Napoleon at the Boulogne Camp; (based on numerous hitherto unpublished documents);

NAPOLEON AT THE
BOULOGNE CAMP

THE SITE OF THE BOULOGNE CAMP.
(After a Painting by H. W. B. Davis, R.A.)

[SEE NOTE FOLLOWING PREFACH.J

NAPOLEON AT THE
BOULOGNE CAMP

(BASED ON NUMEROUS HITHERTO
UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS)

BY

FERNAND NICOLAY

TRANSLATED BY GEORGINA L. DAVIS

WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS

CASSELL AND COMPANY, LIMITED
LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK AND MELBOURNE

MCMVII ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

PREFACE

THE reasons which induced me to publish the present
work are briefly these : My father was a Boulonnais, and
owner of the land historically famous for its associations
with Bonaparte and Bruix. I have therefore in my pos-
session a number of documents, hitherto unpublished,
concerning the Camp of Boulogne.

Besides this, during the many years spent on my
father's property at the Plateau d'Odre, I have had many
opportunities of acquiring information and collecting
circumstantial evidence on the spot itself, from old men
who had seen and talked with Napoleon, and had served
under him.

When writing these pages, in full view of the splendid
panorama of the Boulogne roadstead, and from the top
of the very cliff on which Napoleon and the Commander
of the Flotilla had once taken up their quarters, I could not
help thinking that the narrative of former events and of
memorable incidents would certainly be of psychological
interest to the public.

Added to this, it seemed to me that a faithful record
of typical details connected with Napoleon's Camp at
Boulogne, might even prove a useful contribution to the
military history of that period, in which the extra-
ordinarj' and fertile activity of Napoleon — seconded by
the ardour, so typical, of his soldiers and sailors — had
inspired England with fear, and served to organise an
incomparable army.

FERNAND NICOLAY.

Boulogne-sur-Mer.

NOTE ON FRONTISPIECE.

THIS reproduction of an early study by the artist, on the site
of Napoleon's Camp at Boulogne, will give the reader a good
idea of that part of the Iron Coast that lay between Boulogne
and Cape Gris-Nez, presenting its armed front towards the
cliffs of England, frequently quite visible on the horizon.
During the Crimean War, Napoleon III. re-established the
Camp on the very ground occupied by the Grand Army in 1803-
1805, for it was his policy to keep up the Napoleonic tradition
by reviving memories connected with the First Empire. The
small wood-and-mud structure shown in the picture was what
remained in 1858 — when the study was painted — of a small
chapel, from which Mass was celebrated before the assembled
troops during the second Boulogne Camp.

The little town just discernible half-way along the coast-
line is Ambleteuse, whose history is closely connected with
England. For several centuries before it became a point of con-
centration for Napoleon's expeditionary forces, it had been
one of the chief ports for_ communication with the English,
and at one period was in their occupation.

In the sea, off Wimereux, is the Fort de Croi, mentioned in
the text. The headland stretching far out into the sea, beyond
Ambleteuse, is Cape Gris-Nez, the nearest point to England,
and one of great importance in Napoleon's organisation of
defence against any attack from the English squadrons. The
old shepherd standing in the foreground had been one of
Napoleon's veterans, and wore the St. Helena medal. He made
great friends with the artist, and was always ready to give his
recollections of the stirring times in which he had played a
modest part. He had been one of the garrison of Flushing,
and related, in the simple language of the French peasant,
the many difficulties that the English had to overcome in
their attack of the place, and how little the French soldiers
believed in the possibility of its ever falling into the hands of
the enemy. His comments on the result of the operations were
brief, but suggestive: "Mais ils 1'ont prin tout-de-meme ! " *

G. L. D.

* But "they took it, all the same !

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREPACK .......... v

CHAPTER I.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON DURING HIS VISITS
TO BOULOGNE.

L' Hotel des Androuins — The Chiiteau de Pont-de-Briques —
Roustan's bedroom — Description of the Emperor's Pavilion
—Bonaparte's Post of Observation — The Admiral's Pavilion
— Naval Semaphore, and the Chappe Signalling Station . I

CHAPTER II.

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE — CALIGULA'S LIGHT-
HOUSE.

Archaeological Research and Recollections — The Emperor's
Pavilion on the land of the Tour du Vieil Homme — The
Herring Beacon — Remains of the Tower at the Epoch of
Boulogne Camp. . . . . . . • • 35

CHAPTER III.

PSYCHOLOGY OF NAPOLEON.

His Visit to Terlincth-im— Chapel of Jesus-Flagelle— Decree
of Floreal, Year XII. — The Gardens and Swans at the Post
of Observation — Epaulettes, pigtails, beer, barrels . . 50

CHAPTER IV.

A "GOLD MINE" is OFFERED TO THE "GRAND ARMY."

Psychology of Popular Feeling — Story of a Potter ; his reception

at the Pavilion — The Boulogne Ship-Boy and the Emperor 69

CHAPTER V.

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS ON THE IRON COAST.

The Batteries of the Iron Coast — Bonaparte and the Battery of
" Monsters " — The Forge at Wimereux — The dejeuner at
Ambleteuse — M. d'Offrethun's Snuff-Box — The "Grand
Army" and St. Peter's Well— The First Battery at Gris-Nez
—The " i " Division at Calais . . . .78

viii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

VARIOUS VISITS OF NAPOLEON TO THE BOULONNAIS.

PACK

,The First Consul at Etaples — He Visits the Chateau d'Hardelot —
The British Sailor — Bonaparte falls into the Harbour — His
Wardrobe at the Tour d'Odre — He Visits the Hospital ; Sister
lyouise — The Emperor Returns to Boulogne after the Coron-
ation ; Enthusiastic Reception. ..... 103

CHAPTER VII.

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE AND WIMILLE.

A Visit to the I/oppes — The Royalist Wimillois — Cure Patenaille

— The Wimereux Spy — AJI Original Expedient . .126

CHAPTER VIII.

MILITARY ESPIONAGE.

The Beautiful English Spy — An Interview at the Pavilion — The
English Prisoners — The Intelligence Department, Ruses and
Methods — The Cross of the Legion of Honour . .142

CHAPTER IX.

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND OF THE FLEET.

Appreciation and Biography of Bruix ; His Pavilion — Naval
Incidents — The Attack of 2-3 October, 1804, on the Ships
of the Line — Memorable Scenes between Bonaparte and
Bruix — Comparisons between the two Chiefs — Death of
Bruix — The Meaning of the Expression " Sent to the
Admiral" . . . . . . . . .159

CHAPTER X.

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ENTE-RPRISES OF

NAPOLEON'S FLOTILLA AND CESAR'S FLEET

AGAINST GREAT BRITAIN.

The Portus Itius and Boulogne Roadstead — Comparison between

the Roman Conquest and Napoleon's Scheme of Invasion . 190

CHAPTER XI.

THE FLAT-BOTTOMED BOATS OF THE FLOTILLA AND THE
GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES.

Modern Praams or Galleys — Gunboats and Shallops — Ex-Galley
Slaves in Boulogne — Retrospect on the System of Convicts on
board the Galleys — The Nutshells — State of Steam Naviga-
tion at that Period : Fulton . . • . . 199

CONTENTS. ix

CHAPTER XII.

THE OLD PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS AT BOULOGNE.

PAGE

Difference between Piracy and the Right of " Giving Chase " —
Account of Prizes captured — the Boulogne Privateers, Cary,
Pollet, and Duchenne — Bucaille-Brocant interviewed by the
Emperor — Napoleon and the English sloop . . .219

CHAPTER XIII.

THE " GRAND ARMY " AT BOULOGNE.

The Composition of the " Army of England " — Right Camp and
I/eft Camp — Hutting and Mud Walls — Grenadiers, Sailors,
and Peasants, their good-fellowship — The Marines of the
Guard — Composition of the Staff at Boulogne Camp — Im-
pressions of a Contemporary — A " Velite " at the Boulogne
Camp .......... 238

CHAPTER XIV.

THE THEATRE IN CAMP.

The Stage during the First Republic — Madame Angot — The
Company of the Vaudeville Theatre in Paris comes to Bou-
logne— Performance of Duguay-Trouin ; a few Extracts . 262

CHAPTER XV.

Games — Marching Songs — Soldiers' Choruses — Dances — Ball at
the Boulogne Camp — " Boulogne Camp March " performed
by the Military Bands . . . . . . .276

CHAPTER XVI.

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS OF THE CAMP AT BOULOGNE.

The distribution of Crosses of the Legion of Honour — Oath of
the Legionaries — Napoleon's Stone — The Column of Napo-
leon the Great ; and Marshal Soult — The Legion of Honour
and the Women Officers ...... 294

CHAPTER XVII.

" BONEY " AND ENGLISH CARICATURES.

Explanation of nicknames "Boney" and "Fleshy" — Bonaparte
and Gulliver — Bnglish Roast Beef and Plum Pudding —
French Soup — French Frog-Eaters — Caricatures of the
Flotilla, the "Grand Army," and the Intended Invasion . 317

x CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH ?

PAGE

Admiral Bruix and the Chief of the Interpreters — Cuvelier de

Tri's Vocabulary Revised by an English Spy . . -334

CHAPTER XIX.

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE
CAMP.

Letters Written from Pont-de-Briques, from the Pavilion — Letter
to Josephine — Bonaparte's Handwriting — One of the First
Signatures of the Emperor . . . . . .348

CHAPTER XX.

PLANS FOR THE INVASION OF ENGLAND.

Was the Scheme for Crossing the Straits Capable of Realisatioi ?
— Were the Flotilla and Boulogne Camp a Pretence ? — WTht t
did England think of the Project, and what was her attitude ?
—Opinions of Pitt, Nelson, and Sir Walter Scott— Did
Bonaparte believe in the Possibility of the Invasion ? — Con-
clusion .,.....,.. 370

BONAPARTE, FIRST CONSUL.

By Isabey (Versailles Collection).

NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE
CAMP.

CHAPTER I.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON DURING HIS VISITS TO
BOULOGNE.

L'Hotel des Androuins — The Chateau de Pont-de-Briques —
Roustan's Bedroom — Description of the Emperor's Pavilion
— Bonaparte's Post of Observation — The Admiral's Pavilion
— Naval Semaphore and the Chappe Signalling Station.

WHEN Napoleon visited Boulogne * officially, on the
29th June, 1803, he was quartered in one of the finest
mansions of the Upper Town, L'Hotel des Androuins,
so-called after its first owner, but belonging at that
period to a M. De Menneville.f

This residence, situated in the Place d'Armes (now
Place Godefroy-de-Bouillon), had been specially fitted
up for the reception of the illustrious guest.

At a later period, it had the distinction of harbouring
the Emperor and Empress Marie Louise, on the occasion
of their State visit, May 25th, 1810 ; and from that date
it was known as the " Imperial Palace." It was in 1811
that Napoleon inhabited it for the last time (from Sep-
tember igth to the 22nd).

One of the evidences of the historic interest attaching

* As will be seen in the chapter dealing with the Grande Armee, Napoleon
had already been to Boulogne on a tour of inspection, on 22 Pluviose, Year I,
(February loth, 1790).

t It belongs now to the Comtesse de Plinval, by whose courtesy I was
permitted to view the house.
B

2 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

to the house, is to be seen in the State drawing-room,
where the panels are sculptured with garlands of gilded
laurels, which are carefully preserved.

Adjoining the drawing-room, is the chamber which
Bonaparte occupied ; and leading out of it, is a triangular
passage, where, tradition says, Napoleon's faithful
attendant Roustan, a Georgian, was wont to lie at
night, wrapped in a blanket, keeping watch over his

IMPERIAL PALACE IN THE UPPER TOWN.

master. The passage, however, is so small that to
enable him to lie at full length, it was necessary to open
the door of another room.

There is a terrace on the roof, and in those days,
when the buildings of the Lower Town were far less
numerous than they are at present, one could look
over the town below, and command a good view of the
harbour and roadstead. The First Consul, desirous of
taking every advantage of this outlook, gave orders for
the demolition of portions of various buildings which
obstructed his view of the sea.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 3

A guard of honour, formed by a body of young
townsmen, was stationed in front of the palace. Their
costume was sufficiently picturesque to deserve mention :
it consisted of scarlet dolman, white waistcoat, Nankeen
trousers, with black stripes ; sky-blue silk sash, yellow
plumes, hussar boots, sword and sabretache.

The appointments and table expenses of this, and
of another house, prepared for Bonaparte's suite, was
defrayed by the town ; and the expenditure amounted
to a little over 13,000 francs.

Among those who resided with Bonaparte at the
Hotel des Androuins were his secretary, General Duroc,
de Beauharnais, the general on duty, two aides-de-camp,
the Prefect, and the senior officer of the palace ; while
others of the suite, Generals Moncey and Marmont, the
Naval Minister and the Minister of the Interior, the
State Councillors, Forfait, Cretet, and Bruix, were
lodged in the other house.

The author recently came across an old letter of
Audience dated at this period, which was couched in
the following terms : —

" The Prefect of the Palace has the honour of in-
forming the Citizen Mayor of Boulogne, that he will be
received by the First Consul this day, II. Messidor, Year
XL, at ii o'clock in the morning.

" Boulogne-sur-mer, Thursday, June 30th, 1803, V.S.*
" CH. SALMATORIS ROSSILLION."

It would be no easy task to give an adequate idea
of the enthusiasm with which the people greeted .the
hero of Italy and Egypt, on his first visit to Boulogne.
Triumphal arches were raised in his honour ; and from
the Place St. Nicholas to the Esplanade, columns
and pyramids of foliage were erected, and flowers were

* V.S. Abbreviation of " Vieux Style " (Old Style).

4 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

strewn along the road the conqueror was to take. At
night the whole town was illuminated.

Moriseigneur de la Tour d'Auvergne, the Bishop of
Arras, came to pay his tribute of respect, and to thank
the First Consul publicly :—

" In this diocese, your Bishop of Anas glories in
the privilege of adding to the number of Napoleon's ad-
herents. He fully appreciates the inestimable benefit
conferred on the country by the re-establishment of the
religion of our forefathers. So great is my joy in dis-
charging the debt of gratitude we all owe him, that I can-
not refrain from entreating his gracious acceptance of
our homage and love. . ... All my clergy share these
feelings."

Such were the sentiments expressed by the head of
the diocese.

As for the speech pronounced by the Prefect of the
Pas-de-Calais, Lachaise, it attained the very height of
rhapsody. The following is copied from the text itself :—

" Citizen First Consul, we have scarce had time to
realise the presence of your august person in our midst,
and already the whole of the department of the Pas-de-
Calais is thrilling with joy. The soil which for so long
has proved fatal to its children, has at last purged itself
of the poisonous germs which have produced such mon-
sters* It can now boast of five hundred thousand loyal
and true French citizens, all of them eager to devote their
hearts, their arms, and their fortunes to your service. Con-
fident in our destiny, we now know that in order to secure
the glory and happiness of France, to ensure to all Nations
freedom of trade and of the sea ; in order to humiliate
the daring disturbers of peace in the old and new world,

* Some of the more notorious among the Terrorists were natives of the
Pas-de-Calais. (Translator's note.)

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 5

and to establish it firmly on earth, God created Bonaparte,
and rested"

It would be difficult, I think, to surpass this unre-
strained hyperbole.

On this occasion, the First Consul's visit was very
short, but having in view the important works of which
Boulogne was so soon to become the centre, he thought
it expedient to secure a second residence.

NAPOLEON I.'S CHATEAU, PONT-DE-BRIQUES.

Besides his pavilion at the Tour d'Odre, of which
I shall speak presently, he determined to establish new
quarters for himself and his military staff in another
part of the district. Accordingly, the Chateau de
Pont-de-Briques, belonging to a family of the name
of Patras de Campaigno,* was selected for the con-
venience of its situation, and became the headquarters
of Napoleon, who resided alternately there and at the
Tour d'Odre.

One of the advantages which recommended the

* The De Campaignos have given several Seneschals to Boulogne.

6 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Chateau * to Napoleon, was that it stood about two and
a half miles distant from Boulogne, on the high road to
Paris. This enabled the First Consul to arrive at night-
time, on those surprise visits by which he was wont to
test the efficiency of his lieutenants.

By dawn the next day he would mount his horse,
and appear unexpectedly in some particular building-
yard, or at some strategic point along the coast, which
he wished personally and closely to inspect.

I have, as I write, different statements as to the dates
of his actual known visits,! but it is more than probable
that his sudden and unlooked-for appearances were far
more frequent than is generally supposed.

Indeed, if we study the Orders of the Day, or letters
written by his generals and ministers, and especially
the notices in the official journal, we see that Bonaparte
refrained from giving information of his movements to
the public. The gazettes of the period were at liberty to
mention his absences from Paris, but any allusion to the
object of his journey was rarely permitted.

Napoleon's valet throws interesting light on his
master's reserve. He writes : " The Emperor maintained,
as a rule, the utmost secrecy concerning his journeys
up to the last moment before his departure ; and would
order horses at midnight, to travel to Milan or Mayence,
as though he were about to take a drive to Saint Cloud
or Rambouillet."

It would be useless, therefore, to depend solely upon
the notices in the Moniteur and other papers, in estimating
the number of days Bonaparte spent at Boulogne.

* From a collection of Orders of the Day, it appears that Joseph Bona-
parte also came to Pont-de-Briques, on 9 Floreal, XII. (April 28th, 1804).

t A Boulonnais given to research, Mr. Lefebvre, has traced Napoleon's
presence on the following dates : Feb. 10, 1798 ; June 29 to July i, 1803 ;
Nov. 4 to 17, 1803 ; January i to 5, 1804 ; July 19, 1804 ; August, 1804 ;
Aug. 3 to Sept. 2, 1805 ; May 25 to 26, 1810 ; Sept. 19 to 22, 1812.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 7

As far back as 1800, the First Consul had declared,
" \Yere I to give loose reins to the Press, I should not
remain in power three months ! " Accordingly, on the
27th Nivose, Year VII., the Consuls, at Fouche's instiga-
tion, issued an order suppressing sixty newspapers out of
the seventy-three then in existence. The Moniteur only
mentioned Bonaparte when it was authorised to do so ;
as for the other organs they merely copied the official
information contained in the Moniteur, and the press
resigned itself to being colourless, for fear of becoming
suspect.

The following is a list of the thirteen newspapers
which, in 1800, were tolerated, but kept under the
supervision of the Press Bureau : — Le Moniteur, Les
Debdts, Le Journal de Paris, Le Bien Informe, Le Pub-
liciste, Uami des Lois, La Clef du Cabinet des Souverains,
Le Citoyen Fran^ais, Le Journal des Hommes Libres, Le
Journal du Soir, Le Journal des defenseurs de la Patrie,
La Dc'cade Philosophique, La Gazette de France.

In 1805, Napoleon, having had reason to complain
of certain indiscretions in the papers concerning his
movements and actions, wrote to the Minister of Justice :—

•f Give the Editors to understand that I shall end by
retaining one newspaper only."

The Chateau de Pont-de-Briques, which Napoleon
was able to reach so easily before anyone was aware of
his intention to do so, has now been transformed into
an agricultural institution.* I was anxious to go over
it in detail, because the memories connected with it are
well worth preserving.

The entrance gate is flanked by two massive square
towers, resembling gigantic sentry boxes. The stables,

* Now the Beaucerf Catholic Orphanage. Before this the'domain was
called " Chateau de Clocheville," after one of its owners, who purchased
it in 1810.

8 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

and the coach-house which sheltered Napoleon's travelling
coach, were still standing in 1904, on the right of the
spacious courtyard, but these have since been demolished.

The chateau itself has a fine fagade and two important
wings. The ground floor has a spacious dining-room
and several rooms used for domestic purposes. A stone
staircase leads up to the first floor, and there we find
ourselves in a long gallery, which still contains the large
wardrobes put up for the Empress's use. To the right is
a room called " Josephine's Chamber," but the tapestries
which once adorned it have been removed. Adjoining,
is the room which was occupied by the women-in-
waiting.

To the left of the gallery there is a sitting-room five
metres square, with a stone balcony overlooking the
park ; it was here that Napoleon is said to have dictated
straight off, while pacing to and fro, the famous campaign
of 1805, just previous to quitting the regions of the
Boulonnais.

Passing through this apartment, we come to the so-
called Imperial Chamber, an unpretentious-looking room,
four metres by three, and entirely devoid of ornamentation.
It had four windows, two overlooking the court, the
others opening on to the garden, and an alcove for
the bed. Behind the chamber is a closet, furnished with
coat stands, which was used as a cloak room. A passage
running by the side of the closet leads to the room that
was occupied by Roustan, in which a small flight of
stairs was contrived, and carefully concealed in the
woodwork ; this was to enable Bonaparte to go in
and out of his private apartments without having to
use the central staircase.

Inside the woodwork put up to conceal the secret
stairs, there was a space of about one metre square,
forming a sort of locker, which served to hide the bed

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON.

of the faithful Mameluke. His couch was a somewhat
.primitive one, fashioned out of coarse canvas stretched
over a wooden frame, and was divided into two parts,
connected by a couple of strong hinges. By this arrange-
ment, one third of the bed stood in the recess, and
during the day
the second por-
tion was folded
over the first
and shut up in-
side the cup-
board ; so that
both bed and
flight of stairs
were invisible.
At night the bed
was dropped,
and was sup-
ported by means
of two jointed
metal rods.

It appears,
however, that
Roustan gener-
ally preferred to
stretch himself
across the door-
way leading to

his master's apartment, so as to make his guard more
efficient still, in case of emergency.

Above the apartments occupied by Napoleon, we
can see the " Marshals' Council Room," which is really
nothing more than the attic to the chateau. The stair-
case that leads up to it has been altered since those days,
but the one which existed then was so low, that it was

Secret Staircase leading to the Emperor's Private
Apartments.

io NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

necessary to remove one's hat before attempting the
ascent. The officers' rooms, or so-called " Marshals'
chambers," consisted of three small apartments about
three metres square, with an alcove. Few servants
nowadays would be content with such wretched quarters
under the roof. The only ornaments the rooms possessed
were a few pegs on the wall, for hanging clothes.

Who was this Roustan, who was always seen with
Napoleon ? The Emperor's valet, Constant, alludes in
his memoirs -to " this former slave of the East, who
became the watch-dog of the great conqueror."

The following biographical notice is all the more
interesting from the fact that Constant was Roustan's
intimate friend.

" Roustan," he writes, " better known as the
Emperor's Mameluke, was born of a good family in
Georgia ; at the age of six he was kidnapped and
taken to Cairo, where he was brought up with other
young slaves, who were trained to wait upon the Mame-
lukes until old enough to serve themselves in the formid-
able corps of warriors. When the Sheik of Cairo pre-
sented General Bonaparte with a magnificent Arab horse,
he also gave him Roustan and another Mameluke,
Ibrahim, who was attached to the service of Madame
Bonaparte under the name of Ali. Roustan became a
familiar show figure whenever the Emperor appeared
in public. He was present on every journey, in every
procession, and, to his honour, be it said, in every battle.
Arrayed in his gorgeous oriental dress, he was the most
resplendent-looking personage of the brilliant staff that
followed the Emperor. His appearance had a prodigious
effect on the crowd, especially in the provinces. He was
supposed to have great influence with the Emperor, and
this belief, on the part of credulous people, was founded
on the report that he had once saved his master's life

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. n

by throwing himself between him and an enemy's sword.
I believe this to be a fable. The particular favour
Roustan enjoyed was but the natural result of his Majesty's
habitual kindness to those who served him ; besides, this
favour did not extend beyond the limit of domestic matters.
Roustan married Madlle. Douville, a pretty young French
woman, daughter of the Empress Josephine's valet.

"In 1814 and 1815 Roustan was reproached by the
Press for declining to follow the master for whom he
had always professed the highest devotion ; his reply to
this charge was ' that the family ties he had contracted
in France forbade his leaving the country, and breaking
up the happiness of his home.'

"After his marriage. Roustan retired to Dourdan (Seine-
et-Oise), having spent sixteen years in Napoleon's service."

We are indebted to Mr. Joseph Guyot, owner of the
Chateau de Dourdan, for a few supplementary notes
concerning the " Mameluke." He was short, thick-set,
and of herculean strength, but his intelligence was dull,
rather than quick. He was a Roman Catholic, and was
on terms of friendship with the Cure of his parish.
Nothing pleased him more than to entertain the inhabi-
tants of Dourdan with accounts of the functions and
duties of his former office.

It was his business to place each night by the Em-
peror's bedside, a cold chicken, by way of collation, in
case of emergency ; but it was almost always left intact.
One night, Roustan, being seized with a sudden fit of
hunger, rose very quietly, and taking infinite precautions,
no doubt, not to arouse his master, tore off a succulent
wing, and devoured it noiselessly. But, alas ! as fate
would have it, Napoleon also felt hungry that night,
and, calling for Roustan, he asked for the chicken. The
poor fellow, thinking it was all up with him, fell on his
knees and implored his master's pardon, in tones of such

12 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

excessive despair, that the Emperor could not refrain
from laughing, and forgave him ; not, however, without
severely pinching his ear, so as to impress on him the
desirability of being more discreet in the future.

Roustan had a way, peculiar to himself, of describing
the battles in which he had taken part ; he was frequently
asked to tell these stories, and he always did so, in a solemn
and dramatic manner. As a rule he was sweet-tempered,
but very sensitive on the subject of his duty as guard of
the Emperor, and could not endure the slightest allusion
to the canine fidelity, as such, that he displayed in the
exercise of his functions.

One day, for example, in Dourdan, a young fellow
taunted him, as he passed, with an exclamation of
" Medor." * Roustan turned sharply, leapt like a
wounded panther on the man who had insulted him,
and nearly strangled him, with a grip like a vice.

My correspondent recollects Roustan attending
Napoleon at a wolf-hunt in the forest of Dourdan, and
adds, " I have copied these epitaphs from our cemetery
of Dourdan ; the first is Rous tan's " : —

HERE LIES

ROUSTAM RAZA,

AT ONE TIME MAMELUKE

OF THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON.

BORN AT TIFLIS (GEORGIA),

DIED AT DOURDAN

AT THE AGE OF 64.

HE HAS TAKEN WITH HIM

THE REGRETS OF A FAMILY

BY WHOM HE WAS JUSTLY BELOVED.

MAY HE REST IN PEACE,

AMONG THOSE
WHO LOVED AND APPRECIATED HIM.

There is no date.

* In France this is a familiar name for a dog. (Translator's note.)

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 13

The epitaph on his wife's grave reads thus : —

HERE LIES

A. M. M. DOUVILLE,

WIDOW OF ROUSTAM RAZA.

BORN IN PARIS, JAN. 2IST, 1789,

DIED AT VERSAILLES, JULY 24TH, 1857,

MOURNED BY HER CHILDREN

AND HER FRIENDS.

Both monuments consist of a slab of stone, engraved
with a cross, and below are the words, "De Profundis."

Whenever Napoleon came to Boulogne he wore a
velvet cap, when travelling at night ; these caps were
made light for summer wear, and in winter they
were lined with fur. From the Budget we learn that
" 2 unlined caps cost 21 francs, and mending the same
3 francs." The toques made for the Mameluke Roust an
cost 312 francs apiece, according to the National Archives.
They were of "crimson velvet with a border of gold
stars." But these were ordered for State occasions,
and we must presume that he wore others less costly
when he passed the night in his master's carriage.

During the Consular period, as well as under the
Empire, Napoleon of course always appeared before the
troops wearing the traditional hat in which he is generally
represented. It was made of black felt without any
border, or gold lace ; it merely had the tricolour cockade,
supported by a piece of black silk braid.

One of these hats can be seen at the Boulogne
Museum, the De Clocheville family having presented it to
that institution. It appears that on the day Napoleon
was leaving the Chateau de Pont-de-Briques to distribute
the crosses of the Legion of Honour to the camp at
Boulogne, he exchanged his old hat for a new one, and

14 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

left the first behind, where it was afterwards found by
the new owners of the house.

There are many similar hats, whose authenticity is
above suspicion, to be seen at the Invalides, and in public
and private museums all over the country.

How is it that they are so numerous ?

A patient chronicler * who has taken the trouble to
sift the official accounts, declares that he discovered in
the National Library no less than nineteen different bills
for hats supplied to the Emperor in one year alone.
Putting it at an average of eight hats a year, he arrives
at the conclusion that from 1800 to 1815, 120 hats were
made for Napoleon. The average price for each hat
was 60 francs.

Constant writes : "As the Emperor was very sensitive
about the head, I always had his hats interlined with
wadding, and took care to wear them myself, in private,
for a few days before he put them on, so as to stretch
them for his use."

It was always a source of delight to the people of
Boulogne when they caught a glimpse of the famous
" redingote grise " (grey coat), but it was Roustan's
superb Greek costume which fascinated every eye when
he appeared.

A memorandum, copied from the National Archives,
will give an idea of the outlay expended on this
personage.

The tailor Chevalier's account for one costume
supplied, runs thus : "5 Ells Louviers cloth for a
complete Greek costume, at 66 francs per ell ; Embroidery
for 2 waistcoats and one pair of trousers, 380 francs.
Making, and extras, 32 francs. Total, 742 francs. Also
one best toque, 312 francs, and one pair of top boots,
80 francs."

* M. Maze-Sender.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. :5

On occasions of great ceremony, Roustan was dressed
still more splendidly. In 1804, for instance, the Emperor
ordered two costumes for him to wear at the coronation
ceremonies. One of these, a Mameluke's dress, was
made by Sandoz, a tailor in the Rue de Seine, and cost
2,450 francs ; it consisted of a dolman in green velvet,
a sabretache in amaranth poult-de-Soie ; the loose breeches
were of the finest cloth, and the sash of straw-coloured
muslin ; the whole costume was richly embroidered in
fine gold, with pearls and spangles.

The other was a Greek dress, designed and made by
Chevalier. The materials used in the making were
5 ells Louviers cloth, blue and scarlet, at 58 francs the ell.
The embroidery on the scarlet waistcoat was estimated
at 4,500 francs. The turban and sash embroidered
with " paillettes," 755 francs. The total amount was
6,653 francs ; but as this charge was considered excessive,
it was reduced to 5,800 francs (National Archives).
And this is by no means the end of the expenditure, for
we must include the 360 francs paid to Poupart, the
hatter, for a sword-belt, scarlet and gold, and a gold-
embroidered cartridge pouch ; and further, the sum of
115 francs claimed by the Emperor's bootmaker, Jacques,
for supplying a pair of top boots in red Morocco leather,
trimmed with gold lace and tassels, after a design by
Isabey ; and a pair of red shoes to be worn the day
after the coronation.

When there was no occasion for Roustan to appear
in state, he wore breeches costing 80 francs, and a box-
coat worth 1 80 francs.

In the travelling service were included vans, gigs,
and mail coaches ; but for long distances, as, for instance,
the journey from Paris, or Saint Cloud, to Boulogne,
Napoleon made use of large coaches, drawn by two or
four horses, built to accommodate six people, and sufft-

16 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

ciently comfortable to enable him to pass the night in
them, and thereby economise time.

In the Civil Register of the Commune of St. Leonard,
to which Pont-de-Briques belonged, there is an entry,
dated 2gth Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 2oth, 1804), of the birth
of " Jeanne le Cointre, daughter of the lodge-keeper, at
the house of M. de Campeigno, now inhabited by the
First Consul."

And in the Marriage Register is an Act signed by
Trousse (24 Pluv., XII., Feb. I2th, 1804), a gunner in
the 7th Regiment of Artillery, who has among his
witnesses " Louis Mottelet, postilion to the First Consul."

The 150,000 infantry and 90,000 cavalry of which
the Boulogne army was composed, were divided into four
camps : the right and left camps, the Wimereux camp,
and the camp of Ambleteuse.

In the right camp, they had erected pavilions on the
summit of the Odre Cliff for the Emperor, Admiral
Bruix,* Marshal Soult, and Decres, Minister of Marine.
The Imperial pavilion was so situated that Napoleon
could see almost at one glance, the town, harbour, and
all the camps. It has been described.by various writers,f
but by putting together and condensing the details
given by the different authors and contemporary docu-
ments, I am able to give the following information : —

The ground on which it stood had been bought
from a widow, Madame Delporte ; this is mentioned in
an official report drawn up on March 8th, 1810, for
the purpose of fixing an indemnity due to the pro-
prietors whose grazing lands were occupied by the

* The admiral's pavilion stood on the piece of land now called " Enclos
de 1'Admiral " (admiral's enclosure), belonging to Fernand Nicolay.

t One description is by Constant ; another by Marco de Saint Hilaire,
an ex-page of the Emperor. See also " Precis de 1'Histoire de Boulogne,"
by Bertrand ; " Hist, de Boulogne," by Hautefeuille and Bernard ; " Annee
historique," by Morand, etc.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 17

right camp, and the troops stationed around Maquetra
and Ostrohove.

The building was constructed within forty-eight
hours, for the requisite timber had been prepared be-
forehand, and the frame-work fitted, with the admirable
science and precision which characterises the work of
engineers. The foundation timbers were fixed in a
firm basement of brickwork — for, as Louis Nicolay re-
marked in 1864, " Anyone knowing the position, would
understand that a wooden house 40 metres long, erected
in the most exposed part of the summit of a cliff, could
not possibly resist a strong wind, unless it were solidly
founded on brickwork."

About the same date M. Florentin Lefils wrote : —
" Not long ago there were still some fragments to
be seen of the masonry which had formed the basement
of the ' Baraque.' These remains, which were an
object of veneration to native and stranger alike, have
recently been levelled by spade and mattock."

Marco de Saint Hilaire gives the following detail :—
'' While the soldiers were excavating the ground for
the foundations of the ' Baraque,' they came upon the
remains of some ancient fortifications connected with
the Roman Tower of Caligula, and this was looked upon
as a good omen."

The Emperor's pavilion, or " Baraque," was erected
under the supervision of M. Sordi, who had been appointed
chief engineer of military communications. It was 100 feet
in length and 22^ feet in width ; the extremity which
overlooked the harbour was shaped like a rotunda, and
was 30 feet in diameter. It was built entirely of wood,
like the wooden huts of a fair, only the planks were
carefully finished off, and painted light grey. Its form
was rectangular, terminated at each end by a semi-
circular annexe. The ground immediately around was

i8 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

railed off by a wooden fence, and lighted after dark
by reflector lamps placed at a distance of four feet from
each other. The windows were placed laterally. On
the side which faced the sea, the pavilion consisted of
three rooms and a passage. The principal room, which
was used for the Council meetings, was hung with a
silver-grey paper ; the painted ceiling represented golden
clouds in an azure sky, in which an eagle with a thunder-
bolt was seen directing its flight towards England,
guided by Napoleon's star. In the middle of the room
stood a large oval table, having a cover of plain
green cloth with no fringe. The only chair at the table
was his Majesty's ; it was made of perfectly plain wood,
stuffed with horsehair, covered with green morocco,
and could be taken to pieces when necessary. On
the table stood an inkstand 'and powder-box made
of boxwood ; half a dozen brass candlesticks ; sheets of
paper of all sizes, and quill pens ready cut. A huge
map of the coast of the Channel hung on the wall. This
is all the furniture there was in the Council Chamber,
in which no one was allowed to sit down, save his Majesty,
the generals having to stand in front of him with no
other support than the hilts of their swords, during the
whole of the meetings, which lasted, sometimes three or
four hours.

To reach the Council Room it was necessary to go
through a passage, and to the right of this passage was
his Majesty's bedroom. It had a glazed door, and one
window looking out towards the right camp, from which
the sea was also visible to the left. The Emperor's bed
was made of iron, rather less than a metre in width, and
had a large curtain of plain green sarsenet hanging from
a brass ring fixed in the ceiling. The bed had a horse-
hair mattress, two upper mattresses, a couple of bolsters,
both very high and stiff, placed one at the head and the

20 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

other at the foot of the bed, no pillow, a white cotton
coverlet, and a wadded quilt in green sarsenet. At
the window hung a pair of small curtains of the same
material, and there were but two plain straw-bottomed
chairs in the room.

The wall-paper was rose-coloured, with a lace pattern
and a border of Etruscan design. Next to the bed was
a small table covered with a white cloth, and on it were
placed a china jug and basin, with a gilt pattern, and
various luxurious dressing-table fittings. At night
Napoleon was in the habit of depositing on a chair by
his bedside a candlestick, his pocket-book, made of
green morocco with steel corners, and his snuff-box,
placed on the top of a cambric pocket handkerchief.
Instead of a regular nightcap he wore a red Madras
handkerchief, which he fastened around his forehead,
allowing the ends to hang down his neck at the back.
An old hat hung on a nail ; it was worn and out of shape,
,but Napoleon preferred it to any other, when he took
an excursion far into the country, or when he visited
the ships in the roadstead. He was constantly losing
this hat, either the wind carried it away, or it fell into
the sea, but it was always brought back to him faithfully,
as though it were an object of the greatest value. Opposite
the bedroom was another room parallel to it, in which
they had fixed a large telescope, which had cost 12,000
francs. This instrument was between four and five
feet long, and one foot in diameter ; when fixed in position,
it rested on a mahogany tripod, and the box which con-
tained it rather resembled a piano. With the help of the
telescope, when the horizon was clear, the Emperor,
standing in his pavilion, could clearly distinguish the
castle at Dover, towards which no doubt his thoughts
turned more often even than his gaze.

In this same room was a yellow leather coffer, resting

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 21

on a couple of stools, which contained three complete
suits of clothing and some linen. This was his Majesty's
campaigning kit ; on the top of it lay a spare hat, lined
with white satin, very much worn. The main body of
the pavilion was divided into three apartments — the
drawing-room, a vestibule, and a large dining-room,
which communicated with a passage parallel to the
kitchens. Outside the pavilion, and in the direction
of the kitchens, a small hut had been fitted up, to serve
for laundry and washing-up purposes.

When the Emperor entertained guests at dinner,
" Rechaud and Fourneau " (for such, it is asserted, were
the names of his principal stewards) superintended in
person the preparation of the banquet, and were not
above putting their hand to the work.

On these occasions they worked in the open air,
assisted by their scullions. " One day," gaily relates
the historian, " a sudden gust of wind carried off the
whole kitchen, including a scullion, who was never seen
again, although he was searched for everywhere. It
was not until long after that we heard what had be-
fallen the poor wretch in that squall : he had become
head cook to Lord Willy in England."

The cellars were kept at headquarters at Pont-de-
Briques, under the special superintendence of the chief
steward of the cellar, M, Pfister — who afterwards
hanged himself on the grand staircase of the " dark
passage " * at the Tuileries, in a fit of delirium.

The sentries on special service at the pavilion were
chosen from the Grenadiers, horse and foot, concurrently
with the sailors.

Admiral Bruix's pavilion was constructed on the
same principles as the Emperor's, only on a smaller
scale, and it was elegantly furnished. Between the

* " Le Couloir noir."

22 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

two pavilions they had erected the " Signal " semaphore.
I shall speak more fully of this naval telegraphic apparatus,
which signalled the Emperor's orders to the fleet.

To the right of the Tour d'Odre stood Marshal
Soult's pavilion, which closely resembled the hut of a
savage. It was thatched down to the ground, and glazed
at the top, to admit the light ; it had but one entrance,
leading down into the apartments, which were all under-
ground. The principal chamber was circular, its furniture
consisting of a large table covered with a green cloth, and
a few small leather camp-stools placed around. Lastly,
there was the pavilion inhabited by Decres, Minister of
Marine, which was planned and ordered like Marshal
Soult's, but was less spacious and commodious ; seen
from a distance, it looked like an enormous extinguisher.

Before leaving Boulogne, to open the memorable
campaign of 1805, the Emperor directed the Grand
Marshal of the palace to settle the accounts of the
expenditure. Sordi sent in an account of 50,000 francs,*
for the Imperial " Baraque," which, however, the Marshal
refused to pay, until he had his Majesty's sanction.

" Fifty thousand francs ! " exclaimed the Emperor.
" What are you thinking of, M. Sordi ? Why, it's
frightful ! You shan't be paid ! "

Abashed for a moment by this abrupt turn of affairs,
Sordi stood speechless, not knowing exactly what to
say.

Fortunately the Emperor gave him an opportunity
of recovering himself, by glancing at a map he had just
unfolded. He then replied : " Sire, the golden clouds
adorning the ceiling of this room " (all this was taking
place in the Council Chamber) " and surrounding your
Majesty's guiding star, have really cost 20,000 francs,
but, had I consulted the wishes of your subjects, the

* The price was reduced to 30,000 francs.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 23

imperial eagle represented here, and which is once more
about to strike the enemies of France and of your throne,
would be spreading his wings in a sky of diamonds."

" Very good," replied the Emperor, " that's all very
well, but you shall not be paid at present ; and since you
assure me that that very expensive eagle is going to
thunder-strike the Austrians, wait until he has done so,
and I will then pay your account with the rixdollars
of the Emperor of Germany, and the gold fredericks of
the King of Prussia." And, picking up his compass,
his Majesty traced the march of his army on the map.

Two days after the battle of Austerlitz, Sordi, who
accompanied the army as Chief of Communications
throughout the Austrian campaign, was summoned to
the Emperor's headquarters at Brunn. " Monsieur,"
said Napoleon, " I am delighted to see you. The events
you foretold at Boulogne have come true. An honest
man's word is his bond, and as a ruler should be the
most honest man in his country, the 30,000 francs owing
to you for my pavilion shall now be paid you."

Whereupon Duroc took from a brass-mounted ma-
hogany casket several rouleaux of gold, and placed them
on the table in front of the Emperor. Opening two of
them, Napoleon handed to Sordi the rixdollars and gold
roubles they contained ; and as the engineer was expressing
his gratitude with profuse salutations, he exclaimed :
" Don't thank me, thank the Emperors of Austria and
Russia."

The author of this book had many opportunities in
his childhood of conversing with some of the old inhabi-
tants of Boulogne, who could recollect having seen the
famous pavilion.

It still existed in 1808, but in 1810 only portions of
it were left standing.

Napoleon's remarks quoted above, and his behaviour

24 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

with respect to its cost, and the payment of the work,
have been subject to criticism to which I should like
to reply.

It is hardly fair to apply the terms " meanness and
sordid economy " to the Emperor's conduct, which was
perfectly justifiable under the circumstances. Though
given to display, on occasions, from motives of expediency,
—in other words, while affecting great pomp and splen-
dour in his character of Caesar, — the moment he ceased to
represent France, Napoleon never forgot that he had
not been cradled in a bed of gold, nor been arrayed in
lace and fine linen, like the sons of princes.

Though born of a noble race, the son of Charles
Bonaparte had experienced poverty and hardship from
his earliest years. Indeed his father's income, derived
from a small estate, appears to have amounted to about
1,500 francs only.

Such were the limited means of the family, that the
Bishop of Autun was approached with a view to obtaining,
through his influence, two scholarships for the eldest
children, Joseph and Napoleon ; and when the latter
was sent to Brienne, he had not the pocket-money
necessary for all those little luxuries which his school-
fellows were able to indulge in ; but this did not make
him envious of them. He grew up, but was still familiar
with poverty.

In order to help his mother, who had been left a
widow, with eight children, the future Emperor, who
was then at Auxonne, had undertaken to provide for
his brother Louis. His lieutenant's pay, amounting to
about three francs a day, was all he could reckon upon to
supply the wants of both. We have a description of
Louis and Napoleon doing their own cooking and attend-
ing to their modest " pot-au-feu." * " If I managed to

* De Coston.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 25

feed him. on my pay," Napoleon afterwards told Caulain-
court, " it was only by never setting foot in a coffee
house."

In 1792 he was in such a state of destitution that he
had to leave his watch in pawn, with a certain Fauvelet.*

As he could not starve, he frequented a cookshop f
of the lowest description in the Rue des Petits Peres,
where he regaled himself with a single dish at six sous
the portion. But keeping up his courage in spite of
adverse fortune, he declared that " gloves were quite
an unnecessary expense," while his hair dressing was
neglected, and " his straggling locks ill-powdered," as
the Duchesse d'Abrantes mentions in her memoirs.
And this life of privations went on for some years ; at
one time his uniform was so worn that he was obliged
to have recourse to Mme. Tallien's influence, to obtain
from the Director of Military Supplies sufficient cloth
for a new suit, of which he stood in most pressing need.J

A whole volume could be written on this touching
period in Napoleon's life, during which, though often
himself in extreme want, he still found means of sharing
his bread with his relations, and, true to his native
honesty, performed the remarkable feat of keeping clear
of debt, except to the amount of 15 francs.§ And this
sum had not been spent on luxuries, but was the arrear
of an account due to the proprietor of a small eating-house,
who had allowed him credit out of charity, and to keep
him from starvation.

These biographical details sufficiently explain and
justify the Emperor's remarks with regard to the ex-
cessive expenditure on his pavilion. They had reckoned
upon a bill of indemnity in playing upon his glory, but

* De Bourrienne.

t The owner of the shop was Justat.

J Ouvrard.

§ Chateaubriand :" Meinoires d'Outre-tombe."

26 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

he saw through the manoeuvre, and declined to be im-
posed upon ; and the spirit of economy which never
deserted him in the midst of his good fortune, prevailed
over his personal vanity. Though not objecting to the
incense of flattery, he was never elated by it, and he
retained a clear vision, in spite of the treacherous fumes
that would have intoxicated weaker men.

What became of the ground on which the celebrated
" Baraque " stood ?

In 1854 an Englishman, Mr. Kent, became the
purchaser of the plot of land, and later on erected, on
the site of the pavilion, a statue in terra-cotta of Napoleon.
It was placed on a cement pedestal, and surrounded
with artificial rocks. In order to secure its stability—
for the weight of the statue with its base was enormous—
and perhaps to protect it against the violence of the wind,
a trench was opened in the mound upon which the
pavilion had stood, and on the very spot which the
Emperor's bedroom had once occupied.

The monument, designed by M. Edouard de Beten-
court, represented Napoleon standing with his hand in
his breast, and wearing the traditional hat, his gaze
fixed towards England. It resembled one of those
statues which were placed in succession on the Colonne
Vendome * in Paris. A statue which stands in the
niche of the great " Court of Honour " at the Hotel des
Invalides will give one an idea of what it was like.

The ground surrounding the little monument at
Boulogne was inlaid with mosaics, representing eagles

* The first statue was put up in 1812, and was the work of the sculptor
Chaudet ; it represented Napoleon as a Roman Emperor. Taken down
at the Second Restoration, this statue was melted down, and recast as an
equestrian statue of Henry IV. A second statue, by the younger Seurre, was
put up in 1833, and unveiled by Louis Philippe. It was the original of the
one at Boulogne, and represented Napoleon in his habitual riding-coat. In
1804 this statue was replaced by a third, sculptured by Damont, in which
Napoleon figured as a Roman Conqueror.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 27

and Legion of Honour crosses ; it was fenced off by a
wrought-iron railing.

The pedestal bore the following inscription :—

TO
NAPOLEON I.

THIS STATUE WAS ERECTED ON THE EXACT SPOT OCCUPIED
BY THE EMPEROR'S " BARAQUE " AT THE CAMP OF

BOULOGNE IN 1804.

IT WAS INAUGURATED ON THE I4TH JUNE, 1856, ON THE
DAY OF THE BAPTISM OF THE PRINCE IMPERIAL.

FOURTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF NAPOLEON III. AFTER
THE SIGNING OF PEACE WHICH TERMINATED THE
WAR OF THE EAST, WAGED BY FRANCE AND ENGLAND
IN ALLIANCE.

The statue remained standing until 1894 ; but one
night, during a violent storm, and in spite of the iron
braces which had been placed for its support, it fell to
the ground and was shivered in a thousand pieces.*

The author has seen the opinion expressed by various
writers that Napoleon's f house at Longwood was an
exact reproduction of his pavilion at Boulogne. On
the face of it this seems improbable. 'One could hardly
understand the object or meaning of such an attention
on England's part, towards the fallen giant. Whereas,
from documents which the author received direct from
Saint Helena, and from a memorandum given him by

* This, at all events, is the current version, but to be historically exact,
I am forced to admit that the destruction of the statue was planned, and
carried out, by the anti-Bonapartists. I could even specify the names of
the men to whom they entrusted the execution of their design, and who had
to provide themselves with ropes and levers to overthrow the statue, which
was firmly supported by four iron braces.

t " Destruction of the site of Napoleon's ' Baraque,' " published by Dela-
hodde.

28 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

M. L. Morilleau, the French Consular Agent there, it
would appear that the house in which Napoleon lived at
Longwood had been built as early as 1743, when D unbar
was Governor of the island. It became the residence
of the Lieut. -Goyernor of the East India Company ; and
in 1815 the Emperor occupied it, and lived there up to
the time of his death, on the 5th May, 1821. This error,
however, is easily explained. The house at Longwood,
resembling in this respect the pavilion at Boulogne, was
single-storied, having but one row of windows, so that
there was a slight similarity of aspect between the
buildings.

When Napoleon wished to go from his residence at
the Tour d'Odre to Pont-de-Briques, and vice versa, or,
when he inspected the dockyards in the inner harbour
and at Capecure — he had to pass through the fisher-
men's quarter of the town, as the coast road, since made,
was not then in existence.

The fishing quarter was called " La Beurriere,"
after a much-frequented inn, which stood half-way
between the town and the Tour d'Odre, and displayed
on its signboard a woman churning butter.

The sign of "La Beurriere " is a very ancient one ;
it figures in the quaint " register of Saint Wulmer,"
dating from the beginning of the sixteenth century, in
which he describes the arrival of Mary of England,*
sister of Henry VIII. , and third wife of Louis XII., at

* " In September, year of grace 1514, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, Mary,
sister of King Henry VIII. of England, entered the port of Boulogne ; and
with her came many Princes and Princesses of England, Dukes and Counts,
Duchesses and Countesses, and Prelates ; she came to wed King Louis XII.
of France. Then Mary and her companions left the ships, which were fine
to look upon, and landed in the port close to ' La Burriere.' And horses
were brought to them, our bay horse, also hacks from the town, because the
ships which brought their horses and luggage had not arrived, owing to the
bad weather ; but they arrived a few days later ; and had it not been for the
fact that there were some good mariners among Mary's company, she would
not have sailed by that tide."

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 29

Boulogne : " Flower of Beauty, noble and amiable
Princess ! " as she is described by the Prior of Boulogne,
Laurens Framery.

Adjoining Napoleon's " Post of Observation " and
Bruix's pavilion, was the " signalling terrace," from
which the Emperor and the admiral signalled their
orders to the fleet.

In the Order of the Day dated 27 Germinal, Year XII.,
" the captains of the vessels are warned that the flag-
staffs placed on the summit of the Fort de la Creche,
and the Mont du Couple, will repeat the signals given
by the admiral at the Tour d'Odre."

The Order of the Day of the 27th Prairial prescribes
the following regulations, which were to be carried out,
without waiting for a special signal :—

' The admiral warns the captains of the ships of
the flotilla, that when a boat flying the Imperial Standard
at the fore, passes within earshot of their ship, it must
be saluted with five cheers of ' Long live the Emperor,'
a guard of honour will man the ship, and the drums will
beat the salute.

" These honours must be observed whenever the boat
passes within earshot."

On March nth, 1805, Napoleon wrote to Vice-
Admiral Decres :—

" SIR, — The flotilla at Boulogne is composed of
eight small squadrons ; each squadron has two divisions
of shallops, making altogether 36 shallops, capable
of carrying 2,400 men. I wish them to be exercised,
when the weather permits, and signals must be established
to train them to disembark, to come ashore together, to
commence firing the howitzers or four-pounders loaded
with grape, and to have in the rear a division of gunboats
to cover them.

30 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" They must especially accustom themselves to
' obey the signals,' and so to understand them, as to
agree upon the exact moment of landing. A division
of shallops must be able to land, on signal, at such and
such a distance, and to right or left of any given point.
The officers in command of the shallops must accustom
themselves to ' recognise the signals,' and obey them
with promptitude.

" NAPOLEON."

On the same day the Minister of Marine (Decres)
transmitted the following orders to the Commander of
the flotilla at Boulogne :—

"Paris, nth March, 1805.

" GENERAL, — According to the Emperor's intentions,
the shallop divisions attached to the squadrons of the
flotilla are to practise the landing manoeuvres when the
weather is favourable to their evolutions. It is essential
that these different manoeuvres be indicated by simple
signals ; these signals, which it is of the utmost import-
ance that officers in command of shallops should learn
to obey promptly and without hesitation, must especially
comprise signals to come ashore together and in good
order, to commence firing the howitzer, or the piece of
four loaded with grape ; to spread, in order to go and land
at such and such a distance, either above or below the
point indicated, and to prepare to embark and to dis-
embark.

" DECRES."

The Rue Tour d'Odre and the road to the pavilion
did not exist in those days ; to reach the right camp from
the town there was but one way, and that was a road
leading out of the Rue des Vieillards; those who are
familiar with the topography of the place can realise

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 31

what an enormous circuit one had to make, to get down
from the camp to the beach below.

Napoleon, out of patience, asked the Maritime Prefect
of Boulogne, M. Bonnefoux, to find some practical
means of establishing direct communication between
the Plateau d'Odre and the beach, to which he had con-
tinually to repair.

Sordi, engineer of military communications, having
declared the suggestion to be practicable, received the
following reply from the Emperor : —

" Adopt whatever means you choose, but in three
days' time I must be able to get down to the beach by
way of the cliff."

This was short notice. But on the appointed day,
however, a road had been cut, zigzag, from the top of
the cliff to the base, and the stones with which the road
had been paved — to keep it from being cut up by the
horse's hoofs — were bound together with iron cramps,
so steep was the declivity of the hill.

In organising a general signalling service for the
whole of the north; quite distinct of course from the
special naval service, the Admiralty had adopted the
system of an expert of unquestionable authority, Claude
Chappe,* inventor of aerial telegraphy, whose process
had been made the subject of a special inquiry, on the
part of Lakanal and Daunou, by an order of the Convention
(decree dated April 6th, 1793).

Claude Chappe was sometimes dignified with the
style of Abbe. He did, in point of fact, terminate his
studies at the Seminary of La Fleche, and was made
commendatory f abbot ; in other words, he was appointed
to two important livings. It is well known that this

* In 1893 a statue of Chappe, by Dame, was put up in memory of the
inventor, in the Boulevard Saint Germain.

t A commendam was the usufruct of an abbacy granted by the Pope.

32 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

native of La Sarthe had spent years in contriving a system
of signalling, which consisted of an apparatus resembling
a gibbet with two arms ; at their extremity they were
provided with moveable pieces, turning on a pivot, the
successive positions of which, corresponding to certain
words and certain significations, formed a complete
language. He had introduced his invention to the
National Assembly, under the name of " tachygraphy,"
on March 22nd, 1792.*

In the speech in which Chappe introduced his
apparatus to the Assembly, he pointed out that, thanks
to his discovery, it would now be possible for the repre-
sentatives to transmit their orders to the frontier, and
receive an answer during the same sitting ; and, further
elucidating his statement, he undertook to convey to a
distance of fifty miles, within thirty-three minutes, a
message of this kind : — " Lukner has advanced on Mons,
in order to beseige the town. Bender has moved forward
to defend. The two generals are in sight of each other.
To-morrow they will engage in battle."

The assembly, of course, gladly accepted the tribute
of this discovery, and the experiment proved, moreover,
that the idea was practicable. In fact, be it mentioned
that, thanks to Chappe, " the Convention received during
a sitting the news of the glorious capture of the town
of Conde-on-the-Scheldt, amidst scenes of indescribable
enthusiasm."

On July 26th, 1793, Chappe had been appointed
" Telegraphic Engineer," with the pay of a lieutenant of
Engineers ; and it was in this capacity that he hence-
forth affixed his signature to his letters, reports and
documents.

From the station, the " watchers " could read the

* The term " telegraphy " given to Chappe's tachygraphy dates from
April, 1793.

HOUSES OCCUPIED BY NAPOLEON. 33

distant signals with the aid of a telescope, but Chappe,
as we can see from his publications in the " Journal of
Physics," had already, with his brains of a genius, con-
ceived a clear notion of the possibility of transmitting
signs by electricity ; and if, in his time, the insufficiency
of electric power barred the way to an attainment of
perfect results, there can be no question that the principles

RADE

LE TACHYGRAPHE DE CHAPPE

sur l« beffroi dt Boulogne
daprcs une qi-jvurv df /d/r X//

CHAPPE'S TACHYGRAPH ON THE BOULOGNE BELFRY.
From an Engraving. (Year XII.)

of the future telegraphy were discovered by this true
scientist.

Broken-hearted, on finding that his claim to priority
in these discoveries was most unjustly contested, Chappe
lost courage ; erifeebled by ill-health, he would not
survive * his misfortune, but cut short his own life in
a tragic manner at the early age of forty- two.

As we have already pointed out, it was not Chappe's
business to substitute his invention for the naval system
of signalling, carried out by means of flags of various
forms and colours ; but his practical intelligence suggested
many improvements and ingenious simplifications, which

* In 1805 he threw himself into the well of the Hotel des Telegraphes.
D

34 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

were taken into account when the " Code of Signals "
was established, in 1854. This code remained the special
language for all the navies up to the year 1901, when the
International Code of Signals * proposed by the English
Government came into force. The line of telegraphs
to Lille claimed Chappe's more especial attention ; the
system was to branch off in one direction, towards Calais
and Dunkirk, and in the other towards Brussels.

Whenever Chappe was able to utilise the top of a
house or a structure like the Beffroi in Boulogne | to
establish his apparatus, he took advantage of his oppor-
tunity ; but if the station was placed on the summit of
a hill, clear of buildings, he erected a small pyramid, on
the top of which the indicators were fixed, on an axle
— in the manner depicted in this illustration of a seal,
formerly in use in the telegraphic service.

* The international code which has been accepted by thirty-eight dif-
ferent nations, and translated into as many languages, is based on the use
of twenty-six flags, corresponding to twenty-six letters, plus the code penant,
which has five white and vertical lines. A ship flying the code penarit pro-
claims that her signals are those of the code.

t The old belfry tower of the Hotel de Ville. (Translator's note.)

TELEGRAPHIC PYRAMID.

CHAPTER II.

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE — CALIGULA'S LIGHTHOUSE.

Archaeological Research and Recollections — The Emperor's
Pavilion on the Land of the Tour du Vieil Homme — " The
Herring Beacon " — Remains of the Tower at the Epoch
of Boulogne Camp.

THE enormous Tower of Caligula, or Tour d'Odre, quite
close to which the small Napoleonic pavilion was raised,
was an edifice shaped like a pyramid. In successive
ages, its beacon lights had shone on Roman galleys,
Charlemagne's fleets, and the vessels of Philippe-Auguste,
till, centuries later, the modern Caesar came, and erected
his temporary dwelling over its ruins.

This memorable monument, which resembled the
ancient Pharos — as Herodius describes — consisted of
twelve storeys, diminishing in succession, each pierced
with numerous windows, and surrounded by an exterior
gallery. It was sixty-four feet in diameter at its base,
and two hundred feet in height. On the summit, was an
octagonal lantern, which was afterwards replaced by a
square one, when the top of the tower was repaired.
The structure consisted of alternate courses of yellow
stone, red brick and grey stone, symmetrically disposed.

The reader will forgive the author for entering into
certain retrospective details, which he thinks it necessary
to give, for the explanation of various comparisons that
occur in the succeeding chapters.

It would, undoubtedly, be interesting to the student

35

36 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

to read an account, however brief, of the visits paid by
many sovereigns in succession, to the shores of the

Boulonnais; Fran-
cois I., Henri IV.,
Louis XIII., Louis
XIV., Peter the
Great and Louis
XV., for instance;
but we must con-
tent ourselves
with selecting
from the past
those points only,
which can help to
make us under-
stand Bonaparte's
projects, when he
schemed a renewal
of Caesar's expedi-
tion across the
Channel. Besides,
in retrospecting,
the author is not
wandering very
far from his sub-
ject, for Napoleon
himself directed
the Municipality
and the learned
men of the town,
to place before
him the docu-
ments relating to the history and topography of the
district, which had been made famous by a series
of such memorable events. On the ist Thermidor, XII.,

PHARE PC CALIGULA A BOULOGNE
ecroule en

un //vV ^nc/e/j olmi

c/li
BOULOGNE.

CALIGULA'S LIGHTHOUSE AT

Fell in 1644.
From a very old Drawing in the Louvre.

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE. 37

after holding a military levee at the pavilion, the Emperor
received the men to whom he had given the above in-
structions, and they furnished him with a pertinent
and authenticated version of the historical facts he wished
to be acquainted with.

This learned report was probably not preserved,
but, nevertheless, it is possible to reconstitute its principal
features by referring to the authorities at our disposal.
According to Bucherius,* each of the eight sides of
Caligula's Tower measured twenty-five feet in length.

From other manuscripts, f we gather that " its height,
not including the foundations, which were 6 feet deep,
was 124 feet, divided into twelve storeys, which became
gradually narrower as they reached the top. The first
storey was 224 feet in circumference, and each of the
sides twenty-eight feet long.

" The circumference of the top storey was forty feet,
and it was five feet long at each side ; there was a door-
way at each angle, making a total of ninety-six doorways,
not including the entrance to the lantern. The staircase
leading up to the summit was constructed in the interior
of the wall. Every night they kindled a beacon in the
tower to guide the vessels which were in these parts."

The anonymous author of the " Memoir " in 1650
writes : —

" On the other side of the river bank, on the cliff
upstream — that is, towards the north — stood the old
Tour d'Odre, called by the English ' The Old Man,' for
this reason : that, as they only saw it from a long dis-
tance off, it looked like a man, who, from always sitting
in that same position, had acquired that name. This
tower was a fine structure, of great height, and great
thickness, built of stone and bricks both very large and

* In his " Belgicum."

t Cited in " Historical Essay on Boulogne," by Henry (1810).

38 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

thick, intermixed with yellow stone, the whole well
joined and cemented together. It had eight angles,
and eight sides each of 28 feet. It had been built a
long way from the sea, more than one bowshot distant
from the edge of the cliff, which formed the canal and
mouth of the said harbour, in order that the sea should
not cause it to fall, because its foundations were not
deep in the earth." *

Another manuscript gives still fuller details :—
" This tower diminished by degrees, like all other
lighthouses, towards its summit, which was surmounted
by arches enclosing a square space for the fire. The
tower was built of variegated stone and brick, which
formed a blending of colours, and made the total aspect
very agreeable. First, there were three courses of
stone such as is found along this coast, of iron-grey
colour ; next, two courses of yellow stone, and above
these two rows of bright red bricks. This tower, before
it fell, was also surrounded by a strong fortification
in brickwork, well flanked and regularly built, with a
very fine exterior, which had been constructed by the
English in 1545 ; but this fortification has fallen away
on the side facing the sea. It is well established that
the said tower served as a lighthouse to guide the sea-
men during the night ; . . . . but since it fell, the beacon
is kindled in a small building which has been erected
not far off, and in the same line as the tower."

* " De 1'autre cote" de la riviere, et sur la falaise qui est vers 1'amont, ou
vers le nord, etait assise la Vielle Tour d'Odre, appelee par les Anglais le
' Vieil Homme ' d'autant qu 'a leur egard, a cause de 1'eloignement, elle
paraissit comme un homme qui, etant en cette assiette toujours de meme,
avait usurpe ce nom. Cette tour etait de tres-belle structure, de hauteur
insigne, d'epaisseur tres-grande, batie de briques et carreaux fort larges et
epais, entremeles de pierres bises, jointes et cimentees toutes ensemble. Elle
6tait de huit angles et huit pans, desquels chacun contenait 28 pieds de face.
Elle avait ete construite fort loin, a plus d'un jet d'arc arriere du bord de la
falaise, qui faisait le canal et Tembouchure dudit havre, afin que la mer ne la
fit point tomber, a cause qu'elle n'etait point fondee profond en terre."

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE. 39

A document of 1546, an extract from the English
.State papers,* shows that the appellation of " Old Man's
Tower " was the one by which the Tour d'Odre was
usually known. We give the text with its archaic
spelling :—

" And then, objected we to him (in reply to French
allegations about similar unfair fortifications) that we
herd they went about to begynne fortifications ... at
Portel, and thhil (the hill) over, against the Old-Man."

Nevertheless, the real name of Tour d'Odre was
sufficiently well known, as we may see by a letter dated
May 3ist, 1548, written by Sir John Bridges to the Lord
Protector on receiving a report from two English
spies :—

" A fort is to be commenced immediately .... to-
wards the Tower of Oder " (sic).

In contradistinction, the small fort, or " Fort Rouge,"
situated between the " Old Man " and the town, was
known under the name of " Young Man." The English
appellation of Old Man, in designating the Tour d'Odre,
is reproduced in foreign maps under certain denomin-
ations which leave no room for doubt. For instance,
on a Dutch plan, which is preserved in the library at
the University of Amsterdam, and is an extract from
a work dated 1584, the lighthouse is called " Tour Dordre-
Doudeman." There is a Latin copy by Lucas Waghenaer
of this exceedingly rare work in existence ; it was pub-
lished in 1591 by Cornelius Nicolay (Amsterdam), under
the title of " Speculum Nauticum."

Again, on a naval map of the Flemish coast, dated
1650, now in the British Museum, the old appellation
is still more clearly recalled, for a little to the north of
Boulogne we read the words, " d'Oude Man — Tour
d'Odre."

* 31 Aug., 1546, from the Privy Council at Wolton.

40 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

And lastly we may quote the following extract from
d'Ortelins' map, 1588 :—

" Not far from Boulogne, near the sea, there is an
ancient tower built of stones .... the French people
call it the Tour d'Odre, and the English the Old Man."*

The reader will now understand what is meant if,
on reading the correspondence dating from the time of
the Boulogne camp, he comes across such sentences
as these : " The young General had made a point of
pitching his tent near the Old Man."

Of course, the fantastic silhouette which, seen from
the Channel, seemed vaguely to suggest the profile of
an old man crouching, was only the result of the dis-
mantling of the tower and its accessories ; for prior to
its deterioration, the geometrical lines on which it was
constructed would certainly never have lent themselves
to this optical illusion.

Strange indeed are the transformations effected by
Time ! Using his scythe as a rough pointer's chisel,
he modifies, stone by stone, the aspect of the most famous
monuments.

Tempus edax rerum, tuque, invidiosa Vetustas,
Omnia destruitis.f

The original of the drawing of Caligula's Tower
was formerly in the library of the Louvre (it has been
reproduced in several publications), but it must have
been destroyed by fire during the Commune in 1871
according to a communication received by the author
from the director of the National Museums.

Caligula's Tower on Plateau d'Odre is undoubtedly
the work of the Roman Emperor. His expeditions to

* Non gueres loing de Boulogne, aupres de la mer, y a une tour antique
bastie de pierres .... Les Fra^ois 1'appellent la Tour d'Odre ; et
les Anglais le Vieil Homme.

t Ovid. Metamorph.

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE. 41

the Rhine and to the coast which " faced Britain "
are established facts, fully borne out by the testimony
of Suetonius * and Dion Cassius.f The following, how-
ever, is absolutely certain : —

" On quitting the Rhine, Caligula formed a scheme
for invading Britain, and embarked on the Channel
with this intention. Chance, however, having procured
him the voluntary submission of the exiled British
Prince, he took advantage of this unexpected good
fortune to confer on himself the honours of a triumph.
Wishing to establish a more lasting memorial of his
pretended conquest than the pomps of the Capital,
he erected a beacon tower on the cliff of Gesoriacum
— since named Boulogne — destined to guide the navi-
gators in the Channel."

There is a suggestive passage in the " Roman de
Brut," written by Wace in the twelfth century, which
runs thus : —

" A un mult bon angigneor
Fist sor la mer faire une tor.
En Boloigne siet, Ordre a nom
N'en sai nule de tel fagon."

Which means, literally : " Caesar had, by a very good
engineer, a tower made by the sea. It stands at Bou-
logne ; Ordre is its name ; I know of no other that is
built the same."

In the Life of Caligula, written by Suetonius, we
read :—

" Caligula, having disposed his troops in order of
battle, and caused the engines of war to be placed along
the shore, he suddenly ordered the soldiers to fill their
helmets and their clothing with shells from the beach,

* In indicium Victoriae, altissiraam turrera excitavit, ex qua ut ex Pharo,
noctibus ad regendos navium cursus ignes emicarent (Life of Caligula),
t Hist. rom. lix., 21 and 25.

42 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

so that they might carry them back to the senate, and
deposit them in the Capitol, as trophies of his victory
on the ocean. To perpetuate the memory of his pre-
tended triumph, he caused a very high tower to be
erected, to guide vessels navigating in those parts."

While excavating for the jetty works in 1739, they
discovered some medals commemorating this event ;
others have also been found near the Tour d'Odre.

In the course of ages the Tower gradually decayed
till it became useless, so much so that in the reign of
Charlemagne it had to undergo substantial restoration
before it could serve again in its former capacity of light-
house.

It would seem that the latter appellation of Tour
d'Odre was given to Caligula's Tower when the barony
of Odre was created, for the ground on which it stood
formed part of that territory. This barony was one of
twelve in the county of Boulogne. It is mentioned in
a Boulogne charter dated 1315, and referred to in a
declaration couched in the following words : " C'est
ce que je, Pierre d'Ordre, tieng et entens tenir noble-
ment." (And this I, Pierre d'Ordre, hold and intend
to hold nobly.)

We may observe that the name is spelt indifferently
Odre, or Ordre, in notarial documents and ancient
authors. The spelling of Odre, however, would appear
to be the more exact, since the tower is called " Odrans "
in a manuscript of the tenth century. This same form
of spelling is also used by the author of the " Life of
Saint Fulcuin."

But what is the meaning of the word " Odre," which
describes the historical old tower, and also the ground
on which the imperial " Baraque " was raised ?

It has been suggested that the name is derived from
the word " ardens," in reference to the beacon that

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE. 43

was kindled in the tower ; but other philologists are
of opinion that the name is really the Celtic word " odr,"
or " odre," signifying border, boundary, shore, or limit.
And this seems far more probable when one takes into
account the situation of the tower in this " furthermost
land of the Morini." It is this remoteness which would
seem to have struck the old authors more than any
other peculiarity concerning the ancient inhabitants of the
Boulonnais. Virgil, in enumerating the various subjects
of the Roman Empire figuring on the shield of ^Eneas,
mentions the Morini as the " most remote of men." *
Pomponius Mela calls them " the most distant of the

Gauls."|

Pliny states that they are reputed to live at the
extremity of the earth ; J and Tacitus § points out that
the land of the Morini is at the " furthest extremity
of Gaul." Ammius Marcellinus calls this country " the
end of the world."||

A topographical peculiarity confirms this etymology,
for we see in Malbrancq ^ " that the ancient gate of
Boulogne leading to the shore was called the Gate of
the Boundary."

As to the word " Morini " — by which name the an-
cient inhabitants of Boulogne were known — it is probably
derived from the Celtic word " Mor," morass, since
Csesar relates that in his time the land of the Morini
was covered with woods and morasses, in which the
inhabitants took refuge when they were pursued by
the Roman troops. And what still remained of these
forests was cut down, for the most part, under the

* Extremi que hominum Morini (Eneid viii., 727).

t Ultimi Gallicarum gentium Morini.

t Ultimi hominum estimati Morini.

§ Extrema Galliarum.

|| Orbis extrema.

U De Morini.

44 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Consulate arid at the beginning of the First Empire,
to organise the defence of the coasts of the Manche.

In the sixteenth century, they used the Odre light-
house for the winter or herring fishing, and this is why
the lights were known as the " herring beacon."* The
lights were lit when the season opened, and the town
" judged it expedient to kindle the Tour d'Odre beacon
from the feast of St. Michael to the following Easter."
But, from reasons of economy, it was not kept burn-
ing every night. Indeed, every owner of a fishing boat
belonging to Boulogne or Outereau had to pay a tax
of four sous a year.*)* Also, in 1564 there was an allow-
ance of " twenty-five loads of wood for the beacon that
guides the ships on the sea."J

Owing to a subsidence of the cliff, the top part of
the tower crashed down one day on to the beach below,
where the debris formed a dangerous reef ; and in 1572
we hear that a fisherman of Capecure (Boulogne suburb),
named Philippin Begin, was appointed to light a big
lantern at the top of a mast, before high tide, to warn
the fishing boats off the reef. In exchange for this good
office the fishermen had to pay a special tax of " 100
fresh herrings."

