 
 tea. Gaming was entirely precluded from these nocturnal 
 reunions, of which conversation was the only charm. This 
 conversation of the highest circles of society was a most 
 agreeable relaxation to the Empress; and this select circle 
 assembled frequently without the Emperor being aware of 
 it, and was, in fact, a very innocent entertainment. Never- 
 theless, some obliging person was so indiscreet as to make 
 the Emperor a report concerning these assemblies, contain- 
 ing matters which roused his displeasure. He expressed 
 his dissatisfaction to the Empress Josephine, and from that 
 time she retired at the same time as the Emperor. 
 
390 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON 
 
 These teas were then abandoned, and all persons 
 attached to the service of the Emperor received orders not 
 to sit up after the Emperor retired. 
 
 As well as I remember, this is how I heard his Majesty- 
 express himself on the occasion. " When the masters are 
 asleep, the valets should retire to bed; and when the mas- 
 ters are awake, the valets should be on their feet." These 
 words produced the intended effect ; and that A^ery evening, 
 as soon as the Emperor was in bed, all at the palace 
 retired, and at half-past eleven no one was awake but the 
 sentinels. 
 
 By degrees, as always occurs, the strict observance of 
 the Emperor's orders was gradually relaxed, still without 
 the Empress daring to resume her nocturnal gatherings. 
 The words of his Majesty were not forgotten, however, and 
 were well remembered by M. Colas, concierge of the pavil- 
 ion of Flora. 
 
 One morning about four o'clock, M. Colas heard an un- 
 accustomed noise, and a continued movement in the inte- 
 rior of the palace, and supposed from this that the Emperor 
 was awake, in which he was not mistaken. He dressed in 
 all haste, and had been ten minutes at his post when the 
 Emperor, descending the staircase with Marshal Duroc, per- 
 ceived him. His Majesty usually took pleasure in showing 
 that he remarked exactness in fulfilling his orders ; there- 
 fore he stopped a moment, and said to M. Colas, " Ah ! 
 already awake. Colas ? " — " Yes, Sire ; I have not for- 
 gotten that valets should be on foot when the masters are 
 awake." — " You have a good memory, Colas ; an excellent 
 thing." 
 
 All this was very well, and the day began for M. Colas 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 391 
 
 under most favorable auspices ; but in the evening the 
 medal of the morning was obliged to show the opposite 
 side. The Emperor went that morning to visit the works 
 on the canal of the Ourcq. He was apparently much dis- 
 satisfied ; for he returned to the palace in such evident ill- 
 humor, that M. Colas, perceiving it, let these words escape 
 his lips, '■'■ II y a de I 'oignon." Although he spoke in a 
 low tone, the Emperor heard him, and turning abruptly to 
 him, repeated angrily, "Yes, Monsieur, you are not mis- 
 taken ; il y a del 'oignon." He then rapidly remounted the 
 staircase, while the concierge, fearing he had said too much, 
 approached the grand marshal, begging him to excuse him 
 to his Majesty ; but he never had an idea of punishing him 
 for the liberty he had taken, and the expression which had 
 escaped his lips one would hardly expect to find in the 
 imperial vocabulary. 
 
 The coming of the Pope to Paris for the purpose of 
 crowning the Emperor is one of those events which suffice 
 to mark the grandeur of a period. The Emperor never 
 spoke of it except with extreme satisfaction, and he wished 
 his Holiness to be received with all the magnificence which 
 should attend the founder of a great empire. With this 
 intention his Majesty gave orders that, without any com- 
 ment, everything should be furnished not only that the 
 Pope, but also all that the persons of his suite, might de- 
 mand. Alas ! it was not by his own personal expenses that 
 the Holy Father assisted to deplete the imperial treasury : 
 Pius VII. drank only water, and his sobriety was truly 
 apostolic ; but this was not the case with the abbes at- 
 tached to his service, for these gentlemen each day required 
 
392 UECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 five bottles of Chambertin wine, without counting those of 
 other kinds and most expensive liquors. 
 
 This recalls another occurrence, which, however, relates 
 only indirectly to the Pope's stay in Paris. It is known 
 that David was ordered by the Emperor to execute the 
 j)icture of the coronation, a work which offered an in- 
 credible number of almost insurmountable difficulties, and 
 which was, in fact, one of the masterpieces of the great 
 painter. 
 
 At all events, the preparation of this picture gave rise 
 to controversies in which the Emperor was compelled to 
 interfere ; and the case was serious, as we shall see, since 
 a Cardinal's wig was in question. David persisted in not 
 painting the head of Cardinal Caprara with a wig ; and on 
 his part the Cardinal was not willing to allow him to 
 paint his head without the wig. Some took sides with 
 the painter, some with the model ; and though the affair 
 was treated with much diplomacy, no concession could be 
 obtained from either of the contracting parties, until at 
 last the Emperor took the part of his first painter against 
 the Cardinal's wig. This recalls the story of the artless 
 man who would not allow his head to be painted bare 
 because he took cold so easily, and his picture would be 
 hung in a room without a fire. 
 
 When M. de Bourrienne left the Emperor, as is well 
 known, he was replaced by M. de Meneval, who had been 
 formerly in the service of Prince Joseph. The Emperor 
 became more and more attached to his new private secre- 
 tary in proportion as he came to know him better. By 
 degrees the work of the cabinet, in wliich was transacted 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 393 
 
 the greater part of the most important business, became 
 so considerable that it was impossible for one man alone 
 to perform it; and from the year 1805 two young men, 
 proteges of M. Maret, secretary of state, were admitted to 
 the honor of working in the Emperor's cabinet ; and 
 though initiated by the nature of their duties into the 
 most important state secrets, there was never the slight- 
 est reason to suspect their perfect discretion. They were, 
 besides, very diligent, and endowed with much talent, so 
 that his Majesty formed an excellent opinion of them. 
 Their position was most enviable. Lodged in the palace, 
 and consequently supplied with fuel and lights, they were 
 also fed, and received each a salary of eight thousand 
 francs. It might well have been thought that this sum 
 would be sufficient for these gentlemen to live most com- 
 fortably ; but this was not the case. For if they were as- 
 siduous during the hours of labor, they were not less so 
 during those devoted to pleasure ; whence it arose that the 
 second quarter had hardly passed before the whole year's 
 salary was spent, — part of it in gambling, and the rest 
 among low companions. 
 
 Among the two secretaries added to the Emperor's ser- 
 vice, there was one especially who had contracted so many 
 debts, and whose creditors were so pitiless, that, had there 
 been no other reason, he would infallibly have been dis- 
 missed from the private cabinet if the report of this had 
 reached his Majesty's ears. 
 
 After passing an entire night reflecting on his embar- 
 rassing position, searching his imagination to secure some 
 means of obtaining the sum necessary to satisfy those 
 creditors who were most importunate, the new spendthrift 
 
394 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 sought distraction in work, and went to his desk at five 
 o'clock in the morning in order to drive away his painful 
 thoughts, not thinldng that at this hour any one would 
 hear him, and while working began to whistle La Linotte 
 with all liis might. Now, this morning, as often before, 
 the Emperor had already been working a whole hour in 
 his cabinet, and had just gone out as the young man 
 entered, and, hearing this whistling, immediately returned. 
 
 " Already here, Monsieur," said his Majesty. " Zounds ! 
 Why, that is remarkable ! Maret should be well satisfied 
 with you. What is your salary?" — "Sire, I have eight 
 thousand francs a year, and besides am boarded and lodged 
 in the palace." — " That is well. Monsieur, and you ought 
 to be very happy." 
 
 The young man, seeing that his Majesty was in a very 
 good humor, thought that fortune had sent him a favorable 
 opportunity of being relieved of his embarrassment, and 
 resolved to inform the Emperor of his trying situation. 
 "Alas, Sire! " said he, "no doubt I ought to be happy, 
 but I am not." — " Why is that?" — "Sire, I must con- 
 fess to your Majesty that I have so many English to carry, 
 and besides I have to support an old father, two sisters, 
 and a brother." — "You are only doing your duty. But 
 what do you mean by your English ? Are you supporting 
 them also ? " — " No, Sire ; but it is they who have fed 
 my pleasures, with the money they have lent me, and all 
 who have creditors now call them the English.'''' — " Stop ! 
 stop, Monsieur ! What ! you have creditors, and in spite 
 of your large salary you have made debts ! That is enough. 
 Monsieur. I do not wish to have any longer near me 
 a man who has recourse to the gold of the English, when 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 395 
 
 on what I give him he can live honorably. In an hour 
 you will receive your discharge." 
 
 The Emperor, having expressed himself as we have 
 just heard, picked up some papers from the desk, threw 
 a severe glance at the young secretary, and left him in 
 such a state of despair that, when some one else fortu- 
 nately entered the cabinet, he was on the point of com- 
 mitting suicide with a long paper-cutter he held in his 
 hand. This person was the aide-de-camp on duty, who 
 brought him a letter from the Emperor, couched in the 
 following terms : — 
 
 " Monsieur, you deserve to be dismissed from my service, but I have 
 thought of your family, and I pardon you on their account ; and since 
 it is they who would suffer from your misconduct, I consequently 
 send you with my pardon ten thousand francs in bank-notes. Pay 
 with this sum all the English who torment you, and, above all, do not 
 again fall into their clutches ; for in that case I shall abandon you. 
 
 Napoleon." 
 
 An enormous " Vive I ^Empereur ! " sprang spontaneously 
 to the lips of the young man, who darted out like lightning 
 to announce to his family this new proof of imperial tyranny. 
 
 This was not the end, however ; for his companion, hav- 
 ing been informed of what had taken place, and also desir- 
 ing some bank-notes to pacify his English, redoubled his 
 zeal and activity in work, and for several days in succes- 
 sion repaired to the cabinet at four in the morning, and 
 also whistled La Linotte ; but it was all in vain, the Emperor 
 did not seem to hear him. 
 
 Much was said at Paris and in the Court in ridicule of 
 the ludicrous sayings of the wife of Marshal Lefebvre, and a 
 
396 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 collection could be made of her queer speeches, many of 
 which are pure fabrications; but a volume would also be 
 necessary to record all the acts by which she manifested her 
 kindness of heart. 
 
 One day, at Malmaison (I think a short time after the 
 Empire was founded), the Empress Josephine had given ex- 
 plicit orders that no one should be admitted. The Mare- 
 chale Lefebvre presented herself ; but the usher, compelled 
 by his orders, refused to allow her to enter. She insisted, 
 and he still refused. During tliis discussion, the Empress, 
 passing from one apartment to the other, was seen through 
 a glass door which separated this apartment from that in 
 which the duchess then was. The Empress, having also 
 seen her, hastily advanced to meet her, and insisted on her 
 entering. Before passing in, Madame Lefebvre turned to 
 the usher, and said to him in a mocking tone, " Well, my 
 good fellow, you see I got in ! " The poor usher blushed 
 up to his ears, and withdi'ew in confusion. 
 
 Marshal Lefebvre was not less good, less excellent, than 
 his wife ; and it might well be said of them that high honors 
 had made no change in their manners. The good they both 
 did could not be told. It might have been said that this 
 was their only pleasure, the only compensation for a great 
 domestic misfortune. They had only one son, who was one 
 of the worst men in the whole Empire. Each day there 
 were complaints against him ; the Emperor himself fre- 
 quently admonished him on account of the high esteem he 
 had for his brave father. But there resulted no improve- 
 ment, and his natural viciousness only manifested itself the 
 more. He was killed in some battle, I forget which ; and as 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 397 
 
 little worthy of regret as he was, his death was a deep 
 affliction to his excellent mother, although he even forgot 
 himself so far as to speak disrespectfully of her in his coarse 
 speeches. She usually made M. de Fontanes i the confidant 
 of her sorrows ; for the grand master of the university, not- 
 withstanding his exquisite politeness and his admirable 
 literary style, was very intimately associated with the house- 
 hold of Marshal Lefebvre. 
 
 In this connection I recall an anecdote which proves 
 better than anything that could be said the kindness and 
 perfect simplicity of the marshal. One day it was announced 
 to him that some one whose name was not given wished to 
 speak to him. The marshal left his cabinet, and recognized 
 his old captain in the French Guards, in which, as we have 
 said, the marshal had been a sergeant. The marshal begged 
 permission to embrace him, offered his services, his purse, 
 his house; treated him almost exactly as if he had been 
 under his orders. The old captain was an emigrS, and had 
 returned undecided what he would do. Through the efforts 
 of the marshal his name was promptly struck out of the list 
 of emigres ; but he did not wish to re-enter the army, and 
 yet was in much need of a position. Having supported 
 himself during his emigration by giving lessons in French 
 and Latin, he expressed a desire to obtain a position in the 
 university. " "Well, my colonel," said the marshal with 
 his German accent, " I will take you at once to my friend 
 M. de Fontanes." The marshal's carriage is soon at the 
 
 1 Count Louis de Fontanes, born at Niort, 1757; expelled to England 
 by the Directory, 1797 ; recalled by the First Consul, 1800; pronounced the 
 celebrated eulogy on "Washington; president of the Corps Le'gislatif, 1804; 
 peer and grand master of the Imperial University, 1808 ; senator, 1810 ; died 
 1821. — Trans. 
 
398 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 door, and the respectful protector and his protege enter 
 the apartments of the grand master of the university. M. 
 de Fontanes hastens to meet the marshal, who, I have 
 been informed, made his presentation speech in this style : 
 
 " My dear friend, I present to you the Marquis of . 
 
 He was my former captain, my good captain. He would 
 like to obtain a place in the university. Ah ! he is not 
 a man of nothing, a man of the Revolution like you and me. 
 
 He is my old captain, the Marquis of ." Finally the 
 
 marshal closed by saying, " Ah, the good, excellent man ! 
 I shall never forget that when I went for orders to my 
 good captain, he never failed to say : ' Lefehvre, my child., 
 pass on to the kitchen; go and get something to eat.^ Ah, 
 my good, my excellent captain I " 
 
 All the members of the imperial family had a great 
 fondness for music, and especially the Italian; but they 
 were not musicians, and most of them sang as badly as his 
 Majesty himself, with the exception of the Princess Pau- 
 line, who had profited by the lessons of Blangini, and sang 
 tolerably well. In respect of his voice, Prince Eugene 
 showed liimself worthy to be the adopted son of the Em- 
 peror ; for, though he was a musician and sang with fervor, 
 it was not in such a manner as to satisfy his auditors. In 
 compensation, however. Prince Eugene's voice was magnifi- 
 cent for commanding military evolutions, an advantage 
 which Count Lobau and General Dorsenne also possessed ; 
 and it was consequently always one of these whom his 
 Majesty appointed to command under his orders on great 
 reviews. 
 
 Notwithstanding the severe etiquette of the Emperor's 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 399 
 
 court, there were always a few privileged persons who had 
 the right to enter his apartment, even when he was in bed, 
 though the number was small. They consisted of the fol- 
 lowing persons : — 
 
 M. de Talleyrand, vice grand elector ; de Montesquieu, 
 grand chamberlain ; de Remusat, first chamberlain ; Maret, 
 Corvisart, Denon, Murat, Yvan ; Duroc, grand marshal ; and 
 de Caulaincourt, grand equerry. 
 
 For a long time all these personages came to the Em- 
 peror's apartment almost every morning, and their visits 
 were the origin of what was afterwards called le petit lever. 
 M. de Lavalette also came frequently, and also M. Real and 
 Messieurs Fouche and Savary while each of them was 
 minister of police. 
 
 The princes of the imperial family also enjoyed the right 
 to enter the Emperor's apartment in the morning. I often 
 saw the Emperor's mother. The Emperor kissed her hand 
 with much respect and tenderness, but I have many times 
 heard him reproach her for her excessive economy. Madame 
 Mere listened, and then gave as excuse for not changing 
 her style of living reasons which often vexed his Majesty, 
 but which events have unfortunately justified. 
 
 Madame Mere had been a great beauty, and was still 
 very pretty, especially when I saw her for the first time. 
 It was impossible to find a better mother; devoted to her 
 children, she lavished on them the sagest counsels, and 
 always intervened in family quarrels to sustain those whom 
 she thought in the right; for a long time she took Lucien's 
 part, and I have often heard her warmly defend Jerome 
 when the First Consul was most severe towards his young 
 brother. The only fault in Madame Mere's character was 
 
400 SECOLLMCTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 her excessive economy, and on this point astonishing things 
 could be said witliout fear of exaggeration; but she was 
 beloved by every one in the palace for her kindness and 
 affability. 
 
 I recall in reference to Madame Mere an incident which 
 greatly amused the Empress Josephine. Madame was 
 spending several days at Malmaison, when one day one of 
 her ladies, whom she had caused to be sent for, found, on 
 entering the room, to her great astonishment. Cardinal 
 Fesch discharging the duty of a lady's maid by lacing up 
 his sister, who had on only her underclothing and her 
 corset. 
 
 One of the subjects on which the Emperor would listen 
 to no raillery was that of custom-house duties, and towards 
 all contraband proceeding he showed inflexible severity; 
 and this reached such a point, that one day M. Soiris, 
 director of the custom-house at Verceil, having seized a 
 package of sixty cashmere shawls, sent from Constantinople 
 to the Empress, the Emperor approved his action, and the 
 cashmeres were sold for the benefit of the state. In such 
 cases the Emperor always said, " How can a sovereign have 
 the laws respected if he does not respect them himself? " 
 I recall another occasion, and I think the only instance in 
 which he permitted an infraction of the custom-house regu- 
 lations ; but we shall see the question was not that of 
 ordinary smuggling. 
 