At the present day one can still see, on the summit
of the Odre cliff, the last remains of one of the blocks of
red brick work, which for years were taken to be the
venerable remains of the Roman tower. The scientists
of a more recent date, however, basing their arguments
on the difference in the building materials, came to the
conclusion that these stumps — undoubtedly the remains
of large walls — at the edge of the cliff, were in reality

* " Foyer de la harenguison."

t " Chacun maistre de nef, tant de le Ville que d'Outrea-Aywe, allans
en pesquerie etait assujetti a payer 4 sols tournois."

£ 25 sommes de bois a faire feux, pour enseigner les navires et vaisseaux
estant sur la mer.

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE. 45

the fragments of a whole system of fortifications, dating
only from the sixteenth century, at the time that the
English were occupying Boulogne (1544-1559). At this
time, as we know, the Tour d'Odre was protected by
two separate outworks : first by a rampart of bricks,
which itself was surrounded by 'a bulwark of "earth"
of polygonal shape, which was destined to mask the
inner batteries.

The author, who has lived many years near the
Plateau d'Odre, and has witnessed, therefore, many
alterations, is convinced that the mound on which the
pavilion was raised (this mound has recently been
levelled, but the author can recall its outline between
the crest and the new battery) is no other than the
" curtain " mentioned above.

At the time of the First Empire, the debris of the
lighthouse littered the approach to the beach, and
Napoleon saw them there, no doubt, during his frequent
promenades along the base of the cliif. An adjutant of
engineers, Henry, who wrote a history of Boulogne,
declares that at that date he himself saw " the shore,
strewn with the debris of the Tour d'Odre, and of the
rocks which supported the cliff, fifty-five metres high, on
which the tower stood." One night, as Napoleon was
taking a stroll on the top of the cliff, he saw, in the
starlight, two gunners furtively making their way to-
wards an old trench, that dated from the time of the
English occupation. He approached them quietly, and
surprised them just as they were about to cross swords.
The Emperor, who had always looked upon a duel as
a mere murderous conflict, devoid of glory, asked them
the cause of their enmity ; and, constituting himself judge
of the case, he pinched the ear of the one who had accepted
the challenge, and said : " In the next battle you will not
be in the front ; you will say that it is by my orders."

46 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

And, wishing to aggravate the punishment of the
one whom he considered was most to blame for pro-
voking the duel, he added :

" And as for you, you will report yourself ill on that
day and go to hospital — do you understand ? "

I wonder whether such a punishment as this would
be considered a severe sentence nowadays ?

One must admit that the man who employed such

TOWER AND FORT OF CALIGULA.

From a Drawing in the " Bibliothtque Nationale."

methods of discipline was a genius, and that the men
whom such arguments as these could convince were
incomparable soldiers.

We have already given an illustration of the light-
house proper on another page ; but the whole pile,
with its dependencies, made a sort of Bastille, or fortress,
the ruins of which formed huge heaps of carved masonry
most tempting to anyone in want of building material.
We can form an idea of the importance of the fortress
by glancing at the faithful reproduction of a drawing
the author came across in the National Archives.

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE. 47

But it would be useless to make excavations in the
cliff, as M. Egger once proposed doing to the Boulogne
municipality, for the real site of the monument now
corresponds with the edge of the beach, and is buried
in a shroud of sand. Experience is constantly proving
that the weight alone of masonry work, when placed
on certain rocks, is sufficient to cause subsidence
within a very few years. But it was another circum-
stance altogether which especially contributed to the
disappearance of these debris.

For generations the Boulogne people were in the
habit of getting their stone from the base of the Odre
cliff in spite of the various attempts made by the munici-
pality to put a stop to this imprudent practice, which
was undermining the cliff. But it was in vain that
in 1606 " twelve of the windows of the tower were filled
in with masonry work for the purpose of consolidating
the pile, which showed deep crevices," the precautions
were taken too late to avert destruction. From 1640
to 1644 the Tower was gradually undermined by various
landslips, caused by the quarrying and springs of the
soil, till it fell at last, in the manner recorded by the
chaplain vicar of the cathedral : * " This day of Saint
Sebastien, 19 January, a portion of the Tour d'Odre
fell ; a few days later in the same month, a second
portion fell ; and the third fell on the 30th July, 1644."

The fall of the tower resulted in a curious lawsuit
between the Boulogne municipality and a rich land-
owner in the neighbourhood — the Baron of Baincthun,
who, by virtue of an ancient right, was entitled to a
royalty of 2,000 salted herrings.

But inasmuch as the land lying in proximity to the
tower had also fallen away, the municipality contended
that the town was freed of all obligation towards the

* " Ephemerides " National Library. The author died in 1668.

48 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

proprietor. Whereupon the Lord of Baincthun main-
tained that the landslips were due to the negligence of
the tenants, and engaged in a long lawsuit to claim his
royalty of herrings. The court decided in favour of the
claimant, and issued a decree dated July 1st, 1656,
whereby the " Messieurs of Boulogne " were found
liable for the loss, due to their negligence, and con-
demned to pay as heretofore :* " Two thousand salted
and fresh herrings, to be taken to Arras, Amiens, or any
town at a similar distance, according to the wish of the
lord of the Manor ; or, in default of this, to restore the
former state of conditions."

The clause which related to the alternative imposed
on the tenants was inserted only that the act might be
in accordance with the law of the land, for the damage,
of course, was irreparable, and the town had no choice
but to pay the tax of herrings " due for the Tour d'Odre."

Needless to say that during the Consular period
this feudal tax was no longer in existence, but we read
that the town made several distributions of fish among
the soldiers of the Right Camp, and though these gifts
were purely gratuitous, and assumed a character of
liberality towards the soldiers, it is open to us to believe
that the municipality was influenced to their action by
memories of the past. M. Egger, in his account of
" La Tour d'Odre," blames the mayor and aldermen —
whose names he withholds out of charity — for having
caused, by their carelessness, the scandal of this ridiculous
lawsuit.

However, it must not be supposed that the municipal
magistrates remained indifferent to the removal of
tufa and stones from the tower, for they brought in

* Deux mille harengs, saures et blancs, portes a Arras, Amiens, et autres
villes de pareille distance, au choix du Seigneur ; ou a remettre les choses en
leur ancien etat.

NAPOLEON AT THE TOUR D'ODRE. 49

several measures to try and suppress this dangerous
practice, notably an edict enforcing a " penalty of banish-
ment and a fine of ten livres " on the delinquents. In
1618 especially, the mayor and aldermen of Boulogne
published a resolution which " forbade the removal of
stones and tufa in the vicinity of the Tour d'Odre and
the Moulin- Wiber."

And we must remember that in those days the
anxiety to preserve a dilapidated monument merely for
its archaeological interest probably weighed very little
in the minds of the contemporaries.

Since then, the action of the springs filtering through
the shale has never ceased wearing away the cliff, and
the reason that Napoleon's pavilion was placed some
way back, was, that they wished to obviate all risk of
its slipping some day towards the beach.

Napoleon had continually before his eyes the re-
mains of the tower, which explains his remark, cited by
the author of the " History of the Boulonnais," " I hope
indeed to be Caesar, but I shall certainly never be Cali-
gula."*

* M. H.'de Rosny.

CHAPTER III.

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE.

His Visits to Terlincthun — Chapel of " Jesus Flagelle " — Decree of
Floreal, Year XII.— The Gardens and Swans at the Post
of Observation — Epaulettes, Pigtails, Beer, Barrels.

IT has been said of Napoleon that he never interrogated
or consulted others, but to make known to them his own
irrevocable determination.

Without believing implicitly in his infallibility, he
had too much faith in his destiny, and too much confi-
dence in his own judgment (of which he has given so
many examples), to play a secondary part among his
entourage. But there is a distinction to be made. It
would appear that Napoleon only consulted his generals
and ministers on any question, when he had already
formed a mature opinion of his own on the subject ;
and this opinion he would press home upon them with
the strongest arguments.

He went straight to the point with a vehemence
which never stopped to consider matters of secondary
importance, and he knew how to give his ideas a shape
so clear and distinct, that his reasoning became obvious
to all. Take, for instance, his proclamations, in which
his subtle ability in special pleading is joined to the
most captivating eloquence, and in which his convictions
are so manifest that the idea which he suggests, or the
solution that he proposes, forces itself upon the minds

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 51

of others, without their even being conscious of the
paradoxes that he concealed with such consummate
art.

He solved all difficulties and decided every question ;
and if he did not always defeat his adversary by the
force of his logic, he invariably made a great impression
upon him.

But one of his peculiarities has been too much
neglected by the historians, for Napoleon, who could be
overbearing and self-willed, blunt and imperious with
the generals of his army and with high functionaries,
who spoke in rough and strident tones suggestive of
reproach, was careful to enlighten himself, and to make
personal inquiries among the people of the lower classes ;
and by contact with them, he formed and reformed his
own opinions, so that when the time came for discussion
he was fully equipped and prepared to argue, on the
authority of his acquired experience. Objections ? He
had foreseen them. Prejudices ? He had dispelled
them. Practical solutions — those which come readily
to the minds of the people ? He had already mastered
them, made them his own, as it were, and perfected
them, of course. And thus it was that the theorists
were compelled to yield to the force of his demonstrations,
which went straight to the point.

Indeed, we should be underrating Napoleon's in-
telligence and sagacity if we supposed him to be so un-
wise as to refrain from taking the opinion of others ;
but he made his inquiries privately, and only consulted
those from whom he felt sure of obtaining some useful
information or practical hint. His valet alludes in his
" Memoirs " to this custom of Napoleon : " The Emperor
was in the habit of saying that he laid before the
peasants the difficulties of the State Council, and he gave
the Council the benefit of the peasants' observations."

52 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

I will endeavour to justify this judgment by general
principles and particular episodes.

Napoleon professed the opinion that the head of
a State cannot judge of the real opinion of the country,
nor gauge the feeling of the people, by studying the
police reports. The author may be permitted a short
digression, in order to compare the attitude of Napoleon
in this respect with that of the sovereigns who preceded
and followed him on the throne of France.

For instance, if we read the official reports on the
examination which the unfortunate Louis XVI. was
made to undergo before capital sentence was passed
over him, one thing seems to strike one — and that is
the absolute ignorance in which the unhappy monarch
was kept by the very men who should have revealed
to him the aspirations, and passions, and hatred which
surrounded his tottering throne. Undoubtedly, the
questions which were put to the monarch during the
course of his trial were prompted by the most flagrant
and systematic prejudice ; but still, the impartial his-
torian, who judges men and events dispassionately,
cannot fail to recognise the disastrous effect that was
likely to be produced on the biassed judges by the dis-
tressing replies which fell continually from the King's
lips : "I didn't know. ... I never heard it men-
tioned. ... I was not informed. ... I was assured
of the contrary."

As to Louis XVI 1 1., he would appear to have been
very much struck by the state of isolation in which
Louis XVI. had been kept, both by his courtiers and by
the traitors who surrounded him. His deep knowledge
of the history of the Empire prompted him to a close
scrutiny and analysis of the causes — secondary, no
doubt, but none the less certain — which had contributed
to the extraordinary popularity of the Emperor. And

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 53

as Louis XVIII, who was a martyr to gout, could not
emulate Napoleon's activity, he resolved to follow two
courses — to receive every day the reports of the police
(which were always flattering), but to credit none of
them, unless they could be thoroughly substantiated.

Louis XVIIL's condition of mind, in this respect, is
admirably expressed in Lenotre and Martin's charming
work, " Colinette." The following dialogue is taking
place between the king and his secretary, d'Albarede,
while the latter is reading out to him a confidential
report on the state of public feeling :—

" The performance of Athalie was marked by an inci-
dent which gives substantial proof of the inviolable attach-
ment of the French people to their legitimate monarch.
At the moment when the actor who plays the part of Joad
exclaims, ' Tis the blood of our Kings ! ' all the spectators
stood up, and, stirred by the most touching enthusiasm,
raised their hands towards heaven, and, with tears in their
eyes, swore to die for their king and for his august family.
The performance was interrupted for several minutes, and
all the allusions which occur in the play were received with
frantic applause. . . ."

THE KING (very sceptical) : " And how much do you
pay for all this ? "

D'ALBAREDE (abashed) : " Pardon me, sire, but I don't
quite understand."

THE KING : "I merely ask, how much I shall be called
upon to pay when a bill is sent in for these insipidities."

D'ALBAREDE : "I hardly know whether your Majesty
wishes me to proceed."

THE KING (without raising his head) : " You may go
on."

D'ALBAREDE: " Report on the feeling among the peasantry.
—The peasants are filled with gratitude towards the august
family of the Bourbons. The harvest was carried under
particularly favourable circumstances, such as had never

54 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

existed under the Government of the Usurper. Providence
has manifestly blessed the fruits of the earth ; and the
King, who is all powerful —

THE KING : " All powerful ! What is this new gas-
conade ? "

D'ALBAREDE (continuing) : "A letter dated from Malta
gives interesting details on the voyage of Buonaparte. The
Usurper is subject to fits of absence, which seem to indi-
cate approaching insanity. He sits on deck for hours, a
prey to unhealthy somnolence, the august family of the
Bour—

THE KING : " Your reports bore me ! There is not
one single word in all that you have read out that is worth
listening to."

If Napoleon had recourse to the police reports for
the sake of gaining information, he trusted still more
to his own personal investigations.

When he came to Boulogne, there were two special
places of resort for the sailors and working men, which
afforded him an opportunity of coming into contact
with them and of gaining information while listening
to their talk, or himself prompting their remarks. A
certain chapel, much frequented by the pious fishermen,
and also the gardens which surrounded the pavilion,
allowed of his intercourse with his poorer subjects ;
and he endeavoured to find out not only what the people
thought of his schemes, but also what they thought of
his person.

Anyone who is not acquainted with the Boulogne
coast would naturally suppose that the shrine to which
the pilgrim sailors repair is the Calvary that stands at
the top of the cliff and commands the whole roadstead.
This is not the case, for it was only in 1838 that the
Calvary was removed from the Rue des Signaux and
placed in the position it now occupies.

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 55

While the revolutionary spirit of impiety prevailed
in the land, the Sign of Redemption had been prohibited
everywhere, except inside the temples. At Boulogne,
at any rate, the removal of the crosses was carried out
with marks of respect and even of solemnity. The
municipality explained, in the following terms, the
reasons which justified their measure and made it neces-
sary :— -

" Taking into consideration the fact that the Calvaries
were monuments of piety, authorised by the Government
in times of peace and tranquillity ; that, in these days, when
the enemies of our country are doing all in their power to
bring it to ruin, it is expedient that these Calvaries be re-
moved and placed inside the churches, for fear they should
become a sign of fanaticism and a rallying point. It is
decreed, first, that every precaution be taken to remove
the said Calvaries, and transport them to the parish church,
with all the ceremony due to religious worship ; secondly,
that the citizen Sannier be entrusted with the execution of
these orders ; and that when engaged on the work, he be
escorted by a detachment of twenty men, who will oppose
any movement on the part of the ill-intentioned or mis-
guided citizens to interfere with the execution of this decree ;
thirdly, that this resolution be sent to the citizen Roche,
Cure of this parish, inviting him to take the necessary pre-
cautions, in order that the removal may be carried out with
decency and tranquillity."

However, another place of worship had lately been
re-opened for the benefit of the sailors, not very far from
the First Consul's "Post of Observation." This was a
tiny chapel which had been in existence ever since the
end of the sixteenth century at Terlincthun, a village
below the Plateau d'Odre. It was dedicated to Jesus
Flagelle,* and was the object of constant pilgrimages,
especially on the part of the fishermen.

* Jesus scourged.

56 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

This pious tradition has lasted to our time ; and
before setting out to sea (al mer) for the distant fishing
grounds, our brave sailors never fail to go and kneel
in the humble little sanctuary, to place themselves
under the Divine protection, and invoke a blessing on
the success of their fishing. Small though it is, at this

CHAPEL OF JESUS-FLAGELLE.

time, the chapel was originally only half its present
size.* It was given the name of Jesus Flagelle from
a black wooden statue which was discovered at that
spot, and which was afterwards 'placed above the taber-
nacle and religiously preserved.

At the time of the Revolution, the modest little

* The Chateaurenault family enlarged it by one-half in 1862.

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 57

chapel escaped destruction, owing, no doubt, to the
isolation of the spot on which it stood, and to the fact
that it had prudently been turned into a temporary
barn and used as a shelter for agricultural implements.

In June, 1803, Bonaparte received a petition from
M. Chateaurenault, in which he stated that, " having
become the possessor of the land on which the chapel
stood, he solicited the intervention of the First Consul
towards re-establishing, in its former state, the worship
of Jesus Scourged, so dear to the inhabitants of the dis-
trict/'

A few days later, in agreement with the diocese, an
official licence was granted for the celebration of Mass in
the chapel by any ordained priest, on Sundays and
ordinary feast days, the principal feast days excepted ;
the said chapel to be considered private. The petition,
which was presented by Portalis, in the nama of the
Bishop of Arras, is in the archives of the Episcopate
of Arras, and in the following terms : —

" CITIZEN FIRST CONSUL, —

" Monseigneur the Bishop of Arras begs for the
necessary authorisation to celebrate Mass in a private
chapel at Terlincthun, in the parish of Wimille.

" I have the honour, Citizen First Consul, to beg
of you to accept my salutations and respect.

" PORTALIS."

" Approved 30 Floreal, Year XI.

" THE FIRST CONSUL,

" BONAPARTE.
" For the First Consul,

the Secretary of State,
" HUGUES B. MARET."

Towards evening, Napoleon might often be seen

58 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

wending his way, without an escort, towards the little
edifice at Terlincthun, wrapped in a big cloak and a
soft felt, of irregular shape, which readily lent itself
to various guises. And strolling about in the little
hamlet, Napoleon was sure of coming across a group of
men, exchanging ideas after a day of feverish activity,
imparting to each other their hopes and fears, and dis-
cussing the events of to-day and the plans of to-morrow.
Napoleon took a keen pleasure in mixing with these
men, and listened to their remarks and forecasts and
criticisms, with all the more attention, that their quaint
and peculiar language was unfamiliar to him.

Sometimes he was looked at with suspicion by the
inhabitants, who asked themselves who this stranger
might be.

On those occasions, he had recourse to an expedient
by which he quickly dispelled their doubts and gained
their confidence. He no sooner guessed that the people
about him were beginning to wonder whether he was,
or was not, a " friend of the flotilla," than he at once
took the offensive ; and, leading the attack in the dia-
logue as he would have done in the field, he forced a
question home upon the man who seemed disposed to
question him. Then, aided by his marvellous memory,
he would quote the exact names, and give categorical
details, of men and events concerning this region, till
they were compelled to yield, and forced to acknowledge
that in these matters he was better informed than the
oldest inhabitants in the district.

His great amusement was to prove to his hearers
that he was as intimate with the history of the ships
on which they served as they were themselves, and that
he not only knew the names of the captains who com-
manded them, but was acquainted with the memorable
particulars which had brought honour to their flag.

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 59

But when he considered it necessary to remove all
suspicion for the sake of gaining information by their
confidences, he would reveal his identity, smiling at
their embarrassment ; and if they tried to excuse them-
selves for treating him unceremoniously, he would re-
assure them good-naturedly, and take his leave, per-
haps, with one of his brief sayings, which had the effect
of stirring enthusiasm among all those with whom he
came in contact.

During his childhood, the author often heard some
of the old men say that whenever Napoleon arrived
near the chapel, and before going away, he used to put
his hand slowly up to his hat, and remain solemnly
standing for a few minutes. Was he praying ? Perhaps
not ; but at all events it was an unmistakable sign of
respect, which had all the appearance of sincerity.

The gardens which surrounded the pavilion also
afforded Napoleon much opportunity to converse
familiarly with the working men and sailors, for the
sentries had received orders to relax their strict watch
at certain hours of the day, and to allow the passers-by
to enter the gardens, provided they did not come in
groups. These gardens had been laid out on the south
side of the pavilion, and connected the Plateau d'Odre
with a portion of the land afterwards bought by Louis
Nicolay. The boundaries consisted of ditches, low walls
of loose stones, and live and artificial hedges. The
large expanses of lawn were cut up by alleys and paths
of yellow sand ; and here and there they had planted
clumps of small shrubs, and surrounded them with
hardy flowers. Napoleon's garden has long since been
levelled, in the cultivation of the land ; it is only here
and there that a vestige has been found to indicate the
place it once occupied.

The engineers had made an artificial pond in the

60 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

park,* to relieve the moriotony of the grounds, which,
truth to tell, presented a somewhat barren aspect ; and
two black swans, which had been presented to Napoleon,
were kept on the ornamental sheet of water.

It is said that Napoleon often stood contemplating
them for a long while. His persistence in watching the
movements of the majestic birds was certainly not due
to lack of occupation on the part of the man who was
planning an invasion of England. How, then, can we
explain it ? In the first place, those who are preoccupied
with absorbing questions, experience from time to time
an instinctive desire to distract their thoughts by fixing
them on some other matter, precisely in order to bring
about a favourable reaction. And if we sometimes see a
scientist, a philosopher, or the head of an army loitering
over trifles and apparently wasting time over occupations
unworthy of their great intelligence, it is only that they
may rest their brain from the grave problems which
govern them. Napoleon watched the swans in his garden
as Charlemagne before him had amused himself with a
monkey, and as Richelieu would spend his leisure mo-
ments playing with a favourite cat.

But how was it, that Napoleon had this unusual
present of a couple of swans made him ?

It is true that on his journey to Boulogne he had
already had four swans " of dazzling whiteness " pre-
sented to him by the town of Amiens, and which were
afterwards sent to the Tuileries.

" When Bonaparte came to Amiens," writes Paul
Roger, " the Mayor made him a gift of swans, according
to an ancient custom, and said to him :

" Citizen First Consul, accept this token of our
admiration, respect, and love, while receiving this gift

* The water of the lake was afterwards appropriated by the Compagnie
Prevoyante.

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 61

of swans ; it is the gift our forefathers have made at
all times to the head of the State ; the wise Louis XII.
received it in kindness, the brave Henry IV. condescended
to accept it. To discharge our debt to you, we have
doubled the usual number of swans."

We may, therefore, suppose that the inhabitants of
Boulogne were desirous of following the example set by
Amiens ; especially as we learn from local history that
the hospitality and courtesy of the town towards illus-
trious personages willingly took the form of gifts of rare
animals and rich victuals. On one occasion, in 1731, the
Cordeliers, in the name of the town, offered to the " Gentle-
men of the law : sheep, goats, hares, leverets, turkeys
and chickens," on another, in 1768, they sent the King
" a present of six brace of woodcock at 36 sous, and
three brace at 38 sous," and later still they offered some
" superb fish caught in the Channel, to Louis XVI."

Various municipalities had already paid a graceful
compliment to the First Consul by presenting him with
sundry animals, that is to say : "On the 6 Messidor,
Year XL, in the presence of the Municipal Councillors of
la Somme, one of the Mayors of the County presented
himself before Bonaparte and offered him a dove holding
an olive branch, meaning thereby to imply that France
hoped, at that time, that he would become the peace-
maker and restorer of the country."

But there was a special reason for the presentation
of swans in this case, it was an allusion to the arms of
the town of Boulogne in which a swan is represented.

Ill-natured people have been known to assert that
the bird on the coat of arms really represents, not the
graceful animal which in all ages has been thought
worthy to adorn the royal lakes, but the very silliest of
all farmyard birds, the vulgar goose with its waddling
gait.

62 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The learned of the district, however, have protested
against this insinuation, and have established the his-
torical fact that already in 828 the town had presented
to the Abbey of St. Medard at Soissons, a banner of field
sable, on which were represented a swan argent crowned,
a quiver argent, "or," and two arrows the same, cross-
wise, and underneath the legend " Boulogne-sur-mer."

There is another point in the character of Napoleon
which the author wishes to lay stress upon, for if this
remarkable man liked to interrogate men of the humbler
classes for the sake of gaining information, he also gave
unfailing attention to small matters, often making
apparent trifles the object of his closest observation.

The Romans used to say of the Praetor that he had
no concern with secondary matters : de minimis non curat.
Napoleon, on the contrary, either as general, consul,
or emperor, paid the minutest attention to details which
he rightly considered to be of the utmost importance :
whether it was a question of clothing or feeding the
troops, of military articles that were defective, or of
precautionary measures required by hygiene. One day,
he had barely reached Boulogne, when he rode to the
Right Camp and suddenly appeared among the soldiers
at drill. Making a sign that the exercises were to go on,
he stood there, attentively watching all the proceedings.
When the men were at ease, the superior officers came up
to salute the Emperor and stood around him.

The soldiers' drill had been performed with exceptional
regularity ; imagine therefore the astonishment of the
officers when the Emperor remarked sharply : "If you
want to have efficient regiments, you must look after
your men ; don't you observe anything ? "

Everyone looked, but saw nothing.

" Don't you see," continued the Emperor, " that
seven or eight out of every ten men standing at ease,

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 63

keep putting up their hands to their neck ! Everyone
of them at the same spot, as if they had a sore ....
Look at them."

The officers all tried to explain that there was nothing
significant in this ; "it was a mere coincidence ; besides,
none of the soldiers had ever made a complaint " — an
unfortunate remark which only served to further annoy
Napoleon.

" My soldiers never complain ; but if they suffer with-
out complaining, they suffer none the less .... Bring
me six of your men in succession, the first that come."

This was done, and the Emperor asked each one of
them in turn the cause of the gesture he had observed.

But in answer to their Chief — to their great Chief
especially — the soldiers made a point of declaring gaily,
and even with a certain amount of boast, that there was
nothing that hurt them in the regulation uniform.

The men returned to their places, and the officers
were already congratulating themselves on the result
of this summary inquiry, when Napoleon directed his
aide-de-camp to tell the same men that they were to
appear before him again the following day.

On returning to his pavilion, Napoleon ordered a
soldier's uniform to be ready for him that same evening.
At dawn next day a private soldier left, the pavilion, ....
it was the Emperor, who was anxious to make a personal
experiment, in order to see whether he had been mistaken.
He was first observed to walk at a moderate pace in
the alleys of his garden, then he changed into quick
time, and having prolonged this exercise for some time,
went in and took off his borrowed uniform.

At the hour of drill he went to the same spot where
the incident of the previous day had occurred, and found
the six soldiers drawn up in a line according to his orders.
Napoleon dismounted, and going jip ^to them, opened

64 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

their tunics, and called the attention of the anxious
officers to the sores which existed in each case at the
same place. Some of the soldiers had a wound which
was only half healed, while others had abrasions of
the skin. Napoleon had guessed rightly, the defective
adjustment of the straps passing over the epaulette had
galled the shoulder and caused open sores. The Emperor
said nothing, he merely called the attention of the officers
to the drops of blood showing on the men's chests,
and dismissed the soldiers. Then, turning to the officers,
he addressed to them this memorable reproach : " Ask
her sons to shed their blood for the glory of France,
and they will do it, but don't let my soldiers bleed shame-
fully, like ill-harnessed mules ; steel alone makes honour-
able wounds."

On another occasion, when he was out walking, he
passed a canteen where several troopers were drinking
beer at a little table placed outside. The Emperor,
happening to catch sight of one of the men making a
grimace over his glass, went up to them, and addressing
them cheerfully, produced from his pocket a small
silver goblet, which he asked them to fill with the tawny
liquid they had before them. His request was promptly
complied with, and the troopers watched the Emperor
as he sipped the wretched beverage without flinching,
until, to their astonishment, he had drained the cup.
Then, still preserving his composure, he sent for the
canteen keeper. " And so, to make a few sous more
profit, miserable man, you would poison my soldiers ! "
he exclaimed ; and he gave orders strictly prohibiting
all further traffic with this unscrupulous purveyor, who
had made the most of his opportunities at the expense
of the soldiers' health.

At the time when the Boulogne Camp was first
formed, many of the soldiers still wore their hair dressed

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 65

in two long plaits (" cadenettes "), which started from
.the middle of the head and were then caught up and
secured beneath the head-gear. Those who still adhered
to this singular fashion, would not stand any joking on
the subject, and more than one duel was fought for the
honour of the " cadenettes." During one of the brilliant
reviews which Napoleon held at the camp, he was struck
by the incongruous appearance of these powdered heads ;
he therefore issued orders whereby the soldiers were
compelled to give up powdering their heads, and were
made to wear their hair " a la Titus." It was a ques-
tion of cleanliness as well as of appearance.

The Emperor's order raised a good deal of feeling ;
some of them grumbled, some even spoke covertly of
resistance, but they all submitted, more or less willingly,
in the end.

The official correspondence of the time, proves also
that the Emperor concerned himself a good deal with
the hygiene of the troops ; at least, as far as was con-
sistent with the habits of the period.

Of course, the modern antiseptic treatment was utterly
unknown in those days ; in the hospitals, as well as in
the camps, the agglomerations of humanity bred general
sickness, and special diseases, for want of proper pre-
cautions, which the few military doctors were quite
unable to cope with : in those times the doctor was really
the surgeon.

Now the disease which gave the commanding officers
most cause for anxiety (the reader will forgive these
inelegant details) was a certain form of itch, which is
frequently mentioned in the reports which were submitted
to the Emperor on the sanitary condition of the troops.
Notably, on March 8th, 1805, Marshal Soult, in a report
concerning the health of the men at Boulogne, Wimereux,
and Ambleteuse, writes : —
F

66 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" In most regiments, a number of men whom it was
not possible to treat during the winter, are suffering
from itch, and this cruel disease is spreading all the
more rapidly from the fact that, independently of the
contagion — difficult to avoid among men of the same
company — the men returning from the fleet bring the
infection with them.

" In order to arrest the contagion, it has been thought
indispensable to reduce the number and strength
of the detachments on board the flotilla, so that the
ships may be disinfected by fumigation ; at the same
time the men in camp who are afflicted with the disease
will be subjected simultaneously to a severe treatment.
In this manner, we may be able, I hope, to extirpate
this terrible malady within six weeks, and then it will
be possible to reform the detachments in the flotilla :
but to obtain this result, it will be necessary to slightly
increase the expenditure with respect to heating and
medicines ; however, as the advantage thus obtained will
more than compensate for the expense incurred, I shall
address a request on the matter to his Excellency the
directing minister."

From la Malmaison on March 2ist, 1805, Napoleon
wrote to Vice- Admiral Decres :

" SIR, — There is not a moment to be lost, to
start the works for clearing out the harbours of Boulogne
and Ambleteuse ; spend, if necessary, a sum of 400,000
francs for this object. I am informed that it will be a
matter of thirty to forty days' work to restore the
harbours to their former condition."

Then, after giving general orders, Napoleon enters
into a series of apparently futile questions — unworthy
of him, it would seem, but which must be recorded -to

PSYCHOLOGY OF BONAPARTE. 67

.his credit. He is not content with merely stating, as
they do in official reports, that there are so many thousand
rifles in the arsenals, so many barrels available. What
would be the use of that, if the rifles are defective and
the barrels useless ? Napoleon, therefore, makes remarks
like the following, of which I give the text : —

"A good many of the barrels have wooden hoops;
they leak, 400 of them must be provided with iron hoops.
A certain number of barrels is still required to complete
the water supply for the transports and the men-of-war.
This matter is a very serious one, see to it without delay.
Some of the ships have no guard-rails, let these
deficiencies be remedied. " NAPOLEON."

, In conformity with the Emperor's instructions, the
" Master Coopers of Boulogne " were required to inspect
the barrels used for military purposes, and within a
few days all the barrels on the " Iron Coast " — gunpowder
barrels, fire-barrels, and water barrels — had been closely
examined, and those that were defective, had been
made good.

To conclude this chapter, I quote a letter from Bona-
parte showing how, even in those days when he was only
First Consul, he did his best to secure what little comfort
he could for his men.

" To GENERAL DEJEAN,

"MINISTER OF WAR.

" BOULOGNE, November i6th, 1803.
"CITIZEN MINISTER,—

" I send you a requisition in respect of the 36th
regiment. The regiment's effective should be 1,800
men ; it must be supplied with 200 more great coats.
The men of the wrecked gun-boats are in need of a
new outfit ; please give it them.

68 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" Only 5,000 water-bottles have come to hand.
It will be necessary to send a good many more, as each
of the soldiers must have one.

" Only 10,000 blankets have arrived.

" I have reason to be satisfied with the shoes I saw
in the stores, and with the blankets and kettles. But
I am not equally so with the camp tools, which are
not of the slightest use ; they are mere store remnants,
and not worth the transport.

" I am fairly content with the biscuit ; tolerably so,
with the bread and meat ; and, thanks to the extraordinary
measures which were taken with regard to the forage,
I am satisfied with that. Altogether I notice a great
improvement in the quality of the supplies, and it is
only fair to attribute it to the zeal you have displayed.

" BONAPARTE."

So the greatcoats, blankets, shoes, water-bottles, and
the food, claimed each in turn the attention of this many-
sided genius. The soldiers were perfectly well aware to
whom they were indebted for the care of their comforts —
relatively speaking — and the feelings with which they
regarded their Chief, amounted almost to adoration.

CHAPTER IV.

"' GRAND ARMY."

Psychology of Popular Feeling — Story of a Potter : his reception
at the Pavilion — The Boulogne Ship-boy and the Em-
peror.

IF, in these days, a man happened to discover a great
treasure, his first impulse would hardly prompt him
to go to the sovereign, or the chancellor of the exchequer,
to say that he rejoiced in having found a means of
financing the budget, and that the joy and satisfaction
he experienced in helping his country were sufficient
to compensate him for his act of patriotism.

The increasing tendency of politics to become inter-
national, the cosmopolitan nature of fashions and cus-
toms, and above all the egoism of pleasure-seekers, who
would sacrifice their country for the amusement of an
hour, have all contributed to destroy, it would seem,
the love of the native soil. Indeed, in society, even in
the highest set, it is considered broad-minded to affect
admiration for the avowed enemies of their country.

In spite of his faults, Napoleon had managed to
arouse the public spirit to such a pitch of generosity
and self-abnegation, that, at the time of which I now
write, there was not one man, even among the poorest,
but would have been proud to give the great chief a
proof of his devotion and admiration.

The following anecdote is worth recording, as it
justifies the foregoing remarks.

69

70 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

At the time of the Boulogne Camp, there was a poor
man living at Wissant,* who, in spite of hard work,
barely earned enough to keep his children clothed and
fed. He was a potter, and provided the inhabitants
with bricks, coarse drain-pipes and pantiles, which he
manufactured from excellent clay found on a common
near by, called in the district the " clay-pit," from
which anyone had a right to take clay according to his
wants.

When digging, the potter had often come across some
brilliant substances, which, on being struck with a
hammer, were flattened into a compact mass. Some-
times, also, he would find lumps of metal ore that
glistened ; and he asked himself whether this might not
be the gold of the tradition of the country, t for it was
whispered that there was gold at Wissant, for those
who had the luck to find it ; and the old people would
often tell their sons : " Remember, my boy, there's
gold at Wissant ; if you dig your field carefully, you
may find some treasure."

But the young people only thought that their parents'
advice was given so as to stimulate their zeal in cultivating
the land. "A gold mine ? " they reasoned. " Why, the
gold mine is in their stocking, when it is filled with the
money we have earned for them."

One day, however, the potter noticed that there were
some particularly fine specimens of the stone that con-
tained the glittering ore, in a certain barren little ravine,
in which the cattle of the very poor were allowed to graze.

* To explain the origin of the name Wissant, etymologists have tried
Celtic, Greek, and Latin meanings, but the most probable explanation is the
English one, White Sand ; especially if one takes into consideration the
proximity of this little beach of fine sand to the chalky headland of
Blanc-Nez (White Point). We must add that the old spelling of Wissant
was, in 1036, Witsand.

t In an excursion to Wissant in 1904, the author found some beautiful
specimens of this sulfuret of iron ore shining like gold.

A "GOLD MINE5' FOR THE "GRAND ARMY." 71

No one came to the spot, except the few children who
now and then led a cow or a goat to feed on the meagre
pasturage among the bent grass.*

The inhabitants of Wissant have always had to
struggle against the encroachment of the sand over
their land ; for centuries, indeed, the bailiff f and nobles
in the district kept a workman specially to plant bent
grass over the sand-hills, to prevent the shifting of the
sand, which threatened to bury the town.

Except, therefore, for this workman and perhaps
now and then a child, no one visited the ravine, which
to this day is known as " the gold mine."

The potter now resolved to bore a well in the place
where he expected to strike a vein of the precious metal.
He was anxious, of course, not to attract attention,
and therefore determined to carry on his operations
at night ; and in order to obviate all risk of discovery
and competition, he planned a mode of concealing the
opening to his " mine " during the daytime. He would
lay boards over it, and cover them with earth. For a
whole fortnight the honest potter spent his nights in
feverish activity, working at the fulfilment of the plan
which he had before him — to dig until he came upon
the gold, and go straight to the Emperor to tell him of
his portentous discovery. Then, thanks to poor Jean,
the fleet would be properly equipped, 200,000 men
landed on the English coast, and he and Napoleon,
between them, would achieve the conquest of England, and
Jean thought of the white outline of cliffs beyond the sea,
that looked like a rampart, perpetually defying all attack.

Making use of some planks he had picked up along
the shore, Jean contrived a rough scaffolding, which

* In the Boulonnais great importance was attached to the cultivation of
bent grass, among the sand hills along the coast ; and the planting of bent
grass is frequently mentioned in old historical documents.

t Bailli.

72 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

enabled him to work inside the well, for it had already
reached a depth of several feet below the surface.

As he penetrated deeper into the earth, he fancied the
particles of gold became more frequent. Perhaps a very
little more digging would disclose the treasure. In his
ignorance, he expected to come upon a whole bed of the
metal, of which he had already collected numerous samples;
and so great was his excitement that he paid no heed to
his bleeding hands ; for the skin, softened by the constant
contact with damp earth which his trade necessitated, had
very soon blistered in the handling of his rough wooden tools .

Just as he was about to come up to the surface,
carrying round his neck the sack he had filled with
samples of the glittering metal, a plank gave way,
jerked out of its place by an incautious movement on
his part, and the whole of the scaffolding fell on the top
of the inexperienced well-sinker. To make matters
worse, the sand, which there was nothing to hold back,
suddenly gave way on all sides, and buried the un-
fortunate man up to his armpits. To call for help was
the last thing he thought of doing, for his secret would
then have been betrayed ; besides, there was no one to
hear him. By dint of much struggling, he managed at
last to extricate himself from his lamentable position,
and reached the level in a half-fainting condition. After
ascertaining that his precious sack was still fastened
to his neck, he rose from the ground, to return to his
cottage. But his ankle had been fractured by a falling
plank, and so great was the pain caused by the injury
that the poor man had to drag himself on his knees
to reach his dwelling. During the days of pain and
insomnia that followed, Jean was buoyed up with one
grand thought : as soon as he was well enough, he would
present himself at the Imperial Pavilion and ask for
an audience of the Emperor.

A "GOLD MINE" FOR THE "GRAND ARMY." 73

Accordingly, on a certain market-day, the potter
who was then convalescent, was driven to the little
town of Marquise in a neighbour's waggon, and there
he had a choice of vehicles to take him on to Boulogne,
for there was a continuous traffic of carts between the
quarries at Marquise and the works that were in progress
at Boulogne. He was accommodated on one of these,
with a bundle of straw placed between two blocks of
stone ; and in this manner he performed the journey
of several miles, which lay between him and the realisation
of his dreams. When he reached the Plateau d'Odre,
he left the cart and made his way, still limping from
the effects of his accident, to the pavilion.

There he presented to the officer on duty a letter
addressed to the Emperor, and requested to be admitted
at once into his presence, as he had a most important
communication to make to his Majesty.

Hearing that the man came from Wissant, the
Emperor granted his request. On being introduced the
potter lost no time in preamble, but went straight to
the point. " Sire," he began, " I feel very happy,
for I have discovered a splendid gold mine ; and it's
all for you, and for the army. For myself, I want
nothing — absolutely nothing ! " And, trembling with
excitement, the amateur miner drew out of his pocket
several pieces of shining metal, and displayed his prize
before the Emperor.

As soon as Napoleon had the samples in his hand,
he detected the man's error ; the glittering particles
were not gold-dust, but merely a kind of pyrite, of a
metallic, golden brilliancy.*

* In 1870 a manufacturer came to Wissant to examine the ore, and the
result of his investigations was that the metal at Wissant is the same as
that found in the mines at Folkestone, which were started in 1810. There
is still to be seen a large mound of refuse from the shafts and galleries of the
mine, which is now deserted.

74 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The potter, who had not yet recovered from his
injuries, still experienced some difficulty in standing,
and looked about for something to lean against. " Ex-
cuse me, sire," he said simply, " but I broke my foot
in looking for your gold, and I can't stand upright very
well."

" How was that ? " asked Napoleon, with concern.

In a few words the potter told his story, adding :
" But all that is a mere trifle ; the only thing of any
consequence is that I have found the gold ; and there's
plenty of it, too, I can tell you ! It's lying about as
thick as pebbles, and when they open the trench they
will only have to bend down to pick it up."

Napoleon, whom his enemies have accused of being
cruel, could be considerate, nevertheless — especially to-
wards the poor and humble. He could not deal a blow
to the man who had given such proof of patriotism and
self-abnegation, by telling him that his discovery was
worthless, his dreams mere delusion. Concealing, there-
fore, his own impressions, the Emperor cordially thanked
the potter, and added that the engineers would care-
fully examine the ore, and that he fully appreciated
the generosity and devotion of which he had given such
manifest proof.

He then gave orders that the poor man's return
journey should be made as comfortable as possible, and
told him that he would go himself and visit Wissant,
which was so full of historic interest.

It was owing, no doubt, to the kind reception given
to the potter, that the inhabitants of Wissant made
overtures to the Emperor, with a view to inducing him
to visit their district, and to " restore their ancient
port to its former splendour."

And their request was not so extraordinary, for we
must remember that, even if Wissant was not the

A -GOLD MINE" FOR THE -GRAND ARMY." 75

" Portus Itius " from which Julius Caesar started for
the conquest of Britain, it at any rate became, in the
Middle Ages, one of the chief ports for crossing over to
England ; and the " Chanson de Roland " shows that
the locality was already famous at the time of Charle-
magne and his twelve peers. Louis d'Outremer, St.
Anselm of Canterbury, Henry II., Plantagenet, St.
Thomas a Becket, and many other illustrious person-
ages visited the town.

Who would believe it nowadays ? Formerly, Wissant
had an upper and lower town, a strong citadel, many
fortifications, and an important garrison. But in the
eighteenth century — notably in 1773 and 1777 — a portion
of the town, including the town hall, was buried under
the shifting sand.*

Wissant was not only an important seaport, but it
was the great depot for the wool trade between England
and Flanders.

It would appear that Napoleon was too much occu-
pied with pressing events to gratify the wish of the in-
habitants by going to inspect their town ; he had been
there once, when he was First Consul, but had merely
passed through on his way from Amble teuse to Calais.

I must mention here a little episode which is not
without savour.

On leaving the pavilion, after dismissing the potter,
Napoleon was still holding in his hand the finest lumps
of the pyrite, when he happened to see a sailor boy,
who had slipped through the sentries into the grounds.
Not knowing quite what to do with the bits of copper,
the Emperor addressed the boy, and without much
weighing his words, said, " Here, boy, would you like
to have some gold ? " and handed him the bits of metal.

* Not very long ago, as a result of a landslip, the window of an old house
emerged, and on a shelf stood a candlestick.

76 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The child no sooner held the pieces in his hand than
he started off at full tilt across the cliff, clearing boulders,
mounds, and morasses in his anxiety to show his parents
the gift that had been made him.

Then, suddenly, Napoleon was seen following him
dqwn the path, and calling out to him to stop ; but the
boy, feeling convinced that his prize was in danger of
being wrested from him, only ran all the faster, till at
last he slipped on the grass and fell.

Napoleon, whose agility was proverbial, caught him
up before he had time to escape again ; and seizing
him by the arm, told him to give up the bits of
copper, which he was holding, tightly clenched, in his
fists.

" Give me back those bits," said the Emperor. " They
are not gold, but only copper."

But a sailor's hand is short and thick, and strong as
a vice ; and the boy, standing upon his rights, would
not let go, and said, resolutely : "If you don't let go,
I'll shout."*

Napoleon soon felt that he was getting the worst of
the struggle ; he relaxed his hold, and holding a big
silver coin before the eyes of his little antagonist, " Give
me back the copper," he said, " and you shall have this
in exchange."

" No, I prefer the gold," the child replied, with perfect
logic. '

" But it is not gold."

" Yes, it is gold ; you told me so yourself."

Meanwhile, the officers who were standing at the
top of the cliff looked on at this strange scene, and
wondered what it meant.

The incident threatened to prolong itself and to
become ridiculous, when the Emperor put an end to

* In fishermen's language, " Si t'enne veux pont m'quitter-aller, j'gueule ! "

A "GOLD MINE" FOR THE "GRAND ARMY." 77

it by taking a bright " Napoleon " out of his pocket.
" Here, take that," he said. " There is no doubt about
that gold, and you will find that the shopkeepers will
prefer it to the other."

The boy was at last convinced by the justice of this
remark, and seizing the " Napoleon," he then gave up
the copper without making any further difficulties.

A few minutes latter, Napoleon entered Admiral
Bruix's pavilion and told the story to those who were
present. One of the officers expressed surprise at the
importance the Emperor had attached to the incident.

" You must know very little of men," said Napoleon
in sharp and abrupt tones. " The child would certainly
have said, ' Here is the gold the Emperor gave me.'
And naturally he would have been told that the Emperor
had lied. Do you think, gentlemen, that this is of no
importance ? "

CHAPTER V.

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS ON THE IRON COAST.

The Batteries of the Iron Coast — Bonaparte and the
Battery of " Monsters " — The Forge at Wimereux — The
"dejeuner" at Ambleteuse : M. d'Offrethun's Snuff-
box—The Grand Army and St. Peter's Well— The First
Battery at Gris-Nez — The " i " Division at Calais.

THE name of " Iron Coast," which was given to the shores
of the Boulonnais, was fully justified by the large number
of batteries which had been put up along the coast for
the defence.

It is possible to trace the position they once occupied
from their few remnants, and especially, of course, from
the plans of the period.

First of all, to the south of Boulogne Harbour there
were three batteries in close proximity along the Capecure
beach, beyond the point of the old jetty called Le Musoir.
These defended the entrance to the Channel.

Two batteries were placed at the commencement of
the Portel Cliff range,* one at the base, the other at the
summit ; and along the plateau extending to the fishing
village of Portel were four more batteries. A few hun-
dred metres inland from Portel, in the direction of
Outreau, there is a range running parallel to the line
of cliffs, between the spot called Ave Maria and the
hamlet of La Salle. This was occupied by the Left
Camp.

* The ground has been altered very much since" then by the works of the
Portland Cement Company.

78

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 79

The big fort de 1'Heurt, standing in front of Portel,
was built on a reef of rock, and armed with very
powerful ordnance. Further on, Cape d'Alprech was
defended by three batteries for plunging fire.

A little to the north of the harbour, a battery was
placed half-way up the slope, very near the spot at
present occupied by the Hotel Imperial ; a second

RUINS OF FORT DE L'HEURT.
(Built in 1803.)

crowned the highest part of the range at the Tour
d'Odre.

The formidable battery of Tour d'Odre consisted of
six mortars, and twelve 2/j.-pounders. These six mortars
— which were of the largest calibre ever cast — were
16 inches thick ; they fired a charge of 45 Ibs. of powder,
and could carry a 6oo-lb. shell a league and a half.
Each shell fired cost 325 francs. These formidable
weapons were nicknamed " monster " and " mignonette "
by the naval and military gunners respectively, and to
fire the piece a linstock 12 feet long was used. The
experienced gunner would crouch down, shielding his

8o NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

ear with his shoulder, and did not rise until some
moments after the discharge.

Napoleon wished to " baptise " this battery by
discharging the first " monster shell." He fired it,
but the blood at once started from his ears ; he was
completely deaf for two days, and his temper, it is said,
was insupportable.

Another battery was placed near the Moulin- Wibert,
and farther on still to the north was the " battery of

the Republic,"
its armed front
extending over a
headland which
guarded all access
to the Boulogne
port. This head-
land, which has
since totally dis-
appeared through
the action of the
waves, stood just

opposite the little monument of the Legion of Honour
which now exists.

Opposite the Point of La Creche, an advanced fort
was constructed in the sea, on the rock ; it was itself
protected by a battery on land. The sea gradually
demolished it, and as its ruins were becoming dangerous
to navigation, it had to be entirely removed. Close
to the entrance to the harbour stood the " Wooden
Fort " — a huge piece of timber- work, erected by the
First Consul, because the sand on which it was built
made it impossible to put up a stone structure.

This fort, which was commenced on ist Fructidor,
Year XL, was armed with eight 24-pounders, and two
long-range howitzers ; it was to be kept supplied with

LA BATTERIE »ES 'MONSTRES

eprouvec par Napoleon

The Battery of " Monsters " tested by
Napoleon.

Frcm cm Etching, 1804.

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 81

rations of biscuit, drinking-water, brandy, and cheese
sufficient to keep fifty men for six days (Soult's report).
It supported the flotilla vigorously on many occasions,
and inflicted so much damage on the English, that they
stipulated for its destruction in 1814, and inserted a
special clause to that effect in the treaty of peace. The
town of Boulogne has preserved the memory of the
Wooden Fort, by giving the name to one of the pic-
turesque streets in the fishing quarter.

This famous fort occupied very much the same

THE TERRIBLE "WOODEN FORT."
The Allies exacted its Demolition in 1814.

position as that of an ancient boom, which was placed
there towards the end of the third century by Constantius
Chlorus, to blockade the entrance to the harbour.

Eumenius,* in his " Panegyrics," describes this
erection, consisting of " beams driven into the earth
in the form of stakes, and connected with each other
by large piles of stone."

At that period, in fact, Constantius Chlorus had
been sent to Boulogne with the title of Caesar, by Diocle-
tian to wage war against Allectus, the sovereign of
Britain, f The town was invested by land and sea ;

* Secretary of Constantius Chlorus.

t Allectus, a former lieutenant of Carausius, had murdered the latter,
in order to be himself proclaimed sovereign of Britain. He was vanquished
and killed at Boulogne by Constantius Chlorus.
G

82 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

and among other details given in the " Panegyrics,"
we read that the British fleet brought by Eumenius
consisted of an " incalculable number of ships."

To return to the period which interests us at present
(1803-05), we may remark that there was also a well-
armed rampart to the north of the Tour d'Odre, near
the farm of Honvault, and on an islet was the Tour
de Croy.

As for the port of Wimereux, of which I am about
to speak, it was protected by two military works, to
right and left of the pile stockades. And the armament
of coast batteries was continued, in this way, at every
favourable point along the coast, between Etaples and
Cape Gris-Nez, a strategic point of the utmost import-
ance. So important, indeed, was it considered by
Bonaparte, that he gave it his first consideration, and
ordered the most powerful pieces of his coast artillery
to be placed in the Gris-Nez battery.

The powder magazines stood at the far end of the
Boulogne harbour, behind a wooden bridge, called the
" Service Bridge." At nightfall, no one was allowed
to cross the bridge without giving the password to the
second sentry — for the first one allowed people to go by
without challenge ; but if the passer-by was ignorant of the
password, he was pushed back towards the first sentry,
whose orders were to thrust his bayonet through the
body of the man who was foolhardy enough to venture
on to the bridge.

These precautions were essential, for one spark of
fire would have sufficed to blow up the whole of the
stores of gunpowder.

Constant writes : —

" At night, a heavy chain was drawn across the
entrance to the harbour, and the quays were lined with
sentries at fifteen paces from each other. Every quarter

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 83

they shouted their alert ' Sentinels, attention ! ' and
they were answered by the sailors in the tops with
' Good watch ! ' uttered in drawling, lugubrious tones.
Nothing could be more dismal and monotonous
than this roll of voices all shouting in the same
key ; all the more so as the men who uttered these
sounds endeavoured to make them as alarming as
possible."

Enormous sums were expended on excavating and
enlarging the harbours of Wimereux and Ambleteuse.
The wooden quays and jetties constructed in those
days can still be traced, and many a tourist has been
to sketch the picturesque and interesting remains.
During the summer of 1804, the harbour of Ambleteuse
could only accommodate 50 ships ; but Napoleon wanted
it to shelter the Batavian fleet ; and so, for the year
1804 alone, 942,000 frs. were spent upon deepening the
channel and building quays. As many as 2,000 men
are said to have been employed simultaneously in the
works.

As for the port of Wimereux, by the end of the
summer it could hold 129 ships ; and this number was
increased to 237 ships, able to leave the harbour with
two tides, and without too much crowding. The har-
bour was defended by a battery of mortars placed at
the extremity of a jetty, west of the channel. But
the constant repairs and works necessary to prevent
the silting up of sand inside the harbour, were a continual
source of outlay and expense. It was self-evident that
the Boulogne roadstead could not shelter the whole
of the flotilla ; and therefore the works begun at Boulogne
on February I2th, 1800, were supplemented by other
important works at Etaples, Wimereux, the mouth
of the Slack, etc.

On September 2lst, 1803, the Boulogne camp ex-

84 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

tended as far as Wimereux, and on October 6th Bona-
parte wrote to the " citizen admiral Bruix " from St.
Cloud :—

" General Soult has sent me a sketch of the river
at Wimereux. When the works at Boulogne are com-
pleted, on the ist brumaire, I intend to make a small
harbour at Wimereux, capable of holding two divisions
of the flotilla." (Archives of the Empire.)

On October 2ist, 1803, Bonaparte's scheme was
put into execution by decree. The size of the new
harbour — which was to accommodate 150 ships — was
" 4 hectares and 24 ares " ; and it was excavated by
the soldiers of the first and fourth division, converted
into " navvies " for the occasion. The Roche tte Cliff
protected the harbour from the guns of the enemy's
fleet. On March I2th, 1804, the new harbour was
inaugurated by Marshal Soult and Rear-Admiral La
Crosse, in the presence of the assembled troops.

And when, on July 25th, 1805, the 175,000 men
were waiting for the signal to embark, and when no
less than 2,300 ships of all kinds were collected along
the line of coast at Berck, Etaples, Boulogne, Amble-
teuse, and Wissant, it was the harbour of Wimereux
which was considered the most easy of egress ; but
then the sand, formerly obstructing the mouth of the
Wimereux river, had been removed, or pushed back
beyond the two pile stockades which formed the
channel.

According to the plans for the great expedition,
14,000 men, commanded by Lannes, were to embark
at Wimereux, and 16,000 at Ambleteuse under Davout.
As for the quays, they were built of wood, as may be
seen from the 200 great piles still visible at the present
time. A fort was constructed on the beach, and was
armed with powerful guns. Nothing but ruins are left

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 85

of it now, and before long the sea will have carried off
its last remains.

Sundry medals which have been found in the sand
at Wimereux * prove that it was formerly a Roman
town at the time of Julius Caesar's occupation of the
coast of the Morini in 55 B.C.

Adjoining the battery at Wimereux were the military
forge and grates for the heating of shot ; and sometimes
Napoleon used to go and see the men at work. On one
occasion, one of the workers picked up a red-hot cannon
ball, with the long pincers, and showed it to Napoleon :
" Look here, Citizen General," he said ; " it is just
like one of those plums we used to send them at Fort
Mulgrave."

" Oh, it is you, is it ? " replied the Emperor,
who remembered seeing the man at Toulon ; then,
not wishing to encourage the familiar language to
which he was no longer accustomed, he added :
" Your shot isn't red enough ; it ought to be nearly
white, and scintillate like stars, all over."

Before leaving, however, he directed that a gratuity
should be given to the man, and ordered double rations
of wine and brandy to be distributed among the
workmen ; then he went down to the shore.

Ambleteuse, which, we have every reason to believe,
was the " portus citerior " of which Caesar speaks, lies
at a distance of two and a half leagues from Boulogne ;
the numerous objects discovered there, and which are
known to have been in use among the Romans, would
seem to prove that the bay of Ambleteuse was one of
the places in Morini where they were quartered.

* The origin of the name of Wimereux has been discussed ; but if we
remember that the river which gives its name to the place was formerly
called " Vime," and that its banks were overgrown with rushes, we can trace
the name to the Latin word Vimen, signifying rush, osier, and to the old word,
" rieu," river — thus obtaining a satisfactory meaning for the name.

86 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

For many centuries the port of Ambleteuse was
rather an important one ; and in 1544 the English made
it one of their strategic positions by establishing a
redoubt called the Red Fort ; but they were driven out
by Henri II. The harbour, however, was allowed to
fall out of repair ; so much so, that it disappeared almost
entirely, and the sand silted up to such an extent at
the mouth of the Slack, that the waters flowed back
towards Marquise and turned the river meadows into
a lake. This is the lake of Raven thum, alluded to in
the Archives of Notre Dame, of Boulogne. As it be-
came difficult to distinguish the river from the lake,
it was finally known as the " Slack," a word which
appears at first to be a foreign name.

Towards the end of the seventeenth century, Amble-
teuse came very near towards regaining its former
importance, for at the time that Louis XIV. was anxious
to establish a strong position on the Channel, as a menace
to England, he came with Colbert to inspect Amble-
teuse, amongst other places ; and the result of his visit
was that Vauban was instructed to plan and carry
out important fortifications. But these ambitious
schemes were only partly realised. Nevertheless, Amble-
teuse remained a fortified place till the period of the
French Revolution ; and when the English made an
attempt to land there in 1708, they were forced to aban-
don the scheme.

Napoleon, realising the advantages of the position,
as Caesar, Charlemagne,* and Louis XIV. had done before
him, was anxious to make the harbour of Ambleteuse
serve his purpose ; and so it became one of the chief
points of concentration for the flotilla.

Monseigneur Haffreingue,f who was born in 1785,

* Charlemagne went to Ambleteuse in 792 to organise the defence of the
coast, and to repel the Norman invasion. f Born 1785, died 1871.

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 87

at Audinghen, quite near Ambleteuse, was better ac-
quainted than anyone with everything concerning the
encampment of the Grand Army on the Boulonnais
coast, for he was about twenty at the time of which I
write. We, who for several years were among the pupils
of this good priest — as remarkable for his deep faith
as for his lofty ideals — frequently had the opportunity
of listening to the reminiscences of his childhood.

Amongst other facts concerning Ambleteuse, Mon-
seigneur Haffreingue related that on one occasion, in
1804, Bonaparte instructed the engineers to carry out

BAY AND FORT OF AMBLETEUSE.

certain works necessary to the preservation of the
" spring of St. Peter d' Ambleteuse," which was said
to be miraculous by the inhabitants of the country.

Later on, a chapel * was built over the well. This
edifice can still be seen standing at the base of the cliff
at Ambleteuse ; the tradition attaching to it is closely
related to our subject, as will be seen by the
following :

The inhabitants of Britain had embraced the Christian
faith in the second century, and they retained their
religion in peace till the fifth century. Then followed
the conquest of Britain by the Saxons, and the new

* M. Hamy, Cure of Ambleteuse in 1845, erected a small Chapel in the
place. He was presented with a relic of St. Peter of Ambleteuse, for the shrine,
by the Abbe Leroy/professor at Monseigaeur Haffreingue's College at Boulogne.

88 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

invaders drove back the inhabitants, destroyed their
churches, and built temples to their own gods. Pope
Gregory the Great, having at heart the conversion of
the Anglo-Saxons, sent some monks to their island
with the illustrious St. Augustine ; and among these
missionaries were Laurence, and Peter, who became
St. Peter of Ambleteuse. The new apostles established
themselves at Canterbury, where, by their piety and
charity, and their continual preaching, they made
so deep an impression on the inhabitants, that on Christ-
mas Day, 597, Augustine baptised over ten thousand
English heathens.

At that time, Ambleteuse was such an important
place that most travellers bound for England sailed
from this port.

Peter was subsequently made abbot of the monastery
at Canterbury, founded by St. Augustine ; and a few
years later he was sent as Ambassador to the French
court by King Ethelbert, who placed great reliance
in his wisdom and prudence. But while on his way
to execute the mission with which he had been entrusted,
his ship foundered, when only half-way across the Channel,
and went down with all on board, on January 6th, 608.
The body of St. Peter was washed ashore at the base
of the Ambleteuse cliffs. According to the tradition,
a spring gushed from the spot where his body was found ;
it was looked upon as miraculous by the inhabitants,
and became a favourite pilgrimage resort for those
afflicted with " malignant fevers." In a manuscript
by Feramus, dated 1687 (Archives of Notre Dame, of
Boulogne), we read that " the inhabitants went to
drink the water from this spring, which cured those
who were afflicted with fever ; and the pious custom
lasted up to the time of the capture of Boulogne by
the English."

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS^ 89

The body of the holy abbot was taken to Boulogne,
where it became an object of the greatest veneration.

The information and details given to the author
by Monseigneur Haffreingue concerning the spring at
Ambleteuse are confirmed by an interesting document
found in the archives of the church at Audinghen, a
village close to Ambleteuse. This is a report, drawn
up by Monsieur Haffreingue,* cure of that parish,
and addressed to M. Lecomte, the vicar-general, who
had been directed by his Eminence the Cardinal de la
Tour d'Auvergne to attest the authenticity of the relic f
found in a wall of a house in Boulogne, where it had
been concealed in 1793 to shield it from desecration at
the hands of the Revolutionists.

" To M. THE VICAR-GENERAL.
" SIR —

" I enclose, together with the report forwarded
me by you, a Life of St. Peter, Abbot, which contains
all the information that the bishop requires, concerning
the origin of the worship of that saint in the district.
The celebrated spring, alluded to by the author of the
Life, was re-discovered in 1791 or '92. I was at that
time a child of eight or nine, and remember going
over to Ambleteuse, with my brothers, on the day which
had been appointed for the clearing away of the sand
which covered the spring. I remember, also, the delight
of the inhabitants when it was disclosed, and how they
pressed forward to drink of the water, which was very
plentiful ; so plentiful is it, that at the time of the
Boulogne camp it more than sufficed for the needs of
the soldiers, for whose use it was exclusively reserved.
To protect it from another encroachment of the sand,

* Brother of Monseigneur Haffreingue.

t A portion of the femur — " pars femoris sancti Petri Ambleteusis."

90 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Napoleon had it surrounded with a high wall. . . . You
will gather from the letter of M. Hamy, cure of Amble-
teuse, how devoted his parishioners are to the worship
of St. Peter, who is the object of their highest veneration.
If his Eminence deigns to establish the authenticity
of the relics, after satisfying himself that the proofs
are sufficient, the joy of the people will be unbounded.
" I seize this opportunity, sir, to beg of you to accept
the assurance of my profound respect, with which I
remain,

' Your most sincere, humble, and obedient servant,

" HAFFREINGUE.
" Audinghen, July 6th, 1845."

It is an established fact that the supply of water
was so abundant, that it sufficed for the requirements
of the flotilla and of that portion of the army which
was encamped on the plains of Ambleteuse — that is,
from 20,000 to 25,000 men.

Between the spring and the sea, was a military
earthwork, which Bonaparte included in the system of
detence he organised at the mouth of the Slack. This
work was called "St. Peter's rampart."

There is no doubt, therefore, that Bonaparte did
order the engineers to construct important works round
the reputed miraculous spring. It has been said that
if a general, in our days, gave proof of such in-
dependence of spirit, he would certainly be charged
with inveterate clericalism.

But Bonaparte went his own way, and setting aside
all fear of the world's opinion, only considered the
one thing of importance — to secure for his soldiers a
supply of pure water.

The First Consul appears to have been at Amble-
teuse on more than one occasion ; but we have a record,

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 91

at all events, of his being entertained at a dejeuner
given in his honour by M. d'Offrethun, a fine old man
of eighty-nine years of age, in the " Government House,"
now the " Chestnut Villa." On taking leave of his host,
Bonaparte expressed his satisfaction at the cordial
reception he had met with, and presented Mr. d'Offrethun
with a gold snuff-box * in remembrance of his visit to
Ambleteuse.

In connection with this, the author must be per-
mitted a slight digression.

It was Bonaparte's habit, not only to constantly
take snuff himself, but to give a snuff-box when he wished
to make a present to anyone. What was the reason of
this custom ? For it is more than probable that he
had some ulterior motive in this respect. If we inquire
closely into the many little originalities and idiosyn-
cracies — not to say tricks — peculiar to illustrious person-
ages, we may find that they were really deliberate acts,
done expressly to serve a purpose ; and, looked at in
this light, we find that they are proofs of discernment
and skill. Napoleon's snuff-box is an instance of this.
Shrewd as he was, he fully realised the value of a pinch
of snuff, opportunely offered or taken. When offered
in the course of an interview, it was an easy form of
politeness, which served not only to flatter the man
he was addressing, but also to bafHe him at the right
moment, or even to cut him short altogether. And
when he conversed with men of the working class, he
delighted them with this mark of familiarity; it was
as pleasing to their pride as his mode of addressing
them with " thee " and " thou," which contributed
so much to his popularity.

On the other hand, a pinch of snuff taken with

* This snuff-box must have been round in shape, as it had sometimes
been mistaken for a watch.

92 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

apparent nonchalance, gave him an opportunity for gain-
ing time, when he wanted to collect his thoughts before
making a decision, which was always final, or when
any impetuosity or anger made it necessary for him
to recover his self-possession.

Many a time did he offer a " courteous pinch of
snuff " during the debates in the Council of State.
When the Emperor saw that a proposal he had
laid before the Council was not " going as well
as he wished," he betrayed a nervous impatience
in all his movements, and had recourse to
ingenious methods of distracting attention from his
person.

On such occasions, if he noticed that the attention
of a Councillor was fixed on himself, he would make
him a sign and stretch out his arm, moving his finger
and thumb, which implied, " Give me a pinch of snuff."
The member, of course, would hasten to pass his
snuff-box to the Emperor, who would take a pinch,
and then toy with the box, scattering the powder
about.

The box generally found its way into the Emperor's
pocket, for in his pre-occupation he forgot to restore
it to its owner ; sometimes three or four disappeared
in this way at one sitting, and it was only on leaving
the Council that he discovered what he had done in
his absent-mindedness. Needless to say, the snuff-
boxes were returned without delay to their rightful
owners. Sometimes, in fact, they underwent an agree-
able change on leaving the Imperial pocket, and the
member who had perhaps lent a modest little tortoise-
shell box received in exchange a gold one, ornamented
either with diamonds, or his master's miniature. When
anyone had done him a great service, Bonaparte did not
content himself with offering a pinch of snuff ; he made

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 93

special gifts of costly snuff-boxes, which were ordered
expressly for presentation purposes. Their value was
such, that they were simply regarded as precious trinkets ;
for the exquisite miniature, set in diamonds, which
generally appeared on the lid, made the recipient forget
the powder that was inside.

And besides the artistic merit of these gifts, there
was a personal interest attaching to them which made
them doubly valuable. For instance, when, in 1803,
the First Consul was desirous of rewarding the guardian
and watchman of the Gris-Nez battery, near Amble-
teuse for the zeal they had displayed, he simply gave
them each a present of money, just as in 1804 he thanked
the Boulogne pilot Fournier, who had saved the lives
of eleven shipwrecked soldiers at the risk of his own,
by awarding him a certificate of honour and a sum
of 500 francs, to which Bruix added another 200 francs.
But when Napoleon wished to treat anyone with dis-
tinction, he would give him a snuff-box as a token of
his personal regard.

The cost of these gifts was generally between
2,000 to 3,000 francs each ; but those he in-
tended for important personages cost a great deal
more.

We know that Napoleon, while in camp at Boulogne,
was making preparations for his coronation, which
was to give the supreme sanction to his title. The
establishment of the Empire had already been approved
by a suffrage of three and a half million of votes ; *
but this did not suffice the modern Charlemagne, and
on December 2nd, 1804, he was anointed at Notre
Dame in Paris, by Pope Pius the seventh, who was

surrounded by his cardinals And what

do we see in the archives ? Napoleon, no doubt,

2,579 voted against the Empire.

94 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

hardly liked to make a present of a snuff-box * to the
Pope ; but he ordered five snuff-boxes at 30,000 francs
apiece, for the five cardinals.

In the record of presents given, mention is made
of many other snuff-boxes, which had cost 7,599 francs,
10,773 francs, 11,615 francs apiece, etc. In fact, the
bestowal of these special gifts, as a form of diplomatic
compliment, assumed an official character, for when
Bonaparte was First Consul it had already been decided,
at his instigation, that the presents given in the name
of the French Government should be caskets of gold,
worth 15,000 francs for the ambassadors ; worth 8,000
francs for the ministers plenipotentiary ; and 5,000
francs for the charge's d'affaires (Nat. Arch.). In November,
1800, a gold snuff-box, set with diamonds, worth 8,000
francs, was presented to Boccardi, ex-plenipotentiary of
the Ligurian Republic. Another was given to the
Marquis of Musquiz, ex-ambassador of Spain ; this one
vcost 15,000 francs (April i8th, i8pi). On September
29th of the same year, the sum of 72,719 francs was
raised on the Treasury diamonds, in order to pay for
the setting of seven choice snuff-boxes. The Bey of
Tunis received in December, 1802, a snuff-box worth
10,266 francs ; while Ali Effendi, ex-plenipotentiary of
the Porte, was presented with one costing 15,000 francs.
And when Napoleon became Emperor, he established a
credit of 380,688 francs in favour of the jeweller Mar-
guerite, for a hundred snuff-boxes set in diamonds.
Lastly, in the Emperor's will dated April I5th, 1821,
at St. Helena, he mentions, among other legacies, two

* The present to the Pope consisted of a tiara costing 180,000 francs and
of a rocket of lace costing 20,000 francs, given by the Empress. Napoleon,
unwilling to lead the Pope into expense, directed Talleyrand to write to
M. de Cacault, French Ambassador in Rome,[to this effect, " that the presents
of the Pope Would give great satisfaction, if they consisted of a cameo, for
each of the plenipotentiaries, of a casket without a single diamond, and of a
few rosaries " (chapelets).

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS 95

small mahogany cases, one of which contained three
snuff-boxes, and the other thirty-three bonbonnieres or
snuff-boxes ; and he writes : "I desire Marchand, my
head valet, to give these to my son when he reaches
the age of sixteen."*

But to return to Ambleteuse. After presenting his
snuff-box to M. d'Offrethun, the First Consul received
several of the inhabitants, and then went to inspect
the fortifications of the little harbour ; subsequently
he continued his tour of inspection all along the coast,
passing through Audresselles, Gris-Nez, and Wissant,
till he reached Calais at 7 o'clock in the evening (12
Messidor, Year XL).

When the Emperor had completed his plans with
respect to the flotilla, he ordered the first battery to
be placed at Gris-Nez, which was one of the most important
positions along the coast. The author has seen various
letters among the " Emperor's correspondence," in which
he insists on the exceptional importance of this strategic
point, in preventing the enemy from doubling the Cape.
Another formidable battery had been set up close to
Blanc-Nez, south of Sangatte, the earthworks of which
are still visible, f

In order to reach Calais, via Gris-Nez, and Wissant,

* It has been said that among the many legacies mentioned by the illus-
trious exile in his will, he omits all objects of a devotional character. Mis-
fortune, they say, had not reawakened Napoleon's religious feeling. This is
an error. There is, on the contrary, a clause in Napoleon's will, in which he
desires that " The sacred vessels in use in my chapel at Longwood be taken
care of by Abbe Vignali, who will deliver them over to my son, when he
reaches the age of sixteen." And is it necessary to recall to memory the terms
in which the exile makes his profession of faith at the head of his testamentary
dispositions : " I die in the Roman Catholic Faith, in which I was born over
fifty years ago."

t It is at Sangatte that a French Company some years ago proposed
starting the submarine tunnel under the Channel ; it was to traverse the
chalk strata ot Blanc-Nez. Scientifically, the scheme is quite practicable ;
but it is only natural that, from political reasons, England should not be much
in favour of the plan.