 The grenadiers of the Old Guard, under the orders of 
 General Soules, returned to France after the peace of Tilsit. 
 On their arrival at Mayence, the custom-house officers en- 
 deavored to perform their duty, and consequently inspected 
 the chests of the Guard and those of the general. Mean- 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 401 
 
 while, the director of the custom-house, in doubt what pro- 
 ceedings to take, sought the general to inform him of the 
 necessity he was under of executing the laws, and of carry- 
 ing out the direct orders of the Emperor. The general's 
 reply to this courteous overture was plain and energetic : 
 " If a single officer dares to place his hand on the boxes of 
 my old mustaches, I'll throw him into the Rhine!" The 
 officer insisted. The custom-house employees were quite 
 numerous, and were preparing to proceed with the inspec- 
 tion, when General Soules had the boxes put in the middle 
 of the square, and a regiment detailed to guard them. The 
 director of the custom-house, not daring to proceed further, 
 sent to the director-general a report to be submitted to the 
 Emperor. Under any other circumstances the case would 
 have been serious ; but the Emperor had just returned to 
 Paris, where he had been welcomed more heartily than ever 
 before by the acclamations of the people on the occasion of 
 the fetes celebrated in honor of peace, and this old Guard 
 was returning home resplendent with glory, and after most 
 admirable behavior at Eylau. All these things combined 
 to quell the Emperor's anger; and having decided not to 
 punish, he wished to reward them, and not to take seriously 
 their infraction of his custom-house regulations. General 
 Soules, on reaching Paris, presented himself before the Em- 
 peror, who received him cordially, and, after some remarks 
 relative to the Guard, added : " By the by, what is this 
 you have been doing ? I heard of you. What ! you 
 really threatened to throw my custom-house officers into the 
 Rhine ! Would you have done it? "— " Yes, Sire," replied 
 the general, with his German accent, " yes ; I would have 
 done it. It was an insult to my old grenadiers to attempt 
 
402 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 to inspect their boxes." — "Come, now," said the Emperor 
 very affably, " I see just how it is. You have been smug- 
 gling." — " I, Sire ? " — " Yes, I say. You have been smug- 
 gling. You bought linen in Hanover. You wanted to fur- 
 nish your house handsomely, as you imagined I would appoint 
 you senator. You were not mistaken. Go and have your 
 senator's coat made, but do not repeat this performance, for 
 next time I will have you shot." 
 
 During our stay at Bayonne, in 1808, every one was 
 struck with the awkward manners of the King and Queen 
 of Spain, and the poor taste displayed in their toilets, the 
 disgraceful appearance of their equipages, and a certain air 
 of constraint and embarrassment which was general among 
 all the persons of their suite. The elegant manners of the 
 French and the magnificence of the imperial equipages fur- 
 nished such a contrast to all this that it rendered them 
 indescribably ridiculous. The Emperor, who had such 
 exquisite tact in all matters, was not one of the last to 
 perceive this, but, nevertheless, was not pleased that an 
 opportunity should be found to ridicule crowned heads. 
 One morning at his toilet he said to me, "I say, then, Mon- 
 sieur le drole, you, who are so well versed in these matters, 
 give a few hints to the valet de chambre of the King and 
 Queen of Spain. They appear so awkward they really ex- 
 cite my pity." I eagerly did what his Majesty suggested; 
 but he did not content himself with this, but also commu- 
 nicated to the Empress Josephine his observations on the 
 queen and her ladies. The Empress Josephine, who was 
 thee mbodiment of taste, gave orders accordingly ; and for 
 two days her hairdressers and women were occupied ex- 
 clusively in giving lessons in taste and elegance to their 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 403 
 
 Spanish brethren. This is a striking evidence of how the 
 Emperor found time for everything, and could descend 
 from his elevated duties to the most insignificant affairs. 
 
 The grand marshal of the palace (Duroc) was almost 
 the same height as the Emperor. He walked badly and 
 ungracefully, but had a tolerably good head and features. 
 He was quick tempered, impulsive, and swore like a soldier ; 
 but he had much administrative ability, of which he gave 
 more than one proof in the organization of the imperial 
 household, which was ably and wisely regulated. When 
 the enemy's cannon deprived his Majesty of this devoted 
 servitor and sincere friend, the Empress Josephine said 
 that she knew only two men capable of filling his place; 
 these were General Drouot and M. de Flahaut, and the 
 whole household hoped that one of these two gentlemen 
 would be nominated; this, however, was not the case. 
 
 M. de Caulaincourt, Duke of Vicenza, was extremely 
 severe towards the household; but he was just and of a 
 chivalrous loyalty, and his word was as good as a contract. 
 He was feared and yet beloved. He had a piercing eye, 
 spoke quickly and with great ease. The Emperor's regard 
 for him was well known, and certainly no one was more 
 worthy of it than he. 
 
 The Count de Remusat was of medium height, with a 
 smooth, white face, obliging, amiable, and with natural 
 politeness and good taste ; but he was extravagant, lacked 
 order in managing his own affairs and consequently those 
 of the Emperor. This lavish expenditure, which is admi- 
 rable from one point of view, might have suited any other 
 sovereign; but the Emperor was economical, and though 
 
404 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 much attached to M. de Remusat, dismissed him from the 
 head of tlie wardrobe bureau, and put in his place Monsieur 
 de Turenne, who exercised the strictest economy. M. de 
 Turenne possessed perhaps a little too much of what his 
 predecessor lacked, but it was exactly this that pleased the 
 Emperor. M. de Turenne was quite a pretty man, thinking 
 perhaps a little too much of himself, a great talker and 
 Anglo-maniac, which led the Emperor to give him the name 
 of my lord Kinsester (who cannot be silent) ; but he told a 
 story well, and sometimes his Majesty took pleasure in 
 making him relate the chronicles of Paris. 
 
 When the Count of Turenne replaced the Count of 
 Remusat in the office of grand master of the wardrobe, in 
 order not to exceed the sum of twenty thousand francs 
 which his Majesty allowed for his toilet,.,he exercised the 
 greatest possible economy in the quantity, price, and 
 quality of things indispensable to the household. I have 
 been told, but I do not know whether it is true, that, in 
 order to ascertain exactly what were the profits of the Em- 
 peror's furnishers, he went to the various factories of Paris 
 with samples of gloves, silk stockings, aloes wood, etc. ; but, 
 even if this is true, it only does honor to the zeal and 
 probity of M. de Turenne. 
 
 I knew very little of Count Segur, grand master of cere- 
 monies. It was said in the household that he was haughty 
 and somewhat abrupt, but perfectly polite and intelligent, 
 with a delicate and refined face. 
 
 It would be necessary to have witnessed the perfect 
 order which reigned in the Emperor's household to compre- 
 hend it fully. From the time of the Consulate, General 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 405 
 
 Duroc had brought into the administration of the interior 
 affairs of the palace that spirit of order and economy which 
 especially characterized him. But, great as was the Em- 
 peror's confidence in General Duroc, he did not disdain to 
 throw the glance of a master over things wliich seemed 
 insignificant, and with which, in general, sovereigns rarely 
 occupy themselves. Thus, for example, in the begimaing 
 of the Empire there was some little extravagance in cer- 
 tain parts of the palace, notably at Saint-Cloud, where the 
 aides-de-camp kept open table ; but this was, nevertheless, 
 far from equaling the excessive prodigality of the ancient 
 regime. Champagne and other wines especially were used 
 in great quantities, and it was very necessary that the Em- 
 peror should establish regulations as to his cellar. He sum- 
 moned the chief of the household service, Soupe Pierrugues, 
 and said to him, "Monsieur, I commit to you the keys of 
 my imperial cellars; you will there have charge of the 
 wines of all kinds ; some are needed in my palaces of the 
 Tuileries, Samt-Cloud, Compiegne, Fontainebleau, Marrac, 
 Lacken, and Turin. Establish a moderate price at all 
 these residences, and you alone will furnish wines to my 
 household." This arrangement was made, and all kinds of 
 fraud v/ere impossible, as the deputy of M. Soupe Pier- 
 rugues delivered wines only on a note signed by the con- 
 troller of the kitchen; all the bottles not opened were 
 returned, and each evening an account was given of what 
 had been used for that day. 
 
 The service had the same regulations while we were on 
 campaigns. During the second campaign of Vienna, I recol- 
 lect that the house deputy of Soupe Pierrugues was M. 
 Eugene Pierrugues, frank, gay, mtty, and much beloved by 
 
406 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON, 
 
 US all. An imprudence cost him dear, for in consequence 
 of a heedlessness natural at his age he had his arm broken. 
 We were then at Schoenbrunn. Those who have seen this 
 imperial residence know that splendid avenues extend in 
 front of the palace, leading to the road to Vienna. As 
 I often took horseback rides through the town, M. Eugene 
 Pierrugues wished to accompany me one day, and borrowed 
 a horse from one of the quartermasters of the palace. He 
 was forewarned that the horse was very fiery ; but he paid 
 no attention to that, and immediately put him into a gallop. 
 I reined mine in, in order not to excite my companion's ; 
 but in spite of this precaution the horse ran away, dashed 
 into the woods, and broke the arm of his unfortunate and 
 imprudent rider. M. Eugene Pierrugues was, however, not 
 unhorsed by the blow, and kept his seat a short while after 
 the injury ; but it was very serious, and it was necessary 
 to carry him back to the palace. I, more than any one else, 
 was distressed by tliis frightful accident ; and we established 
 a regular attendance on him, so that one at least could 
 always be with him when our duties allowed. I have 
 never seen suffering borne with more fortitude ; and it was 
 carried to such a remarkable degree, that, finding his arm 
 badly set, at the end of a few days he had it again frac- 
 tured, an operation which caused him horrible suffering. 
 