96 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Napoleon had to cover a distance of 40 kilometres. He
performed the journey mounted on a small grey horse,
and never dismounted — except for the halt at Amble-
teuse — till he reached Calais. He habitually rode grey
horses, in spite of the tradition which generally repre-
sents him mounted on a white charger.*

In certain places along the coastline, the cliff drops
away precipitously from the edge ; but inasmuch as
the whole of the Iron Coast was armed with guns, Napoleon
had to ride along the border on his tour of inspection.
But, as we know, every horse intended for Napoleon's
use was carefully broken in ; he insisted on having
horses he could trust, and never mounted any that
had not been thoroughly trained. For instance, flags
were waved, swords were flashed in front of them ;
shots were fired close to their ears ; fireworks were thrown
between their legs ; and they were taken at a gallop
up to the edge of a precipice and pulled up short.

When Bonaparte arrived at Calais on July 2nd,
1803, he went to a celebrated inn kept by M. Dessin,
a highly intelligent inn-keeper, who had succeeded in
making his Hotel d'Angleterre a place of much interest.
His ingenuity in devising means of attracting customers
surpassed that of the cleverest hotel managers ; for
instance, he had set up a small theatre, in one of the out-
buildings belonging to the inn, which became a useful
advertisement for his establishment.

Lord Cornwallis stayed there when he came to France
to negotiate the Peace of Amiens ; and, as I quoted above,
in 1803 the First Consul went there also, his mind filled
with the warlike plans which the rupture of that frail
treaty had prompted.

* (Nat. Archives.) Napoleon's horses are quoted in the following manner :
Trout grey, dark grey, slate grey, dirty grey, pale grey, flea-bitten, dapple
grey, spotted^grey.^light 'grey, mouse -coloured, ash grey.

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 97

A former Government official living at Calais dis-
covered an original document, in the archives of the
office, containing a series of Italian proverbs which the
illustrious Corsican was fond of quoting when conversing
with the members of his family,* or with the Italians
he came in contact with. And also, when under the
influence of some dominating idea, he would pace to and
fro, one arm behind his back, according to his habit,
uttering short pithy phrases and impetuous aphorisms,
stamping on the floor in rhythm, so as further to empha-
sise his words. The document in question was probably
compiled by the collective efforts of the officers of the
Italian Division then quartered at Calais, under the
command of General Trivulsi — at least, this is the pre-
valent idea. But a Corsican writer — a great authority
on the history of the First Empire — wrote in reply to
the question I had submitted to him on the subject,
that, after carefully considering the matter, he thought
it probable that the author of the document was a
Corsican called Morini, who was given the command of
a battalion at the Boulogne camp on his return from
Italy, and who afterwards became a baron of the
Empire.

The Italian Division was familiarly termed the
" division of the i's," on account of the typical termin-
ation of the officers' names. For instance, there were
Ferreri and Palliotti, Commissaries of War ; Bonfanti
and Calori, Lieutenants ; Bianchi, Jacapeti, Lonati,
Bejani and Bianchi-Dada, Captains. The commanding
officer's name was Mazuchelli ; then there was another
Bonfanti who was Major-General ; and Trivulsi was

* Joseph Bonaparte, Colonel of the 4th Line Regiment, had his pavilion
in the left camp, at Chatillon, between Boulogne and Portel — that is, exactly
opposite his brother's pavilion at the Tour d'Odre. Prince Joseph Bonaparte
was with the second division commanded by General Vandamme, whose head-
quarters were at Outreau.
H

98 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

General-in-command. This one-rhymed litany fully
justifies the name by which the Italians were known.

The following is an abstract of Napoleon's favourite
proverbs. Taken as a whole, they are of the greatest
psychological interest, for it would be easy — if one had
leisure — to trace their influence in many an act and
episode taken from the life of the man who made use
of these adages in his hours of ease.

According to information gathered in Corsica, it
appears that these proverbs are still in common use in
that country.

II mondo e di chi se lo piglia.

The world belongs to him who knows how to seize it.

Bisogna navigar secondo il vento.

The sail must be set according to the wind.

Cento non ne valgon uno.

A hundred men may not have the value of one.

II timor del uno, aummenta I'ardir dell'altro.

The coward increases the courage of his adversary.

Anche delle volpi, sene pigliano.

Foxes may be cunning, but they are caught all the same.

Chi non risica, non rosica.

Who risks nothing, gets nothing.

La pratica val piu della grammatica.
Practice teaches better than books.

Chi pecora si fa, il lupo se la mangia.

Who makes himself a sheep, is devoured by the wolf.

Non e uomo chi non sa dir di no.
He is not a man who cannot say no.

Chi fa buona guerra, ha buona pace.

Who makes a good war is assured of a good peace.

Chi vuol fuoco, ha da patir il fumo.

Who wants fire must put up with the smoke.

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 99

Chi non arde, non incendie.

Who has no zeal, makes no zealots.

Uomo assalito, e mezzo preso.

A man surprised is half captured.

£ meglio esser capo di gatta, che code di leone.

Better be the head of the cat than the tail of the lion.

Chi non sa far, non sa commandar.
Who cannot perform, cannot command.

Chi la dura, la vince. ,

Who is firm, prevails.

Fidarsi e buono, ma non fidarsi e meglio.
Confidence is good, mistrust is better.

La gamba fa quel che vuol il ginocchio.
The leg does what the knee wills.

Do not these adages seem to reflect Napoleon's most
private thoughts ?

A Corsican friend of the author has sent him the
following remarks with reference to the Corsican pro-
verbs : —

" Many of the common sayings in vogue in our
island are of Italian origin. The local dialect modifies
them but slightly. For instance, the infinitive form
of the verb which is given in the proverbs, is abbre-
viated in the Corsican lines.* Bonaparte and his
Corsican officers naturally spoke pure Italian, because
they had been educated in Italy, as was the fashion
at that time among those of the upper classes. The
priests also preached in Italian."

These proverbs are introduced into many a Corsican
popular song, of which they are the theme ; and their
spirit has inspired many a verse in those popular ballads
which lulled Napoleon to sleep in his childhood.

* Thus, Ave is said for>vere, fa for^fare^guverna for governare.

ioo NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" Lulled to sleep " is hardly the term to apply in
this case, for a cradle-song is essentially a song of poetry,
gentleness, and love. But the Corsican verses breathe
a very different spirit ; they glow with hatred, implacable
revenge, and with praise of death.

In fact, none but the Corsicans have taken such
sinister delight in extolling death, in courting it, in
singing its praises, as they have done, from time
immemorial, in those funereal " voceri " that are
sung, like hymns, around the hearth; while the
children's minds are trained to consider the vendetta
as the will of God, and the only recourse of out-
raged men.*

It was in these surroundings that Napoleon first
began to acquire a " contempt of life," though he did
not give way to the feelings of revenge which were
cherished by his countrymen.

It is quite disconcerting to our notions to read of
a mother exhorting her sons, as though she were bidding
them fulfil a sacred duty, to make secret preparations
for dealing a mortal blow to the enemy of the family
— or even to his descendants, for vengeance is hereditary
— in order to requite an injury to a kinsman, perhaps
long since in his grave.

On September 2gth, 1803, Bonaparte wrote to the
citizen Melsi, Vice-President of the Italian Republic,
saying :—

" My reasons for wanting to have an Italian corps,
are that I am anxious to instil a feeling of military spirit
and pride among the youths of Italy (the only thing
wanting to enable them to beat an equal number of
Austrians). That they should have even the appear-

* In the archives of Genoa, it appears that, between 1683 and 1715, the
number of murders in Corsica amounted to 28,715 — i.e. to an average of
900 a year for a population of 150,000.

BONAPARTE'S INSPECTIONS. 101

ance of being well-armed would suffice me ; but they
should be perfectly well-equipped."

And it appears that the Italian soldiers did,, make
use of their arms, even against the worthy peasants
who had given them shelter under their roof.* And
there was nothing the Calais people dreaded more than
having these " villainous Sisalpins billeted on them,
who were always fighting by day or by night, either
in the fields, or the fortifications, or even in the houses ;
who constantly indulged in brawls that were always
followed by duels ; and who, after they had killed
their victim, were not ashamed of stripping him of his
clothes."

The author found one of these billeting papers among
his own family archives ; it is signed by Mazuchelli,
chief of the staff of the Italian Division in France, at
headquarters in Calais.

One can well understand the inhabitants of the town
retaining painful memories of the Italian Division, and
rejoicing when it was replaced by the dragoons of the
reserve, who encamped on the Eastern Glacis, or " Plain
of St. Peter."

On August 26th, 1804, the permanent Court Martial
at Valenciennes, presided over by Colonel Bertoletti,
condemned a Corsican, Jean Armoni, aged twenty-five,
to be shot. Armoni, a sergeant-major in the 2nd Batta-
lion of the ist Regiment of the line, garrisoned at Calais,
was accused of the " premeditated murder " of Captain
Gerlini and of assault on a superior. He was shot on
the beach, at 6 o'clock on the morning of September nth,
at the base of the cliff near the Eastern Glacis at Calais.

The first Italian regiment left Calais for Ambleteuse
on November 20th, 1805, and they signalised their
departure by another crime.

* Rheims Histoire de Calais.

102 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

While the soldiers were on the march, four drummers,
who were drunk and lagging behind, met a carter on
the road — a certain Defosse, from Marquise — whom they
tried to compel to give them a lift in order that they
might rejoin the column. Defosse refused, explaining
that his cart was already overladen ; whereupon one
of the Italians raised his musket and stretched the man
dead at his feet.

CHAPTER VI.

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE TO THE BOULONNAIS.

The First Consul at Etaples ; he Visits the Chateau d'Hardelot—
The British Sailor — Bonaparte Falls into the Harbour —
His Wardrobe at the Tour d'Odre— He visits the Hospital-
Sister Louise — The Emperor Returns to Boulogne After
the Coronation : Enthusiastic Reception.

NAPOLEON, having left St. Cloud at 4 o'clock in the
morning of December 3Oth, 1803, reached Etaples un-
expectedly early on the following day. The moment he
arrived he went to inspect the bay and the encamp-
ments ; then he resolved to go on to Boulogne, following
the coastline, in order to ascertain exactly what were
the conditions of the armaments of the coast batteries
between the two towns.

The Minister of War had especially called his attention
to the fortress of Hardelot, which stood near the forest
of that name to the north of Etaples.

This historic chateau was built upon ancient forti-
fications, probably dating from the time that Julius
Caesar was preparing to invade England. It was a
fortress strongly protected by towers, drawbridges,
and deep moats, which were filled from the neighbouring
lake of Claire-eau. At a later period the chateau, which
was considered impregnable, was used by Regnier, Count
of Boulogne, for the detention of prisoners of war (890-
916) ; * and in 1544 Henry VIII. only succeeded in

* In Hardrei locum incarcerat.
103

io4 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

capturing it after a long and tedious siege.* In short,
the opinion was held at the War Office that although
the fortress had become the private property of M. de
Chateaubourg since 1783, it might well be made to
serve for present military purposes.

But after a rapid inspection of the lie of the land,
the First Consul soon came to the conclusion that the
fortress was too far inland among the sand-hills for the
guns ever to be within effective range of an enemy's
ships.

He therefore continued his course through the Con-
dette sand-hills — where rabbits swarmed — and reached
Boulogne at 10 o'clock in the morning, fully determined
to concentrate his operations around that town by
establishing a whole series of works, which, taken in
their entirety, constituted the Iron Coast. The name
of Hardelot recalls a rather pleasant anecdote narrated
by various English and French authors, and which has
every appearance of truth. It may be mentioned now,
though it really took place some months later.

While Napoleon was at Boulogne, a young English
sailor, a prisoner, managed to escape, and hid himself
in the Hardelot forest, where he lived for some time
enduring the greatest privations. By dint of much
labour he constructed the framework of a tiny boat,
fashioned from branches which he bound together with
flexible bark he had peeled off the trees. He had also
contrived a covering for his frail skiff, made out of
canvas with a coating of resin, which could be used
when required and gave the boat the appearance of a
canoe.

It was by these primitive means that the daring
young fellow hoped to reach the open sea, and he

* " And if your Majestye wolde cause the Castle of Hardelo to be taken "
(Letter of the Duke of Norfolk to Henry VIII., July 24, 1544)-

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 105

anxiously awaited a favourable moment for the execu-
tion of his plans.

Perched in the top of a high tree, he would eagerly
scan the horizon, till one day he sighted an English
brig. Without losing a moment he climbed down,
shouldered his skiff, and ran down with it on to the
beach. But just as he was about to launch it, the coast-
guards caught sight of him, and he was taken back to
Boulogne. The story of the sailor's rash attempt spread
quickly. The Emperor wished to see the skiff and
the prisoner, who then explained ingenuously how he
had intended getting over to England. His scheme
seemed well-nigh impossible, and yet the only boon the
prisoner craved was that he should be allowed to carry
out his design. Napoleon, admiring his courage, said
to him, " Are you so anxious, then, to return to your
country ? " " Yes," he replied ; "I want to see my
poor mother, who is old and ailing." The Emperor
was struck by his filial devotion, and gave him his liberty,
providing him with money and clothing, for he was
almost naked.

As I have already mentioned, the First Consul
reached Boulogne from St. Cloud on December 3ist,
1803. The following day was devoted to a general
review of the flotilla. Bertrand writes, in his " Precis
of the History of Boulogne " : —

" While Bonaparte was crossing the harbour, his
horse stumbled over a cable, causing the First Consul
to fall in the water ; but as it happened to be shallow
at that spot, he laughed and exclaimed : ' It's only a
bath ! ' "

It was not the harbour proper that Napoleon was
crossing on this occasion, but the inner harbour above
the bridge ; in other words, the bed of the Liane, which
he was able to ford. Apparently, this was an easy thing

io6 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

to do, for nowadays even a child could cross the stream
without any danger when the tide is out. On a previous
occasion he had already " crossed the Liane by going up to
his knees in water."* But at the time of which I now
speak, the waters of the Liane were kept up, by means
of the sluice-dam, to the level required to keep the
" floating powder magazines " afloat ; these were moored
in the middle of the inner harbour, in order to prevent
a catastrophe in case of explosion, for the arsenal and
naval barracks stood between the Chateau de Cape-
cure and the river bank. The powder magazines were
securely fastened with cables and chains, for fear of
their being carried adrift with the tide. In addition,
and above the floating magazines, was a rear-guard of
boats, also secured with strong fastenings ; and it was
against one of these fastenings, hidden under water,
that the First Consul's horse stumbled. " Some gun-
boats, used for powder magazines, were moored on the
Liane, at the foot of St. Leonard's Hill, and a chain was
drawn across the river to intercept all communication.''!

According to the plans that were drawn up at the
time, there were boats of this description anchored all
along the river from the bridge to St. Leonard.

The author of the " Histoire de Boulogne " adds
that, immediately after the accident, Bonaparte, who
was wet through, " ran up to the Tour d'Odre to change
his clothes," and then returned to his inspection, which
was continued as far as the roadstead.

This incident leads us to the subject of Napoleon's
wardrobe.

The Emperor was usually in uniform, especially when
at the Boulogne camp. On Sundays, and on levee days,
when, for instance, he received the commanding officers
at the Tour d'Odre, he wore the uniform of the Foot

* Bertrand. t Loc. cit.

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 107

Grenadiers of the Guard — a blue coat with white facings.
On week days he wore the uniform of the Mounted
Chasseurs of the Guard, which consisted of a green
coat lined with scarlet cloth, the cape, facings, and
pipings of the same colour. The price of this uniform
varied from 200 to 240 francs, not including the epaulettes.

As for the grey riding coat (" redingote grise "), it
corresponded to the officers' great-coats of the present
day, and was worn in cold or wet weather ; if it pre-
sented that " bulky " appearance which foreign carica-
turists loved to exaggerate, it was because he never
removed his epaulettes, for which reason his tailor was
instructed to " cut the armholes very large."

As an example of the Emperor's expenditure on
his wardrobe, I quote the following tailoring account : —

For the months of Vendemiaire, Brumaire, Frimaire,
Nivose, and Ventose, Year XIII. — Sixty-six waistcoats and
sixty-six pairs of breeches of white kerseymere, at 90
francs the waistcoat and the pair of breeches. — Enlarged
and repaired various uniforms of the Guard. — Supplied
one grey riding coat in Louviers cloth, 200 francs. — One
pair of embroidered velvet breeches, 120 francs. — Four
silk wadded waistcoats, 192 francs. — Twenty-four pairs
of linen drawers, 480 francs. — Three uniforms of the
Guard, lined scarlet, at 250 francs, and three pairs strong
epaulettes at 150 francs the pair. — Twenty-four pairs
of drawers at 20 francs. — Replaced buttons on the eagle
and on a uniform of General-in-Chief, etc. etc. In April
(Germinal). — A hunting coat, braided, 550 francs. — A
hunting overcoat, 200 francs. — A brown twill coat with
plated buttons, 190 francs. — A twill lilac grey coat,
plated buttons, 190 francs. — A uniform of the Guard
with strong epaulettes, 400 francs. — Making an em-
broidered purple poult-de-soie coat, 5 francs. — Twenty-
four pairs of drawers at 20 francs. — Thirty white kersey-

io8 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

mere waistcoats and pairs of breeches at 90 francs.—
Fourteen badges at 60 francs apiece. — Four white silk
breeches.

In a consignment to Milan, the following items are
mentioned : Sixty-two waistcoats and sixty-two breeches
at 70 and at 90 francs (waistcoat and breeches re-
spectively).— Six pairs of trousers and six waistcoats
at 100 francs. — A green uniform of Chasseurs of the
Guard, with epaulettes and badge with massive silver
eagle (70 francs), 470 francs. — Then in Thermidor,
Bonaparte ordered a supplementary outfit in view of
his approaching visit to Boulogne, for although it was
the height of summer, still, it was always fresh up at
the pavilion on the summit of the cliff, and he would
require special protection for his excursions, in wind
and rain, along the coast, and for his inspections in
the roadstead. He ordered, therefore, four grey riding
coats, so that he might be sure of always having a dry
one to change into, if perchance he was soaked with
the sea or rain. The following items were delivered
to Bonaparte at Boulogne : " Nine green coats (Mounted
Chasseurs), at 210 francs — a pair of epaulettes, 150
francs — and badge of the eagle, 70 francs. — Four grey
cloth riding coats, at 200 francs. — Enlarging sleeves of
two quilted robes, re-lining sleeves of a coat (of the
Guard), changing the lapels and facings of another,
etc. etc. Total, 32,167 francs. Reduced to 29,000
francs, after checking."

We see by these lists that the number of breeches
required by Napoleon was considerable ; in fact, judging
from the few tailors' accounts that have been found,
the total appears incredible. And yet these garments
were carefully mended as well, for we find the following
quotations : Mending twenty-seven breeches at i franc
each ; and replacing silk buttons to ten breeches. But

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 109

to account for this profusion we must remember not
only that Napoleon was constantly in the saddle, but
that he was a very poor rider as well, and the moment
his mount increased his pace, Napoleon " skated " in
the saddle.

When disengaged from his inspections in the Right
and Left Camps, Napoleon found time, during his short
leisure moments, to check all the items of the robes
to be worn by him and the Empress at the coronation —
a solemnity which to him was an affair of State.

The few items quoted here are extracts from a
memorandum submitted to the Emperor by the chief
purveyors of the period. Picot, embroiderer to the
Emperor and Empress, Rue St. Thomas-du-Louvre :
;' The large imperial mantle of purple velvet, embroid-
ered gold, strewn with bees, 15,000 francs. — Mantle of
lesser state, purple velvet, white satin facings, gold
embroidered, 10,000 francs. — Coat of purple velvet,
embroidered, with waistcoat of white velvet, and em-
broidered garters, 3,500 francs — the belt, cord, and
button, shoulder belt of purple velvet, gold embroidered,
and a second pair of garters, 1,200 francs. — Total, 29,700
francs ; reduced to 26,000 francs."

" Madame Vve. Toulet, furrier. Fur for Emperor's
mantle, 18,220 francs ; and for fur on Empress's
mantle, 12,460 francs." Madame Toulet's account
was substantially reduced, and she received 27,680
francs.

" M'elle. Fouret, embroiderer. One pair white gloves,
and one pair white silk stockings embroidered in gold,
94 francs."

The embroidery on the robes had been made by
Picot, but the materials were paid for separately.

;c Vacher, silk mercer to their Majesties. For the
coronation robes : white satin, white velvet, crimson

no NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

velvet, Tyrian purple velvet, etc., 2,515 francs. — For

the mantle of the Empress : 22 metres of Tyrian purple

velvet, 614 francs " (Nat. Archives).

" Poupart, special hatter to the Emperor. Two

hats with feathers, one embroidered in gold, 1,020 francs."
" Jacques, special bootmaker to the Emperor. One

pair white velvet shoes, embroidered in matt gold from

a design by Isabey, 400 francs."

" Biennais, goldsmith to the Emperor, Paris, Rue

St. Honor e, ' Au Singe Violet.' " His account for items

supplied for the ceremony of anointing and for the

coronation amounts to 36,342 francs.

A crown of laurels, 8,000 francs. — Case for crown,

1,350 francs. — Gilt sceptre, surmounted with an eagle
holding a thunderbolt, 3,500 francs. — The Hand of
Justice, ivory and silver gilt, 2,800 francs. — Orb, silver
gilt, 1,350 francs. — Case for the three, 400 francs.
The Collar of the Grand Order, 5,000 francs. — Braid
for his Majesty's hat in chased gold, 290 francs. —
Maces of the ushers, silver gilt, 2,400 francs. — Eight
swords, at 150 francs, for the valets. — Two salvers,
silver gilt, for the offerings, 930 francs, etc.

As for the estimate submitted by Mme. Raimbaud,
the celebrated dressmaker of the period, it was accepted
in principle, save for the reduction which the Lord
Chamberlain Charles Maurice (Talleyrand) was instructed
to make on all accounts sent in to him for payment. A
credit of 650,000 francs had been opened for the costumes
of the Emperor and Empress and the officers of the
Crown. With regard to what concerned the Empress '.
" Model of mantle, purple velvet, 800 francs. — Em-
broidery of Imperial mantle, making, and clasps, 16,000
francs. — Court train, white velvet, embroidered gold,
7,000 francs. — Coronation robe, white satin, richly
embroidered and trimmed with fringes, 10,000 francs, —

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. in

A garniture in chenille blonde, 240 francs. — Court train,
velvet, embroidered with silver convolvulus, and skirt
of silver tulle and satin, richly embroidered, 12,000
francs. — Court train, pink velvet, and skirt of satin
and silver tulle, 12,000 francs. — Another court train,
white velvet, embroidered with bunches of violets ;
and wit-h a border embroidered in gold, strewn with
emeralds, and trimmed with fringes ; the skirt in gold
tulle, very richly embroidered, 12,000 francs, etc. The
account, amounting to 74,346 francs, was reduced to
60,000 francs (Nat. Archives).

The extraordinary activity which Bonaparte dis-
played was the object of everyone's admiration. For
instance, on the occasion of his visit to Boulogne on
June 29, 1803, we read in Bertrand's account that,
having reached his destination at ten o'clock at night,
he worked with Decres, Minister of the Navy, till one
o'clock, when he took a bath and went to bed. By a
quarter to three at dawn he was already on the ram-
parts, accompanied by Generals Soult and Lauriston.
He visited the harbour, inspecting the guns, and giving
orders, as he went along, that certain angles of houses
should be demolished, as they obstructed the view.
Then he stepped into a boat, after arousing the sailors
who were asleep in it ; paused for a while to watch
the workmen, of whom there were 1,500 employed
in the docks ; and made inquiries as to which of the
forts had most distinguished itself in repelling a recent
attack. Then he went down to the beach, mounted
his horse, and rode towards the Fort de la Creche ;
surveyed the plain on which the Right Camp was after-
wards situated ; rode over the surrounding country,
north, east, and west ; had a target set up at sea, the
shot heated, and tested the range of the guns. After
this, he went over to the cliffs on the western side ;

H2 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

visited the plateau at Outreau, where the Left Camp
was situated ; and came back to the town at ten o'clock
in the morning. One day in the following year, the Em-
peror was reviewing the Left Camp (situated between
Chatillon, Outreau, and Portel), when he was addressed
by a woman from Portel, named Marianne Renard, who
threw herself at his feet, crying, " Justice ! Monsieur
Bonaparte, justice ! " Her attention was called to the
fact that it was the Emperor whom she was addressing,
whereupon she exclaimed : " Justice ! Monsieur FEm-
pereur ! The English have destroyed my house with
their bomb-shells ; you are the cause of it ; you ought
to pay me." " How much did your house cost ? "
" Fifteen hundred francs." " You shall have them."
" But who will give them to me ? " " This gentleman,"
said the Emperor, pointing to General Guyot ; " come
this evening, and you shall be paid." The woman went
to headquarters, according to the instructions given
her, and the promised sum was handed over to her.
Even when he was First Consul, Bonaparte had already
given orders that the inhabitants whose houses were
shelled should receive an indemnity.

Although Napoleon devoted most of his energies
to the Iron Coast, he did not neglect, whenever he had
a few hours of comparative leisure, to visit the strategic
points of the district, or the arsenal and reserve stores.
He even found time to go to the hospitals, where the
sight of him was like a ray of sunlight to the wounded
and sick.

There must be many Boulonnais who still remember
Sister Louise, late Superior of the Hospital Sisters, as
late as 1865, and who have heard her relate how, in her
youth, she often saw Napoleon when he came to visit
the patients. He would sit in the dispensary, and
converse familiarly with the relations of the sick men,

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 113

and inquire after their wants.* Sister Louise also men-
tioned the following circumstance : " The Emperor
took a great deal of snuff ; and he dropped so much of
it on the ground while talking and gesticulating, that
after he had left I always had to sweep the floor around
the chair he had occupied during his visit."

In fact, we can form a very good notion of the enor-
mous amount of snuff the Emperor consumed, by taking,
at random, a few items from the Imperial accounts.
On various dates we find that the following quantities
were supplied in earthenware jars : —

Tobacco powder supplied to his Majesty by Ancest :
1 66 Ibs. snuff at 3 francs, 498 francs. Other delivery :
20 kilos snuff at 6 francs 80 the kilo, 136 francs.

It has been estimated that the Emperor consumed
on an average 84 Ibs. of snuff a year.

This custom of " scattering " his snuff seems to have
been habitual, according to his valet Constant's account.
He writes : "It has been said of the Emperor that he
took a great deal of snuff, and that in order to get at
it more easily he used to keep some in his waistcoat
pockets, which were lined with soft leather, for that
purpose. These suppositions are erroneous. The Em-
peror never kept snuff anywhere but in his snuff-boxes,
and though he wasted a good deal, he absorbed very
little. He would hold the snuff to his nostrils as though
he were merely smelling it, and then let it drop. The
ground was strewn with it wherever he happened to be
standing, but his handkerchiefs were scarcely marked,
although they were white and of the finest cambric.
These are certainly not the signs of a great snuff-taker.
Very often he merely passed the open snuff-box under
his nose, contenting himself with the scent. His boxes

* Napoleon III., when he came to Boulogne, also expressed a desire to
visit the hospital " as his uncle had done."
I

ii4 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

were narrow and oval, and had hinges ; they were made
of tortoise-shell, lined with gold, and ornamented with
cameos or antique gold or silver medals. At one time
he had round snuff-boxes ; but as it was necessary to
use both hands to open them, and that, in doing so, he
generally let fall either the box or the lid, he gave them
up. t The snuff he used was ground rather coarse, and
was a mixture of various kinds of tobacco. At St. Cloud
he often amused himself by giving it to his gazelles
to eat.

"The Emperor only once attempted to smoke a
pipe, and it happened in this wise. Someone had pre-
sented him with a very fine Oriental pipe, and one day
his Majesty was suddenly seized with a fancy to try it.
But at the very first puff the smoke went down his
throat, and instead of expelling it from his mouth it
poured from his nostrils. ' Take it away ! ' he cried,
the moment he recovered his breath. ' It's absolute
poison ! Oh ! the swine ! I feel quite sick ! ' And,
sure enough, his Majesty felt incommoded for at least
an hour afterwards. He resolved, of course, never to
adopt the habit of smoking, which, he said, ' was merely
fitted to while away the tedium of the slothful.' "

Constant also adds : " When the Emperor had
finished his toilet he was handed his snuff-box, a hand-
kerchief, and a little box filled with liquorice, flavoured
with aniseed, and very finely cut."

The amount of snuff that Bonaparte absorbed —
or rather scattered — led people to suppose, as I men-
tioned above, that his pockets were filled with it. This
is what M. de Menneval has to say on the subject
in a letter to Isabey, the painter :—

" I cannot understand how the story has got about
that the Emperor took snuff from his pocket. Because
the Great Frederick was in_the habit of doing this, people

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 115

seem to suppose that the Emperor must have done it
too. But though Frederick was a very great man, he
was also a very dirty one ; while Napoleon, on the con-
trary, was scrupulously clean. He always had in his
room ten boxes filled with snuff, and as he emptied one
he took up another. The very idea of taking snuff
in any other way would have disgusted him."

When Napoleon went to visit the hospital, the first
thing he always did was to ask the doctor how " his "
soldiers were. He remembered their names with extra-
ordinary exactitude, and always inquired after each one
personally. He expressed the opinion that men feel
proud of having an individual name, and that they are
distinguished by having an appellation personal to them-
selves. He would have been indignant at the new
methods of classing each poor patient under a number
in the hospital, like galley-slaves or convicts in a cell.

He knew that Jacquemin had broken his arm during
a manoeuvre on board ship ; that Leduc had cut his toe
with an axe ; that Delattre had been struck by a .ricochet
shot, which necessitated a painful operation ; that
another soldier had had his foot crushed under a gun-
wheel, and that amputation was inevitable. And he
would sit by the bedside of these victims of duty and
address them as " thou," encouraging and comforting
them to such an extent, that the brave fellows forgot
their pain, and seemed almost grateful for their accident,
though it might prove fatal, since it had gained them
the kindness and sympathy of " their " Emperor.

He would make inquiries concerning the medical
attendance and daily food of the patients, and very
often would order some little extras to be given them
as an improvement on the regular diet.

One day, as he was about to leave the hospital, a
soldier was carried in on a litter, his arms hanging loosely

n6 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

over the sides > and swinging with the movements of
the bearers.

Napoleon saw the piteous group, and made a gesture
signifying : " He is dead, isn't he ? "

"No, sire," replied one of the soldiers, who was
helping to carry the litter. " I think our comrade is
only partially paralysed."

Napoleon approached ; the poor fellow instantly
recognised him, and fixed his eyes on his master, trying
in vain to speak.

" Come, be quiet ! " said the Emperor, seeing his
agitation and the useless endeavours he was making to
say something. " I shall hear all about it ; but first of
all he must be put to bed at once, and while the doctors
are being fetched, one of you will tell me what is the
matter with him."

" Well, it was like this," said one of the soldiers
questioned by the Emperor a moment later. " Last
night he was sent out on the cliff opposite Fort Croy,
on sentry, in a small ditch overlooking a landslip, be-
cause they were afraid that some of the enemy might
climb up that way, some night, and spike the guns of
the batteries.

" Sentinel Legris had concealed himself so effectually,
and it was so dark, that it was impossible to find him
to relieve him. But he was faithful to his watch, and
in spite of the pouring rain, remained all night in the
ditch, lying first on one side, then on the other, on the
soaking ground. In the early morning, when found,
he was lying perfectly still, clutching his gun with his
numbed fingers. They thought him dead at first ;
but when he heard his name mentioned he opened his
eyes, and then the news was taken to the nearest guard-
house, and the officers gave orders for him to be brought
here — and here we are."

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 117

While the soldier was telling his story, a hot drink
was given to the patient in order to revive him, and
the doctor on duty prescribed a general friction of his
body, to start the circulation in his numbed limbs.
Seizing a hot towel that had just been brought for that
purpose, Napoleon set to work to help the orderly in
his task.

" Friend Jean " (that was the orderly's name),
" you are not rubbing fast enough, or hard enough.
Here — look ! Do as I do — rapidly ; don't jerk — keep
time." And the illustrious visitor, entering into the
work with the will and untiring perseverance he dis-
played in everything he undertook, gradually increased
the rapidity of his friction ; while the orderly, on the
contrary, bathed in perspiration and well-nigh exhausted,
slackened his speed more and more. Although Napoleon
pretended not to notice anything, he found it hard not
to smile at the sight of Friend Jean, who was panting
and breathless, and would have asked for mercy, had he
dared, but was ashamed to admit that he could do no
more. The scene had already lasted a quarter of an
hour when Napoleon, who never liked being beaten,
and was always anxious to show his superiority, even
in the most ordinary circumstances, remarked, in an
off-hand way : " If we persevere in this way for an hour
or so, we shall bring him back to life again, you and I.
What do you say, Jean ? "

But this was too much for the unfortunate orderly,
who plainly showed his discouragement, whereupon the
Emperor added : " Come — go and sit down. You are
tired out ; I can manage without you perfectly well."

And Napoleon went on with his energetic rubbing
for many minutes, working mechanically, and con-
versing gaily all the while.

Was he actuated by any desire of showing off, on

n8 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

this occasion, or was it solely sympathy and fellow-
feeling for a brave man that prompted him to act as
he did ? It doesn't matter ; the patient, at all events,
benefited so much by the treatment, that at one moment
he was able to raise his arm, and detaining the Emperor's
hand for a few seconds, he raised it to his lips and mur-
mured brokenly : " Thank you. Thank you. I feel
better now."

Napoleon, pleased with the success of his efforts,
gently withdrew his hand, and said : " Good-bye ! I
will come again and see you."

Nevertheless, it would appear that Napoleon was
somewhat relieved when the incident drew to a close,
for he, too, had almost reached the limits of his powers
of endurance, and had the scene been prolonged he would
have been compelled to give in ; and this, no doubt,
would have mortified him greatly. He went again,
according to his promise, to see his patient, who was
able to leave the hospital in course of time fully cured ;
but the cure was only -temporary, for a short time after
the soldier was struck down again with partial paralysis.

I must add another instance of the veneration in
which Napoleon was held by the inmates of the hospital.
Though they did not attribute to him the power of
healing the scrofulous,* for instance, their worship of
the hero led them to make the following remark, which
became traditional in the hospital : " People may say
what they like, and may laugh if they choose, but it's
the fact all the same. The side that is paralysed is not
the side ' he ' treated." Expressing, as it does, a great

* There was a belief in former generations which attributed to the Kings
of France the power of healing the scrofulous. Jean Hendricq writes :
" When Louis XIII. came to Boulogne he was asked to lay his hands on those
afflicted with scrofula. He had arrived from Calais the day before. He
confessed himself, took Holy Communion, and then laid his hands on those
that were afflicted. The crowd was so great that many of the sick could not
penetrate through to the King."

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 119

deal of gratitude, with a touch of fetishism, this popular
sentiment is an interesting one.

In Boulogne, as almost everywhere else, during the
revolutionary period, the churches and chapels were
threatened with being given over to the military authori-
ties for the purpose of being transformed into bar-
racks, artillery depots, or reserve stores.

BOULOGNE CITADEL.
Used as a Storehouse for the Grand Army.

Although the special worship of Notre Dame de
Boulogne was only re-established in the Church of the
Annonciades in 1809, the public worship had been re-
stored as early as March ist, 1803, and then the parish
of St. Joseph of the Haute Ville was established in the
old Chapel of the Annonciades. Soon, however, the
military administration obtained the bishop's sanction
to use this chapel for military store purposes ; the parish
services were therefore transferred to the Church of
the Civil Hospital in the Lower Town.

120 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

When the First Consul came to Boulogne, full of
his scheme to collect 200,000 men along the coast, one
of his first cares was to discover whether any of the
premises in the town could be utilised as an arsenal
or for reserve stores, and whether there were others
that might be appropriated for the use of the army.

He went first to the citadel. This fine structure was
built in 1231 by Phillipe Hurepel, son of Phillipe Auguste
and Count of Boulogne. It is situated to the east of
the ramparts and is of octagonal shape ; it has six towers,
and is partly surrounded by a moat.

Below the surface of the enclosure of the citadel
are the vast subterranean passages of La Barbiere ;
these vaults were specially suitable for the storing of
arms and ammunition.

Napoleon's visit to the Upper Town on this occasion
was marked by a curious incident. As he was crossing
the " Place," his horse struck his foot so violently against
a peg driven in the ground, that Bonaparte was very
nearly thrown. He reined in the animal with a vigorous
hand, and looked back to see what had caused the
stumble. When he found that it was a wooden peg,
sunk deep in the very middle of the road, he lost his
temper, and remarked that as men and horses were
constantly going over the ground, it might lead to an
accident — perhaps fatal. He demanded an explanation,
and was told that this peg was the remnant of a small
fence that had been placed round the site on which
a Tree of Liberty had once flourished. The tree did not
live long, owing, no doubt, to the poverty of the soil,
and the municipality were obliged to remove the dead
wood ; but not wishing to lay themselves open to a
charge of " anti-patriotism," they were careful to en-
close the spot from which the stump had been removed,
in order that the higher authorities might be satisfied

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 121

that the tree had not fallen a victim to popular vengeance.
These particulars are vouched for by an official report
drawn up on December gth, 1795, in which it appears
that three inspectors of forestry (requisitioned by the
Boulogne municipality), aided by two municipal officers,
solemnly stated that " the tree of liberty which fell the
night before last, died its natural death."

To make themselves quite secure (for at that time
it would have been dangerous to leave room for any
suspicion of ill-will on their part), the town councillors
deposited the old tree trunk in some municipal store-
house, " so that it might be produced if necessary,"
and the little fence was put round the place it
once occupied.

The report of December, 1795, adds : " The tree,
which is now absolutely dead, and rotten at the trunk
as well as in the branches, was once a lime tree." What
was the point of making this apparently futile state-
ment, and why specify the nature of the tree — poplar,
beech, or oak ?

It was because at that period an amusing anecdote
was being told all over France.

It appears that an official delegate had been ap-
pointed to inaugurate a certain Festival of Liberty
by performing the usual ceremonial, and by delivering
a speech in the redundant and bombastic style so much
in vogue among the orators of the period. The delegate,
who for want of any real gifts had let his fancy run
riot, did his very utmost to reach the summit of eloquence,
and wishing to close his discourse with a peroration
worthy of the occasion, he exclaimed : " Citizen friends,
we must not think of ourselves only. We must think
of the future, and we must sow for the future generations.
To-day we are planting a tree, but our grandchildren
will eat of its fruits." Now the tree was an oak ! The

122 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

story and the orator's speech spread all over the country,
and therefore when any municipality was anxious to
plant a Tree of Liberty in the town, the councillors
took good care to choose a tree which did not lend
itself to such an equivocal interpretation. Thus the
particular mention of the Boulogne lime tree in the
document I quoted above was prompted by a desire
on the part of the authorities to give no opportunity
for irreverent jests.

Needless to say, the First Consul ordered that the
unlucky remnants of the Tree of Liberty should be
instantly removed.

Napoleon was no sooner invested with the supreme
power than he at once resolved to hasten the execution
of his plans for the invasion of England. For this pur-
pose he lost no time in coming to Boulogne, and an
official visit was accordingly fixed for July igth, 1804.

The town made preparations for a magnificent re-
ception of the new Emperor. The streets were hung
with flags and banners, displaying allegorical emblems ;
all the houses were decked with draperies, flowers, and
tapestry. The municipality had erected three arches
decorated with trophies of war, intended to represent
the Bridge of Lodi. On the top of the principal arch
they stationed some musicians and young girls, who were
to throw flowers to the Emperor as he passed. There
were twelve other arches, at a distance of 60 metres
from each other, all along the Rue de Brecquerecque,
which then took the name of Rue Imperiale. The name
of one of Napoleon's victories was inscribed on each of
the arches : —

For Italy.

Montenotte. Arcole.
Mondovi. Cremone.

Lodi. Marengo.

For Egypt.

Alexandria. Jaffa.

The Pyramids. Mount Thabor.

Cairo. Aboukir.

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 123

A little farther on, appeared a portico intended to
represent the entrance to a temple dedicated to Immor-
tality. The Rue de 1'Ecu, then called Rue Napoleon,
was also decorated with arches, shrubs, and garlands
intertwined across the street. Lastly, on the quay
facing the Custom House, they had erected an obelisk
surmounted with a crown, and bearing the following
inscription on each of the sides of the pedestal : —

NAPOLEON L,

EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH.
THE TWO WORLDS CLAIM FROM YOU THE LIBERTY OF

THE SEAS.

FROM THE STREAMLET OF THE LIANE * WILL
START THE AVENGING THUNDERBOLTS. f

Thousands of flags were flying from the masts, tops and
yards of the numerous ships, the whole length of the
quays, and the tricolour waved above the town, from
the Right and Left Camps on the summit of the cliffs.

The Emperor drove through the suburb of Brecque-
recque amid the acclamations of a dense multitude ;
and from St. Leonard, till he reached the foot of the
cliffs, he passed between a double line of soldiers and
sailors who received him with vigorous shouts of " Vive
rEmpereur / "

A salute of 900 rounds was fired from the forts and
from the warships moored in line.

Without wasting a minute, the Emperor rode along
the beach with the Prince de Neufchatel, Prince Eugene,
the Ministers of War and of the Navy, Marshal Soult,

* The port of Boulogne was the estuary of the Liane. (Note of trans-
lator.)

t "NAPOLEON ler,"

" EMPEROR DBS FRANQAIS."
" Les deux mondes te demandent la liberte des mers.
Du ruisseau de la Liane partiront les Foudres vengereases."

124 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Admiral Bruix, and a staff of generals. He asked for
a boat, and went to inspect the Forts de PHeurt, du
Musoir, de 1'Expedition (wooden fort), and La Creche ;
and ordered the guns of each fort to be fired, that he
might test the range for himself. Then he went into
the offing, and ordered the fleet to perform various
evolutions in sight of the English.

The Imperial standard immediately became a target
for the guns of the enemy's squadron, the shot rained
round the Emperor, who nevertheless continued his in-
spection with the greatest coolness. As he was landing
at Fort la Creche, a shower of grape fell quite near him.
When he came ashore he mounted his horse, and galloped
up the hill till he reached his pavilion.

The next morning, at seven o'clock, he was already
in the roadstead, directing the manoeuvres of the fleet.
The English division sailed nearer, and seemed disposed
to attack the line. Several of the French warships
tried to engage in action ; but the enemy, who had not
been very successful so far in engagements of this nature,
decided to return to their stations.

At midday the Emperor returned to the Tour d'Odre,
and worked till four o'clock ; then he visited in succession
the arsenal, the artillery positions, and the various works
that were in progress in the harbour, overlooking no
detail in connection with them. Nothing escaped him ;
his ceaseless activity seemed to keep everyone at attention.

On the 2 ist there was a violent storm, of which I
shall speak more fully in the chapter relating to Admiral
Bruix. On the 22nd Napoleon was occupied all day
in the transaction of business.

On the 23rd the Emperor spent most of his time
following the field practice in the First Division camp ;
on the 24th he held a review on the Plateau d'Odre,
which was followed by a reception at his pavilion ;

VARIOUS VISITS OF BONAPARTE. 125

it was attended by M. de la Chaise, prefect of the Pas-de-
Calais, and Mgr. de la Tour d'Auvergne, Bishop of Arras,
who were admitted to pay their homage to the Emperor.

On the following days the Emperor reviewed the
other divisions of the camp and those of the flotilla ;
he usually started the exercises at six o'clock in the
morning, and did not cease till towards five or six o'clock
in the evening.

He liked being among the soldiers, and always
listened kindly to any of their requests ; he would ask
them what battles they had fought in, and make in-
quiries concerning their years of service.

On August 6th he left Boulogne, inspected the
coast between Etaples and Dunkirk, and the camps
at Montreuil and St. Omer.

The longest stay that Napoleon made at the Boulogne
camp was from August 3rd to September 2nd, 1805.
It would be easy to devote a whole volume to describing
the innumerable and minute inspections made by this
indefatigable organiser. For instance : On one day
he spent twelve hours consecutively in reviewing 112,000
infantry from all the camps, drawn up in echelons,
covering a distance of four leagues, from Alprech Point
to Cape Gris-Nez. On another day he reviewed the
flotilla, boat by boat ; and on the following days he
reviewed the soldiers in detail, division by division.
He presided over a Grand Council at General Berthier's
(Minister of War), at Hesdin 1'Abbe. He ordered a
general rehearsal of the embarking of all the troops on
the boats of the flotilla — the operation took two hours.
And Napoleon displayed this unremitting activity up
to the very time when cruel disappointments and new
complications on the Continent forced him to turn aside
from his projected plans, to carry his victorious arms
elsewhere.

CHAPTER VII.

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE AND WIMILLE.

A Visit to the Loppes— The Royalist Wimillois— Cure Patenaille
— The Wimereux Spy — An Original Expedient.

WHEN the Grand Army was encamped at Boulogne,
the headquarters were at Pont de Briques or at the
Tour d'Odre ; but there were other staff centres as well.
The first division was encamped at Wicardenne, under
the command of St. Hilaire ; the second was at Outreau,
with General Vandamme ; the third at Amble teuse,
under General le Grand ; and the fourth, encamped at
Wimereux, had its headquarters at Wimille.*

The camp at Wimereux required special attention ;
first, because the depression in the coast at that part
made it a favourable point for possible attack on the
part of the enemy ; secondly, because the coast formed
a natural cove, in which a portion of the fleet was able
to shelter. The Emperor therefore one day determined
to go and visit the officers at headquarters at Wimille,
in order to ascertain what measures had been taken
to provide against all eventualities.

After conferring in the little town with Suchet,
general in command of the Fourth Division, Napoleon
was returning to Boulogne by La Poterie, when he
suddenly remembered that he had omitted to give an

* Suchet, General of the Division ; Compans and Walhubert, major-
generals ; Ricard, chief of the staff ; Fruchard, artillery commandant ;
Gaudin and St. Cyr, majors.

126

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 127

order of some urgency, concerning the neighbouring
hillock of La Tresorerie, a position of strategic importance,
as it commands the high road between Calais and Bou-
logne, above Wimille. He walked into a house at
La Poterie to write the note for immediate despatch.

" Whose house is this, my good people ? " he asked,
crossing the threshold, for the door was wide open.

" This house belongs to the Loppes," * the woman
answered firmly. " And what do you want of them,
sir (mon officier) ? "

The woman had recognised the Emperor perfectly ;
but she was deeply attached to the late monarchy,
and as she looked upon the new Caesar as an usurper,
she mischievously pretended not to know who it was
that was addressing her.

" Could you give me the necessary things to write
with ? " said Napoleon with intentional civility, for he
saw at once that his presence was exciting no particular
enthusiasm.

" Now, if you would only ask me for a jug of milk,
or a dozen eggs, you would have them at once," she
answered vivaciously, rummaging about among the
shelves of the large cupboard. " But a sheet of paper ?
There is no sign of such a thing ; just see for yourself."
And with deft hands she picked up the sheets, placed
one over the other, unfolded them, and put them back
tidily on the shelf. Then she attacked a pile of towels,
which careful ironing had made as stiff as cardboard
and as shiny as a mirror ; and emphasizing each syllable
of her words with a sharp tap of her hand on the board,
she exclaimed : " All this is the fault of the Revolution.

* M. Loppe, a farmer at La Poterie, was Mayor of Wimille for forty-
seven years. He married Rosalie Delahodde, and died in his little domain
at La Poterie, in 1855, aged seventy-eight. His wife, who was born in 1770*
came to live at Wimille, when she became a widow, and died, in 1864,
at the age of ninety-four,

128 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

If it hadn't been for that, you would have had what
you wanted long ago."

" I don't quite see the connection."

" Why, of course. Under the pretext that we were
not good patriots, according to their notions of patriotism,
the official procurators came here three times, and
turned everything topsy-turvy in our house, from cellar
to garret : staving in old barrels, ripping up bundles
of straw, emptying chests, drawers, and cupboards,
turning even our very pockets inside out, in hopes of
finding some sort of scribbling, I suppose, which would
give them an excuse to treat us as suspects. Well, as
I didn't know whether it might not occur a fourth time,
I have hardly taken the trouble to put things straight ;
and then, too, for months and months one was asking
oneself : ' Is it my father, or my brother, who will be
denounced next, and packed off to that committee of
assassins at Arras ? You can understand that I had
other things to do than to think about providing myself
with good writing paper."

Just as she was folding some handkerchiefs during
her talk, two sheets of paper slipped out and fluttered
to the ground close to where Napoleon was sitting.
He picked them up instantly, exclaiming : " Ah ! that
is what we are looking for." And seeing that one of
the sheets was clean, he placed it in front of him on the
table, and handed the other to Mme. Loppe, remarking
that the paper was printed. As she took it she made
a movement which did not escape her visitor's notice.

As soon as the Emperor had written and signed his
letter, he found he had nothing to close it with. He
folded it twice, and asked his hostess to sew it down
with a piece of thread, tying it himself afterwards with
a double knot. At that moment he caught sight of a
yellow wax taper, fastened to the wall near the por-

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 129

trait of a young man ; it had a piece of braid round it
forming a ring. He rose, and deliberately took down
the taper. " I think we shall be able to seal with this,
for want of something better."

But, quick as a dart, she seized the taper, and drew
it hastily away from the Emperor. " No ! " she ex-
claimed, reverently placing it in its former position.
" No one must touch that. It is the last taper that
burned at the bedside of one of our young relations,
before he was taken to the cemetery. The poor boy was
taken home, mortally wounded by a bullet. As for
the stripe, he earned it fighting as a good Frenchman
should do. You see, it is a precious relic for us
all."

Then Napoleon looked reverently at the taper to
which these memories were attached, and, assuming
that fascinating manner of which he was such a con-
summate master, said, gravely :

" The order contained in this letter is given in the
interest of France. Had I made use of that wax, which
is a memorial to your family of a touching and glorious
action, I should not, believe me, have slighted the
memory of the brave man for whom you mourn, and
whom I now salute in your presence." And well Napoleon
knew how to use expressions of real eloquence, all the
more impressive because there was nothing conventional
in them ; and they were uttered spontaneously with
a conviction which sincerity alone can inspire.

No one could resist this influence ; it moved, and
touched, and captivated even the least susceptible.

Having delivered his order to an officer for imme-
diate transmission, the Emperor, who was interested
in what he had already heard, determined to take advan-
tage of the situation by making inquiries concerning
the popular feeling in the district. This shrewd woman,
J

130 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

no doubt, would be able to throw a clear light on the
subject. Napoleon therefore began : " Our conversation
just now appeared to stir up very deep feelings
in you. What occurred, then, in your quiet little
Wimille ? "

Madame Loppe, encouraged by this friendly in-
vitation to converse, was only too ready to say everything
she had on her mind. She told the Emperor that the
inhabitants of Wimille enjoyed the reputation, in the
district, of being hard workers, very . religious, peace-
loving, and so quiet that, up to that time, there had
not been a single public ball in the commune.*

" And you are all irreconcilable Royalists ? " asked
the Emperor.

" Irreconcilable ? Oh ! we wish no harm to anyone.
We even forgave some bandits who denounced us to
the Arras Committee, presided over by Lebon — a strange
name, isn't it, for an assassin ? Oh, the" monster a
hundred times over ! It is abominable, all the same,
the amount of misery that the Revolution caused ! "

Continuing her talk, she explained that ever since
1782, Wimille had had the same worthy man, Abbe
Cossart, for a mayor, cure, and representative at the
National Assembly ; and that in 1790 Mgr. Asseline,
Bishop of Boulogne, had addressed a pastoral letter
to him, as well as to the rest of his clergy.

" But, indeed," she added, " read this paper which
you picked up a moment ago ; I have a notion that it
will tell you much more than any amount of talk would
do from an ignorant woman like myself." And so
saying, she handed the following letter to the Emperor,
of which the author has seen a copy among the archives
of the parish, for the cure had his letter of protestation
printed in order to distribute it among his parishioners.

* The first village ball was given in Wimille after the Revolution of 1830.

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 131

" Reply of the Cure, Mayor of Wimille, to M. Blanquart
de la Barriere, Procurator Syndic of the district of

" MONSIEUR THE PROCURATOR SYNDIC, —

" I have received, in my capacity of mayor of
the parish, your two letters, dated 2nd December, in
which you instruct the municipality to notify to me,
the other in which you notify to me yourself, on behalf
of the directory of the district, that I am forbidden to
read in the Church the pastoral instructions of Mon-
seigneur ' ci-devant ' Bishop of Boulogne, under penalty
of being specially prosecuted ; and also that I am to
give the municipality an acknowledgment for these
letters.

" I send this acknowledgment to you, and I hereby
consent not to read in the Church the above-named
instructions, not from any fear of the special prosecution
with which you threaten me despotically in your letters,
but from a desire for peace, from patriotic zeal, from
love of the public weal ; seeing also that my superior,
the Bishop of Boulogne, has not directed me to give
this reading, and that it is not absolutely necessary
to the religious instruction of my parishioners, who are
most of them perfectly well acquainted with the articles
of their faith. Your prohibition is impolitic, uncon-
stitutional, illegal, and very much wanting in respect
towards a prelate whose wisdom, moderation, and kind-
ness have won him the admiration of the whole of France,
and who is described as ' a marvel of the new Constitu-
tion.' I do my best to excuse you in the eyes of my
parishioners by telling them that, most assuredly, you
had no time for reflection before you dictated your
letter. Their reply is that ' they cannot forgive you
for pursuing with so much rigour the writings of a bishop

132 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

so truly apostolic, when at the same time you send them
prospectuses of incendiary works, in packages sealed
by your orders and forwarded to the municipalities.
" I have the honour to be, monsieur,

" Your very humble and obedient servant,
" COSSART

" (Cure-Mayor of Wimille, Assistant-
deputy at the National Assembly)"

When Madame Loppe took the paper from the
Emperor she added :

" Fortunately, there is now no need to fear a re-
currence of the frightful days that I have been through,
alas ! "

This expression, " there is now no need to fear,"
made a deep impression on the Emperor. Without
being aware of it, probably, she had touched a most sensi-
tive chord, and with these few simple words she secured
Napoleon's sympathy, to which her straightforwardness,
her dignity, and independence had given her a claim.

It is incumbent en us to try to realise what was
Napoleon's state of mind at this period.

After the i8th Brumaire, Bonaparte had announced :
" The Revolution is over." In 1802, at the time of
the Peace of Amiens, France flattered herself with the
hope that the wars of the Revolution were over ;
the extension of her territory on the Continent had
been sanctioned ; England had given back the French
colonies, and had ceased to cause complications and
trouble by restoring Malta to the Knights of St. John
and the Cape to the Dutch ; lastly, the English aris-
tocracy appeared to have laid aside their traditional
animosity. The First Consul himself had hoped, at
that time, for a permanent peace. " At Amiens," he
afterwards said, " I believed in truth that the fate of

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 133

France and of Europe, as well as my own, were fixed.
The wars once over, I meant to give myself up entirely
to the affairs of France, and I believe I should have
worked wonders." *

Would that he had kept to this determination !

But when the rupture of the Peace of Amiens occurred
(after the English Government had ordered the seizure
of 1,200 French and Dutch ships without declaring war),
Bonaparte realised that this renewal of hostilities would
upset the whole political system which had been con-
structed so laboriously, and at so great a price. He
therefore wrote to his Minister : " England compels us
to conquer the world ! "

At any rate, we can understand that Napoleon,
foreseeing that he would inevitably be involved in a
whole series of warlike enterprises, was glad to learn,
from the mouth even of a woman, that the country
people, royalists and others, had faith in his power to
avert a renewal of internal revolutions.

Instead of taking his departure, therefore, he called
a gunner who happened to be passing in front of the
Loppes' house, and ordered him to go to headquarters
and to address himself to a lieutenant, whom he men-
tioned by name (we know how fond Napoleon was of
proving that he knew even the minor officers personally),
and to say that if any of them had a communication
to make to the Emperor, they would find him for the
moment at La Poterie.

" And what was the effect of the Cure-Mayor's
letter in the district, Madame Loppe ? " he went on.

" As soon as the Procurator had read it, he flew into
a passion, and complained to the Revolutionary Com-
mittee. So then the parishioners decided that Mon-
sieur le Cure should leave Wimille secretly (because

* J'aurais enfante des prodiges.

134 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

you know what a denunciation meant in those days),
and join his Bishop in Germany. He was provided
with a coarse suit of peasant's clothes and a great plough-
horse, to the tail of which they tied a foal. Thanks to
this ruse, he was able to reach the frontier."

" And then ? "

" Then a Cordelier from Boulogne, named Patenaille,*
was sent to our parish as constitutional priest. But
no one would have anything to say to him ; he was
shunned as though he were a leper. Priests who had
not taken the oath to the Constitution used to come to
our houses at night to baptise the children and ad-
minister Extreme Unction to the dying ; Monsieur 1'Abbe
Blin, the former curate of Monsieur Cossart, came back
to Wimille, and remained in hiding in the neighbour-
hood. One day, just as he had finished celebrating
Mass at the Chateau de Lozembrune, on the banks of
the Wimereux, he was captured and taken to Arras,
where he was detained till liberty of worship was re-
stored in France. All this while the intruder Patenaille
was left all to himself in church ; and when he insisted
that the coffins should be carried up to the altar, only
the bearers came in with the corpse — the whole family
remained outside, f He sent round the men employed
in the service of the church to visit his so-called parish-
ioners, but all to no purpose. No one paid any more
attention to his civilities than they did to his threats.
As you can imagine, it was not very long before Wimille

* The Father Guardian of the Cordeliers, Patenaille, was appointed to
the living of Wimille by the Bishop " intruder " Porion.

t In a Memoir written by Achille Delahodde on the Wimille Church there
are proofs that Cure Patenaille himself stated at the foot of several death
certificates that the family had abstained from entering the Church. There
is nothing surprising in this, as we see, for instance, in the Memoirs of d'Auri-
beau that on the day that Father Pbiree, a " sworn " preacher, took possession
of the large parish of St. Sulpice in Paris, he only found five or six worshippers
in the church, in spite of the pressing invitations to attend that had been sent
round in the district.

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 135

was denounced to the Boulogne Council as harbouring
numerous fanatic ' suspects.' .... Twenty-six of the
most respectable and worthy old men in the place were
arrested and taken to prison, at Boulogne. The oldest
of them all, M. Delahodde de Grisendalle, was dragged
through the streets on a tumbril, and exposed to
the insults of an odious mob, who pelted him with filth
from the gutter."

The archives of the Pas-de-Calais, kept at Arras,
confirm the foregoing account concerning Cure Patenaille
in the following terms :—

" On the 28th Brumaire, Year II., Citizen Claude
Patenaille, ci-devant monk of the Order of the Cordeliers
and priest of the Catholic faith in Boulogne, was intro-
duced at a meeting of the departmental council * at
Boulogne. He laid on the table all the titles he had
received from various ecclesiastical orders, and also the
document proving his appointment to the living at
Wimille, by Bishop Porion, and he declares ' that he
willingly sacrifices these title-deeds to the Nation, and
is prepared to see them burnt in the presence of the
popular Society ; and further, that he gives up the
stipend he has been receiving from the Nation in his
capacity of priest of the Catholic religion.' .... The
Assembly welcomed this declaration, and the president
gave the citizen cure a fraternal embrace."

The preceding document is instructive, inasmuch
as it reveals the character and import of the " Civil
Constitution of the Clergy," which many consider was
brought in merely as a police measure, or as a political
safeguard devoid of all anti-religious significance.

And no doubt the formula of the civic oath which
was imposed by the decree seemed acceptable enough
at first. It ran thus :—

* Conseil General.

136 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" I swear carefully to watch over the congregations
committed to my charge. I swear to be faithful to
the Nation, to the law, and to the King. I swear to
uphold the French Constitution, with all my might, and
especially those decrees relating to the Civil Constitution
of the Clergy."

As the Assembly had repeatedly declared that it
had no intention of interfering with the spiritual side
of the question, we can understand how it was that
on the very first day of the adoption of the measure,
fifty priests took the oath, and in doing so were per-
suaded that their action was purely patriotic and
meritorious. ^

But when it became customary later on to exact of
priests, in proof of their adherence to the new Consti-
tution, not only the civic oath, but other acts far more
serious — such as, for instance, the burning, or tearing
up, of ecclesiastical documents which established their
claim to priesthood on the late canonical authority —
then many of them retracted their former acquiescence.
Besides, in the eyes of the congregation the civic oath
appeared an apostasy, and as such caused scandal,
although in his secret conscience the constitutional
priest had no deliberate intention of being " schismatic,"
as it was termed in Picardy and elsewhere.

However, Patenaille was not really a bad man, for
very soon he grew ashamed of his weakness ; and giving
up the Church — for want of a congregation — he became
a clerk in one of the bureaux of the municipality. While
earning a precarious livelihood, he had time to reflect
and to repent of the scandal he had caused ; so much
so, that after the signing of the Concordat, he regained
the favour of the episcopal authorities and became Dean
of Desvres, where his ministry was above all reproach.

In 1802, the former curate of 1'Abbe Cossart,

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 137

M. Blin, who had devoted himself to his parishioners
during the revolutionary ferment, at the risk of his
own life, was appointed Cure of Wimille.

As Napoleon was about to leave the house of Madame
Loppe to return to Boulogne, there were sounds of
great commotion outside, and fierce shouts of " Drown
him ! Hang him ! Death to the traitor ! "

The Emperor at once went to the door and saw a
mob of peasants, soldiers, and sailors vociferating round
an individual, and shaking the life out of him. The
man was panting and bathed in perspiration, and
seemed only too well aware that a word or movement
on his part might provoke a fatal blow from one of his
captors.

" Be quiet, all of you, and explain ! " exclaimed
Napoleon imperiously, moving towards the howling
pack. Then, addressing one of the two Chasseurs
d'Hautpoul who were escorting the prisoner : "I wish
to hear all about this man instantly."

The Chasseur, somewhat disconcerted, related the
following : —

" My comrade and I, we were patrolling the district,
when we distinctly saw an individual, concealed behind
a stone wall and crouching on his heels, spying with a
glass various points in succession. We watched him
very carefully, and found that it was not the beach
that he was spying so attentively, but the new defence
works at the entrance of Wimereux harbour, right and
left of the Channel. We concealed ourselves as best
we could behind a rise in the ground, and were able
to follow his strange movements. Shortly afterwards
he stood up and walked towards the headquarters at
Wimille, repeating this manoeuvre twice, and hiding
himself, as he went, behind a trench or a heap of stones,
and every now and then crouching down as though he

138 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

were writing on his knees. All our doubts vanished ;
this was an English spy, studying our positions and
the military works. And we said to each other, I and
my comrade, that we must capture him at all costs,
dead or alive. We first began by enlisting the services
of a few peasants who happened to be working near
there, and organised, under their directions, a sort
of circular battue so as to completely surround him
between ourselves and the river, which cut off his re-
treat towards the north. As soon as he realised that he
was discovered, he crawled along the ground behind
a hedge to try and escape us ; but our measures had
been properly taken, and by closing in upon him we
very soon had him at our mercy. We aimed at him,
and called out to him not to attempt to move, or we
should shoot him dead. I was very pleased at our
capture, though I was asking myself how we were to
get any information out of him, as neither my comrade
nor myself, nor any of the peasants, could speak a word
of English ; and so we were much relieved when we
heard our man say, in perfect French and without the
slightest accent : ' Well, what is the matter ? Can't
a man gather camomile in the fields nowadays without
running a risk of being shot ? '

" ' You go and tell that to others,' replied my com-
rade, seizing him by the collar. ' You are nothing more
than an infamous spy, and we have already caught
hold of twenty others of your sort between Etaples
and Gris-Nez.'

" 'I, an Englishman ! Why, I hate them more than
you do. Here, let me go ! Napoleon's soldiers have
better things to do than to track out poor devils like
myself, who have nothing to be ashamed of.' . . .

" ' What do you say ? ' I said to my comrade. ' Shall
we let him go ? ' And, in truth, I felt rather ashamed

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 139

of our mistake, and was quite prepared to release him,
when the veteran here cried out, ' Mille tonnerres !
Can't you see that he is humbugging us ? What about
the spy-glass ? Isn't that enough to give him away ?
Here, search him, and we will soon find him out. Ah,
my good man, in spite of your fine talk I think they will
soon settle you, with half a dozen bullets to put a little
lead in your head.'

" ' Here, I have had enough of this. What is all
this about a telescope ? Search me at once, and you
will soon see whether I am lying.' He kept on repeating
this with furious persistency. We searched him, but
found nothing suspicious about him — a pipe, a purse
containing nothing but French coins, a bundle of thick
string, and some crusts of dry bread.

" ' Now are you satisfied that I am neither an English-
man nor a spy ? ' he cried out indignantly.

" We were beginning to think that we really had
made a mistake, and were just on the point of letting
him off, when that woman there, who had joined the
little crowd that was beginning to collect, cried out :

" ' Don't let him go ! I recognise him — I am sure
he is a spy.' "

The peasant woman was pushed forward in front
of the Emperor, and on his inviting her to speak, she
told the following story : —

" I am certain I met this man a few days ago, in
the neighbourhood of Portel, where I went with my
big boy to gather mussels. On that day he was dressed
like a peasant, and carried a big hamper on his back ;
he was staggering along the road as though his load were
very heavy. But as soon as he saw us coming along,
he dropped his burden — which turned out to be an
empty basket — slipped between the big rocks at the
foot of the cliff, and finally disappeared. This seemed

140 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

to us so strange that, on meeting some soldiers a little
further on, coming from Outreau —

"Of Vandamme's Division!" interrupted the Em-
peror.

" We told them what we had seen. They imme-
diately set themselves in pursuit of the stranger, who
must have escaped. On another occasion I met the
same man quite near here, at the Chapel of Jesus Flagelle,
where he was pretending to pray. That day he was
dressed as a fine gentleman, and I noticed that he
was unfolding a kind of map. As soon as he saw me, he
hastened to put it away in his pocket, and made off
through the fields ; but I recognised him perfectly.
That's the fellow ; there is no doubt about it ! " And
she added, in the typical language of the district : " That
fellow,, my boys, you may all of you kill him like a mad
dog ; I'd buy the rope myself to hang him with ! "

" Scoundrel ! bandit ! " shouted the peasants, shaking
their fists at the wretched man. " Who knows but
what he is the man who spiked the howitzer below the
signals ? " said one. " As for me," said another, " I
bet it was he who was staring at the wooden bridge
yesterday, meaning to set fire to it, as someone has
tried to do several times already." And they were all
making the most varied suggestions and accusations,
when a child was seen running up, quite out of breath,
and brandishing the incriminating spy-glass, which she
had found near a blackberry hedge, where the spy
had no doubt thrown it as soon as he realised that he
was being closely watched. It was impossible to doubt
any longer, and before the Emperor could stop them,
the peasants made a rush at the man. The garment he
still retained was torn by the rough hands that tried
to clutch at him. Then, to the astonishment of all,
they discovered, between the lining and the material

NAPOLEON AT LA POTERIE. 141

of his waistcoat, a white leather skin, on which was a
topographical map.

" All right ; the game is up," muttered the English-
man with the greatest unconcern. " There's twenty
guineas gone."

Napoleon bade them be silent with an impatient
gesture, and said sharply : " Give me the map."

He examined it carefully, smoothing it out in
order to see all the marks and signs inscribed on it.
" Everything is down on it," he murmured, trembling
with rage. " Everything — even the new battery, which
is scarcely finished ; even my huts at the Tour d'Odre.
The plan is so exact, that I shall keep it. Take the
prisoner to General Suchet," he added aloud.

Twenty minutes later, the Emperor reached his
quarters, and addressed one of the officers. " Take a
sheet of paper and write :

" ' Arrest any suspicious-looking individual seen on the
roads, in the fields, and especially along the coast. He must
be carefully searched, and taken to the nearest headquarters,
Calais, Ambleteuse, Outreau, Wicardenne, Tour d'Odre, or
Pont-de-Briques, and brought before the general in com-
mand, or in default of him the major-general, who will send
me a detailed report by special express. At night the posts
must be doubled. By order of the Emperor.' '

In a few minutes ten horsemen were riding at full
speed in all directions to transmit the orders.

CHAPTER VIII.

MILITARY ESPIONAGE.

The Beautiful English Spy — An Interview at the Pavilion —
The English Prisoners — The Intelligence Department : Ruses
and Methods — The Cross of the Legion of Honour.

IN spite of all the precautions taken, English spies were
constantly slipping into Boulogne. They were given
no quarter when they were discovered, and yet some
of them were sufficiently daring to brave the police
and attend the theatrical performances. On one occa-
sion two small boats, covered with tarred canvas, were
found on the beach. They had no doubt been used
by some of these spies.

In June, 1804, eight well-dressed Englishmen were
arrested, and on being searched it was discovered that
they had certain sulphur appliances concealed about
their garments, for the purpose of setting fire to the
shipping. They were shot within an hour.

On another occasion a schoolmaster, secret agent
of Lord Melville and Lord Keith, was found making
telegraphic signals with his arms from the top of the
cliff and close to the Right Camp. He was instantly
arrested, and protested his innocence ; but on his papers
being searched, it was found that he had been in corre-
spondence with the English. He was court-mar tialled,
and shot the next day.

The feminine element, of course, was not neglected

142

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 143

in the system of espionage by which Bonaparte was
surrounded.

One day, a very beautiful young woman presented
herself at the Chateau de Pont-de-Briques, and asked
to be admitted, as she had been sent on a very important
mission.

She was a fascinating Englishwoman, about twenty-
five years old, of engaging manners and well-bred assur-
ance ; she had large blue eyes, a small red mouth, a
milk-white and pink complexion, and golden hair.
Altogether, she was personally charming and alluring,
such as the daughters of Great Britain alone can be —
as Britons aver, when they wish to excite the jealousy
of their European rivals. Her disposition seemed to
be a delightful blending of gaiety and sentiment, and
none but an ill-bred man could have been guilty of
impertinence towards so peerless a creature.

The sequel to the story will explain the meaning of
the last remark ; and before condemning the alleged
impertinence, it is necessary to know the anecdote in
all its details.

The elegance and air of refinement which distin-
guished the lady facilitated her entrance to the chateau ;
but as the name she gave was not known, the Emperor
sent word that he could not grant an interview without
first knowing the object of her visit. Whereupon the
lady mentioned the name of some ambassador to whom,
she said, she was related, and persisted in asking to be
received, declaring that she could confide her business
to no one but the Emperor.

The message was taken to the Emperor, who was
also told that the fair stranger spoke with a slight British
accent, which she vainly tried to conceal.

After a moment's hesitation, Napoleon said : ' Tell
her that I will see her to-morrow at the Tour d'Odre,

144 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

but not here this evening." Then, turning to the officer
who had seen the visitor : " What do you think of her ? "

" Sire, she looks almost like a Princess."

" Or even like an adventuress — eh ? Remember
this, young man ; there is a Corsican proverb which says,
' A very handsome messenger may bear an ugly message.'
Bear that in mind for the future."

Meanwhile, inquiries had been made concerning her,
in Boulogne, where she was known to be staying. A
summary report drawn up, as a result of these inquiries,
described her as a probable spy, whom it was all the more
necessary to mistrust as her arrival had been mysterious,
and the poverty of her lodgings contrasted strangely
'with the elegance of her attire ; also, some unknown
and suspicious-looking individuals had called on the
fair traveller, who, in any case, was unaccompanied by
any members of her family who might have allayed
suspicion. The report added that it would be more
prudent to deny her access to the Emperor. As the
officers around the Emperor were urging this point, he
laughed and exclaimed :

" There is -no doubt about it ! A price has been
set on my head, and I, poor Holophernes, am to fall a
victim to this new Judith. The Boulogne camp re-
places the camp of the Assyrians at Bethulia, and my
head is to be taken from the Tour d'Odre to the Tower
of London, and exhibited in a glass case in the New
Babylon ! Only, Nebuchadnezzar's general had allowed
himself to be inebriated by Manasseh's widow."

Among the many subjects that Napoleon had studied,
history had always been the one which particularly
attracted him ; and he constantly made pertinent al-
lusions to historical facts in his writings and conversation.
It has even been said that he had had but little other
schooling than that of history ; and the more we analyse

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 145

the psychology of Napoleon, the more we realise the
justice of this remark.

The Emperor went on :

" How the English would laugh if they imagined
that I was afraid of a girl ! I will see her."

The following day, at the appointed hour, the
petitioner presented herself at the pavilion. When ad-
mitted to the Emperor's presence, she found him writing
at his table. She was moving forward towards his
armchair when, without interrupting his occupation or
even laying down his pen, he stopped her with a motion
of his left hand.

" Pray sit down, madame. I am listening —

" Mademoiselle," she hastily corrected, in offended
tones.

" Very well. I am listening."

" Sire, it is unnecessary for me to express my admir-
ation for —

" Quite unnecessary, as you say," he interrupted,
maintaining a distinctly negative attitude.

" You must first hear who I am," she added, moving
her chair noisily, to attract his attention.

" I am waiting for you to inform me on that point."

She then arose, and coming nearer the table,
said, softly :

" I don't know whether your Majesty has ever seen
me before —

" Pray remain seated, mademoiselle," and without
so much as looking in her direction he pointed to the
seat she had just vacated.

At these words she drew herself up resolutely, and
restraining herself with difficulty, said :

" Sire, I am surprised at your strange reception of
me, since you granted me an interview, and consented
to listen "

146 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" I am listening ; and am still awaiting your ex-
planation."

The Emperor's sarcastic speech was also probably
accentuated by a certain nervous movement familiar
to him, and which consisted, as has been recorded by
his valet, in the rapid and frequent raising of his right
shoulder ; those who did not know him often interpreted
this as a sign of disapproval or annoyance.

And then a strange duel began between the vanity
of a coquette, exasperated to find that her charms were
not only powerless, but totally ignored, and the deter-
mination of a great man, who loved to draw a distinction
between himself and the ordinary run of mankind,
and who persisted all the more in his indifference as
his attractive visitor tried to force herself upon his
attention.

It was this very intention, on her part, instantly
perceived, which prolonged the scene, and turned it
into a kind of wager between them. But it was idle
to suppose that Napoleon, thus challenged, would ever
give in.

It must be added that the Emperor, wishing to prove
to his entourage that he was perfectly able to retain
his sang-froid in every assault, whatever its nature, had
taken care to leave open the door leading to the rotunda,
so that the officers present could hear all that was said, and
were able to follow the humorous scene that was taking
place in the " Big Box," as they familiarly termed the
Imperial pavilion.

" Mademoiselle, I can only give you one minute
more," observed the Emperor, who was beginning to
ask himself whether the scene would terminate in an
outburst ; "I am going out riding immediately."

Suddenly she sprang up from her chair, and slipping
in the narrow space between the table and window,

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 147

she came and stood on the other side of the desk, so as
to face the Emperor.

Napoleon, no less obstinate than she, and determined
to play his part to the end, kept his eyes fixed on the
map ; and gradually raising it, with apparent care-
lessness, held it so as to make a screen between himself
and the lady.

The Emperor's intention was so evident that the
visitor realised that her little manoeuvres had but small
chance of success. But unwilling to admit her defeat,
she collected herself with admirable adroitness, and
said :

" Sire, I was given a letter of introduction, which
would, no doubt, have disposed you kindly in my favour ;
but in my hurry I forgot to bring it. Permit me to
retire, and to-morrow, if you will allow me "

Napoleon, who was only too pleased to accept this
surrender, replied :

" Certainly ; there will always be some one of my
officers to receive you." Then, calling to his aides-de-
camp who were in the adjoining room, he added, in tones
of perfect courtesy : " Will one of you gentlemen escort
Mademoiselle out ? "

The lady retired, full of mortification at the thought
that Napoleon had never looked at her once during the
whole of this strange scene.

As for Napoleon, he was manifestly pleased with
his little victory ; it had not cost one drop of blood,
but only a few tears from a coquette.

The number of English prisoners captured at sea
by the privateers and the fleet, as also along the coast,
which swarmed with spies, increased so rapidly that it
became necessary to organise a regular system with
regard to prisoners.

Amongst other orders issued to meet the case were

148 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

the regulations of the loth Thermidor, Year XL, which
I have before me as I write. They were issued by Ber-
thier, Minister of War, and Dejean, Chief of Administra-
tion, and established a method of universal supervision.

Depots were created in many district centres, where
the prisoners were taken on being captured, and a
"review " was held on the arrival of any new batch.

During the first six months the prisoners of war
had to answer two calls a day — at eight o'clock in the
morning and at four o'clock in the afternoon. During
the next six months they were subject to three calls —
at six in the morning, at midday, and in the evening.
It was assumed that the desire to escape increased
with the length of their detention.

If a prisoner was absent from call, he was incarcer-
ated for a period varying from twenty-four hours to
eight days, and the term was much longer if there was
insubordination as well.

The English officers were not subject to the call,
but were on parole to go no farther than a distance of
two leagues (Art. VIL). In case of an officer for-
feiting his parole, the mayor — or, in a serious case, the
Minister of War — was to place him under arrest.

The prisoners of war who had a trade, were allowed
to exercise their craft by engaging themselves with any
employers (Art. X.). Private people were authorised
to retain these men in their houses as workmen, " on
condition that they produced them on demand."

They were only allowed to correspond by open letters,
sent to the Minister of War for transmission to their
destination. Every ten days the mayors went to visit
the prisoners, for closer supervision.

In 1804 there were but very few Frenchmen who
could speak English, therefore Article 32 provided that
" any non-commissioned officer prisoner, knowing how

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 149

to speak and write both languages, might be placed
in charge of the Register, with the pay of 73 centimes
a day for this office."

The product of the prisoners' work was remitted
to the commandant of the depot, to go to the general
fund for the supplying of their needs.

The non-commissoned officers and men had one
ration of bread per day, distributed every four days.

The prisoners were provided with a blanket and
straw mattress for every two men, " if there were any
available, belonging to the Republic " (Art. LI I.).

Every four months the straw was to be changed,
at the rate of 15 kilos per mattress. If there were no
mattresses, each individual was given, once a fortnight,
5 kilos of straw, supplied by the forage contractor.

Fuel was paid for out of the general fund, as well
as the firing required for cooking purposes.

These regulations were published under the following
title :—

RULES AND REGULATIONS

FOR THE POLICE AND THE MANAGEMENT OF DEPOTS OF THE
PRISONERS OF WAR.

The following was the form of the orders for
bedding : —

MILITARY DIVISION.

Name of Town

English prisoners of war.

Name of Depot

Commanded by

ORDER for bundles of straw of 5 kilos

each for bedding, for want of a mattress, for

prisoner of war.

At Date

Commandant of the Depot.

150 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The orders for bread were given in the same form,
and represented a ration weighing 7^ kilos.

The prisoners' registers, of which I give a specimen,
had to indicate the place where the prisoner had been
captured.

Name and surname of
prisoners, and of their
parents.

Birthplace and age of
prisoner.

Name of ship or corps to
which they belonged.

Rank.

Wolf (John), son of Peter
Howard and Jane Barren,
living at

Dover — 36 years.
Frigate, La Seine.
Sub-lieutenant.

Corresponding . rank
French Army.

in Lieutenant.

Date on which they were
made prisoners, and name
of place.

20th Thermidor, Year XII.,
on board, before Dieppe.

Where were the prisoners sent ?

As far as possible from the ports, where it
would have been easy for them to reach the
English ships, that were only too ready to give
them shelter.

The author has found an old Call Sheet of English
prisoners who were sent to Nancy (Year XI.) from the
coasts of the Boulonnais, where it would have been
imprudent to keep them.

The principal headings of this Call Sheet are the
following : —

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 151

CALL SHEETS. 4th Military Division.

To be given by the Com-
mandant of the Depot to
the Commissioner of War
at the time of Inspection. English Prisoner of War.

DEPOT OF NANCY.

Commanded by Citizen Jean Forget,
Captain of the 75th Semi-brigade of the Line.

Muster-roll of English prisoners at this depot on ist
Fructidor, Year XII., at the time of the inspection ordered by
Citizen Barbier, Commissioner of War.

In another sheet, called the " Balance of the Review
of Prisoners," we see that the effective of a single
detachment, which arrived at Nancy on Qth Fructidor,
Year XL, was " 116 English prisoners of war," Nancy
being one of the principal depots for the detention of
those captured on the waters or along the coast of the
Channel.

The many spies and snares by which Napoleon was
constantly surrounded, made him fully alive to the
advantage that would accrue to France by organising
" an intelligence department " — a polite and discreet
phrase, but still sufficiently denoting mere military
spying.

We can learn a good deal by reading, in works of
foreign authors, the methods employed by commanders
to enlighten themselves by means of " military in-
formers."

Colonel Klembowsky, general staff officer in the
Russian army, has written a work full of authenticated
cases on the subject of these " confidential, " as they
are courteously termed in the land of the Tsars.

152 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

He writes : " On September 2oth, 1797, Bonaparte
sent the following order from Penariono to General
Dumas : ' Send spies to Gorz, Trieste, and Laubach
to discover the names of the cavalry regiments and
infantry battalions that are now in those regions. Let
them also observe whether works are being carried
on in the citadel of Gorz, and whether it is being armed
with guns.' '

According to Colonel Klembowsky, spies may be
classed in four categories : the voluntary and com-
pelled ; the temporary and permanent ; the mobile
and stationary ; and the single and double. This
last category requires a little explanation.

The " double agents " are those who serve both
parties simultaneously, for the sake of making larger
profits. They may be very dangerous, inasmuch as they
are constantly tempted to betray one nation to the
advantage of her adversary. Besides, the very infamy
of their calling makes their communications untrust-
worthy. The only advantage to be derived from the
employment of " double agents " is to use them to give
false reports to the enemy.

As for the Germans, it appears that their favourite
system is this : to build a factory close to a fort,
or some other position of strategic importance, and to
fill it with a large staff of Germans ; then, while keeping
up a strong competition with our trade in time of peace,
they explore the country, watch, and take note of the
defence works along our frontier, and dispose their
own constructions in such a manner that they may
instantly be transformed into barracks, reserve stores,
or temporary fortifications, on the breaking out of
hostilities.

Military spies receive a very high salary in Germany,
in conformity with Frederick the Great's advice in his

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 153

" Instructions to the Generals " : " Bear in mind that
a man who, through you, runs a risk of being hanged,
deserves a good reward."

The methods of transmitting intelligence are ocular
signals and written correspondence, either in cipher or
conventional writing.

For instance, a spy may give information by kindling
a certain number of fires, laid out according to pre-
concerted arrangement. This expedient is not easy
to adopt in cases when the enemy is near, as it would
arouse suspicion. But perhaps in this case the spy could
utilise houses seen from a long distance, and cause
lights to appear and disappear from the windows ;
open and close shutters, all of which signals have a
meaning for the parties in collusion, and form, some-
times, a complete code.

Again, the spy can convey intelligence to the troops
by, for instance, binding branches together, or breaking
them off ; by burning patches of grass ; making chalk
or coal marks on trees and walls ; or he can do as the
Pyrenees smugglers do, place small stones on rocks,
trunks of trees, or mounds of earth ; the number of
stones, and the mode of their arrangement, are as good
as an alphabet.

Very often, some written matter which appears in-
significant to the uninitiated, has a very special mean-
ing when read in the manner it is meant to be read by
the person for whom it is intended.

I must here cite a historical fact which gives a good
example of the combinations which can be obtained by
this system.

In 1560 the Prince de Conde, who had been imprisoned
for taking part in a plot against the Guises and Catherine
of Medici, received a strange communication, which
began thus :—

154 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" Believe me, Prince, prepare to
face death. Indeed, it would ill become you to

defend yourself. Those who would
compass your destruction, are friends

of the State."

There was nothing in the straightforward reading of
this letter to arouse suspicion, but when Conde made
out the sense of it, according to the instructions of the
key, which was perfectly simple, it read thus :—

" Believe me, Prince, prepare to
defend yourself."

The second line was to be skipped, and the real
meaning was contained in the above sentence.

No doubt Napoleon, in common with all other chiefs,
had made use of these useful and despised auxiliaries,
the " military informers," from the commencement ;
but the number of British spies discovered in the Boulon-
nais was so considerable, that he determined to organise
a whole system of secret service, from which he after-
wards reaped considerable advantages.

In our time, as soon as a new military work or a
strategic road is begun, the staff is at once informed
of it, and within a few days the necessary modifications
or additions appear in the official maps.

At the time of the First Empire, on the contrary,
military geography was very inadequate to the needs
of the army, and the very best officers were in want of
the technical or local information, which is now common
to anyone, thanks to the special publications and to
international communications.

Ever since the year 1800, Napoleon had made use
of a certain man Schulmeister, who afterwards played
an important part, from 1805 to 1809, as appears from
many reports in the War — and the National Archives.

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 155

The author has read some very interesting accounts *
of this extraordinarily clever man, who was a veritable
Proteus for his infinite resourcefulness ; he spoke French
as perfectly as German ; he could alter his physiognomy
as easily as he changed his name ; and he took the name of
Burgermeister, or Charles, or M. de Meinau, or Frederick,
according as it suited his purpose.

If we read his life, we find him penetrating into
camps and following army corps, disguised as a sutler
and selling spirits, sausages, or tobacco.

And once, when he was on the point of being captured,
he walked straight into a house and made his way up
to the very top of the stairs ; there he divested himself
of his coat, which he flung into the garret, then rapidly
covering half his face in a soap lather, he quietly went
downstairs, begging the soldiers who were searching
for him to be careful not to knock up against him, for
fear of cutting themselves against the razor he had in
his hand. And they made room for him to pass.

On another occasion he donned a general's uniform,
and exacted military honours from the advanced posts
whom he went to inspect audaciously.

The house which he occupied was once surrounded,
and he was summoned to open the door. In a few
moments he had transformed his appearance so com-
pletely, that he could himself admit, with perfect safety,
the men who had come to seize him. As there was
nothing in him that corresponded to the description
which had been given to the agents, they never doubted
but that he was the servant.

" Where is your master ? "

" In the room on the first floor," answered Shul-
meister, feigning great alarm. " Oh ! don't harm me.
I am prepared to tell you everything, if you will only

* " Schulmeister," by Paul Mullet.

156 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

spare me. I am only a poor servant. Wait till my
master is in bed — he is undressing now — and then it
will be quite easy for you to seize him. But for Heaven's
sake let me get away first, because he swore that if
he was caught I should die ! "

And he was given a pass by the very men who had
orders to bring him back, dead or alive.

The resources of his imagination were endless. But
I must cite one more example. A price had been set
on his head, and to elude his pursuers he took refuge
in a hospital ; he escaped thence in a coffin, with the
help of an attendant whom he had bribed. In other
words, he feigned death to save his life — and the trick
succeeded admirably.

At the outset of the campaign of 1805, this emissary
of Napoleon displayed extraordinary activity, while
the Emperor was purposely prolonging his residence
in Boulogne in order to conceal his projects.

Indeed, at that time Napoleon was setting in motion
a body of 30,000 men to watch the movements of the
Austrians — so he said — while in reality he was advancing
seven army corps on the Rhine and the Danube. And
at the same time that his secret agents were keeping
him informed of the enemy's movements " day by day
and regiment by regiment," Napoleon wrote to the
Minister of Police : —

" Forbid the newspapers to mention the army, any
more than if it did not exist."

And this is how it was that the Coalition never fully
realised the advance of the French army till the bel-
ligerents came into contact, so to speak.

The value of Schulmeister's services was recognised
in various documents which are still in existence ; notably
in a report addressed to the Prefect of the Lower Rhine,

MILITARY ESPIONAGE. 157

and which is preserved in the National Archives. It
commences in the following manner :—

" MONSIEUR THE COUNCILLOR OF STATE,

" I have the honour of informing you that I have
authorised the Prefect of the Police to deliver a pass-
port to Ch. Schulmeister. I hear, through General
Savary, that he has been usefully employed with the
Grand Army, and that the services he has rendered
...-." etc.

He was known as " Napoleon's Spy." At all events,
Napoleon certainly owed him his life on more than one
occasion, and we read in various accounts that he " knew
how to reveal at the right moment the conspiracies
directed against the Emperor's life."

We know — and Constant mentions it also in his
memoirs — that Bonaparte used to say " that he had no
time to think about protecting his own life, and that
it concerned those who were appointed to take measures
for his security."

And one day the First Consul was heard to make
the following remark to Fouche, then Minister of the
Police :

" You tell me that I am in danger, but it is your
business to watch over my safety ; as for me, I cannot
and must not be troubled with it."

Though Schulmeister was handsomely rewarded for
his services, he never obtained the Cross of the Legion
of Honour, the one thing which he coveted above every-
thing else.

One day that he had given proof of more than his
ordinary skill, the Emperor, who was in high good humour,
said to him : " Come, I can refuse you nothing. What
do you want ? "

158 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" Sire," he replied in tones of entreaty, " I beseech
you to remember the precious reward you granted at
Boulogne to those who had served you faithfully—

" What ! The Cross for you ? Oh, no — never ! "
answered the Emperor. " Money you can have — as
much as you want of it ; but the Legion of Honour I
reserve for my brave fellows."

CHAPTER IX.

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND OF THE FLEET.

Appreciation and Biography of Bruix — His Pavilion — Naval
Incidents — English Fire-ships and Catamarans — The Attack
of October 2-3, 1804, on the Ships of the Line — Memorable
Scenes between Bonaparte and Bruix — Parallel between
the Two Chiefs — Death of Bruix — The Meaning of the
Expression, " Sent to the Admiral."

IF Napoleon valued Admiral Bruix so highly that, in
spite of the violent contentions which sometimes arose
between them, he had wished to have the Admiral's
pavilion close to his own on the Plateau d'Odre, it was
because he recognised in him a man of exceptional
ability.

The author was fortunate enough to discover in the
" Bibliotheque Nationale " various interesting studies
and notices concerning Eustache Bruix ; and also a
personal appreciation of the Admiral, written by Maziere,
who was his private secretary as late as 1805. We could
not, therefore, quote from a better authority ; and we
are surprised, at first, to read the biographer's praise
of the remarkable kindliness of this man, who yet did
not hesitate, when necessary, to withstand Napoleon's
masterful spirit with the most superb sang-froid.

Allowance must be made, in the following extract,
for the literary style of the period.

" You all who were his friends," he writes in 1805,
the very year of his death, " mourn above all the loss of

159

160 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

so gentle a soul ; your grief will be only too well founded.
I knew this man, and loved him with all the strength
of a sacred friendship ; I had the advantage of sharing
all that was most brilliant in his mind, and the
privilege of being enlightened by his wisdom. I was
the confidential friend of his thoughts, and witnessed
his soul's innermost impulses. I have, so to speak,
lived in his very consciousness. In our intimate con-
versations he was as full of kindness as he was keen
of wit, and never did greater intellect exist beneath
such captivating charm."

The reader will understand, on looking through the
following short biographical notice of the great sailor,
why it was that Napoleon felt such a strong personal
regard for him.

Though descended from a noble family of the Beam,
Eustache Bruix was born far away from the mother
country, at St. Domingo, in the Maribaroux quarter,
in 1759. He retained all through life an affection for
the land of his birth, a sentiment shared by Napoleon
with regard to his beloved Corsica. Bonaparte's parents
had hoped to make a sailor of their son, while it was
the ambition of Bruix's that he should be a brilliant
cavalry officer. But Fate had decided for the reverse
in both cases.

After going through the elementary schooling which
was given to young Creoles in those days, young Bruix
was sent to school, where he very soon pined for the
free life in the open, which he had hitherto led.

Though gifted with a good memory, imagination,
and a quick intellect, he spent most of his time in organ-
ising games for his school-fellows during playtime ; and
in school hours he would invent new athletic contests
and feats of agility for climbing masts, or boarding
ships, etc.

ADMIRAL BRUIX.

Commander of the Fleet.

162 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Young Bonaparte, too, as a schoolboy, took the
lead among his fellows, forming barricades and bom-
barding the rival camp with snowballs — until the
time came when he should use cannon-balls on the
Continent, or bombshells from the military forges at
Amble teuse. There was another similarity between the
characters of the future admiral and the boy Napoleon ;
both took advantage of the influence they possessed
over their fellows to protect the weaker boys, or to
take the part of those who might have been too harshly
punished by the masters.

When he had been through his course of studies,
Bruix had not acquired much knowledge. His family,
realising that he was bent on being a sailor, sent him
to Brest, where he set to work at last in real earnest.

However, when he was going up for the naval en-
trance examination, his masters declared that his study
of mathematics had been so slight that he could never
hope to pass without going through very special
preparation. His alleged deficiency in this particular
science was so universally believed in, that Professor
Besout declined to examine him in this subject. The
candidate insisted, saying that he had the right to be
examined as well as his comrades, and Besout consented,
for the sake, no doubt, of putting this presumptuous
lad to confusion. But it was he who was astounded
by the clearness of Bruix's definitions and the rapidity
of his solutions ; for, like Bonaparte, he was particularly
gifted with regard to mathematics ; if he had taken
very little trouble to study them at school, it was be-
cause he understood them, as it were, by natural instinct.

Bruix entered the Corps of Marine Guards, and dis-
tinguished himself by his learning and also " by clever
practical jokes, for he was always the ringleader in any
smart trick played at Brest."

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 163

His own comrades admitted that Bruix, like Bona-
parte, exercised an irresistible fascination over all those
he came in contact with. " He was a sort of enchanter,"
Maziere says of him ; and adds that this man of
refined and brilliant intellect was impelled more than
once " to forget the barbarous vocabulary of the navy
in order to clothe his graceful fancies and subtle thoughts
in the elegant language of poetry ; his verses recalled
the careless ease of Chaulieu, and sometimes the ready
wit of Voltaire."

So great, indeed, was his reputation for readiness,
that his friends would come and ask him for biting
epigrams or well-turned madrigals, and were always
sure of finding his Muse inexhaustible and attuned to
the high pitch required by good taste. In 1782 he
wrote an opera called The Wolf Hunt.

Bruix was firm in his friendships, and never forgot
those who had done him a service. In this respect
again he resembled the man with whom we are establish-
ing this comparison. From the day that Bruix was
given a command, he determined to put theory into
practice in the smallest details. " Very soon there
was not one of the ship's boys who could take in a reef,
or furl a top-gallant sail, better than he ; or run along
a yard-arm more nimbly without any support." As a
prelude to the good work he was to do later on as an
organiser, Bruix wrote an " Elementary Treatise " for
the use of those who were preparing to go into the navy.

He had barely receive^ ohis commission when M. de
Suffren thought of including him among the officers
ordered out to the Indian campaign, but he was appointed
instead to the Augusta, commanded by Bougainville.
On his return from the expedition, he entered the Naval
Academy at Brest. After the peace of 1783 there was
nothing for him to do but to join training cruisers.

164 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

After this he was given the command of the Pivert,
a Government ship bound for St. Domingo. But just
at this time his health became impaired; he asked for
leave and came to Versailles to the house of the Arch-
bishop de Brienne, where he was treated as though he
were one of the family.

As soon as he had recovered, he returned to Brest,
and was placed in command of the Semillante for another
expedition to St. Domingo.

The Reign of Terror was at its height when he re-
turned to France ; but keeping himself entirely outside
politics, he led a very retired life in a small country
house near Brest, and wrote a work which attracted
Bonaparte's attention at a later period, and probably
contributed more than anything else to his appointment
as admiral of the Boulogne fleet. This work, dated
1794, was entitled, " On Methods for the Supplying of
the Navy." Very few copies of it are now extant, and
it is not even to be found in the Bibliotheque Nationale.

The time had now arrived when it was imperative
that the French navy should be reorganised, and Admiral
Villaret was commissioned to form a squadron.

The Revolution had abolished the galleys, and this,
no doubt, was a necessary reform ; but the regular navy
was reduced to alarming proportions, while a spirit of
indiscipline reigned on all the Government ships. Bruix
took the command of the Indomitable, and enforced
his authority in a case of serious mutiny ; then, having
once given proof of his indomitable will, he displayed
so much justice and care for the well-being of his sea-
men, that he soon gained their implicit obedience, and
acquired the affection of the whole crew.

Finally, the Directory, guided by the advice of
Hoche, and the feeling that existed among all the naval
officers, appointed Bruix Minister of Marine. Brest

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 165

was blockaded, at that time, by an English squadron.
It is known to everyone how, as vice-admiral of the fleet,
he boldly left port for the purpose of thoroughly dis-
concerting the plans of the English ; but the stratagem
he employed to baffle the blockading squadron is not
so generally known. He purposely allowed a ship to
fall into their hands, which had on board, among other
documents, a fictitious plan of manoeuvres ; and the
English squadron lay in wait for him on the Irish coast
when he had already reached the Mediterranean ; his
object was to re- victual Genoa. This expedition was
cited in the House of Parliament as an act of daring
skill which should serve as a warning for the future.

At the time of the i8th Brumaire, Bruix was in
Paris. Bonaparte, recognising in him a man of strong
determination, confided to him his plans. When the
Peace of Amiens was broken, the First Consul, who
had given him the command of the squadrons at Roche-
fort, decided to give him the supreme direction of the
Channel Fleet, and in 1803 he was appointed admiral in
command.*

Nowadays, fireside tacticians and journalists con-
stituting themselves admirals, like to think that the
whole scheme of the flotilla was puerile, and that a con-
summate seaman like Bruix only countenanced it from
mere sycophancy. This would be misrepresenting him
absolutely.

Now the following extract will give an idea of the
feeling, in 1805, among those who were participators
in the events of the time, and could form an opinion of
the plans of invasion. " The inestimable advantages
attaching to such a conception do not appear to be

* On 7 Messidor, Year IX., Rear-Admiral Latouche-Treville had already
taken the command of the flotilla, and had established his quarters at the
Tour d'Odre.

166 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

fully realised ; many points of utility have been over-
looked in this scheme of creating a new army, in the
form of a flotilla which, acting as a daily menace to
England, constrains her to turn her good commercial
men into bad soldiers, to have her coasts bristling with
camps, and to suspend to a great extent the work
of the nation. It was a stroke of genius on the part of
the Emperor, and Bruix has had a share in its execution.*

Meanwhile, in England, the scientists, chemists, and
admirals had been appealed to, to discover some means
of destroying this alarming host of boats, at all costs.
Whereupon they formed the plan of destroying the
flotilla by means of fireships and catamarans.

I must enter here into a few technical details in
order to make the reader understand the nature of the
projected attack. I will say a word, first, concerning
the fireships.

A fireship was an old boat, intended to set fire to
an enemy's ships. Large quantities of inflammable
matter were accumulated between-decks, such as resin,
turpentine, saltpetre, and powder.

There were various methods of using fireships. Gener-
ally the boat transformed into a sailing fireship was sent
to windward of the enemy's ship ; in this case, the
captain ordered the crew to get into their boat at the
last moment, and then set fire to the ship's contents
by means of a slow match.

But as, in the case of the flotilla, it meant setting
fire to ships at anchor, the English proceeded differently.
In order to ensure their fireships coming into contact
with their enemy, they so placed their boats that they
should drift with the wind and currents in the right
direction.

Taught by experience — or, rather, by numerous

* Mazi&re.

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 167

failures — the English gradually perfected their modes
of attack ; so that in 1807 they were able by this means
to set fire to the French squadron anchored in the road-
stead at the Island of Aix.

Torpedoes and submarine mines have replaced the
old fireships in modern naval warfare.

As for a catamaran, properly speaking, it is a raft
used for fishing at sea or crossing the surf on the Coro-
mandel coast. It is made of large pieces of timber,
from pine or cocoanut trees, unequal in length, bound
together with ropes, and shaping to a point at the fore.
But in a special sense, we call catamarans those rafts
which were laden with combustibles and directed to-
wards the Boulogne flotilla in 1804. It will interest
the reader to have a description of these craft which
were perfected by English engineers, and notably by
Lord Melville, First Lord of the Admiralty.

These catamarans were large chests, three and a
half metres long and one metre wide, pointed at both
ends, with no mast, hermetically closed and ballasted
in such a way that they floated flush with the water. They
were filled with powder and inflammable matter.

The explosion was timed for a certain moment,
according to the regulated clockwork, which was set
in motion when the catamaran was despatched on its
errand. The English Admiralty anticipated much suc-
cess from these new methods, and the dockyards at
Portsmouth were ordered to make large numbers of
these fatal chests that rather resembled long coffins.

But the enemy had reckoned without Bruix, the
shrewdest of men, who had sailed through the Medi-
terranean and the Bay of Biscay defying the three
squadrons in pursuit ; the man who, like Napoleon, had
a clear perception of things, who foresaw events ; who
had, in short, the power of observation.

168 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

On one occasion, Bruix was scanning the horizon
from his pavilion at nightfall, when his attention was
arrested by the position of the English squadron, which
was more towards the west than it had been before.

Reasoning ^by induction, he came to the following
conclusion :—

If the enemy take up a position which is less advan-
tageous for themselves, both by reason of the currents
and of the possibility of attack, they must have a serious
motive in view. Then he told his officers what he sur-
mised. " To-night, gentlemen, I think you will have
an opportunity of witnessing a strange demonstration
of fireworks, which will not be wanting in interest. Let
all the ships moored in line be warned that the enemy
intends this night to send fireships and catamarans
adrift with the tide and current. In consequence, as
many of the boats that can come into the harbour must
do so, and the rest must come close in, taking care to
leave as much space as possible between the ships ;
the most able and trustworthy among the seamen will
man boats, armed with long poles headed with iron
spikes to push off the fireships if necessary ; lastly, the
tactics to adopt, are a general change of position at the
right moment, in order to let those terrible floating
machines pass by harmlessly." Bruix's presentiment
was realised.

During the night of October 2nd to 3rd, 1804, these
incendiary machines were sent adrift through the line
formed by the French gunboats ; " but as they found
nothing to come in contact with, they drifted, till they
were stranded on the Boulonnais shore, where they
presented a magnificent spectacle of fireworks to the
camp and fleet."

After the First Consul himself, Bruix was the man
on whose shoulders lay the heaviest responsibility, in

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 169

the year 1803. For while the army was commanded
by the very ablest generals, no such state of efficiency
existed in the navy. It needed reforming ; indeed,
complete transformation.

Now Bruix, as we have seen, was distinguished by
an incomparable spirit of organisation, and by his prac-
tical views, often so simple, that everybody wondered
why these things had not been thought of before.

And so it was that Napoleon frequently repaired
with him to their post of observation, near the Bruix
Pavilion, in order to discuss the grave problems which
preoccupied them both. The result of this exchange
of ideas between the two men was a series of ingenious
plans which were to solve, or overcome, their most serious
difficulties. The following resolutions were adopted by
mutual agreement : —

" That the ammunition be stowed in the holds of
the boats, to serve as ballast.

" That the foot-soldiers be taught to row, so that
the army can transport itself across the Channel with
sail and oar.

" That some thousands of soldiers, chosen from
among the more robust, be employed as workmen, to
dig out docks and build new quays.

" That the horses be transported in flat-bottomed
boats to facilitate their being shipped and landed irre-
spective of the tide.

" That in the case of large vessels, the animals be
hoisted and deposited in the hold by means of the (ship's)
yards, so as to dispense with cranes.

" That the timber required for the harbour works,
and for certain parts in the construction of boats, be
cut from the forests of the Boulonnais, which should
be placed at the disposal of the Minister of Marine."

It was in September, 1803, that the First Consul

170 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

directed Bruix — then suffering from ill-health — to take
up his quarters on the Plateau d'Odre.

This situation commanded a view of the roadstead,
the quays, and the docks, both of Capecure and of the
Liane, so that Napoleon and the admiral could take
in at one glance the whole of the works that were in
progress.

As the admiral's temporary dwelling was exposed
to all the winds of the compass, greater care was taken
to stop up crevices and make it habitable than was
expended on the house occupied by the First Consul.

Although Napoleon placed the greatest confidence
in Decres and de Gauteaume, he held Bruix in still
higher esteem, because he had discovered in this officer
an unusual decision of character allied to an indomitable
will. But these very qualities, invaluable to a man in
high command, were precisely those which distinguished
Napoleon himself. It was inevitable, therefore, that
their unyielding tempers should occasionally bring them
into collision.

Bonaparte was hasty, violent, and passionate ; Bruix,
on the contrary, was calm, deliberate, but none the less
determined. Their natures were of the finest metal,
though cast in a different mould ; both were inflexible.

The one had keen foresight, the other a ripe judg-
ment ; the first was consumed with restless activity,
the second gathered himself together, as it were, and
then, suddenly, went straight as a dart towards the
object he had in view.

Each resembled the other in this respect : that,
having once decided on the course to pursue, he swept
aside everything that stood between him and the fulfil-
ment of his purpose, and from that moment was solely
occupied with the best means for the safe accomplish-
ment of his plans.

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 171

These two men had the greatest regard for each
other, but the stubbornness of their disposition gave
rise to some memorable scenes, of which we will cite
typical examples.

One of these conflicts took place under the following
circumstances :—

Bonaparte had just arrived at headquarters at
Pont-de-Briques, when the admiral sent him word that

CROI' FORT AT WIMEREUX, AT THE TIME OF THE FLOTILLA.

a French flotilla, coming from Dunkirk and Ostend,
and laden with munitions of war, had been signalled,
and that several English ships accompanying a frigate
were preparing to bar the entrance to the port of
Boulogne. Meanwhile, the order had been given every-
where to clear for action ; the batteries of the Wooden
Fort, La Creche, the Musoir, the Tour Croi, and the
Tour d'Odre made preparations to engage ; and the
order was signalled to the 250 gunboats moored in line
to be ready to open fire. In fact, no less than 500
guns, not including the batteries of the forts, were only

172 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

waiting for a signal from the admiral to engage in general
action.

While these preparations were being made, the First
Consul rode into Boulogne, at full speed, to superintend
the defence.

As soon as he had watched the manoeuvres of the
English cutters, brigs, and frigates, he concluded that
an engagement was inevitable, and at once determined
to take part in it himself.

Stepping with Bruix into a boat manned by Marine
Guards, he insisted on being rowed out as far as the
line of ships. At one moment a veritable hail of shot
and shell fell round the little boat ; and the admiral,
feeling that it was only running useless risks to go beyond
the Fort de Croi, north of Boulogne, remarked to Bona-
parte that it would be wiser to coast along the shore
as far as Wimereux, keeping under cover of the coast
batteries.

" What should we gain by doubling the fort ? " he
asked. " Nothing but shots ! "

But Bonaparte insisted on going over the, whole
line, in order to see and be seen ; and besides, the mere
" fear of projectiles " was not likely to have much weight
in inducing him to modify his plans, and to give in. On
the contrary ! But Bruix remembered that he was in
command of the flotilla, and that bravery may become
mere bravado when there is peril in it, without profit ;
he reflected, also, that " when he was at sea he stood
on his own ground," as he was fond of saying on occa-
sion. The admiral, therefore, realising the danger, and
also the responsibility he would incur in giving way
to a whim, gave the sailors a formal order to make for
the little port of Wimereux, without doubling Fort Croi.

"Sailors of 'my' Guard," exclaimed Napoleon,
" obey the order of your chief ! "

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 173

" Sailors of the Guard, I forbid you to do so ; obey
your admiral's orders ! "

Every man in the navy was well aware that there
was no disobeying Bruix's orders ; besides, the tone
of his command on this occasion gave no opportunity
for hesitation, and the men silently obeyed the order
to veer. Whereupon the First Consul went into a fit of
violent anger, and loaded the admiral with reproaches.
Without answering a word, Bruix allowed the storm
to burst, and, confident in his own judgment and ex-
perience, kept his eye fixed on the roadstead, awaiting
impassively the justification of his conduct of which
he felt certain. The boat had hardly turned towards
the coast, when a transport that had just doubled the
fort in question received a terrific shower of shells, which
ripped her open, and sunk her there and then. The
evidence was so obvious that there was no necessity
for Bruix to find an excuse for his disobedience ; and
the First Consul, realising that he had been in the wrong,
said nothing more : he merely turned his back on the
admiral and began to whistle, and in this manner the
boat reached the port of Wimereux.

As soon as it touched ground, Bonaparte jumped
out briskly, declining the help which the admiral,
standing bare-headed, respectfully offered ; and walked
up the cliff to inspect the batteries, talking familiarly
with the soldiers, encouraging them, and bidding them
above all, to take careful aim. It was on this occasion
that a gunner, who was pointing a piece, said, " Would
you like to see, general, how we bring down the bow-
sprit of a frigate ? "

He fired the shot, and the bowsprit fell into the sea,
cut in half by the shot. Bonaparte, delighted with
this diversion, congratulated the clever marksman and
supplemented his praise with a gift of money.

174 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

And now I may mention another episode. On
July igth, 1804, the Emperor went to Boulogne, and
was received in a manner best described in the following
Order of the Day :—

" His Majesty reached Boulogne harbour yesterday
afternoon at three o'clock. The moment H.M. appeared
on the beach he was saluted by goo rounds, fired from
the ships moored in line, and from all the batteries
right and left of the port.

" His Majesty inspected the Fort de 1'Heurt, Fort
Napoleon, Fort de la Creche, and Fort Rouge, and
was present at the firing practice of the various guns
that form the defence.

" Afterwards, H.M. went to the roadstead and
boarded the flagship, whence he issued orders to several
boats of the first class, to get under weigh, and manoeuvre
in the open sea, escorted by several of the' shallops.
His Majesty followed the evolutions of the division
in his pinnace. The wind was blowing from the
south-west, and there was a heavy swell. The enemy's
squadron, composed of two ships-of-the-line, two
frigates, three brigs, and one cutter, was under sail,
at a distance of two leagues in a W.N. -Westerly
direction. This squadron cast anchor at five o'clock.

" On his return into port, H.M. was cheered every-
where with the greatest enthusiasm, and his presence
acclaimed, by a vast concourse of people lining the
quays, with shouts of ' Long live the Emperor ! '

"At 8.30 H.M. drove to his headquarters atPont-de-
Briques. The marshal, commander-in-chief of the camp
at St. Omer ; the admiral, and the officers of the army
and navy had the honour of accompanying H. Majesty
on his round of inspection.

" The Chief of the General Staff,
"LImperial Fleet,

" M. LAFOND."

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 175

Towards evening there was a gale, and this circum-
stance led to a dramatic encounter between Napoleon
and Bruix. This historical fact is remembered in Bou-
logne to this day, and is vouched for by a trustworthy
witness, who writes :—

" The inhabitants of Boulogne, and the peasants
in the surrounding districts, would have laid down their
lives willingly for the Emperor. The smallest personal
details concerning him were treasured, and became the
subject of their conversation. But on one occasion he
was unjust, and his conduct gave cause for complaint."

One morning, before setting out on horseback, the
Emperor announced his intention of holding a general
review of the fleet, and commanded the men-of-war
to weigh anchor, as the review would take place in the
offing.

Having given orders that everything should be
ready on his return at a given hour, he started for his
daily ride, accompanied by Roust an. Admiral Bruix
was immediately informed of the Emperor's wishes,
when he replied, with imperturbable assurance,
" that he was very sorry, but the review could not be
held on that day."

Every ship, therefore, remained at her station.

The Emperor returned, and on his inquiring whether
all preparations were completed, the admiral's answer
was reported to him verbatim. The words had to be
repeated twice, and the Emperor, who was not in the
habit of receiving such messages from a subordinate,
ordered the admiral to appear.

Finding, however, that he did not obey the summons
with sufficient alacrity, Napoleon sallied forth, and met
Bruix half-way from the barracks. His Majesty was
accompanied by his staff, who stood in a group behind
him. His eyes blazed with passion.

176 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" Admiral," and his voice shook, " why did you not
carry out my orders ? "

" Sire," replied Bruix with respectful firmness, " a
terrible storm is preparing. Your Majesty must see
this as well as I do. Surely, you will not risk the lives
of so many brave men unnecessarily ? "

And, indeed, the wild appearance of the sky and
the distant rumbling of thunder clearly showed that the
admiral's fears were well grounded.

" Sir," cried the Emperor, more and more incensed,
" I gave my orders. Again I ask, why did you not
obey them ? Their consequence is my affair, and mine
only. Obey at once ! "

" Sire, I will not obey."

The Emperor stepped towards the admiral, and
raised the riding- whip he clenched in his hand.

Bruix stepped back, and laying his hand on his
sword-hilt, " Sire," he exclaimed, pale with anger,
" take care ! "

The bystanders were seized with alarm. The Em-
peror remained motionless, his arm still raised, his eyes
fixed on the admiral, who never stirred. Then, at last,
Napoleon flung his whip to the ground, and Bruix re-
leased the hilt of his sword, awaiting bare-headed the
result of this terrible scene. The two men moved apart,
exchanging one long glance which seemed to express :
" We must control ourselves ; the consequences would
be too serious."

In the meantime, and in spite of this scene, Rear-
Admiral Magon endeavoured to execute the fatal
manoeuvre which the Emperor had insisted upon.

But the preparations had barely been completed
when the full fury of the gale burst over the fleet. Light-
ning flashed incessantly across the overladen sky, thunder
roared continually, and the wind broke the lines. In

M

178 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

fact, everything happened as the admiral had foreseen,
and the ships, driven helplessly before the hurricane,
were so dispersed, that the worst fears were entertained
for their safety.

Meanwhile, the Emperor was anxiously pacing up and
down the beach, with folded arms and bent head, when
suddenly terrible cries were heard. Over twenty gun-
boats, manned with soldiers and sailors, had gone ashore,
and the unfortunate men were struggling against the
heavy seas, and shouting for help which no one ventured
to give. The Emperor, deeply distressed at the sight,
and moved by the lamentations of the crowd that
had collected on the beach, was the first to give the
example of devotion and courage ; in spite of the efforts
made to detain him, he stepped into a lifeboat, exclaim-
ing, " Let me alone — let me alone ! We must get them
out of that ! " In an instant the boat was filled with
water; huge breakers surged over it, one of which very
nearly swept his Majesty overboard, and washed away
his hat. Then the officers, soldiers, sailors, and towns-
people, inspired by the Emperor's example, jumped into
the water, or manned boats, to try and save the
drowning men. But few, alas ! of the unfortunate crews
were saved, and on the following day over two hundred
corpses were washed up 'on the beach, together with
the hat of the victor of Marengo.

Day broke over a scene of mourning and desolation ;
soldiers and inhabitants streamed along the shore,
searching anxiously among the bodies that the waves
threw up on the beach. The Emperor was greatly
affected by the calamity, which he could not but attri-
bute inwardly to his own obstinacy.

Agents were sent into the town and camps to dis-
tribute gold, and thereby put a stop to the whispered
indignation that was ready to break out openly. " That

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 179

same day a drummer, off one of the gunboats, was seen
to reach the shore, thanks to his drum, which served
as a buoy. The poor fellow's thigh was broken, and
he had been in this painful state for twelve hours or
more."

Marshal Soult, colonel in command of the Emperor's
Guard, sent a report of the event to General Berthier,
Minister of War, and writing from Boulogne on July 22nd,
1804, he mentions that " a few men had perished,
. . . perhaps fifty altogether." The following is the
document : —

" To THE MARSHAL AND MINISTER OF WAR.

" MONSIEUR, — I have the honour to inform you
of an extremely unfortunate event which caused the
loss of a few soldiers, and damaged several of the ships.
In the afternoon of the 20th July, as the wind was
freshening for a gale from the north-east, the ships of
the flotilla that were in the roadstead were given the
order to come in. Many of the boats were able to execute
the manoeuvre, but those that were to leeward, and
had snapped their fastenings, were compelled to get
under weigh and make for Etaples, which port forty-two
of them reached in safety ; but four gunboats, two
shallops, and two caiques were caught by the currents
and went ashore. The crews of four of the boats,
and their complements, were saved ; but unfortunately
some of the men on board the last four were drowned,
and we fear the disaster has caused the loss of about
fifty men. The reports I shall receive will enable me
to give you a more exact account of the catastrophe,
and to give you the names of a number of brave men l
who risked their lives to save their drowning comrades.
" His Imperial Majesty himself passed the night
on the shore, and in the surf, directing the salvage

i8o NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

operations, and his august, presence was of the greatest
comfort to the unfortunate men on the wrecks. I have
the honour to salute you. « SOULT."

The day after the accident the Emperor addressed
a letter to the Empress, which sufficiently betrayed
the emotion and nervous excitement under which he
was still labouring, and knowing full well that Josephine
would guess the real truth between the lines, he
wrote : —

" MADAME AND DEAR WIFE,—

" During the four days of my absence from you,
I have been on horseback or on the move continuously,
but without being any the worse for it in health.

" Monsieur Maret has informed me that you intend
leaving on Monday, and if you travel by short stages
you will have time to reach the waters without fatiguing
yourself.

" The wind freshened to a gale last night, and one
of our gunboats in the roadstead dragged her anchors
and struck on the rocks, a league from Boulogne. I
feared at first that everything was lost, but we man-
aged to save them all. It was a grand and terrible
scene : the firing of minute guns, fires lit all along the
beach, the sea lashed into fury ; and the night was
passed in anxiety as to whether the unfortunate men
could be saved, or whether we must stand by and see
them perish. The soul was face to face with Eternity,
Night, and the Ocean. At five o'clock in the morning
everything cleared, all was saved, and I went to bed
with the sensation that all this was a romantic and
epic dream, and that I alone had been through it all ;
but being tired and soaked to the skin, I had no inclina-
tion to think of anything but going to sleep."

LETTER WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON TO JOSEPHINE FROM THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

182 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The Emperor was most anxious, naturally, to
attenuate the effect produced by the accident, but his
enemies were no less anxious to make the very most
of it : describing the gale of July 2Oth as a " great
disaster," they were only too ready to charge him with
the full responsibility of a decision which was an un-
fortunate one, certainly, but still, not necessarily fraught
with consequences as serious as they made out.

The number of victims was much exaggerated, and
the " Annual Register " of 1804, for instance, puts
down the number of Frenchmen drowned as 400. The
author adds : " Napoleon was thus able to realise that
there were other things for him to fear besides English
ships and shells when the time came for him to take
his huge Armada across the Channel." This allusion
to the greatest peril that ever menaced England, and
the implied comparison between the projects of Philip
of Spain and those of Napoleon, would seem to prove
that the Emperor's plan of invasion was not considered
altogether chimerical at the time.

Napoleon never referred again to his terrible scene
with Bruix, except on one occasion at St. Helena. He
was conversing with Bertrand, when he remarked sadly :
" Poor Bruix ! If all those who were with me then,
and after, had been as straightforward and courageous
as he, probably I should not be here now."

Bruix's sang-froid was proverbial, and he gave many
a proof of it during his residence at Boulogne. The
incident I am about to relate took place a short time
before the First Consul's arrival at Boulogne.

One day (Bonaparte was then at St. Cloud) an urgent
message was delivered to the admiral at his pavilion,
to the effect that Nelson was approaching at the head
of a strong squadron. Bruix had invited his staff and
various people from Boulogne to luncheon, and the

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 183

guests were having dessert and singing the " passage
of Mount St. Bernard, in chorus, when the enemy's
movements were reported." Bruix calmly told Rear-
Admiral Magon to have the tables brought close up to
the window overlooking the roadstead, and declared
that it wasn't worth while interrupting the feast. Then,
answering the remarks of the rear-admiral, he explained
that although he intended remaining in his pavilion,
that was no reason for declining the engagement ; and
he was quite prepared, without moving from where he
was, to give battle to the enemy who had come to dis-
turb him so inopportunely. He had scarcely announced
this resolution — so characteristic of the man — when the
English frigates fired terrible broadsides, which shook
the very atmosphere. " Don't disturb your repast for
so slight a cause — it is nothing ! " said Bruix, smiling
at his guests, who were very much alarmed. " Now,
then, gentlemen, pass round the champagne. Mean-
while, I must go and give -a few orders." And without
leaving his pavilion, the admiral signalled his orders to
the batteries, and directed the flotilla to manoeuvre so
effectually, that after • a fierce encounter Nelson had
to retire, not without sustaining considerable damage.
As soon as Bruix saw the English squadron make for
the open, he exclaimed " Victory ! " and hastened to
refill the glasses of his guests, whose singing had been
interrupted so unexpectedly by the salvoes of guns
and howitzers.

When Bonaparte received a detailed account of
the engagement, in a report from Decres, he did not
conceal his displeasure, for nothing could be less in
conformity with his own methods than this dangerous
spirit of bravado, which might also have a very bad
effect on the officers. After reading the report, he ex-
claimed angrily : " Very good ; but it will never do

184 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

to suppose that a battle can be won with a glass of
champagne in the hand. It is with sword in hand that
men in command must give the example to their sub-
ordinates." And we all know how the Emperor prac-
tised himself the counsels he preached to others, in this
respect. It was perhaps only natural that men who
were jealous of the favour Bruix enjoyed, should turn
these various incidents to account, in order to influence
the ministers against him. He felt this deeply, as we
may see by the disconsolate letter that follows, and in
which poor Bruix — who was at that time very ill, and
in great distress of mind — wonders whether he has really
entirely lost the Emperor's regard :—

" To MONSIEUR DE TALLEYRAND.

" For himself alone.

" ADMIRAL BRUIX,
" BOULOGNE, 13 Fmctidor, Year XII.
" I cannot despatch my courier without sending
you a few lines by the same opportunity ; and perhaps
the best way of obtaining news of yourself, is to tell
you a little about myself. While the Emperor was
here, I had much worry and fatigue, and some grief
as well. H. Majesty appears to be dissatisfied with
my work, and I am not even quite sure of the opinion
he may have of my zeal and devotion. This is not
surprising, for among the thousand and one things that
had to be done here, his attention is only drawn to the
few that still require doing ; they pass rapidly over
all the difficulties which have been surmounted, over
the good order that has been established in almost all
parts of the Service, etc., and they fix his attention on
those which still show signs of neglect and oversight.
He is so frequently told that I am weak ; that my first
object is to be popular ; that I relax all discipline,

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 185

show too much indulgence, and dispense Government
favours and Treasury money freely, in order to attain
this end. These things are impressed upon him every
day, so artfully and so persistently, that they are bound
to influence him in course of time. I am not even certain
as to whether they have not tried to make him sus-
picious of my fidelity, and of my feelings towards him-
self. I cannot help believing this to be the case, for I
have been compelled to dismiss one of my adjutants
whom I loved as though he were my son ; and all the
pledges I gave the Emperor of this officer's honour,
innocence, and loyalty, were of no avail to save me
from this vexation. And where are the men whose
devotion to the Emperor is so much greater than my
own, as to give them the power to persuade him that
my opinion, my entreaties, and even my oath are not
worthy of his consideration ? A very little more, and
they would have changed the chief of my staff. Ever
since this flotilla was first started, the Ministry has
worked on the system of surrounding me with men
of their own choosing, always trying to deprive me of
officers I wished to have, and giving me men I could
neither like nor esteem. In this same spirit, also, they
are constantly bringing forward General Lacrosse to the
Emperor's notice, although they really set very little
value on him ; but they represent him as being the
most excellent of all officers, the one without whom I
should be^able to do nothing.

" You may judge from all this, my dear Talleyrand,
that I am almost heart-broken, and that my position,
both for the present and for the future, is most difficult.
My health, which was only kept up by strength of will
and by the desire to serve the Emperor, is failing rapidly,
and perhaps it will be my fate to be appreciated by the
Emperor only when I am gone.

i86 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" Everyone tells me that the waters of Valengay,
and your visit there, have done you much good. May
peace of mind and the realisation of all your wishes
add to your good health. Be sure that I can never be
quite unhappy as long as you are happy. Good-bye.
I embrace you with a full heart. « g BRUIX."

The lung trouble from which Bruix was suffering,
soon made alarming progress. On the very day that
the admiral left his pavilion at Boulogne to attend the
coronation of the Emperor, he was seized with haemor-
rhage, and from that time his friends realised that his
condition was hopeless.

He never came back to Boulogne, for he was too
weak to stand the keen air of the Plateau d'Odre ; but
on his bed of sickness in Paris, his secretary relates, his
mind was always reverting to the modest quarters
from which he had so often gazed upon the Channel ;
and during the last days of his life, " in his wanderings
and delirium, he saw nothing but this fleet, which he
had so hoped to make into a mighty fighting force ;
when he was actually dying, he prayed that he might
be spared a little longer, in order that his work might
be completed."

Bruix died on Ventose 27th, Year XIII. (March, 1805),
at the age of forty-five. France sustained an irreparable
loss in the death of her great admiral ; and the Emperor,
who had never really borne him any malice for having
dared to contradict him, felt the loss very keenly. For
these illustrious men were both striving for the same
ideal, even when they clashed ; their aim was identical —
the glory of their country.

The army and the navy, and the inhabitants of
Boulogne, eager to show every mark of respect for the
memory of Admiral Bruix, organised an imposing funeral

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 187

service, on April 4th, 1805. The following is a descrip-
tion :—

On that day a gun was fired from hour to hour, from
sunrise until ten o'clock in the morning, at which hour
the procession was timed to start for church.

The army sent detachments, and each squadron of
the flotilla was represented by 100 seamen, bearing
swords, and headed by the senior captains of the navy ;
Rear-Admiral Samary was in command of the naval
contingent.

The regulations were, crape on all flags, standards,
or ensigns ; drums to be covered with black serge ;
the trumpets with crape, and muffled ; the whole of the
shipping to be in mourning ; the church to be draped
in black, the altars to be lighted up, and a Low Mass
to be celebrated at each. In fact, everything was done
to make the ceremony one of national mourning. A
mausoleum occupied the centre of the nave, and was
surrounded by candelabra and funeral torches ; it con-
sisted of a pedestal resting on three steps ; the panels
were engraved with inscriptions and allegorical designs.
The legend on one panel ran thus : " He was as kind a
father as he was a great commander ; mourned by his
family and his country." On the other side, the in-
scription read, " He was honoured by the confidence
placed in him by his Sovereign, and he died in his ser-
vice." On the panel to the right, the navy was repre-
sented as a woman bowed down with grief, sitting on
rocks beneath the shade of a weeping willow, and looking
towards the fleet at anchor, and flags at half-mast.
Finally, on the fourth panel, was a view of the port of
Boulogne, taken from the roadstead, showing, in the
front, the line of ships, formed of the various classes
of boats which composed the flotilla, with flags at
half-mast, and guns firing a salute.

i88 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

On the pedestal was a sarcophagus draped in crape,
and on it were placed a funereal urn, adorned with a
wreath of oak and laurel leaves, the Grand Cordon of
the Legion of Honour, and the admiral's sword and belt.

Twelve small boys, with the same number of little
girls, and four old women, dressed in the uniform of
the poorhouse, were grouped as mourners to right and
left of the monument ; each held a funeral torch. The
flags of the flotilla and of the Boulonnais were grouped
at the head and foot of the mausoleum, and there was
also a black banner, with silver fringe and tassels, bearing
the inscription, on one side. " To Admiral Bruix, Grand
Officer of the Empire, from the grateful Flotilla " ; and
on the other side, " Died the 27th Ventose, Year XIII.,
in the first year of the reign of Napoleon." The officers
of the army and navy expeditionary forces had subscribed
towards the expenses of the memorial service, which was
celebrated with great pomp. A requiem Mass by Gossec
and various compositions by Mozart were performed by
a full orchestra, in which the amateurs of the town
were invited to join.

Besides the religious ceremony, the navy also erected
a monument to the memory of her great commander
in the church of St. Nicholas at Boulogne ; it was still
to be seen as late as the year 1895. Two flags, bearing
four golden eagles, stood at each side of the monument,
when it was first put up, but these were removed at the
time of the Restoration.

Before closing this chapter on Bruix, I must give
an explanation of the term " Sent to the Admiral,"
which constantly occurs in the Orders of the Day, and
in the private and official correspondence of the time,
and which gave rise to many mistakes and amusing
blunders on the part of some people.

To send anyone " to the admiral " was anything

ADMIRAL BRUIX IN COMMAND. 189

but preparing him for a cordial reception on the part
of the commander of the flotilla ; it simply meant sending
him to prison. There are many proofs of this in the
old documents. For instance, among the "Orders of
the Day of the National Flotilla " we come across reso-
lutions such as the following : " The Captain of the
second class boat No. 34, of the ist Division, will be
deprived of his command and ' sent to the admiral '
for four days ; after that period, he will be drafted to
one of the boats of the flotilla, on his pay, for having
refused to obey the chief of his section on a point
of duty. (6 Ventose, Year XII.) Signed, LAFOND, chief
of the staff."

The next day the following order was read out to
the troops :—

" Whenever any men on board the boats of the
flotilla are sent to hospital, suffering from itch, the
captains must see that the hammocks, blankets, and
any other article belonging to the Republic, which these
men have used, be soaked in sea- water ; the chief medical
officer of the division to which these men belong, will
have the aforesaid articles disinfected with sulphur. . . .
The chief medical officer of the 5th Division of second-
class boats will inspect daily the ' Admiral's Prisons.' "

Again, on the gth Ventose, " Citizen Hamele, medical
officer on board the first-class boat No. 156 of the 2nd
Division, will be ' sent to the admiral ' for a period of
eight days, and then dismissed the service."

CHAPTER X.

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ENTERPRISES OF NAPOLEON'S
FLOTILLA AND CESAR'S FLEET AGAINST BRITAIN.

The Portus Itius and Boulogne Roadstead — Comparison between
the Roman Conquest and Napoleon's Scheme of Invasion.

WHY did the First Consul choose the port and road-
stead of Boulogne for the concentration of the flotilla ?

When the modern Caesar planned a revival of the
Roman Caesar's successful enterprise in England, it was
but natural that he should select for his starting point
the very port which had seemed most favourable to the
great conqueror's plans,* the same also which Philippe-
Auguste had^ chosen for mustering his force of 1,700
sailing vessels, as a menace to England.

This historical point deserves special notice, since
it has been a subject of much discussion among the most
distinguished scholars of various epochs.

First of all, we must remember that from a nautical
point of view, the existing conditions in the nineteenth
century did not differ very materially from those ob-
taining in Caesar's time, when the conqueror of Gaul
first penetrated into the land of the Morini, and therefore,
the comparison between the two enterprises is doubly
justified.

Although nineteen centuries had elapsed since Caesar
crossed the Channel with his invading host, time had

* " Quo ex portu commodissimum in Britanniam transmissum esse
cognoverat." (Caesar, Lib. IV.)

190

THE FRENCH AND THE ROMAN FLEET. 191

but slightly altered the modes of transport across the
seas. Napoleon, no better equipped in this respect
than Julius Caesar, had nothing but sailing- and rowing-
ships at his command, for the steam navigation was
then only in its infancy, and its first trials were very
incomplete and wholly insufficient.

The two Caesars, therefore, were more or less identically
situated, and in consequence, the Commentaries became
the daily reading of the First Consul, who began at
once by studying the conditions of a possible crossing
and landing.

What one man had achieved, the other could also,
since the gallantry of his army was in no way inferior
to the valour of the Roman legions, and since the Bou-
lonnais privateers and seamen had, for generations,
displayed as much mature experience as high-spirited
intrepidity.

And again, though Napoleon, like Caesar, had only
sailing ships, still, the artillery— taken in the real sense
of the word — " ars telorum," with which they were
provided, was a material improvement to the armament
of the ships.

But was Boulogne really the Portus Itius from which
Julius Caesar's fleet sailed for England ?

The author must be permitted to enter into certain
details concerning this interesting question.

A distinguished archaeologist, who was for many
years keeper of the records of Boulogne, Canon Haignere,
devoted much time to the study of the matter I now
allude to. I had already read the works of this learned
author, but wishing to elucidate various special points,
I went to see him in his little house at Waast, and ob-
tained from him the most interesting information on
Portus Itius, in particular, as'a result of his own careful
and conscientious researches.

192 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The notes I took down at the time are all the more
precious, since my old friend died but a few days after
my visit, and his valuable learning is now lost to his
countrymen.

But by recalling my own impressions, and referring
to the notes, I am able to reproduce the principal
elements of our conversation in the little presbytery
of Waast, in September, 1893.

We know that the famous Portus Itius has been
located at Ostend, Dunkirk, Gravelines, Calais, Amble-
teuse, Wimereux, Etaples, Saint-Valery, and Dieppe ;
in fact, there is scarcely a port on the Channel that has
not claimed the honour of having been chosen by the
conqueror of Gaul, some even have gone so far as to
suggest Ghent, Bruges, and Saint-Omer ! as having
been Csesar's port.

Scaliger asserts that " those who cannot see that
only Boulogne could possibly be the real Portus Itius,
must be mad," and perhaps he goes a little too far in
the warmth of his assertion : " Delirant qui Iccium
Portum aliud esse volunt a Navali Bononiensi," but
we must remember that, from the sixteenth to the seven-
teenth century, many other scholars concluded in favour
of Boulogne, such as, for instance, Paul Merula, Casaubon,
Welser, Bergier, Cluvier, Aubert Le Mire, Bertius and
Somner.

Among the Belgians, Father Walstelain and Abbe
Manu also came to the same conclusion ; while in Eng-
land Lewin * and John Dougall f have both energetically
supported Boulogne's claim.

Besides, was Caesar's starting point really a port,
in our acceptance of the word ? By referring to the

* "The Invasion of Britain by Julius Ca3sar," 2nd edition, by Thomas
Lewin.

f Observations on the Port of Gaul from which Cassar sailed on his expe-
dition against Britain.

THE FRENCH AND THE ROMAN FLEET. 193

Commentaries, we find the word " portus " used, not
" pontus." And a cove, or bay, is not a port ; it is for
this reason that we do not agree with the opinion ex-
pressed by various ingenious archaeologists, that Wissant
is the historical spot we refer to.

It is true, that in a " Map of Gaul under Julius Caesar,"
the Portus Itius, written in full, is marked in the bay of
Wissant. But perhaps it is not generally known that
this topography of " Gaul under Julius Caesar " was
published in the reign of Napoleon III.

Besides, the commissioners who drew up the map, at
the request of the sovereign, merely repeated an error
that was based on a dissertation published by M. de
Saulcy,* president of the commission, and it is this
very work which M. Haignere strove for many years
to refute, in the interests of historical truth.

As a matter of fact, Wissant is the only locality that
can contest, with any appearance of probability, the
honour of having been Caesar's port, before it became
Napoleon's, in 1803.

The first thing that strikes one, on referring to the
Commentaries, is that the place Caesar chose for em-
barking his forces was " the shortest passage thence to
Britain," " quod inde erat brevissimus in Britanniam
trajectus."

Every Latin scholar knows that " brevissimus " means
" very short " as well as " most short " ; now the point of
nearest approach for a fleet is necessarily the nearest
point at which it can concentrate, and certainly not the
headland that juts out farthest into the sea ; and, in
fact, as I have already said, it was from a port that
Caesar sailed, for he writes " Labienus was instructed
to guard the port." f

* Campaigns of Julius Caesar.
t Ut portus tueretur.

194 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

And of course it would require an important harbour
to shelter a fleet of 800 ships.

In Caesar's time, as at the time of Napoleon, a port
was necessary for the collecting of ships, and also for
protecting them against storms and the Channel currents ;
and for this same reason a similar shelter was necessary
for landing the army in Britain : accordingly we find
Caesar seeking which would be the most convenient
port after the passage.

While Gesoriacum (Boulogne) was already an im-
portant and famous port, Wissant, on the contrary,
was nothing more than what it is now, a small bay
without any protection.

It is true that from the eleventh to the fourteenth
century, there was a considerable amount of sea-traffic
at Wissant, but in order to judge of Caesar's enterprise
we must only think of what Wissant was at the time
of the Roman occupation, and not what it became in
the Middle Ages.

Let us add that those who believe the shortest route
across the Channel to be the one at right angles to the
coasts, forget that this only applies in steam navigation,
which enables ships to cut through the strongest currents
by means of their powerful machinery.

Then if Gesoriacum,* the ancient name of Boulogne,
was really Caesar's Portus Itius, people may say, how
was it that the same town was known by two different
names ? To this we would reply that Lutetia and

* For several centuries Boulogne was called Gesoriacum. Gesoriac was a
small island at the mouth of the Liane, on which was established the seaport
which is mentioned by various historians during the first three centuries.
Bononia was the Upper Town, the citadel. Eumenius, the last writer who
mentioned Gesoriacum, makes use of the term concurrently with that of
Bononia to indicate the same town. The map of Poutinger mentions " Geso-
riago, quod nunc Bononia," and an anonymous author of the fourth century
relates that Constantine the Great came in 306 to " Bononia, which was
formerly called Gesoriacum by the Gauls."

THE FRENCH AND THE ROMAN FLEET. 195

Paris were not two different cities. But the question is
even simpler than this ; Gesoriacum, according to
Ptolemy, was the name of the town, and Itius the name
of the promontory or cape, which formerly stretched far
out into the sea. By degrees, the headland crumbled
away with the action of the sea.

And yet there is at Wissant a small entrenchment
called Caesar's Camp.

The eminent Boulonnais, Mariette, once wrote a
letter to M. Bouillet, on the subject of this entrenchment,
in which he clearly proves that the Roman origin of the
so-called Caesar's Camp at Wissant, is not acceptable
in theory. Indeed, how would it have been possible to
encamp the 11,000 men of Caesar's expeditionary force,
and the still larger forces of the second expedition,
together with 4,000 horses and the military baggage,
in fortifications just large enough to protect 500
men ?

And besides, at the. time that excavations and re-
searches were made, it was at Boulogne and not at Wissant
that many Roman objects were found. The Roman
remains, presented by M. Haignere to the Boulogne
Museum, were all found in the immediate surroundings
of Boulogne, such as Val St. Martin, Brecquerecque,
the banks of the Liane, Capecure and Chatillon, which
localities are known to have been occupied by Caesar's
soldiers ; while, except for a few insignificant objects,
the ancient remains discovered at Wissant only date
from the fourteenth century, when the relative prosperity
of the little town was at its height. Only quite recently,
in May, 1906, two workmen employed in the new dock
at Boulogne, found a gold medal, bearing the effigy of
Carinus — it is supposed — with the date 183 B.C. It
was discovered in the sand.

Another argument taken from Caesar's text would

196 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

prove that the ancestors of the Boulonnais saw the
silver eagles of the Roman legions " aquilse argenteae,"
eighteen centuries before Napoleon's golden eagles
appeared.

In the Commentaries, the distance is estimated at
thirty thousand paces * (circiter millium passuum, xxx).
Reckoning by kilometres we find that Wissant was
situated about 24,000 Roman paces from the English
coast, while Boulogne is 32,000 distant from the nearest
English point.

Lastly, there is another argument ; if the ancient
port of Boulogne is not the Portus Itius, then it must
be admitted that Caesar did not choose the most important
port along the coast.

Yet Gesoriacum was looked upon as such, for in
the year 83, that is, only shortly before Caesar's tinie,
Pomponius Mela wrote : " There is no more important
port than Gesoriacum." f

The ancient authors state unanimously that there
was but " one important port " in the land of the Morini.
Polybius and Strabo agree on this point with Pomponius
Mela.

Gesoriacum was so undoubtedly the port from which
to sail for the British Isles, that Pliny describes it as
" portus Morinorum britannicus."

The foregoing details will explain how it was that
Napoleon, while at the Chateau du Pont-de-Briques,
studied the Commentaries, which gave him information
of the greatest value.

For Caesar's work informed Napoleon : —

That on the date corresponding to August 26th, B.C.,

* The Roman passus was not merely a pace (gradus), a " passus " in-
cluded the distance covered by the motion of both legs. The passus, or
double pace, was equal to five feet, or Im48 cent, the result is that 30,000
Roman paces are equal to 44 or 45 kilometres.

t " Nee portu quern Gesoriacum vocant quidquam habet notius."

THE FRENCH AND THE ROMAN FLEET. 197

Caesar had succeeded- in operating in the Channel with
a fleet of as many as 800 ships.

That he had found means of carrying war up the
Thames (ad flumen Tamicin) though ignorant of the
country (ignotis locis).

That, in spite of obstacles of all kinds, he was able
to effect the crossing in ten hours.

That the transports, which were heavily laden, took
fifteen hours to arrive at the same result.

That in order to surprise the enemy, and to mask
his movements as long as possible, Caesar had set sail
at midnight, so as to sight Britain between nine and ten
o'clock in the morning.

That, finding the coast of Britain lined with
troops on the watch, the conqueror had been com-
pelled to wait till four o'clock before he attempted to
land.

That the access had been very much impeded by
a system of defence, consisting of sharp stakes fixed
into the bed of the river and hidden under water (sub
aqua defixae sudes flumine tegebantur).

Finally, that, as the Roman galleys had too deep a
draught to admit of the troops being landed on the beach,
the Roman soldiers had been forced to wade up to their
shoulders in the water to reach the land, " capite solo
ex aqua."

We can understand from this, the reason that Bona-
parte and Admiral Bruix attached so much importance
to the construction of flat-bottomed boats. The text
of " De Bello Gallico," indeed, had taught them what
had been the chief difficulty in landing on the foreign
shores, " summa difficult as, quod naves propter magni-
tudinem, nisi in alto constitui non poterant."

But the Commentaries also, and especially, revealed
to them that the valour of the Roman legions surmounted

igS NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

all obstacles, and that after a struggle which lasted but
four days, the Britons had to sue for peace.

How natural that Napoleon should dream of accom-
plishing once, what the great Roman commander had
succeeded in performing twice !

CHAPTER XL

THE FLAT-BOTTOMED BOATS OF THE FLOTILLA AND THE
GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES.

Modern Praams or Galleys — Gunboats and Shallops — Ex-Galley
Slaves in Boulogne — Retrospect on the System of Convicts
on Board the Galleys— The " Nutshells "—State of Steam
Navigation at that Period — Fulton.

THE expedition against England necessitated the em-
ployment of such a large number of boats (2,000 were
required) that they began by utilising even those that
were of special build and purpose, appropriating them to
such and such services, as might be required. Shallops,
bomb-ships, despatch boats, caiques, fishing sloops,
transports, gunboats, praams and sailing packets, were
all repaired and fitted out.

Decres, the Minister of Marine, who had been granted
a credit of 400 million by the Government, applied him-
self especially to the construction of gunboats, flat-
bottomed gunboats, shallops, and praams.

I am indebted to the kindness of an expert, M. Clerc-
Rampal, for the following notes on the characteristics
of the different boats that formed the flotilla.

Praams : flat-bottomed boats, made for beaching,
very solidly constructed, with three keels. They were
in use before 1805. Dimensions of the praam Foudroy-
ante,* for instance : Total length, 35 m. 32 ; width,
9 m. 67 ; depth, 2 m. 60 ; draught, i m. 96 light, and

* The model is in the Museum of the Louvre (Room 3).
199

200 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

2 m. 50 when laden. Armament: 20 guns of 36"
in battery, a 1 2-inch mortar on deck. Hold, capable
of accommodating 50 horse, 50 sailors. Artillery worked
by army gunners.

Gunboats (model in Museum, Room No. 7). — Small
brigs, length 24 m. 70 ; width, 5 m. 47 ; depth, i m. 70.
Twenty-two oars on each side, worked by soldiers.
One gun of 24" or 18", and one gun of 8" or 6".

Flat-bottomed Gunboats. — Lugger rigged, 3 guns of
24" or of 18", and swivel guns. One lieutenant in
command, 3 non-commissioned officers, 15 sailors, 43
soldiers.

Shallops. — Large boats, sometimes clincher- worked,
26 m. long, 4 m. 50 wide, 20 oars. Flat-bottomed, sails
like ship's boats. Smaller shallops were 17 m. to 22 m.
long, 3 m. to 3 m. 36 wide, with 14 to 18 oars a side.
Armament : 12 swivel guns.

Caiques. — They in no way resembled the boats of
that name at Constantinople ; they were " tartans,"
with lateen sails, and carried one gun of 4" and one
howitzer of 8".

All these boats, save the praams and bombships,
which already existed, were constructed in various ports
from the designs of the engineer, Sane, who was then
inspector-general of naval engineers.

We must mention here at once, so as not to return
to it again, that the flotilla was never intended to operate
alone in Napoleon's scheme ; the French squadrons
were to take an important part in protecting the flotilla,
and making a diversion at an opportune moment ;
but Bonaparte, of course, was particularly careful to
say nothing about this, since his only chance of success
lay in taking England by surprise. The flat-bottomed
boats were intended to transport to the enemy's country
the soldiers who were to fight on land.

202 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

On July 3rd, 1804, Admiral Bruix formed his
squadrons in good order, and they were all numbered
and in readiness to sail ; 700 boats at Boulogne, 290
at Etaples, 340 at Wimereux, and 437 at Ambleteuse.
On the 2ist of the same month, when Napoleon con-
templated the scene in the port and roadstead of Bou-
logne, he exclaimed, " We are going to seek a new Salamis
in the North Sea ! "

Every available boat, therefore, was utilised ; but,
as we may see from the official correspondence, the
especial concern of the commanders was to have flat-
bottomed boats, and to employ rowers to facilitate
the passage through currents and against the wind.
These two requirements were essential by reason of the
following considerations.