 My uncle, who was usher of the Emperor's cabinet, 
 related to me an anecdote which is probably entirely un- 
 known; since everything, as we shall see, occurred under 
 cover of the most profound mystery. " One evening," 
 he said to me, " Marshal Dxiroc gave me in person orders 
 to extinguish the lights in the saloon in front of his 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS, 407 
 
 Majesty's cabinet, and to leave only a few candles lighted. 
 I was surprised at such a novel order, especially as the 
 grand marshal was not accustomed to give them thus 
 directly, but, nevertheless, executed it precisely, and waited 
 at my post. At ten o'clock Marshal Duroc returned, ac- 
 companied by a personage whose features it was impos- 
 sible to distinguish," as he was entirely wrapped in a large 
 cloak, his head covered, and liis hat pulled down over his 
 eyes. I withdrew, leaving the two alone, but had hardly 
 left the saloon when the Emperor entered, and Marshal 
 Duroc also retired, leaving the stranger alone with his 
 Majesty. From the tone in which the Emperor spoke 
 it was easy to see that he was greatly irritated. He 
 spoke very loud; and I heard him say, 'Well, Monsieur, 
 you will never change then. It is gold you want, always 
 gold. You draw on aU. foreign banks, and have no con- 
 fidence in that of Paris. You have ruined the bank of 
 Hamburg ; you have caused M. Drouet (or Drouaut, for the 
 name was pronounced very quickly) to lose two millions.' 
 
 " The Emperor," my uncle continued, " conversed in this 
 strain for a long while, though the stranger did not reply, 
 or replied in so low a tone that it was impossible to 
 hear a word; and the scene, which must have been most 
 trying to the mysterious personage, lasted about twenty 
 minutes. At last he was permitted to leave, which he 
 did with the same precautions as on his arrival, and re- 
 tired from the palace as secretly as he had come." 
 
 Nothing of this scene was known in Paris ; and, more- 
 over, neither my uncle nor I have ever sought to ascertain 
 the name of the person whom the Emperor overwhelmed 
 with such numerous and severe reproaches. 
 
408 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 Whenever circumstances allowed, the Emperor's habits 
 of life were very regular, his time being almost uniformly 
 divided as follows. Every morning, at nine o'clock pre- 
 cisely, the Emperor left the imperial apartments ; his exact- 
 ness in observing hours was carried to an extreme, and I 
 have sometimes seen him wait two or three moments in 
 order that no one might be taken by surprise. At nine 
 o'clock his toilet was made for the whole day. When 
 he had reached the reception-room, the officers on duty 
 were first admitted, and received his Majesty's orders for 
 their time of service. 
 
 Immediately after this what was called the grandes 
 entrees took place. That is to say, personages of high 
 rank were admitted, who had this right on account of 
 their duties, or by the special favor of the Emperor; 
 and I can assert that this favor was much envied. It 
 was granted generally to all the officers of the imperial 
 household, even if they were not on duty ; and every one 
 remained standing, as did the Emperor also. He made 
 the tour of all the persons present, nearly always addressed 
 a remark or a question to each one ; and it was amusing 
 to see afterwards, during the whole day, the proud and 
 haughty bearing of those to whom the Emperor had 
 spoken a little longer than to others. This ceremony 
 usually lasted a half-hour, and as soon as it was finished 
 the Emperor bowed and each retired. 
 
 At half-past nine the Emperor's breakfast was served, 
 usually on a small mahogany stand ; and this first repast 
 commonly lasted only seven or eight minutes, though some- 
 times it was prolonged, and even lasted quite a long while. 
 This, however, was only on rare occasions, when the Em- 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 409 
 
 peror was in umisually good-humor, and wished to indulge 
 in the pleasure of a conversation with men of great merit, 
 whom he had known a long while, and who happened to 
 be present at his breakfast. There he was no longer the 
 formal Emperor of the levee ; he was in a manner the hero 
 of Italy, the conqueror of Egypt, and above all the member 
 of the Institute. Those who came most habitually were 
 Messieurs Monge,^ Berthollet,^ Costaz (superintendent of 
 crown buildings), Denon,^ Corvisart, David, Gerard,* Isabey, 
 Talma,^ and Fontaine (his first architect). How many 
 noble thoughts, how many elevated sentiments, found vent 
 in these conversations which the Emperor was accustomed 
 
 1 Gaspard Monge, Count de Peluse (Pelusium), the creator of descriptive 
 geometry, was born at Beaune, 1746. At twenty years of age, liaving made 
 improvements in the art of fortification, he became professor at Mezieres; 
 minister of marine, 1792; in 1795 he issued his Descriptive Geometry, and 
 organized the Polytechnic school. He accompanied Napoleon to Egypt, 
 1798. Under the Empire, senator, Count of Pe'luse, and grand officer of the 
 Legion of Honor. Died 1818, having done more for the science of geometry 
 than any one since Archimedes. — Trans. 
 
 2 Claude Louis BerthoUet, the eminent chemical philosopher, was bom 
 near Annecy, Savoy, 1748, and graduated in medicine at Turin, 1768. He 
 made many important discoveries in chemistry. Aided by Monge, he selected 
 the Italian works of art sent to Paris by Napoleon, 1796, and accompanied 
 him to Egypt two years later. Count and senator under the Empire, and 
 a peer under the Bourbons, and the author of many treatises on chemistry. 
 Died 1822.— Trans. 
 
 3 Dominique Vivant Denon, eminent author and artist, bom at Chalons- 
 sur-Saone, 1747. Employed prior to the Revolution in diplomatic missions to 
 Russia, Switzerland, and Naples. In 1798 accompanied Napoleon to Egypt. 
 Director-general of museums in 1802; accompanied Napoleon in several 
 campaigns, and showed intrepidity by making designs in the midst of 
 battles. Died 1825. — Trans. 
 
 * Franijois Gerard, the eminent painter, was born at Kome, 1770, and 
 studied at Paris under David. He painted a great number of portraits and 
 historical scenes. Died 18.36. — Trans. 
 
 6 Franpois Joseph Talma, celebrated tragedian, born in Paris, 1763 ; died 
 1826. David, Isabey, and Fontaine have been mentioned in preceding notes. 
 — Trans. 
 
410 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 to open by saying, "Come, Messieurs, I close the door of 
 my cabinet." This was the signal, and it was truly miracu- 
 lous to see his Majesty's aptitude in putting his genius in 
 communication with these great intellects with such diver- 
 sities of talent. 
 
 I recall that, during the days preceding the Emperor's 
 coronation, M. Isabey attended regularly at the Emperor's 
 breakfast, and was present almost every morning ; and 
 strange, too, it did not seem an absurd thing to see 
 children's toys used to represent the imposing ceremony 
 which was to exert such a great influence over the des- 
 tinies of the world. The intelligent painter of his Ma- 
 jesty's cabinet portraits caused to be placed on a large 
 table a number of small figures representing all the per- 
 sonages who were to take part in the ceremony of the 
 coronation ; each had his designated place ; and no one 
 was omitted, from the Emperor to the Pope, and even 
 to the choristers, each being dressed in the costume he 
 was expected to wear. 
 
 These rehearsals took place frequently, and all were 
 eager to consult the model in order to make no mistake as 
 to the place each was to occupy. On those days, as may be 
 imagined, the door of the cabinet ti>as closed, and in conse- 
 quence the ministers sometimes waited awhile. Immedi- 
 ately after the breakfast the Emperor admitted his ministers 
 and director generals ; and these audiences, devoted to the 
 special work of each minister and of each director, lasted 
 until six o'clock in the evening, with the exception of 
 those days on which his Majesty occupied himself exclu- 
 sively with governmental affairs, and presided over the 
 council of state, or the ministerial councils. 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 411 
 
 At the Tuileries and at Saint^Cloud dinner was served 
 at six o'clock ; and the Emperor dined each day alone with 
 the Empress, except on Sunday, when all the family were 
 admitted to dinner. The Emperor, Empress, and Madame 
 Mere only were seated in armchairs ; all others, whether 
 kings or queens, having only ordinary chairs. There was 
 only one course before the dessert. His Majesty usually 
 drank Chambertin wine, but rarely without water, and 
 hardly more than one bottle. To dine with the Emperor 
 was rather an honor than a pleasure to those who were 
 admitted; for it was necessary, to use the common expres- 
 sion, to swallow in post haste, as his Majesty never re- 
 mained at table more than fifteen or eighteen minutes. 
 After his dinner, as after breakfast, the Emperor habitually 
 took a cup of coffee, which the Empress poured out. 
 Under the Consulate Madame Bonaparte began this custom, 
 because the General often forgot to take his coffee ; she con- 
 tinued it after she became Empress, and the Empress 
 Marie Louise retained the same custom. 
 