No deep-draught boats could effect a landing by
surprise on any part of the enemy's coast. It was the
very size of the ships, according to Caesar, which was
his chief difficulty in landing on the coast of Britain ;
while, on the other hand, it was entirely owing to the
oars that he was able to execute his enterprise.

Csesar adds that he sailed far beyond the point at
which he had intended to land, his fleet being taken by
the wind towards the north. And therefore Bonaparte
and the Admiralty came to the conclusion that it was
essential (i) to have boats that could be beached with-
out any warning ; (2) to have oarsmen capable of
directing their boats and ensuring their landing on
the enemy's shores, in spite of contrary winds and
currents.

It seemed necessary, therefore, to make a practical
study of the working and organisation of the old galleys ;
and on this subject, none were better able to give
information than the former galley-slaves themselves,
not only upon their method of working, but also as to

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES. 203

the advantages and disadvantages in connection with
their use.

Accordingly, Napoleon and Bruix were not satisfied
with making inquiries of the naval engineers, but person-
ally questioned several convicts, whose long experience
placed them in a position to make practical suggestions.
One day, several ex-convicts were seen to arrive at the
admiral's pavilion ; they had been chosen among the
more intelligent, and were sent by the Minister of Marine
to the two great organisers of the flotilla. At the ex-
piration of their term, these representatives of the
system of galley-slaves (then but recently abolished)
had become oar-makers (remolats), coopers (boutares),
and skilful carpenters (maitres de la hache)*

Let us reflect, for an instant, over this scene, which
is something of a les'son to those among us who care
to look into the nature of men. On one side we see
Napoleon and Bruix, both illustrious — one as the chief
of an army, the other as a seaman — questioning pro-
fessional galley-slaves, learning from them, consulting
them without any false pride, in order to obtain informa-
tion that might lead to the improvement of the flotilla,
to the better fitting up of the modern galleys in the
dockyards, and to the saving of labour for the oars-
men. On the other side, these convicts offering in-
formation acquired during their period of terrible ex-
piation, in order that they too might serve their country,
and add to the glory of the French flag.

There is something touching in the contrast between
the two parties, suggesting, as it does, a sentiment of
mutual sympathy, inspired -by patriotism ; for if the
chiefs saw nothing derogatory in communicating with
these men, it was because the sufferings of galley-slaves,
though necessary, certainly called for sympathy.

* Terms used on the galleys.

204 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

And it is some comfort to think that, though the
galleys were formerly the instruments of punishment,
they were also, in some cases, the means of social re-
demption for the convicts. The life on the galleys was
terrible beyond belief, as we may see by various docu-
ments of unquestionable authority.

" Life on the galleys is a hell," Captain Barras de la
Penne writes in the eighteenth century. " The doleful
lamentations of the ship's company, the terrible shouts
of the sailors, the horrible howling of the convicts, the
creaking of the timbers, mingled with the rattling of
chains and the roar of the tempest, produce a feeling
akin to terror in the stoutest heart. Lightning, rain,
hail — the usual accompaniments of violent storms —
and waves dashing spray over the deck, all add to the
horror of the situation. Though convicts are not much
given to piety as a rule, you would see some of them
pray to God, and others make vows to all the saints ;
while others even attempt to make a sort of pilgrimage
along the ship's sides, in spite of the motion of the ship.
They would do better not to forget God and His saints
the moment danger is past. Calm weather also has its
disadvantages. Bad smells then become so overpowering
that it is impossible to get away from them, in spite
of the quantity of snuff one is obliged to consume from
morning till night. On a galley, too, there are always
certain little insects that torment the inmates. Flies
reign supreme in the daytime, bugs at night, fleas and
lice both day and night."

It seems hardly credible that the galley-slaves, from
the sixteenth century onward, were always kept chained
to their seats ; yet this is the fact. " The convicts of
the gang on the right were riveted by the left leg, and
those of the left gang were chained by the right leg.
At least four men had to find room in a space no larger

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES. 205

than i m. 25 ; they placed themselves so that the feet
of two men faced in one direction, and those of the other
two in the other."

The following is an extract from a narrative by an
unfortunate convict, J. Marteille de Bergerac,* who
describes, with the exactness of personal experience, the
way in which the oars were worked on the State galleys.

" All the convicts are chained in sixes on each
bench. The benches are placed at a distance of four
feet from each other, and are covered with a sack filled
with wool, over which they throw a sheep-skin reaching
down to the foot-bench. The overseer, or master, of
the gang stands in the stern, near the captain, to take
his orders. Two warders are stationed, one amidship,
the other in the prow. Each of them is armed with a
whip, which is used without pity on the bare backs of
the poor wretches. When the captain gives the command
to row, the overseer transmits the order with a silver
whistle hanging from his neck. This signal is repeated
by the warders, and the rowers immediately strike the
water all together — fifty oars like one. Imagine six men
chained to one bench, one foot on the stretcher, the
other raised on the bench in front of them, holding an
oar of enormous weight, stretching their bodies towards
the stern, and their arms spread out so as to push the
oar over the backs of those that are in front of them,
and who are in the same attitude ; holding their oars
thus forward, they raise the end they have in their
hands, so as to dip the other in the sea. Then they
throw themselves backwards by dropping on to the
seat which sways beneath their weight. Sometimes a
galley-slave has to row for ten or twelve hours, sometimes
even for twenty, at a stretch, without ceasing. The
warders, or some of the sailors, come round now and

* Died in 1777 at Culembourg.

206 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

then, and put pieces of bread, soaked in wine, into the
mouths of the unfortunate rowers to keep them from
fainting. Should this happen, the captain shouts to
the overseer to flog harder. If a man swoons over his
oar (which frequently happens), he is flogged till he is
given up for dead, when they fling his body overboard."

At the time of the First Empire, however, it was
no longer a question of penalising galley-slaves, but of
employing brave men as willing rowers — even the grena-
diers, we shall see, were to practise the handling of oars —
and therefore the chiefs studied the methods pertaining
to the old galleys in order to diminish the hard work,
by increasing, as much as possible, the number of oars-
men.

Among the plans under consideration at the Admiralty
for the transformation and construction of flotilla boats,
the type of the old Greek and Roman one-bank-of-oars
galley was especially studied ; then the question was
raised as to whether the system of boats having a double-
bank of oars might not be applied in a certain measure.
As for the famous " triremes," or galleys with three tiers
of oars, of the class that won the battle of Salamis
for the Athenians, they undoubtedly had the advantage
of great rapidity, but were of too high a freeboard.

The seventeenth-century galley was a vessel of low
freeboard, and of great length, in contradistinction to
the round, or high freeboard, vessels. It was long and
slender in shape, and measured, as a rule, 46 m.
from stem to stern, 5 m. 80 in width, with a depth of
2 m. 30. The oars were 12 m. long.

They could carry about 400 men, huddled together,
with provisions for two months, and 23 tons of
ballast ; their draught was not more than one metre.
They carried one gun of 36", two of 8", two of 4",
and twelve swivel guns fixed on the gunwale.

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES. 207

What with their oars and the sail they carried, the
old galleys were very fast-going ships.

Considering what the terrible conditions of life were
on the galleys, it is hardly to be wondered at that there
were so few voluntary rowers ; only the Neapolitans
and Spaniards, when pressed by extreme poverty, would
ever consent to become " willing oarsmen " (buonevoglie).
The official number of galley-slaves in December,
1676, amounted only to 4,710.

The insufficiency of this effective, inasmuch as it
concerned the strength of the French navy, was a source
of anxiety to Colbert, who deplored the indolence of
the French magistrates in not keeping up a sufficient
supply of convicts.*

And an over-zealous captain, writing in defence of
the galleys, excludes all humanity in his excess of blind
patriotism : " The moment that clemency is brought
into the question, all hope is lost, and navigation by
means of rowing is done for."

In 1839 Commodore Napier is known to have said :
" Yes, it was horrible, but it had its advantages."

The judges, therefore, were instructed to substitute
servitude on the galleys for sentences of death, mutilation,
or fine ; and they would even press into the service
any vagabonds they could lay hands on.

The ordinary diet of convicts was 35 ounces
of biscuit, and as much water as they required. The
small allowance of meat that was sometimes given them,
was salted and generally bad, while the water was brack-
ish. They slept in the open, leaning over their oars
or lying between the benches. Once a year they were
given a great-coat, a jacket, a cap, two shirts, and two

* In the seventeenth century France was obliged to purchase Turkish
slaves for whom she paid 400 to 450 silver " livres " sterling. These men,
inured to fatigue, tall, and strongly built, were preferable to all others for
occupying the very hardest posts on the galleys.

2o8 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

pairs of drawers. Their heads and beards were generally
shaven, but not their moustaches.

The convicts not only had a language of their own,
but were prohibited from making use of the ordinary
expressions of joy and exclamations sanctioned by popular
usage. For instance, if a person of distinction came
to visit the galley, the convicts were only allowed to
salute him or her with three rounds of " Hou ! hou !
hou ! " shouted in chorus.

Madame de Grignan, having had occasion to visit
the royal galleys at Marseilles, alludes to this custom
in one of her letters : "I am still quite deaf from the
roar of the cannon, and the shouts of ' Hou ! ' from the
galley-slaves."

And Madame de Sevigne * makes the following
observation, for which we cannot forgive her : " I should
very much like to see that kind of pandemonium . . .
men groaning night and day beneath the weight of their
chains." And yet the wretched convicts still found some
means of amusement in their awful abode. But what
amusement !

The author must be forgiven for mentioning this real-
istic but authentic detail. The convicts, who were covered
with vermin, used to collect them and put them into
little paper cones, and when a visitor came amongst them
they would blow a cloud of these repulsive insects on
the stranger.

It must be admitted that, except for a few chance
visitors who really took a kindly interest in the fate
of these poor creatures, most of those who came to see
the galleys were animated by a curiosity very little to
their credit.

* It was Mme. de Sevigne" who also wrote, in her flippant manner, after
Mme. de Brinvilliers was burnt at the stake, " the ashes of her small body were
thrown to the winds, so that we actually breathe her ! "

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES. 209

Bonaparte had been able to judge, on one particular
occasion, of the great advantages offered by the use
of the oar in certain naval manoeuvres, both for acceler-
ating the movement, and especially for rapid evolution
within a small compass.

When on board the Orient on his way to Egypt, he
was able to ascertain the extraordinary results that
could be obtained from this form of navigation — results,
unfortunately, too frequently achieved through the
merciless use of the quarter-master's lash.

Napoleon, of course, was far from sharing the senti-
ments of Captain Pantero Pantera, who declared that
" the overseer should use his bludgeon as freely as his
whistle " ; but he reckoned on obtaining the same
good results by appealing to the devotion and patriotism
of his soldiers.

But we can well imagine how much self-devotion
was required on the part of the soldiers to induce them
to take the place of those who were still called " galley-
birds," since " handling an oar " in those days was
equivalent to the more modern treadmill.

Admiral Bruix had recourse to former convicts also,
for the purpose of learning something of their language ;
for many of the boats that were being made to serve
for the flotilla, came from far-distant dockyards, and
some of the crews of native or local sailors had been
purposely retained on board, for the sake of initiating
the new members of the crew in the handling proper
to each class of ship, as the rigging and sails differed
very materially one from another.

But we must return to the scene of the admiral's
pavilion, where Napoleon and Bruix were interviewing
the ex-galley-slaves. When the meeting was over, the
Emperor went out, accompanied by Bruix, and
invited the latter to go with their visitors on a round
o

210 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

of inspection to the Capecure dockyards, and also to
those on the banks of the Liane. " As for me," he
added, " I should not be able to make anything of it
all ; and as for my soldiers, they would be utterly
bewildered."

When we consider for a moment the many complex
theories found in treatises on naval construction, if
only, say, for the constitution of an oar — namely, the
amount of resistance of water against the blade, the
man's effort on the handle, the conditions in which the
oar is placed, the position of the thole-pin in the row-
lock, the form and direction of which can be modified
according to the type of construction, etc. — we can well
believe that Bruix, shrewd as he was, found means of
gaining a great deal of information from his strange
companions, amongst whom, by the bye, were two ex-
convicts who had formerly occupied a high social posi-
tion— for intelligence and learning are not incompatible
with perversity, it would seem, in certain debased
natures.

During the different periods of the concentration
on the Boulonnais shores, the number of ships varied
considerably. However, we can describe, without
going into technical details, the several elements
of which the flotilla was composed at different
dates.

Thus on January 3ist, 1804, the total number of
warships for Boulogne and Etaples alone, amounted
to 281, together with 290 transports, making a total of
571 ships.*

On August 8th, 1805, Lafond, chief of the staff,
compiled another catalogue, from which I quote a few
figures in order to give an idea of the composition of
the flotilla.

* Estimated by Lafond, Chief of the Staff.

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES. 211

Boulogne. Wimereux. Etaples.

Praams .... 14

Bombships ... 3

Packet-boats ... 9 I

Flat-bottomed gunboats . 187 32 36

Gunboats . . . 221 36 108

Corvettes ... 2 2

Shallops .... 239 72 97

Caiques . . . . 19

694 142 242

Transports at Boulogne alone.

Artillery ..../.. 36

Remounts ...... 44

Staff and Army baggage .... 72

Non-classed ...... 23

Newfoundland Boats ..... 73

Whalers 188

436

Altogether, at that date, there were 1,153 vessels
at Boulogne, and according to this catalogue the total
number of boats at Boulogne, Ambleteuse, Wimereux,
Etaples, Calais, Dunkirk, and Ostend, amounted to 2,343
boats, capable of transporting 167,590 men and 9,149
horses.

No doubt Napoleon's galleys, praams, and flat-
bottomed boats were a cause of great anxiety to England,
in spite of the material obstacles that stood in the way
of the realisation of his threatened invasion ; but sup-
posing Napoleon, instead of being limited to his poor
little sailing boats, for transporting his incomparable
soldiers across the Channel, had had at his command
the marvellous resources of steam navigation which

212 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" defies the fury of Eolus and the dangerous currents
of Neptune," what might not have been the result ?

One evening, after dining at the pavilion with the
officers of the different services — which was one of his
methods for keeping an eye over the proper execution
of his orders — he sent his valet Constant to his other
quarters at Pont-de-Briques, to fetch the letters and
despatches that were awaiting him there. The errand
necessitated a good hour's hard riding, and while waiting

GENERAL PLAN OF THE PORT OF BOULOGNE IN 1805.
LIII

(From Map

in the War Office Records.)

for his messenger's return, Napoleon opened the window
and pointed the large telescope in the direction of Dover.
After a while he was heard to utter these words in a
tone of deep conviction : " Yes ; a favourable wind,
and thirty-six hours ! "

Constant arrived soon after, bringing, together with
other packets forwarded by the Minister of the Interior,
a large bundle of papers, bearing Fulton's signature on
the last sheet. It was a Memoir written by the great
engineer, who gave such extraordinary impetus to
steam navigation. As his proposals had met, so far,

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES. 213

with nothing but refusal in England, he did not hesitate
to make the following offer to Napoleon : —

" SIRE,—

" The sea which separates you from your enemy,
gives him immense advantage over you. Wind and
storms assist him in turn, and enable him to insult you
with impunity, and to defy you from his island, which
is at present inaccessible to you. I can remove the
obstacles which protect him, and notwithstanding his
fleets, I can transport your armies to his territory, at
any time, and within a few hours, without having to
fear storms or wait for a favourable wind."

The Emperor at once wrote from Boulogne to the
Minister of the Interior, M. de Champagny, directing
an immediate inquiry into the new system of the in-
ventor :—

" MONSIEUR DE CHAMPAGNY, —

" I have just read Citizen Fulton's proposition,
which you have delayed too long in sending me, in-
asmuch as it is capable of changing the whole face of
the world. At all events, I wish you to submit it imme-
diately for examination to a special committee, which
you will select from among the different bodies of the
Institut. It is there that scientific Europe must look
for judges competent to decide this question. A great
truth, a palpable, physical truth, is now before my eyes ;
it remains for these gentlemen to see it, and to try to
grasp it. As soon as their report is drawn up, they
will send it to you, and you will forward it to me. En-
deavour to get this affair settled within eight days,
for I am impatient. And now, M. de Champagny, I
pray that God may have you in His safe keeping.

" NAPOLEON.
" From my Camp at Boulogne, July 2ist, 1804."

214 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Napoleon, therefore, cannot be accused of having
failed to recognise the great merit of Fulton's invention.
The only mistake he made was in relying too exclusively
on the judgment of others in this particular cir-
cumstance.

It was also while he was at Boulogne that Napoleon
received the deplorable report of the scientific men,
who had been commissioned to inquire into Fulton's
invention and pronounce a decision as to its worth.

When the question had been under consideration
for two months, the commissioners forwarded a state-
ment of their formal opinion. The proposition was
unanimously rejected !

Indeed, the inventor was styled a " visionary," and
his discovery was looked upon as a " mad scheme,"
" a gross error," and a " simple absurdity."

There was no going against the decided opinion
of a whole body of specialists of such unquestionable
authority, without incurring the reproach of being pre-
sumptuous oneself.

Napoleon therefore was compelled to give way,
owing to the blind and systematic opposition which the
scheme had raised. He himself believed, however, that
the discovery was not only practical, but full of portent
for the future ; so much so that, after reading the report,
the Emperor remarked, sadly and thoughtfully : " Then
I must have read wrongly — or else I was mistaken."
Then, tapping his forehead, he added : " And yet Fulton
has something in his brain, I will answer for that. Steam-
pumps, after all, are nothing more than a motive power
produced by steam. The man must be right when he
asserts that this force can be used for other things be-
sides raising buckets of water out of a river. Ah ! " he
added, clenching his hand and getting animated, " I
ought to have seen this man before. His discovery

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES. 215

appears to me to be the very thing I want. However,
it is no use thinking of it any more."

But the fact remains that we cannot reflect, without
bitterness of spirit, on the bold assertion of these scient-
ists, whose advice, perhaps, was really influenced by
the fear of honouring an invention which was to make
an enemy illustrious. Fulton, it is true, was an American
subject, born in Pennsylvania ; but as he had offered his
services to England first — where, by the bye, he had
already introduced several other inventions — he was
looked upon, amongst most people, as an Englishman.

If this is so — I mean, if the commissioners were really
influenced by such a motive, when they so carelessly
set aside the proposed invention — then they showed
proof of a very short-sighted patriotism.

For, little more than ten years after they had sent
their unfavourable report upon Fulton's offer, the con-
queror of Austerlitz, now vanquished at Waterloo,
concealing Jlis grief beneath an impassive exterior, was
sitting on the deck of the Northumberland, on October
lyth, 1815, surrounded by braided jailors — that is to
say, by English officers, who never let him out of their
sight.

It seemed as though they feared the eagle might
take flight across the ocean, in spite of broken wings,
and soar again over the land of France.

Napoleon was leaning on the fore-part of the vessel,
and keenly scanning the horizon to try and discern the
rocks of St. Helena— which, Admiral Cockburn had an-
nounced that morning, would soon be in sight — when
suddenly he saw a long trail of dense smoke pouring
out of a sort of " huge chimney."

" What is that ? " he asked, fixing his spyglass on
the object.

" It is a steamboat," replied the naval lieutenant,

216 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

who probably did not realise the effect his words were
likely to produce.

" A steamboat ! " exclaimed Napoleon, filled with
agitation.

" Yes, the Fulton" replied the officer, looking through
his glasses.

On hearing the name, Napoleon thrilled with excite-
ment, and turning away from a sight that filled him
with anger and bitter regrets, merely put his hand up
to his eyes, exclaiming : " My God ! " Then he walked
to the further end of the deck, where he sat down, and
bowing his head in his hands, remained immovable for
a considerable time.

Recovering himself after a while, his thoughts turned
to the shores of Boulogne, where he had given credence
to the fatal report of the commissioners, and starting
up suddenly, he paced to and fro among the officers,
saying, in a tone of agitation : "I had the secret
of that invention in my very hands, gentlemen, and
if I let it slip, it was because I deferred to the
judgment of others, instead of relying upon my own."
And looking round once more towards the quarter
where the black streak stood out against the blue sky,
waving over the white foam left in the ship's wake,
he uttered an exclamation in which all the bitterness
of his soul was summed up : " Go and put your faith
in wiseacres ! "

And, indeed, no severe condemnation was ever more
justified.

In foreign countries, and even in France, Fulton is
looked upon as the inventor of steam navigation. But
we must point out that a Frenchman (of Franche-
Comte), the Marquis de Jouffroy de la Pompe, had, as
early as 1776 navigated a real steamboat on the Doubs
river. It was then called a " pyroscaphe," and the

GALLEYS OF FORMER TIMES: 217

principle on which it was based was originated by Denis
Papin.

An official report of the Lyons Academy states that
in 1783 Jouffroy made some decisive experiments on the
Saone with a steamer 130 feet long, and paddle-wheels
14 feet in diameter. This fact is mentioned merely
because there is a point of interest attaching to it that
concerns French national history. The report of these
experiments bears, among other signatures, the name of
Fulton, who happened to be in Lyons just at that time ;
and besides this, Fulton wrote an autograph letter, in
which he honestly acknowledged the claim of French
" pyroscaphes " to priority of invention.

It must be well understood that the idea of making
use of a multiplicity of little boats — " nutshells," as
they were termed in England — for Napoleon's purposes,
would have proved an eminently practical scheme if
the Admiralty had been able, by anticipating the use
that was subsequently made of it, to adopt steam power
sufficiently quickly to serve the naval purposes.

The term " nutshells " was also currently used in
Paris to indicate the boats of the flotilla, for the Duchesse
d'Abrantes says in her Memoirs :

" One day, when Brunet was acting in some play—
I forget which — he ate some nuts, and threw the shells
into a tub of water, after putting them into shape.

" ' What are you doing ? ' asked the actor, who
was following his cue.

* I am making shallops,' replied the gay Brunet,
who had to pay for this cutting facetiousness by being
sent to prison for twenty-four hours under some sort
of pretext.

' The day after his release, the same play was again
performed, and when Brunet came to the rejoinder in
the dialogue, over which he had come to grief, he kept

218 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

silent. The other actor asked him a second time what
he was doing. Receiving no reply, he said to Brunet,
with an air of impatience : ' You don't know, I sup-
pose ? '

" ' Oh, yes, I do,' said Brunet mischievously. ' I know
perfectly well what I am doing, only ' (lowering his
voice), ' I am not going to say.'

" This remark was received with shouts of laughter
and applause from the whole house."

CHAPTER XII.

THE OLD PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS AT BOULOGNE.

Difference Between Piracy and the Right of " Giving Chase "
— Account of Prizes Captured — The Boulogne Privateers,
Gary, Pollet, and Duchenne — Bucaille — Brocant Inter-
viewed by the Emperor — Napoleon and the English Sloop.

THE privateers who carried on their operations in the
Channel during the First Republic, the Consulate, and
the Empire, played a most important part in the
history of the times.

Yet we have no complete record of the remarkable
feats that were accomplished during those memorable
years by the seafaring men of these regions.

I must enter into a few details concerning these
intrepid auxiliaries, who not only helped materially in
the organisation of the flotilla, but also served to excite
the imagination of the soldiers by accounts of their
marvellous exploits.

First we must remember that a privateer is not to
be confounded with a pirate. The latter was engaged
in a lawless trade, attacking and pillaging indifferently
any ship he came across ; while the privateer only
preyed upon vessels of a nation at war with his own.
As he was granted " letters of marque " by the head
of the State (or permission to " pursue " the enemy),
he was really a regular combatant, a loyal servant of
his country, and had a claim upon public favour.

In consequence of their exploits, a number of old

219

220 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

privateers were given important posts in the RoyaJ
Navy. It was in this way that Jean Bart, Tourville
and Dugay-Trouin, who attained such eminence, had
commenced by privateering with their own vessels ;
and during the First Empire, Surcouf made a great
reputation for himself under the same conditions.

That is why the term " pirate," by which the priva-
teers were first known, had formerly an honourable
meaning which it has since lost. In the eleventh cen-
tury the term " pirata " merely indicated a soldier of
the sea, and the old English chronicles at the time of
William Rufus, allude without the slightest restraint
to the " King's pirates."

As for the word " privateer " (corsair), applied to
the freebooters of the sea, it seems to have been em-
ployed for the first time in a letter by Louis XL, in
which he says, " Certain privateer (corsair) galleys of
the King of Aragon, our enemy and adversary, were
always on the sea in these regions."

In the sixteenth century, Amyot also alludes to the
privateers and sea-robbers. At that period, the attacking
of an enemy's ships was officially sanctioned by " letters
of marque," registered by the Admiralty and recognised
by various regulations, notably the one of December
i6th, 1689.

At the commencement of the nineteenth century,
letters of marque were only granted to Frenchmen of
bravery and skill, who could show a record of exceptional
services, and on their furnishing caution money to the
amount sometimes of 37,000 francs. The length of
time for which a license was granted was for six, twelve,
eighteen, and twenty-four months.

The ship, once registered under her privateer's
name, was not allowed to change it ; and the Com-
missioners of Marine had to ascertain, before allowing

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 221

her to leave the port, whether she was solidly built,
well-rigged, fast-going, provided with efficient guns,
pikes, boarding axes, and, in fact, all the accessories
requisite for the purpose for which she was intended.
In France, the regulations concerning privateering granted
important bounties to those engaged in it. For instance,
the privateers received 40 francs for every prisoner
captured on a merchant ship, and from 45 to 60 francs
for any sailor taken on a man-of-war. On the other
hand, a captain could not abandon his prize without
being liable to a fine of 100 francs.

For every gun captured the crew received the follow-
ing gratuities : — no francs, 160 francs, 200 francs, for a
gun of 4 inch calibre, according to the importance of
the prize ; and a bounty of 160 francs, 250 -francs, or
400 francs if the victors brought back a gun of 12".

Sometimes the captains would ransom their prisoners,
if they wished to do so ; but in this case they had to
give an account of the sum thus obtained to the Com-
missioners of Marine.

In 1694-5, the English having bombarded the French
ports along the Channel — reducing the town of Dieppe
almost to ashes and destroying the fortifications of
Havre — a regular army of privateers was organised on
our coasts. They inflicted so much damage on the
English trade that Louis XIV. was compelled, by the
terms of the treaty of Utrecht, to destroy the harbour
of Dunkirk.

Under the first Republic there was much rivalry
between Calais and Boulogne in the matter of capturing
British ships in the Channel, whenever they had the
chance of doing so. In spite of fireships and the guns
of the enemy's corvettes, the " sea-dogs " did not hesi-
tate to run alongside and capture their prizes by boarding
them, axe in hand.

222 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

At Boulogne-sur-Mer, the deeds of Bucaille — who
was rewarded for his bravery by the Emperor — are a
matter of tradition ; but we shall speak of him further on.

M. H. Malo, who wrote a learned treatise on the
subject, has given some valuable records of the doings
of the privateers. We read, for instance, that in the
third century Carausius,. a "sea-dog," chose Bononia
(Boulogne) as his base for opposing the pirates coming
from the north. At the time of the Crusades, Guinemer,
a Boulogne seafaring man, infested the Mediterranean.
At a later period, Eustache le Moine was given seven
ships by John Lackland, with which he captured the
Channel Islands.

But privateering assumed a far more important
character when it became a question of capturing English
ships during the siege of Calais by Edward III.

We have seen that the practice was continued up
to the nineteenth century.

Shortly before this period, Thurot, a fearless corsair
(born in Boulogne in 1727), had performed many feats
of daring, and his name was connected with a scheme
for a landing in England. A brief account of this man
is therefore appropriate. When still quite young, he
went on board a privateer, though he had already
qualified as an assistant surgeon.

Soon after sailing from Dunkirk, however, he was
captured by an English frigate and imprisoned in Ports-
mouth ; but he did not remain there long, for " within
a few days he succeeded in filing through his chain,
making his escape, and taking possession of a boat,
in which he returned to his beloved native shore." He
then became a pilot, but soon afterwards laid aside the
tarred coat and red cap, and became a captain.

A graphic description of this corsair was written by
the learned Auguste Mariette, grandson of Guillaume

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 223

Mariette, lieutenant of the Belle-Isle, commanded by
Thurot. The following passage is an extract : —

" The privateer Thurot, axe in hand, rushed his
brig into the very middle of the convoy ; guns roared,
musketry rattled, and the formidable brig, bounding
over the waves, pursued one ship after another, in the
midst of shots and flames, spreading death around,
as though a very whirlwind of fire had suddenly arisen
from the sea."

When, in 1759, war again broke out between France
and England, Thurot was given the command of a small
squadron of privateers, and succeeded in capturing so
many English ships that, as a reward for his services,
the Minister of War, Marshal Belle-Isle, placed him in
command of " His Majesty's corvette, La Friponne"

Within a space of eight days, he took possession of
a fleet of eighteen colliers, and sailed into Christiansand
(Norway) with his prize. On leaving the port, he found
his course obstructed by twenty ships lying in the offing.
He therefore waited till night came on, and not only
succeeded in avoiding the enemy, but threw his grapnel
on two armed pinks as well.

Thurot acquired such a reputation for heroism and
skill, that Louis XV. once expressed a desire to
see him.

Accordingly, on his returning to Dunkirk, on December
3rd, 1758, he was immediately summoned to Versailles
by the Minister of Marine, who requested him to suggest
some means of overcoming England. Thurot submitted
a plan for the equipment of 50,000 men, who, by a bold
stroke, were to effect a landing in England, and sack
the principal towns along the coast.

It was this scheme that Napoleon, in his turn, hoped
to accomplish.

On being introduced at Versailles, Thurot was " so

224 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

much the courtier, that all the little marchionesses swore
by the invincible corsair."

As many as ninety-five different privateer captains,
native of Boulogne, are recorded by name between
1789 and 1815.

A Memoir, written in the tenth year of the Republic
by Masclet, the first Sub-Prefect of Boulogne, gives
interesting information on the subject : —

" Memorandum of ships fitted out as privateers in the
port of Boulogne from September 23rd, 1795, to May 2ist,
1801. Number of privateers, 154 ; effective of the crews,
5,800 ; prizes captured, 202 ; gross value of prizes, 12,928,745
francs ; prisoners taken, 1,967 ; privateers captured by the
enemy, 16 ; men killed or taken prisoners by the enemy,
755 ; cost of armaments, 3,500,000 francs."

The usual armament of a privateer, even in 1809,
consisted of 14 guns, 76 cannon balls, 10 canister shot,
40 muskets, 15 pistols, 7 blunderbusses, 30 sabres,
120 pounds of bullets.

As the allotment of bounties was proportioned to
the number of guns carried, the privateers were in the
habit of shipping more of them than was necessary.
In order to put a stop to this abuse, the prefect of the
first maritime district enacted a bye-law in August, 1808.

The reader may remember that privateering was
abolished by the Treaty of Paris in 1856, and mercantile
shipping is now safe, therefore, under cover of the flag —
with the exception, of course, of contraband of war.
Nearly every nation of the Old and New Worlds sub-
scribed to these conditions, saving Spain, Mexico, and
the United States.

The author from whom I have quoted, however,
observes that there would be nothing to prevent England
from repudiating the treaty — if it were in her interest
to do so — Lord Derby having once made a significant

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 225

remark to the effect that " the Act of 1856 had not
been ratified either by the Crown or the Government."

But from the very fact of England possessing such
an immense number of mercantile ships, it is manifest
that she would be the first to suffer by the re-establish-
ment of privateering.

The reader can form some idea of the consequences
that might occur from a return to privateering, by noting
the fact that during the American War of Secession,
the Sumter and Alabama captured, within a period of
seven months, the one eighteen and the other sixty-two
prizes, of which the hulls alone were worth twenty-five
millions.

We need not be surprised at these figures, for in the
period that elapsed between 1793 and 1815, the French
privateers alone captured 10,800 English trading vessels,
of which nearly 1,000 were taken in the year 1797, in
the Channel waters.

The term privateer did not apply solely to the sea-
men who were engaged in this mode of warfare ; it
was also used to denote the boats fitted out for this
particular purpose, which the State considered it ex-
pedient to utilise in the national interests, instead of
leaving them to engage in private enterprise. On
February 25th, 1798, the Minister of Marine issued the
following circular : —

" It is a matter of the greatest urgency to accelerate, by
every possible means, the fitting out of all the warships and
transports intended for the expedition against England.

" You have already received orders to hasten the levy-
ing of sailors As it is to be feared, however, that

the seafaring men, led by a thirst of gain, will serve on board
privateers for preference . . . the executive Directory have
decided to lay an immediate embargo on all such vessels
now in the different ports, and on all which may return to
p

226 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

port. In consequence of this order, you will be good enough,
on receipt of this letter, to give notice to all shipowners,
that they must deliver up the letters of marque granted to
them for their privateers. With regard to their respective
crews, you will ship them at once on board the State vessels."

BOULOGNE PRIVATEER OF 26 GUNS, RECAPTURED FROM
THE ENGLISH BY BUCA1LLE.

On March 7th, another circular was issued respecting
the men off the privateers, whose services the Minister
was most anxious to secure, as he considered them
" the best of sailors."

"It is the intention of the Directory that all French
sailors, coming from the privateers . . . should be retained
in the service of the Republic."

By glancing at the accompanying illustration of a

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 227

privateer, the reader will observe that these were by
no means so hideous as they are often described in
romances, but very pretty boats sometimes.

A model of the Ruse, a Boulogne privateer rigged as
a lugger, can be seen in the " Musee Indus triel " at
Boulogne ; it was constructed from an engraving,
dated 1806, belonging to M. Charles Bellet.

The speed of a privateer, rigged as a lugger, was
much the same as that of a frigate ship-rigged ; she
could sail on an average eight to nine knots, and was
more rapidly handled than a frigate. When the priva-
teer was chased by a frigate, she tacked and sailed as
near the wind as possible, at an angle of 39° to 40° ;
while the frigate was obliged to make an angle of 66°.
This enabled the privateer to gain time and escape.

The following accounts, taken from ships' logs, will
give a very good idea of the manner in which the priva-
teers operated :—

" At the beginning of January, 1797, a Boulogne privateer,
ly Unite, a large coasting lugger of six guns of 4," commanded
by Captain Cary, was steering her course from the English
coast towards Boulogne, with a sloop in tow, captured the
day before, when she sighted an English ship bearing down
upon her with all sails set. It was the Swan, a revenue cutter,
of 14 caronades, and a numerous crew. Captain Cary, recog-
nising the inequality of strength, abandoned his prize and
sheered off ; but he soon realised that he had no chance of
escaping. The cutter followed rapidly, and hoping to retard
her progress, Cary tacked towards her, and ordered the
gunners to point at the masts. The cutter was still gain-
ing on him rapidly when the engagement began, and for
three hours the two ships fired from alongside. The situa-
tion had now reached a critical point, when Captain Cary,
addressing his men, exclaimed : —

" ' We have no middle course, boys ; choose either to
board the Englishman, or rot in the pontoons.'

228 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" ' Board her ! Board her ! ' the crew shouted to a man.

" A turn of the helm brought the Unite alongside ; the
Frenchmen, armed with axes and sabres, sprang on board
and slaughtered every man they came upon. A furious
melee raged on deck : the English captain fell with six of his
men. Our sailors made such a vigorous onslaught that the
English crew surrendered. Finally, Captain Cary ordered
the rigging and torn sails to be repaired, and made for
Havre, which he reached on the following day with his
prize."

The Directory sent him an Axe of Honour for this
brilliant exploit.

The following is another narrative taken from the
ship's log : —

" The privateer Le Wimereux was at anchor (on the
I5th Nivose, XIII.) near the coast of St. Valery-en-Caux,
when a powerful English sloop and a lugger sailed past,
keeping the coast so close aboard that they took cognisance
of the French ship. It was a dark night, and the English
were able to come quite close to the privateer without being
seen. Captain Pollet, commanding the Wimereux, was still
on deck. He hailed the ship as soon as he sighted her. The
reply was sent in perfect French : ' Dieppe fisherman ! '
' Come on, to avoid my sending aboard ! ' Without vouch-
safing an answer, the English sloop advanced on the priva-
teer, and suddenly a sentry discovered two shallops doing
the same. ' To arms ! To arms ! ' shouted the captain.
. . . The sailors, starting from their sleep, leapt out of
their hammocks and rushed on deck. The English crew
were all at their posts, their grapnel was fastened to the
privateer, while the two shallops boarded her fore and aft.
The stubborn and sanguinary fight which ensued lasted for
nearly an hour, when the English were swept from the decks,
and the survivors put off in their boats. One of the boats,
struck by grape shot, sank near the privateer ; the other
managed to escape with a few men only. Finally, the sloop

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 229

remained in the hands of the Frenchmen. The second lieu-
tenant C. Dalyel, (sic) who had led the attack, was among
the prisoners ; he had been in the thickest of the fight all
through, and had received twenty- three wounds."

Napoleon lost no time in rewarding the brave men
who had distinguished themselves in this engagement,
and later on Captain Pollet was awarded the Cross of
the Legion of Honour.

MM. Duchenne and Carbonnier have written an
interesting work, in which the following anecdote is
mentioned, in connection with J. P. Antoine Duchenne,
a true-bred sailor, born in Boulogne, 1767, who dis-
tinguished himself first as a privateer :—

" Duchenne was playing cards, one afternoon, in
company with Bucaille and other privateers. . . . The
conversation having turned on the different breeds of
sheep, Duchenne declared that he preferred English
mutton to any other. ' If /that is the case,' said Bucaille,
' we must manage to get some. You will have to see
to it, Duchenne.' "

Duchenne required no pressing, but put to sea that
very evening ; he effected a landing on the English
coast, and was just in the act of driving on board a small
flock of sheep, which he had come upon near the shore,
when he was assailed by coastguards. Duchenne fought
so well that the coastguards had to surrender, and
he brought them to Boulogne, as well as the sheep,
to the great delight of Bucaille and the other privateers.

Privateering was Duchenne's only occupation up
to Qth Ventose, XII., when he was appointed lieutenant
in the navy. Napoleon gave him the rank of Chevalier,
and awarded him the Cross of the Legion of Honour,
on August i6th, 1804.

The famous privateer known under the name of
Baron Bucaille is still remembered at Boulogne. His

230 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

name was not really Bucaille, and his claim to the title
of Baron has been contested ; but, nevertheless, popular
tradition had always given him this title, and always
will, as a sign of distinction among the other privateers
who had made a name for themselves during the Revo-
lution and the Empire.

Bucaille was born in 1764, and took service on board
a privateer on February 6th, 1793 ; but on the 20th of
the same month the ship was captured by the English,
and Bucaille remained a prisoner till the following July.
After his release he went on board the Souffleur as mate,
where his profits in prize-money soon became sufficient
to enable him to take a wife. In December, 1794, he
married Marie Jacqueline Delpierre, and when called
upon to sign the contract at the Mairie was obliged to
declare his inability to write.

But, at any rate, he could fight ! and he proved this
in such a manner as to gain the entire confidence of crews
and shipowners. He contributed more than anyone
else to the new tactics introduced by the Boulogne
privateers, which were — to keep out of sight and touch
of the enemy, while taking every opportunity of capturing
his ships by surprise.

For this purpose, privateering boats were built not
so much for defence as for sharp attack ; they were
made for fast sailing, and their movements were so rapid
that they fell like birds of prey upon their victims,
bewildering them by the boldness and suddenness of
their attack. These new boats were made especially
for boarding, and were built low, so as to offer less
mark for the enemy's guns.

As Bucaille had greatly . distinguished himself on
several occasions, he was given the command of a priva-
teer, the Furet, in 1796, and of the Enjoleur in 1797.

After this, the " sea-dog " became port officer at

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 231

Havre in 1798, and occupied a similar post at Boulogne
for a period of several weeks in 1803-4. But he returned
to privateering on the Adolphe in January, 1804, and
by April i6th had already captured six important prizes.
Owing to his exploits, he was made a Chevalier of the
Legion of Honour in February, 1804.

He was again appointed port' officer of Boulogne in
July, 1804, at the time that the flotilla was being organ-
ised, and the quays were lined with the largest number
of ships that had ever been gathered there. Bucaille
rendered most valuable services ; but his old seafaring
life had so much attraction for him that he returned
to it.

This is the last entry in his register : —

" Captain of the privateer VEtoile, at sea in war
time, engaged in action with the English cutter Argus,
which surrendered September i8th, 1806."

Bucaille was a sailor of the same stamp as Dugay-
Trouin and Jean-Bart. When he came ashore, he was
out of his element ; he was only happy at sea, and was
passionately fond of storms, the boarding of ships, and
the rattling of grape shot.

He was never taught arithmetic, but could do
the most complicated sums from memory when, on
returning to port, he had to give an account of the
prizes made and of the shares due to his crew.

The number of prizes he brought into Boulogne
amounted to ninety-nine, independently of those he
took into other ports.

When off his ship, the kindness, gentleness, and
honesty he displayed were only equal to the fearless-
ness he showed in his naval actions. He died in Bou-
logne on January loth, 1848, in a house in the Rue
del'Ecu. *

The Emperor consulted the privateers just as he

232 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

asked the opinion of any specialist whom he thought
capable of giving him practical information ; as, for
instance, Captain Broquant, who was summoned by
Napoleon to his pavilion. I am indebted to M. Benard,
Broquant 's great-grandson, for the following extract
from the captain's Memoirs concerning this episode :—
" Privateer Broquant 's interview with Napoleon :

" M. Coquet, port officer of Boulogne, came to inform
me that the Emperor wished to see me ; and, in obedience
to orders, I was obliged to go at once to the Baraque at the
Tour d'Odre. I had no time even to change my clothes,
though I begged for permission to do so, since I was most
unsuitably dressed for appearing before so great a man ;
but the orders were positive — I was compelled to go im-
mediately. When I arrived, he made me take a seat near
the armchair he was occupying, and said at once : ' I have
made inquiries about you, and was informed that you had
a special knowledge of the sea in these parts, and the pas-
sage across the Straits, as well as of the English coast.'

" Then he asked some details concerning the sand-banks
to be avoided. I explained to him the means to adopt for
the Rembret shoal, and the others that seem most danger-
ous. ... I told him that in order to land easily, it was
necessary to choose high tide at the turn, because in that
manner the boats could go over the shoals and be beached
on dry land."

Napoleon then asked the privateer's opinion on the best
means of avoiding the English division that was then in
sight of Boulogne, and received the following original reply : —

" Sire, if you choose the right moment, you can shut it
up under lock and key, and put the key in your pocket."

" At these words," Broquant adds in his Memoirs, " the
Emperor gave a start that frightened me ; he thought I was
joking. Whereupon he said, addressing me as ' thou ' for
the first time, ' Art thou joking ? ' I assured him that I
would never dare take such a liberty with my Emperor,
and that I would explain my meaning. He at once gave

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 233

orders to his valet to bid everybody retire, and to let no
one enter even in the room adjoining, for he wished to be
absolutely alone with me in order to acquaint himself with
the plan I had to communicate."

The captain gave a lengthy exposition of his theories,
the result of his personal experience, pointing out the
favourable winds and the conditions under which the
enemy's division would be forced to take shelter in
English ports and roadsteads, because of the peril there
would be for the ships out at sea ; he also impressed on
the Emperor the valuable services that might be rendered
by the privateers in the execution of his schemes.

" When I had finished explaining my views," writes
Broquant, " the Emperor said : ' Do you know that we
have been talking quite a long time ? ' and looking at his
watch, he found that the conversation had lasted for an
hour and twenty- three minutes. ' I am very glad of your
information,' he added ; ' I shall want you again.' Then
he took my hand, and calling to Captain Bihart, he said to
him, ' See M. Broquant home.' That was how we parted
. . . and the Emperor shook me again by the hand."

This gallant sailor was no stranger to Napoleon,
even before the interview related above, for in the
Gazette de France of February i2th, 1804, is an article
concerning the capture of two important prizes by
Le Prosper, a privateer commanded by Broquant : —

" This vessel was still in the building-yard when the First
Consul visited the port 'for the first time. He went up to
her, looked at her carefully, took note of her proportions, and
complimented her builder. He then went round her, examin-
ing more particularly various parts in her construction, and
touching them. This mark of interest was looked upon as
a good omen by the crew, who now consider the ship in-
vincible. Broquant, who is in command, is a man of intelli-
gence and intrepidity."

234 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Later on, the captain was made Chevalier of the Legion
of Honour, and it is said that Admiral Bruix himself
handed him the Order, on the day that the first stone
of the Column was laid (i8th Brumaire, XIII.).

When Bucaille, Broquant,* and other Boulogne

FLOATING BARRACKS.

privateers fell into the hands of the enemy, they were
sent aboard English pontoons. It was almost impossible
to escape from these strange prisons, which were anchored
in the roadsteads or docks. They resembled those
floating barracks which have nowadays been organised
in our large ports, by fitting up old disused vessels.;
for since the adoption of steam has completely trans-

* Broquant, amongst others, made twelve different attempts to escape
from the pontoons, and succeeded at last.

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS. 235

formed the conditions of naval warfare, it was the only
way in which these majestic hulks of former days could
be utilised.

The exploits of Boulogne seamen naturally became
a theme for many theatrical plays, of which the chief
interest was the glorification of the famous townsmen.

For instance, the Boulogne Corsair, or the Generous
Captain, was composed to celebrate the capture of an
English gunboat by the privateer VEspiegle, commanded
by Captain Duchenne. The author's name was Champ-
mele, and he was himself one of the company of the town
theatre, where the play was performed on the 15 th
Nivose, XL The captain of the English gunboat, who
had been wounded, was brought on the stage, lying on
a stretcher, as part of the performance. One of the
verses occurring in the play ran thus : —

" Qu'on chante Jean-Bart et Duquesne
Vous ne m'en verrez point jaloux;
Je chante Bucaille et Duchenne !
Mon bonheur est bien aussi doux."

(Let others sing of Jean-Bart and Duquesne, you will
not find me envious ; I sing Bucaille and Duchenne,
my pleasure is no less great.)

Then the two heroes alluded to in the verse were
brought on the stage, and stood on a spot marked with
chalk, where they might receive a crown coming down
from the sky-border on their heads. The one intended
for Duchenne reached its destination safely, but Bucaille
seeing his fall on the ground, owing to some mistake
in the machinery, picked it up, without more ado, and
placed it on his head.

Though the Boulogne privateers harassed the English
shipping for many years, it must be admitted that the
British sailors, in their turn, inflicted severe reprisals

236 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

on the fleet of " gnats." For instance, on October
8th and gth, 1806, under cover of a dark night, thirty-
one English pinnaces sailed close in to Boulogne, and
threw about a hundred rockets, which burst right in the
middle of the town, over the hospital (now the Museum),
on the Place Saint-Nicolas, in the Rue de 1'ficu, etc.

Not content with shot, shell, and fireships, the
enemy had made use in this instance of an improved
rocket. These rockets (called Congreve, after the in-
ventor) were made of an iron cylinder about four inches
in diameter, terminated in a pointed cone eight inches
long.

Some of these were found next day on the beach
at low tide, and it is highly probable that the ship which
was laden with them was sunk by the firing of the coast
batteries, which were able to avert the peril.

On one occasion, Napoleon was scanning the horizon
from his quarters at the top of the cliff, when suddenly an
alarm gun resounded from a distance in the roadstead,
and echoed loud and long among the sandhills.

Napoleon immediately looked out to sea with his
spyglass, and saw a French ship pursued by an English
sloop, which had approached the line of ships under
cover of a mist. A sudden ray of light piercing the fog
for one instant disclosed the attack, which was quite
unexpected. For only a short time before, a small
squadron of the enemy had sailed in the offing, in sight
of the coast, and the admiral had given immediate
orders that one of the fastest ships should reconnoitre
and watch the movements of the fleet that had been
signalled. On returning to port, the captain had re-
ported the enemy to be in full sail towards the English
coast, and added that they appeared to be far more
anxious to escape attack than to make a hostile demon-
stration <

PIRATES AND PRIVATEERS.' 237

In consequence of this report, all suspicion and alarm
were allayed.

But it was really nothing but an ingenious feint to
deceive the French more thoroughly, for one of the
ships, supposed to be escaping, soon took a course in
the opposite direction and approached Boulogne, while
remaining invisible behind the mist which had arisen.

Napoleon realised the clever manoeuvre, but it was
already too late to avoid the fatal results. When he
saw the French boat grappled and dragged away to the
open sea before help could be given (for pursuit was
hopeless, owing to the fog), he went into such a violent
fit of passion that his officers were alarmed lest he should
be seized with a fatal stroke.

They instantly summoned a doctor, who judged it
necessary to bleed him on the spot — that is, at the
"Post of Observation " —and "the blood spurted far
out on to the ground."

CHAPTER XIII.

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE.

The Composition of the " Army of England " — Right Camp
and Left Camp — Hutting and Mud Walls — Grenadiers,
Sailors, and Peasants — Their Good Fellowship — The Marines
of the Guard — Composition of the Staff at Boulogne Camp-
Impressions of a Contemporary — A " Velite " at the Bou-
logne Camp.

ON October 27th, 1797, the Directory had ordered the
immediate assembling of an army, to be called the Army
of England, and to be commanded by General Bonaparte.
On January 5th, 1798, a national loan of eighty million
francs was raised to meet the expense incurred by the
scheme which had been decided upon for the invasion
of England.

Finally, on February 8th, 1798, Bonaparte started
on a rapid inspection of the coast, from Etaples to the
Island of Walcheren, so as to ascertain what would be
the prospects of success in such an enterprise. He left
Paris accompanied by General Lannes, and Bourrienne,
his secretary, passed through Etaples, and reaching
Boulogne on the 22nd, he carefully inspected the town
and harbour. Then, continuing the inspection along
the coast, he passed through Ambleteuse and Calais,
and by the time he reached Dunkirk, was fully per-
suaded that the scheme was realisable, but that the
preparations would require at least a year.

Accordingly, on the 24th Pluviose, he issued the

238

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 239

following order from Dunkirk, clearly proving that he
meant to make Boulogne the centre of organisation : —

" DUNKIRK, i2th February, 1798.

" General Caffarelli will repair at once to Boulogne,
and take measures for the improvement of the harbour ;
it must be capable of accommodating 50 gunboats, from
six to nine divisions of fishing-boats, with a draught of 7
to 8 feet ; one or two divisions of horse transports, 50 to
each division ; six ships of 100 tons for the staff ; six ships
for artillery ; six ships for the official management ; six
ships for hospitals.

" Citizen Forfait is to hand over the sum of 15,000 livres
to the civil engineer agent of Boulogne, to enable General
Dufalga to start the works at once.

" He will inspect the batteries defending Boulogne, and
increase them if necessary ... he will send privateers
with engineer officers to reconnoitre the English coast from
Folkestone to Rye, to ascertain the real conditions of defence
on that part of the coast, and take note of the batteries which
it would be necessary to carry, or take by surprise, so as to
effect a landing.

" BONAPARTE."

On his return to Paris, Bonaparte sent in a report
(February 23rd, 1798) in which he came to the conclusion
that it would be necessary to wait till the following
year to attempt the invasion of England. Soon after,
on February 26th, 1798, he again wrote to General
Caffarelli : —

" Citizen General, the result to be obtained from the
works in the various ports of the Pas-de-Calais is this :

" The greater part of the boats must be able to leave
the harbour on one single tide. . . . You will give special
attention to the coast batteries at Boulogne and Amble-
teuse.

" BONAPARTE."

240 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Then the famous Egyptian campaign was started,
and a decree of the Directory, dated 23rd Germinal,
summoned " Citizen General Bonaparte, Commander-
in-Chief of the Army of England," to the supreme com-
mand of the Army of the East ;" and the scheme was
laid aside for the time being.

In 1801 the First Consul took up the project once
more, and whole companies were set to work under the
direction of the naval and military engineers.

At that time the flotilla was commanded by Rear-
Admiral Latouche-Tre'ville, who had established his
headquarters at the Tour d'Odre, on arriving at Boulogne.
It was he who, in 1801, repelled two attacks directed by
Nelson.

Just at this period, France entered into negotiations
for peace with England ; the preliminaries were signed
in London on October ist, 1801, and from that moment
all preparations for armament ceased : when the treaty
was ratified at Amiens (March 26th, 1802), the port of
Boulogne was restored to the mercantile marine, and
the troops stationed along the coast were drafted else-
where.

But on May I7th the English and French ambassadors
each returned to their Government, and war was again
declared. ... It was then that the preparations for
the invasion of England were undertaken on a vast
scale, and that the Grand Army, which Napoleon
definitely formed in 1804, first began to concentrate.

At the beginning of September, 1803, many of the
troops were ordered to leave their respective cantonments,
in order to pitch their tents on the Plateaux of Odre
and Outreau. Thirty-six thousand men, under General
Soult, mostly from the camp at Saint-Omer, occupied
these two positions.

This corps was composed of light infantry, and twenty

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 241

companies of gunners. The site selected by Napoleon
for the encampment of the troops, was a stretch of four
kilometres of land along the coast ; the soldiers were
obliged to bivouac for several weeks, but were soon
employed in erecting huts for themselves and for the
divisions still to come. A curious incident occurred
when these works were first started. The very first
blows of a pickaxe, dealt close to the ruins of Caligula's
Tower, disclosed various relics of antiquity, among which
was an eagle of the Roman legions ; it was found almost
at the very spot where the new Caesar's pavilion was
subsequently raised.

Bonaparte had pushed on the establishing of the
camps with the greatest activity, and by June, 1804,
all the corps that had been selected to form part of the
Grand Army had assembled.*

Four principal positions were chosen for the camps,
within a radius of ten kilometres from Boulogne. The
two most important were placed to right and left of the.
port, and were known respectively as the Right and Left
Camps.

The first extended from the Tour d'Odre to Wimille,
and the other from Outreau to Portel.

The huts, built by the soldiers, were erected as though
by magic ; the forest of Boulogne supplied the necessary
timber, the turf was raised from the plains, and the
requisite stone was taken from the beach and cliffs.
A few weeks, only, had sufficed to transform the hitherto
deserted plateaux into a picturesque sort of town. The
scene was full of interest and animation, for these
willing workmen were the very men who had marched
over a large portion of Europe as conquerors, and had

* It was in 1804 that the Emperor organised the magnificent Grand
Army of seven corps : Bernadotte at the east, Augereau at the west, and
five camps in the centre — Utrecht, Ostend, Boulogne, Arras, and Montreuil.

Q

242 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

laid aside swords and muskets to handle their spades and
mattocks.

Some had to dig the ground, cut new roads, and level
the land ; while others cut the timber, drove in stakes, and
transported fragments of rock from the coast ; all the
woodwork, doors, window-frames and camp-beds, etc.,
were manufactured by the soldiers.

Then when the work was over, they resumed their
drill and practised the skilful manoeuvres which made
the Boulogne camp the military school of the Empire,
so to speak.

The huts were mostly built of wood and mud- walls,
with thatched roofs, and were made to accommodate
fifteen men. They were placed at equal distances from
each other, and presented an alignment of three rows,
covering a stretch of over four kilometres.

A few paces distant from the third row were the
officers' quarters, and in the rear of them, were the
kitchens, so placed that they could conveniently serve
each battalion separately.

The camps were divided at equal distances by cross
roads, paved so as to form a sort of mosaic ; they served
to mark out the battalions one from the other, and made
circulation easy. A sign-board placed at the angle of
each street bore the name of some celebrated victory,
or memorable event, as, for instance the Rue de Valmy,
de Jemmapes, de Fleurus, de Campo-Formio, de Zurich,
du Saint-Bernard. And the avenues : des fitats-Gener-
aux, de la Constituante, du Jeu-de-Paume, de la Federa-
tion, de la Convention, des Pyramides, de Marengo. . . .

In their leisure hours, the soldiers took pleasure in
embellishing their quarters, which they surrounded
with little gardens. In some of these, they had set up,
among the flowers and vegetables, small columns,
pyramids, obelisks, statues or redoubts, fashioned out of

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 243

clay and shells ; while in others, crosses of Honour, tables,
benches and manifold other designs were cut in the turf,
revealing in a thousand ways the ingenuity of the French
soldier.

The officers' quarters were made to look like charming
country villas. Their gardens were laid out, sometimes,
with the good taste that betrays the artist's hand ;
some even had aviaries filled with birds of all kinds ;
or poultry yards abundantly supplied with fowls, ducks,
geese, pigeons and rabbits.

When in residence at the camp, the Emperor held
frequent reviews, and took the command himself during
field practice ; each division had to manoeuvre in turn
before him.

He was up and about at six o'clock in the morning,
and only returned to the pavilion at five in the afternoon,
when he would start working on other matters. He
was always happy when among the soldiers ; he would
question them, making inquiries concerning their years
of service and the battles in which they had fought,
and listen kindly to any request they might make.

Such are the interesting details we find in the historical
notes published by Brunet, a Boulonnais writer.

In order to economise the timber, for the greater
part of the forests of Boulogne, Guines and Hardelot,
had been felled, it was decided to build the huts partly
of wood, and partly of mud-walls, according to the custom
of the peasants in the district. The help of the population
of the surrounding villages and hamlets was particularly
valuable in this case, since the knowledge and experience
of a poor shepherd, for instance, was worth all the science
of an engineer.

A notice was therefore issued, inviting the co-operation
of the peasants in the district, men and women, for
under these special circumstances, the women were

244 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

allowed to accompany their fathers and husbands, and
enter the camps. Many of the inhabitants responded to
this appeal, and were only too glad to help in the con-
struction of mud-walls, which resulted in the providing
of relatively comfortable quarters for the soldiers.

From the moment that the troops were quartered in
the Boulonnais, the farmers had responded, in the very
best spirit, to all the requisitions that were made ; but
as they were kept waiting for payment, they pressed
their claims, discreetly at first, and then more loudly
as no heed was paid. Many of the peasants had given
up their own personal provisions, and those required
for their cattle, to the troops.

Bonaparte took the matter in hand, and wrote to
the sous-prefet, with the result that the following notice
appeared on I2th Prairial, XII. : —

"THE SOUS-PREFET OF BOULOGNE.

" To the MAYORS of towns, boroughs, and villages : —
" The reason of the delay which is causing so
much complaint, is quite easy to explain ; it must be
imputed to some of you, who have shown great neglect
in forwarding me the vouchers of provisions supplied ;
in the second place, the quantities stated in the receipts
are expressed, sometimes in old measures, sometimes in
new, then again in Paris measures, and lastly in the local ;
when the proper method to adopt, was to establish a
register, in which all the quantities were put down in
the same system of measures. You will understand that
the immense number of receipts has complicated the
work to a considerable extent.

" In consequence the price of a quintal of hay is 6
francs 66 ; of a quintal of straw, 3 francs 33 ; and a
bushel of oats, I franc 50. — I have the honour to salute

you, " DUPLAQUET."

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 245

Bonaparte had been much touched by the spirit
of disinterested patriotism displayed by the peasants
of the Boulonnais, and also by the cordiality with which
they had welcomed the soldiers ; and being anxious to
show his respect and appreciation for that " weapon of
peace, the spade," which he considered no less useful to
the country than the weapon used on the battlefield, he
expressed a desire on one occasion to see the family of
a certain agriculturist, Jean Aubert.

Aubert had already been made the recipient of various
distinctions. An important society of agriculturists
and gardeners had been formed on 8th Floreal, and when
the " Festival of Agriculture " was held at Boulogne —
in accordance with the Republican innovation — on the
loth Messidor, the society had presented Jean Aubert
with a spade of honour, in recognition of his having
planted, together with his father, the first potatoes in
the Boulonnais.

It was good policy on Napoleon's part to let the
country people understand that events of but slight
importance had not been forgotten by him, even after
the lapse of years.

Besides, it was all in keeping with the spirit of the
times and of the rural sentiment which was a feature
of the period. This phase, which manifested itself in
country festivities and in so-called " odes to the spade,"
had a historic origin.

In fact, only a few years previously, the Revolution
had substituted the Republican calendar for the Gregorian,
and had replaced the names of the saints' days by
appellations derived from the three great classes of
nature, and rural objects ; for instance, among the
terms sanctioned by a decree of the 3rd Brumaire, II.,
we find the following employed to indicate the days of
the year : bullock, horse, donkey, goose, turkey, pig,

246 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

rabbit, duck, cray-fish ; or carrot, pumpkin, turnip,
salsify, cress, sorrel, dandelion, asparagus, etc.

As for the " de"cadis " * they were named after
agricultural implements. It seemed therefore quite
natural that Bonaparte should call to mind the " Spade
Festival," since the Republican calendar was still fre-
quently used at that time. For instance, the tenth days
were dedicated to the following instruments : the
plough, the harrow, the flail, the rake, the hoe,
the shepherd's crook, the basket, the watering-can, the
sickle.

And, to be very precise, we can add that the Festival of
the Shovel occurred at the end of the third decade
of Frimaire, and the Festival of the* Spade at the end of
the first decade of Ventose.

These details will explain how it was that the modest
agriculturist, Jean Aubert, and his family, received
marks of distinction out of all proportion, perhaps, to
their real merit.

The reader is aware of what different elements the
army was composed, and will understand how necessary
it was that there should be a perfect understanding and
absolute homogeneity between them, so as to co-operate
in the execution of the mighty plans for which they were
intended.

First, there were the tried and experienced soldiers,
men who loved their profession almost to infatuation,
who scorned all who had not measured themselves with
the brave on the battlefield; enthusiastic, high-spirited
heroes, boastful, singers, roysterers ; and on the other
hand, the sailors, cold, calm and circumspect, men who
laid themselves out only when the moment came for
decisive action ; and whose tenacity and courage were

* ioth day. According to the Republican calendar, the week of seven
days was replaced by a decade. (Translator's note.)

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 247

no less admirable than was the feverish impatience of
the soldiers.

The sailors of the coast along the Straits are particu-
larly given to reserve ; they never speak except when
it is absolutely necessary to do so, and very rarely
sing. They are " pensive " rather than " expansive " by
nature.

How were these two different categories of men to
fraternise ? For they had nothing in common but
their bravery, and a bravery, too, which manifested
itself in such very different ways.

The First Consul had a clear intuition of the necessity
of amalgamating these divergent spirits into one har-
monious whole, and applied himself at once to bring
about this result.

He began by convincing the soldiers of the fact
that, to be " complete " men, as he termed it, all they
required was to understand the handling of an oar or
the management of sails, in case of necessity; and to
attain this perfection the soldiers spent the hours which
were not employed in manoeuvres, in practising the use
of the oar on various boats moored in the harbour or
roadstead.

The soldiers soon began to look upon their new duty
as a form of amusement; and as for the "sea-dogs,"
they were so gratified at having heroes as auxiliaries,
that they applied themselves with real good-will to
initiate their comrades in naval practices, and were quite
proud of their progress, which they attributed, of course,
to their own methods of teaching.

Napoleon would sometimes get into a boat with two
or three sailors and row up unexpectedly into the very
midst of the tall "ship-boys." Then he amused himself
by starting races, encouraging some, congratulating
others, and always rewarding, in some way, those who

248 NAPOLEON AT THE; BOULOGNE CAMP.

had distinguished themselves by their dexterity and
endurance.

Of course there were always rations of wine and
tobacco for those who had won the approval of their chief,
as well as public congratulations and complimentary
Orders of the Day ; but no reward was valued so much
as the following mark of attention : when Napoleon
wished to make an enthusiast of one of " his " soldiers,
or electrify a whole battalion, it was sufficient for him
to call up the man he wished to distinguish, then
taking him by the ear, and looking him full in the face,
he would ask : " What is thy name ? " The soldier
would give his reply, blushing with pleasure under his
bronzed cheeks. The Emperor then pinched his ear
hard, without saying a word, and this solemn familiarity
had a prodigious effect on all those present.

All this may appear very childish to those who only
look on the surface of things, yet this little scene reveals
Napoleon's wonderful knowledge of humanity, for the
man who has once been asked to give his name to his
chief, feels from that moment that he is a somebody,
and is henceforward filled with the one ambition of
accomplishing some heroic deed. He has been dis-
tinguished, he must distinguish himself.

At all events it is said that Napoleon never forgot
a name mentioned in this manner, and that he could
recall it without hesitation if the occasion arose ; this
gave rise to the tradition implicitly believed in the
camp that " he knew all his soldiers by name."

And, still actuated by a desire to bring about a perfect
blending of interests and good-will among his men,
the First Consul, when passing through the " Beurriere,"
would often ask to have the best sailors introduced to
him, or address them himself when they were pointed
out.

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 249

And it followed therefore that, when on duty to-
gether, the sailors and soldiers rivalled each other in
displaying their zeal, courage and good-fellowship—
but not of the kind which are placarded on walls, so
to say, side by side with advertisements for lost articles—
theirs was the real good-fellowship which is proved by
resolution and deeds.

Lastly, and still further to accentuate the union of
the land and sea forces, everything was done to facilitate
their intercourse. All work and fatigue duty — as well
as rewards and amusements — were equally divided,
and equal distributions of wine, coffee, biscuits, and
tobacco were made among the men of the two services.
If there were two orderlies on duty, one was a sailor
and the other a soldier. In hospital, their beds were
alternately placed. The brave deeds of the sailors
were mentioned in despatches with those of the soldiers,
so that in a very few weeks they were addressing each
other with the familiar term of " little brother."

The policy of bringing the men in contact during
manoeuvres was excellent in itself, but nothing could
conduce more to a perfect mutual understanding than
for soldiers and sailors to live side by side.

The First Consul and Admiral Bruix adopted the
plan of quartering certain troops on certain boats ; in
this manner soldiers and sailors led a barrack life on
board ship.

" The size of the gunboats had been calculated to accom-
modate a company of infantry and several gunners. The
battalions were then composed of nine companies, the semi-
brigades of two full battalions, the third remaining at the
depot. The gunboats were fitted out in conformity with
this complement of troops. Nine gunboats formed a sec-
tion, and carried nine companies, or a battalion. Two
sections formed a division, and carried a semi-brigade, so

250 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

that a gunboat corresponded to a company, a section repre-
sented a battalion, and a division a semi-brigade. The
naval officers of a corresponding rank commanded gunboats,
or a section, or a division. When the men were once attached
to a boat they were always kept on her, so as to ensure
perfect adhesion between the two services. In this way
the naval and military officers and men learnt to know and
trust each other, and were ready to lend a helping hand.
The companies had to furnish a body of twenty-five men
to their respective vessels. These men were always on
board, and were stationed on her for a month at a time.
During this period they were quartered with the crews,
whether they happened to be manoeuvring out at sea or
moored in the harbour, and did everything that the sailors
did, including rowing and gun practice. The whole company
was stationed in succession on board, twenty-five men at
a time.

" The reader will observe that every man was alternately
a soldier, a sailor, a gunner, and sometimes even an engineer,
when he was employed in the dock- works."

The sailors on their side had to be initiated in military
practices, so different from their own, and during the
day, the crews, armed with the weapons belonging to the
troops quartered on their boats, were landed on the beach
or quays and put through the soldiers' drill. By this
means the regular army could reckon on a contingent of
at least 15,000 infantry, capable of defending the flotilla
along the coast, or of supporting a landing on the foreign
shore, in case of invasion.

Even the grenadiers were turned into sailors. It is
true that they needed a little tactful management at
first, as some of the " grumblers " thought it derogatory
for them to associate with the " tars," but for love of
the " little corporal " they soon entered resolutely into
the spirit of partnership.

" If he says that it ought to be so, it must be so ! "

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 251

Such was the soldiers' typical remark on all decisions
emanating from the Chief, in whom they placed un-
limited confidence and a blind and passionate faith.

Napoleon persistently impressed on Admiral Bruix
the necessity of making the men of the Guard practise
rowing.

" SAINT-CLOUD, October 8th, 1803.

" I must ask you to make the soldiers quartered
on the shallops row as much as possible. All the men
of the Guard must learn to row ; seventy-five men from
each shallop must row two or three hours a day. The
soldiers quartered on the gunboats, as well as those
on the shallops, must row in the harbour when they
are unable to go to the roadstead.

" NAPOLEON."

The grave and solemn grenadiers were therefore
sent on board the shallops, which, by reason of their
lightness, were intended for the rapid concentration of
men at the proper moment ; and the grenadiers went
out in them to the roadstead every day, and were taught
to row.

But out of respect for their military dignity, rather
perhaps than from motives of utility, Bruix had some
small howitzers put on board the shallops, and these
they were allowed to fire occasionally. In this way
their self-respect was saved ; and any order stating
that " the grenadiers will practise firing the howitzers "
really meant " will learn how to row on board such
and such a shallop."

By these tactful means, instead of their feeling
humiliated (which might have led to insubordination),
the soldiers returned to shore looking as gay and im-
posing as ever ; and stroking their rough moustachios

252 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

with their blistered hands, would remark to anyone
who chose to listen, " Well, my friends, we have been
firing howitzers."

No one was taken in by this little vanity, but everyone
respected it, on realising what touching good- will these
brave fellows were giving proof of, in practising a craft
so little in their line. And everyone was pleased — pleased
with himself, and pleased with the rest.

And so, by small means, and a little kindly feeling,
great things can be obtained from the people, not to
say heroic self-denial. Heroism, to these warriors, was
not merely a question of storming through a hail of
grape-shot, or of boarding a vessel, but of running the
risk of being called " boatmen, ferrymen, oarsmen."

Only one incident happened — but it was sufficient,
since it served as a precedent — to inspire a prudent reserve
among those who were inclined to cut jokes at the expense
of the soldiers.

On one of the very first occasions that the grenadiers
went to sea to practise with the howitzers (we know
what that meant), the news of the event soon spread in
the town, and many of the citizens were anxious to
watch from a distance, the display of skill — or rather the
want of it — on the part of the novices. Very soon the
platform, stockade, pier and cliffs were packed with an
inquisitive but not ill-disposed crowd, watching with
their glasses the movements of the beginners, who were
but poor hands at the work so far.

To give the grenadiers more freedom for their evolu-
tions, it had been decided that they should practise in
the offing. They were a long way off, therefore, from indis-
creet onlookers, but unfortunately also they were some-
what on the open sea. The reader will guess what
happened. The waves being very rough, more than one
grenadier was seen to lean over the side of the shallops,

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 253

and that was not exactly to admire their own reflection
in the waters.

To prevent an outburst of popular gaiety is a thing
that neither Pope nor Emperor could expect to do,
with respect to French people. On this occasion the
cases of disordered digestions were so numerous, that
Bruix ordered the manoeuvre to cease before the regula-
tion hour, and the troops returned to shore. But by
the time the grenadiers landed on the quays, the feeling
of the populace had changed. Everyone had ceased to
laugh at the " big ship-boys " who had been a source of
merriment for two whole hours to the spectators. Seeing
them looking crimson with humiliation, or livid with
sickness, the people were silent, and on the face of each
was rather a sentiment of compassion.

And this was by no means the least cause of offence
to the amateur sailors, who filed past the crowd without
saying a word, and marched rapidly towards their encamp-
ment at Terlincthun.

On reaching the base of the cliff, a group of grenadiers
had heard some street-boys tittering and taunting them
as much as they dared, when a half-tipsy workman met
the little troop, and addressing one of the soldiers, who
was already in a state of nervous irritation, he called
out in a jeering tone of voice : " Hulloa, old porpoise,
how goes the oar ? Can you row a good stroke yet ? "

" I don't know about that," retorted the grenadier
with apparent calm, " but I have always heard that I
am a very good shot." And suddenly raising his musket,
he aimed at his aggressor, exclaiming : " Instead of
calling us names, just count your fingers, you ugly— — ."

There was an immediate report, and though the man
was standing about twenty paces away, he had half
his hand shot away.

On hearing his shouts of pain people ran up, but

254 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

the only reply made by the officer who had witnessed
the whole incident, was the following significant remark :
"I — saw — nothing, — and — nothing " — uttered with
peculiar emphasis — "happened."

This episode was soon known to everyone, and on
the following day, the grenadiers were not only allowed
to continue their work in peace, but were loudly cheered
on their way by the inhabitants. And when a few days
later, Napoleon witnessed the soldiers' willingness, and
the welcome given them by the townsmen, he turned to
Bruix and remarked : " You see, Admiral, that you can
ask anything of good Frenchmen, even to associate fire
and water."

In order to facilitate the handling of the boats, the
Emperor compiled a vocabulary for the use of the crews.
These instructions are to be found among the archives
of the Empire. Napoleon gives the definition of all
the naval terms most generally used: "Starboard, port,
blade, thole-pin, thwart, bowsprit, mizzen, jib, yard,
boat-hook"; he explained the meaning of "lower, let
out a reef, go alongside, tack " ; and described the
handling to correspond to the following orders : " Take
the boat-hooks, shove off, ship oars, against the wind,
let go, astern, back water."

Among the heroes of the " Old Guard " whose brilliant
deeds have been extolled by poets and historians alike,
there was a splendid battalion that did most valuable
service in all the European campaigns, although it
has no particular history, somehow, of its own. I allude
to the Marines of the Guard, who were formed by the
First Consul.

Napoleon's object, as he clearly expressed it himself,
was to establish a permanent army with a twofold purpose.

Accordingly, on September ist, 1803, he directed
Decres, Minister of Marine, to organise a naval battalion

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 255

of 1,000 men, to form crews for seven sections of gunboats
and shallops. The crews were attached to the following
ports : Saint-Halo, Granville, Havre, Boulogne, Calais,
Dunkirk, Antwerp.

The engineer, Forfait, was commissioned to super-
intend the construction of shallops and gunboats,
and the naval captain Daugier was placed in command
of this corps, which took the name of Battalion of the
Marines of the Guard.

In order to prove how highly he valued his new
regiment of marines, Bonaparte wished to have the
men on guard at his pavilion, together with the Grenadiers
of the Consular Guard. As the sailors would have felt
mortified at having to display their modest caps and
jackets by the side of the gorgeous uniform of the grena-
diers, Bonaparte decided that they should be dressed as
follows : —

Jacket with upright collar, of dark blue cloth, faced
with orange cloth, and trimmed with braid ; cuff-facings,
red, edged orange cloth ; epaulettes, dark blue and
orange edging ; trousers, falling over boots, blue with
orange stripe ; black leather cross-belt ; black shako with
yellow edging, and orange plaited braid ; red plume.

It appears that the marines were highly delighted
with their dress, and that they aroused the greatest
interest among the public, when they appeared on parade
for the first time, in their smart uniform. So much so,
indeed, that the army men were jealous, for all glances
and cheers were reserved for the " new " instead of for
the " old " guards, whom they had always been in the
habit of seeing.

" What obstacles were not put in my way ? What pre-
judices I had to overcome, and what determination I had
to show, before I succeeded in obtaining that these poor

256 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

sailors should be put into uniform, formed into a regiment,
and drilled ! I should ruin everything ! I was told, and yet,
how useful they subsequently became ! What better idea
could be conceived than to have two services for one pay ?
The Marines of the Guard were none the less good sailors,
and proved themselves the best of soldiers. In emergency
we found them capable sailors, gunners, engineers, every-
thing ! If, in the navy, instead of meeting with opposition
at every turn, I had had someone to agree with me, what
results we might have achieved ! " (Memorial de Sainte
Helene.)

Though their functions were of a secondary character,
they were considered of primary importance by Bona-
parte, who looked at everything from the practical
point of view.

The several duties assigned to this body of picked
men — who became Marines of the Imperial Guard when
the Empire was established — were to aid in the construc-
tion of bridges, in the crossing of rivers, and in the trans-
port of troops, supplies and ammunition — especially by
means of river craft. These were the men who con-
structed the bridges at the Isle of Lobau ; it was they
who prepared the passage of the Danube, just before
Wagram, and who ensured the maintenance of the troops
all through the hard and trying Polish campaign.

But for all that, these brave fellows were no less
ready in handling their muskets than their oars, and
no less zealous in distinguishing themselves under fire
on land, than on the water. By their efforts, the naval
ensign was carried as gloriously on the battlefield as
was the national flag itself.

To specify the services rendered by the Marines of
the Guard allocated to Boulogne, I may mention that
at the time of the siege of Dantzig, Napoleon ordered
the Minister of War, Dejean, to draft what was left of

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 257

the marines at Boulogne, to Dantzig ; they were to post
by Magdebourg and Cassel, as rapidly as possible.

During the Austrian campaign, Napoleon wished to
have near him one of the
battalions of the Boulogne
flotilla, as we may see by
a letter he wrote to the
Minister of Marine.

" To VICE-ADMIRAL DECRES :
" MONSIEUR, — I wish one
of the flotilla battalions to
join the Army of the Rhine.
This is my object : 1,200
sailors would be very useful
for crossing the rivers, and
for navigating the Danube.
The Marines of the Guard
have done splendid service
during the last campaigns.

" NAPOLEON."

The brilliant history of
the naval soldiers occupies
but a short period, 1803-
1815 ! When Napoleon ab-
dicated for the first time,
the corps was disbanded, and MARINE GUARD.

reformed on his return from
Elba ; we hear of them for the last time at Waterloo.

In the Boulogne army list, compiled at the time that
the Grand Army was encamped at Boulogne, we find
a list of the officers at " His Imperial Majesty's head-
quarters at Pont-de-Briques and at the Tour d'Odre."
It would require too much space to give the full

258 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

enumeration of these officers ; I will merely give the
names of those who belonged to the General Staff.

His Excellency Marshal of the Empire, Alexander Berthier,
Minister of War.

Marescot, Lieutenant-General, First Inspector- General of
Engineers.

Reille, Major-General.

Pannetier, Major-General.

Hanicque, Major-General, Chief of the Staff.

Kirgener, Colonel, Chief of General Staff of Engineers.

Aides-de-Camp :

Arrighi, Colonel.

Bruyere, Major.

Girardin, Captain,

Ornano, Captain.

Malivoire, Major.

Martin, Major.

Perrin-Brichambeau, Captain, etc., etc.

The General Staff of the Flotilla consisted of :

Bruix, Admiral.

Bonnefoux, Maritime Prefect.

Lacrosse, Rear- Admiral.

Magon, Rear- Admiral.

Lafond, Captain, Chief of General Staff.

Moras, Adjutant Commandant.

Lostange, Captain of Frigate (deputy).

Sgansin, Chief Engineer.

Lair, Chief Naval Engineer.

Grandelas, Naval Engineer.

Even, Chief of Naval Administration.

Thirion, Chief of Naval Artillery-Park.

Grandpre, Chief Commissioner of Imperial Flotilla.

Monnet, Major, Naval Artillery.

Gauthier, Inspector.

Delimeux, Director of Supplies.

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 259

Commanding large Corps :

Savary, Rear-Admiral, commanding the Left Centre of
Boulogne.

Le Rey, Captain, commanding Right Centre of Boulogne.

Courraud, Rear- Admiral, commanding the Left at Etaples.

Combis, General, commanding the Right, and transports
flotilla at Etaples.

Daugier, Captain, commanding Imperial Marine Guard,
and Reserve.

Port Staff :

Le Coat Saint-Haouen, Military Chief.
Amand Leduc, Captain of Frigate, Adjutant.
Carpentier, Ship's Ensign.
Csesar Carpentier, Ship's Ensign.
Leduc, Ship's Ensign.
Jouannin, Ship's Ensign.

After the lapse of a hundred years, we can get a
very good idea of the thoughts of the soldiers who were
encamped on the Boulogne shores in 1804, by turning
to the " Journal of a Velite of the Guard." *

The following are a few lines from these recollections :
the reader will appreciate their realistic character. The
man who wrote them was in camp at Wimereux for
eleven months.

" At BOULOGNE CAMP :

" The soldier's life — so demoralising nowadays
in a garrison town — was certainly not so at that period,
one war followed quickly upon another ; we were always
on the watch. After the coronation ceremony, a number
of our velites were sent to Milan to attend the crowning
of the Emperor as King of Italy, the rest of us were

* The velites were a special corps, organised by a decree dated Nivose
30, XII. The corps was composed of grenadiers and chasseurs, recruited
from volunteers, who had an income of no less than 800 frs., and whose apti-
tudes made it likely that they would soon rise to the rank of sub -lieutenants
of infantry. (The journal is published from a MSS. by Billon, Editor, Lombard-
Dumas.)

260 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

drafted to the Boulogne camp. To make sure of being
sent among the latter, I had myself reported ill just at
the time of the departure of the others. There was a
question of invading England, and I was particularly
anxious to be one of the invaders.

" At Boulogne we were encamped not far from the
sea ; the Emperor came (i5th August, 1804) to review
us at Wimereux, and distributed the new order of the
Legion of Honour with great solemnity. The badges were
handed to him by a page, in the helmets of Duguesclin
and Bayard.

" There were a hundred thousand of us there, all
thirsting for glory, and thinking ourselves vastly superior
to the army which Philippe-Auguste had collected here
in 1212, for the expedition against England, similar
to the one Napoleon was also contemplating.

" Was the army that fought at Bou vines equal to
the army of Marengo ? Were the serfs who formed
the infantry of the old King of France to be compared to
the glorious survivors of the fourteen Republican armies ?

" We were drilled every day in exercises for landing
and embarking, and entered gaily into the spirit of
our different duties as gunners, fusileers, and sailors,
which we all had to be in succession ; and twice a week
we had field practice at the Boulogne camp.

" This took nearly the whole day. When we were
off duty we had to repair the boats.

" It was on one of these, shallop no, that during a
feint attack, I sniffed the scent of powder for the first
time, and received my baptism of fire. It is a painful
fact, but I must admit it, I was afraid ! The terrible
reality of danger in all its forms, the brutality of cannon-
balls, whizzing of bullets, corpses lying around, are
apt to make a recruit's heart beat a little faster. But
he soon gets accustomed to it. The scrutinising look

THE GRAND ARMY AT BOULOGNE. 261

of the veterans, and their scornful smile, above all, the
fear of ridicule, banish all sense of alarm, and he ends
by courting danger. Since then I have been in at least
a hundred engagements, and have never even had a single
wound worth showing.

" The flat-bottomed boats that we were embarked
on, were served by the Marines of the Guard. The
aspect of these men of iron, sons of the ocean and storm,
with faces, careless, kindly and intrepid, reassured and
inspired us.

" Our dream of ambition was, like their own, to
share the spoils of England, and to exterminate the
English. And how eagerly we used to join in every
embarkation and departure of the general forces. But
unfortunately it was never anything more than a trial
manoeuvre, and when the order for turning back was
given, what vexation ! And how disappointed we were,
after sailing so close, sometimes, to the land of Albion,
that we could distinguish the preparations for her defence,
the fortifications hastily erected, and her innumerable ships,
of all dimensions and classes, waiting to destroy us !

" And yet our nutshells kept the English lying awake.
One of their caricatures represented the King advancing
in the Channel, on board a fine ship, and throwing a
beetroot in the direction of France, saying : ' Go and
make sugar for them,' a satirical allusion to the con-
tinental blockade which deprived us of this commodity,
and also to Napoleon's scheme for replacing colonial
sugar-cane by the cultivation of beetroot. Pitt was
full of anxiety at this period, and constantly repeated
(I heard this afterwards during my captivity in England) :
' There can be no peace or security for us with such a
man, whose brain is teeming with plans of invasion.'
Apart from this, I have very good reason for believing
that Pitt's fears were well-grounded ! "

CHAPTER XIV.

THE THEATRE IN CAMP.

The Stage during the First Republic — Madame Angot — The
Company of the Vaudeville Theatre in Paris comes to
Boulogne — Performance of Duguay-Trouin — A Few Ex-
tracts.

THAT marvellous organiser, Napoleon, thought of every-
thing ! He was not satisfied with replenishing arsenals,
arming the flotilla and securing supplies — he entered
into the minutest details as well — fully persuaded that
the success of great undertakings often rests on matters
apparently insignificant. He was perfectly competent
to point out omissions, deficiencies and errors, even to
experts themselves, and his aptitude in this respect
seems to have extended to almost every conceivable
subject :

" This vessel must be tarred."

" The wine rations of this section must be increased
on account of their extra duties."

"It is v imperative to discover which of the con-
tractors have supplied bad drinks."

" Supplies for so many days must immediately be
stored in such and such a fort."

" The uniforms of that battalion are worn out, they
must be replaced."

But this was not all !

The officers of the Grand Army needed amusements
less commonplace than those which sufficed for the

262

THE THEATRE IN CAMP. 263

entertainment of the soldiers. It was very necessary
to offer them some diversion from their absorbing occu-
pations, and relaxation for their brains, since they all had
heavy responsibilities ; for though Napoleon indicated
what was to be done, he left it to his officers to use what
means they thought fit in executing his orders ; they
had, therefore, every opportunity of showing their
initiative.

This being so, it was decided to entertain the officers
with theatrical performances — the company of the
Vaudeville, amongst others, was invited to send the very
best Parisian actors — and a selection of appropriate
plays was made.

Before giving a few particulars on the subject of
these performances, it is necessary to say a few words
concerning the stage at that period.

" Mars was fond of being entertained by Thalia
and Melpomene." But can we wonder at it ? And
is it not a fact that during the terrible year of 1793
no less than forty new plays were advertised in the very
neighbourhood of the guillotine ?

In the first months of the year 1789 the Opera-
Comique had given some rather colourless plays : The
Little Savoyards, False Magic, Raoul Bluebeard, The
Man of Sentiment, etc., etc. ; then came the I4thof July,*
the performance was advertised to take place, but the
theatre was closed that night.

From that date the theatres were more or less deserted
for a time, and the register of the Opera-Comique records
that, on October 6th, the King came to the theatre,
but as there were only one or two spectators, their
money was returned, and the play was not per-
formed.

During the following year, the taste for amusement

* Date of the taking of the Bastille. (Translator's note.)

264 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

was revived in spite of the gravity of events .... and
the following plays were given : The Good Father, The
Good Mother, The Good Son ; but the public wanted
pieces appropriate to the present circumstances, such
as The Morning of i^th July, or anti-religious plaj's,
such as The Rigours of the Cloister, a passionate
diatribe against monasteries. Later on two small operas,
written in the same spirit, were performed, The Two
Convents, and the Nuns of the Visitation.

In 1793 the operas were all inspired by political or
revolutionary sentiments, and in a chapter of the public
registers dealing with the expenses incurred by the
national theatres, we find an item of " twenty-nine livres
paid for the following inscription painted on the pedi-
ment of the Opera-Comique : Equality, Fraternity, Unity
Indivisible, or Death."

Not only did the actors sing patriotic verses, but
the audience soon adopted the habit of joining in chorus,
and of accompanying the baritones and tenors, whose
artistic singing was entirely drowned by the hoarse
and strident voices of the pit and gallery.

When the spectators were pleased with the play and
performers, they expressed their satisfaction by com-
pelling the actors to strike up the inevitable Marseillaise,*
even in the very midst of a scene, or else the following
hymn, on the same rhythm :

Assez et trop longtemps la France
A gemi du poids de ses fers ;
Deployant enfin sa puissance,
Elle va venger I'univers (bis)
Son peuple genereux s'elance ;

* The Directory published the following decree on January 4, 1796 :
" All managers of theatres in Paris are bound to have the favourite Republican
airs performed every day before the raising of the curtain, such as the Mar-
seillaise, ga ira, le chant du depart ; during the intervals some one of these
patriotic songs must always be sung."

THE THEATRE IN CAMP. 265

Les rois vont etre terrasses,

Et sur leurs trones renverses

II va fonder I'independance.
O sainte Libe,rte, seconde nos exploits !
Combats (bis) pour ton triomphe, et rends rhomme a ses
droits.

Oui, nous te jurons, O Patrie !

De defendre la Liberte,

De sacriiier notre vie

Au maintien de 1'Egalite (bis)

Contre tout pouvoir despotique

Nos bras soutiendront Tunite

Et 1'indivisibilite,

De notre auguste Republique ! *

I must cite, as a mere curiosity, the nominal price
charged for seats at the time of the Directory and Con-
sulate. In 1795 a stall at the Opera-Comique was worth
150 francs, and a stall in the dress-circle a thousand francs !
paid in assignats — such, indeed, was the depreciation in
the value of paper money. From April ist, 1795, for
instance, the assignats were only worth one-fifth of their
nominal value. At the Bourse, on August ist, the gold
louis was worth 920 francs in assignats ; on September ist,
1,200 francs ; on November ist, 2,600 francs ; and on
March, 1796, it was worth 7,200 francs : in paper money.
This will explain the item " 600 francs for rat poison,
for destruction of rats and mice in the house and store-
house of the Opera-Comique, paid in Thermidor, 1795."

When the occasioa presented itself, Bonaparte and
his " citizen wife " — according to the language of the

* Literally : — " Enough and too long France has languished beneath the
weight of her chains. Displaying her power at last, she will soon avenge the
universe. Her generous people are rising, the Kings will soon be overthrown, and
independence will reign in their stead. Oh, holy Liberty, assist our exploits,
fight for thine own triumph, and give Man his Rights. Land of our fathers, we
swear to defend thy liberty, and to sacrifice our lives in upholding equality.
Our arms will fight for the unity and indivisibility of our august Republic
against all despotic power."

266 NAPOLEON; AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

period — often attended the performances at the Opera-
Comique. I must here mention a detail which is
worth recording. In 1799 a certain opera, La Dame
Voilee, appeared among other lyrical works, and
met with much success ; as did also a small drama,
much appreciated by Bonaparte, called Le Delire, in
which the author portrays on the stage the mental
tortures of a gambler, whose passion has driven him to
madness. Now, the register of accounts at the Opera-
Comique discloses the interesting fact, that Josephine
went to the theatre on credit in the months of Pluviose,
Ventose, Germinal, and Floreal, VII., but that Bonaparte
hastened to settle the account of boxes that had not
been paid for, the moment the state of his modest finances
enabled him to do so. The following is the note of
discount in the register : —

The accountant has received from Citizen Camerani, on
behalf of Citizeness Bonaparte :

1. Amount due for two boxes, on account, in

last Brumaire ..... 66 livres.

2. For one box, in last Frimaire . . ,v 33 livres.

3. For half box engaged by the said Citizeness

on the ground floor, No. 2, for the months
of Brumaire, Frimaire, Nivose, Pluviose,
VII 800 livres.

4. For the same box, in Ventose and Germinal . 400 livres.

1299 livres.

The 1 8th Brumaire* had borne fruit, and the Opera-
Comique was one of the first to benefit by it : Citizeness
Bonaparte was able to pay her debts.

Though the performances of the Paris theatre com-
panies were only intended for the officers, the soldiers

* On the 1 8th Brumaire, Bonaparte, lately returned from Egypt, overthrew
the Directory. (Translator's note.)

THE THEATRE IN CAMP. 267

of the Boulogne Camp were not forgotten, and in accord-
ance with Bonaparte's wishes, the chiefs encouraged
all theatrical entertainments that might tend to brighten
life in the camps.

The principal plays given in the capital and in the
other large towns, since the establishment of the Republic,
were all of such a passionate and political character
that at the time of which I now speak, it was considered
inadvisable to revive the extreme ideas which were
formerly prevalent.

Besides, the situation had completely altered; what
changes had not occurred in the social conditions, and
in the evolution of ideas since 1789 !

For instance, at the time of the revolutionary up-
heaval, M. J. Chenier produced his famous tragedy
Charles IX., or the School for Kings (November 4th,
1789), and though the work was written to glorify the
spirit of the new era, and was dedicated " by a free
man to a free nation," Chenier was still capable of offering
it in homage to the King, in the following dedication :—

Monarque des Francais, chef d'un peuple fidele,
Qui va des nations devenir le modele,
Lorsqu'au sein de Paris, sejour de tes aieux,
Ton favorable aspect vient consoler nos yeux,
Permets qu'une voix libre, a 1'equite soumise,
Au nom de tes sujets te parle avec franchise.
Prete a la verite ton auguste soutien,
Ft, las des courtisans, ecoute un citoyen.*

Meanwhile hatred of the throne became so virulent,
that very shortly after, the censorship went to the length

* Literally :—" Monarch of the French, sovereign of a faithful people, soon
to become the model for all nations ; when, in the heart of Paris, the abode
cf thine ancestors, thy favourable presence comes to gladden our eyes, listen
to a free voice, that submits to Justice only, and speaks to thee frankly, on
behalf of all thy subjects. Lend thine august aid to truth alone, and, weary
ing of courtiers, listen to a citizen."

268 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

of forbidding that the name of Louis should be given
to the heroine's fiance in a play called Leon, as this name,
so says the official report, " could not be tolerated on
the stage, especially in connection with a virtuous
character."

The Cloistered Victims, a drama written by Monvel
(performed in 1791) and teeming with hatred towards the
monks and clergy, could no longer be countenanced
after the Concordat (1801). Laya's comedy, The Friend
of the Law, had also become very impolitic in the course
of events, for in his preface the author excused himself
" for not having made a fool or a monster of the aristocrat
he had put on the stage."

And as for the Last Judgment of Kings, a savage scene
written " to expose the former ' Messieurs ' to the derision
of the sovereign people," it could not be tolerated by
anyone who had visions of autocracy.

In short there was nothing (that is, among plays at
all popular) except Madame Angot, or the par venue
fishwife, which was sure of being received with great
satisfaction by everybody. The great advantage of
Maillot's comic opera was, that by cutting out various
parts, it could be performed entirely by men ; and the
character of the fishwife, differing in this respect from
parts such as those of Agnes,* or of princesses, was very
easily impersonated by some intelligent trooper, who,
by borrowing a dress and making a tow wig, could get
himself up sufficiently well to take the part of a "Dame
of the Markets." And another thing : not only was
Madame Angot's speech of a realistic kind that was
much appreciated by soldiers, but if the worst came
to the worst, the actors could always fill up any lapse
of memory by drawing on their own imagination, which

* Moliere, VEcole des Femmes. This character has since remained the
type of an ingenue. (Translator's note.)

THE THEATRE IN CAMP. 269

would have been a more serious matter in plays of any
literary pretension ; especially as the revolutionary style
then in vogue demanded pompous expressions, sonorous
periods and redundant phraseology.

Another remark concerning this Madame Angot
who was the mother of an infinity of Madame Angots !
This stage creation of a fishwife grown rich, and making
herself as ridiculous as she was pretentious, had a character
of real comedy, and one can easily imagine the mirth
that would be provoked by certain tirades in the play,
the success of which depended on their being rattled
off, by the actor, with extreme volubility, and in the hoarse
tones of a market fishwife.

Nothing, therefore, was more adaptable to the cir-
cumstances ! All that was necessary was to pick out
a scene here and there from the play, and these provided
the materials of a humorous entertainment which was
certain to bring down the applause of the whole audience.

Referring to the plays that were performed by
Parisian actors at Boulogne while the Grand Army was
in camp, we may mention UHommage, an interlude by
Lupart-Dercy, written in prose with songs, performed
on August I5th, 1804, and Caution Money, or the Triumph
of Honour, a comedy in three acts, by Mercier (performed
August 30th, 1804). Mercier was then adjutant to the
55th regiment of the line, encamped at Boulogne. There
was a sentence in this play which was received with
great applause, so much so, that Marshal Soult's atten-
tion was attracted to it : " When there is fighting," said
a colonel, " every soldier is a captain, and every captain
is a soldier ; in battle there is not a warrior who does
not deserve a crown." At the third performance the
order was given to suppress these words, because they
placed the officers and men on a footing of too much
military equality.

270 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The author discovered a very rare copy of one of
the plays that were performed before the officers by
the Vaudeville company ; it is called Duguay-Trouin,
Prisoner at Plymouth, "a historical fact, in two acts,
performed for the first time at the Vaudeville in Paris
on 24th Germinal, XII."

The selection of this play was all the more appropriate
as the story of the celebrated seaman's escape was very
similar to the adventure of the famous privateer Thurot,
to which we alluded in a preceding chapter.

The characters of the piece are : " Duguay-Trouin " ;
" Destaillandac," a Gascon surgeon; "Sir Bomston,"
Governor of the citadel at Plymouth ; " Madame
Derval," related to " Duguay - Trouin " ; " Madame
Prattler," an inn-keeper ; " Sir Bifteck," the Gover-
nor's nephew.

We cannot undertake to give the full details of the
adventures by which the prisoner manages to escape from
his jailers .... the play is far from being a master-
piece, although it was written in collaboration with four
different authors, Barre, Radet, Desfontaine and Saint-
Felix, not including the composer who wrote the
partition.

This vaudeville, which met with a good deal of success
among the officers, contained many appropriate verses :

(Sung to the tune of " William -the Conqueror.")

Voyez nos superbes vaisseaux
Partant, s'eloignant de la terre,
Aux cris joyeux des matelots,
Appeler et chercher la guerre.
Que ce spectacle est ravissant !
Qu'il inspire un noble courage.
Pour le suivre, 6 charme puissant !
Tous les coeurs quittent le rivage.
Braves marins, rassemblez-vous,

THE THEATRE IN CAMP. 271

Courez, volez a la victoire,
En repetant ces mots si doux,
Ces mots sacres, ces mots si doux :
Tout pour la gloire ! *

The play closed with the following 3
(Tune : " Bonaparte.")
Le Francais
Pour avoir la paix,
A 1'Angleterre,
Fait la guerre.

Le Frangais veut que sur les eaux
On respecte tous les vaisseaux.

La Hollande et la Turquie
Et 1'Espagne et la Russie
Librement, paisiblement,
Commenceront incessamment.

Pour eluder un traite,

L' Anglais s'est montre perfide ;

Celui-ci sera solide,

Le vainqueur 1'aura dicte.

II faut que 1'ocean s'ouvre,
Et qu'on puisse tout-a-coup,
Aller, de Calais h Douvres,
Comme de Paris a Saint-Cloud. f
Etc., etc.

* Literally : — " See our superb ships are leaving and sailing fai from our
shores, in search of war, amid the joyous shouts of sailors. How fine and in-
spiriting is the sight, the magic of it draws all hearts from the shore in its wake.
Brave sailors assemble and go to meet victory, repeating the sacred words :
' All for glory ! All for glory.' "

t Literally : — " France, to secure peace, wages war against England. The
Frenchman thinks that every vessel should be respected on the seas. Holland
and Turkey, Spain and Russia, will soon begin to navigate in freedom and
peace. England has proved herself perfidious in eluding a treaty ; the next
one will stand, for the conqueror will dictate the terms. The ocean must be
free, and it must be as safe to go from Calais to Dover as from Paris to Saint-
Cloud," etc,

272 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" The Vaudeville company," writes Morand, " was
summoned to act before the Emperor at Boulogne.
The performances were to have lasted till September
I7th, but they came to a close on the 3rd, and the de-
parture of the army for Germany was the signal for the
return of the actors to Paris.

During the company's stay at Boulogne, ten boxes
were reserved at the theatre for the Emperor, Prince
Joseph, Prince Borghese, the Ministers, field officers,
the admiral in command, the naval staff, and the author-
ities. One can imagine the aspect the small " Salle
Baret " presented, when all the boxes were occupied ;
but, truth to tell, the personage who was the most
eagerly looked-for, the Emperor, never put in an
appearance.

The Boulogne theatre followed the usual course in
periods of political agitation, now giving proofs of devo-
tion to the Republic by suppressing all passages con-
sidered unpatriotic, now doing homage to the Empire,
by bringing out plays appropriate to the new order of
things, and written especially for the occasion.

One of these plays, The Recruit and the Soldier, was
written by the Academician Etienne, and performed at
Boulogne in 1805. An impromptu prologue, called The
Vaudeville at the Boulogne Camp, written by Barre,
Radet, and Desfontaines, was acted for the first time
by the comedians of the Paris Vaudeville, in the Boulogne
theatre on August I7th, 1805. Barre had been appointed
manager, and — in his diploma — " Manager of the Vaude-
ville Company in London " as well : rather anticipating
events !

It is said that this little play won for each of the
authors a pension, which was given them by Napoleon.

The performances of the Vaudeville, as I have already
mentioned, came to a close on September 3rd, and in

THE THEATRE IN CAMP. 273

the meantime the army was preparing to depart for
the glorious campaign in Germany.

The actors of the Vaudeville bade farewell to the
inhabitants of Boulogne in the following lines : —

Avec la peine au fond du coeur
Chacun de nous ce soir vous quitte ;
Et nous voyons avec douleur
Que le plaisir passe si vite !

Le Vaudeville est un enfant
Dont 1' aliment est Findulgence ;
Quand il Fobtient il est content
Et chante sa reconnaissance.

Peut-etre un jour aupres de vous
Nous reviendrons sur ce rivage ;
Et cet espoir, pour nous si doux,
Va charmer 1' ennui du voyage.*

A small company from the theatre of " National
Victories " in Paris, also gave several performances at
Boulogne. This theatre, sometimes called the " Theatre
du Bac," was established in the former chapel of the
Recollette order, 85, Rue du Bac. The Order of Recol-
lettes, the origin of which dates from the fifteenth century,
was established in the Rue du Bac, according to a docu-
ment among the records of Saint-Germain-des-Pres,
dated August i8th, 1638.

In 1664 it was endowed by Marie-Therese, and became
a royal institution. According to a plan drawn up by
Turgot, the convent buildings covered an area of 6,400
metres, extending from the Rue de Grenelle to the old

* " In bidding you farewell, our hearts are filled with sadness. And we
realise with pain, that pleasure goes so quickly. The Vaudeville is but a
child, who thrives on kindness shown him ; when it is given, he is quite
happy, and expresses his joy in singing. Perhaps some day, we may return
unto these shores to meet you, and this hope, to us so sweet, will soothe the
tedious journey."
S

274 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Rue de la Planche. Some of the Recollette nuns formed
the idea of organising a kind of public library close to
the chapel, an innovation which was quite an event in
the Faubourg Saint-Germain. People of education could
therefore — by permission of the Mother Superior and
of their Confessor — borrow the books, which were all
carefully bound and catalogued, under the supervision
of the " provincial Father " of the Order, who came
once a year to inspect the convent library.

A register of all the borrowed books was kept by
one of the Recollette Sisters, " chosen from among
them for her shrewdness and intelligence."

The institution was still far from being a theatre,
but the chapel soon became very much frequented by
people of literary tastes, who were able to exchange
their books after the services.

Many of the Recollette nuns belonged by birth to
the highest ranks of society, which at that period was
very highly cultivated ; and this would explain how it
was that the scheme of starting a literary library occurred
to these religious ladies.

So the convent was already invaded by literary
people, before it was given over to the stage.

Then came the Revolution ; the Order was suppressed,
the buildings confiscated, and the chapel advertised to
be let. No one, however, came forward as a tenant, and
on September I7th, 1791, the chapel was transformed
into the " Theatre of National Victories," in celebration
of Bonaparte's glorious feats of arms.

During the period that elapsed between 1789 and
1799, no less than forty-five theatres were started in
Paris.

In 1794 the actor Potier, who had married an actress,
Madelein Blandoin, made his mark at the theatre of
National Victories, and from there went on tour in the

THE THEATRE IN CAMP. 275

provinces, to Brittany, Normandy, Picardy, etc. On
his return from Boulogne he acted at the Varietes, the
Porte Saint Martin, and Palais-Royal.

Potier was very old and infirm when he left the
boards ; on the night of his last appearance, he bade
farewell to the public in a pathetic little impromptu,
which I quote, because to my own knowledge, these
modest and graceful lines have been plagiarised more
than once : —

De vous plaire j'eus le bonheur
Dans ma carriere dramatique.
Mais 1'age arrete mon ardeur :
Recevez les adieux de votre vieux comique.
De vos bontes il va se separer ; \

Mais en songeant qu'il faut qu'il se retire,
Pendant quinze ans, celui qui vous fit rire
Ce soir, helas, se sent pret k pleurer.*

The theatre of National Victories was closed in 1807,
by a decree of the Emperor, who reduced the number
of theatres in Paris to eight, and thought even that
number quite sufficient.

* " I had the good fortune to please you throughout my dramatic career.
But age checks my spirit : accept your old comedian's farewell. The time
has now come for him to retire, but while taking leave of your kindness, the
man who, for fifteen years, made you laugh, is himself ready to weep."

CHAPTER XV.

THE AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY.

Games — Marching Songs — Soldiers' Choruses — Dances — Ball at
the Boulogne Camp — " Boulogne Camp March " performed
by the Military Bands.

THEATRICAL entertainments were not the only form of
recreation in the camps : the men danced, amused them-
selves in various ways, and sang when they were off
duty, or when on the march, and the old soldiers, as
well as the youngest recruits, indulged in these pastimes
to their hearts' content.

I must begin by quoting a few verses typical of those
that were sung by the soldiers on the march, at this
period, and regret that I am only able to give fragments
of the songs, and scraps of stanzas. The reader will
do well not to think of the rules of Parnassus while
reading the following :—

D'Mont-Lambert, mais pas du Tape-cul
On voit bien TAngleterre,
Oui on la voit, car je 1'ai vue
J'ai bien vu 1'Angleterre, j'ai vu,
J'ai bien vu 1'Angleterre.

D'Angleterre z'orons les ecus
Qui ne nous cout'rons guere
Oui elle en a plus que d'obus :
Par tons tous pour la guerre, par tons,
Partons tous pour la guerre !
276

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 277

D'Bonaparte on voit les soldats
Couvrir toutes les terres, etc.*

And other marching songs made a kind of musical
see-saw, in which the characteristic names of the villages
in the neighbourhood were introduced, making fantastic
rhymes and rhythms : —

We go to Alincthun,

And then to Olincthun,

Some are at Raventhun

And others at Bainc-thun ;

Some are sent to Paincthun,

Others to Florincthun,

They pass through Raventhun

And also Tourlincthun,

They go to Terlincthun,

And also Godincthun,

Then to Verlincthun, etc.

The following " litany " was sung to the old tune
of "II pleut bergere " : —

Maninghen

Echinghen.

Bouquinghen

Wacquinghen,

Ledinghen

Hardinghen

Lattinghen,

Tardinghen.

* Literally :—

" From Mont -Lambert, though not from Tape-cul,
England is quite visible ;
Yes, quite visible, for I have seen,
Seen England distinctly, I have seen,
Seen England distinctly.
We will get England's money,
It will cost us nothing ;
She has more of that than of shells :
Let's all go to the war, let's all go,
Let's all go to the war.
One sees the soldiers of Bonaparte
All over the earth . . ." etc., etc.

278 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

And again the following, keeping step with the rhythm :—

Conteville
Et Wimille,
Menneville
Billeauville,
Cuverville
Bournonville.
Or else : —

Watrezelle
Framezelle,
Haringzelle
Waringzelle, etc.

Bellebrune
Valembrune,
Lozembrune
Gastebrune.

I must not omit to mention an amusing song which
contained a celebrated pun, which was thought a good
deal of in the neighbourhood : —

"Wimille, Wissant Neuville (8,809 villes)
S'arment en guerre,
Contr' 1'Angleterre," etc.

We often find this method of using the names of
localities in rhyme, adopted in popular songs ; this
celebrated one, for instance, of the Chouans : —

Monsieur d'Charette a dit k ceux d'Ancenis : •

Mes amis !
Le roi va ramener la fleur de lys.

Monsieur d'Charette a dit a ceux de Liroux :

Mes bijoux !
Pour mieux tirer, mettez-vous a genoux.

Monsieur d'Charette a dit a ceux d'Clisson :

Le canon
Fait mieux danser que le violon.

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 279

Monsieur d'Charette a dit a ceux de Montfort :

Frappez fort !
La fleur de lys defend centre la mort.*

The French soldier, whether Chouan fighting for
his King, or grenadier following his Emperor, is still
the same brave fellow who scoffs at danger and
rushes gaily into the fray, laughing and singing
in turn.

Nelson made several attacks on the flotilla, notably
the one on the 28th Thermidor, IX. Towards midnight
swarms of pinnaces made an unexpected attack, and
it was said that Nelson had ordered wine and brandy
to be served in large quantities to his men, to still further
excite the great valour they gave proof of, more than
once, in the Straits. But the French sailors were fully
prepared, and the assailants were repulsed and compelled
to retire.

Wyant wrote some couplets in commemoration of
this event ; they soon became very popular, and this
one, for instance, is still remembered : —

Devant Boulogne,

Nelson faisait un feu d'enfer !

Mais ce jour-la, plus d'un ivrogne

* Literally: —

" Monsieur d'Charette told them at Ancenis :

My friends !
The King will bring back the fleur-de-lys.

Monsieur d'Charette told them at Liroux :

My jewels !
To take better aim, go down on your knees.

Monsieur d'Charette told them at Clisson :

The cannon
Is better music to dance to than the fiddle.

Monsieur d'Charette told them at Montfort :

Hit hard !
The fleur-de-lys shields you from death."

280 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Au lieu de vin, but 1'eau de mer
Devant Boulogne ! *

The soldiers of the Grand Army introduced popular
tunes that were being sung all over the country, more
or less, especially some verses from the comic opera of
Madame Angot, already mentioned, which had such
immense success when it first came out in 1796. For
instance, the following was a popular chorus when on
march or when bivouacking :—

Madame Angot s'avance,

Mironton, mironton, mirontaine,

Madame Angot s'approche

Bien vite a petits pas,

On lui donne le bras,

De peur qu'elle ne tombat.f

And sometimes the children of the Revolution, of which
the Grand Army was composed, would sing the Ca ira
of 1789, or the Carmagnole of 1792, in their barrack
rooms or when on the march ; but these had to be sung
in a whisper, so to say, because they had been prohibited
by Bonaparte, from the time that he became First Consul.
The last stanza was the most popular, and it was
tolerated for obvious reasons : —

Sans craindre ni feu ni flamme,

Le Frangais toujours vaincra,

Ah ! $a ira, $a ira, ca ira !

* Literally:—

" Off Boulogne,

Nelson poured hell-fire !
But on that day, many a toper
Instead of wine, drank salt water,
Off Boulogne ! "
t Literally:—

" Madame Angot advances,
Mironton, mironton, mirontaine,
Madame Angot approaches
Quite fast with little steps,
Someone offers an arm,
For fear that she should fall . . ."

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 281

Le peuple en ce jour sans cesse repete

Ah ! ga ira, ga ira, ca ira !

Malgre les mutins tout reussira ! *
In reality, the tune of " Ca-ira " was nothing but a
reproduction of the lively music to a set of quadrilles,
called the " Carillon National," which Queen Marie
Antoinette was fond of playing on her spinet. How
little she thought that before long these strains would
mingle with the shouts of death from a howling mob,
clamouring around her blood-stained scaffold !

As for the Carmagnole, an anonymous song written
in August, 1792, it was still more strictly prohibited by
Bonaparte than even the Ca ira, and was only hummed
by the soldiers.

This hateful composition had enjoyed incredible
popularity, and served as a signal for the risings of the
mob, and an accompaniment to their bloodthirsty acts.
It made its first appearance at the time that the vic-
torious French troops entered Piedmont, of which Car-
magnola f was the chief fortress.

* Literally :—

" Without fearing shot or flame,
The Frenchman will always conquer,
Ah ! 9a ira, 9a ira, 9a ira !
The people to-day will now repeat
Ah ! ?a ira, 93 ira, 9a ira !
In spite of rebels, all will succeed."

f The following are the two first verses of this odious song : —
" Madame Veto avait promis

De faire egorger tout Paris,

Mais son coup a manque

Grace a nos canonniers.

Dansdns la Carmagnole

Vive le son, vive le son,

Dansons la Carmagnole

Vive le son du canon.

Monsieur Veto avait promis

D'etre fidele a sa patrie

Mais il y a manque

Ne f aisons plus cartie' !

Dansons la Carmagnole

Vive le son du canon."

282 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAM?.

As already mentioned, it was the custom at concerts
and theatres to introduce patriotic or religious anthems
as interludes, followed by sentimental ditties by way
of contrast.

If anyone nowadays ventured to sing in public the
" Hymn to the Supreme Being," for instance — which
the Boulogne Municipality, as well as the soldiers, in-
serted in the programme of their festivities, would they
not be accused of bigoted clericalism ?

It is scarcely necessary to mention the Marseillaise
among the patriotic songs then in vogue, and yet this
poem, glowing with Republican fire, did not save the
author, Rouge t de Lisle, from being denounced as a
"suspect" and imprisoned. The Directory decreed
(January 8th, 1795) that the Marseillaise should be sung
at every public festival, together with £a ira and the
Chant du Depart (words by Chenier, music by Mehul,

1794).

On the proclamation of the Empire, which was
received with the greatest enthusiasm by the camp
and the town of Boulogne, sailors and soldiers joined
with the inhabitants to sing " Veillons au saint de
l> Empire ! "

The selection of these verses was happy and appro-
priate to the circumstances ; but the reader must not
suppose that because the word "Empire" occurs in the
first verse, the lines were written expressly for this
event. Not at all. The " Salut de la France," the
original title of the song, dates from 1791, and is essen-
tially a Republican effusion. The word " Empire " in
the first line is simply put for the sake of rhyme, and as
a synonym for Nation. When Roy wrote his " Re-
publican couplets," he certainly never dreamt that
they would soon be popularly known as the Imperial
Anthem. The situation, of course, was saved by the

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 283

first line, which seemed entirely suited to circum-
stances in 1804 ; but the lines that follow clearly show
that there was no monarchic intention in them origin-
ally :-

Veillons au salut de 1'Empire

Veillons au maintien de nos droits !

Si le despotisme conspire,

Corispirons la perte des rois !

Liberte, Liberte, que tout mortel te rende hommage

Tremblez, tyrans ! vous allez expier vos forfaits !

Plutot la mort que 1'esclavage,

C'est la devise des Francais.

Du salut de notre Patrie

Depend celui de Tunivers,

Si jamais elle est asservie,

Tous les peuples sont dans les fers,

Liberte, Liberte, etc., etc.*

We gather, from various letters written at the time
of the Boulogne camp, that the game of " loto " was one
of the recreations indulged in by the officers and men
in their huts. At nightfall, a group of men would gather
round the fortunate possessor of a loto set, and sit at
a rough-and-ready table, by the light of a smoking
tallow-dip, fixed on the board between three stones.

Those who were lucky held the loto-cards ; but the
forty or fifty good fellows standing behind the players
would get just as much fun out of the proceedings by

* Literally :—
" Let us watch over the safety of the Empire, and the preservation of our

Rights !

If Despotism, conspires against us, we will plot the destruction of Kings!
Liberty, Liberty, all mortals must bow to thee !
Tyrants tremble, you will soon atone for your crimes !
Death rather than slavery, is the motto for Frenchmen.

The fate of the world depends on the safety of our Country.
Should she be enslaved, all the nations will be slaves.
Liberty, Liberty," etc., etc.

284 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

challenging and backing their comrades, cutting jokes
at their expense, and keeping an eye open for possible
cheating ; for anyone caught in the act, was liable to
a penalty of a box on the ear from each of those present.
Sporting bets were made on the winners, and debts paid
with packets of tobacco and rations of brandy.

The reader will probably think that no special aptitude
is required for playing loto, and that anyone can be-
come proficient in the game without necessarily making
a careful study of the rules. To make the game more
exciting, the soldiers of the First Empire tried to com-
plicate it as much as possible, by giving each number
some fantastic name, so that the mistakes and blunders
of the players were infinite, to the intense amusement
of the whole company.

For instance, No. i was called " The beginning of
the world " ; No. 2, " the little chicken " ; No. 3, " the
Jew's ear " ; No. 4, " the commissary's hat " ; No. 5,
" the cobbler's awl " ; No. 7, " the gallows " ; No. 31,
" day of starvation, misery in Prussia " (so-called be-
cause in the Army of the Rhine, the soldiers' pay was
reckoned by the month of thirty days — the thirty-first
was not considered at all) ; No. 48 was called " the alarm
gun " ; and when No. 89 appeared, everyone had to
shout in chorus, " the Revolution ! "

If the soldiers made a mistake in the names, they
had to pay forfeits, which provided the French troopers
with many opportunities of giving free vent to their
proverbial gaiety.

Then there was dancing in the Right and Left Camps,
as well as at the Plateau d'Odre and at Chatillon.

The commanding officers not only permitted this
practice but encouraged it, to keep the men active and
well disposed. A fisherwoman's cap, or a madras hand-
kerchief tied " fishwife " fashion round the younger

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 285

warriors' heads, served to distinguish the " ladies "
from the men. Indeed, it was the only distinction,
since the performance of these dancers was remarkable,
presumably, neither for grace nor lightness of step. But
that did not matter ; the quadrilles were all the more
novel for that very reason, and the gallops ended in a
whirl of dizziness to the accompaniment of the wildest
music and the beating of drums.

As I have already observed, dancing was encour-
aged in the various camps by the commanding officers
themselves ; for instance, in an Order of the Day dated
24th Thermidor, XII., the following article is inserted
in the programme of festivities for the celebration of
"St. Napoleon's Day " : " Dancing may be indulged
in, in the rear of each camp." And every advantage
was taken of this permission.

There was a certain fencing-master, it appears, called
Morland, who, in addition to his ordinary duties, took
upon himself the office of " dancing-master " to the
camp.

Frequently of an evening he would take up a violin,
which he could play — sufficiently for the purpose, at all
events — and teach the soldiers, who delighted in these
simple amusements. Towards the end of the dancing
lesson, the best pupils formed sets of quadrilles, and
according to a narrative of the time, " the fencing-master
would always tell them facetiously : ' Now don't forget
to engage from the left foot ! '

Napoleon used to watch these games from behind
the lattice of his dining-room window, and nothing
amused him more than to watch the " sappers of the
Army of Italy and Egypt rounding their arms and hold-
ing their tunics daintily between finger and thumb."

Morland, who was well aware of the Emperor's
feelings in this respect, used sometimes to organise

286 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

immense round dances near the pavilion, which were
entered into with the real French spirit and vivacity
by hundreds of soldiers, all shouting together the chorus
of the " Invasion of England " :—

Traverser le detroit
N'est pas la mer a boire !

Napoleon never interfered ; but the instant the
retreat was sounded, he opened the window and called
out :

" Very good. Now I am going to work, and you
must go to bed. Good-night ! "

The window was then closed and absolute silence
prevailed, except for the roll of drums that was echoed
in the far distance along the sand-hills.

As an amusement for the daytime, the Marines of
the Guard had started the idea of making tiny boats,
rigged with large sails and running on wheels, which
enabled them to race on the sands when the wind was
favourable. For at that period the ledges of rock which
we see nowadays did not exist ; when the little boats
were unskilfully handled, they were wrecked on the
sand, to the great amusement of the spectators.

Napoleon, who attached great importance to the
soldiers being kept in good training, took care to en-
courage their sports by presiding over the horse- and
foot-racing, and always gave prizes varying from 20 to
300 francs.

In conclusion, I must give some account of the
" Boulogne Camp Ball," at which Napoleon was present,
and even danced, according to one of his chroniclers.

There are letters extant and carefully preserved by
private families in Boulogne, that refer to the grand ball
the marshals and generals resolved to give in Napoleon's
honour, as soon as they were informed^ of his plans of

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 287

returning to Paris to superintend the preparations for
his Coronation.

Napoleon accepted the invitation, and fixed October
1 7th as the date ; whereupon General Bertrand, as
Grand Master of the Ceremonies, issued invitations, on
behalf of the generals, to the most important people
of the town ; as for the officers, none under the rank of
major were invited. The ladies, of course, lost no time
in planning and ordering the most elegant toilettes for
this unique occasion.

As there was no hall sufficiently large to accommodate
the guests, the naval carpenters set to work and erected
a temporary ball-room, which was beautifully decorated
with garlands and trophies by the engineers.

On the eventful night, the ball opened with a triumphal
march called the " Boulogne Camp March," composed
by Lesueur, who afterwards became the court musical
director. It was performed by the massed bands of
twenty regiments. I shall allude again to this musical
composition further on.

The aides-de-camp, acting as stewards, went for-
ward to meet the ladies as they appeared, and presented
each with a bouquet. The commanding officers were
resplendent in their uniforms, richly embroidered with
gold thread and diamonds, which had been ordered
from Paris expressly for the occasion. The wife of
Marshal Soult, who acted as hostess, wore a gown of
black velvet, bespangled with glittering stones of the
Rhine.

Besides the uniforms, there were costumes more or
less fantastic, but very decorative ; Marshal Augereau,
for instance, was so gorgeous in his suit of pansy-coloured
velvet and gold, white satin breeches, spangled silk
stockings, and powdered wig — not to omit his old Re-
publican sword — that the Emperor, who was simply

288 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

wearing the uniform of a Colonel in the Guards, burst
out laughing on seeing the splendour of his " old brother
in arms," as he called him, addressing him with good-
humoured banter.

The different bands performed various pieces in
turn, and then dancing began. The Emperor remained
present for an hour, and danced " La Boulangere "
with Madame Bertrand.

General Bisson, " a big general with a big protuber-
ance," was entrusted with the care and management
of the supper, which was most recherche. Indeed, it is
maliciously reported that the Boulogne ladies, seeing a
profusion of cakes, sweets, and delicacies of all kinds
displayed on the board, showed no scruple in filling
their pockets with dainties — from purely charitable
motives, no doubt, and a laudable desire to take back tasty
mementoes of the feast to their less fortunate lady friends.

What was the " Boulangere," and why did Napoleon
dance it in preference to any other figure in the French
quadrille ?

I think we may safely assume that it was its very
simplicity which recommended it to Napoleon, who
had a great objection to appearing at a disadvantage,
if only in a dance, and who certainly had no intention
of devoting any time to mastering the intricacies of the
other figures.

The " Pantalon " and " Ete " figures were rather
complicated ; the " Poule," which had only lately been
invented by a man named Julien, was supposed to be
accompanied by a noise imitating the clucking of a
hen, which made it rather vulgar ; while the finale
of the quadrille was too much of a gallop for a somewhat
heavy dancer. In short, the Boulangere, or " Pastour-
elle," was the only figure that had the advantage of
being dignified and easily accomplished.

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 289

A " Guide to Dancing," dating from the beginning
of the last century, describes the movement as follows :
the couples join hands and form a ring — four steps
forward, then four backwards ; finally each man
in succession waltzes round with the lady on
his left.

There was certainly nothing very complicated about
this performance, and it just suited Napoleon.

This reminds one of the childish games of " Puss-in-
the-corner " that Napoleon used to indulge in with his
intimates at Malmaison. As he objected to standing
for long, doing " puss " among a set of young people
who skilfully evaded all attempts at being lured from
their corners, Bonaparte was seldom at a loss for some
little ruse to recover his place. On one occasion, finding
the wait rather tedious, he had recourse to the following
expedient : Hortense de Beauharnais was guarding her
corner so tenaciously, that Bonaparte feigned discourage-
ment, and began to walk about, apparently quite in-
different to all further proceedings. Then, suddenly
pretending to be struck with the elegant frock his step-
daughter was wearing, he came up to her, expressing
admiration in his gestures, and took her by the hand,
inviting her to turn round, so as to display all her finery.
The young girl, naturally much flattered, moved un-
suspectingly from her tree, and the First Consul, seizing
his opportunity, made one bound for the corner and
secured it.

During Napoleon's periods of relaxation at Mal-
maison, many a game of " Prisoners' Base" was played
between Bonaparte, de Lauriston, Eugene de Beau-
harnais, de Bourrienne, Isabey, Rapp, and several ladies,
among whom was Hortense de Beauharnais.

Napoleon, who was more impetuous than anybody,
often tripped and fell to the ground, but he always picked

290 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

himself up nimbly, and was the first to laugh at his mis-
adventure.

For a whole month, so it appears from various letters
dating from that period, there was talk of nothing else
but the Imperial Ball, and the incidents that had occurred
in connection therewith ; and one can scarcely imagine
the number of political conversions it occasioned.

The author, himself a Boulonnais, could give some
interesting information on the subject, were it not in-
discreet. He could tell, for instance, which of the men,
who were loudest in their praise of the new sovereign,
had been fierce Republicans only the day before ;
and which others, now honestly rallying round the new
regime, had been irreconcilable royalists up to that
day. The outburst of loyalty towards the new Emperor
was, in fact, so general, that it might well excite our
wonder, were it not that we know by .official records
that the same state of feeling prevailed all over the
country at that time.

But when the population of the Boulonnais attached
itself to the Imperial regime, it was not merely following
a natural popular instinct of turning towards the " rising
sun." Napoleon seemed to most men the embodiment
of the glory of France ; and the very people who dis-
liked him reflected that, after all, his regime had done
away with that of the guillotine, and that he had re-
placed the Reign of Terror by a succession of victories.

The Reign of Terror had not sent nobles alone to
fill the prisons at Boulogne and Arras, for people of the
humbler classes were incarcerated as well — bakers, lock-
smiths, brewers, grocers, shoemakers, and hair-dressers.
On October 2nd, 1793, the revolutionary Tribunal had
sent the Abbe Butteau to the guillotine, erected in the
Place du Palais de Justice, at Boulogne ; while Louis
Legris, a small shopkeeper at Desvres, had to atone

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 291

on the scaffold for his " devotion to tyranny and
fanaticism " — an accusation as vague as it was terrible,
since there was but little chance of his being able to
offer any defence that would avail him at all.

The distinguished composer Lesueur, to whom I have
already alluded as being the author of the " March "
performed on the occasion of the Imperial Ball, was a
native of Abbeville, and the son of poor peasants. When
still quite a child, his passion for music was suddenly
aroused one day as he was following a military band along
the high road. The stirring strains of the martial music
made an indelible impression on him, and most probably
influenced his future compositions, which attracted
Bonaparte's attention. When he brought out his first
opera, The Bards, he received a valuable recognition
of his great talents — a gold snuff-box bearing this in-
scription : " From the Emperor to the author of The
Bards" The box also contained 6,000 francs in notes.
Lesueur was one of the founders of the Conservatoire
of Music in Paris.

Soon after his stay in Boulogne, he composed an
opera in honour of his benefactor, in which he intro-
duced the episode of Napoleon burning, at Princess
Hatzfeldt's entreaty, the incriminating letter that clearly
proved her husband's treason.

The author has tried to find the theme of the March
of the Boulogne Camp among the works of Lesueur,
but the task was made difficult from the fact that Lesueur
was in the habit of altering his compositions, and bringing
them out under new titles ; his revolutionary songs,
for instance, were transformed into church music, and
vice versa. In fact, he indulged in what one might call
a sort of " musical cookery."

In the first place, there is a " Coronation Mass "

292 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

by Lesueur which terminates with a march and " vivat,"
of which the following is the initial theme : —

In spite of the name given to this Mass, it was not
performed at Notre-Dame for the First Emperor ; it
was only written after the event, in view of an
imaginary coronation ceremony.

However, there is a military march among the musical
records in Paris, bearing this inscription : " Coronation
March of H.M. the Emperor, music by Lesueur, re-set
by H. Courtin, professor of harmony at the Conserva-
toire, by order of Lieutenant-General Baron Pelet,"
and we have every reason to believe that this must be
the march, especially as the breadth and fulness of the
composition seem to indicate that it was- intended to
be performed by the massed bands of twenty regiments.

The following is the theme : —

To conclude this chapter, I must quote Morand's
verses on the breaking up of the Camp of Boulogne.
Grenadier's 'farewell to the Camp of Boulogne: —

Le tambour bat, il faut partir,

Ailleurs on nous appelle,
Oui, de lauriers il va s'ouvrir

Une moisson nouvelle.
Si la-bas ils sont assez fous

Pour troubler FAllemagne,
Tant pis pour eux, tant mieux pour nous

Allons vite en campagne !

AMUSEMENTS OF THE GRAND ARMY. 293

Adieu mon cher petit jardin

Ma baraque jolie,
Toi que j'ai plante de mes mains

Et toi que j'ai batie,
Puisqu'il faut prendre le mousquet

Et laisser ma chaumiere,
Je m'en vais planter le piquet

Par dela la frontiere.

Adieu, pigeons, poulets, lapins,

Et ma chatte gentille,
Autour de moi, chaque matin,

Rassembles en famille.
Toi, mon chien, ne me quitte pas,

Compagnon de ma gloire
Par tout tu dois suivre mes pas,

Ton nom est la Victoire !

Adieu, peniches et bateaux,

Prames et canonnieres,
Qui deviez porter sur les eaux

Nos vaillants militaires.
Vous, ne soyez pas si contents,

Messieurs de la Tamise!
Seulement pour quelques instants

La partie est remise. . . .

CHAPTER XVI.

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS OF THE CAMP AT BOULOGNE.

The Distribution of Crosses of the Legion of Honour — Oath
of the Legionaries — Napoleon's Stone — The Column of
Napoleon the Great and Marshal Soult — The Legion
of Honour and the Women Officers.

THE memory of two great events will for ever be con-
nected with Napoleon's stay at Boulogne — namely, the
solemn distribution of Crosses of the Legion of Honour,
and the laying of the foundation stone of the Column
of the Grand Army.

The great pomp displayed at the distribution of
Crosses at the Camp of Boulogne on August i6th, 1804,
has drawn the attention of historians specially to this
date.

But the foundation of the Order really dates from
May igth, 1802 ; and the first distribution of Crosses
was made in the Chapel of the Invalides, on July i5th
or i6th, 1804.

In spite of appearances to the contrary, the in-
stitution of the Legion of Honour was not incompatible
with the principles laid down in the Constitution of
1791, which " decreed the suppression in France of
all orders of chivalry and badges of distinction." For
though the decree is certainly worded in these terms,
we find, on reading the rest of the text, that the law
only referred to those Orders that implied distinctions

294

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 295

of birth, which, of course, was quite opposed to the
new principle of equality among citizens.

But further than this, the Constitution announced
the intention of creating a single National Order, to
be awarded, not for mere accident of birth, but for
personal merit, " founded on valour, talents, and ser-
vices rendered to the country."

It was this very distinction, conferable on military
men and civilians alike, that Bonaparte intended to
establish when he instituted the Legion of Honour.

When First Consul, he had really anticipated the
creation of this Order by issuing a decree (4th Ventose,
VIII.) that weapons of honour, such as muskets, swords,
carbines, and trumpets, should be given as a reward
for military services. These presentation weapons were
made in silver, or were silver-mounted, and had an in-
scription of the soldier's name, and the date of the action
in which he had distinguished himself. Later on, the
Council of State decreed that in case of the soldiers
dying without having disposed of these arms in a will,
they should be sent to the mayor of the district, who
was to give them into the hands of the heirs, or deposit
them in some " respectable place."

It would have been improper for a weapon of honour
to be put up to auction, or displayed discreditably
in the window of a second-hand shop.

When Bonaparte proposed the creation of the Legion
of Honour, which was to confer the same distinction on
both the military and civil services, " inasmuch as they
had an equal claim to the gratitude of the nation," he
met with the most violent opposition. It was contended
that the projected Order of Chivalry would lead to a
renewal of aristocracy, and that ribbons and crosses
were the baubles of sovereignty.

" I defy you," replied Bonaparte, " to point out

296 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

one single Republic, either ancient or modern, where
there have not been awards of distinction. They call
them baubles ? Well, it is by baubles that men are
led."

And the scheme which the Constitution of 1791 had
intended to realise was finally carried out by the First
Consul, who expressed the opinion that " it was necessary
to have one single distinction which would reward all
kinds of merit."

Bonaparte came in person to support the motion
in the Council of State, and this was adopted by the
Tribunal (50 votes against 38) and by the Corps Legis-
latif (166 votes against no).

The decoration of the Order has undergone various
modifications in the course of time and of different
regimes, but the following is a description of the badge
as Napoleon wished it to be, after the decree of July,
1804 :—

" The decoration shall consist of a star with five
double rays. The centre of the star, surrounded with
a wreath of oak, and laurel leaves, shall bear, on one
side, the head of the Emperor, with the legend : ' Napo-
leon, Emperor of the French ' ; and on the other, the
Imperial Eagle, holding a thunderbolt, with this other
legend : ' Honour and Country.' The badge shall be
enamelled in white ; shall be in gold for the grand
officers, commanders, and officers ; and in silver for the
legionaries. It shall be worn on a buttonhole of the
tunic, and attached to a red moire ribbon."

At first the Legion was only composed of a Grand
Council and sixteen cohorts, comprising seven grand
officers, twenty commanders, thirty officers, and 350
legionaries. In 1814 Louis XVIII. agreed to maintain
the Legion, for fear of making as many enemies as there
were legionaries in France ; but he replaced the effigy

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 297

of Napoleon by that of Henri IV., and the eagle by the
fleur-de-lys, and finally substituted the class of " Grand
Cross, or Grand Cordon," for the class of " Grand Eagle,"
which had been established by an Imperial decree on
January gth, 1805.

The Emperor having fixed the date for the distribu-
tion of the Crosses at the Boulogne Camp, the mayor
of the town, wishing to join in the demonstration to
be made on this occasion, addressed this stirring pro-
clamation to the inhabitants : —

" CITIZENS OF BOULOGNE, —

" The 28th Thermidor is the fete day of Napoleon,
to whom France has entrusted her happiness and glory.

" On that day, the men who have most distinguished
themselves are to receive the prize awarded to valour and
worth, at the hands of the greatest of all warriors and the
best of princes. Men of Boulogne ! A vast army is assembled
outside your walls. These brave men, so often victorious,
command our confidence. The army will fulfil its high
destiny. We have already given proof of our devotion to
Napoleon, and our admiration for the brave men he has
summoned here to punish England, and force her to submit
to the law of nations.

" The town of Boulogne must re-echo with our shouts of
joy, and with expressions of our love and gratitude to the
august monarch France has chosen.

" It is pleasant to reflect that the fete of the 28th Ther-
midor will take place on the anniversary of a glorious day,
for on this memorable date Nelson was defeated in the
Year IX. « MERLIN-DUBREUIL

" (Mayor),

" DUTERTRE AND Duj AT- WALLET

" (Assistants).
Thermidor, XII."

298 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Instead of giving the descriptions of the ceremony
from various books which the reader can refer to for
himself, I will quote from the narratives of two eye-
witnesses, who wrote their impressions on the very day
of the event. The following article appeared in the
Journal des D<?bats the day after the ceremony of August
i6th, 1804 : —

" I witnessed to-day the most magnificent martial
display ever made by any people, for the finest army
in the world was assembled under the eyes of the great
Chief who had so often led these men to victory, and
who was awarding them ' prizes of honour ' for their
valour.

" Not far from Boulogne (between Moulin Hubert
and Terlincthun), the ground shelves down into a hollow,
and the gradual slopes leading to it form a natural
amphitheatre, opening out towards the cliffs. A throne
was placed in the centre of the amphitheatre ; it was
uncovered, and simply adorned with trophies of arms
and flags, such as befitted a commander of soldiers.
The Emperor was seated on the throne of one of the
kings of the first dynasty, and had Prince Jerome on
his right. Behind him were the grand officers of the
Crown, and to the right and left of him were the Ministers,
Marshals of the Empire, and the Generals. His Majesty's
aides-de-camp stood in front on the steps of the throne,
and at the foot, seats were placed at the right, for Coun-
cillors of State and foreign officers, and to the left
for civil and religious dignitaries. The rest of the space
was occupied by the Imperial Guard ; by the band, on
one side, and 2,000 drums on the other ; and at the
extremities stood the General Staff of the whole army
and the General Staff of the different camps.

" From his throne the Emperor could see the two
camps, the batteries, the entrance to the harbour, and

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 299

part of the roadstead to his right ; while to the left
he had a view of Wimereux and of the coast of England.
In front were massed twenty columns and sixty regiments,
covering half the circle of the amphitheatre. In front
of these men, and closer to the throne, were stationed
the legionaries of all ranks and arms. The different
columns stretched over continually rising ground till
the extremity of each reached the summits occupied
by twenty squadrons in battle array. Behind these,
again, was an immense crowd of spectators, and also
the tents reserved for the ladies.

" The ordering of the ceremonial was perfectly simple
and most imposing. The Emperor left his pavilion at
midday, and his arrival was announced by a salute
fired from all the batteries along the coast. At the same
moment the sun burst out upon the scene, and the wind
that blew served to make the flags wave.

" The moment the Emperor appeared, the 2,000
drums beat a salute, while the cheers of the soldiers
and people proclaimed the enthusiasm excited by his
presence.

" Then the drums beat the charge, and all the columns
were instantly set in motion and closed in.

" Everyone was thrilled with martial ardour at this
splendid movement. The Grand Chancellor of the Legion
of Honour then made a speech, which was followed by
a rolling of drums ; after which his Majesty took the
oath.

" Then the whole army, moved by a spontaneous
outburst of feeling, repeated the oath of fidelity and
devotion, and ringing cheers of ' Vive I'Empereur / '
re-echoed from all the ranks, the soldiers brandishing
their weapons and waving their flags in manifestation
of their enthusiasm.

" The grand officers, commanders, officers and

300 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

legionaries then moved towards the throne, and were pre-
sented by the Minister of War to the Emperor, who
handed the Badge of the Eagle to each individual hero.

" It was grand to see the Marshals of the Empire,
generals, State Councillors, prefects, bishops, soldiers,
and sailors, in succession, receive the prize of honour
from the hands of the Emperor ; he knew them all,
and welcomed them as his companions in arms and
glory. Several officers held the Crosses, which were
placed in the shields and helmets of Duguesclin and
Bayard.

" Altogether, there was infinite charm and grandeur
in the whole scene ; first, the brilliant army of brave
men, the camps, and ports, that Napoleon had made ;
then the cliffs, re-echoing with me sound of the waves
and the roaring of cannon ; the white cliffs of England
in the far distance ; the rays of the sun piercing through
the clouds, to shine on the solemn scene ; the ships
of the enemy driven back by the gale and disappearing
through the mist of the horizon ... all these things,
combining with the magic of the Emperor's presence,
created an impression which it is impossible to express.

" One thing only was wanting to make the mag-
nificent picture complete. The fleet had been unable
to leave the harbour, but the Emperor's star had guided
one from Havre. Just as the columns were extending
and spreading on to the neighbouring slopes (so as to
form only one column, as the different brigades were
to march past, in succession, before the throne), a flotilla
of fifty sail, part of the Havre fleet, doubled the Point of
Alprech. All eyes were turned towards the sea, and
great joy prevailed at the sight of the tribute the ocean
was paying to the fete of the Empire ; the convoy, which
was six months overdue, arrived just at the solemn
moment.

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 301

" The Emperor spent the evening at the pavilion,
and all the legionaries were entertained at tables pre-
sided over by Prince Joseph, the Ministers of War and
of the Navy, Marshal Soult, and Admiral Bruix ; the
Emperor's health was drunk amid the greatest enthusiasm,
and a salvo of artillery from the coast batteries accom-
panied the toast.

" The fireworks had to be postponed till the next
day, because of the wind. There will be target-firing
practice and horse races during the day, and a ball at
the theatre in the evening."

On glancing over the wording of the oath of the
legionaries, such as it was determined upon by the
law of 29th Floreal, X., it seems clear that Bonaparte's
intention in creating the Order, was to establish, not a
privileged class, but a directing force, a kind of general
staff for the nation, rather than a body of men devoted
to his person.

No doubt, when the Crosses were distributed at
Boulogne, the Emperor desired that the oath of fidelity
to himself should be added to the usual formula. But
the ordinary wording was couched in the following terms
(by the law above mentioned), for the purpose of estab-
lishing the Order as the natural guardian and defender
of the institutions of modern France : —

" Every individual admitted in the Legion must swear,
on his honour, to devote himself to the service of the Republic
and the preservation and integrity of the territory ; to
defend the Government, the laws, and property ; to use
every means sanctioned by reason, justice, and the law, in
combating all enterprises which tend to the re-establishment
of the feudal system, and of the titles which belonged to
it ; and, finally, to co-operate to the utmost of his power in
maintaining Liberty and Equality."

The following narrative was written by a Boulogne

302 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

correspondent to the Journal de Paris, and although it
repeats several details already given in the preceding
account of the ceremony of August i6th, I will quote
some passages which serve to confirm the foregoing
description : —

" The Emperor had fixed the day of the ' Feast of
St. Napoleon ' for the distribution of the Crosses . . .
and the army was made responsible for the pomp and
dignity of the ceremonial. The site for the display
was chosen close to the Emperor's pavilion, and the
natural formation of the ground was especially suited
to the grouping of the 100,000 men who were to take
part in the show, and enjoy the grand spectacle them-
selves. The general plan of the place resembled that
of an antique theatre, the tiers of which were represented,
in this case, by the natural slope of the land.

" The throne of the Emperor was placed in the centre,
and raised on a mound, after the ancient custom that
prevailed in the camps of the Caesars, when they wished
to harangue their troops. The platform on which it
stood was sixteen feet square and eight feet high, and
surrounded with flags surmounted with golden eagles.

" In the middle of the platform, stood the ancient
chair of King Dagobert ; flags and standards taken at
Montenotte, Arcole, Rivoli, Castiglione, the Pyramids,
Aboukir, and Marengo were grouped so as to form a
canopy to the throne. In the centre of this trophy,
was the suit of armour of an Elector of Hanover, and
a garland of gold laurel leaves formed a huge wreath
over the whole. Prince Joseph, the Ministers, Marshals
of the Empire, admirals, grand officers of the Crown,
and generals, stood around the throne ; and in the rear
of this brilliant group were stationed captains, from all
the army corps, holding flags. The Grand Chancellor
of the Order was at the foot of the throne, and the aides-

304 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

de-camp, stationed on the sixteen steps leading up to
it, received and transmitted the Emperor's orders ;
below the aides-de-camp were two groups of legionaries
who had already received the Cross, and the enemies'
flags arranged as trophies, waved above their heads.
The Crosses were placed in the helmets and shields
of Bayard and Duguesclin. I saw more than one man
touch Bayard's shield reverently with his lips, observing :
' I am to receive the meed of valour from the armour
of the truest of knights ! ' "

I must add a few supplementary lines taken from
Bertrand's " History of Boulogne," which will serve
to explain the placing of the army on this occasion : —

" In rear of the platform was the Imperial Guard,
flanked on one side by the military bands, and on the
other by 2,000 drums ; and at each extremity of the
line were the general staffs of the different camps. The
line, which was about 300 yards (150 toises), was the
base of the semi-circle on which the army was stationed.

" Sixty regiments radiated in twenty columns from
the centre, and reached as far as the summit of the
slopes, which were occupied by twenty squadrons in
battle array."

Among the details mentioned by all the contempo-
raries respecting the ceremony of August i6th, is one
that deserves special notice. The Emperor, they say,
was seated on the ancient throne of King Dagobert,
and the Crosses of the Order were deposited in the
time-honoured helmets and shields of Duguesclin and
Bayard.

The author considered the question sufficiently in-
teresting to warrant his making some researches on the
subject, and hoped, naturally, to find documents relating
to it in the offices of the Grand Chancellor of the Order ;
but, unfortunately, most of the records were destroyed

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS.

305

by fire in 1871. However, the foregoing narratives of
eye-witnesses are sufficiently authenticated by the fact
that they were reproduced textually in the Moniteur
Universel of the period, and also in the " Annual
Record of the
Legion of Hon-
our ' for 1805,
published by
Lavallee and
Perrotte. Added
to this, the fact
that "the Crosses
were deposited
in the helmets
and shields of
Duguesclin and
Bayard" is men-
tioned by the
various chronic-
lers of the Order :
Mazas, de Cham-
beret, Bonneville
de Marsangy.

Still, the au-
thor wanted to
know where these
precious relics
are kept at pre-
sent. The director of the Military Museum informed
him in a letter, of December I2th, 1905, that the armour
of the two illustrious warriors is not in that museum.

The old catalogues do, it is true, allude to Bayard's
armour and Duguesclin's sword, but the new catalogues
make no mention of them.

As for the historical chair of King Dagobert, of which

THRONE OF DAGOBERT.

Used by Napoleon when he distributed the Crosses of
the Legion of Honour at Boulogne.

306 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

we give an illustration, it is kept in the room of an-
tiquities in the " Bibliotheque Nationale " — so the author
was informed in December, 1905, by the Director of
National Museums.

Referring to the form of Oath for the Legionaries,
which was pronounced by the Grand Chancellor (Count
Lacepede), the Moniteur Universel of August igth,
1804, published the following : —

" The Emperor, in administering the oath to the
members, added these words to the usual formula :
' And you, soldiers, do you swear to defend, at the
peril of your lives, the honour of the French name, of
your country, and of your Emperor ? ' One hundred
thousand voices shouted in response : ' We swear ! '
And in the same moment the soldiers, swayed by excess
of enthusiasm, raised their shakos and bearskins on their
bayonets and waved them frantically in the air, shouting
over and over again, ' Vive VEmpereur ! '

" The Emperor himself handed the Crosses to all
the military men and to the religious and civil function-
aries who had won the distinction. The whole army
then marched past the throne, taking three hours to do
so. The Emperor did not leave the throne until seven
o'clock."