 After dinner the Empress descended to her apartments, 
 where she found assembled her ladies and the officers on 
 duty; and the Emperor sometimes accompanied her, but 
 remained only a short while. Such was the customary 
 routine of life in the palace at the Tuileries on those days 
 when there was neither the chase in the morning, nor con- 
 cert nor theater in the evening ; and the life at Saint-Cloud 
 differed little from that at the Tuileries. Sometimes rides 
 were taken in coaches when the weather permitted; and on 
 Wednesday, the day set for the council of ministers, these 
 officials were invariably honored by an invitation to dine 
 with their Majesties. When there was a hunt at Fontaine- 
 
412 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 bleau, Rambouillet, or Compiegiie, the usual routine was 
 omitted; the ladies followed in coaches, and the whole 
 household dined with the Emperor and Empress under a 
 tent erected in the forest. It sometimes happened, though 
 rarely, that the Emperor invited unexpectedly some mem- 
 bers of his family to remain to dine with him; and this 
 recalls an anecdote which should have a place in this con- 
 nection. The King of Naples came one day to visit the 
 Emperor, and being invited to dine, accepted, forgetting 
 that he was in morning dress, and there was barely time 
 for him to change his costume, and consequently none to 
 return to the Elysee, which he then inhabited. The king 
 ran quickly up to my room, and informed me of liis em- 
 barrassment, which I instantly relieved, to his great delight. 
 I hr.d at that time a very handsome wardrobe, almost all the 
 articles of which were then entirely new; so I gave him a 
 shirt, vest, breeches, stockings, and shoes, and assisted him 
 to dress, and fortunately everytliing fitted as if it had been 
 made especially for him. He showed towards me the same 
 kindness and affability he always manifested, and thanked 
 me in the most charming manner. In the evening the 
 King of Naples, after taking leave of the Emperor, returned 
 to my room to resume his morning dress, and begged me to 
 come to him next day at the filysee, which I did punctually 
 after relating to the Emperor all that had occurred, much 
 to his amusement. On my arrival at the Elysee I was 
 immediately introduced into the king's apartments, who 
 repeated his thanks in the most gracious manner, and gave 
 me a pretty Breguet ^ watch. 
 
 1 Abraham Louis Breguet, the celebrated watchmaker, was born at Neu- 
 ch^tel, 1747 ; died 1823. He made numerous improvements in watches and 
 in nautical and astronomical instruments. — Teans. 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. 413 
 
 During our campaigns I sometimes had occasion to 
 render little services of the same nature to the King of 
 Naples; but the question was not then, as at Saint-Cloud, 
 one of silk stockings, for more than once on the bivouac 
 I shared with him a bundle of straw, which I had been 
 fortunate enough to procure. In such cases I must avow 
 the sacrifice was much greater on my part than when I had 
 shared my wardrobe with him. The king was not back- 
 ward in expressing his gratitude ; and I thought it a most 
 remarkable thing to see a sovereign, whose palace was filled 
 with all that luxury can invent to add to comfort, and all 
 that art can create which is splendid and magnificent, only 
 too happy in procuring half of a bundle of straw on which 
 to rest his head. 
 
 I will now give some fresh souvenirs which have just 
 recurred to my mind concerning the Court theater. At 
 Saint-Cloud, in order to reach the theater hall, it was neces- 
 sary to cross the whole length of the Orangery; and noth- 
 ing could be more elegant than the manner in which it was 
 decorated on these occasions. Rows of rare plants were 
 arranged in tiers, and the whole lighted by lamps; and 
 during the winter the boxes were hidden by covering them 
 with moss and flowers, which produced a charming effect 
 under the lights. 
 
 The parterre of the theater was usually filled with 
 generals, senators, and councilors of state ; the first boxes 
 were reserved for the princes and princesses of the imperial 
 family, for foreign princes, marshals, their wives, and ladies 
 of honor. In the second tier were placed all persons at- 
 tached to the Court. Between the acts, ices and refresh' 
 
414 BECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 ments were served ; but the ancient etiquette had been 
 re-established in one particular, which greatly displeased 
 the actors, — no applause was allowed; and Talma often 
 told me that the kind of coldness produced by this silence 
 was very detrimental at certain parts where the actor felt 
 the need of being enthused. Nevertheless, it sometimes 
 happened that the Emperor, in testimony of his satisfac- 
 tion, made a slight signal with his hand ; and then and also 
 at the grandest periods we, heard, if not applause, at least 
 a flattering murmur which the spectators were not always 
 able to repress. 
 
 The chief charm of these brilliant assemblies was the 
 presence of the Emperor; and consequently an invitation 
 to the theater of Saint-Cloud was an honor much desired. 
 In the time of the Empress Josephine there were no repre- 
 sentations at the palace in the absence of the Emperor ; 
 but when Marie Louise was alone at Saint-Cloud during 
 the campaign of Dresden, two representations a week were 
 given, and the whole repertoire of Gretry ^ was played in 
 succession before her Majesty. At the end of each piece 
 there was always a little ballet. 
 
 The theater of Saint-Cloud was, so to speak, on more 
 than one occasion the theater of first attempts. For in- 
 stance, M. RajTiouard played there for the first time the 
 ^tats de Blois, a work which the Emperor would not allow 
 to be played in public, and which was not done, in fact, 
 until after the return of Louis XVIII. 
 
 The Venetians by M. Amand also made its first appear- 
 ance on the theater of Saint-Cloud, or rather of Malmaison. 
 
 ^ Andre Ernest Gretry, the celebrated opera composer, was bom at Liege, 
 1741; died 1813. — Trans. 
 
ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS 415 
 
 This was not highly considered at the time ; but the in- 
 fallible judgment the Emperor displayed in his choice of 
 plays and actors was most remarkable. He generally gave 
 M. Corvisart the preference in deciding these matters, on 
 which he descanted with much complacence when his more 
 weighty occupations allowed. He was usually less severe 
 and more just than Geoffroy ; ^ and it is much to be de- 
 sired that the criticisms and opinions of the Emperor con- 
 cerning authors and actors could have been preserved. 
 They would have been of much benefit to the progress of 
 art. 
 
 In speaking of the retreat from Moscow, I related pre- 
 viously in my memoirs that I had the good fortune to 
 offer a place in my carriage to the young Prince of Arem- 
 berg, and assisted him in continuing his journey. I re- 
 call another occasion in the life of this prince, when one of 
 my friends was very useful to him, some particulars of 
 which may not be without interest. 
 
 The Prince of Aremberg, an ordnance officer of the 
 Emperor, had, as we know, married Mademoiselle Tascher, 
 niece of the Empress Josephine. Having been sent into 
 Spain, he was there taken by the English, and afterwards 
 carried a prisoner to England. His captivity was at first 
 very disagreeable ; and he told me himself that he was very- 
 unhappy, until he made the acquaintance of one of my 
 friends, M. Herz, commissary of war, who possessed a 
 fine mind, was very intelligent, spoke several languages, 
 and was, like the prince, a prisoner in England. The ac- 
 
 1 Abbe Julien Louis Geoffroy, celebrated critic and editor, bomatEennes, 
 1743 : died 1814. — Trans. 
 
416 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 quaintance formed at once between the prince and M. Herz 
 soon became so intimate that they were constantlj- together ; 
 and thus passed the time as happily as it can with one far 
 from his native land and deprived of his liberty. 
 
 They were living thus, ameliorating for each other the 
 ennui of captivity, when M. Herz was exchanged, which was, 
 perhaps, a great naisfortune for him, as we shall afterwards 
 see. At all events, the prince was deeply distressed at being 
 left alone ; but, nevertheless, gave M. Herz several letters 
 to his family, and at the same time sent his mother his 
 mustache, which he had mounted in a medallion with a 
 chain. One day the Princess of Aremberg arrived at Saint- 
 Cloud and demanded a private audience of the Emperor. 
 
 "My son," said she, "demands your Majesty's permis- 
 sion to attempt his escape from England." — " Madame," 
 said the Emperor, " your request is most embarrassing ! I do 
 not forbid your son, but I can by no means authorize him." 
 
 It was at the time I had the honor of saving the Prince 
 of Aremberg's life that I learned from him these particulars. 
 As for my poor friend Herz, his liberty became fatal to him, 
 owing to an inexplicable succession of events. Having 
 been sent by Marshal Augereau to Stralsund to perform 
 a secret mission, he died there, suffocated by the fire of a 
 brass stove in the room in which he slept. His secretary 
 and his servant nearly fell victims to the same accident; 
 but, more fortunate than he, their lives were saved. The 
 Prince of Aremberg spoke to me of the death of M. Herz 
 with real feeling ; and it was easy to see that, prince as he 
 was and allied to the Emperor, he entertained a most sin- 
 cere friendship for his companion in captivity. 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 417 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 MHilTAEY ANECDOTES. 
 
 I HAVE collected under the title of Military Anecdotes 
 some facts which came to my knowledge while I accom- 
 panied the Emperor on his campaigns, and the authenticity 
 of which I guarantee. I might have scattered them through 
 my memoirs, and placed them in their proper periods ; my 
 not having done so is not owing to forgetfulness on my 
 part, but because I thought that these incidents would 
 have an added interest by being collected together, since 
 in them we see the direct influence of the Emperor upon 
 Ixis soldiers, and thus can more easily form an exact idea 
 of the manner in which his Majesty treated them, his con- 
 sideration for them, and their attachment to his person. 
 