Napoleon, in accordance with the principles which
had prompted him to re-establish religious worship in
France, desired that a place of honour should be reserved
for the clergy on this solemn occasion. Accordingly,
when he and General Bertrand settled upon the main
features of the great ceremony, he ordered that the
church dignitaries should be grouped immediately next
to the throne.

He also directed that a solemn Te Deum should be
sung in the Church of St. Nicolas on the very day of
the distribution of the Crosses. The Bishop of Arras

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 307

officiated with great pomp, and the Emperor, wishing
to prove his friendliness towards the head of the clergy
in the district, nominated the Prelate among the very
first of the Legionaries who were to receive the Cross from
his hands.

The display of fireworks arranged for the evening of
the fete had to be postponed, because of the gale that
had sprung up towards the end of the ceremony.

" The next day, at nine o'clock, a loud report from
the Left Camp gave the signal for the display, and the
rampart and cliffs of the Tour d'Odre were very soon
thronged with spectators. The Emperor went to his
pavilion, and in an instant the sky was lit up with
thousands of luminous bombs and innumerable rockets,
while 15,000 Roman candles shot up their stars in a
ceaseless stream from the Left Camp. Subsequently,
the town* ramparts, and triumphal arches were all
illuminated, and a brilliant ball closed the fete, in which
had been displayed all that is most imposing in military
pomp."

To commemorate the distribution, a small marble
obelisk was erected at the expense of the State on the
very spot which the Emperor's throne had occupied ;
it stands a short distance out of Boulogne, about two
hundred metres off the road leading to Wimereux,
and is known in the district under the name of " Napo-
leon's Stone." There are several inscriptions on the
monument. Facing south are the words : —

SITE OF THE THRONE OF NAPOLEON FlRST

FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE CROSSES OF

THE LEGION OF HONOUR, l6TH AUGUST, MDCCCIV.

The side facing east is engraved with a design of a cross
of the Order. On the northern side is the following
inscription :—

308 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

LOCUS
QUO STETIT SOLIUM NAPOLEONIS I. IMP. AUG.

INSIGNIA LEGIONIS HONORIFIC,

XVII. KAL. SEPTEMBR A. MDCCCIV.

DE SUGGESTU DISTRIBUENTIS.

Lastly, on the western face, is a plan of the disposition
of the troops round the Imperial throne. As it now
stands, this monument is the third which has been
erected on the same spot in commemoration of the event.

The members of the Agricultural Society of Boulogne
acquired this historic ground at a time when it was still
possible to trace, from what remained of the earthworks,
the exact spot where the Emperor had stood.

The modest owners of the property determined to
mark the spot by raising a monument in memory of the
event ; and having collected a certain sum among them-
selves, erected a block of marble, engraved with the
date 28th Thermidor, XII., and surrounded by a wreath
of laurels, with the Cross of the Legion of Honour.

The humble little monument was destroyed after
the events of 1815, although the Government main-
tained the Order and continued to award the distinction.
This inconsistency lasted for fifteen years.

Then came the Revolution of 1830, when it was
suggested that the monument should be restored ; and
the Agricultural Society, together with the National
Guard of Boulogne, raised a new stone over the remains
of the first, on October 24th, 1830. On one side was the
date : " 28 Thermidor, Year XII.," and on the other :
" Solemn Distribution of the Crosses, 16 August, 1804."

The other memorable event that took place at
Boulogne in 1804 was the laying of the foundation stone
of the great column, which was erected by the Grand Army
as a mark of admiration and devotion to the Emperor.

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 309

On September 2ist, 1804, Marshal Soult, Com-
mander-in-Chief of the troops, issued an Order of the
Day, of which I give a few extracts : —

" Headquarters of Boulogne.

" The troops of the camp at Boulogne wishing to give
a proof of their admiration and devotion to the monarch
who rules over the destinies of France, have resolved :

" To erect a monument, capable of resisting the ravages
of time, in order to perpetuate the memory of his greatness
and glory ; and to testify to their love and fidelity to the
First Emperor of the French, before all the world and all
generations.

" To raise a memorial, for all time, of our hero's creation
of an Order to reward honour and bravery.

" And, lastly, to consecrate the spot where the Emperor
Napoleon came to share the work and hardships of his
soldiers, to train them for new conflicts, and to prepare
the way for the success of his vast enterprise."

In accordance with the wishes of the army, the
Commander-in- Chief decided on the following pro-
gramme : —

" A column 50 metres high shall be erected on a quad-
rangular pedestal, with a colossal statue of H.I. Majesty on
the summit.

" The statue of his Majesty shall be in bronze, and shall
represent him clothed in the Imperial robes, with crown and
sceptre.

" The column shall stand between the Emperor's head-
quarters at the Tour d'Odre, and the camp of the first
division, in full sight of the Continent, and in face of the
Channel and the British Islands.

" The foundation stone shall be laid on i8th Brumaire
next, on the anniversary of the regeneration of France under
the government of Napoleon the Great.

" The Marshal Commander-in-Chief,
" SOULT."

310 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

To retain the character of the memorial as an offer-
ing of the army to their chief, it was decided to defray
the expenses of its erection by deducting a day's pay
every month from each of the officers, and half a day's
pay from the non-commissioned officers and men of
the Army and Navy.

Napoleon was much touched on being informed of
these resolutions, and bade Marshal Soult inform the
officers and men that " the monument the army proposed
erecting, in honour of the camp at Boulogne, would serve
to mark the epoch for the military events that were
to follow, the glorious results of which would compensate
for all the dangers and hardships incurred."

The Navy also published the following Order of the
Day on November 8th, 1804 : —

" Order of the Day of the Imperial Fleet, concerning
the laying of the foundation stone of Napoleon's column :

" The Army having resolved to erect a monument to
the glory of our monarch, and to perpetuate thereby the
memory of the great expedition which his powerful genius
conceived and planned, the admiral, acting on behalf of
the officers and sailors of the Imperial fleet, has expressed
to Marshal Soult their wish to take part in this testimonial
of gratitude and admiration, now being offered to his Majesty.
Marshal Soult, in his own name and in that of the army, has
readily accepted the wishes of the fleet.

" The foundation stone will be laid to-morrow, the anni-
versary of the i8th Brumaire, at 9.30 a.m. ; the prefect, the
general officers, and the staff officers of the fleet will there-
fore meet at the admiral's quarters, to accompany him to
the quarters of Marshal Soult, and from thence to High Mass,
which will be celebrated in the parish church of Boulogne.
On leaving the church, everyone will proceed to the site chosen
for the erection of the monument.

" A detachment of a hundred naval gunners, with their
flag, commanded by a captain ; and 100 sailors, in full dress,

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 311

commanded by a naval lieutenant, will proceed at ten o'clock
to the Plateau of the First Division at the Tour d'Odre.

" The ceremony over, the troops will march past, and
then the admiral, accompanied by the officers above men-
tioned, will board the praam La Ville de Mayence, and dis-
tribute the Crosses of the Legion of Honour."

As the town of Boulogne wished to rival the two ser-
vices in their patriotic zeal, the municipal councillors
were convened to a special meeting on the I7th Brumaire,
the day before the ceremony, and the following resolution
was unanimously adopted : —

" Taking into consideration the facts that :

" A monument of majestic proportions, planned on a vast
scale, built of durable material, and fit to transmit to pos-
terity the deeds of the hero in whose honour it is to be raised,
is the only tribute considered worthy of being offered to
him ;

" That, the inhabitants of Boulogne should be guided
by the same sentiments as those which animate the troops
on this occasion;

" That, the Boulonnais have at last found an opportunity
of giving material proof of their devotion to the head of the
Empire, by uniting with the brave men who are to raise a
trophy to his glory . . . . "

Then the municipal council directed a committee
to offer on behalf of the town, " the exclusive property
of the land considered necessary to make a fitting
enclosure round the monument."

This proposal was accepted by Marshal Soult.

An official report of the municipal committee, dated
I7th Brumaire, XIII. , mentions that the site chosen
was about 200 metres from the Calais Road, and that
the area required was 4^- hectares (about u acres),
for which the town paid the sum of 18,000 francs. The
foundation stone was a block of marble, about 31 inches

312 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

by 23, and 10 inches thick ; it had the following in-
scription :—

FOUNDATION STONE

OF THE MONUMENT ERECTED

BY THE EXPEDITIONARY ARMY OF BOULOGNE

AND THE FLEET

TO THE EMPEROR NAPOLEON.

LAID BY MARSHAL SOULT, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF,

l8 BRUMAIRE, XIII. (6 NOVEMBER, 1804),
ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE REGENERATION OF FRANCE.

Immediately after the solemn celebration of Mass,
the detachments, representing the whole army and the
fleet, marched to the scene of the ceremony, where they
formed square ; the Marshal in command, escorted by a
grenadier from each regiment, then proceeded to lay the
first stone of the column, the foundations of which were
dug six metres deep in the earth.

On the 25th Pluviose, Marshal Soult demanded of
the Emperor "the requisite bronze for the bas-reliefs
of the monument, which the army will replace at the
enemy's expense."

And, sure enough, after the battle of Austerlitz, the
Marshal forwarded 49,000 kilos of bronze, taken on the
battlefield, to Napoleon with these words : —

" I borrowed some bronze for the Napoleonic column,
and herewith return the capital with interest."

Later on, Marshal Soult issued an order, dated
December I4th, 1807, from Elbeng, by which a general
statement was published of all monies received since
the starting of the subscription among the soldiers of
the camp, and the sailors of the fleet, at Boulogne.
The sum total of the subscriptions, which had been
collected by the pay-masters, amounted to 1,408,578
francs 30 centimes, on October ist, 1810.

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 313

In 1814, the column — which, it was supposed at
first, would only take four years to build — had only
reached a height of 19 metres, and large sums were
still required for the completion of the monument.

But instead of helping towards its completion, the
Government, on the contrary, in 1815 confiscated the
bronze intended for the bas-reliefs, and had it cast
into a statue of Henri IV.* The statue of Napoleon by
Houdan, which was already completed, was broken up,
together with the bas-reliefs. As for the edifice in course
of erection, it was decided to turn it into a lighthouse,
under the supervision of the Civil Engineering Department.

When this decision was made known, it aroused
a good deal of feeling among the people ; numerous
petitions were made, and an urgent protestation was
addressed to the Due d'Angouleme, till finally the
works were again started in 1819.

Then the question was raised as to what should be
placed on the summit of the column — a statue of Louis
XVIII. or of Henri IV. ? It ended, from motives of
economy, no doubt, in the selection of a mere globe,
with a royal crown and fleur-de-lys ornamentations,
which was placed at the top of the monument in August,
1824, and it was then called the Column of the Bour-
bons. However, in 1830, it was determined that the
column should be completed at last, and restored to
the purpose for which it was originally intended.

Some wished it to be called the Napoleonic Column ;
others, the Column of the Grand Army. The Minister,
being anxious to humour all parties, decided in favour
of the latter appellation.

" In 1838," writes M. le Cat, " the Minister Monta-
livet directed Denis to cast a new statue of Napoleon,
which he had commissioned Bosio to model. This

* The one on the Pont-Neuf in Paris.

314 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

statue was erected on the banks of the Seine, opposite
the Invalides, at the time of the Emperor's obsequies ;
then it was sent to Boulogne, where it was inaugurated
on August I5th, 1841."

Just as it was about to be hoisted into position, it

COLUMN OF THE GRAND ARMY.

was discovered that some malevolent person had taken
advantage of the darkness of the preceding night, to carve
the word " Waterloo " on the left eye-ball, which they
were only able partially to erase.

The monument, when completed in September, 1845,
consisted of a platform at the base 33 metres square,
of a Doric column, and the acroterium on which stood
the Imperial statue.

TWO MEMORABLE EVENTS. 315

The whole erection measures 53 m. 60 in height.
The shaft is about 4 metres in diameter, and entirely
built of Boulonnais marble, so-called Napoleon marble.
The Emperor's statue, in Imperial robes, stands over
3J metres high. The weight of the bronze alone is
7,500 kilos. The top platform (140 metres above sea
level), which is reached by a winding staircase of 265
steps, gives a splendid panoramic view of the country
and roadstead ; and on fine days the coast of England
stands out clear and distinct upon the horizon.

Napoleon neglected no methods which he thought
might serve to stimulate the zeal of his soldiers ; this
was why, for instance, he would on occasion, and without
fear of ridicule, fasten the Cross of the Legion of Honour
on the breast of women warriors who had distinguished
themselves by some particular act of bravery.

I must quote, as an example, the case of a woman
who was made a corporal, a sergeant, and a sub-lieutenant
in succession, and was finally awarded the Cross of the
Legion of Honour, which the Emperor handed to her
himself.

Marie-Jeanne Schellinck was born at Ghent in 1757,
and was thirty-five when she enlisted in the French army,
in April, 1792. She joined the 2nd Belgian battalion,
composed of Belgian patriots who had rebelled against
the dominion of Austria, and were outlawed in conse-
quence. Marie Schellinck became a corporal on June
i5th, 1792, and took part in the Belgian campaign,
during which she received six sword-cuts at the battle
of Jemmapes. Owing to her great courage, she was
made a sergeant on December 7th, 1793, and continued
to serve under Jourdan. In 1795 she fought in
Holland ; then she joined the army of Italy under
Bonaparte's orders, and was mentioned in the Order
of the Day of the battle of Arcole. She fell into the

316 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

hands of the enemy on March 3rd, 1797, was im-
prisoned in Austria, and only returned to France
on June nth, 1798. After taking part in the battle
of Marengo, she joined the army at Boulogne in 1804.

The following year, she went through the Austrian
campaign, and fought at Austerlitz, where she was
wounded in the leg by a bullet, December 2nd, 1805.
She was rewarded for her valour by being promoted
to the rank of sub-lieutenant, on January 9th, 1806 ;
and subsequently the heroine was again wounded at
the battle of Jena, on October I3th, 1806.

Finally, Napoleon showed his appreciation of Marie
Schellinck's valuable services, by conferring on her the
Order of the Legion of Honour. As he handed her the
Cross he said : " Madame, I grant you a pension of 700
francs, and make you Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
Receive, at my hands, the Star of the brave, which you
have so nobly won." Then turning to his officers, he
added : " Gentlemen, salute this brave woman with
respect ; she is one of the glories of the Empire." *

What could better serve to excite the zeal of
the soldiers, or be more conducive to proper rivalry,
than this tribute paid to feminine courage before the
assembled troops ?

* Marie Schellinck returned to her country and lived to the age of eighty-
three.

CHAPTER XVII.

Explanation of Nicknames " Boney " and "Fleshy" — Bonaparte
and Gulliver — English Roast Beef and Plum Pudding —
French Soup — French Frog Eaters — Caricatures of the
Flotilla, the Grand Army, and the Intended Invasion.

FROM the moment that Bonaparte began to play a pre-
ponderating part in the affairs of the Continent, the
hostility of England betrayed itself by a multitude
of caricatures, lampoons, and pamphlets, which were
scattered broadcast, either by those in the pay of the
English, or by the partisans of the Bourbons.

In France, these satirical productions — which were
very soon intercepted — did not diminish in the least
the popularity of the man they were intended to
damage : in England, the dealers who sold these
prints made !a fortune by the trade.

However, in spite of the number of these prints that
were issued in the course of many years, collectors can
find but a limited number of them nowadays ; because,
during the Empire the police, acting under orders, had
sought out and destroyed everything that cast ridicule
on the sovereign, knowing well that in France they may
forget faults and even crimes, but that ridicule is a
deadly weapon.

A great variety of satirical drawings are preserved
among the portfolios of the Carnavalet Museum and the
Bibliotheque Nationale, among the curious publications

318 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

of M. Grand Carteret (" Napoleon in Pictures "), and
also in English and French private collections — and
they are all of a violently personal nature. In fact,
the envenomed point of the artist's pencil vied with
the pen, dipped in gall, which had written the legends
to the pictures.

Take, for instance, the titles alone of some of the
prints : a whole vocabulary might be compiled from
the abusive epithets scattered over the illustrations
of " Boney " the accursed Corsican : —

The Corsican Monkey.

The Corsican Worm.

The Corsican Beggar.

The Corsican Grasshopper.

The Corsican Spider.

The Corsican Juggler.

The Corsican Bloodhound.

The Corsican Toad.

The Corsican Fox.

The Corsican Tiger.

The Bonaparte Bear.

Crocodile Bonaparte.

The Invasion of Harlequin.

The Naughty Boy.

The Little Man Afraid of his own Shadow.

The Beast of the Apocalypse.

Boney quite Mad.

Tom Thumb at Bay.

Harlequin's Last Jump.

The Murderer of Madame Republique.

The Political Butcher.

Napoleon the Small.

The Double Charlatan.

The Butcher of Corpses.

The Devil's Favourite. ^

Bonaparte, Brigand Chief.

" BONEY " AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 319

For many years the English caricaturists, Gillray,
Rowlandson, Cruikshank, and a host of anonymous
draughtsmen, used their pencils — not without profit-
in a satirical campaign against the Bonaparte they all
detested, and who was popularly known in England
under the name of " Little Boney."

But whence this name of Boney ?

In the first place it is the abbreviation of Bonaparte,
and we may also ask ourselves whether the success of
this appellation was not due, in a great measure, to a
peculiarity which appears to me very suggestive.

For, on looking over the collections of the caricatures
drawn at this period, the first thing that strikes one is
the extreme thinness of the General and First Consul,
who is represented by the artists as an emaciated per-
sonage with sunken eyes, protruding cheek bones, and
skeleton arms and legs. In contrast to this puny,
sickly creature, they complacently depict the corpulent
subjects of King George carving a huge sirloin of beef,
or stuffing down large mouthfuls of an appetising
pudding.

In fact, these national dishes play a most prominent
part in many of the caricatures : some even explain that
the real reason why Bonaparte wished to invade England,
was, so that he might have the chance of eating a good
underdone roast, instead of being restricted to a scanty
fare of frogs.

On the other hand, the caricatures drawn of Napoleon
towards the end of his life, gave him the aspect of a
heavy man with a large protuberance (which was correct
as far as that goes), and in these he is called no longer
Boney, but Fleshy. For instance, one print in particular
is entitled " Fleshy, formerly Boney."

This distinction between the two nicknames would
seem to make the full meaning of the first quite clear.

320 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Still, the epithet of " Boney " was popularly used till
the fall of the Empire, and we come across it in a whole
series of prints dating from 1812, 1814, and even from
1815 — in this one, for instance, " Boney in the Waterloo
Cauldron." (June, 1815.) Then, again, the English
humourists indulged in more or less happy attempts at
puns, poking fun now at " Apollo " (Napoleon), now at
" Talley " (Talleyrand), or " Bone-a-part " (sic) ; and,
as we shall see later on, an author even went to the
length of giving a double meaning to a shout for mercy,
" Misericorde ! " which he puts into Bonaparte's mouth,
" misery " and " cord " !

But it was especially at the time of the Boulogne
Camp that the caricatures swarmed, their object being
to stir up public feeling against this alarming personage,
the Corsican pest and dreaded scourge.

For he was now no longer merely the victorious
general of Italy and Egypt, but the bold invader threaten-
ing England, a few leagues distant only from the coast,
and ready to face all perils with his host of brave men,
who were intoxicated with continual success, and could
not believe in the possibility of any check.

In some of the prints published both in England
and Germany, Bonaparte is caricatured in various
situations taken from " Gulliver's Travels," which
offered endless appropriate allusions, affording comparison
with the events of the time. What indeed can be more
picturesque and full of meaning and imagination, than
the travels in which Gulliver finds himself, first a giant
in the kingdom of the Lilliputians, and then a pigmy
among giants ?

The print which represents Napoleon drawing a
fleet of nutshells in his wake, with pieces of string (see
illustration), recalls Swift's hero towing King Blefuscu's
fleet into the port of Lilliput, holding in his hands

" BONEY " AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 321

the packthread cables with which the ships were
fastened.

In order to understand the allusion which the carica-
turist intended thereby to convey, fifty years after the
death of Swift, we must remember that " Gulliver's
Travels " was, above all, a satirical pamphlet on the

BONAPARTE AND THE FLEET OF NUTSHELLS.

politics of his time : the dissensions between the Whigs
and Tories, for instance, are represented by the faction
of the Low-heels and High-heels ; Walpole is easily dis-
cernible in the character of the Lilliputian Minister ;
and the quarrels of Papists and Protestants are depicted
in the struggles between the Big-endians, who maintained
that eggs should be broken on the larger end, and the
Small-endians, who contended that they should be opened
at the smaller end. Another illustration :

When Gulliver, the adventurer, went on his second
voyage he landed on the shores of Brobdingnag, peopled

322 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

by a race of giants, who were governed by a wise and
patriotic prince. A print, taken from this incident,
casts ridicule on the invasion of England, by representing
it as a game causing much amusement to King George
and all his family. Bonaparte, in this instance, is
compared to Gulliver, on his trip to the giants' land,
and is seen manoeuvring his little boat in the cistern.
The author discovered an excellent proof of this inter-

THE CORSICAN GULLIVER

esting drawing in the museum at Boulogne, and was
able to have it reproduced for the present work.

Many were the satirical illustrations inspired by
Swift's great work — this one, for instance, " An Obstacle
in the way of the Corsican, or Gulliver and his Guide,"
in which Gulliver (Napoleon) climbs up a ladder to
reach the crown of the King of Brobdingnag (King
George) and is held in leash by a sailor armed with a
switch (1803).

Or again : " The little Princess and Gulliver," in
which the Brobdingnagian princess (Charlotte of Wales)

"BONEY" AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 323

pitches Gulliver into the sea for having the audacity
to try and snatch the royal crown from her grandfather.
In the " Watchman of Brobdingnag opposing the
Landing of Gulliver," King George himself turns the
light of the " Constitutional Lantern " on Bonaparte

KING GEORGE AND BONAPARTE.

and the invaders, whiqh suffices to put them 'all to flight

(1803).

In another drawing by Gillray, King George is holding
in his right hand a puppet representing Bonaparte, and
staring at him through a spy-glass to make out who in
the world this puny adversary can be ! In fact, the
humourists found material everywhere for their satirical
comparisons. One caricature represents the First Consul

324 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

carousing with his courtiers and feasting on the riches
of Albion. But just as he is about to devour some cakes,
drawn so as to represent the principal London monu-
ments, he is struck motionless with fear on seeing the
fateful words of Belshazzar's feast on the walls.

Gillray was not content to express -humour and caustic
wit in his drawings, for in one of them Napoleon's head
is shown on a pike, and the legend beneath it runs :
"Forty-eight Hours after Landing." Several of the
details in the drawing remind one of the bloodthirsty
picture representing the severed heads that were carried
through the streets of Paris, on the day of the taking of
the Bastille. Beneath the picture is a notice to this
effect : " Warning to adventurers ! Insurance policies
can now be taken out at Lloyd's by which, on payment
of a guinea premium, anyone will be entitled to the sum
of a hundred guineas, should the Corsican butcher still
be alive forty-eight hours after landing."

Then the following words are written across the
picture on the right : " Ha ! my little Boney ! What
do you think of John Bull now ? Pillage old England,
eh ? Make us all slaves, would you ? God bless your
cracked skull for thinking that John Bull would ever
allow your great jaws to devour his roast beef and plum
pudding ! "

This method of exciting the people, by calling their
attention to the danger their national dishes would
incur in the event of an invasion, was systematically
employed in a number of satirical pamphlets and carica-
tures of the period ; but these coarse pictures were only
intended for the populace.

Then, again, there is a drawing of a fat soldier, carry-
ing Bonaparte's head on the end of a pike, with these
three words summing up Gillray 's feelings : " Britons,
strike home ! "

"BONEY" AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 325

In England, and even in France, one sometimes has
the good luck to come across, in a print-seller's shop,
an amusing drawing of Gillray's, called " The Plum
Pudding in Danger, or State Epicures having a Little
Supper." Pitt and Bonaparte are here depicted in the
act of dividing the world between them. The statesmen
are seated opposite each other, and the pudding they are
attacking is the terrestrial globe, too small to satisfy
their insatiable appetites.

But why should Pitt be attacked as well as Napoleon ?
Because, it has been said, the enemies of the Prime
Minister accused him of favouring Bonaparte and of
having secret dealings with him.

But this interpretation is incorrect, for on examining
any good proof of the engraving, the real meaning of
the caricature is obvious : Bonaparte, wearing an absurd
feathered cocked hat, and looking somewhat disgusted,
is cutting a moderate slice, " Europe," out of the globe
with his sword ; while Pitt, with a jeering smile on his
countenance, helps himself to a good half, on which is
written the word " Ocean," as befits a nation that claims
the sovereignty of the seas.

Another allegory represents Napoleon dragging on
the nations in the wake of death ; before him, a skeleton,
playing on the violin, leads a sort of dance of death.
As for Napoleon himself, he is seen brandishing a sword
and pursuing his warlike course, trampling upon public
liberty, treaties of peace, the codes, the independence
of nations, and the rights of the people.

I will also mention one or two prints that are anything
but funereal : Bonaparte is seen crossing the sea at the
head of his grenadiers, each of whom is holding a musket
in one hand and an umbrella in the other, so as not to
get wet.

In another, Bonaparte and his generals and soldiers

326 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

are formed in line, passing buckets of salt water from
hand to hand, to be emptied in the Liane, so that the
Grand Army should get across the Channel dry-footed,
as did the Hebrews in the Red Sea.

" Pike or Gudgeon " — so says a well-known English
proverb : in other words, you must devour others or they
will devour you, according to a philosophy which has
little enough to do, it is true, with morality. And so the
artist outlines the coast of England with a series of pikes'
heads with gaping jaws, and the imprudent gudgeons
venturing near are swallowed up and serve to stock
a French " fried-fish " shop, which is evidently driving
a roaring trade on the top of the cliff.

Another print shows the French soldiers mounted on
porpoises and advancing in good order to conquer England,
which is seen on the horizon.

This quaint notion of porpoises being used as steeds
recalls an incident which really happened.

" Adjutant Quatremere-Disjonval, who at times
appeared insane enough to be locked up," writes the
Duchesse d'Abrantes, " once asked General Davoust for
an interview at Ostend, in order to impart to him some
wonderful plan he had conceived for transporting the
army across the Channel."

There appears to have been a dual personality in
this strange being, whom we find, at one time, so dis-
tinguishing himself in physics and chemistry as to be
made a member of the Academy of Sciences ; at another,
giving practical advice on the construction of gun-boats
for the expedition to Egypt ; now publishing works on
the use of spiders' webs for measuring the moisture in
the atmosphere ; then posing as a linguist and giving
opinions which caused him to be looked upon as a lunatic.
For instance, he maintained that the sounds in the human
language were originally based on the noise made by

" BONEY " AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 327

the instruments with which men drew water for their
needs ; and finally concluded that the signs of arithmetic,
music and the alphabet were all taken from the same
instruments. At one time he intended publishing an
important treatise on the subject.

" One day, after General Davoust had been reviewing
Friant's Division," writes the Duchesse d'Abrantes,
" Quatremere approached just as he was dismounting,
and presented him with a beautiful manuscript tied
with pink and blue ribbons. ' General,' he said, ' I beg
to offer a novel suggestion for transporting our soldiers
across the Channel : it is a safe and economical method-
somewhat unusual, perhaps — but still, heroic methods
are suited to a man like yourself.' '

As no one present happened to know Adjutant Quatre-
mere, the General took the memoir and began to read it.
This is how it commenced : " Who would have foreseen,
in times of old, and before these things came to pass,
that the ox would plough for man, that the dog would
hunt for him, that the horse would carry him, that the
elephant would obey him, that the falcon would be
subject to him — in fact, that the animals would alter
their habits to become slaves to man ? Yet so it is.
Water, so far, has proved of least use to man ; but
why ? The time has now come for us to conquer this
element and bring its inhabitants into subjection for the
benefit of the French army."

"Up to this point," adds Mme. d'Abrantes, "the
General might still suppose that there was something
worth reading in the memoir. But there was the sequel
to read ! "

Quoting Pliny as an authority, and basing his ex-
travagant theories on all that has been said concerning
the intelligence of animals, Quatremere concluded that
the fish, after all, is no less intelligent than a camel,

328 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

horse, or elephant. And if this is admitted, why should
not fish be trained like other animals ? Then, still citing
Pliny, and recalling the antique medals of Athens that
represent a view of the Piraeus and a dolphin carrying
a man on his back , the poor author announced his
proposition : Why not train a certain number of dolphins
(in other words, porpoises) to carry several companies
of sharpshooters across the Channel ?

Nothing could be easier, he proceeded to explain ;
the sailors could be made to fish for porpoises, and when
caught, they might be let loose in the dock and kept
well fed till they were tame — and there was a marine
cavalry all ready for crossing over to England !

Quatremere went on to explain how to make the
bridles, bits, and indeed the whole equipment of the
dolphins, for he still clung to this poetical term.

Such was the purport of the poor crazy memoir.

General Davoust read the work through while eating
his lunch.

" Florainville ! " he suddenly exclaimed, addressing
the chief of the gendarmes at his headquarters, " arrest
this madman Quatremere at once, and let two gendarmes
take him on foot from brigade to brigade, straight to
Paris." And the order was punctually carried out, in
spite of the protestations of the " inventor."

Another idea of Quatremere's was that the soldiers
should effect a mysterious entry into the enemy's harbours
by means of diving-bells. Perhaps Quatremere had a
vague glimmering notion of the future submarines among
the confused images in his brain. At all events, as
the motive power was still undiscovered at that time,
this grand scheme of his was not more practicable than
the rest of his inventions.

After Nelson's victory, France was chiefly concerned
in building a new fleet as rapidly as possible, and for

"BONEY" AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 329

this purpose she placed many orders for warships in
the Dutch yards. This gave rise in England to the pro-
pagation of a certain poster representing grotesque
figures hurrying to and fro with whole batches of little
boats and cannons, which were being brought to a fat
Dutchman to bake in his oven. In the background
John Bull, sturdy, stout and well fed, is shaking with
laughter and holding his sides, and beneath him are

VARIOUS SCHEMES FOR THE INVASION OF ENGLAND.

the words : " High Fun for John Bull ; or, the Republicans
put to their Last Shift."

A hideous and ragged-looking creature is emerging
from a huge kneading-trough, exclaiming : " You must
hurry up ! Nelson is taking our ships by the dozen."
On the trough itself is a whole series of words in
rhyme : ruination, botheration, confiscation, requisition,
plunderation (sic), limitation, execution, constitution,
fraternisation, naturalisation, expedition, abolition.

There is a very interesting drawing in the Boulogne

330 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Museum which summarises all the different plans — wise
or fantastic — that were conceived in the brains of French-
men during the First Empire in view of attacking
England. In this drawing (1803) are first of all air
balloons, preceded by kites, acting as scouts : this is the
fleet of airships.

Below these an innumerable fleet covers the Channel ;
the boats are packed so closely together that the sea is
scarcely visible ; on the right is the Boulogne belfry,
with Chappe's telegraphic apparatus on the summit ;
to the left a powerful squadron protects the English
coast and pours broadsides on the audacious nutshells :
this is the sea-route across to England.

Below these, again, is the submarine route, which is
really interesting, for a tunnel is represented joining
England to France beneath the Straits. The French
chariots, guns and troops, can be seen between the frame-
work of the tunnel making a secret advance to surprise
the enemy by a triple attack.

The idea of making a Channel tunnel had therefore
already been thought of as early as the beginning of
the last century.

In a print entitled "Boney's Journey to London"
(Boulogne Museum), it is asked why Bonaparte is so
long in coming. And the legend explains at the foot
of the plate that it is because he travels with his house
like a snail. The joke consists in representing him jour-
neying in a hut raised on four wheels, and sitting on
the box driving the grenadiers, who are harnessed to the
machine instead of horses.

A coloured print, dated 1803, represents " honest
Pat " giving Bonaparte a warm reception with blows from
his spade, just as he is emerging from the sea at the head
of his grenadiers. Beneath are the words : " The arrival
of the scarecrows, or giving them an Irish welcome."

" BONEY " AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 331

A little picture in the Boulogne Museum shows John
Bull in the act of dragging the First Consul towards the
gallows with a rope, in spite of his struggles ; at the same
time the flotilla is being blown up in the background
and is sinking beneath the waves. The legend runs thus :
"Johnny Bull giving Boneya Pull," and in a little scroll near
Bonaparte are the words : " Oh, misericorde ! John Bull ! "

The Coronation ceremony of 1804 seemed to aggravate
British hostility against the person of the Emperor.

Gillray's caricature of the coronation had an immense
success, and his illustration of the procession is really
worth recording : Talleyrand is seen limping at the head
of the cortege bearing the Emperor's genealogy, and
staggering beneath the weight of the parchments. Pope
Pius the Seventh follows, and is accompanied by Cardinal
Feschi, waving incense before the Emperor and Empress ;
the Sovereign is in the garb of a jester, and, as for Josephine,
she is made to look as dowdy and ungainly as can well
be imagined. Puffs of smoke issuing from the censer
are supposed to represent the following tributes offered
to his Majesty : Address from the Paris municipality ;
congratulations from Paris idlers ; obeisance of cowards ;
admiration of lunatics ; homage of the rabble ; con-
gratulations from French frogs. Behind the Imperial
couple are the ladies-of-honour, with this explanation
written beneath the group : " Former fish-fags." The
Imperial train is borne by obsequious kings, poten-
tates and princes, and a whole army of generals
closes the procession. On the canopy held above the
Imperial couple is the following amiable legend : —

" Redeunt Satania regna;
Jam nova progenies coelo dimittitur alto ! "

where the word Satania, differing from the Latin text,
and which everyone can understand, is emphasized.

332 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The epithet of " frog-eaters " was then — and is still,
in a way — the usual nickname in England for Frenchmen.
A coloured print, dated 1804, represents French
soldiers bringing sacks full of frogs to the gunners sta-
tioned along the shore. On the right of the picture an
Englishman is roasting an enormous sirloin, and at the
top of the illustration are these words : " The Great
Consul, in consideration of yourjpatience, has sent some

MEATY-PART.
(England.)

BONEY-PART.

live frogs and rich garlic from Saint-Cloud to cheer you,
for he fears it may be a long time before you get
the chance of eating roast beef on the other side of
the water."

There are constant allusions to frogs, as forming the
principal diet of the French, in the pictorial satires of
the times. For instance, in " The Frog and the Ox, or the
Emperor of Gaul in 1804," King George is represented
with an ox behind him, while Napoleon is accompanied
by a frog trying to swell itself out to the size of the ox.
John Bull is saying, jokingly : "He looks as though he

" BONEY ' AND ENGLISH CARICATURES. 333

were going to burst, but he will never become as big as
our bullocks ! "

The French are also frequently represented making
a scanty meal off nothing but soup, as in the illustration,
" Roast Beef and French Soup," dating from the time
of the First Empire.

The illustration on opposite page summarises all
that has been said on the subject of Boney, the
" emaciated frog-eater."

The Emperor continued to be a favourite subject
for caricaturists even during the period of his adversity.
He was then represented as a " cynical Devil," as a
" stout and stupid gardener," or, again, with drawn and
grief-stricken features, wearing the traditional " little
hat," very much out of shape and transformed into the
cap of an idiotic buffoon.

Hatred of the man did not diminish even when he
was vanquished and an exile, and remained implacable
to the " captured eagle dying on the fatal rock " up to
the last hour of his life.

CHAPTER XVIII.

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH ?

Admiral Bruix and the Chief of the Interpreters — Cuvelier de
Tri's Vocabulary revised by an English Spy.

A LITTLE matter of history, which, in view of the circum-
stances, is certainly not without interest, may here be
mentioned : Did the great organiser of the flotilla, who
hoped to reach the very heart of the British dominions,
know anything of the English language ?

The records of the first years of Bonaparte's life
have been searched and analysed so carefully, in their
minutest particulars, that it is possible to state exactly
the studies for which he showed most aptitude, and those,
on the contrary, in which he did not distinguish himself.

For instance, we know that at Brienne, which he
entered on May i5th, 1779, under the tuition of the
" Minimes " monks, the little Corsican was very proficient
in history and mathematics. But, though his science
master, Father Patrault, had reason to be very proud of
him, it does not appear that his German master, F. Kehl,
found him a very remarkable pupil.

In any case, he did not learn English in this estab-
lishment. When young " Paille-au-nez " * (a nickname
given him by his schoolfellows at Brienne) entered the
military college in Paris, there were three German pro-
fessors and one English, on the staff of teachers.
There, just as had happened at Brienne, he was the pride

* Because of the Corsican pronunciation of his Christian name, Napole-o-ne.

334

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH? 335

of his mathematical master, L. Monge, and his ready
understanding of history was a source of wonder to his
teacher, Deleguille ; but there, again, he drove his German
professor to distraction by the incapacity he displayed
in the study of this language, and honest M. Bauer had
no hesitation in calling him an " arrant fool."

As for the English language it is never even mentioned.
This much, then, we know of the " fiery little Corsican's "
studies during his youth, as far as foreign languages are
concerned.

Then, if we look back upon the last years of Napoleon's
life, we find that although he studied the English language
towards the end, he never learnt to speak it fluently.
" I had made up my mind to teach English to my son,"
writes Count Las Cases at Saint-Helena," and the Emperor,
to whom I happened to mention the progress he was
making, insisted on learning it also. I did my best to
work out, for his benefit, a simple method of learning
the language. All went well for several days, but the
tediousness of the study very soon became as intolerable
as the tedium it was meant to drive away, and English
was left alone. The Emperor, it is true, took me to task
on several occasions for not persevering with the lessons,
and I then observed that I had his dose ready for him,
if he would only make up his mind to swallow it."

Various documents show that even in August, 1815,
Napoleon was not able to make himself understood in
English. When he went on board the Northumberland,
he walked up to the officers, and saluted them very politely;
addressing Sir George Cockburn, he asked that the
captain might be introduced to him, and his wish was
at once complied with. Finding, however, that the latter
could not speak French, he addressed several officers
in succession, till he discovered a captain of artillery
who knew the language. Then Lord Lowther and the

336 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Honourable M. Lyttleton were introduced to him. But
before seeing these gentlemen, he had already expressed
a desire, by means of gestures, to be shown the modest
cabin he was to occupy. For though he had still been
treated as an Emperor while on board the Seller ophon,
when on board the Northumberland he was merely looked
upon as a general ; and besides his little private cabin,
he had no accommodation save the saloon, which he
shared with the admiral and the members of his suite.

Doctor Warden* mentions in his letters that Napoleon
addressed him in English on one occasion by saying,
" How do you do ? "

No doubt the Emperor was as capable as everybody
else of asking this simple question, but the very fact
of its being noted by Doctor Warden would prove that
the foregoing remarks are justified.

It has been said that he had at least acquired sufficient
knowledge to be able to read, or make out the meaning
of, the English newspapers and publications. That may
be so, but at what period ? We know from " Boney's " f
numerous English and French chroniclers, that the illus-
trious exile spent the morning of August i6th, for in-
stance, studying English with Las Cases — but that was
in 1816!

If Napoleon began to study the language at this
period, it was partly for want of occupation, and also
from a desire to ascertain the state of popular feeling in
England, with regard to himself. One newspaper would

* Surgeon on board the Northumberland.

t The nickname of " Boney " was made use of by the people, so that they
might talk of the exile without contravening the regulations enforced on the in-
habitants of Saint-Helena : " No one must mention the name of Bonaparte,
or make him the subject of conversation ; nor must any notice whatever be
taken of the restrictions his Excellency has thought fit, or may think fit, to
make, since the Congress has placed Bonaparte outside the pale of the law.
No one must speak to the members of Bonaparte's suite, as they have volun-
tarily submitted themselves to the conditions imposed on Bonaparte himself."

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH? 337

call him a liar, another a monster, and a third even called
him a coward.

A coward ! The man who led his soldiers at Essling,
and over the bridge at Arcole ! One can well imagine
the hero being interested in reading these estimates
of himself in the original. Lord Rosebery, in his
work on Napoleon, observes that the Emperor was
extremely sensitive to the criticism of the English
press. He insisted on having the insulting passages
translated to him, and when this was done he was
furious.

The same author mentions that at Saint-Helena Las
Cases gave the Emperor lessons in English for three
months, from January to April, 1816, after which they
ceased entirely. Already during the voyage, according
to Lord Rosebery, an attempt was made to start the
lessons, but it failed. Las Cases, who had himself some-
what forgotten the language since his return to France,
stated that his pupil succeeded, up to a certain point,
in understanding English when it was read out to him,
but that his pronunciation was so extraordinary that it
became a new language.

It seems certain, therefore, that though Napoleon
was able, at the end of his life, to understand English
more or less when it was read out, he was never able to
speak it fluently ; and it is no less certain that at the
time of the Boulogne Camp and the organisation of the
flotilla, Bonaparte was totally ignorant of the language
of Shakespeare and Nelson. As for the commander
of the expedition, Admiral Bruix, there is nothing in
the Memoirs written by his secretary to lead us to
suppose that he knew any other language besides his
mother-tongue.

But this is not to be wondered at, for if we look back
a certain number of years, withoutfgoing so far as the
w

338 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

First Empire, we find that the English and German
languages were then rarely cultivated, and that it is
only within a comparatively recent period that they
have been. so much acquired in France.

In fact, Frenchmen are not inclined by nature to
learn modern languages, and it is only because students
are compelled by the curriculum of schools and colleges
to study the foreign grammars, that they submit, more
or less willingly, to the task.

So it came about that the two supreme chiefs of the
Grand Army were in the unfortunate position of being
unable to ascertain for themselves a number of facts,
and a great deal of military information, simply because
of their ignorance of languages.

The seriousness of this drawback has not, perhaps,
been sufficiently considered, in summing up the reasons
whkh induced Napoleon, in 1805, to abandon the scheme
of invading England.

For what happens when an army invades a country ?
The troops raise their supplies in the enemy's land,
obtain intelligence wherever they can, and conform
their tactics to the information they are able to acquire,
perhaps by taking advantage of the bewilderment of
the women and the chatter of children.

If spies are caught, for instance, and despatches
opened, or orders intercepted on the way by the
officers, the whole campaign may turn on the gain-
ing of some piece of intelligence on which the fate
of an army corps may depend — at least on the Con-
tinent.

But in the event of the invasion of England, such as it
had been conceived in the plan — that is to say, with a
" multiplicity of attacks and the dividing into sections,
instead of great units of attack " — it is difficult to imagine
exactly how the innumerable elements of the flotilla

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH? 339

would have operated, had they effected a landing on
English soil.

The nature of the armaments adopted — as well as the
results of former engagements in the Straits — showed
that in case of the hostile squadrons engaging, dependance
had to be placed, in those days, upon boarding, in order
to secure a victory ; but nowadays, of course, the con-
ditions are totally different ; a few gigantic battleships
represent, in many cases, the total naval strength of a
nation, and the combatants on board these floating
citadels engage in action at a distance of several miles
from each other.

In order to fully understand the situation, it is necessary
to realise the special position in which the belligerents
would have been placed, if a real engagement had taken
place in the Straits.

The old inhabitants of the Boulonnais used to tell
the following story concerning the privateer Bucaille :
On one occasion, it appears, his ship was boarded by an
English crew, superior in numbers to his own. Bucaille,
seeing no other means of escape, raised a shout of " Blow
everything up ! " As soon as the English heard the
order to set the powder ablaze, they lost no time in
getting over the ship's sides, and making for their brig;
but owing to Bucaille's presence of mind, some of the
enemy remained in the hands of the corsair, who had
known how to make his words understood.

As the boats of the 'flotilla were numbered by the
hundred, the difficulty wa's to find a sufficient number of
interpreters for such a swarm of boats, especially as they
might be required to operate in separate sections.

The ignorance of the English language on the part
of the officers was a source of great anxiety to Admiral
Bruix. It was therefore decided to organise a body of in-
terpreters, whose duties were to consist in reading over

340 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

and translating the English papers and official and
private correspondence, and to teach the naval and
military officers the rudiments, at all events, of the
language.

The following order was published, in consequence,
on October 5th, 1803 :—

" A company of guide-interpreters, to consist of
117 men, shall be raised by voluntary enlistment for
the Army of England. Candidates must be at least
thirty-five years old, must be able to speak and translate
English, and have lived in England. The uniform
shall be as follows : green tunic (dragoon shade of
green), red facings, white doeskin breeches, American
boots."

The man who was entrusted with the special mission
of organising this corps, was named Cuvelier de Tri.
We find his name inscribed in 1789 as an advocate in
the seneschal's court at Boulogne.

He was sent to Paris for the " Federation " of July
I4th, 1790, and for thirty years (1794 to 1824, the year
of his death) he distinguished himself by writing plays
for the Paris theatres. He also wrote two volumes of
short novels, published in 1808, and among these is a
story in verse called " The Alley of Sighs, or the Ramparts
of Boulogne," with notes like the following: "It is
here (Boulogne) that I am awaiting the signal to make
a dash with our brave soldiers for the shores of our
eternal enemy." *

In connection with this, a former magistrate of Bou-
logne wrote, fifty years ago, the following words, which

* In 1804 a corps of guide -interpreters was formed of men to whom the
English language was familiar, in view of the projected invasion of England.
Cuvelier de Tri was given the command of the corps, and came to the camp
at Boulogne. He had journeyed several times to perfidious Albion. (Lit-
Review. Boulogne, June, 1865.)

CUVELIER DE TRI.
Captain in Command of the Guide-Interpreters.

342 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

confirm our own documents : " When Cuvelier de Tri
wrote the note in which he gives utterance to his martial
sentiments, he was commanding the guide-interpreters
at Boulogne, to which he was appointed by Admiral
Bruix, according to one of his own letters dated January,
1804."

The family of de Tri, or de Trie, was one of the very
oldest in the Boulonnais, and owned important estates
in the district. It was on the site of the Chateau de Tri
that the peace was signed (March 24th, 1550) with Henry
VIII. , by which Boulogne was given back to France.*
The present owners of the property on which the chateau
once stood,f discovered in the ground some remains of
old walls, showing that the place had once been fortified.
In fact it was supposed that these remains were con-
nected with the subterranean passage which is said to
have placed the chateau in direct communication with
the ramparts of the Upper Town, by passing under the
bed of the Liane river.

Cuvelier de Tri set himself at once to compile a concise
dictionary of all the words, expressions, and technical
terms which it was important that the officers — as well
as the soldiers, for that matter — should learn before
anything else ; and later on, if war left them any leisure,
they might then study the language more fully, were they
so minded.

He was much too sensible to imagine that Frenchmen,
who find it so difficult, as a rule, to master foreign tongues,
would be able to familiarise themselves with the English
language in a few months ; and besides, circumstances
might arise at any moment to precipitate impending
events.

Cuvelier, therefore, drew up a short lexicon for

* Peace of Outre Eau, signed under Henry II., King of France,
t In the Rue Constantine at Boulogne.

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH ? 343

the use of the officers who cared to avail themselves
of it.

But in spite of his great knowledge of English, he
had grave doubts as to the success of his efforts, on
realising the special difficulties of the task with which
he had been entrusted. For though Frenchmen are
helped, up to a certain point, by finding words with a
Latin derivation in the English language, their ingenuity
and aptitude for logical deduction avail them nothing
when they are confronted with expressions of Saxon or
Celtic origin.

Cuvelier's chief difficulty was to find equivalents
for the special terms used in the navy, and, as we know,
a simple word requires sometimes a whole complicated
sentence before it can be adequately rendered in another
language. Take, for instance, the idioms and conventional
expressions used in naval parlance : " In the doldrums, "
"hands aloft!" "to capsize," etc.,* together with a
hundred other nautical phrases equally expressive and
characteristic.

Cuvelier was much honoured, no doubt, by the
mission with which Admiral Bruix had entrusted him,
but he was rather nervous as to the reception his work
might meet with from Bonaparte ; he therefore began
by preparing a small English-French memorandum, in
which he intentionally gave prominence to a list of
words which, from their fortunate resemblance to
their equivalents in French, were not calculated to alarm
and discourage the first attempts of beginners.

The chief of interpreters was accordingly introduced
by Bruix to the First Consul. On being requested to
communicate the work he had prepared, Cuvelier com-
placently read out a series of words, belonging undoubtedly
to the category of those which it was necessary to learn,

* Faire chapelle- — en haut le monde ! — faire gribou.

344 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

but betraying a selection that was manifestly anything
but casual :—

Flotille, Flotilla ;

Semaphore, Semaphore ;

Grenade, Grenade ;

Lestage, Lestage ;

Horizon, Horizon.

And Cuvelier's peculiar emphasis of the words, as he
read them out, clearly expressed : " You see, it is really
not so very difficult, after all ! "

But Bonaparte, seeing through his little manoeuvres,
interrupted him suddenly and remarked drily : " Monsieur,
if the dictionaries are so very much alike, I really don't
see that there is any necessity for an interpreter."
Whereupon Cuvelier cut his enumeration short, and passed
on to another paragraph, which was not too discouraging
either :

" ' Convoi ' is pronounced convoy, * proue ' prow,
' cabestan ' capstan, ' cabine ' cabin, ' harpon ' harpoon.
You see," he added, " that a number of the words which
it is necessary to learn suggest their own meaning, and
with a very little attention— The humour of the

situation was increased when Bonaparte (was it mere
coincidence ?) inquired abruptly :

" And ' batterie ' is called ? "

" Simply battery ! " exclaimed Cuvelier, delighted
at being able to add another word to the list he had so
ingeniously selected.

" And the machine for raising heavy weights, a
' chevre,' what is that called in English ? "

" Crab," replied the interpreter, slightly disconcerted,
and lowering his voice a little.

"So a ' chevre ' is called crab." And after a long
silence, such as the fiery chief used sometimes to enforce

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH? 345

upon himself, when he felt it necessary to regain his
equanimity, he added calmly : " Monsieur the Chief
of Interpreters, I advise you to revise your work, and,
if necessary, get someone to help you."

" I don't quite see who could unless it

were an English sailor, perhaps."

" And why not ? " replied Bonaparte, who had
already found an idea.

A few days later, Cuvelier de Tri brought the dic-
tionary, considerably altered, to Admiral Bruix's quarters.
The following are a few specimens of the vocabulary,
which was arranged so that words and ideas of similar
meaning were classed together in various categories.
First came the principal parts of a vessel, and the objects
appertaining to them :

Amarre mooring rame oar

poulie block quille keel

voile sail croc hook

bouee buoy poupe stern

carene bottom gouvernail rudder.

Then came a list of the verbs most frequently used
in the navy :

tester to ballast hater to haul.

godiller to scull talonner to strand

nager to row hisser to hoist

capeler to fix jumeler to fesh

larguer to let go ftotter to swim

carguer to brail up limander to parcel.

A page was of course given up to military terms,
applying especially to the situation of the moment :

obus shell mitraille grape

brfilot fire-ship etoupille tube

grappin grappling hache axe

abordage boarding bataille battle.

346 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Just at the moment that Cuvelier was submitting
his dictionary for approval, the naval authorities arrested
a man who had formerly been a British seaman, and
had managed to obtain employment as a ship's carpenter
in the yards at Brecquerecque, after having occupied a
certain position in the British Navy.

Before very long, however, he was informed against
by his fellow- workmen, whose suspicions were aroused,
and was placed under arrest for the time being in the
Upper Town.

Bonaparte, having been informed of the incident,
ordered the supposed spy to be brought before him,
saying that he wished to examine him personally.

On arriving at the Tour d'Odre, the sailor, guarded
by a strong escort, was taken to the room adjoining the
First Consul's. Then Napoleon, raising his voice, and
addressing his officers, declared his firm resolve to exercise
the utmost rigours of the law on all spies that proved to
be French, as there was no excuse to be made for such
odious traitors ; with regard to strangers it was different,
and he would consider the question. Matters had been
so arranged that the prisoner heard every word that
Napoleon uttered, and, as everyone can understand, he
lost no time in declaring his British origin, while loudly
protesting against the charge of treachery.

But Bonaparte affected to believe that he was French,
and loaded him with reproaches, insisting on the point
that a man who betrays his own country is not sufficiently
punished by mere death, and deserves to be tortured
as well. Then, interrupting himself, as though struck
by a sudden idea : " You say you are English, do you ?
That you were once a sailor ? We shall soon see ! "
And picking up accidentally, as it were, the sheets on
which were the interpreter's technical terms, he handed
them to his officers. " Gentlemen," he said, " dictate

DID NAPOLEON KNOW ENGLISH? 347

these French words to that man, and he will give their
English equivalents. In an hour you will bring me the
translation ; we shall soon see whether he is lying or
not " — and then he went out.

On the following day, Cuvelier having presented
himself at the pavilion, the First Consul said to him :
' Your work is good — at least, that is the opinion of
one who is quite competent to judge."

The chief of interpreters was naturally rather curious
to know who the individual was who considered himself
qualified to correct his work, and ventured timidly to
inquire the name of the Boulonnais who had been
selected for the delicate task of revision. " It was an
Englishman who undertook to do it," replied Bonaparte,
laughing at the success of his stratagem.

" An Englishman ? "

" Exactly. And I assure you he devoted much
zeal and attention to the business, and showed remark-
able good will." And in a few words, he related the
episode to Cuvelier, who concurred all the more heartily
in praising the ingenuity of Napoleon's expedient, as
the result was wholly satisfactory to himself.

CHAPTER XIX.

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Letters written from Pont-de-Briques — From the Pavilion —
Letter to Josephine — Bonaparte's Writing — One of the
First Signatures of the Emperor.

THERE are no documents, however exact, that give such
an impression of life and reality as do the letters written
by Napoleon from the camp at Boulogne. In reading
them we can really judge of the man and the soldier,
and enter into his hopes and anxieties.

The letters written by Bonaparte from the Boulonnais
are many in number ; but I will merely cite those which
serve to initiate us into what one might call the inner-
most soul of the hero, during the fateful period that
elapsed between 1803-1805. The letters quoted here
are among the National Archives or the ministerial
records, and in private collections.

Instead of announcing his visits of inspection a week
or a fortnight beforehand — as is the usual custom with
our present-day functionaries, who are anxious to find
everything in order — Bonaparte, who always wished
to ascertain everything for himself, generally appeared
at the very moment when he was least expected.

" To CONSUL CAMBACERES.

"BOULOGNE, 15 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 5, 1803).
" I went on Friday to visit the harbour at Bou-
logne, and arrived quite unexpectedly. I took the

348

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 349

greatest interest in inspecting all the works and pre-
parations for the great expedition ... for at midnight
I was at it still.

" I spent most of the day in the roadstead, wher.e
we have over a hundred ships moored in line. . . .

" I am quartered in the very midst of the camp,
and on the brink of the ocean, whence I can take in,
at a glance, the distance which separates us from England.

" BONAPARTE."

He was ubiquitous, for in 1803 everything required
organising.

" To CONSUL CAMBACERES.

" BOULOGNE, November yth, 1803.

" On Sunday I spent the day visiting the new
ports of Ambleteuse and Wimereux, and making the
troops quartered there go through their manoeuvres.
The works are progressing satisfactorily. Ever since the
late engagement, the enemy has kept out of sight ; it ap-
pears that the ships returned to England to re- victual.
I went to-day to inspect the naval workshops in every
detail ; everything is in a most pitiable state. I have
just had one of the barracks transformed into a naval
arsenal, and have to give orders in the most trivial
matters.

" I spent several hours inspecting the troops, man
by man, and ascertaining for myself the condition of
the various effectives. There is still sufficient work
here to detain me for several days.

" BONAPARTE."

After spending his days in visits of inspection, he
curtailed his hours of rest in order to follow the night
manoeuvres.

350 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" To CONSUL CAMBACERES.

" BOULOGNE, November gth, 1803.

" I spent a portion of last night making the
troops practise night manoeuvres, for well-trained and
disciplined troops can sometimes perform such man-
oeuvres to great advantage in face of superior forces.

A flotilla of twenty-five ships has just reached us
from Havre. We expect at any moment, also from
Havre, another such fleet, which put in at Saint-Valery-
sur-Somme.

The Admiral has ordered the flotilla to come into
port, the sea being very rough. The wind is blowing
so violently from the south, that six of the gunboats
have been compelled to put into Calais. It is feared
that one of the boats, driven on the English coast by
the force of the gale, has been captured by the enemy.

" BONAPARTE."

Instead of giving vague orders, he stated distinctly
what was required : so many carts wanted for the works
in one place, or lodgings to be provided for workmen
in another.

" To ADMIRAL BRUIX,

" Commanding the Flotilla at Boulogne.

" BOULOGNE, November qth, 1803.

" Citizen Admiral Bruix, I am directing the Pre-
fect of the Nord to supply you with 200 carpenters,
and the Prefect of the Somme to supply you with 100.
These workmen will be sent you.

"It is absolutely essential to treble the present rate
of activity in the works at Ambleteuse. I have asked
the Prefects of the Nord and the Somme to send 200
and ioo carts respectively. These carts are intended

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 351

to accelerate the works at Ambleteuse. The army will
provide 2,500 workmen.

" The work of clearing out the Boulogne harbour
must also be pushed on with increased activity ; let
the number of workmen be doubled.

" Quarters must be provided for all these men, and
the proper plan would be to house them in buildings
like barracks. We should require sufficient accommo-
dation for a thousand men.

" BONAPARTE."

" To CONSUL CAMBAC£RES.

" BOULOGNE, 19 Bmmaire, XII. (Nov. n, 1803).

" Citizen Consul, I have received your letter of
the i6th. The auditor, Chabrol, has brought me the
report of the Council of State. The sea is horrible, and
the rain never ceases. I spent the whole of yesterday
inspecting the harbour, for there is always something
that requires looking after. Otherwise, I have nothing
to tell you. I expect the Minister of Marine either to-day
or to-morrow. It is essential that I should see him, in
order to ascertain the condition of the harbours at
St. Malo and Havre, and to decide on the measures to
be adopted.

" BONAPARTE."

" To CONSUL CAMBACERES.

" BOULOGNE, 20 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 12, 1803).

"Citizen Consul, I have just received your letter
of the 1 8th Brumaire. The sea is still very rough. I
imagine that the Seine must be rising at last.

" I spent the whole of yesterday at the harbour,
either on horseback or in a boat, which means that I
was soaked the whole of the day. But unless one is
prepared to face the rain at this season, one would never

352 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

do anything ; fortunately for me, it suits me perfectly,
and I have never been better in my life.

" I expect the Minister of Marine to-day, or to-
morrow at latest. An English frigate has gone down, with
all on board, between Boulogne and St. Valery. Many
of the ship's belongings were washed ashore, amongst
other things some documents.

" BONAPARTE."

He gave his attention to the smallest particular.

" To GENERAL SOULT,

" In command of the camp at St. Omer.
" BOULOGNE, 20 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 12, 1803).
" I observe that the soldiers have neither prickers,
charge-extractors, nor portable water-bottles, on their
knapsacks.

" You must take steps to provide each man with a
pricker, and every corporal with a charge-extractor ;
and see that each man carries a water-bottle on his
knapsack. The bottles should be able to hold a full
bottle of wine.

" BONAPARTE."

He remained ten days in Boulogne, as we can see
by the following letter : —

" To GENERAL AUGEREAU,

" Commanding the camp at Bayonne.
" BOULOGNE, 20 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 12, 1803).
" CITIZEN GENERAL AUGEREAU,

" I have received your letter of the 7th Brumaire.
I am giving orders to provide great-coats for all the
corps that are to take part in the expedition to Ireland,
of which you are to have the command. . . .

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 353

" I have ordered a letter of marque to be forwarded
as you desired. Send me a form of application containing
the name of the captain who is to command the privateer.

" I have been here for the last ten days, and have
every reason to believe that within a fair amount of
time, I shall attain the result that Europe is awaiting.
We have six centuries of insults to avenge !

" BONAPARTE."

The army had to be supplied with a great number
of various implements.

" To GENERAL MARESCOT, —

" First Inspector-General of Engineers.
" BOULOGNE, 23 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 15, 1803).
" CITIZEN GENERAL MARESCOT, —

" Please collect at Boulogne, as quickly as pos-
sible, 27,000 pioneers' implements. They must be fitted
with handles, and you must be quite sure that they are
of the best quality. They are intended to be put on
board, in the proportion of twenty-seven tools to each
vessel, and should be divided into the requisite number
of shovels, pickaxes, mattocks, and axes. You must be
careful to have none but tools that will wear well, and
to store them as near as possible to the harbour, so as
to facilitate their shipment. You should have an equal
number of each of the tools placed on board the trans-
ports.

" BONAPARTE."

" To CONSUL CAMBACERES.

" BOULOGNE, 24 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 16, 1803).
" CITIZEN CONSUL, —

" The Minister of Marine arrived the day before
yesterday. I have spent the last three days in the

354 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

camps and at the harbour. Everything here has taken
a start, and is advancing in the right direction.

" I saw the coast of England from the heights of
Ambleteuse as distinctly as one can see the Calvary
from the Tuileries. I was able to distinguish the houses,
and even objects moving. It is merely a ditch that will
be crossed when we are bold enough to attempt the
enterprise. The Seine must be in flood in Paris. It
has never ceased raining here. There are over 200 ships
at St. Malo in the roadstead, ready to set sail to join us.
I hope that one division may arrive to-day.

" BONAPARTE."

" I saw," Bonaparte wrote, " the coast of England
from the heights of Ambleteuse as distinctly as one
sees the Calvary from the Tuileries." What Calvary was
he alluding to ? It seemed to me that the question was
worth investigating.

Many have supposed that he was thinking of the
Calvary at Montmartre ; but this is an error, for that
was only erected in 1840. The Calvary which Bonaparte
refers to is the one that stood on Mont Valerien. In
former days three crosses had been raised there by some
hermits ; and in the seventeenth century a community
of monks settled near the spot and founded a monastery,
which was called " The Calvary," from its vicinity to
the Crosses.

The monastery was suppressed at the time of the
Revolution and afterwards re-established, but was
destroyed when the fortress was erected there in Louis
Philippe's time.

There are several views of the Mont Valerien Calvary
in the collection of old prints in the Carnavalet
Museum.

In 1803, the Palace of the Tuileries (from which

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 355

Bonaparte could see the Calvary) was quite complete,
including the two pavilions of Flora and de Marsan.

At the time of the Revolution, the Palace was just
as Louis XIV. had left it. Louis XV. and Louis XVI.
had made no alterations, and Bonaparte confined him-
self to repairing the apartments which he was to inhabit.
It was on February igth, 1800, that he established him-
self at the Tuileries with the third Consul Lebrun.

The latter was quartered in the pavilion of Flora,
while the First Consul occupied a portion of the palace
situated between that pavilion and the central one, in
which was the Hall of the Marshals. Josephine's apart-
ments were on the ground floor, on the side looking out
on to the gardens.

In some of his other letters, the First Consul concerns
himself with the material welfare of the Grand Army.

" To CITIZEN CHAPTAL,

" Minister of the Interior.
" BOULOGNE, 24 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 16, 1803).

" The roads of communication at Boulogne have
not been sufficiently well laid. I send you the chief
engineer's report. Place the necessary funds at his
disposal. The amount of carting to be done is enormous,
and unless the roads are repaired we should lose a great
deal by delay.

" I am satisfied with the spirit of the land and sea
forces. " BONAPARTE."

" To CITIZEN PETIET,

" Commissioner of Supplies.

" BOULOGNE, 25 Brumaire, XII. (Nov. 17, 1803).

" I have just received your letter of the 23rd
Brumaire, in which you report the satisfactory condition

356 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

of the service of the camps at Bruges. I have e very-
reason to be satisfied with that of the camp at
St. Omer. The supplies seemed to me to be of good
quality, including even the tools and camp necessaries,
which I had been told were remnants of stores. Let
these remnants be used now in the camps ; but for ship-
ment, procure shovels, pickaxes, and axes of the best
quality only. . . . You must provide for shipment four
shovels, four pickaxes, and four axes for each company.

" I request you to give special attention to the
efficiency of the hospitals at Boulogne, as I wish to have
the fewest possible number of men having to leave the
ranks.

"With respect to one matter, no steps appear to have
been taken at all — that is to say, the brandy which has
to be shipped. We shall want 300,000 pints ; forward
half this quantity to Boulogne. Make a list of every-
thing I have asked for, stating where it is to be found,
and what supplies there are at the present moment.
Address the report to me in Paris. I intend to visit
the camp at Ostend next month.

" BONAPARTE."

The letters that follow will give an idea of the activity
he expected from his subordinates, and of which he was
the first to give the example.

" To CITIZEN LEBRUN,

" Aide-de-camp to the FIRST CONSUL.
"BOULOGNE, 10 Nivose, XII. (Jan. i, 1804).
" You must start at once for St. Valery. You
will make a note of all the warships and transports of
the flotilla that are in course of building and equipment,
or that have put into the port. Ascertain whether all

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 357

the artillery and rigging equipments are on the spot.
Take note of the number of workmen employed on each
gunboat. . . .

" Make notes of all these things, and if military work-
men are required you must go to Amiens, to General
Klein, and find out how many workmen there are in
the dragoon regiments.

" You must arrange to be here by Tuesday.

" BONAPARTE."

" To GENERAL SAVARY,

" Aide-de-camp to the FIRST CONSUL.

" BOULOGNE, Nivdse, XII. (January, 1804).

" You must start to-day for Flushing. You will
inspect the. harbour works, and all the ships that are
equipped, or being equipped, in the port.

" You will then proceed to Bruges. At Flushing
you will deliver the enclosed letter to Admiral Ver
Huell. You must inspect the Dutch flotilla in every
detail, and send me a report from Flushing.

" From there you will go to Liege, from Liege to
Mezieres, and from Mezieres to Paris. You will inspect
the gun-factory at Liege and the two building yards on
the Meuse at Liege and Mezieres.

" BONAPARTE."

We find him making a complaint to the Minister
because the horses were better looked after than the men.

" To REAR-ADMIRAL DECRES.

" BOULOGNE, 10 Nivose, XII. (Jan. i, 1804).
" CITIZEN MINISTER, —

" I observed to-day at the arsenal that the smiths
were not working, because they had no forges. I have
given orders to the artillery to supply four of these,

358 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

which will be delivered to-morrow morning, before
eight o'clock, at the arsenal.

" I was sorry to see that although a large quantity
of canvas had been supplied for the requirements of
800 horses, not a single tent had been erected to shelter
the workmen and to establish a workshop for mast-
making. . . . '

[Then follows an order in which the future Emperor
reveals himself.]

" To-morrow, at eight o'clock, I shall inspect the
whole flotilla in divisions. A naval commissioner will
call the roll of all the officers and men on board
the vessels. The moment I step on board each boat,
the men will salute with three shouts of ' Long live the
Republic ! ' and three of ' Long live the First Consul ! '
I shall be accompanied by the chief engineer, the com-
missioner of armaments, and the colonel in command
of the artillery.

" During the inspection, the crews and troops man-
ning the flotilla will remain at their quarters, and sentries
will be placed to prevent anyone passing along the quay
and watching the flotilla.

" All shallops that are unequipped, and caiques unat-
tached to any division, will take the place assigned to them
by the Admiral. Each vessel will have her boat alongside.

" At the moment when I set foot on the first boat,
a salute of sixty rounds will be fired from the flag-ship
or from the pier battery. The officers, sailors, and
troops will be in full dress.

" BONAPARTE."

" To CONSUL CAMBACERES.

" BOULOGNE, 12 Nivose, XII. (Jan. 3, 1804).

" I spent the whole of yesterday and the day
before, making various inspections and going about

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 359

the ports. I am about to start on an excursion to Amble-
teuse and Wimereux ; I may even go as far as Calais.
I am feeling very well. The weather is becoming
finer. ... " BONAPARTE."

In the archives of the First Empire is a rather inter-
esting document concerning a priest who celebrated a
special Mass once a week, in order that Providence might
watch over the First Consul.

" Decision.

" BOULOGNE, 14 Nivdse, XII. (Jan 5, 1804).
" D'Augier, incumbent of Villers-sur-Marne, wish-
ing to pay a tribute of respect and gratitude to the
First Consul, has offered to celebrate Mass for him every
Tuesday.

" I request Citizen Portalis to thank this ecclesiastic,
and to send me a report concerning him.

" BONAPARTE."

On one occasion some Boulogne fishermen were taken
prisoners by the enemy, and Napoleon expressed his
displeasure in the following terms : —

" To GENERAL SOULT,

" In command of the camp at St. Omer.

" PARIS, 13 Ventose, XII. (March 4, 1804).
" CITIZEN GENERAL SOULT, —

" You are at liberty to set the three Boulogne
sailors free ; but let them thoroughly understand that
they had better not let themselves be caught again by
the English, for experience proves that fishermen are
only captured when they are willing to be taken, and
it is most suspicious. . . .

" BONAPARTE."

360 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" To GENERAL NEY,

" In command of the camp at Montr euil.

" PARIS, 19 Ventose, XII. (March 10, 1804).

" Agree with General Soult as to the boundary
of the sphere of each army along the coast between
Etaples and Boulogne ; so that in case of accidents
occurring, and boats going ashore, without being pro-
tected by artillery, it may be known who is the officer
responsible. . . .

" Make your division practise rowing, on shallops or
even on gunboats. You have a fine open space for this
in the bay. Let me know what distance a gunboat and
a shallop can cover in half an hour by rowing, without
sails, and at flood-tide.

" BONAPARTE."

" To GENERAL NEY,

" In command of the camp at Montr euil.

" ST. CLOUD, 24 Germinal, XII. (April 14, 1804).
" CITIZEN GENERAL NEY, —

" I am very pleased with the reports I have just
received from you, and am much interested in the matter
of the depth of the water in the bay of Etaples. Before
constructing a fort on the reef of the ' Dogs,' the two
forts at Boulogne must be completed. But we will
consider the question more fully at my next visit, which
I trust will not be delayed.

" BONAPARTE."

In the following letter, Bonaparte, now the Emperor
Napoleon, asks the opinion of the admiral in command,
in terms of real deference : —

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 361

" To ADMIRAL BRUIX,

" In command of the flotilla at Boulogne.

" LA MALMAISON, 14 Messidor, XII. (July 3, 1804).
" ADMIRAL,

" I submit you three cases. Before coming to a
decision on the question, I should like to have your
opinion .... The flotilla is composed of 1,800 boats,
of which there are 700 at Boulogne, 290 at Etaples,
340 at Wimereux, and 437 at Amble teuse. I have not
included the 20 praams, which must be stationed in
whichever harbour is most convenient, and most easy
of egress.

" I wish you, therefore, to let me have your opinion
on these questions :

" (i) Can each harbour accommodate the number
of boats apportioned to it ?

" (2) Is it possible for these boats to leave their
respective harbours on two tides ?

" (3) Finally, would it be more advantageous to
augment the number of boats at Etaples, and diminish
it at Boulogne ; or to augment the boats at Calais ?

" BONAPARTE."

The following letter to Josephine, written from
Pont-de-Briques, has already been given in its entirety
in the chapter on Bruix : —

" To the EMPRESS JOSEPHINE.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, 2 Thermidor, XII.

" (July 21, 1804).
" MADAME AND DEAR WIFE,—

" During my four days of absence from you, I
have been continually on horseback, or on the move,
without being any the worse for it in health.

362 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" M. Maret has informed me that you intend leaving
on Monday, and if you travel by short stages, you will
have time to reach the waters without fatiguing yourself.

" NAPOLEON."

" To M. CAMBACERES.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, 2 Thermidor, XII.

" (July 21, 1804).
" COUSIN,—

" I have received your letter of the 30th Messidor.
I am well satisfied with the spirit and the aspect of the
departments I travelled through, and am no less pleased
with the condition and spirit of the land and sea forces.
" I inspected the harbour, and spent most of last
night on the coast, giving assistance to a gunboat
that had dragged her anchors. The gale was blow-
ing from the north-east. Fortunately, we sustained
no great damage ; only two small shallops were
wrecked. . . .

" NAPOLEON."

The following letters show his care for the soldiers'
comfort : —

" To ADMIRAL BRUIX.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, 6 Thermidor, XII.
" (July 25, 1804).
" ADMIRAL AND INSPECTOR OF COASTS,—

" The five divisions of shallops that I visited
this morning appeared, on the whole, to be well found.
" I wish you, as much as possible, to have the caron-
ades of 12 — which are good for nothing — replaced by
6 inch Prussian howitzers. . . .