 During the autumn of 1804, between the time of the 
 creation of the empire and the coronation of the Emperor, 
 his Majesty made several journeys to the camp of Bou- 
 logne ; and from this fact rumors arose that the expedition 
 against England would soon set sail. In one of his fre- 
 quent tours of inspection, the Emperor, stopping one day 
 near the end of the camp on the left, spoke to a cannoneer 
 from a guard ship, and while conversing with him, asked 
 him several questions, among others, the following, " What 
 is thought here of the Emperor ? " — " That sacre tondu 
 puts us out of breath as soon as he arrives. Each time he 
 
418 BEC0LLECTI0N8 OF JSfAPOLEON. 
 
 comes we have not a moment's repose wliile he is here. It 
 might be thought he was enraged against those dogs of 
 Englisli who are always beating us, not much to our own 
 credit." 
 
 " You believe in glory, then ? " said the Emperor. The 
 cannoneer then looked at him fixedly: " Somewhat, I think. 
 Do you doubt it ? " — " No, I do not doubt it, but — 
 money, do you believe in that also?" — "Ah! what — I 
 see — do you mean to insult me, you questioner ? I know 
 no other interest than that of the state." — "ISTo, no, my 
 brave soldier; I do not intend to insult you, but I bet 
 that a twenty-franc piece would not be disagreeable to you 
 in drinking a cup to my health." While speaking thus 
 the Emperor had drawn a Napoleon from his pocket, wliich 
 he presented to the cannoneer, whereupon the latter uttered 
 a shout loud enough to be heard by the sentinel at the 
 west post some distance off, and even threw himself on 
 the Emperor, whom he took for a spy, and was about to 
 seize him by the throat when the Emperor suddenly opened 
 his gray overcoat and revealed liis identity. The soldier's 
 astonishment may be imagined ! He prostrated himself at 
 the feet of the Emperor, overcome with confusion at his 
 mistake ; but the latter, extending his hand, said, " Rise, 
 my brave fellow, you have done your duty; but you will 
 not keep your word, I am very sure; you will accept this 
 piece, and drink to the health of the sacre tondu, will you 
 not ? " The Emperor then continued his rounds as if 
 nothing had occurred. 
 
 Every one admits to-day that never, perhaps, has any 
 man been gifted to the same degree as the Emperor with 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 419 
 
 the art of addressing soldiers. He appreciated this talent 
 highly in others ; but it was not fine phrases which pleased 
 him, and accordingly he held that a master-piece of this 
 kind was the very short harangue of General Vandamme 
 to the soldiers he commanded the day of the battle of Aus- 
 terlitz. When day began to break General Vandamme 
 said to the troops, " My brave fellows ! There are the Rus- 
 sians ! Load your pieces, pick your flints, put powder in 
 the pan, fix bayonets, ready and — forward !" I remember 
 one day the Emperor spoke of this oration before Marshal 
 Berthier, who laughed at it. " That is like you," he said. 
 " Well, all the advocates of Paris would not have said it 
 so well ; the soldier understands this, and that is the way 
 battles are won." 
 
 When after the first campaign of Vienna, so happily 
 terminated by the peace of Presburg, the Emperor was re- 
 turning to Paris, many complaints reached him against the 
 exactions of certain generals, notably General Vandamme. 
 Complaint was made, amongst other grievances, that in the 
 little village of Lantza this general had allowed himself 
 five hundred florins per day, that is to say, eleven hundred 
 and twenty-five francs, simply for the daily expenses of his 
 table. It was on this occasion the Emperor said of him: 
 " Pillages like a madman, but brave as Csesar." Never- 
 theless, the Emperor, indignant at such exactions, and de- 
 termined to put an end to them, summoned the general 
 to Paris to reprimand him ; but the latter, as soon as he 
 entered the Emperor's presence, began to speak before his 
 Majesty had time to adcbess him, saying, " Sire, I know 
 why you have summoned me; but as you know my devo- 
 
420 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 tion and my bravery I trust you ■will excuse some slight 
 altercations as to the furnishing of my table, matters too 
 petty, at any rate, to occupy your Majesty." The Emperor 
 smiled at the oratorical skillfulness of General Vandamme, 
 and contented himself with saying, " Well, well ! say no 
 more, but be more circumspect in future." 
 
 General Vandamme, happy to have escaped with so 
 gentle an admonition, returned to Lantza to resume his 
 command. He was indeed more circumspect than in the 
 past ; but he found and seized the occasion to revenge him- 
 self on the town for the compulsory self-denial the Emperor 
 had imposed on him. On his arrival he found in the sub- 
 urbs a large number of recruits who had come from Paris 
 in his absence ; and it occurred to him to make them all 
 enter the town, alleging that it was indispensable they 
 should be drilled under his own eyes. This was an enor- 
 mous expense to the town, which would have been very 
 wilHng to recall its complaints, and continue his expenses 
 at the rate of five hundred florins per day. 
 
 The Emperor does not figure in the following anecdote. 
 I will relate it, however, as a good instance of the manners 
 and the astuteness of our soldiers on the campaign. 
 
 During the year 1806, a part of our troops having their 
 quarters in Bavaria, a soldier of the fourth regiment of 
 the line, named Varengo, was lodged at Indersdorff with a 
 joiner. Varengo wished to compel his host to pay him two 
 florins, or four livres ten sous, per day for his pleasures. 
 He had no right to exact this. To succeed in making it to 
 his interest to comply^ he set himself to make a continual 
 racket in the house. The poor carpenter, not being able to 
 endure it longer, resolved to complain, but thought it pru- 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 421 
 
 dent not to carry his complaints to the oiScers of the com- 
 pany in which Varengo served. He knew by his own 
 experience, at least by that of his neighbors, that these 
 gentlemen were by no means accessible to complaints of 
 this kind. He decided to address himself to the general 
 commanding, and set out on the road to Augsburg, the 
 chief place of the arrondissement. 
 
 On his arrival at the bureau of the town, he was met 
 by the general, and began to submit to him an account 
 of his misfortunes; but unfortunately the general did not 
 know the German language, so he sent for his interpreter, 
 told the carpenter to explain himself, and inquired of what 
 he complained. Now, the general's interpreting secretary 
 was a quartermaster who had been attached to the gen- 
 eral's staff since the Peace of Presburg, and happened to 
 be, as luck would have it, the first cousin of this Varengo 
 against whom the complaint was made. Without hesita- 
 tion the quartermaster, as soon as he heard his cousin's 
 name, gave an entirely incorrect translation of the report, 
 assuring the general that this peasant, although in very 
 comfortable circumstances, disobeyed the order of the day, 
 in refusing to furnish fresh meat for the brave soldier 
 who lodged with him ; and this was the origin of the dis- 
 agreement on which the complaint was based, no other 
 motive being alleged for demanding a change. The gen- 
 eral was much irritated, and gave orders to his secretary to 
 require the peasant, under severe penalties, to furnish fresh 
 meat for his guest. The order was written ; but instead of 
 submitting it to the supervision of the general, the inter- 
 preting secretary wrote out at length that the carpenter 
 should pay two florins per day to Varengo. The poor 
 
422 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 fellow, having read this in German, could not restrain 
 a movement of anger, seeing which, the general, thinking 
 he had resisted the order, ordered liim out, threatening 
 him with his riding-whip. Thus, thanks to his cousin, 
 the interpreter, Varengo regularly received two florins per 
 day, which enabled him to be one of the jolliest soldiers 
 in his company. 
 
 The Emperor did not like duelling. He often pre- 
 tended to be ignorant of duels ; but when he had to admit 
 his knowledge of one, loudly expressed his dissatisfaction. 
 I recall in this connection two or three circumstances 
 which I shall attempt to relate. 
 
 A short time after the foundation of the Empire, a duel 
 occurred, which created much stir in Paris, on account of 
 the rank of the two adversaries. The Emperor had just 
 authorized the formation of the first foreign regiment 
 which he wished to admit into the service of France, — the 
 regiment of Aremberg. Notwithstanding the title of this 
 corps, most of the officers who were admitted were French ; 
 and this was a good opening, discreetly made, . for rich and 
 titled young men, who, in purchasing companies by the 
 authority of the minister of war, could thus pass more 
 rapidly through the first grades. Among the officers of 
 the Aremberg regiment, were M. Charles de Sainte-Croix, 
 who had recently served in the ministry of foreign affairs, 
 and a charming young man whom I saw often at Mal- 
 maison, M. de Mariolles, who was nearly related to the 
 Empress Josephine. It seems that the same position had 
 been promised both, and they resolved to settle the dis- 
 pute by private combat. M. de Mariolles fell, and died 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 423 
 
 on the spot, and his death created consternation among 
 the ladies of the salo7i at Malmaison. 
 
 His family and relations united in making complaint to 
 the Emperor, who was very indignant, and spoke of send- 
 ing M. de Sainte-Croix to the Temple prison and having 
 him tried for murder. He prudently concealed himself 
 during the first outburst over this affair; and the police, 
 who were put on his track, would have had much diffi- 
 culty in finding him, as he was especially protected by 
 M. Fouche, who had recently re-entered the ministry, and 
 was intimately connected with his mother, Madame de 
 Sainte-Croix. Everything ended with the threats of his 
 Majesty ; since M. Fouche had remarked to him that by 
 such unaccustomed severity the malevolent would not fail 
 to say that he was performing less an act of sovereignty 
 than one of personal vengeance, as the victim had the 
 honor of being connected with himself. 
 
 The affair was thus suffered to drop; and I am here 
 struck with the manner in which one recollection leads on 
 to another, for I remember that in process of time the 
 Emperor became much attached to M. de Sainte-Croix, 
 whose advancement in the army was both brilliant and 
 rapid ; since, although he entered the service when twenty- 
 two years of age, he was only twenty-eight when he was 
 killed in Spain, being already then general of division.^ 
 I often saw M. de Sainte-Croix at the Emperor's headquar- 
 ters. I think I see him still, — small, delicate, with an at- 
 tractive countenance, and very little beard. He might have 
 been taken for a young woman, rather than the brave young 
 
 1 He is mentioned in terms of the highest praise in General Marhot's 
 Memoirs. — Trans. 
 
424 liECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 soldier he was ; aud, in fact, his features were so delicate, 
 his cheelvs so rosy, his blond hair curled in such natural 
 ringlets, that when the Emperor was in a good humor he 
 called him nothing but Mademoiselle de Sainte-Oroix ! 
 
 Another circumstance which I should not omit is a 
 duel which took place at Burgos, in 1808, between General 
 Franceschi, aide-de-camp to King Joseph, and Colonel Fi- 
 langieri, colonel of his guard, both of whom were equerries 
 of his Majesty. The subject of the quarrel was almost the 
 same as that between M. de Mariolles and de Sainte-Croix ; 
 since both disputed for the position of first equerry to King 
 Joseph, both maintaining that it had been promised them. 
 
 We had hardly been in the palace of Burgos five minutes 
 when the Emperor was informed of this duel, which had 
 taken place almost under the walls of the palace itself, and 
 only a few hours before. The Emperor learned at the same 
 time that General Franceschi had been killed, and on account 
 of the difference in their rank, in order not to compromise 
 military etiquette, they had fought in their uniforms of 
 equerry. The Emperor was struck with the fact that the 
 first news he received was bad news ; and with his ideas of 
 fatality, this really excited a great influence over him. He 
 gave orders to have Colonel Filangieri found and brought 
 to him, and he came in a few moments. I did not see him, 
 as I was in another apartment; but the Emperor spoke to 
 him in so loud and sharp a tone that I heard distinctly all 
 he said. "Duels! duels! always duels!" cried the Em- 
 peror. " I will not allow it. I will punish it ! You know 
 how I abhor them ! " — " Sire, have me tried if you will, but 
 hear me." — "What can you have to say to me, jow crater 
 of Vesuvius ? I have already pardoned your affair with Saint 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 425 
 
 Simon ;^ I will not do the like again. Moreover, I cannot, 
 at the very beginning of the campaign, when all should be 
 thoroughly united ! It produces a most unfortunate effect ! " 
 Here the Emperor kept silence a moment ; then he resumed, 
 although in a somewhat sharper tone : " Yes ! you have a 
 head of Vesuvius. See what a fine condition of affairs ! 
 I arrive and find blood in my palace!" After another 
 pause, and in a somewhat calmer tone : " See what you 
 have done ! Joseph needs good officers ; and here you have 
 deprived him of two by a single blow, — Frances,chi, whom 
 you have killed, and yourself, who can no longer remain in 
 his service." Here the Emperor was silent for some moments, 
 and then added : " Now retire, leave ! Give yourself up as 
 a prisoner at the citadel of Turin. There await my orders, 
 or rather place yourself in Murat's hands ; he will know 
 what to do with you ; he also has Vesuvius in his head, and 
 he will give you a warm welcome. Now take yourself off at 
 once." 
 
 Colonel Filangieri needed no urging, I think, to hasten 
 the execution of the Emperor's orders. I do not know the 
 conclusion of this adventure ; but I do know that the affair 
 affected his Majesty deeply, for that evening when I was 
 undressing him he repeated several times, "Duels! What 
 a disgraceful thing! It is the kind of courage cannibals 
 have!" If, moreover, the Emperor's anger was softened on 
 this occasion, it was on account of his affection for young 
 Filangieri ; at first on account of his father, Avhom the Em- 
 peror highly esteemed, and also, because the young man 
 
 1 M. Filangieri had, in fact, previously at Paris fought a duel with M. 
 de Saint Simon, who was at first tliought to be killed, but at last recovered 
 from the dangerous wound he had received. — Constant. 
 
426 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 having been educated at his expense, at the French Pry- 
 tanee, lie regarded him as one of his children by adoption, 
 especially since he knew that M. Filangieri, godson of the 
 queen of Naples, had refused a regiment, which the latter 
 had offered him while he was still only a simple lieutenant 
 in the Consular Guard, and further, because he had not 
 consented to become a Neapolitan again until . a French 
 prince had been called to the throne of Naples. 
 
 What remains to be said on the subject of duels under 
 the Empire, and the Emperor's conduct regarding them 
 which came to my knowledge, somewhat resembles the 
 little piece which is played on the theater after a tragedy. 
 I will now relate how it happened that the Emperor him- 
 self played the role of peacemaker between two sub-officers 
 who were enamored of the same beauty. 
 
 When the French army occupied Vienna, some time 
 after the battle of Austerlitz, two sub-officers belonging to 
 the forty-sixth and fiftieth regiments of the line, having had 
 a dispute, determined to fight a duel, and chose for the 
 place of combat a spot situated at the extremity of a plain 
 which adjoined the palace of Schoenbrunn, the Emperor's 
 place of residence. Our two champions had already un- 
 sheathed and exchanged blows with their short swords, 
 which happily each had warded off, when the Emperor 
 happened to pass near them, accompanied by several gen- 
 erals. Their stupefaction at the sight of the Emperor may 
 be imagined. Their arms fell, so to speak, from their 
 hands. 
 
 The Emperor inquired the cause of their quarrel, and 
 learned that a woman who granted her favors to both was 
 the real motive, each of them desiring to have no rival. 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 427 
 
 These two champions found by chance that they were 
 known to one of the generals who accompanied his Majesty, 
 and informed him that they were two brave soldiers of 
 Marengo and Austerlitz, belonging to such and such regi- 
 ments, whose names had already been put on the list for 
 the Cross of Honor; whereupon the Emperor addressed 
 them after this style : " My children, woman is capricious, 
 as fortune is also ; and since you are soldiers of Marengo 
 and Austerlitz, you need to give no new proofs of your 
 courage. Eeturn to your corps, and be friends henceforth, 
 hke good knights." These two soldiers lost all desire to 
 fight, and soon perceived that their august peacemaker 
 had not forgotten them, as they promptly received the 
 Cross of the Legion of Honor. 
 
 In the beginning of the campaign of Tilsit, the Emperor, 
 being at Berlin, one day took a fancy to make an excursion 
 on foot to the quarter where our soldiers in the public 
 houses indulged in the pleasures of the dance. He saw a 
 quartermaster of the cavaliy of his guard walking with 
 a coarse, rotund German woman, and amused himself lis- 
 tening to the gallant remarks made by this quartermaster 
 to his beautiful companion. "Let us enjoy ourselves, my 
 dear," said he ; " it is the tondu who pays the musicians 
 with the kriches of your sovereign. Let us take our own 
 gait; long live joy! and forward" — "Not so fast," said 
 the Emperor, approaching him. " Certainly it must always 
 be forward, but wait till I sound the charge." The 
 quartermaster turned and recognized the Emperor, and, 
 without being at all disconcerted, put his hand to his 
 shako, and said, " That is useless trouble. Your Majesty 
 
428 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 does not need to beat a drum to make us move." This 
 repartee made the Emperor smile, and soon after gained 
 epaidets for the sub-officer, who perhaps might have waited 
 a long while except for this fancy of his Majesty. But, at 
 all events, if chance sometimes contributed thus to the 
 giving of rewards, they were never given until after he 
 had ascertained that those on whom he bestowed them 
 were worthy. 
 
 At Eylau provisions failed ; for a week, the bread supply 
 being exhausted, the soldiers fed themselves as they could. 
 The evening before the first attack, the Emperor, who 
 wished to examine everything himself, made a tour of the 
 bivouacs, and reaching one where all the men were asleep, 
 saw some potatoes cooldng, took a fancy to eat them, 
 and undertook to draw them out of the fire with the point 
 of his sword. Instantly a soldier awoke, and seeing some 
 one usurping part of his supper, " I say, you are not very 
 ceremonious, eating' our potatoes !" — "My comrade, I am 
 so hungry that you must excuse me." — " Well, take one or 
 two then, if that is the case ; but get off." But as the 
 Emperor made no haste in getting off, the soldier insisted 
 more strongly, and soon a heated discussion arose between 
 him and the Emperor. From words they were about to come 
 to bloAvs, when the Emperor thought it was time to make 
 himself known. The soldier's confusion was indescribable. 
 He had almost struck the Emperor. He threw himself at 
 his Majesty's feet, begging his pardon, which was most 
 readily granted. " It was I who was in the wrong," said 
 the Emperor; " I was obstinate. I bear you no ill-will ; rise 
 and let your mind be at rest, both now and in the future." 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 429 
 
 The Emperor, having made inquiries concerning this sol- 
 dier, learned that he was a good fellow, and not unintelli- 
 gent. On the next promotion he was made sub-lieutenant. 
 It is impossible to give an idea of the effect of such occur- 
 rences on the army. They were a constant subject of conver- 
 sation with the soldiers, and stimulated them inexpressibly. 
 The one who enjoyed the greatest distinction in his com- 
 pany was he of whom it could be said : " The Emperor has 
 spoken to him." 
 