" I wish you also to see whether it would not be
possible to have hammocks slung on the shallops, so

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 363

that the men should be more comfortable ; and to ascer-
tain whether something could be done to make the
tarpaulins and tents more secure.

" To-morrow, when the boats are afloat, I shall
review all the gunboats and flat-bottomed gunboats. I
wish all the divisions to unite and every man to be
present ; the General Inspector of Reviews must attend
with the roll-call.

" NAPOLEON."

" To MARSHAL BERTHIER.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, 7 Thermidor, XII.

" (July 26, 1804).
" COUSIN,—

" My intention is to have the eighteen battalions
of grenadiers of the reserve, commanded by General
Junot, encamped within range of the circular basin at
Boulogne, wishing that division to protect the shallops.
Please have a site chosen for the encampment, and
find out whether the requisite tents and other camp
necessaries are at Boulogne. I also wish to know what
still requires to be done, and what it would cost to finish
the camp that Dupont's division was to occupy, so that
three regiments may be encamped there.

" The navy really requires another fifty Prussian
howitzers at Boulogne. Let me know where these are
to be procured.

" NAPOLEON."

1 _ •

It was from the camp at Boulogne that the new
Emperor decided upon the alterations to be made in
the flags ; they were to retain the three colours, but the
eagle was to be the principal feature.

364 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" To MARSHAL BERTHIER.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, 8 Thermidor, XII.

" (July 27, 1804).
" MARSHAL, —

" The Emperor wishes the flags given to the
army to be different in form to what they are at present.
The eagle with wings outspread, as on the Imperial
Seal, will be on the head of the flagstaff, as was done
in the time of the Romans ; and the colours will be at
the same distance below the eagle as was the labarum.
It must be made much smaller than the flags now in
use, which are very inconvenient ; and must be tri-
coloured also. The flag can be reduced to one-half
its present size, and must bear the words : ' The Em-
peror of the French, to such and such a regiment.'

" The essential feature of the standard would be the
eagle, and the material could be renewed whenever
necessary. . . . Only, the eagle must be made strong
and light at the same time.

" The Emperor wishes you to have a model made,
and you will then take his final instructions on the form
to be adopted for the flags.

" By order of the Emperor."

In August, 1804, Napoleon occupied himself with
the arrangements for the coronation ceremony, and di-
rected the following letter to be written on the subject : —

" To M. DE SEGUR,

" Grand Master of the Ceremonies.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, 15 Thermidor, XII.
" SIR,- " (August 3, 1804).

:< The Emperor has taken cognisance of the plan
you have submitted to him concerning the decree for

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 365

the ceremonial of the coronation. Before giving you
his opinion on the different clauses in the report, his
Majesty has thought it necessary to make several re-
marks, which he has directed me to transmit to you.

" Many people have thought that the ceremony would
prove very difficult to arrange in the Church of the
Invalides ; the bishops and priests would not be suit-
ably placed there, for want of a choir ; and all the
people who are to attend the ceremony would scarcely
find sufficient accommodation, even supposing that the
representatives of the army were not present. However,
it is considered that the absence of the representatives
of the army would be quite contrary to the fitness of
things on such an occasion as this. ... It is also in-
dispensable that the throne on which the Emperor and
Empress are to be seated, surrounded by their respective
households, should be placed in a space which must
necessarily be large, if it is to be at all convenient. But
the Invalides can neither provide sufficient accommo-
dation for the assembly nor a suitable space for the
throne.

" On the other hand, it is thought that 20,000 men
could easily be accommodated in Notre Dame — that
sufficient space will be found in the choir for the throne ;
and also, that if there be any religious ceremony, it will
only be seen in detail by the priests, or by men who,
from superior intelligence, have still as much faith in
them as men had in the eighth century.

" By order of the Emperor."

On the same day the Emperor wrote to the Pope,
to calm his apprehensions with regard to the attitude
of Russia towards the Roman Court, and his letter ends
thus :—

366 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

" To His HOLINESS THE POPE.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, August 3, 1804.
" Your Holiness need have no anxiety ; there will
be no continental disturbance of any consequence. We
pray that God may keep you, Holy Father, for many
years, at the head of our Mother, the Holy Church.
" Your devout son, the Emperor of the French,

" NAPOLEON."
(Archives of Foreign Affairs.)

" To the EMPRESS JOSEPHINE.

"CALAIS, 18 Thermidor, XII.

" (August 6th, 1804.)
" MY DEAREST,—

" I arrived at Calais at midnight, and think of
starting this evening for Dunkirk. I am well pleased
with what I have seen, and am in fairly good health.
I hope you may derive as much benefit from the waters
as I do from the general stir and commotion, and from
the sight of the fields and sea. Eugene has started for
Blois. Hor tense is well. Louis has gone to Plombieres.
I am longing to see you. You are always necessary to
my happiness. Greetings to everybody.

" NAPOLEON."

Several letters are dated from his pavilion ; this
one, for instance :—

"To M. DE TALLEYRAND.

" THE PAVILION OF THE TOUR D'ODRE,

" August tyth, 1804.

" MONSIEUR DE TALLEYRAND (Minister of Foreign Re-
lations),—

" I enclose a statement of the method by which I
think we should come to an understanding with Austria.

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 367

What she really wants is not clear ; if she is prepared to be
reasonable, the purport of the note ought to meet with
her approval. I have already written to tell you that
I will see you at Aix-la-Chapelle, and that I will receive
M. de Cobenzl there as well. There is nothing to pre-
vent M. de Gallo going there too.

" NAPOLEON."

(Archives of Foreign Affairs as minute to the archives
of the Empire.)

To conclude the subject of the letters sent from
the Boulogne Camp, I will give an extract of a second
letter from the Emperor to the Pope, written in terms
of profound respect :—

" His HOLINESS THE POPE.

" PONT-DE-BRIQUES, August, 1804.
" HOLY FATHER, —

" We have been very much affected by your
Holiness's letter, because we always sympathise with
your griefs. The decree of the vice-president of the
Italian Republic, relating to the Concordat of the Re-
public, with which your Holiness is dissatisfied, has been
reported to us. It is our intention to prevent any in-
fringement of that which has been agreed upon between
ourselves. We trust that in this circumstance, as in
all those which have preceded it, your Holiness will be
convinced of our attachment to the principles of religion
and to your person.

" May God preserve you, Holy Father, for many
years, at the head of our Mother, the Holy Church.

' Your devout son, the Emperor of the French,

" NAPOLEON."

368 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

The future Emperor retained the original spelling
of his name up to the end of February, 1796, and signed
himself : —

But in the same year, when he issued his famous
proclamation at Milan, dated May 20th — " Soldiers !
you rushed down like a torrent from the heights of the
Apennines : Milan is yours " — he signed himself :—

As commander-in-chief of the expedition in Egypt he
continued to sign himself : —

On his accession to the Imperial throne he signed
himself " Napoleon " ; the following is a reproduction
in fac-simile of one of the first signatures he gave as
Emperor. It was written on May 25th, 1804.

Napoleon's writing was always very bad ; in fact,
it was sometimes illegible. On one occasion, an aged

LETTERS WRITTEN BY NAPOLEON. 369

and poor-looking man presented himself at the Palace
of St. Cloud, and asked Duroc to obtain an interview
for him with the Emperor.

On being ushered into the Emperor's presence, he
introduced himself as his old writing-master.

" And a fine pupil you made of me ! " said Napoleon
ironically. " I cannot congratulate you on the result of
your teaching."

It is said, however, that he dismissed him with kind
words, and handed him a warrant entitling him to a
pension of 1,200 francs. Bonaparte showed his gratitude
and liberality to all his masters and servants ; even
Hante, the old porter at Brienne, was not forgotten in
the distribution of favours.

The Emperor has been accused of many faults, but
ingratitude was certainly never one of them. He
possessed, to an eminent degree, the quality of gratitude,
so rare among parvenus ; and when at the height of his
prosperity, he still liked to renew, on the old familiar
terms, his acquaintance with those who had known him
before he counted for very much in the world.

The reader will probably like to see the fac-simile
of Napoleon's autograph, dated from the Boulogne Camp.

tM.

CHAPTER XX.

PLANS FOR THE INVASION OF ENGLAND.

Was the Scheme for Crossing the Straits Capable of Realisation ?
— Were the Flotilla and Boulogne Camp a Pretence ? —
What did England Think of the Project, and What was her
Attitude ?— Opinions of Pitt, Nelson, and Sir Walter Scott
— Did Bonaparte Believe in the Possibility of the Invasion ?
— Conclusion .

WAS the scheme for crossing the Straits by the flotilla
capable of realisation, or was it only an Utopian project ?
Granting that it could be carried out, what concurrence
of events was necessary for the success of the enterprise ?
Did England ever feel that she was seriously threatened ?
Did Bonaparte really mean to attempt the bold adventure,
or was it merely a feint on his part, to turn the attention
of Europe towards a plan he knew to be chimerical, in
order to conceal from everyone his real intentions ?

In other words, did he form the camp at Boulogne,
facing England, merely as a plausible pretext for organ-
ising and training the Grand Army, which was to reap
so much glory in the marvellous campaign of 1805 ?

All these are questions which I propose to consider
rapidly in this chapter, especially as various recent
publications have revived their historic interest, and
made them, more or less, topics of the moment. For
instance, in an important work, " Projects for landing
in the British Islands," M. Desbrieres throws doubt
on the sincerity of the projects. " To scare England,
to secure political advantages, both at home and abroad,

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 371

and to have a large army in good training — perhaps
this was all that Napoleon really wanted."

Nothing can help us so much towards the elucidation
of the question as to consider whether England took
the threatened invasion seriously or the reverse, and
whether she behaved like a nation who really felt herself
imperilled by what were termed " the nutshells." No
evidence could throw better light on the matter.

Now a whole series of unquestionable facts go to
prove that England, far from scoffing at the proposed
invasion, or flattering herself that the destruction of
the flotilla would be an easy matter, strove, on the
contrary, by every means in her power, to paralyse
the organisation of the sea-forces. Her secret agents
swarmed along the coast, and were instructed to find
out the effective of the various army corps ; to ascertain
the spirit which animated the troops and the extent of
their military knowledge, and also to learn the meaning
of the signals, and the positions of the various batteries.

The author has in his possession several English
maps, dating from this period, on which everything is
marked, to the minutest details.

The spies conveyed their intelligence by secret
correspondence, and by means of rockets, or fires lit
at night on certain places along the cliffs.

An active system of watching was established all
along the coast, and many of the emissaries were arrested
and tried by court-martial. On loth Brumaire, XIII.,
no less than fifteen spies were brought to trial before
the same court, and six of them were sentenced to
death.

The enemy, fearing that the flat-bottomed boats
might escape their powerful fleet, proposed blockading
the flotilla by sinking ships laden with stones at the
entrance of the harbour. They were obliged, however,

372 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

to abandon this project, and found other expedients,
such as directing against the harbour, sloops, cutters
and brigs, on board which explosive machines had been
lighted. But as these craft were too easily sighted,
because of their size, the English invented a species of
" explosive barrels," which were cast adrift towards the
shore, or the line of ships. " These barrels were partly
filled with gunpowder, and held in a vertical position,
by means of shot used as ballast, and were provided
with mechanism which determined the explosion on
their coming into contact with a hard substance."

Admiral Keith appeared before Boulogne on gth
Vendemiaire with a squadron of fifty- two warships,
and provided with a number of these machines. How-
ever, the flotilla managed to elude nearly all the fireships,
which ran ashore and exploded against the rocks, making
much noise but doing little damage.

Another kind of fireship — the catamarans to which
I have already alluded — were large wooden chests lined
with copper, " provided with clockwork mechanism, and
a battery."

While the flotilla and the Grand Army were being
organised in France, what was happening in England ?
Was the organisation of an army of defence considered
a matter of urgency ? Did the British public contemplate
the possibility of London really being attacked by the
invader, or did they scoff at the vain threats ?

The following facts are the best answer to these
questions, inasmuch as they show that England resorted
to armaments on a vast scale, thereby giving incontestable
proof of her uneasiness at this period in her history.

When peace relations were broken with France,
England had a regular army of 130,000, and a militia
of about 70,000. To these forces were added, first a
reserve of 50,000 men, levied by conscription, and sub-

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 373

sequently, when the rumours of invasion gained more
substance, the Government brought in a military service
Bill, by which all able-bodied men between the ages of
seventeen and fifty- two might be called upon to serve.
The new measure, which the Government only enforced
in moderation, produced, by the end of the summer, 1803,
a force of 300,000 volunteers, who were exercised un-
remittingly in manual drill. These various forces made
a total of 550,000 combatants, of unequal worth, no
doubt, but all determined to fight for their country, and
for their national existence.

The Annual Register of 1803 states that the number
of volunteers in the month of December, 1803, amounted
in Great Britain to 379,943 ; and in Ireland to 82,241.

Without taking too seriously the suggestion of enrolling
women in the militia (as Lady Jerningham proposed for
the county of Norfolk, in the event of invasion), it is
very certain that from the autumn of 1802, volunteer
corps were organised all over the country.

The general activity increased ; bodies were formed,
which were incongruous no doubt, but none the less
determined to fight. The great noblemen raised troops
at their own cost, and companies were formed in every
district by enrolling men from fifteen to twenty years of
age.

Would the country succeed in organising a national
militia ? or would it be necessary to quarter the troops
in the districts ? No one could tell, for though the
spirit of patriotism was raised to the highest pitch, there
was no general order, no concerted plan of action, and
Lord Hobart was at a loss how best to utilise all the
zeal fostered by the imminence of the peril.

As for the English navy, it only possessed, in 1802,
39 battleships, besides, of course, a multitude of smaller-
sized vessels, frigates and sloops ; but from November,

374 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

1803, the number of ships-of-the-line was increased to
189.

" Every mode of defence necessitated by circum-
stances was duly organised. Fortifications were raised
around London, to protect the capital against a sudden
attack, and give the army time to come to the rescue.
A system of signals was established, which were intended
to give the alarm on the first appearance of the enemy,
and great chariots, drawn by six horses, and capable of
transporting 60 men at a time, were placed at the disposal
of each corps, to facilitate the concentration of troops at
the rallying points.

:' The naval preparations were in no way inferior to
those of the land forces. On loth June a levy of 40,000
seamen was added to the 80,000 England already
numbered on her warships.

" Seventy-five battleships, shortly afterwards in-
creased to over 100 ; a hundred frigates ; several hundred
brigs and sloops of war ; 800 gun-boats, more especially
employed for coast defence, and finally a multitude of
despatch boats, forming a sort of telegraphic system —
such was the formidable armament which served the
threefold purpose of protecting England, blockading our
ports, and pursuing our squadrons."

" To give an idea of the extraordinary wave of
patriotism that swept over the whole country, we need
only recall the fact that Pitt, though sorely stricken in
health, spent the remnant of his life in drilling daily
the 3,000 volunteers he had enrolled himself at Walmer
Castle, and that he induced the surrounding localities
to build 150 gunboats.

" As for the expenditure necessitated by such a
display of force, it was provisionally met by the raising
of a loan of £12,000,000 sterling, and by an increase of
excise duties and of the income tax, to the extent of a

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 375

sum almost equal to that of the loan. These special
funds, added to those produced by the enormous budget
—the burden of which would have crushed any other
nation but England — were to supply the first require-
ments and enable the English Cabinet to create diversions
either in Europe or even in France." *

If a landing had been considered impossible in England,
would the Government have fortified London, armed so
many men, and equipped so many battleships ?

Sir Walter Scott, in the " Antiquary," alludes to the
terror inspired by the threatened invasion : " The
French are coming to murder us ! " screams Miss Griselda.
" The beacon is lighted ! " cries Miss Mclntyre, for
beacons had been erected as signals, and were to give
the alarm for the general arming of forces. " Woman-
kind, be composed," said Oldbuck, in great agitation,
" are you sure they are come ? " And in a note the
following explanation is given textually : —

" The story of the false alarm at Fairport, and the
consequences, are taken from a real incident. Those
who witnessed the state of Britain, and of Scotland in
particular, from the period that succeeded the war which
commenced in 1803, to the Battle of Trafalgar, must
recollect those times with feelings which we can hardly
hope to make the rising generation comprehend. Almost
every individual was enrolled in a military or civil capacity,
for the purpose of contributing to resist the long-suspended
threats of invasion, which were echoed from every
quarter. Beacons were erected along the coast, and all
through the country, to give the signal for everyone to
repair to the post where his particular duty called him,
and men of every description, fit to serve, held themselves
in readiness on the shortest summons. During this
agitating period, and on the evening of February 2nd,

* " (i) History of Napoleon by Lanfrey, III." Annual Register for 1804.

376 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

1804, the person who kept watch on the commanding
station of Home Castle, being deceived by some accidental
fire in the county of Northumberland, which he took for
the corresponding signal-light in that county with which
his orders were to communicate, lighted up his own beacon.
The signal was immediately repeated through all the
valleys on the English border. If the beacon at Saint-
Abb's Head had been fired, the alarm would have run
northward and roused all Scotland. But the watch at
this important point judiciously considered that if there
had been an actual or threatened descent on our eastern
sea-coast, the alarm would have come along the coast,
and not from the interior of the country.

" Through the Border counties the alarm spread with
rapidity, and on no occasion, when that country was the
scene of perpetual and unceasing warfare, was the sum-
mons to arms more readily obeyed."

* * * # * *

" There were some particulars in the general alarm
which are curious and interesting. The men of Liddes-
dale, the most remote point to the westward which the
alarm reached, were so much afraid of being late in the
field, that they put in requisition all the horses they
could find, and when they had thus made a forced march
out of their county, they turned their borrowed steeds
loose to find their way back through the hills, and they
all got back safe to their own stables."

Sir Walter Scott's important work, " The Life of
Napoleon," in nine volumes (1825), contains much that
is instructive and sound of judgment, whenever England
is not implicated. The motto at the commencement of
the book, leaves very little doubt on the author's senti-
ments with regard to the modern Caesar :

" Impellens quidquid sibi summa petenti
Obstaret, gaudensque viam fecisse ruina."

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 377

In this work Sir Walter Scott sacrifices too much to
national susceptibilities, and modifies historical facts,
in his endeavour to prove that no one in England ever
thought seriously of the possibility of a descent, and that
it was but an empty boast on the part of Napoleon.

He relates that the ardour of the French troops was
excited by adroit references to fortunate omens ; that a
Roman axe had been discovered at the spot on which
Bonaparte's tent was pitched, and that they were shown
medals of William the Conqueror, said to have been
unearthed at that place.

Then Scott, forgetting the fears which he had described
so graphically in previous works, takes pride in stating
that Nelson had declared the crossing of the Channel
with rowing boats to be impossible, and the sailing of a
hostile armament from Boulogne to be a most forlorn
undertaking.

However, to these statements, two answers might be
made ; first, that Bonaparte was one of those who can
conceive, and carry out, the boldest enterprises, for he
proved it on more than one occasion ; and secondly, if
it is a fact that Great Britain had nothing to fear, why
all this alarm, and why these formidable armaments
intended to repulse an imaginary invader ?

Sir Walter Scott comes nearer the point when, on
the same page, he estimates that the expedition was not
materially impossible, but only "in a great measure
hopeless."

Nelson also subsequently amended his first statement
with regard to the passage across the Straits, honestly
adding : "I may pronounce it almost impracticable."

If the invasion was merely a threat to scare England,
why had Pitt donned his uniform at the very first alarm,
and deserted his peaceful game of chess, to busy himself
with military preparations, fortresses and batteries ?

378 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Why had emergency camps been formed in Sussex and
•Kent, and on the cliffs around Dover ? Why did the
Cabinet of St. James expend so much effort in trying
to revive and utilise the dissatisfaction of the Jacobins,
the resentment of the Royalists, and the jealousy of the
Generals, in order to unite these extreme parties in one
common bond of hatred towards Bonaparte ? And
finally, why did George the Third, in spite of his age,
leave the royal household, in order to spend all his days
holding reviews ? The question appears to be solved,
as far as the fears of England are concerned.

And now let us consider the second part of the problem :
Did Napoleon himself believe in the possibility of an
invasion ? Though Bonaparte planned an expedition
against England and made preparations for it, he never
deceived himself as to the difficulties attendant on such
an enterprise, and therefore one is not justified in making
him contradict himself by adopting the views of such
men as Metternich and Wolf Tone, who may have had
their reasons for looking upon the concentration of the
flotilla as a mere comedy.

On April 23rd, 1798, Bonaparte had already made
the following declaration to the Directory : "To effect
an invasion of England, without having the mastery of
the sea, is the boldest and most difficult operation that
could be imagined. The only way possible would be
to make a surprise passage, either by evading the squadron
blockading Brest, or Texel, or else by landing with little
boats during the night, at some point in Kent or Sussex,
after a passage of seven or eight hours."

Thiers, in his book on the " Consulate and the Empire,"
speaks of Bonaparte's schemes in connection with Eng-
land. The First Consul is represented as having had
a private interview on Februray i8th, 1803, with
Lord Whit worth, in which, after inviting the English

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 379

Ambassador to the Tuileries to discuss the Peace of
Amiens, he appears to have disclosed his thoughts with
singular frankness.

He is reported to have concluded the statements he made
to Lord Whitworth with the following declaration : —

" And now, if you doubt my earnest wish to maintain
peace, listen, and judge for yourself of the extent of my
sincerity. When still very young, I acquired a power
and a renown which could not well be surpassed. Now
do you imagine that I should be willing to risk this power
and renown in a hopeless struggle ? If I wage war with
Austria I shall not be troubled to find the way to Vienna.
If I engage in war with you I shall separate you from
all your allies in Europe, and shall shut you out of
all access to the Continent, from the Baltic to the Gulf
of Tarentum. You will blockade us, but I shall blockade
you in return ; you will confine us to the Continent, but
I shall confine you to the seas. However, to make an
end of it, we shall have to employ more direct methods ;
we must collect 150,000 men, and an immense flotilla,
attempt the passage across the Straits, and perhaps sink
my fortune, my glory, and myself at the bottom of the
sea. A descent on England is rash indeed, my lord."
And so saying, the First Consul, to the intense astonish-
ment of his hearer, began to enumerate all the difficulties
and dangers of such an enterprise, the vast amount of
material, and the number of men and of ships which it
would be necessary to accumulate in the Straits, and
which he would not fail to accumulate, in order to crush
England.

To enumerate before a mortal enemy " the diffi-
culties and dangers of an enterprise in which he risked
sinking his fortune, himself and his glory at the bottom
of the sea," strikes one as being so impolitic an act, that
one can understand the anxiety of Thiers to warn the

380 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

reader in a note that, though he is able to vouch for the
gist of the discourse, many different versions have been
given of the conversation.

We have no difficulty in believing this.

But — still according to Thiers — Bonaparte is sup-
posed to have added, "with unusual energy," the following
remarks, in which we have less difficulty in recognising
the future Emperor, and in which he betrays his readiness
to venture on the enterprise if he were constrained to do
so, by events.

" This act of rashness, my lord, I am determined to
attempt, if you compel me to do so. For this great enter-
prise has chances of success, with me, which it would have
with no one else. I crossed the Alps in winter, I know
how to make things possible which appear impossible
to ordinary men, and if I succeed, your posterity will
weep tears of blood over the effects of the resolution

you compelled me to take You have a navy

which I could not hope to equal were I to devote the
constant efforts of ten years of my life to attain that end,
but I have 500,000 men ready to march under my orders,
wherever I choose to lead them. ..."

On November 4th, 1803, Bonaparte arrived at
Boulogne, and by two o'clock in the morning, in spite of
bad weather, the line of ships had been formed and moored
before the harbour. On this occasion, there was a sharp
engagement with English cruisers. The next day the
First Consul wrote the following letter, which we have
already partly quoted : —

" To CONSUL CAMBAC£R£S.

" BOULOGNE, i$th Brumaire, XII.

(November $th> 1803).

" I went on Friday to visit the harbour of Boulogne,
where I arrived quite unexpectedly. I took the greatest

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 381

interest in inspecting all the works and preparations for
the great expedition, for at midnight I was at it still.

" I spent most of the day in the roadstead, where we
have over 100 ships moored in line.

" We had a sharp encounter with the enemy, who
attacked us with ten ships, several of which were two-
deckers. One frigate was dismasted. We saw, them go
to rescue a frigate, which we have every reason to believe
was struck by a shell.

' The enemy then made for the open, whereupon a
division of caiques, carrying a piece of ' 24,' followed
in pursuit, keeping up a constant fire. On our side
one man had his leg shot away, and a boat, with a crew
of five men, was struck by a cannon-ball which caused
her to sink, but she was righted, and the five men were
saved.

" I am quartered in the very midst of the camp, and
on the brink of the ocean, whence I can take in, at a
glance, the distance which separates us from England.

" BONAPARTE."

Then again if we look back at Admiral Bruix's corre-
spondence with Napoleon and the Minister of Marine,
we can have no doubts as to these two points, namely,
that the admiral was fully convinced of the feasibility
of the project, and that all preparations necessary for its
success were faithfully carried out.

As to the First Consul, his intentions with regard to
the invasion are sufficiently shown by the following
incident, and by a letter to Cambaceres, to whom he
certainly could not write mere idle matter without
running the risk of discrediting himself.

On one occasion, when the atmosphere was particularly
clear (Nov. i6th, 1803), the First Consul, who was walking
along the cliffs, saw the white coast of Dover so distinctly

382 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

that he wrote to Cambaceres a letter which we have
already quoted, and in which this passage occurs :
" I saw the coast of England from the heights of Amble-
teuse as distinctly as one can see the Calvary from the
Tuileries. I was able to distinguish the houses, and even
objects moving; it is merely a ditch that will be crossed
when we are bold enough to attempt the enterprise."

Whoever happens to have found himself anywhere
between Gris-Nez and Ambleteuse under similar condi-
tions, has probably experienced the same feeling ; indeed,
it seems impossible to believe that there is a distance of
at least seven leagues between the two points that face
each other in the narrowest part of the Straits.

On his returning to Paris Bonaparte wrote, on November
28th, 1803, to the Maritime Prefect of Toulon, General
Ganteaume :

" CITIZEN GENERAL,—

" I am sending you General Rapp, one of my aides-
de-camp, who is to stay a few days at Toulon. I informed
you two months ago that I expected 10 battleships, 4 frigates,
and 4 sloops of war to be ready to sail from Toulon by the
middle of Frimaire ; and that I wished this squadron to
be stored with 4 months' supplies for 25,000 infantry.

" I have just returned from Boulogne, which is full of
activity, and where I hope to have, by the middle of Nivose,
300 gunboats, 500 boats, 500 shallops, each shallop carry-
ing a howitzer of 36. The flotilla is able to transport 100,000
men. Given eight hours of night and propitious weather,
and we can decide the fate of the world."

One day the English scouts thought that the decisive
moment had arrived, and that the enemy's troops were con-
centrating to embark. A general order was at once given
to prepare for action, and fourteen magnificent battle-
ships approached in a first line of attack. The little

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 383

French boats went resolutely to meet the formidable
front, and before very long, the naval giants were in
full retreat, riddled with shot and disabled, and making
for the different ports, to land the wounded and repair
damages. This is an instance of what the "nutshells"
could do.

What might not have happened if the flotilla had
been supported by the fleets of Spain and Holland ;
and the combined forces had been able to carry out a
concerted plan of action ?

A few months before this event, on January 7th, 1804,
Bonaparte received a communication from Decres,
who was perhaps the least sanguine, with regard to the
scheme, of all the men about the First Consul.

" BOULOGNE, January jth, 1804.

" People are beginning firmly to believe in the flotilla,
and are convinced that the sailing of the expedition is nearer
at hand than was supposed ; everyone has promised me to
prepare seriously for the event. They forget all about the
dangers, and can think of nothing but Caesar and his for-
tunes.

" The subalterns' ideas are confined to the roadstead and
its currents. They argue like angels about wind, anchorage,
and the line of ships. As for the passage across the Straits,
that is your affair. You know more about that than they
do, and your eyes are better than their spectacles. They
have absolute faith in anything you undertake."

And at the end of the letter Decres admits the possi-
bility of effecting the crossing " by sacrificing a hundred
ships in order to draw the enemy's fire."

As it was Bonaparte's intention to have between
two and three thousand boats, the sacrifice of a hundred
was admissible.

The scheme inspired general confidence, not only in

384 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

the regions of the coast, but throughout the whole
country; warlike mottoes were to be seen everywhere.
For instance, at Amiens, on the gateway leading to
Calais, was the inscription, " Road to England," and
elsewhere : "A favourable wind and thirty-six hours."
The following words were inscribed by a man of the
Guard of Honour on the front of his house : " France
loves him, England fears him, and the world admires
him ! "

The starting point of Napoleon's critics, with regard
to the descent on England, was always the contrast they
sought to establish between the vastness of the project
itself and the means he proposed for its realisation.
Now his pretended hesitation may have been but well-
calculated dissimulation, and if is added to the ideas
he may really have had in his mind, his great desire of
forwarding the preparations of various plans corresponding
to certain eventualities, one is hardly justified in assuming
a problem to be unsolvable, whilst ignorant of its given
conditions.

These innermost thoughts are to be inferred by a
system of reticence and secret orders, of which there are
many examples in the official correspondence.

For instance, from Mayence, on September 29th, 1804,*
the Emperor sent word to the Minister of War to give
General Lauriston command of the troops at Toulon,
and added : "I wish General Lauriston's appointment
to be kept secret as long as possible ; he is to proceed to
his station as though he were going on an ordinary
mission."

Then he wrote to the Minister of Marine : " You can
summon the naval captain now at Boulogne, who knows

* Date of plan of concerted action, replacing the one of the 25th May,
which had become inapplicable owing to the delay in the armaments of
Brest and Toulon, and especially owing to the death of Admiral Latouche-
Treville.

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 385

the sea of Guiana.* You are to say nothing to him.
He will start for Toulon at the last moment, go straight
to General de Villeneuve, and will do everything he can
to conceal his going on board."

When a man plays a game, even if it is nothing more
than a simple game of draughts, he does not tell his
adversary his reasons for moving a particular piece ....
still less, then, was the man who played a complex and
formidable game on the world's chessboard, likely to
divulge his schemes beforehand.

Indeed it was at this very date that three expeditions
were planned to be undertaken simultaneously ; the first,
to protect Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia from
all attack ; the second, to seize Surinam and the other
Dutch colonies ; and the third was against Saint Helena.

Certain extracts from Napoleon's correspondence,
taken from the letters of the last period, show that he
had very seriously considered a scheme for invading
Ireland, to create a diversion.

" To GENERAL BERTHIER.

" September zjth, 1804.
" COUSIN,—

;' The expedition to Ireland is settled. You
must confer with Marshal Augereau on the matter.
We have the means of embarking 18,000 men at Brest.
General Marmont is ready with 25,000 men. He will
attempt to land in Ireland, and will be under Marshal
Augereau's orders. The Grand Army at Boulogne will
embark at the same time, and do everything that is
possible to effect a landing in Kent. You will instruct
Marshal Augereau to act according to circumstances.
If the information I have obtained from Irish refugees,
and from emissaries to Ireland, is verified, a number of

* There was a question of surprising the English," to compel their navy to
make a diversion.

386 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Irishmen will flock to our standard on his landing ; in that
case he will march straight on Dublin. If, on the other
hand, there should be any delay in the rising, he will take
up a position where he can be joined by General Marmont,
and wait until the Grand Army has effected a landing.
The navy holds out hopes of being ready by October 22nd ;
the land forces also will be ready by that date. Marshal
Augereau will especially require a good commander of
Artillery.

" NAPOLEON."

On September 29th, 1804, he wrote to Vice- Admiral
Decres, concerning the scheme for invading Ireland :

" The point which you suggest for a landing place
seems to me the most suitable. The north, and the Bay
of Lough Swilly is, according to my notion, the most
convenient. The expedition must sail from Brest,
double Ireland, keeping out of sight of the coast, and
approach, as any ship would do, coming from Newfound-
land. I am speaking merely from a political and not
from a nautical point of view, as the selection of a spot
for landing must depend on the currents. Politically
speaking, it would be more advantageous to start the
attack in Scotland instead of farther south ; such a
manoeuvre would disconcert the enemy. Thirty-six
hours after casting anchor, the squadron must put to
sea again, leaving the brigs and all the transports. The
Volontaire's guns will be in the hold, and the army can
make use of them either for a coast battery or for any
unforeseen event. On all these matters I agree with
you.

" But the landing in Ireland can only be a preliminary
step ; if it were to form an operation by itself, we should
be running great risk. The squadron, therefore, after

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 387

being reinforced with all the able seamen off the
transports, must enter the Channel, make for Cherbourg,
where it will be informed of the situation of the Boulogne
army, and ' protect the passage of the flotilla.' If, on
reaching Boulogne, the winds happened to be contrary
during several days — thereby forcing the squadron to
pass the Straits — it would make for Texel ; there it would
find seven Dutch ships with 25,000 men on board, and
would escort them to Ireland.

" One of these two operations must succeed, and then,
whether I have 30,000 or 40,000 men in Ireland, and
whether I am in England or in Ireland, the advantage
of the war will be with us.

" NAPOLEON."

However, though Napoleon gave all his thoughts to
the armaments for attacking England, he had the courage,
on one occasion, to restrain his warlike instincts and
make overtures of peace, highly meritorious on his
part.

The document relating to this incident (January 2nd,
1805) is in the Archives of the Empire, and is a letter
addressed by Napoleon to his " Brother, the King of
England." It is sufficiently important to be given in
its entirety. It was taken by a captain in the navy
on board a brig of the English squadron before Boulogne,
and was forwarded to Lord Harrowby, Under-Secret ary
of State for Foreign Affairs.

" NAPOLEON to the KING OF ENGLAND.
" MY BROTHER,—

" Called by Providence, and by the voice of the
Senate, the people and the army, to occupy the throne
of France, my chief desire is for peace. France and
England are wasting their wealth. The struggle between

388 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

them may last for years. But are their respective
governments fulfilling their most sacred duty ? And
all the blood which has been so ruthlessly shed, for no
particular purpose, does it not accuse them in their own
conscience ? I see no dishonour in taking the first step.
I think I have given sufficient proof to the world that
I dread none of the risks of war ; indeed I have no reason
to dread them. Peace is my most earnest wish, but war
has never proved adverse to me. I entreat your Majesty
not to deny himself the satisfaction of giving peace to
the world. Do not leave that satisfaction to the enjoy-
ment of your children. Circumstances were never so
favourable, nor the time ever so propitious, for calming
passions, and listening to the dictates of humanity and
reason. Once let this opportunity pass, and who can
say when the war, which all my efforts were powerless
to prevent, is likely to cease ? Within the last ten years
your Majesty has acquired vast wealth, and an extent of
territory larger than that of Europe. Your nation is at
the height of prosperity. What can you hope to gain
by war ? Form a coalition of several powers on the
Continent ? The Continent will remain quiet, for a
coalition would serve but to increase the ascendancy
and the power of France on the Continent. Revive
internal dissensions ? Times have changed. Ruin our
Finance ? Finance based upon a prosperous agriculture
cannot be destroyed. Deprive France of her colonies ?
Colonies, as far as France is concerned, are but of secondary
importance ; and has not your Majesty already more of
them than can well be managed ? If your Majesty will
but consider the question, you will agree that you have
nothing to gain by war. And what a melancholy prospect,
that nations should war with each other simply for the
sake of fighting ! The world is large enough for our
two nations ; and reason should have sufficient influence

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 389

to enable us to conciliate our differences, if there be a
sincere wish on both sides to do so. At all events, I have
now fulfilled a sacred duty. I trust your Majesty will
believe in the sincerity of my sentiments, and my earnest
desire to give a proof thereof.

" NAPOLEON."

On January I4th the English Government sent the
following reply to these courteous advances :—

" His Majesty deems it impossible to give any par-
ticular reply to the overtures he has received, until he
has had time to communicate with the Continental
powers, with whom he has engaged in diplomatic rela-
tions and alliances ; especially with the Emperor of Russia,
who has given the strongest proofs of wisdom and dignity,
and of the interest he takes in the safety and independ-
ence of Europe."

This was but a thinly veiled threat to form a new
coalition, and Napoleon saw through it. ' The prepara-
tions for the invasion were therefore pushed on with in-
creased activity, and he issued a multiplicity of orders,
of which I give a few typical examples.

On August i3th, 1805, he wrote to Vice-Admiral
Villeneuve from the camp at Boulogne :

" I conclude that my arms have been victorious
since you put into Corunna. I trust this despatch may
not find you there still, and that by the time it reaches
you, you will have repulsed the enemy's cruisers, so as
to effect a junction with Captain Allemand, sweep every-
thing before you, and arrive in the Channel, where we are
anxiously awaiting you. If you have not already done

this, do it ; make straight for the enemy If you

are here for three days, indeed if you are here only for

390 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

twenty-four hours, your mission will be accomplished.
Send a special messenger to Admiral Ganteaume, to
inform him of your departure. At all events no squadron
will ever have run any risk to attain so great an end, and
never will my soldiers and sailors have sacrificed their
blood for a nobler and more glorious aim. Well might
we all be willing to die without regret in the grand cause
of accomplishing the invasion of that country which has
oppressed France for six centuries.

" NAPOLEON."

On August 20th he wrote to Decres :

" I do not know what may be the issue of all this,
but you see that, in spite of adverse chances and many
unpropitious circumstances, the nature of the scheme is
fundamentally so sound that we shall have the advantage
on our side."

On August 22nd, 1805, he wrote a letter to Vice-
Admiral Ganteaume, of which the following is an extract :—

" I wish you to put to sea at once, for the fulfilment
of your mission, and to proceed with all your forces to
the Channel. I rely on your talents, your determination,
and your strength of character, at this most important
juncture. Start at once, and come here. We shall have
avenged the insults of six centuries. Never have my
soldiers and sailors risked their lives in a nobler cause."

On the following day, August 23rd, the Emperor
wrote a letter to Talleyrand, showing that he was already
preoccupied with the new coalition which was preparing,
but had not yet given up his scheme of invasion :

" If my squadron follows my instructions in uniting
with the Brest squadron, and penetrating into the Channel,
we have still time, and I shall be master of England.

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 391

If, on the contrary, my admirals hesitate, manoeuvre
badly and fail to accomplish their object, nothing remains
for me but to wait till winter before crossing the Straits
with the flotilla."

However, in the same letter, alluding to the hostile
attitude of Austria, he announced his intention of ad-
vancing on Germany with his formidable Boulogne army.

At this period, after receiving a telegraphic message
transmitted by the signals, the Emperor went to the
" Right Camp." " And there," says Constant, in his
" Memoirs," " he read out before the troops a proclama-
tion, which was carried to the other camps and posted up
everywhere :

" ' BRAVE SOLDIERS OF THE BOULOGNE CAMP :—

" ' You are not going to England. The Emperor
of Austria, bribed with English gold, has just declared
war with France. His army has crossed the line it was
to keep ; Bavaria is invaded. Soldiers, new laurels
await you beyond the Rhine ; let us hasten to vanquish
the enemies we have already conquered.' ' , £. -

" It was with bitter grief and anger at his heart that
Napoleon had to give up all hopes of seeing his fleet in
the Straits. His irritation was such that Monge, the
scientist, who breakfasted with him, in military fashion,
at the pavilion almost every day, fearing lest his presence
might be inopportune, retired discreetly to the quarters
of Daru, principal Commissioner of War."

" It was in the pavilion at the Boulogne camp,"
according to the authors of the " History of Boulogne,"
" that Napoleon dictated — in a moment of inspiration —
his plan for the glorious campaign in Germany, pointing
out, by a sort of divination, each of the victorious stages."

Just as Monge had presented himself at Daru's

392 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

quarters, the latter was summoned to the presence of the
Emperor.

After giving free vent to his indignation at the ruin
of his scheme for invading England, Napoleon suddenly
calmed down, and for several hours on end " dictated
the marvellous campaign of 1805, with an extraordinary
presence of mind, and exactitude of details."

Two months later, when the Emperor's forecasts were
being realised so marvellously, Prince Joseph wrote to
his brother :

" It is not without admiration that I recall everything
you were good enough to tell me at Boulogne ; your
Majesty is punctually realising everything you then
imagined."

Finally, on September 2nd, 1805, after prolonging
his stay on the coast, while the troops were advancing
by forced marches, and as secretly as possible, upon the
Rhine, Napoleon left Boulogne.

A few days later, he wrote from Saint Cloud to the
Minister of Marine : *

" What was my object in organising the flotilla at
Boulogne ?

" Article I. — My scheme was to concentrate 40
or 50 battleships in the port of Martinique by a com-
bined operation from Toulon, Cadiz, Ferrol, and Brest,
and summon them suddenly to Boulogne ; to have
complete mastery of the sea for a fortnight ; to have
150,000 men and 10,000 horse encamped along the
coast ; 3,000 or 4,000 flotilla boats ; and immediately
on the arrival of my squadron, to land in England and
take possession of London and the Thames. The plan
very nearly succeeded. If Admiral Villeneuve, instead

* Napoleon's Correspondence, 9209.

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 393

of putting into Ferrol, had merely rallied the Spanish
squadron and set sail for Brest, to unite with Admiral
Ganteaume, it would have been all up with England.

" Article II. — It was necessary, for the success of
the scheme, to muster 150,000 men at Boulogne ; to
have 4,000 flotilla boats and an immense equipment.
To ship all these forces and supplies, and yet prevent
the enemy from suspecting my plans, seemed well-nigh
impossible. If I succeeded in this, it was only by doing
the very reverse of what appeared the right thing to do.
If fifty ships of the line were to come and protect the
passage of the army over to England, we wanted nothing
more than transports at Boulogne ; and this profusion
of praams, gunboats, flat-bottomed gunboats, shallops,
etc., was absolutely useless. Now, supposing I had col-
lected 4,000 transports only, the enemy would have
guessed that I was awaiting the arrival of my squadron
to attempt the crossing ; but, by building and equip-
ping praams and gunboats as well, I was opposing guns
to guns, and warships to warships, and the enemies
were duped accordingly. They thought my intention
was to cross by main force, and by the sole military
force of the flotilla. They never guessed at my real
designs, and when, on the failure in the movements of
my squadrons, they discovered the danger they had so
narrowly escaped, there was great agitation in the Councils
in London, and all intelligent people admitted that
England had never been so near her ruin.

" Article III. — The scheme was exposed ; the enemy
saw that the plan was to cross under the protection of
my squadrons. The works carried out at Boulogne, and
in the harbours at Wimereux and Amble teuse, with
which the enemy was perfectly well acquainted, were
sufficient proof to him that the whole flotilla could not
get under weigh on one tide. From that moment

394 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

England was free from apprehension as to the flotilla
being able to cross by itself, since Admiral Villeneuve's
operations have proved that I was awaiting his arrival
to cross ; and since her knowledge of our coast has
shown her the impossibility of getting the flotilla out
on one tide. And now, the same men who declared that
the flotilla could not be prevented from landing, say
that nothing can stop the arrival of 100 to 150 vessels
on the enemy's coast (making an expedition of 15,000
to 16,000 men), but that any more important expedition
than this would have small chance of success.

" Article IV. — Under these circumstances, the Bou-
logne roadstead being unsuited to the training of my
sailors, and England being free from apprehension with
regard to the passage of the flotilla by main force, the
project will have to be reconsidered. We should have
to have an army of 60,000 to 80,000 men and several
thousand horses encamped on the heights at Boulogne ;
have a portion only of the sailors necessary for manning
the ships, and, as soon as the squadrons commenced to
operate, levy the fishermen and sailors all along the coast,
re-establish the line of ships, embark the artillery and
supplies — in one word, make all the necessary demon-
strations to show that we were only awaiting the arrival
of the squadron to cross.

" Article V. — The advantages of this scheme are
enormous. In the first place, I should always have a
pretext for having 80,000 to 100,000 men encamped
in a position which is not only healthy, but very con-
venient with regard to supplies ; and from which they
can advance promptly on Germany ; while so large a
body of men, kept within view of the English coast,
together with a number of ships which will enable us
to make the invasion, if I have the mastery of the sea
for several days, will have a double influence on England :

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 395

" (i) It will oblige her to have troops to guard and
protect herself against a now possible invasion ;

" (2) It will oblige her to keep a portion of her fleet
in reserve, in the Downs or in the Thames, in case of
emergency.

" Article VIII. — Let us suppose a squadron of 40
ships-of-the-line arriving before Boulogne, and finding
an army of 100,000 men and 10,000 horse — what could
it do ? How much time would it require to transport
the troops, cavalry, and stores over to England ? It
would take at least ten journeys. Let us now suppose
that 40 ships-of-the-line arrive before Boulogne, and
find 500 boats, praams, shallops, gunboats, etc..
either equipped or without guns, with all the artillery,
men, and horses embarked, and that they take on board
whatever portion of the troops the flotilla is unable to
carry — why, in several days, the whole expedition would
be landed in England. England will therefore be com-
pelled to have a land army, and to have a fleet in re-
serve. Of all the means that one could suggest for
harming the enemy in this struggle, this is the one that
would be the least costly for France, and the most
disastrous for England.

" Article IX. — Having hereby informed the Minister
of Marine of the part I wish the Boulogne flotilla to play,
I desire him to suggest the modifications that it will
be necessary to make, in order that it may accomplish,
at the least possible cost, the ends that I have in view.

" NAPOLEON."

Perhaps the clearest explanation we have on the
matter, is the following passage taken from a work on
. Napoleon by Blanchet, a volunteer of the period :—

" Napoleon deceived the enemy by engaging his
attention on a sham fleet, in order to divert it from the

396 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

real one, which workmen were building day and night
incessantly in our yards. It was with this fleet, and
the Spanish and Dutch squadrons combined, that he
intended to engage in action with the English fleet,
while the 2,000 nutshells were transporting our soldiers
and landing them on the enemy's coast. Then England
would remember William the Conqueror, and have reason
to tremble. * If only we are masters of the Straits
for six hours,' the Emperor wrote to the great seaman
Latouche-Treville, ' we shall be masters of the world.' '

On this subject there should be no doubt — namely,
that Napoleon had no intention of winning naval vic-
tories with his little flat-bottomed boats ; he meant
them merely to carry his legions to firm land, where
they would most certainly have been victorious. Major
Richer t, of the Staff College, fully understood this
when he wrote : —

" In 1803, Napoleon determined to deal a decisive
blow to the great rival of France by invading England,
and conquering the country. This plan of Napoleon's
throws a vivid light on the greatness of his genius. His
conception of the scheme of invasion was absolutely
sound ; it was an application of the fundamental rule
of the science of war, that consists in ' opposing the
strong side to the enemy's weak side, while making the
best use of the factors of time and space.' Napoleon's
power lay in the army and continental war ; that of
England was in her fleet and in naval warfare ; it was
therefore certainly good strategy on Napoleon's part
to attack England with his army, and to compel her to
fight on land." *

Indeed, the same general idea pervades all the various
documents just quoted.

* " Napoleon, Chief of the Army," translated from the German into
French, 1899.

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 397

The crossing of the Straits and the invasion of
England could certainly not be classed among events
of ordinary occurrence, and the enterprise Napoleon
had planned was altogether exceptional, to say the
least.

But the French armies, when led by daring and
experienced commanders, have performed marvellous
exploits, which, though quite outside the classical rules
of military science, have led to splendid results.

That a fleet should be captured by cavalry is perhaps
scarcely a normal event. And yet the hussar squadrons
commanded by Pichegru took the Dutch fleet, icebound
in the harbour of Helder in 1795.

The extraordinary ascent of Mount St. Bernard, in
which 30,000 men scaled the heights of 2,300 metres,
with the whole of the artillery, is not a commonplace
enterprise either.

It has been said, as an argument against the First
Consul's scheme, that the number of men ready to take
the sea in 1805 was totally inadequate to a serious attack ;
and that, even if the quantity of boats enabled 167,000
men to embark, there were not, as a matter of fact,
more than 90,00.0 taken altogether at Boulogne, Wimereux,
Ambleteuse, and Etaples.

Now the total effective of all the troops mustered
around Boulogne appears at one time to have been
172,230 infantry, and 9,300 cavalry, according to the
most authentic estimates.

The reason that there is such discrepancy between
the figures quoted by different writers is, that under
the title of " army of Boulogne," some only include
those corps which were encamped on the coast, and
prepared to take the sea ; while others place under
the same heading, and rightly so, all the garrisons quar-
tered inland in the neighbourhood, because at the very

398 NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

first signal they could have arrived within a few hours
at the points of embarkation.

It must be admitted, I think, that an army of nearly
100,000 determined men, led by a commander like
Napoleon, could have given a good account of themselves,
especially in a country that was almost without a regular
militia.

But there is another explanation which deserves
notice. An old Boulogne fisherman— was he a dreamer,
or particularly clear-sighted and well-informed ? — said
to me once : "If Napoleon collected more boats than
were necessary to carry the troops, horse, and ammunition,
it was because he intended taking advantage of a foggy
day, or a dark night, for the following stratagem — a
number of boats, carrying dark lanterns, were to be
sent on ahead in a wrong direction ; they were only to
be manned by a few gunners who were to fire off guns,
in the dark, to attract the enemy's squadron ; and
while this was going on, the real flotilla was to have
attempted the passage."

Without venturing to draw an absolute conclusion,
which would be presumptuous, since certain factors are
wanting, by which we might hope to reach a solution
of the question, we are justified, I think, in saying that
Napoleon was convinced of the possibility of the
descent, and really intended carrying it out, his hesi-
tations simply bearing on the choice of the plan to be
adopted.

And when he subsequently modified his intentions,
it was because he was compelled to do so by certain
serious events, and especially by the inaction of
auxiliaries on whom he was obliged to depend, and
who disobeyed his formal orders.

And even at the very time when treachery compelled
him to divert the Grand Army from the primary object

PLANS FOR INVASION OF ENGLAND. 399

or which it had been organised, Napoleon hoped that
propitious circumstances might enable him to accom-
plish his design.

It seems manifest that the admirals, whether timid
or bold, argued over the orders they received, instead
of conforming to them ; they judged, from their own
narrow point of view, the plan of concerted action which
they failed to grasp, and which was as follows — as
Napoleon had conceived it — to compel England, by a
series of simultaneous attacks, to scatter her forces over
all the seas, so as to reduce to the minimum the strength
of her squadron in the Channel, which was her only
protection against an attack from the French squadron
and the flotilla.

To sum up, when the Emperor abandoned his pro-
jects of invasion, it was not because he had altered his
mind, but because events had changed ; England was
transforming her naval and military organisation, with
feverish activity, to be ready for any emergency ; Austria
had openly declared her hostility, and Russia was dis-
posed to enter into the concert of reprisals. As for
Spain, was she a sufficient ally for withstanding a formid-
able coalition ?

At the very time that Napoleon's orders were being
disregarded, or contested, by timorous subordinates,
the most serious complications arose on the Continent,
and Napoleon was forced to abandon his enterprise ;
but the scheme was none the less, at one time, very
seriously considered, and every preparation was made
for it to succeed.

Must the Emperor be reproached for not having
risked the invasion, in spite of everything, for the sake
of keeping his word ?

We ought rather to praise him for having had the
courage to abandon a scheme so alluring to his bold spirit.

400. NAPOLEON AT THE BOULOGNE CAMP.

Perhaps, after all, his whole thoughts may be summed
up in the words he wrote from the Boulogne Camp to
Barbe-Marbois, on August gth, 18.05 :—

" I will not submit the prosperity of my people to
mere hazard. Undoubtedly, I intend to land in England
myself, with an army ; but I and my army will only land
when all the circumstances are favourable."

After a certain point, boldness ceases to be a virtue,
it can even become folly. History, therefore, should give
the Emperor every credit for having withstood a tempta-
tion so gratifying to his glory ; he was not always so
well inspired.

And so, when we read of criticisms a whole century
after the event, when we find writers asking whether the
flotilla was not all a pretence, and the Boulogne Camp a
mere scenic display, we can imagine Napoleon, if he came
to life again, silencing his critics by one of those sayings
for which he had a genius :

" Like Charlemagne, I took my army across the
Alps ; I reckoned on crossing the Straits with my soldiers,
like Julius Caesar."

PRINTED BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, LA BELLE SAUTAGE, LONDON, E.C.

a* A SELECTION OF ^
FINE ART, ILLUSTRATED,
AND OTHER VOLUMES.

Particulars are given within of selected volumes of
Travel, Fiction, Natural History, Science, &c., &c.,
which are representative of the many works on these
and other subjects issued from the Belle Sauvage Press.
These Books are beautiful examples of modern methods
of production, both in printing and binding, and are
eminently suitable alike for personal use and for
presents. A Complete List of our Works will be
sent post free on application.

CASSELL & CO., Ltd., La Belle Sauvage, London.

6 0—4.07.

Fine Art Volumes.

Photo : H. Moyse, Putney.

ALFRED EAST, A.R.A.

Landscape Painting in

Oil Colour. By ALFRED EAST,
A.R.A. With Reproductions in
Colour, and Black and White
Plates, ios.6d.net.

The Old Engravers of

England in Their Relation
to Contemnorary Life and
Art, 1540-1800. By MALCOLM
C. SALAMAN. With 48 Full-page
Illustrations. 53. net.

The M acWhirt e r

Sketch BooK. With 24
Examples in Colour, many Pencil
Sketches, and an Introduction by
EDWIN BALE, R.I. 55.

Marine Painting in

Water Colour. By W. L.

WYLLIE, A.R.A. With 24 Coloured
Plates. 53.

Landscape Painting in

Water Colour. By J. MAC-
WHIRTER, R.A. With 23 Coloured
Plates. 53.

Sacred Art. The Bible

Story. Pictured by Eminent
Modern Painters. Edited by A. G.
TEMPLE, F.S.A. With nearly 200
Full-page Illustrations. 93.

Porcelain. A Sketch of its

Nature, Art, and Manufacture
By WILLIAM BURTON, F.C.S., etc.
etc. With 50 Plates. 73. 6d. net

Flowers from Shakes-
peare's Garden. A Posy from
the Plays Pictured by WALTER
CRANE. With 40 pages of Illus-
trations in Colours from original
Drawings by this well-known
artist. 6s.

Great Pictures in

Private Galleries. A Selec-
tion of the most famous Modern
Pictures in the Private Galleries
of Great Britain, reproduced in
Colours. Two Vols., each con-
sisting of 48 finely executed
pictures, with accompanying Text.
Cloth, las. each ; leather back,
cloth sides, 153. each.

National Gallery of
British Art (The Tate Gal-
lery). Containing 24 Exquisite
Photogravure Plates and many
other Pictures, with accompany-
ing Text, and an Introduction by
Sir CHARLES HOLROYD. Cloth,
I2S. ; leather back, cloth sides 155.

The Nation's Pictures.

A Selection from the most Modern
Paintings in the Public Galleries
of Great Britain. Reproduced in
Colour. Four Series, consisting
of 48 finely executed Pictures, with
accompanying Text. Cloth, 123.
each ; leather back, cloth sides,
155. each.

The Art of Portrait

Painting. By the HON. JOHN
COLLIER. A Practical Treatise for
the Student and Professional
Painter on the Art of Portrait
Painting in Oil. With 14 Repro-
ductions in Colour, and 27 in Black
and White. IDS. 6d. net.

The Great Galleries of

Europe. The National Gallery.
The Tate Gallery. The Louvre.
The Luxembourg.

Each volume contains illustra-
tions of sixty of the chief works
contained in the gallery with which
it deals. Reproduced by the very
best method of half-tone process,
and printed on art paper, these
series of illustrations form beauti-
ful and comprehensive souvenirs
of the great picture galleries of
London and Paris. The interest
of the little booklets is enhanced
by short notes on the pictures, in
which are embodied facts connect-
ed with their history, or that of the
artist by whom they were painted.
Paper Covers, 6d. net each.

CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, London, Paris New York and Melbourne. |

Beautiful Illustrated Volumes

The Cathedrals of

England and Wales : Their
History, Architecture, and
Associations. With 20 Rem-
brandt Plates and Illustrations
from Photographs. Two Vols.
2is. net per set.

Sir Benjamin Stone's
Pictures; Records of
National Life and History.

Containing nearly. 400 Full -page Re-
productions of Photographs by
SIR BENJAMIN STONE, M.P. Two
Vols., 73. 6d. each.

The King's Empire.

With 25 Coloured Plates and
upwards of 560 Full-page Plates
from Photographs, and Introduc-
tion by DR. FITCHETT. Two Vols.,
I2S . each.

Westminster Abbey :

Its Story and Associations.

ByE. T. BRADLEY (Mrs. A. Murray
Smith). With 90 Full-page Plates
from Drawings by W . HATHERELL,
R.I., and H. M. PAGET. 6s.

The Thames and Its

Story. The Traditional, Histori-
cal, Literary, and Romantic Asso-
ciations of a Famous River. 6s.

Pictorial London. A

magnificent Album of Photographic
Scenes of the Metropolis and its
Neighbourhood. 123.

Living London.

Edited by GEORGE R.
SIMS. Its Work and
its Play, its Humour
and its Pathos, its
Sights and its Scenes.
Copiously Illustrated.
Complete in Three
Vols., half leather,
i6s. each.

Britain at Work.

A Pictorial Descrip-
tion of our National
Industries. With
nearly 500 Illustra-
tions. I2S.

The British

Isles. Depicted by
Pen and Camera. With
a Series of Coloured
Reproductions of Pic-
tures by Eminent
Artists, and numerous
other Illustrations.
Three Vols., half-
morocco, gilt top, 2is.
net per vol.

Cassell's Illustrated

History of the Boer War.

Attractively bound in Cloth, 75. 6d.
Library Edition, in Two Vols.,
over 1,900 pages. 2is.

Cassell's History of the

Russo = Japanese War. A

graphic account of the recent
great struggle in the Far East.
Profusely Illustrated. In Three
Volumes. Vols. I. and II., 155.
net each. Vol. III., los. net.

Don Quixote. New Fine

Art Edition. With upwards of
100 Full-page_and numerous other
Illustrations by GUSTAVE DORE.
Two Vols., 25s.net.

Milton's Paradise Lost.

Illustrated with 50 Full-page Draw-
ings by GUSTAVE DORE. New Fine
Art Edition. i6s. net.

Dante's Inferno. Trans-
lated by the Rev. H. F. CARY,
M.A. Illustrated by GUSTAVE
DORE. New Fine Art Edition.

2IS.

Dante's Purgatory and

Paradise. Translated by the
Rev.H.F. GARY, M.A. Illustrated
by GUSTAVE DORE. New Fine A rt
Edition. 2 is.

SIR BENJAMIN STONE, M.P.

CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, London, Paris, New York &• Melbourne.

Travel and Other Books.

bin FREDERICK TREVES,
BART.

The Other Side of the

Lantern. By SIR FREDERICK
TREVES, Bart., G.C.V.O., C.B.,
LL.D. With Photogravure Fron-
tispiece and 39 Full-page Plates
from Photographs by the Author.
Cheap Edition. 6s. net.

From Workhouse to

Westminster : The Life Story
of Will Crooks, M.P. By GEORGE
HAW. With four Illustrations and
an Introduction by G. K.CHESTER-
TON. 6s.

Survivors' Tales of

Great Events. Retold from
Personal Narratives. By WALTER
WOOD. With 8 Illustrations. 35. 6d.

Notable Trials : Rom-
ances of the Law Courts.

By R. STORRY DEANS, Barrister-
at-Law. With 8 Full-page Illus-
trations. 6s.

Four Centuries of the

Panama Canal. By WILLIS
FLETCHER JOHNSON, A.M., L.H.D.
With 16 Illustrations and 6 Col-
oured Maps. i2s. net.

Napoleon at the Camp

of Boulogne. Translated from
the French of F. NICOLAY. By
GEORGINA L.DAVIS. With Illustra-
tions. 75. 6d. net.

A Sea Dog of Devon.

By R. A. J. WALLING. With Intro-
duction by LORD BRASSEY. 6s. net.

Lord Beaconsfield and

Other Tory Memories.

By T. E. KEBBEL. With Portrait
Frontispiece. i6s. net.

Red Russia. BY JOHN

FOSTER FRASER. With 48 Full -page
Plates from Photographs. 6s.

Pictures from the Bal-
kans. BY JOHN FOSTER FRASER.
With Coloured Plate, Map, and 40
Black and White Plates. 6s.

The Real Siberia.

By JOHN FOSTER FRASER. With
48 pages of Illustrations from
Photographs. 35. 6d.

America at WorK. By

JOHN FOSTER FRASER. With 38
Full-page Plates from Special
Photographs. 33. 6d.

Canada as It Is. By

JOHN FOSTER FRASER. With 47
Full -page Illustrations. 35. 6d.

Russia. By SIR DONALD
MACKENZIE WALLACE, K.C.I.E.,
K.C.V.O. New and Enlarged
Edition. Revised, reset, and in
great part rewritten, with Maps
and Portrait of the Author. Two
Vols., 243. net.

The New Far East. By

ARTHUR DIOSY, F.R.G.S. With
new Introduction by the Author,
and 8 full-page Illustrations.
Cheap Edition. 35. 6d.

A Tramp Camp. By

BART KENNEDY. With 8 Illus-
trations. 6s.

Wander Pictures. By

BART KENNEDY, Author of "A
Tramp Camp," etc. With 8
Illustrations. 6s.

Britain's Roll of Glory ;
or, The Victoria Cross, Its
Heroes and Their Valour.

By D. H. PARRY. New and En-
larged Edition, with 8 Full-page
Illustrations. 6s.

CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, London, Paris, New York and Melbourne.

Natural History Books, etc.

Wild Flowers in their

Seasons. By Prof. F. E. HULME,
F.L.S. With 80 Beautiful Coloured
Plates from Original Drawings by
the Author. Leather, 55. net.

Beautiful Gardens. By

WALTER P. WRIGHT. With 2
Coloured and 48 Half-tone Plates.
6s. net.

Paradoxes of Nature

and Science. Things which
appear to contradict general ex- 1
perience or scientific principles, j
with popular explanations of the [

By R, KEARTON,

F.Z.S.

With Illustrations from Photographs
taken direct from Nature by
CHERRY and RICHARD KEARTON.

British Bird's Nests :
How, Where, and When to
Find and Identify Them.

New and Revised Edition, with 15
Plates of Eggs, photographed in
their natural colours from actual
and typical specimens, 6 Beautiful
Photogravures of Birds, and over
400 Illustrations. 2is. net.

produced in Rembrandt Photo-
gravure, los. 6d. net.

Wild Nature's Ways.

With Rembrandt Frontispiece and
about 200 Illustrations. 6s.

With Nature and a

Camera. With about 180 Illus-
trations. 73. 6d.

Natural His-
tory of Selborne. With notes
by R. KEARTON, F.Z.S. Contain-
ing upwards of 120 Illustrations.
33. 6d.

Our Bird Friends. With

other Illustrations. 6s.

How to Find and Name

Wild Flowers. By THOMAS
Fox, F.L.S. With an Introduction
by Prof. F. E. HULME, F.L.S.
Fully Illustrated with Pictures
and Diagrams, is. 6d ; cloth, 25.

The Field Naturalist's

Handbook. By the Rev. J. G. w. ..

and THEODORE WOOD. is. ; cloth, ! *> " ' F '
interleaved, 2s.

Familiar Trees. By Prof.

G. S. BOULGER, F.L.S., Hon. I
F.R.H.S. With a Series of Coloured |
Plates from Original Drawings |

by W. H. J. BOOT, R.B.A., and about *<*> Illustrations. 5s.
A. FAIRFAX MUCKLEY, and Numer- Wild Life at Home: How
ous Illustrations from Photographs to Study and Photograph It. New
taken direct from Nature. Com- and Revised Edition. Profusely
plete in 3 vols. 6s. each. Illustrated. 6s.

Familiar Wild Birds. By For Books for Young People by the

W. SWAYSLAND. In 4 vols. With
40 Full-page Coloured Plates in
each by A. THORBURN, etc., and
descriptive text. 33. 6d. each.

Familiar Garden

Flowers. By PROF. F.E. HULME,
F.L.S., F.S.A. In 5 vols. With 40
Full-page Coloured Plates in each,
and Descriptive Text by SHIRLEY
HIBBERD. 35. 6d. each.

same Author, see page 8.

Familiar Wild Flowers. n

By PROF. F. E. HULME, F.L.Sl, j V
F.S.A. In Eight Vols. With 40 i
Full-page Coloured Plates in each, |
and Descriptive Text. 33. 6d. each.

Nature's Riddles ; or,

the Battle of the Beasts. By

H. W. SHEPHEARD-WALWYN, M.A., j
F.Z.S., F.E.S. With Coloured
Frontispiece and over 100 Illustra- j
tions. 35. 6d.

KEARTON, F.Z.S.

I I I

I I

CASSELL & COMPANY, LTD., London, Paris, New York and Melbourne.

New and Recent Fiction.

ILL

H. RIDER HAGGARD.

Benita,

By Rider Haggard. 6s.

The Woman of Babylon

By Joseph Hocking. 3s. 6d.

The Dumpling.

By Coulson Kernahan. 6s.

The Diamond Ship.

By Max Pemberton. 6s.

Princess Maritza.

By Percy Brebner (Christian
Lys). 6s.

The Bachelors.

By Charles Eddy, 6s.

The Red Light.

By C. E. C. Weigall. 3s. 6d.

A Strong Man's Vow.

By Joseph Hocking. 3s. 6d.

A Lost Summer.

By Theo Douglas. 6s.

The Late Tenant.

By Gordon Holmes. 6s.

The Soul of Milly Green

By Mrs. Harold Gorst. 6s.
The Kingmakers.

By Armiger Barclay. 6s.

Champion: The Story of
a Motor Car.

By John Colin Dane. 6s.

To Pleasure Madame.

By Helen Wallace. 6s.

The Man Who Was
Dead.

By A. W. Marchmont. 6s.

Captain Latymer.

By F. Frankfort Moore. 6s.

Sirocco.

By Kenneth Brown. 6s.

Lighter Days with
Troddles.

By R. Andom. 3s. 6d.

The Midnight Guest.

By F. M. White. 6s.
A Navvy from King's.

By Theodora Wilson- Wilson.
6s.

The Land of Every
Man.

By Albert Kinross. 5s. net.

Highcroft Farm.

By J. S. Fletcher. 6s.

Gossips Green.

By Mrs. Henry Dudeney. 6s.

Her Ladyship's Silence.

By Marie Connor Leighton.
6s.

The Quest of £1 Dorado.

By Wilmot Waring. 6s.
The Frozen Venus.

By Harry Longley Lander. 6s.

CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, London, Paris, New York and Melbourne. \

6

General Volumes.

Cassell's Book of Quo

tations. By W. GURNEY BEN-
HAM. Containing upwards of
32,000 references from 1,300!
Authors. los. 6d. net ; half leather, i
I2S. 6d. net.

Worry : the Disease of

the Age. By Dr. C. W. SALEEBY. I
6s.

A Girl in Her Teens:

and What She Ought to

Know. By Mrs. GEORGE
CURNOCK. is. 6d. net.

The Book of Photo-
graphy. Practical, Theoretic, and
Applied. With 48 Full-page Plates
and numerous other Illustrations
and Working Drawings. los. 6d.

Cassell's Carpentry and

Joinery. Edited by PAUL N.
HASLUCK. 75. 6d net.

Cassell's Engineers'

Handbook. By Prof. HENRY
ADAMS, M.Inst.C.E. 75. 6d. net.

Metal working. A Book

of Tools, Materials, and Processes |
for the Handyman. With 2,206
Illustrations and Working Draw- j
ings. 95.

Woodworking. A Book

of Tools, Materials, and Processes
for the Handyman. With over
2,500 Illustrations and Working
Drawings. Cloth gs.

Cassell's New Diction-
ary of Cookery. With about
10,000 Recipes, a Series of Beauti-
ful Coloured Plates, and several
hundred Illustrations. Cloth,
75. 6d.; half leather, IDS. 6d.

Cassell's Building Con =

struction. By Prof. HENRY
ADAMS, M.Inst.C.E. Including
many hundreds of Drawings by
the Author. 75. 6d. net.

The Bridge=Winner.

A Guide to Success at the
Game of Bridge. By " CUT

CAVENDISH." Paper Covers, is. ;
Leather, as.

Devon Pillow Lace :

Its History and How to
Make It. By A. Penderel
Moody. With Illustrations. Cloth,
55. net.

HOME HANDBOOKS.

A Series of useful Volumes for every
Householder, averaging from 200
to 300 pages. Crown 8vo, paper
wrapper, is.net; cloth, is.6d.net.

The Home Lawyer.
The Home Physician.
The Making of the

Home. By Mrs. S. A. BARNETT.

Our Sick, and How to

Take Care of them. By

FLORENCE STACPOOLE.

Vegetarian Cookery.

Cookery for Common

Ailments.
Advice to Women.

Practical Housekeep-
ing.

Practical Home

Cookery.
Practical Dressmaking,

Etiquette of Good
Society.

The

Story of " The

Ring." By S. H. HAMER. With
4 Coloured Plates by HARRY
ROUNTREE. is. 6d. net.

Country Cottages and

Week=End Homes. By J. H.

ELDER-DUNCAN. With numerous
Illustrations and Plans of Cottages
by well-known Architects . Second
Impression. 53.

Photo : Russell, Baker Si.

J. H. ELDER-DUNCAN

CASSELL & COMPANY, LTD., London, Paris, New York and Melbourne.

Books for Young People.

The Young Gullivers.

By S. H. HAMER and HARRY
ROUNTREE. With 4 Coloured Plates
and numerous Illustrations by
HARRY ROUNTREE. Picture Boards
is. 6d. ; Cloth, as.

The Little Folks Book

of Wonders. By S. H. HAMER.
With Coloured Frontispiece and
numerous Illustrations. Picture
Boards, as. 6d. ; Cloth, 35. 6d.

The Little Folks Story

Book in Colour. By S. H.

HAMER. With 48 Coloured Plates.
Picture Boards, 35. 6d. ; Cloth, 53.

The Little Folks Nat=

ure Book. By S. H. HAMER.
With Coloured Frontispiece and
numerous Illustrations. Picture
Boards, as. 6d. ; Cloth, 35. 6d.

Peril and Patriotism ;
True Tales of Heroic
Deeds and Startling Ad=
ventures. With numerous
Illustrations. 53.

The Book of Romance.

With numerous Illustrations. 53.

By R. KEARTON,

F.Z.S.

With Illustrations from Photographs

taken direct from Nature by C. and

R. KEARTON.

Nature's Carol Singers,

Being an Account of the Appear-
ance, Haunts, Habits, Nests, Eggs
and Young, Songs and Call
Notes of 45 British Song Birds.
With Remembrandt Photogravure
Frontispiece and nearly 200 Illus-
trations direct from Nature. 6s.

The Adventures of
Cock Robin and His Mate.

A fascinating Natural History
Story. With 120 Illustrations from
Photographs taken direct from
Nature. Second Edition. 6s.

Strange Adventures in

Dicky-bird Land. Consisting
of a Series of Enchanting Stories
Told by Mother Birds to Amuse
their Chicks, and Overheard by
the Author. Lavishly Illustrated.
Third Edition. Cloth, 35. 6d. ;
Cloth gilt, gilt edges, 55.

BOOKS FOR BOYS.
Monitor at Megson's:

A Master, a Schoolboy, and a
Secret. By ROBERT LEIGHTON.
With 8 Full-page Coloured Plates,
33. 6d.

The Wolf=Men: A Tale

of Amazing Adventure in the-
Under-world. By FRANK POWELL.
With 8 Coloured Plates, 35. 6d.

King by Combat. A

Fight for Power in a Wild Land.
By FRED WHISHAW. With 8
Coloured Plates, 33. 6d.

Follow My Leader : or,

The Boys of Templeton.

By TALBOT BAINES REED. With
8 Coloured Plates. New Edition.
3S. 6d.

Photo : H. Moyse, Putney.
ROBERT LEIGHTON.

ILL

ILL

CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, London, Paris, New York, and Melbourne. |

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
LIBRARY

Acme Library Card Pocket

Under Pat. " Kef. Index File."

Made by LIBRARY BUREAU