 At the battle of Essling the brave General Daleim, com- 
 manding a division of the fourth corps, found himself dur- 
 ing the hottest part of the action at a spot swept by the 
 enemy's artillery. The Emperor, passing near him, said : 
 " It is warm in your locality ! " — " Yes, Sire ; permit me to 
 extinguish the fire." — " Go." This one word sufSced; in 
 the twinkling of an eye the terrible battery was taken. 
 In the evening the Emperor, seeing General Daleim, ap- 
 proached him, and said, " It seems you only had to blow 
 on it." His Majesty alluded General Daleim's habit of 
 incessant whistling. 
 
 Among the brave general officers around the Emperor, 
 a few were not highly educated, though their other fine 
 quahties recommended them ; some were celebrated for 
 other reasons than their military merit. Thus General 
 Junot and General Fournier were known as the best 
 pistol shots ; General Lasellette was famous for his love of 
 music, which he indulged to such an extent as to have a 
 piano always in one of his baggage wagons. This general 
 drank only water ; but, on the contrary, it was very different 
 
430 BECOLLECriONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 with General Bisson. Who has not heard of the hardest 
 drinker in all the army ? One day the Emperor, meeting 
 him at Berlin, said to him, "Well, Bisson, do you still 
 drink much ? " — " Moderately, Sire ; not more than twenty- 
 five bottles." This was, in fact, a great improvement, for 
 he had more than once reached the number of forty with- 
 out being made tipsy. Moreover, with General Bisson it 
 was not a vice, but an imperious need. The Emperor 
 knowing this, and being much attached to him, allowed 
 him a pension of twelve thousand francs out of his privy 
 purse, and gave liim besides frequent presents. 
 
 Among the officers who were not very well educated, 
 we may be permitted to mention General Gros ; and the 
 manner in which he was promoted to the grade of general 
 proves this fact. But his bravery was equal to every proof, 
 and he was a superb specimen of masculine beauty. The 
 pen alone was an unaccustomed weapon to him, and he 
 could hardly use it to sign his name ; and it was said that 
 he was not much more proficient in reading. Being colo- 
 nel of the guard, he found himself one day alone at the 
 Tuileries in an apartment where he waited until, the Em- 
 peror could be seen. There he delighted himself with ob- 
 serving his image reflected in the glass, and readjusting his 
 cravat; and the admiration he felt at his own image led 
 him to converse aloud with himself or rather with his reflec- 
 tion. "Ah!" said he, "if you only knew lachShacMques 
 (mathematics), such a man as you, with a soldier's heart 
 like yours, ah ! the Emperor would make you a general!" 
 — " You are one," said the Emperor, striking him on the 
 shoulder. His Majesty had entered the saloon without 
 being heard, and had amused himseK with listening to the 
 
MILITARY ANECDOTES. 431 
 
 conversation Colonel Gros had carried on with himself. 
 Such were the circumstances of his promotion to the rank 
 of general, and what is more to be a general in the guard. 
 
 I have now arrived at the end of my list of military 
 anecdotes. I have just spoken of a general's promotion, 
 and will close with the story of a simple drummer, but 
 a drummer renowned throughout the army as a perfect 
 buffoon, in fact, the famous Rata, to whom General Gros, 
 as we shall see, was deeply attached. 
 
 The army marched on Lintz during the campaign of 
 1809. Rata, drummer of the grenadiers of the fourth 
 regiment of the line, and famous as a buffoon, having 
 learned that the guard was to pass, and that it was com- 
 manded by General Gros, desired to see this officer who 
 had been his chief of battalion, and with whom he had 
 formerly taken all sorts of liberties. Rata thereupon 
 waxed his mustache, and went to salute the general, ad- 
 dressing him thus : " Ah, here you are. General. How are 
 you ? " — " Very well, indeed. Rata ; and you ? " — • " Always 
 well, but not so well as you, it seems to me. Since you 
 are doing so very well, you no longer think of poor Rata ; 
 for if he did not come to see you, you would not even 
 think of sending him a few sous to buy tobacco." While 
 saying, " You do so well" Rata had quickly seized General 
 Gros's hat, and put it on his head in place of his own. At 
 this moment the Emperor passed, and seeing a drummer 
 wearing the hat of a general of lus guard, he could hardly 
 believe his eyes. He spurred up his horse, and inquired 
 the cause. General Gros then said, laugliing, and in the 
 frank speech he so often used even to the Emperor " It 
 
432 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 is a brave soldier from my old battalion, accustomed to 
 play pranks to amuse his comrades. He is a brave fellow, 
 Sire, and every inch a man, and I recommend him to your 
 Majesty. Moreover, Sire, he can himself do more than 
 a whole park of artillery. Come, Rata, give us a broad- 
 side, and no quarter." The Emperor listened, and ob- 
 served almost stupefied what was passing under his very 
 eyes, when Rata, in no wise intimidated by the presence 
 of the Emperor, prepared to execute the general's order; 
 then, sticking his finger in liis mouth, he made a noise like 
 first the whistling and then the bursting of a shell. The 
 imitation was so perfect that the Emperor was compelled 
 to laugh, and turning to General Gros, said, " Come, take 
 this man this very evening into the guard, and remind 
 me of him on the next occasion." In a short while Rata 
 had the cross, which those who threw real shells at the 
 enemy often had not ; so largely does caprice enter into 
 the destiny of men! 
 
L'ENVOI. 433 
 
 L'ENVOI. 
 
 (By the editob of the French edition of 1830.) 
 
 The life of any one who has played a distinguished 
 part offers many points of view, the number of which in- 
 creases in proportion to the influence he has wielded upon 
 the movement of events. This has been greater in the 
 case of Napoleon than of any other personage in history. 
 The product of an era of convulsions, in all of whose 
 changes he took part, and which he at last closed by sub- 
 jecting all ideas under a rule, which at one time promised 
 to be lasting, he, like Catiline, requires a Sallust ; like 
 Charlemagne, an Eginhard; and like Alexander, a Quintus 
 Curtius. M. de Bourrienne has, indeed, after the manner 
 of Commines, shown him to us undisguised in his political 
 manipulations and in the private life of his Court. This is 
 a great step towards a knowledge of his individuality, but 
 it is not enough. It is in a thorough acquaintance with 
 his private life that this disillusioned age will find the 
 secret springs of the drama of his marvelous career. The 
 great men of former ages were veiled from us by a cloud 
 of prejudice which even the good sense of Plutarch scarcely 
 penetrated. Our age, more analytical and freer from illu- 
 sions, in the great man seeks to find the individual. It is 
 by this searching test that the present puts aside all illu- 
 sions, and that the future will seek to justify its judgments. 
 In the council of state, the statesman is in his robe, on the 
 
434 RECOLLECTIONS OF NAPOLEON. 
 
 battlefield the warrior is beneath his armor, but in his bed- 
 chamber, in his undress, we find the man. 
 
 It has been said that no man is a hero to Ms valet. It 
 would give wide latitude to a witty remark, which has 
 become proverbial, to make it the epigraph of these me- 
 moirs. The valet of a hero by that very fact is something 
 more than a valet. Amber is only earth, and Bologna 
 stone only a piece of rock; but the first gives out the per- 
 fume of the rose, and the other flashes the rays of the sun. 
 The character of a witness is dignified by the solemnity of 
 the scene and the greatness of the actor. Even before 
 reading the manuscript of M. Constant, we were strongly 
 persuaded that impressions so unusual and so striking 
 would raise him to the level of the occasion. 
 
 The reader can now judge of this for himself. These 
 are the memoirs of M. Constant, — autographic memoirs of 
 one still living, who has written them to preserve his recol- 
 lections. It is the private history, the familiar life, the 
 leisure moments, passed in undress, of Napoleon, which 
 we now present to the public. It is Napoleon taken with- 
 out a mask, deprived of his general's sword, the consular 
 purple, the imperial crown, — Napoleon resting from coun- 
 cil and from battle, forgetful of power and of conquest, 
 Napoleon unbending himself, going to bed, sleeping the 
 slumber of a common man, as if the world did not hang 
 upon his dreams. 
 
 These are striking facts, so natural and of such sim- 
 plicity, that though a biased judgment may, perhaps, exag- 
 gerate their character, and amplify their importance, they 
 will furnish to an impartial and reflective mind a wealth of 
 evidence far superior to the vain speculations of the imagi- 
 
L'ENVOI. 435 
 
 nation or the prejudiced judgments of political parties. 
 In this light the author of these memoirs is not an author, 
 but simply a narrator, who has seen more closely and inti- 
 mately than any one else the Master of the West, who was 
 for fifteen years his master also ; and what he has written 
 he has seen with his own eyes.